Christian, Inspirational

Abdication

The Lord is our healer. He has given specific power to local churches to heal.

James 5:14-16 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. [16] 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.

The church has largely abdicated the power to heal to modern medicine. Sadly, I think most read the above passages and simply don’t believe.

In this time of Covid-19 many churches have also abdicated the duty (I say duty and not right) to meet.

May the Church believe! Lord help us with our unbelief.

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Christian, Inspirational

Unbelief

From subtle to nonsensical, certain teachers take a knock at our faith.

One preacher stated, God looked away from Jesus on the cross, because he cannot look upon sin. I call nonsense. How will God judge if he cannot look upon sin, even the world’s placed upon his son? How is God all knowing if he cannot see sin? My interpretation of Jesus saying in Matthew 27:46, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, is this: Jesus was in great pain and distress and he felt very much alone. My suspicion is God never looked away, not for a second, and when his time of wrath and judgment is come, he will recall every moment of Jesus’ suffering.

Another preacher said that Jesus prepared and orchestrated ahead of time his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. He went so far as to say Jesus set up the placement of the donkey and the availability of the upper room to be discovered by his uninformed disciples. If you cannot believe Jesus knew these thing because God knew them, I think you’re struggling to look for unbelief. Recognizing miracles requires belief that God has power to do them. You can try to limit God the Father or Jesus, but you’re only hurting yourself and gullible listeners. Doubt begets unbelief.

Words that should perk up your ears and actually inspire doubt:

God cannot …

God is not able to …

God must … .

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Christian, Inspirational

Unbelief

At one point, I thought I would spend my life in the Church of Christ denomination. Not because they do everything right, but because of the churches I am aware of, the Church of Christ seemed the lesser of error and evils. At the very least it has the right name. The COC understands baptism and offers the Lords Supper weekly.

Yet, I have concluded to leave the Church of Christ denomination. Here’s why. As a denomination they misinterpret 1 Corinthians 13:10 KJV But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. They erroneously declare this verse to mean an end of miracles because Jesus was perfect, he has been here, and thus the season of miracles is over.

Why is this crucial. Read the warning in 2 Timothy 3:5 KJV which accurately describes the modern Church of Christ denomination! Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

They sing songs, they pray, they offer the Lord’s Supper, but they do not believe in the very real power of God to perform miracles today.

It goes further than this, as I have spoken with and overheard members of the COC speak unbelief and dissension. One preacher said, regarding Pharoah and the plagues, he didn’t believe the Lord could reach inside a person and harden a heart. This is more than unbelief. It is argument against the word of God which clearly says God hardened Pharaohs heart. One said God couldn’t grant knowledge miraculously, but rather only through study and work. I was told this was logical. Another said he didn’t believe God could help a man walk perfectly before the Lord. These not only reflect disbelief they actively contradict the Word of God.

I suspect these opinions are mirrored in Church of Christ churches all over the nation.

This is serious enough that one should dissassociate with the COC. Why? Because God says to turn away. I have speculated maybe their deafness to truth and discernment is connected to their unbelief. I have also wondered if they are secretly and by majority the people described in 2 Timothy 3:2-7. If verse 5 is true could the inverse description of the people also be true?

All speculation aside, God commands we leave them in 2 Timothy 3:5 and He knows what’s best for us, his children. When someone wants to argue logic, remind them our relationship with God is not only logical, but passionate as well!

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