“When rituals become so common that they appear normal and unquestionable, they may subtly influence values without conscious awareness. By renewing the mind through Scripture and spiritual reflection, believers can discern whether certain practices align with their faith.”

— Consumer Culture and the Bible: Living Faithfully in an Age of Materialism by Gaius R Robert

John 12:43 (ESV)
for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

I had a good time in the Lord this morning. Let me say this while it is fresh on my mind.

Darkness is being brought into the light. It's happening in what we call "the church" and it's happening in the world. Deeds done behind closed doors are being brought out, screaming and clawing, into the open. Intent, motives, hidden things of the heart are being exposed.

You've have to be blind not to see it. My advice is to get everything in order and repent, and I'm looking in the mirror when I say that.

Almost DAILY, ministers, preachers, supposed "leaders" are being exposed. God is cleaning house, in my opinion. This is not a "thus saith the Lord" but just by what I am observing all around me every single day.

Events happen and I get a glimpse into the hearts of those who call themselves "christians" by the comments and the stance they take. Sometimes I don't say a word (shocking, I know). Sometimes I do. But whether I do or don't - I see it and take note of it.

And you know how that affects me? It makes me fall to my knees and repent. I ask God to deliver me from hypocrisy in my own life. Trust me when I say that I see sin first in me before I see it in others. I am always aware of my weaknesses because I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I consider myself the WORST "christian" among anyone.

But God . . .

“Jesus went to heaven with the very object of obtaining power there to bless abundantly. He does this as the heavenly Vine only through the medium of His people as His branches. Whoever, therefore, abides in Him, the Glorified One, bears much fruit, for he receives of the Spirit and the power of the eternal life of his exalted Lord, and becomes the channel through which the fulness of Jesus, who hath been exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, flows out to bless those around him.”

— Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus by Andrew Murray

“We settle for words in religion because deeds are too costly. It is easier to pray, “Lord, help me to carry my cross daily” than to pick up the cross and carry it; but since the mere request for help to do something we do not actually intend to do has a certain degree of religious comfort, we are content with repetition of the words.”

— The Essence of Christian Living: Teachings on Daily Conduct and Ethics from Renowned Theologians by A.W. Tozer, Thomas a Kempis, et al.

I am getting so much out of this book.

“Witnesses “are” much more than they “do.” The task for those who are disciples of Jesus is to prayerfully consider what our unique context requires and then provide testimonials to specific circumstances of how God’s loving, powerful, and grace-filled ways may be best manifested in and to our world. This is the essence of Christlike leadership.”

— The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God's Kingdom on Earth by Dallas Willard, Gary Black

“The Hebrew word for “disciple” is talmid (plural talmidim), meaning those who leave all they have known in the past to learn and practice the ways of their teacher. They endeavor to not only learn what their teacher knows but to become the same kind of man he is. That is what was practiced by the early disciples and should be practiced now. Men and women who look and love like Jesus should be the goal of all who follow Him.”

— An Ancient Blueprint for the Supernatural: The Lost Teachings of the Apostles, Hidden for Such a Time as This by Dr. Dennis Clark, Dr. Jennifer Clark

“Prior to this event (the Resurrection), God had always been restricted to a place on earth. The Garden. The Tabernacle. The Temple in Israel. Then, Jesus Himself. But now God indwelt the followers of Jesus!

“For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Cor. 6: 16 AMPC).

God was no longer confined. He lived in mobile, walking temples who would spread His message and presence to the four corners of the earth.”

— An Ancient Blueprint for the Supernatural: The Lost Teachings of the Apostles, Hidden for Such a Time as This by Dr. Dennis Clark, Dr. Jennifer Clark
https://a.co/bXQJh5B

Started a book that I could not get past the first chapter. BEWARE of Brian Zahnd, author of "Postcards from Babylon", "Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God" and other books. Pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri.

No hell, no eternal punishment, universal salvation, can't trust the Bible, and no blood atonement.

I posted a "One Star" Review on Amazon on "Postcards from Babylon" but they would not allow it. This guy is a master manipulator and deceiver. You guys know I don't normally post such stuff about people but this guy is in a class all by himself.

“In the King James Version of 1 Timothy 3: 1, Paul is wrongly recorded saying, “This is a true saying, If a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

Again, the word “office is “not present in I Timothy 3: 1. The Greek word translated bishop is the single word episkopos, which means “to tend or to oversee.”

So the word office was incorrectly placed in the verse and the word bishop was used to translate oversee, because the translators had bishops in King James’ day, and it seems that King James and his men wished to maintain their hierarchical positions of authority in the church.

A proper translation of 1 Timothy 3: 1 would simply be, “If a person sets their heart on overseeing, it is an honorable work they desire to do.”

There is no office of bishop at all in the text. It is just a person desiring a ministry of overseeing to which the Apostle is referring.”

— Fraudulent Authority: Pastors Who Seek to Rule Over Others by Wade Burleson
https://a.co/ac5BgHm

“Walk into any Christian church service and you’ll find it will usually begin with the singing of hymns, choruses, or praise and worship songs. One person (or a team of people) will both lead and direct the singing. In more traditional churches, it will be the choir director or the music minister. (In some churches, this role is even played by the senior pastor.) Or it may be handled by the choir itself. In contemporary churches, it will be the worship leader or the praise and worship team.

Leading up to the sermon, those who “lead worship” select the songs that are to be sung. They begin those songs. They decide how those songs are to be sung. And they decide when those songs are over. Those sitting in the audience in no way, shape, or form lead the singing. They are led by someone else who is often part of the clerical staff—or who has similar stature.

This is in stark contrast to New Testament teaching and example. In the early church, worship and singing were in the hands of all of God’s people. The church herself led her own songs. Singing and leading songs was a corporate affair, not a professional event led by specialists.”

— Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola, George Barna.

“Jack Deere gives a great illustration that we can use to think about “church.” “If you were to lock a brand-new Christian in a room with a Bible and tell him to study what the Scripture has to say about healing and miracles, he would never come out of the room a cessationist” [a person who believes that certain Spirit-gifts ceased with the closing of the New Testament canon] (Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Zondervan, 1993, p. 54).

I would reframe Jack’s illustration like this: if you were to lock a brand-new Christian in a room with a New Testament and tell him to study all it says about ekklesia, would he ever come out of the room with any revelation about one person being the key to church-life, and who would preach a sermon every Sunday morning? Yet we have constructed our key notions about church upon a foundation that is nowhere to be found in the New Testament.

Isn’t this cause for alarm and re-evaluation?”

— Don't Be Called Leaders by Jon Zens.

Please do not add me to any groups without my permission. I did not know this could even be done. Is there a setting to prevent this?

What's on my heart? God's true Ekklesia. Rediscovering organic fellowship. Preaching the gospel of The Kingdom. Making disciples. That's what's on my heart, LordsBook!

Custom Rod, Custom Paint, Custom Marbling. #GooseCreekRods

Fishing and enjoying God's magnificent creation! #GooseCreekRods

“The church and the ekklesia are not the same thing. Despite the ferocious attacks that Satan has launched upon the body of Christ down the centuries—not least of which has been the shackling of a once free and healthy body with chains wrought from the pride and self-interest of those who would raise themselves above others—God’s people will prevail.

Whilst church as we know it might collapse, we need to remember Jesus’ proclamation: ‘I will build my ekklesia, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ We can be confident in the knowledge that the ultimate outcome is assured. Nevertheless, there are still battles ahead, leaving no room for complacency; most regrettably, one of the biggest battles is going to be overcoming the legacy of church-as-a-thing-in-itself.”

— Mere Churchianity (Formerly 'Flatlining'): Church and the Threat it Poses to the Body of Christ by John Hampton

“The current state of affairs, then, is exactly as one might expect it to be, although I also believe that things will gradually become clearer as God leads and directs. However, what is clear, is that there are increasing numbers of people from all denominations for whom church as we know it clearly isn’t enough anymore; they simply want God for His own sake, without all the ‘church-stuff’ that gets in the way. Ironically, more and more people are making the decision to move out of church-as-a-thing-in-itself in order to move on in God.

Should you decide to come out of the existing set-up—not because you’re ‘rebellious’, or because you have a ‘problem with authority’, but because you firmly believe that institutional church does not square with the Scriptures—then be confident, and take strength from the fact that you are not the first to take such action and you certainly won’t be the last. Indeed, pray that more people who feel the same way will have the courage, the faith, and a level of desire and love for God that will cause them to step outside the confines of church-as-a-thing-in-itself and into the freedom that God promises to those who fellowship with Him.

For, ‘… the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty’. 2 Corinthians 3: 17 [NASB]”

— Mere Churchianity (Formerly 'Flatlining'): Church and the Threat it Poses to the Body of Christ by John Hampton

“In 1525, William Tyndale translated the first printed Bible into English. He translated the word ekklesia as “congregation” or assembly. This was in direct contradiction to the Roman Church. At that time, the Roman Church feared that removing the word “church” from the Bible would threaten their authority and hierarchy. This was one of the major reasons Tyndale was killed and burned at the stake by the Roman Church in 1536. When King James authorized his translation of the Bible in 1611, eighty-four percent of the New Testament was translated directly from Tyndale’s Bible. But King James made one translation rule clear: ekklesia was to be translated “church” and not “congregation” or “assembly.”

King James was the head of the Church of England (the Anglican church) and all forty-seven translators were members. Once again, for political and control reasons, the King James Version of the Bible mistranslated the Greek word ekklesia to “church.” Since then, just about every English version of the Bible has kept to this translation of “church.””

— ONE: Unfolding God's Eternal Purpose from House to House by Henry Hon