How do we keep our right to worship, and to publicly say we are Christian? How do we start to address issues in light of scripture, if we are afraid our church will be prosecuted by the IRS? How do we even begin to stand up against schools, business laws, welfare programs, and even such big guns as the EPA and the BLM? How do we survive if our economic status worsens, as it has in so much of the world? How do we keep enough of a door open to be able to spread the Gospel? I propose a radical rethinking of how we worship in the US. Or, you could call it a return to basics. Consider starting a home church and giving up on buildings, guest speakers and charismatic pastors to guide you. Too many are compromised. The government is seeking way to tax or shut up any who apply biblical truth in their teaching. They enticed churches into an IRS tax status that allows members to write off their donations for tax purposes, but demands that politics never be brought up in the church. Speaking against the LGBT measures will soon become a political statement and may bring down troubles on churches. (Canada has jailed pastors….) We have become lazy in our churches. I do not think any man was supposed to the teacher, preacher, money raiser, event celebrant ( weddings and funerals and baptisms) and comforter of the members in distress. We need to make more rational decisions on church order and structure. We need to get our hands dirty. It isn’t the pastor’s church, it’s only nominally our church, and at heart is a meeting place for Jesus’ church (the body.) If it is mortgaged to the hilt, or the board can overrule the pastor as to sermons, or if the pastor is scrambling to make money by doing outside weddings, which imperils both him and the church by way of gay marriage and lawsuits..same for renting out the space. There are many churches that are debt free, with a full complement of bishops or leaders, and well equipped to lead people. But the other situation is far too common, and seems to go hand in hand with the signing of contracts requiring you to tithe. And suing members who do not. Churches resemble private clubs more and more, and a place to worship God less and less. The rich are rewarded in this system. If it causes the poor to suffer, no one cares. Interested in tithing as a Christian concept? Here are some astounding facts about the history of tithing. www.tithing.com http://www.tithing.com/blog/those-who-disagree-with-tithing/ And yes, the secular world notices our hypocrisy http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/14/us/sunday-stickup/ And it’s one problem you can’t blame on the Catholics! Or the Puritans! Within a few years, the only churches standing will be those who have compromised with the world. (Though, interestingly, the Methodists just gave up condoning abortion. It makes me hope….) We are to give charitably, to those in our church, as well as to the lost. This is repeated so often in the NT, I know you know it. But do you do it? Is your church caring for other Christians in their time of need? The comforting of other Christians is largely ignored in this country. Do you sit with those who are grieving? Do you gather food and money and perhaps access to job interviews, etc. for those in distress? Or do you say, “God will take care of you, blessings”, or even, “the government has a program for that.” Now, giving someone a ride to a welfare office and helping them fill out paperwork is one thing Ignoring their distress is another. I propose we get off the government dole all together. That we take care of our own. That we give up the nonprofit status that is crippling us. As part of this, you must see it already, we need to take care of our own families too. WE NEED A FIRMER BASE.WE NEED TO FREE OURSELVES FROM THE EASY SOFT ANSWERS. No government can save you. No church building either. Most of you know about the bathroom initiatives…a further attempt to weaken the God given status of man or woman, male and female. Endangering women and children. Most of you are dealing with issues at schools, bullying or silencing of Christian children, absolutely diabolical lesson plans, and teaching of Islam. Coercion is everywhere. We need to either fully engage school boards, or leave the public school system. If you can afford a private school, great, if not, find a way to homeschool. I am dead serious about this issue. We must not let our precious children be corrupted by what passes for education in this country. Talk to parents who homeschool. Find out if you can buy used lesson plans. Move to a smaller residence to free up the money for a parent to stay home or to afford private school. Consider a group of you hiring teachers for specific subjects. If you pool your money, and use the Internet, it is possible to get specialized help or tutoring, and perhaps will give some teachers a reason to leave the public school system as well. The possibilities are endless. Perhaps single mothers could barter for their children to be schooled with yours. We don’t need to leave anyone out. The LGBT agenda…No one should have special status because of how they have sex, or how they dress, or how they prefer to be referred to. Polite society has perfectly good titles to use with everyone. This disastrous giving of status to those who are living sinful lifestyles has already affected us in ways we cannot comprehend. Our kids think gender fluidity is real and it’s just a social construct anyway., we must combat this evil and pagan thinking. Do NOT give in to using the rhetoric of the left. We are men and women, boys and girls. We are born with a sex. Not a societally influenced gender. We teach our youngsters to be upstanding moral people, who are not cisgendered, they are boys and girls, Period. Some have chosen to boycott Target. Good start. Some are in lawsuits or encouraging their states to file lawsuits to stop these special privileges. I do think seeking family friendly or non LGBT biased establishments is worthwhile. I participate. It is not a total loss. There are wins happening with the issue of abortion. And our youngsters are more prolife than their parents. With a bit of luck (and voting, more on that later) we can perhaps roll back the parts of Obamacare that require us to pay premiums which cover other people for abortions, transgender drugs and surgery, etc. Pray for those fighting on these issues right now. It is OK to try and maintain a place for Christians in society. It is Ok to try and keep us functional, able to work, able to marry, able to have property. That is basically American rights, and we cannot be salt and light if we are silenced. It is not to put country above God, but to pray He leaves us a window of opportunity to live, to spread the Gospel. That all ends with the tribulation. At that point those who are believers suffer and die. We might want to start stashing bibles and hymnals. (Anything digital might be black listed or altered in the future.)We really ought to go back to standard, Calvary and grace and God praising music, and not seek to entertain when we raise our voices in praise. I know I am considered harsh. But the new music is mind numbing, poorly written, and does nothing to exalt God in worship. There should be someone in every church no matter how small who can lead others in song. It keeps you off the internet, the radio, etc. You just..have a hymnal. I believe we must offer instruction for our teenagers, It needs to be comprehensive. It needs to include FACTS about premarital sex, living together, the consequences of multiple partners (not just STD’s, women have more problems getting pregnant later on) consequences of homosexual sex ( too many to list) and transgenderism. We need to explain and offer hope for those seeking to maintain virginity, celibacy, and planning on marrying at some point. We need to stop getting married with a government issued marriage license. We need to offer covenant based marriage, and a lovely celebration, without spending what could instead be a couple’s newer car or a down payment on a home. (these pride of life weddings have nothing to do with the commitment….)Those who have talent with weddings might want to offer their services, at free or reduced cost. The feast could be an actual Christian celebration, in someone’s home or the church…and the couple, having had premarital instruction, understanding this is a lifelong vow.(50 percent of couples live without benefit of marriage now. Many need government assistance to raise their children. The government has put us in what amounts to an immoral lifestyle. I say, be like Valentine! Marry those couples!) As well they will need lawyers to help them write up wills and medical power of attorney. They will have access if one is hospitalized..there is a 2003 law meant to protect gay couples that covers this situation. They cannot keep you out if the patient wants you there.(yup, I thought the new marriage law was needed to cover this for gay people…but there was no need.) You will lose a bit of tax write off, but the government, if millions of marriages a year are no longer carried out in courthouses, loses far more. And we establish what marriage is, its purpose, without being compromised by the world’s understanding of marriage (covenant vs consent) Here there must be follow up. There must be older Christians willing to counsel, willing to help a young couple get established. If this means living in a parental basement, there should a contract detailing everyone’s duties. If there is a job loss or illness, what happens? If the couple wants to just live off their parents (all too common today) what happens then? This must a conscious effort on the part of the whole local church. It goes without saying the couple should both be committed Christians. And in case you missed the implication, I am suggesting we do this for people as young as eighteen. The old advice to wait until you have your ducks in a row, with this society and its temptations, may be too much for younger people to bear. It isn’t as if they have a lot of good examples over the last couple of generations. The grave consequences of a vow before God might slow our young romantics down, waiting a bit, but not for very many. We need to help them with their babies too. With diapers, and advice, with babysitting shares or days out for mom……men need to keep up with the young man to make sure he is not overwhelmed… While we cannot stop separation, we can sure work like crazy to get problems solved and get them back on track. We can do better than the world, of that I am sure. We can make sure the man understands child support and visitation (those would be covered by current laws of custody etc. no escaping just because of covenant marriage) are part of his duties, we need to reconcile both parties to the church. This is a lot harder than just writing off marriages and finding a divorce attorney, but I think we must set a standard for our behavior. Much of this might be compromised if we do not use a civil liberty we still have. Voting. Politicians by and large will nod their head to Christianity but are not involved with the body in any meaningful way. Waiting for a perfect candidate is stupid. We need to make our best choice to slow down the depravity around us. It matters who appoints justices, it matters who makes the budget. It certainly matters for local issues, such as the powers of the school board, how your tax money is spent, etc. You cannot have a say if you do not vote. Something like 2/3 of all those considered evangelical voters did not vote in the last two elections. So hold your nose if you must, but vote. We need to be in prayer and study for how to help those with mental issues, compromised children, the lost in all of its forms. We need to be bringing the believers in from the highways . Matthew 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. Those who know they are sinners, lost in this wicked world, are possibly more open to God . The rich the powerful, the progressives, the Marxists, HAVE NO REASON TO LISTEN. They are happy, my friends, to them their world of lawlessness is normal and wonderful. That means the homeless and autistic , the mentally ill, the poor , the single moms , the sexually confused. Quick looking for a pretty picture, Preach the Word, the Good News, that Jesus died for us! And if you get a chance to share the gospel with one of the worldly, also good! My point is, we too often don’t want to get our hands dirty. We don’t want to be seen with “those” people, written off by society ad accused of causing their own problems. As Paul said “but such were some of you.” 1 Corinthians 6:11. We don’t even deal with the issue of pornography, which is such a drain on men, their loved ones…..their own minds and souls. We need to make it understood that this is a huge issue and needs repentance. The Devil’s plans are well under way. We have little time left. We need to comfort, exhort, teach, and preach. Other tiny things you can do. Clean out your house. Anything in good shape can go to a Christian based charity. Grow a garden, Give away extra food or can so there is more for the winter. Demand accountability of each other. No dark corners, let us truly be light! Read the Word, every day. We need to be kept close to our Savior. Volunteer in a community outreach. Give to qualified organizations helping the persecuted church around the world. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Give thanks for the Joy and peace God gives you! If it hasn’t occurred to you yet, the only sanity left in this world is found in the Body of Christ! The lost have reprobate minds….no need to wait for that prophecy to be fulfilled. This is written from my heart. It is a personal commentary, not meant to be taken as a personal revelation from God. His teachings are contained in our Bible. I am not trying to add to it. I want to start a conversation with other Christians about how best to do our walk, should the Lord tarry And finally, MARANATHA! |
Faith and ReasonA grandma's perspective on a few things.. Archives
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