Actually, we have had several mild winters in a row. I can remember winters where it was one noreaster after another accompanied by frigid air for what seemed like forever. But these things run in cycles so we should enjoy the mild winters when we have em.
The best thing about the seasons is its constant reminder of the Gospel.
Death & resurrection can be seen in so much of nature but most folks miss it entirely.. It's easy to miss in this fast paced culture.
Spring is a time for new beginnings. I wonder if that's why I'm thinking I need to take this blog in a new direction.
Ever since I began this, my focus has been threefold.
1) Why isn't the Bible preached in its entirety ?
Ever since my first time thru the Bible, ten years ago, cover to cover, I noticed the visible church wasn't teaching what it actually said. I grew up in the church yet the things I was taught or what I learned always seemed "off" or somewhat abstract in nature. In other words anything could apply to what I was hearing .
Whether it was my favorite radio ministry or from any pulpit, God's complete message was somehow taking on something "different." I just couldn't put my finger on what it was. Those I used to listen too sounded so sincere. They sounded as though they knew what they were talking about. After all, their the ones who went to seminary, not me, so I would spend years, decades even just figuring I wasn't bright enough to get it. One thing I knew for sure was, the problem wasn't the Bible.
Then one day I started listening to the Bible on audio. It didn't take long to discover that I never heard any of this before. This might be because we were taught to read our Bibles wrong. We read them in broken up segments , isolated stories which can apply to a variety of issues . No other book gets treated this way , except for maybe a dictionary.
But Gods Word is a continuous stream of thought dealing with only one theme that runs from cover to cover . Gods theme is to restore things.
We do not comprehend things this way due to our self centered nature.
We have chopped up Gods Word into so many small pieces , its hardly recognizable anymore.
So the problem wasn't the Bible. The problem was, this Book isn't preached anymore. Huge sections never get read. Or the church just says, read it yourself. And in truth, that is correct. But also in truth is , people know most don't have or take the time. The underlining thought that was developed over the decades was that many of the books of the Bible were not important enough to read in church. The only time minor old testament prophets were referred to was when someone was trying to get people to give more money or some such thing as that. Without anyone ever noticing, scripture became sub points to a sermon. In other words, the sermon was the main meal and scripture was an appetizer.
But Gods Word is a continuous stream of thought dealing with only one theme that runs from cover to cover . Gods theme is to restore things.
We do not comprehend things this way due to our self centered nature.
We have chopped up Gods Word into so many small pieces , its hardly recognizable anymore.
So the problem wasn't the Bible. The problem was, this Book isn't preached anymore. Huge sections never get read. Or the church just says, read it yourself. And in truth, that is correct. But also in truth is , people know most don't have or take the time. The underlining thought that was developed over the decades was that many of the books of the Bible were not important enough to read in church. The only time minor old testament prophets were referred to was when someone was trying to get people to give more money or some such thing as that. Without anyone ever noticing, scripture became sub points to a sermon. In other words, the sermon was the main meal and scripture was an appetizer.
Thankfully I have found there to still be congregations that do feel it is important enough to read the entire Bible.
What a difference this makes.
The best way to see this difference is by comparing line by line preaching to sermon topical preaching. Now this might take several months of comparing to "get it" so if you are in a hurry, forget it.
It takes time to notice how people communicate with one another.
Some people communicate by saying you have a problem and here is what you need to do"
Others communicate by saying you have a problem and this is what God did"
I have found that most people in this culture do not like being told what they need to do.
Too many factors go into this so clarifying this might be a problem.
I will address this in my second point. It has to do with the agendas of the one speaking to you.
Those who preach line by line are more accountable to the Bible itself.
Those who preach topical sermons , using random scriptures are more accountable too (not much)
Nine out of ten times, those random verses used are not even talking about how they are being used by preachers . But most people don't ask so they never know.
I myself still love topical preaching. But I can assure you that my discernment radar is on high alert and I always check what is being said. I have promised myself I will not be fooled again.
This is all I am cautioning others on. Enjoy your favorite book or preacher. But please, do yourself a favor. Take a few minutes to research what you are reading or listening too.
When we forsake the reading of Gods Word ,church's can become what some call group therapy. This is when the Bible becomes a self help book. The same people come week after week with problems and they are reminded constantly that they are never quite good enough. They are exhorted to just keep trying. This is "law" preaching at its finest. Portions of scripture are pulled out of context to address any number of problems.
I guess this is what happens when Gods entire Word is not clearly read or understood.
The point is , this entire Bible is not be being preached. If this is the case, then what is being preached?
Little did I know how dangerous a question that would be.
2) How did the abuse of Gods Word occur ?
So I began asking questions. How can this happen? Was I the only one who felt this way?
God led me to the answers slowly. The abuse of scripture has many elements.
Agendas top the list. The way I define that is : whatever a person is thinking every time the approach the Bible, chances are good that they are going to want you to think that too.
Now agendas can be nice sounding things. Like "church growth" or "Kingdom living" or "getting people saved"
What could be wrong with those?
Those are Bible ideas aren't they?
Well, yes they are, but the way agendas operate is by isolating biblical principles and preaching them accordingly.
In doing so the entire Bible now needs to fit into the agenda. When that's done, the Old Testament stories (for example) become abstract. Like in the account of David and Goliath and the giant becomes your problems. Nice sounding idea but far from the intended meaning.
Since there are as many agendas as there are stars in the sky you can see how this can be a problem.
Of course, the biggest agenda in this narcissistic culture of ours is "you."
People think the Bible is about them so they read it accordingly. And why not? This is the way it gets preached week after week.
The best way to combat agendas is with context. Reading the Bible in its context and comparing it to what you've been hearing is truly eye-opening. It's then you will need to either choose between the inconsistent nature of religion or the consistent message of God.
Context will put back all those isolated biblical principles where they belong.
Once that is done you can now compare God's Word in context to what you've been hearing for many years.
It won't take long to see that it's not "what's" being said but "how" it's being said.
This makes spotting the severe abuse of God's Law and gospel much more recognizable.
The way I define this abuse of law & Gospel is (in its simplest form)
preaching to the non Christian what he doesn't want (the gospel) & preaching to the Christian what he can not do. (the law)
When a believer begins to see what the purpose of the law is and connect that with the role of the gospel, things begin to click as to what went wrong in the visible church.
Language is the key to spotting this abuse. Twisting words is a favorite method of this abuse. This is extremely subtle though. That's because these twisted Scriptures appeal to our human nature and emotions. Trying to reason with that is no easy task.
For the non Christian that emotion is anger (to what the Bible says)
For the Christian the emotion is tied to pride simply because they tend to make the Bible all about 'themselves ". They won't admit that but most people usually won't. It's all in the language. Its all in perspective. People read the Bible with themselves as the primary factor. This twists every aspect of the Bible , from prayer to relationship.
For example : people like to say "I call Jesus my friend" (thereby making us something so special and that we somehow initiate this friendship)
When in truth it should be said Jesus calls me friend (thereby causing us to wonder why He would do that because if we know anything at all about this Bible, it reveals that we are not as wonderful as we think we are. But people do not read it from that perspective)
Since people read the Bible with themselves primarily in mind, all of the passages become abstract.
People read from a perspective that goes from us (or me) reaching out to God.
This mangles any and all passages.
The Bible runs the line that sees God reaching down to mankind.
Many will never understand this , so quite often I give up trying to explain it.
People "think" its a moot point .
Context fixes this but it takes a long time. People in this modern American culture wont take the time.
People read from a perspective that goes from us (or me) reaching out to God.
This mangles any and all passages.
The Bible runs the line that sees God reaching down to mankind.
Many will never understand this , so quite often I give up trying to explain it.
People "think" its a moot point .
Context fixes this but it takes a long time. People in this modern American culture wont take the time.
The Bible is not about me or you!
It is about Jesus alone. All the stories. All the characters. Everything being types and shadows of Jesus. Any other way makes these types and shadows about you along with being about Jesus.
And in this self absorbed culture of ours, which one do we think will get precedence?
The consequences of this selective, cherry picking method of reading our Bibles has made itself known in every aspect of Christian culture. From literature to music.
What's most remarkable to me is that so many heresies can be seen so clearly, just by reading the Bible as it was intended.
As a book!
3) What happens in us when Gods Word is handled properly
Several things:
1) The first thing that will happen after your first time thru the entire Bible is, you can't wait until you read it again (an again and again.) You might find yourself listening to it as you jog or work or just take a trip to the store and back.
2)Another thing that happens is, we begin to talk about the Bible more , in casual conversation and this really annoys people. Even other Christians. You will bring up Bible examples in conversation concerning practically anything. This is because you have Gods Word on your mind constantly, and that's good.
3) We tend to step back and look at history as a whole. We begin to think generationally.
In other words, we can see the effects in our culture due to past generations influences.
We see in Gods Word the importance of generations and the importance of family. Today people think history goes back to when they were born.
4) we begin to think more about Israel. This is huge. People do not think like this . It is next to impossible to understand the Bible if we have no real respect and admiration for the Land of Israel.
If people read straight thru this Bible and don't wonder why God spent so much time giving us information on Israel , something is wrong. People are so busy trying to apply all these accounts of Israel to their lives (thanks to modern preaching) they miss big time what it is all about.
5) we begin to understand that we have a King. Here again, people do not think this way.
And we are all subject to that King.
But the modern church tried to make "subjects" or servants of people BEFORE preaching the sovereignty of God. That is backwards.
It is in our sinful nature to resist violently, being subject to anyone. Whether its kids to parents, wives to husbands or man to God. Mankind resists serving anyone.
If we do not understand our sin and if we do not see the Holiness of God, then why would we want to serve this King?
People just do not think this way. But God does. One thing for sure, depending on how long a person has gone to modern church, will determine how much junk they must rid their minds of when it come too the concepts of the Land of Israel and Believers being ruled over by a King. Preachers have played fast and loose with those two subjects and nearly none of what they preach appears anywhere in the Bible. But it sure sounds good.
Yes, we have a King. Now. Not later but Now. This King is the very same King Israel rejected just prior to them demanding a king of their own.
Just because they could not physically see their King (God) they rejected Him.
But guess what? God fixed all that by doing what He said He would do.
Now Jesus is our King, sitting on the throne at this very moment. But , just like Israel of old, just because we can not physically see this King, we too reject Him.
But this time it will be in favor of a one world type leader.
Strange how things repeat themselves,
But living life knowing that we serve a sitting on the throne King (Jesus) right now will definitely change the way we think, guaranteed.
.
Not understanding Israel and not knowing we have a King , are two key factors in not understanding our Bibles
6) After a considerable amount of time, reading God's Word thru, "words" begin to have meaning again. And when words have meaning, concepts now have meaning.
In today's culture, words have no meaning and concepts are whatever people want them to be.
7) By reading every word of the Bible , even without knowing it we are adding context to it.
You will begin to wonder why Israel is mentioned so much (this means you are on the right track)
You also begin to wonder why so many of the passages you thought were about you , really aren't .
You might begin comparing what you are reading to what you have been hearing and it might disturb you that the two are not the same.
8) When a believer gets to a point where they are slowing everything down as a way to better understand things, I cant lie to ya and say that things will get easier. just the opposite .Things will get harder. That is not a bad thing though. Keep in mind , most people operate on feelings and experiences. The Bible does not promote that.
I can safely say that my life was so much better before I began comprehending this way.
Keep in mind, I say that from a sinful selfish point of view. That view seeks to avoid any confrontation. That view seeks to avoid anything that remotely make them feel uncomfortable. That view does not want to rock the boat. This view goes with the flow. Does no research (because its to hard) This view asks few questions and assumes much.
So then what is the advantage of slowing things down then? Simple.
Peace of mind that is real.
So many religions and philosophies say the same thing but deep down , they do not have any peace at all. It is hard work , suppressing the truth day in and day out.
9) Reading Gods Word also creates undesirable effects to be aware of. We tend to become critical. This can not be avoided but much prayer is needed at this point.
There are reasons the visible church avoids the major and minor prophets in the Bible.
These warnings do not fit the modern template created in the visible church.
Since Gods Word is much more harsher than I could ever be, it is not me people get frustrated with.
I can assure you that if the entire Book of Jeremiah was properly read and understood , people would reconsider much of what they believe. Not too worry . A majority of church's would not touch the entire Book of Jeremiah with a ten foot pole. Only select verses ever make most sermons. What happens when believers find out that much of what they love , God hates?
This is truly eye opening.
This is truly eye opening.
But people are so used to combing the worlds methods to their own thinking by adding Christian language to it, or they simply ignore it all together.
God has a lot too say about this but many people will never know. These people are the ones who think Jeremiah is telling them that God has a plan to prosper them. If it weren't so sad it would be laughable.
But trust me , from the worlds standpoint , it does not get better from there.
10) But from Gods viewpoint, the joy and peace and excitement reach heights unimaginable. And this awaits the believer who reads Gods Word in context, as it was meant to be read.
The more you read and pray and understand, the further from the world and from the visible church you will become. .
People today have no clue as too how awful this thing called pride is. Gods Word in context changes that. And trust me, this is tough stuff. Finding out how you truly are is not for the faint of heart. However bad you think you are ( and most don't think they are too bad) its far much worse than you can imagine. If that sounds bad than all that means is that you truly don't get it.
I challenge anyone, I dare them even , to read that Bible from cover to cover.
When you finally do the best thing in the world awaits you. And that best thing is Clarity of mind!
Take the focus off of you and put it with Jesus and find out if that's not true.
I've narrowed it down to those 3 things but frustration over Christians saying whatever they want eventually got to me and this blog was a good place to express that frustration along with some understanding of it.
The visible church works best in the subjective abstract realm. Asking Christians what they mean by the things they say or post online is not accepted to well. They don't know why they believe what they do.
I probably spent more time than was needed trying to figure that out. If someone is serious in wanting to know what has happened in the visible church, God will show you. But it will take a long time so be patient.
I have been sensing lately that it is time to move on. What I mean is , basically it just boils down to people do not research what they read or watch or listen too. People talk so fast these days and most people only discern by what feels right to them at any given moment. Christian or not , we all think this way. This allows any wind of doctrine to take hold. Whether or not it makes sense or not is not a factor.
All I have been doing , since that first time thru the Bible , is slowing things down and putting issues back into context.
It does not only have to be the Bible we put in context. Any issue of the day can be seen more clearly when context is added. For example, people have all kinds of beliefs about this country but these same people have no clue how it operates or where it originated from.
I love it when someone interviews a demonstrator at , lets say, a global warming event and when they are asked what is global warming they have no clue. This is so typical today , in every arena and especially the visible church.
I thank God all the time for the many good resources I have found in helping me grow spiritually. I shared most of them on this blog and my other blog.
But I need to put into practice all I am learning.
I will keep posting on this blog but I need to focus on the other blog I started (link)
The difference (to me) between these two blogs is, one asks "how did this happen" and the other asks "what do I do now"
The second blog has a lot of video and audio on it. Things that are not mainstream Christian. Its like if you were sifting for gold , that blog is what's left after all the dirt an grime is gone.
Since no one anywhere has a perfect theology , we need to know how to sift thru the areas of different doctrines to get what's scriptural.
There is a big difference between teaching Gods Word from differing perspectives and teaching clear unquestionable heresy. For example, those who endorse the Shack or read from the Message or other books such as Jesus calling or love wins demonstrate a lack of research of who puts this out.
I am giving them the benefit of the doubt there.
We need to know the difference and that is what my other blog is for. That and more. But for sure , it is not mainstream.
When I say I want to move on , what I mean is, I seem to have become obsessed with learning all the ways people use to manipulate someone else. In most cases , people don't even know they are doing it. I know I didn't , in myself. But when I look back now, over the years , I can see clearly how I also played word games with friends and family.
My wife used to call this passive aggressive behavior and since at the time I did not even know what that meant I assumed her to be wrong.
The hardest thing to come to grips with , that she was right. Funny how we can see these easily in others but not ourselves.
Moving on just means, I gotta let go of my frustration at myself for being so foolish. I need to repent of trying to play God by trying to fix everyone's problems or in my thinking that I know all the answers. I want to take the phrase having a relationship with Jesus out of the abstract realm and make it real. This takes time.
Time to rid our minds of all the junk we have been putting into it for years.
Even though that other blog I do is still a work in progress , please check it out sometime.
http://www.trylivenit.com/?m=0
That blog is for serious searchers for Truth.
I need to focus more on that. I am getting ready to post thoughts on how this culture has mutilated the area of "Kingdom."
Why do we make the simple so complicated?
God Bless.
tryreadNit!
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