Glad to be a turtle

So what do people think of those who might question the motives of the modern visible church?

This video is one of my favorites when considering this.

Actually, it is so sad on so many levels that if one didn't laugh at it they'd cry for days,

A good test to see if your in the right place on any given Sunday

is too consider who the subject is during  sermon time.

 Preachers begin by saying  "it's not about you" and then for the next hour talk about you and the hearer never catches on.

In order to get away with this , the one preaching must inform their hearers that what they are about to say was given to them via the Lord thereby firmly implanting in those sitting in attendance that to question the speaker is to question God Himself.

This is a long time honored tactic. Preachers tell their audiences that there message is from God, or they say "the Lord told me (fill in the blank)

 This method will not be going away any time too soon. Hey,if it works, stick with it.

I make no apologies for being a turtle, as portrayed in this clip. Truthfully, the analogy is so adolescent & immature  the audience should be severely insulted, but their not and the reasons for that continues to baffle my brain.

TryreadNit! 

What does that mean?

Ever since my first time thru the Bible, back in 2007 and finding that what I heard most of my christian life didn't line up with what Bible actually said, I began to listen more intently to what others were saying.

 At times I would even ask people , what they meant by whatever it was they just said and to my amazement, many didn't know. They just said it. 

 I guess whatever they said sounded good but when asked what they meant or why they believe whatever it was they said, they didn't know.

 That is something that still amazes me. My primary focus here is what gets passed off as "christian" but the language tricks,  many use,  permeate every area of life, that is where communication is involved. 

Everything from what the media feeds us too everyday communication we have with family, friends, coworkers, etc. Words just fly around out there unhindered but when those words are in any way, slightly examined we find that the thoughts one strings together, make no sense! 

As this blog develops this will make more sense but for right now I'm about to include a classic example of words used that slip right by us. Some of the examples I use are from well known individuals and frankly, I don't have a gripe or beef with any one person. That's not my business. All I do is examine the thoughts strung together and ask - "What does that mean?" 

The following is an expert from a popular series being taught and I can't help but ask : what does that mean? 

👉.Daring faith requires taking risk. It requires the courage to step up and face the giants . . . and to face the unknown. It might be easier to stay in your comfort zone, but when you bravely step out to where God has called you, history is made and lives are changed forever. You must be bold and daring to live an extraordinary life of faith.

[ my thoughts will be in red and excerpts from this teaching in blue ]

Well, there it is. Nice looking paragraph isn't it? It's got words and everything. But what's it mean? 

A bunch of abstract subjective thoughts designed to set a stage for the reader so that when they come to God's Word, a well crafted premise will be firmly in place. On a cold reading it sounds really good. But when looked at closer one can't help but wonder and when that happens they might ask themselves "is this the stuff I've been feeding my brain on for so long?" 

The words I Highlighted,  direct the reader to areas of the law.

Just imagine the effect one , 1 hour sermon like this might have on your brain.

Take a closer look at that paragraph. 

I mean, think about that paragraph a minute. I sure did. Daring faith..

.... right off the bat, an obscure stage is being set. Since my mind is now being led in a direction of that which I should "do" ,  it swings open wide that door that enters God's Law, you know, those things that 'can't' save us and I can only guess that the remainder of this course will keep me aimlessly wandering those corridors of the law.

 Requires taking a risk....

.....oh boy, I sense a "Peter stepping out of the boat" sermon on the horizon. 

 That  passage wasn't about Peter  getting out of any boat. It was about Jesus being worshipped at the conclusion of passage. Jesus walking on water PROVES who He was.  We miss this because we make the passage about ourselves. Anyway, after one sentence my brain is securely placed on the "do - do" train

 it requires the courage to step up and face the giant's anytime we hear anyone in the church toss around the word "requires" you can be assured you've entered the land of the law and good luck trying to survive that. 

You see, the law was given to prove we're sinners. 

It was given to those unsaved. 

But sadly it's used as a standard for us to achieve. 

Since we can never achieve it people keep going back every Sunday to hear sermons that have a design of "keeping us on track." 
It should be obvious that people don't generally listen to what someone else "tells them to DO." 
While it is true, that obedience is vital in any REAL relationship, that obedience comes best and easiest thru love. 
Love for the one we seek a relationship with. In this case, Jesus 
But because our views of love are so warped today this concept gets lost. 
The only relationships I can think of, that God gave us to illustrate this is 1)parent/children & 2)marriage.
When my kids were little they would say things to me like "do you mean that If I don't do what you say (like clean your room) I don't love you " 
The answer to that is.. No! They don't love me. 

I need to be careful at this point because those involved in marriage relationships or parenting relationships where obedience is needed but not always displayed, because of our warped views of love (in this culture).. those not displaying obedience "think 'they are in love . Obedience is not viewed as a primary factor.
But is this love as told from God's point of view? 
Many times, no. 
That's why we don't like that kind of love  
It doesn't set well with our flesh. That's just a Christian way of saying, we don't' naturally 'like it, we even resist it or at least, redefine it. 


If I have to tell someone I love or says they love me, a thousand times to do something and they never do what I ask,  chances are they don't love. They only think they show love.
But isn't that what some (so called) churches do? They give endless sermons telling people the same things over and over. Things pertaining to how they should live. And people keep going, til they tire of it. 
That's Not the role of a church. 
People obey because they love. Not because their told over and over. 
The reason I'm taking so much time with this point is because  the reason people attend these type churchs so long is because people can't recognize the language that's used that disguises the fact that their being told over and over to strive for something that's unattainable and that's passed off as Bible teaching. That kind of "language" is in this teaching series (daring faith)  We twist scripture to support all this. 
People always want to think they have a role in whatever the do  
Because of that, giving them something to do every Sunday appeals to them. 

My question is, what happens to a believer when they finally discover that the Bible isn't saying what so many churches say it says ? 
That's what happened to me. 



Lets look at some more abstract language that can fool believers :

.... and to face the unknown  those doing this study are hooked at this point. They are now scrambling to come up with an idea , something they can do to "change the world."

"It might be easier to stay in your comfort zone," this is how many Christians think and talk. This language is so tricky . Is plain old everyday living really that bad? 

"but when you bravely step out to where God has called you, history is made and lives are changed forever. You must be bold and daring to live an extraordinary life of faith." Be sure to have plenty of bags packed for the guilt trip your headed on. 

I'll tell ya, those who hold to this kind of thinking have so cleverly placed it a container of human hopes & desires that if anyone dare object to it, they come away beaten and humiliated.

 When will we get tired of so called christian philosophies that work better in the unsaved world?  Most of my non christian acquaintances definitely have "Daring faith". 

I guess I'm tired of being told I've missed the point to series like this, a series that encourages one to use their own hopes and desires to achieve 

When the subject of faith becomes "me" , it creates a weird environment where Daring faith gets applied to a growing christian as well as a suicidal bridge jumper.
That's gotta prompt some serious examination. 

There's little doubt that the deconstruction of language has led to an improper approach to the Scriptures .  I challenge anyone to reveal in Scripture where Faith, when demonstrated ,  gets applied to ME. 
Ephesians even says its a gift ,and why ? So no one can boast. How simple can this be?

 Putting the words "daring " & "faith"  together create some weird odd thing that was never meant to be. It keeps one coming back for more, which is probably why it's delivered in a drawn out series. 

Anyway, the language used in a series like this make no sense when placed in the light of the entire Word of God. For every verse that support it I can find five that refute it and God's Word was never meant to be interpreted or used  like this. 

tryreadNit! 

My first post. 
Who reads any other book on this planet the same way as most modern Christians read their Bible's?  As I get better at posting, I'll give examples of how nuts we are and how easily one can be fooled by fast talking preachers. If people would only slow down and read the darn thing (their Bible's) they'd quickly see how they've been duped.