Tag Archives: church

Christian

A Closer Walk

It’s not about going to Church. It’s not about following a set of rules. It’s about having that personal relationship with Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Have you heard this before? The above is a direct quote from the television show, 7 Brides Who Portray the Bride of Christ, Christ in Prophecy, but sadly it’s nothing new. I’ve heard it before.

Do you desire a relationship with Jesus?

A few ways you can actually build a relationship with Jesus:

  • Go to Church – to learn, to sing, to fellowship with Jesus and other believers.
  • Follow God’s set of rules. In John 14:15, Jesus said, If you love me, keep my Commandments. A good place to start is Exodus 20, with the Ten Commandments you’ve heard your whole life.

Relationships take time, but just as in any relationship, be careful where and from whom you get your advice.

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Christian

He Gets Us, But Do They

Love is Unconditional and Impartial.

Is this statement true? I don’t believe it is.

Read John 3:16. Do you see the condition? Whosoever believeth.

Is God really impartial? No he isn’t. Read the bible, he is partial to Jesus, he is partial to the Jews, he is partial to his Church.

I don’t believe love is unconditional or impartial in our own relationships either. Monogamy is key to marriage. Correction is key to child rearing. There are reasonable conditions to love and in love we prefer one over the other.

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Christian

Magnified

In Roman’s, Paul once worried that he magnified his office. Some of today’s preachers don’t seem to share his concerns. I have now heard two different television teachers say that the letters to the Angels of the Seven Churches in Revelation were actually letters to the pastors of those churches.

When the King James Version translates the word as angel, it means angel. It does not mean the pastor or preacher of the Church. The errant interpretation does however expose the hubris of those who want to interpret it as such.

What does a correct interpretation mean for us? Many people wonder about the hierarchy of Heaven and the place of angels. In my opinion, it is likely that if individual churches in John’s day had their own angel your local Church even now has it’s own angel.

The Bible doesn’t say anything about everyone having their own guardian angel, but if you attend a Church you may find you have an angel as a friend there, especially if you are a true follower of Jesus and heed Godly warnings such as those addressed to the Revelation Churches.

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Christian

Seek and You Shall Find

Have you ever noticed there can be a negative side to the statement seek and you shall find; People often see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.

If you admire the rich and/or want to be rich then Jesus was wealthy during his earthly ministry. See Matthew 8:20.

If you’re a woman and you want to speak in Church suddenly women pastors can be found in the Holy Bible. See 1 Corinthians 14:34-37.

The two witnesses of Revelation must be Enoch and Elijah because they never died. Hebrews 9:27 might seem to be a natural law, but it is not a requirement unto God.

If you want something enough you can change scripture to find the answer you are seeking. But ask yourself, are you truly seeking the answer or do you already have the answer in mind?

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Christian

Miranda

You have the right to remain silent.

I once told my cousin about 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. She said to me – no one is going to take my voice. I imagine most ladies feel this way about these verses. But ladies consider this: ignorant and weak men have allowed you to speak in Church against the word of God.

These men have no right to say that you can speak in Church. They have overstepped their bounds.

We’ve all heard the expression silence is golden. And to be honest some men on judgement day would be better off having exercised their right to remain silent.

Ladies you may be put off by this New Testament law of Christ, but hear it and observe it and in the end Christ will honor your female spirit for honoring his word in subjection.

1 Timothy 2:12-13 KJV
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. [13] For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

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Christian, Inspirational

A Test of Faith

I admit I don’t know all the answers, but I do recognize the test. Should Christians attend church or not?

To me and I suppose most people it makes sense that the government can request or order certain actions in times of great need. Public health can be protected they say with a stay at home order.

But let’s take a moment and examine what the Holy Bible says about the new coronavirus and attending church.

Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: [25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is ; but exhorting one another : and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Matthew 18:20 KJV For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

And let’s not forget the cure: James 5:14-15 KJV Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: [15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

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Christian, Inspirational

Context is Key II

I have heard it said that the Ten Commandments were Mosaic law (given to Moses in the Old Testament) and we no longer need to follow them since we are now under the New Testament.

I have heard it said we don’t need to follow the laws and precepts of Corinthians because Paul wrote them only to the Church of Corinth.

I have heard people claim promises throughout the Old Testament which were specific only to Israel at a specific time.

Context does matter. Discernment and rightly dividing the word of God requires us to first look at the Holy Bible as a whole. It was written for us. It is directed at the modern day reader. Things written to others in times past are lively and directed at us today.

1 John 2:7 KJV
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

Is not the law that which we have heard from the beginning, whether by faithful preaching or by our own reading of the Bible?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

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Christian

Bones

I have two more bones to pick with the Catholic Church.

Those are:

Calling men Father. Matthew 23:9 KJV
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Penance. No where in the Bible does it tell us to do penance for sin or that penance is even accepted by the Lord. It does however tell us to confess. 1 John 1:9 KJV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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Christian

Change for Ten

I want you to understand my criticisms come from my own Christian walk. As I share them, my hope is they may evoke change, if not on a denominational scale, at least in you the reader.

Over the years I have had some interest in the Catholic Church. I am still looking for a congregation or denomination that I am completely happy attending.

Yet, there are several points on which I disagree with the Catholic Church besides transubstantiation. I do not believe men should pray to Mary or to Angels. Acts 4:12. I do not think priests should be forbidden to marry. 1 Timothy 4:1-3.

On top of these things, which may be obvious to those with a cursory interest in the Catholic Church, they have changed the Ten Commandments. They remove the commandment to not make any graven image nor bow down to them. They then separate the Tenth Commandment, thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife or goods into two commands in order to complete the Ten. The Catholic Ten Commandments, I found in Outlines of the Catholic Faith p.51, 52. I do not know if they have actually changed the wording in the Holy Bible, but as Catholics believe much in crucifixes, images, and statuary I am not overly surprised by this brazen and impermissible change.

I hope Catholics will be baptized properly by immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. It is my hope that the saved will come from many denominations. They will be those that realize the errors of their own denomination and follow God’s Word not the teachings and perversions of men.

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Christian, Inspirational

Prayer

For public prayer in modern churches you really need to go back to the Old Testament.

Isaiah 56:7 KJV Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Technically I cannot think of a publicly led prayer in the Temple. Solomon led a prayer outside of the Temple and Daniel prayed three times a day towards Jerusalem. In Matthew 6:5, Jesus talks of those praying in synagogues and streets, but overall his comment is not favorable.

There are many verses in the New Testament referring to prayer. The first part of James 5:16 is often overlooked.

James 5:16 KJV Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I firmly believe the men who get up and pray should pray Matthew 6:9-13. I cannot think of a time in any church where I have heard this prayed, but it is how our Savior, Jesus Christ, instructed us to pray. When listening to another pray in their own words I have to pause and consider if I agree. There have been times when I just pray Matthew 6:9-13 silently during public prayer.

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