Religion

What I am about to share here I know will be a bitter pill for many to swallow, but the truth is that outside of Christ it is ALL religion - period!
Every time I hear either from my own mouth or from so many others using terms such as “organized religion” “institutional church” or others, what I keep hearing is folks simply describing mere symptoms of the problem which is in my opinion religion.

Too many are still seeing the “institutional church” to be their enemy when in fact it is merely a shadow of an entity that has successfully hidden and disguised itself within this outer expression of smoke and mirrors. The father of all lies, and religion being but an expression of those lies, is what has beguiled the entire world. Scriptures report that the whole world lies under the (influence) power of the wicked one, Satan.

Without eyes to see the truth of an impetus behind empowering ideologies, doctrines and teachings of philosophy, etc. we will keep shadow-boxing at best. But, if we by God’s spirit begin to recognize that any and all ensnarement comes by adhering to and imbibing from a commingled message, one of grace mixed with (religion) law then we are seeing beyond shifting shadows.

I love how Jesus exposed the real source of corruption and entanglement when he warned his disciples NOT about the Pharisees, but of the LEAVEN of the Pharisees, and to further elucidate this point I want to say this: that it would be so easy to mistake what Jesus said regarding the leaven. It was not a building or a teaching exclusive to a small demographic known as the Pharisees, but in my opinion Jesus was making it undeniably clear that this ‘leaven’ is in us ALL!

According to scriptures we, the re-birthed have been “translated out of the kingdom of darkness and been transferred into our Father’s family of love”.
We have been made one with a Life that is totally foreign to the world we were all born into; it is that which was made available to Adam and Even in the Garden represented in the Tree of Life, and in choosing to imbibe in ‘knowledge’ vs life, they didn’t loose anything, they of their free choosing forfeited that privilege instead.

There is no longer any corruption or toxic contamination within the real you and me, we have been made whole and complete in becoming one with God our Father in our spirit union, but, within our flesh which includes our soul and body the hideous parasite of sin that covertly and insidiously works to try to keep us from seeing and knowing the experiential reality of His incorruptible and indestructible life from being “fully formed” in us as us! The Matrix of religion has a motto much like the Borg from the TV series Star Trek the Next Generation, “resistance is futile, and you will be assimilated.”
The invasiveness of His life has present tense, freed us from the power of sin and death, this holy (wholly) and righteous infection is slowly infecting and affecting more and more of the rest of us that so desperately needs His saving keeping grace.
I see it being so much more than simply being changed; it is a continuous ongoing transformation.

Rich

Warning Labels

We have an inclination to see that being deceived by others is the danger. Actually, it is much closer than we might think. The deception resides in us all!

So much (if not all) that a person gets from reading the bible is simply that the scriptures are written in a reporting type of format. I believe it was designed that way but I also see that reporting format is designed to provoke thoughts, stimulate commentary or conversation and for us to ask questions.

Here is an example. Jesus said, “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Warning labels are not put on things that are not harmful. Jesus chose to warn his disciples… but I see it to be much broader and infinitely more pervasive than the warning being relegated to the religious leaders and the religious establishment.
The cartoon character Pogo was illustrates this: “We have met the enemy…and he is us”. I would paraphrase that remark: “We have been warned that the enemy resides within our flesh, all of us – yes, you and me Christian, so beware.” I’m not sure that like us, the disciples saw past Jesus’ warning (according to their mindset) and relegated this corrupting influence to the religious leaders.

Right now in the wake of an unprecedented awakening deep within the hearts of countless numbers of people throughout the earth, those wearing the label of Christian and possibly many who have simply had a close encounter with this God of love (which breaks through all demographic lines), are being sized up afresh for religious bondage. This is not a new phenomenon.

The total, 100% unconditional love and acceptance God the Father has for us should be what infiltrates and colors everything we say and do, but those under the direct influence of the father of lies and religion are wanting to coral or funnel us into another system of bondage. If you were to ask these ‘leaders’ of their intent, I am convinced they, like the disciples Jesus was warning, would look at you blankly in light of their perceived intense sincerity of simply wanting what is best for the body of Christ.
It’s important to note that both the ‘leaders’ and the ‘led’ have the same propensity to be deceived, since the father of lies is resident within us all. I want to emphasize that I am neither preoccupied nor fascinated with the devil, but the warning Christ gave is timeless.

I have so many more thoughts on this covert, subversive undercurrent making merchandise out of His sons, maybe I will continue later with some of them in another post.

Rich

No More Bull Shit

This may be one of my last postings here on my blog for a while, I’ll see, as things progress.

I have seen and continued to be lovingly reminded of the bull shit that continues to relentlessly harass me, and yes this awareness is all coming from my loving Father’s stubborn, unrelenting loving heart for me.

Without knowing and I mean just that KNOWING/experiencing His pure unconditional love for me, then its all bull shit no matter how it’s sliced or diced. His love alone is the only thing that can free me to be known for not only who I am, but who’s I am, and that has been the heartbeat/pulse of my life ever since this earth shattering awakening within me after seeing as it were my whole life being flushed down the toilet after being ‘euphemistically’ let go/fired from the ‘ministry’ from what I had been pursuing since he apprehended me in 1972.

When I say ‘earth shattering’ I mean just that, I am not being melodramatic in the least. Anyone who will try and tell me that having an ever increasing deepening relationship/holy encounter with this God/Father that IS a consuming fire is a cake walk is sadly and badly mistaken.

I am seeing but smidges of the overtness and the covertness of the indelible stain of sin that has permeated my flesh and ALL flesh, and there is NO escaping this horrific bastard apart from KNOWING the true, unconditional love of God the Father.
I was so profoundly motivated and encouraged by what my brother Darin Hufford shared the other day, (Permission to be Human) I would go as far as saying I was impaled with the truth of the Father’s great love that presented a fresh and living way of escape from all of the true lies I know I believe and those that are non the less covertly keeping me operating, being known for who I am NOT!

I can so readily identify with the lowly chameleon, because of knowing so much shit in my head about God’s love, a graphic picture that comes to mind are those babies born with huge heads because of water on the brain.
Without the reality of His love defining me as His son, bringing a living importance to what it means to have value, worth and significance, then because there are NO vacuums, I will easily take on the role of the chameleon, blending in with whatever bull shit it takes to try and define who I am.

I have never been more ecstatic in the devastation and deconstruction my loving Papa has and is doing in my life and in the lives of so many others.The church that Jesus is building is no bogus bull shit lie, what He saw in so much religion 2000 years ago has not changed one wit.
Outwardly the overt piousness/respectability of the religious leaders was more often than not but a cloaking device masking the covertness of them being as Jesus himself so lovingly and aptly put it, ‘You brood of vipers, you outwardly give the impression of that which is pure, but inwardly you are but empty tombs, filled with death and corruption-dead mans bones.

I so want to be one of His sons as a result of knowing/experiencing His love for me, not only worship Him with my lips, but deeply as well from and with my Whole heart.

That I might KNOW HIM!

Rich