Debunking the Spooky

I really liked this from T.A. Sparks, trying to live as a believer apart from recognizing that what Jesus prayed for in John 17, “Father I pray that they will be one as we are one, you in me, me in you, us in them, has been fulfilled when you were received of the Father~”He that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit.”
Whatever way you prefer to put it, supernaturally natural, or naturally supernatural, we are living out in this world Christ in us as us, and we are definitely not trying to imitate Jesus.

Rich


From: The Risen Lord and the Things Which Cannot be Shaken - Chapter 6

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2).
We speak about natural laws. What are natural laws? Take the law of nourishment. Provided that law is complied with, honoured; and at the right time the body is given what it needs, not more, not less, the law of nourishment deals with that and quite spontaneously works out in development, growth, to express itself in various ways. It is the working of a natural law spontaneously. You do not sit down with the law, and watch it, and worry about it. What you do is to feed yourself, and leave all the rest to the law. If you violate the law you know all about it, but acting rightly in relation to the law you will not be fretting all day long about the law of nourishment, you will simply be taking your meals and getting on with your work. The result is that you are able to work, able to go on; you are nourished.

The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ is like that. It is a law of Life, and it works out in a practical way when respected and honoured. It works out spontaneously in certain directions. It has its own results quite naturally. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ is that law by which we become aware. That is the simplest way of putting things. The Lord Jesus knew that at a certain time He could not act, could not speak; He had no movement of the Spirit in quickening, no Life so to do at that time; in His spirit there was no movement of Life; the law was not active in the positive way. But when the Father, Who knew what was required in speech or action, saw that the time had come, He did not bend down and speak with an audible voice into His ear, and say, Now is the time! Say this! Do that! He simply quickened Him inwardly. The law of Life became active in that direction, and He knew by an inward quickening what the mind of God was. That is what Paul means when he says, "The mind of the Spirit is Life."

I wanted to include the following as an after thought that fits so well with what Sparks has said in the above. It's from the book, Christ-Esteem (Where the Search For Self-Esteem Ends).

"It is very important for our understanding and experience of the Christian life that we recognize that all Christian benefits, gifts, and fruit are found in the person of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. They belong to Jesus, not to us. As a result of various movements and emphases within the church, Christian consciousness often becomes directed at various spiritual pursuits. Some Christians go after inner, mystical experiences. Others attempt to discover their spiritual gifts or want to learn how to speak in tongues or to heal people. Many Christians today are pursuing prosperity or success as a characteristic by-product of being a Christian. Sanctification is desired as a reflection of individual personal holiness and morality. This separation of the content of the Christian life and the experience from the person of Jesus Christ is no small matter! It will inevitably lead into numerous distortions such as humanism, mysticism, occultism, or legalism."

"Our focus is not to be directed at spiritual gifts and blessings but at the person of Jesus Christ. If we desire the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that is acceptable to God, God gives us Jesus. If we seek peace, joy, and love, God gives us Jesus. If we desire comfort in the midst of sorrow, hope when things look hopeless, assurance when plagued by doubt, and contentment through the changing scenes of life, God gives us Jesus.
All spiritual gifts are simply manifestations of the new life of Christ dwelling with us, manifested spontaneously as we walk in the Spirit by directing our consciousness unto Jesus.
The theme of the letter of Paul to the Colossians is the centrality of Jesus Christ. The substance of the Christian faith, according to the apostle Paul, is found in the person and work of Christ. He warns the Colossians against seeking spiritual substance outside of Christ.

"See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men's ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).
Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath.
Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit."

“Man-up”

I’m not sure where I first came across this expression. Roughly, it means to step up, to take responsibility and to display fortitude, courage, steadfastness, etc. despite the odds or how tough the situation may be…all those ‘manly’ characteristics that generally make women swoon. Think old movie stars like John Wayne, Gregory Peck, and Charlton Heston – the ‘manly men’. Now, those guys knew how to man-up!

These days, for men to ‘man-up’ in our culture is practically a foreign concept: consider the men who won’t commit, men who try to ‘score’ with as many women as possible, men who shirk responsibility for the children that result from these liaisons, religious men who treat their wives as chattels or who demand submission despite how poorly they treat their spouses, men who willingly allow women to take over the man’s responsibilities, men who either won’t work or who skip from job to job, men who’d rather play video games than face life’s challenges.

Where did this all start, and why is it so rampant?

Here’s food for thought:

Scene: the Garden of Eden
Characters: Adam, Eve, the Serpent

For thousands of years, women have taken the blame for the downfall of the human race because Eve succumbed to temptation in the garden, but I ask you this: where was ADAM when Even was being tempted - far away in some distant vineyard? No – he was right there!

Could it possibly be that when God said they could eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that suddenly that very tree became mighty attractive to them? Consider Romans 7:7 that states:

I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, " YOU SHALL NOT COVET."

I am reminded of my Kindergarten kids – every year I wrestle with this dilemma: should I point out the red fire alarm box on the wall in my classroom? If I do, will it become irresistible to them to the point that somebody just has to touch it, or do I just ignore it and hope they will too?

So here’s my speculation:
I’m guessing that Adam was drawn to this tree like a bee to honey! I’m guessing that he secretly confided this attraction to Eve, but he wouldn’t man-up enough to actually act on his sinful inclination himself. How long were those two in the garden before the serpent arrived? Eons? Who knows? It doesn’t matter. It needn’t have been long at all – just long enough to inflame a desire so acute as to drive Adam wild! So, could it be that he conveniently allowed Eve to take the fall for something he himself longed to do? If so, he got a big pay-off. Not only did he get to blame the woman for the fall, but he also got to get a bite of the desired forbidden fruit. Remember, he was right there when Eve was being tempted and he did nothing! He didn’t step in to stop her, nor advise her to resist the enemy, nor chase the serpent away himself. After all, he had the authority. You’ve got to wonder why he didn’t exert it.

What was the result? For the next two thousand plus years, women have been treated as second-class citizens at best and less than dung at worst. A familiar Jewish adage goes something like this: “Thank you, God, that you didn’t make me a Gentile, a dog or a woman”. For centuries, women have been used and abused – by men.

Why is it that women typically have had to man-up far more often then the men in their lives? Why do so many men forsake their marriage vows, refuse to pay child support or hold down a job? Why is it that even Christian men shirk their responsibilities and allow their wives to take on the lion’s share and more of the workload when it comes to the workforce, child-rearing, meal preparation, laundry, etc. etc., all the while playing the ‘submit to me’ card?

On the other hand, I ask you: how many Christian men LOVE THEIR WIVES AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH??? I hazard to guess: not many.

If my speculation is true – that Adam didn’t man-up to Satan and allowed Eve to take the fall (literally) – it would explain why men, from that day in the garden on, have wimped out. It would also explain why women will never attain equality with men in this corrupt, Satan-inspired world system.

Where are the manly men? Where are the warriors? Where are the men who, like Jesus, are willing to persevere with courage and fortitude, no matter the cost?

Jesus broke the curse! The world is waiting for manly men, those who realize who they are in Christ and who have learned from the master Himself what it means to man-up.

Mgo

The 3 R's

In this day and age of humankind's arrogant crusade to 'save the world', certain buzz phrases are employed. At school, children are taught the 3Rs over and over and over again: Reduce, re-use, recycle. Here's a new one: "The Dysfunctional 3 Rs (of Christchun Thinking)".

You can never be wrong
You must always be righteous
You can never be real

So Richard are you anti-Christan, nope, I'm just anti- religious-CRAP!!

For those interested in (in my humble opinion) watching and listening to some refreshing insights, knock yourself out. Take a boo , or two

Rich