Category: Thoughts from Others

Someone shared this post on Substack from Michael Sullivant and it’s so true.

A church, a ministry, even a family can possess all the right ingredients.

Sound doctrine.

Clear vision.

Disciplined practices-prayer, study, generosity, fasting, service.

Everything Scripture commends. Everything a serious Christ-follower would affirm.

Picture a kitchen counter covered with ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, baking powder. All present. All necessary. All measured.

Mix them together-what do you have?

Batter.

Not cake. Not nourishment. Not delight.

Just potential.

What’s missing?

An oven.

Without sustained heat, the ingredients never integrate. They remain a loose mixture-technically correct, yet structurally unfinished.

In the life of a community, that “oven” is relational joy.

Not hype. Not sentimentality. Not superficial friendliness.

Relational joy-the settled experience of being genuinely glad to be together in Christ.

The atmosphere of hesed love.

The peace of secure attachment.

The warmth of belonging.

Shared stories. Shared laughter. Shared tears.

A living sense of “we” – who are glad to be together.

Without that sustained atmosphere, identity formation into Christlikeness stalls. In some cases, it even reverses. People become dutiful but brittle. Busy but disconnected. Active but inwardly cold.

Practices alone do not transform us.

Heat does.

When batter is placed into an oven-at the right temperature, for the right amount of time-the ingredients undergo integration. Something new emerges. Structure forms. Texture changes. Aroma fills the room.

Transformation happens under sustained warmth.

This is how character forms.

This is how attachment deepens.

This is how the image of Christ becomes embodied in real people.

Too much of our witness to a hungry world has been the equivalent of serving bowls of goopy batter-impressive ingredients, carefully measured theology, plenty of activity…but no integrating heat.

The world does not need more batter.

It is starving for cake.

If we want durable disciples-joyful, resilient, emotionally mature, rooted in love-we must tend the oven as carefully as we measure the flour.

The question is not merely, “Are we doing the right things?”

The deeper question is:

Are we cultivating the atmosphere where those things can actually transform us?

Until we build the oven, we will keep wondering why nothing rises. This is the slower, holy labor of becoming a joyful people.

You can find out more about Micahel Sullivant by checking him out on Substack. To receive my bi-monthly newsletter sign up below.

At 98 years young, my good friend Buff Scott, Jr. is still active producing his weekly Reformation Rumblings newsletters and campaigning for true reform. Below is an excerpt from a recent newsletter. You can get on his mailing list by emailing him at renewal@mindspring.com.

Nowhere in the New Covenant Scriptures do we find an example of any man being imported by a congregation of believers to function as THE minister, THE pastor, or THE preacher. And that is because the early believers ministered to and edified one another. They didn’t find it necessary to import a professional ecclesiastic to do their ministering for them.

They exported men to evangelize, and supported them financially, but no one was ever imported to do what all believers should be doing-ministering to one another. In our contemporary scene, we hire and pay big bucks to a specialist to function as a proxy, the exact opposite of what the early believers practiced.

Who Breaks The “Bread of Life”?
A “Church Bulletin” from Colorado tells it all. The “evangelist” announces his resignation and expresses his appreciation that God has granted him the noble opportunity of “ministering to the saints.” He has been with them five and one-half years and feels it is time to move on to other “evangelistic fields.” In his concluding remarks, he states, “We pray you will find a suitable man to break the bread of life unto you.”

The modern-day picture is conspicuous. The bread of life cannot be broken without the employment of a professional ecclesiastic. The saints would suffer from spiritual malnutrition without him. He’s the minister, the priest, the preacher, the pastor, and the orator. Shades of hallelujah, how far we have drifted! We now demand to be spoon-fed by a special feeder. We have not matured to the point of feeding ourselves. So we all gather at the church corral on Sunday mornings to warm pews while an imported hireling prepares our spiritual food and spoon-feeds us. Is it any wonder we haven’t matured in the faith?

Let’s Get Down To Brass Tacks
Any principle or practice we introduce in our assemblies today that either denies or interferes with the reciprocity of the saints, such as our “one another” exchanges or joint participation-as the scriptures define it-is a grave innovation. We ought to be reminded that if a congregation can import a man and pay him a big salary to do all or most of the public speaking, the same congregation can import another man and pay him a healthy salary to do all of the singing, and still another man to do all of the praying-for a salary, of course. Well, you get the idea. The principle that allows one allows the others.

To state it more explicitly, if importing specialists to feed the flock is heaven’s way, all of our gifts can be performed by proxy. As a result, all we need do is warm a pew and wait till heaven arrives. For, after all, we’re paying others to do our ministries.

The universal biblical principle, found throughout, is that in the assembly of the saints, all gifts are to be shared mutually. The “hired hand” interferes with and disrupts this principle. Do you suppose Paul had the professional minister in mind when he told the Roman believers they were “able to instruct one another” (Rom. 15:14)? Surely he was not referring to a one-man instructor! And was Paul coming off the wall with a lot of nonsense when he told the believers at Colossae they were to “teach and admonish one another” (Col. 3:16)? The one-man admonisher was nowhere to be found.

The Rule In Each Assembly
In the early assemblies, there was a mutual exchange of praises, teaching, sharing, and singing. No one person did it all. The Thessalonians were told to “encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11). And there’s more. The point is: When we substitute this “one another” arrangement with a counterfeit system, such as the professional minister, we are guilty of disrupting heaven’s blueprint for spiritual growth. There’s no way to avoid this conclusion.

Take a look at our “house assemblies,” commonly referred to as “house churches.” Where’s the pulpit minister? He’s not needed! Why? Because all attendees contribute their share, as God’s grace abounds within them, and as He confers a diversity of gifts among them. Now tell me: Why in heaven’s name are we incapable of conducting our “church services” in the same fashion? The reason is because we have gone professional. We have abandoned common ground in favor of skilled specialists. We want the world to know how sophisticated and refined we have become. So we go all out to import the best and build the fanciest edifices. We have adopted idolatry, just as surely as we have substituted a bogus system.

The End Or The Beginning?
When will it all end? In the trash-heap of by-gone religions unless we wise up and address our deficiencies and get back to the basics of edifying and strengthening one another. The situation will not improve until and unless we rediscover the one another arrangement, as is so clearly defined in scripture. May God open our hearts and minds to do just that.

So Very True
“Jesus never left us a building. Nor did His disciples leave us a building. As a mater of fact, His last words were, ‘Go into all the world and make disciples,’ not to build buildings.” – Charis Felix.

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I was excited to have my niece visit us from New York. Of course, she came to see her favorite aunt and uncle, but she also wanted to experience a few relational gatherings here in the Phoenix area. While sharing her testimony, the group noticed it was more of a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit rather than a lightning strike leading to immediate conversion. God works in many ways, as my good friend Krista Lynn shares below.

Considering Jessica’s testimony the other night, the idea of using a slow cooker and an Instant Pot came to mind. To make a chuck roast tender and juicy, you can either cook it in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours or use an Instant Pot for under an hour. Although the cooking methods differ, they yield the same result: a delicious dinner! Depending on the cut of meat, each cook assesses and creates what they believe will taste best, adding specific seasonings and aromatics to enhance the flavor. I can’t help but imagine God in His heavenly kitchen-who created us, chose us, and knows us intimately-preparing us as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him.

As followers of Jesus, we each have unique stories of how the Lord found us. No two stories are the same. I love this because it reminds me of our Creator, who formed us in the womb and knows every detail of our lives and every thought we have ever had. He knows how to speak to us and how to draw us to Him. It is truly beautiful.

For some people, there is a particular moment they recall-something we Southern folks refer to as a “Come to Jesus” moment. It is a significant event, whether an encounter with Jesus or a conversation with someone, where the “light” turns on in the soul and change happens instantly. It is like night and day-a complete 180-degree transformation.

For others, the transformation was neither instant nor monumental but rather a gradual process that could take months or even years to fully welcome Jesus and allow Him to change us. It was a season of life composed of small moments during which the heart was gently softened until it was completely surrendered to Him. The change is slow but steady.

Think back on how the Lord prepared you-was it an instant transformation or a gradual process? Be encouraged for your loved ones who are still lost or have wandered away, and continue to intercede on their behalf. Whatever way He chooses to prepare us, let us agree: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 NASB)

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Great thoughts from Leland Yialelis.

Christianity is the only one of the world’s great religions where the primary focus is forming communities where every person is an agent of loving kindness. Christianity’s primary focus is the “one another.” Christianity was designed to be a religion without rituals, a religion without sacred places, sacred spaces, a cultureless, timeless spiritual experience. That which is sacred to Christianity is the way each Christian is to love and care for the other. Christ is the most singular person to have ever lived because His message was that every person has worth in the sight of God and is loved by God and consequently is to be loved by those who have accepted Christ’s call to discipleship.

While every other religion focuses on the sacredness of their understanding of the divine and what the human can, even must do, to connect with the divine. Christianity is not focused on a search for the divine. Christianity is founded on the reality that the Divine came looking for us, while we were yet sinners. The Divine came and was born among us to communicate to us in the clearest terms possible, I am here to show you that you are already loved by God. God extends His love and grace to all humans, “But I say to you, love your enemies . . . He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. . . Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:44 – 48 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13: 35

The central significance of the “one another” is uniquely Christian. The “one another” places the focus on the “other.” It turns us outward, but not just outward, outward in search of the other, outward in service to the other whom I am to love unconditionally, as I have experienced God loving me unconditionally. The love that is extended to the other is not rooted in anything but the existence of the “other.” Even if the “other” is my enemy, even if the other persecutes me, like my heavenly Father, I will love the other. If this outward turning love is to be practiced toward our enemies, how much more is it to be lived within the community of those sharing the same faith? The heart of Christianity is the uniqueness of its fellowship, the strength of the bonds that turn strangers into communities, the depth and breadth of the love that binds the hearts of one member to another.

What is the nature of this Christian love that the New Testament speaks of? We begin to understand that this love that Christ lived and taught is not just some emotional response. We get a clearer picture of how this love is to be understood by the other terms that are associated with the “one another.” When we understand that Christian love includes, giving preference to the other, not judging the other, building up the other, accepting the other, caring for the other, serving the other, comforting the other, bearing the other’s burdens, not gossiping about the other, being hospitable toward the other, we begin to grasp how truly unique the true Christian community is. This is truly like no other community on earth.

Inevitably, the matter of “evangelism” will come up. Currently, every Christian church / denomination places an emphasis on evangelism. How should evangelism be integrated into small communities of faith? The New Testament gives us the answer. The first step is to have healthy communities of faith that are actually living the very direct command of Christ, “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another” John 13:34,35. This is the first step of evangelizing and the most important step. When the local body of Christ is healthy, treating each member as an equal, serving the other as Christ would, valuing the other as Christ does, than the newly born member of the family of faith has a “home” to foster the continued growth in the faith. Just as a new born child needs a home to provide nurture and a safe place to grow, so does the newborn child of God need a “home,” a place to be nurtured, a place to foster growth in faith in Christ.

The second step is remembering this lesson from the book of Acts. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47 This is clarified by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3: 5 – 10 “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.”

AA offers us a model of this understanding of evangelism, “Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as A.A. members ought not be broadcast, filmed, or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us.”

If the body is healthy it will grow. If the body is healthy God will add daily those who are being saved. Our challenge, as Christians, is to be a healthy part of the local body of Christ, whether that body consist of 2, 3 or more. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 The very essence of Christianity is to be found in a living loving community of faith. That community is to live a life guided by the simple values that Jesus Christ lived and taught, every individual is valued by God, every individual is equal to the other, every individual is called to a life of service to the other and to regard the other as serving them, every Christian is called to be a disciple of Christ and as His disciple an active member of the community of faith, that community will always value people and not things, and in this community love will reign.

When we approach the New Testament and read it as it was written without the lens of tradition, we discover the real nature of the ekklesia. We discover the simplicity that formed the very core of Christianity. We discover living loving communities of faith. These communities gathered to experience the meaning of a Christ lead community that loved. They did not gather to perform empty rituals. They gathered to share, to encourage, to bear one another’s burdens, to be a community filled with faith, hope, and love. They did not gather to “worship” by the repetition of some sacred ritual. They gathered to build up one another, to encourage one another, to stimulate one another to love and good works. Every member found meaning in the community by sharing their life and experience and by being blessed by the sharing of the others. There were no silent observers. No one left the gathering feeling lonely. Here they had experienced that others cared for them as they also cared for the others. Here in this community, they knew the joy that Christ had promised. They knew the peace that Christ had promised. They knew that they were not alone as they met the daily struggles of life.

You can find our more about Leland here.https://substack.com/home/post/p-161586461

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Before Buff Scott, Jr. left Cherokee, Iowa for Phoenix he took out an ad in the local newspaper. Published in 1988, his words still ring true today.

INTRODUCTION

The story has been told that American missionaries, upon reaching foreign soil, are confronted with barriers such as: “If you have come here to unite us, go home and unite yourselves, and then return and we will listen to you.”

“If this doctrine of yours is so pure, why are you so divided? Is it not able to unite you?”

“Our people were united before you missionaries came. They are now divided.”

“Is the religion you espouse like the others, the kind that divides?”

These statements should not be taken lightly. They issue from the mouths of those we seek to convert. Missionary number one endeavors to enjoin upon his listeners certain tenets and creeds, and his address is no more than completed when missionary number two, whose affiliation is with a different and distinct sect, begins to address the same listeners with a message which conflicts with the message of missionary number one. Missionaries three and four five, six, seven, and eight under their creedal bosoms carry messages which run counter with and contradict the orthodox messages of each other, as well as with the messages of missionaries one and two.

Surely something is wrong. This regrettable condition not only prevails across the oceans and beyond our borders, but it also rules in this land of freedom, America. Is it impossible to obtain that for which Jesus prayed? He made it clear that unity among his followers is necessary so that “the world. might know that you sent me” (John 17:23). Religiously, no country is more divided than America. Who is to blame for our divided dilemma, Jesus or man? Did Jesus introduce a principle that can not be adhered to? If human creeds have divided us, and they have, do we possess enough courage to abandon them? Which should become our polar star, the divine testimony or creeds created and enacted by man? The divine testimony originated in heaven and was passed on to us by the envoys of Jesus Christ. Human dogmas proceeded from earth and were passed on to us by the envoys of sectarianism. And because human creeds have so influenced us, we could not be divided more even if our Lord had commanded it.

In this Plea and Address, I wish to submit for your consideration some possible solutions to our divided state. I do not claim to know all of the answers. Nor do I feel I have a monopoly on truth. I am simply a servant of God who has a strong desire to share a few of my views with you. You are free to either agree or disagree. Under God, you are free to choose or at liberty to decide for yourself to reject. No system, whether spiritual or political, has the power to enslave your mind. In Jesus, you can read, study, investigate, and reach your own conclusions. It has been said that the spirit of man can expand and grow only in the atmosphere of freedom. We need, then, to read, to study, to investigate, and to decide without the presence of spiritual and political shackles. To permit any system to control our minds and sway our decisions, is to place ourselves under bondage.

OBSERVATIONS

Denominationalism has not solved our splintered estate. Factionalism has not solved our ruptured community. Catholicism, even though one of our oldest sects, has not resolved our problems. Protestantism is not the solution. These religious systems, in fact, have created more divisions. No human system of religion, no matter how large or
prominent, will ever solve the many problems we face. We either allow our allegiance to Jesus and to the divine testimony to supersede our divisions or we will go on dividing until we become extinct.

PROPOSALS

1. That the sacred writings, our oldest source of written documentation, become our guide in matters pertaining to deity and unity. Our respect for them gives us hope. “That by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Human creeds and catechisms do not generate hope. The authors of the holy scriptures wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God (John 16:13; 1 Pet. 1:21). It was Jesus who declared: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). He made no reference to human creeds and dogmas.
2. That all human creeds and catechisms, written or unwritten, be abandoned and abolished, and that the holy scriptures replace them. Human creeds are filled with error. This is because they were made and established by human intellect. Each creed differs with each respective sect. They are changed to coincide with the changing of time. The scriptures contain the mind of God. They were given to cope with the changing of time (Please read I Pet. 1:25). When a human creed is elevated above God’s written revelation, division results. This is because those who made it endeavor to enjoin it upon others.
3. That we acknowledge and embrace all Christians as brothers. All who have surrendered to Jesus and experienced the new birth, as Jesus himself expressed it in John 3:5, are children of God and fellow believers. Wherever God has a child, we have either a brother or a sister – regardless of what he calls himself, if anything.
4. That we be Christians only – not Christians plus Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, Episcopals, or any other pluses, but simply Christians only. Was Paul Presbyterian? Was Peter Lutheran? Was Mark Roman Catholic? Of course not.
5. That all of us who have been born anew not enforce our opinions upon others. If the new covenant scriptures teach a certain principle, we should welcome it into our lives and persuade others to do likewise. But if our conviction is nothing more than a mere human opinion, we should not make such a term of communion or a test of brotherhood. In matters that are clearly and plainly enjoined upon us by the holy scriptures, we ask for unity. In matters that are in the realm of speculation and judgment, we ask for freedom and tolerance. Christians will naturally disagree on occasions. This is because we are frail, imperfect humans, and no two of us have the same level of knowledge. Citizens of the Christian community may retain their various opinions while acknowledging the supreme authority of Jesus their King. We must accept and embrace our fellow believers irrespective of doubtful points (Rom. 14:1). However, a believer who becomes heretical by becoming factional is to be rejected (Titus 3:10). Such a man is vested of the “party spirit” of Galatians 5:20. The party spirit is at work when a man attempts to form a party or following around his particular view or views and then separates himself and his followers from his other brethren when they refuse to become his disciples.

CONCLUSION

Reformation and unity will become realities when we give ourselves to Jesus Christ in humble submission. We must be willing to permit God to guide us, direct us, govern us, and lead us in the paths of righteousness. Human paths are filled with obstacles, thorns, discouragements, disunity, and frustrations. God’s way is filled with love, unity, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. We either leave human creeds and catechisms by the wayside or we will simply multiply our divisions until the world looks upon us as weaklings in need of healing.

You can find out more about Buff Scott, Jr. by clicking here.

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Highway of our God by Catherine Booth, page 61-63, published by The Salvation Army Supplies And Purchasing Department, Atlanta, Georgia, 1986. Catherine Booth 1829-1890.

While the gospel message is laid down with unerring exactness, we are left at perfect freedom to adapt our measures and modes of bringing it to bear upon men to the circumstances, times and conditions in which we live. ‘I am made all things to all men,’ declared the great apostle to the Gentiles who had thrown off the paraphernalia of Judaism years before, yet became as a Jew that he might win the Jews.

The great strong intellect became as a weak man that he might win the weak. He conformed himself to the conditions and circumstances of his hearers in all lawful things that he might win them; he let no mere conventionalities or ideas of propriety stand in his way when it was necessary to abandon them. He who was brave as a lion, and hailed a crown of martyrdom like a conquering hero, was willing to submit to anything when the requirements of his mission rendered it necessary.

Now here it seems to me that the church – I speak universally – has made the grand mistake of exalting the traditions of the elders into the same importance and authority as the word of God. People contend that we must have quiet, proper, decorous services. I say, Where is your authority for this? I defy any man to show it. I have a great deal more authority for such a lively, gushing, spontaneous, and what you call disorderly, service as our Salvation Army services sometimes are, in the fourteenth chapter of First Corinthians, than you can find for yours. The best insight we have into the internal working of a religious service in apostolic times is in this chapter (1 Corinthians 14), and I ask you, Is it anything like the ordinary services of today?

We cannot get the order of a single service from the New Testament, nor can we get the form of government of a single church. Hence one denomination thinks theirs is the best form, and another theirs; so Christendom has been divided into various camps ever since; but this very quarrelling shows the impossibility of getting from the New Testament the routine, the order and the fashion of mere modes. Do you think God had no purpose in this omission? The forms, modes and measures are not prescribed as in the Old Testament disposition. Why?

The principle is laid down that you are to adapt your measures to the necessity of the people to whom you minister; you are to take the gospel to the people in such modes and habitudes of thought and expression and circumstances as will gain a hearing. You are to preach to them in a way as will cause them to look and listen. What scope for the various manifestations of the Spirit! The argument that this free operation of the Spirit has been abused is no argument against it, for then you might argue against every privilege. Here is abundant evidence that these Corinthian converts had opportunity to witness for Jesus, each one to give forth the gushing utterance of his soul, and tell other people of the experience which the Holy Ghost had wrought in him.

And look at the result! ‘If…there come in one that beleiveth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.’ What unkind things have been said of The Salvation Army because people at our meetings have fallen on their faces under the convicting power of the Spirit. But you see this is apostolic.

Should we not pray to be set free from the traditionalism and routinism in which Satan has succeeded in lulling us to sleep? It was only the repressing, and ultimately, I am afraid, the all-but estinguishing, of the Holy Spirit’s urgings that has led to the dead way in which many services are conducted.

I maintain that the only indispensable qualification for witnessing for Christ is the Holy Ghost. Paul expressly, over and over again, abjures all mere human equipment. He expressly declares that these things were not the power even where they existed, but that it was the Holy Ghost. Therefore, give me man, woman or child with the Holy Ghost, full of love and zeal for God, and I say it would be a real strength and joy to that convert to testify to the church. The Lord is not going to evangelize this land by finished sermons and disquisitions, but by the simple testimony of people saved from sin and the devil, by His power and His grace. He is going to do it as He began, by witnessing.

Read your New Testament and you will be struck with the amazing amount of evidence for this unconventional kind of service. When shall Peters and Marys be so filled with the Spirit that they cannot help telling what God has done for the, like the woman of Samaria who, when she had found Him of whom Moses and the Prophets had written, went and fetched her fellow-townsmen and women to hear Him? The way in which the Lord is going to gather out His great and glorious kingdom in these latter days is by the power of testimony in the Holy Ghost.

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The following was recently written by my good friend Buff Scott, Jr. To find out more about Buff click here.

It might surprise some of you that Ambassador Paul was a zealous partisan, a Pharisee, before he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. (See Acts 26:5.) He abandoned this separatist religion to live for Jesus. In our day, the redeemed community includes believers who are still caught up in the web of “Churchianity,” for God’s children are scattered over a diversity of partisan terrains. However, God’s new reign stretches far beyond the borders of any sect, church, religious party, or cult. “Churchianity” reigns over a restricted territory. God’s reign is universal.

And while it may be wise to remove the apostate church entirely and start over, considering how grave “mad church disease” has plagued her, nonetheless many of her children may choose to remain where they are and work for reform. This is not always possible, however, because the apostate church “would rather fight than switch.” Reformers are not always welcome within her ranks. They are usually accorded the “left boot of fellowship.”

Martin Luther wanted to work within the sinister Roman Catholic Church for reform, but the scandalous Vatican would have no part of it. Instead, they sought his life. He escaped the “Holy See’s” murderous hounds, but the sinister Vatican continued their efforts to find him and “do him in.”

Let it be understood that Jesus did not die for religious parties, churches, denominations, or cults. Instead, He died for Jews, He died for Gentiles, He died “for all the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one” (John 11:52).

Jesus is not interested in uniting churches, denominations, and cults. He’s interested in uniting all of God’s scattered children, wherever they are, to bring them together into one body of believers, “so that they may be united as we [Son and Father] are united” (John 17:11).

Let it be emphasized that religious factions marching under partisan labels were founded by men centuries after Jesus ushered in His new reign. These include the Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Church of God, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, Catholic Church, Christian Church, Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church, and all of the others – regardless of the caption they have adopted to function under.

To which of the above churches is Jesus aligned? Which of the above churches did Jesus found? Did He establish and authenticate all of them? If yes, what was the purpose, then, of the apostle Paul’s question to the Corinthian believers, as per 1 Corinthians 1:13? He asked them, “Is Christ divided?” If Jesus authored all of our schisms, He is indeed divided! And if He is divided, why would He then pray for unity among God’s children, as recorded in John 17:6-25?

So let’s tell it like it is. If Jesus ascended to heaven without being a Baptist, and He did, and if Paul, Peter and others were taken to paradise without being aligned with any of the above factions, and they were, I, too, can enter paradise without being a Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Mormon, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Church of Christ proponent, Jehovah’s Witness, or without being tainted with any of the other partisan colors. I think I’ll just be a “believer at large” – a Christian only. Surely that will be sufficient. God’s grace will fill in the gaps, if any need to be filled.

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I haven’t watched the news since September 10th. This is a big deal for me since I considered myself a news junkie. However, I found myself hating people I didn’t know, getting angry at people whom I’ve never met and wanting justice for people who’ve not done me any personal harm.

Last week at our gathering, Krista Lynn provided some perspective that really helped me. Perhaps it will help you also.

The news and social media have been very loud recently; violence, elections, wars, hot topic issues and more. Each story attempts to elicit an emotional response in favor or opposition toward whatever bias is being promoted. The words being used to pit humanity against each other are “right” and “left”, “Those on the left are…” or “He is a right-wing extremist…” We are being trained to choose a man-made side and to believe the other side is evil. 

I was pondering the use of the words, right and left, being used with such vitriol these days and the Holy Spirit reminded me of a Proverb that says, “Do not turn to the right or to the left; turn your foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:27) 

This peaked my curiosity to find out if the Word had anything else to say on the subject, so I searched and found a few more verses which support the God-ordained direction we should follow.

Deuteronomy 5:32-33 – So you shall be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. You shall walk entirely in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and that it may be well for you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.

Here, Moses has just repeated the ten commandments to the people of Israel as a reminder of what YHVH had declared to them and the covenant they entered into. Moses implored the people of Israel to follow the way of the Lord and not to turn to the right or left, saying there will be a blessing of life and prolonged days in the land of promise.

Joshua 1:7 – Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go.

When it came time to enter the land of promise, the Lord spoke to Joshua, the new leader, and reiterated the importance of obeying His law and not to turn from it. There is a blessing of success in following the Lord’s way and not turning from it. 

2 Chronicles 34:2 (of King Josiah) – He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left.

It was worthy noting in the Bible that King Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, not turning aside to follow the right or the left. 

Proverbs 4:25-27 – Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

The verses preceding the above reference give context and direction. Keep our eyes fixed straight ahead, directly in front, watching the path of our feet, not to turn from the straight path we are on, but rather turn our feet from evil.

Isaiah 30:21 – Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it, ” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Regardless of the direction we turn, the Holy Spirit will tell us the way to go. Are we listening or are we too inflamed by our emotions to hear Him speak, thus we continue on the direction we turned to follow?

God’s Word is clear – Do not turn to the right or to the left, but keep our eyes fixed straight ahead, listen for Him when we find ourselves veering off course and follow His ways. The world is loud, unsettling, and distracting and it can be so easy to be swept up in the ‘right vs. left’ mentality which truly only breeds hate in our hearts for those that Jesus died for (even while we were yet sinners…).

With all the noise, how are we to know if we are on the right path? Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” His Word illuminates our path, showing us the way to go. Let us turn off the noise and get into the Word.

Thank you, Father, for not leaving us alone in this dark world. Lord, you are good and all your ways are good. In your sovereignty and perfect wisdom, you knew of the age we would be in right now, where we are being pulled to veer from your path towards the right or the left and you already gave us guidance on how to handle it through your Word.

Your Word is life and light and reveals the way we should go! Thank you that we can trust you in all things because you are faithful and not a man that you would lie. You say that those who put their hope in you will not be put to shame. Thank you for that promise, our hope is in you alone! Your will be done and your kingdom come, in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

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The following was recently written by my good friend Buff Scott, Jr. To find out more about Buff click here.

A reader inquired to what extent his allegiance is owed to the church group he attends. Good question, and it gives me a favorable time to address it. At the outset, let me say I’m inclined to believe one’s allegiance is not the exclusive property of any group of saints.

However, if we have found a Christian assemblage, regardless of where they meet – whether under the shade of an old apple tree, in the living-room, in a rented structure, or in a church building, and we find them to be more in line with our thinking and commitment, and we decide to meet with them and participate in their activities, we then owe them a certain level of responsibility, such as deferring to their leadership, monetarily contributing to those ministries of which we agree, and otherwise trying to build up this local group in a diversity of ways.

As for me, my preference are house meetings or home assemblies, for there is no fancy edifice to maintain and make payments on, no hired hand (pulpit sermonizer) to support, and no questionable projects to financially bolster. In a setting such as this, the basic financial needs are the destitute and supporting the man whose ministry is full-time evangelism. Jesus is the good Shepherd, not the hired hand. It is heartwarming what Jesus says about the hired hand in John 10:11-13. I encourage you to go there and spiritually digest what He says. You might be a little surprised – and delighted.   

If all saints deserted the church edifice and began to meet in private homes or similar places, as the early believers did, all pulpit sermonizers and “Reverends” would be forced to either find a job or go into full-time evangelism, which would surely be a blessing. For as long as our ecclesiastical orators are tied down to a pulpit, barricaded from us “peasants,” and financially kept afloat, he will never find a job and go to work or get himself involved in full-time evangelism – that is, taking the message of salvation to the unregenerate.     

We have come a long ways since A. D. 33, but mainly in the wrong direction, for we have divided and subdivided. We are spiritually sick with the party spirit (Gal 5:19). If for the first 200 years the early saints could win over a big part of the world without the assistance of church edifices and pulpit ecclesiastics, and they did, why is it so strange to think we cannot do the same? Look at AA and how far they have come with their substance abuse programs. They own no edifices” or structures and have no budget to underpin. They meet in a communal setting, just anywhere they decide to meet – schools, libraries, homes, fire stations, and other places.     

We no more need church structures than AA needs to construct a fancy, expensive building to meet in. And in AA meetings, there are no paid speakers or professional orators. They mutually share, exchange ideas, encourage each other, and either cry or laugh on each other’s shoulder – the very things we should be doing. But no! We pay big bucks to import a professional to do our ministries by proxy. “It ain’t right!” It’s as wrong as wrong can be. Heaven does not condone, nor ever has condoned, this digressive, apostate practice. I beg all of my fellow believers to allow reformation to ring and reign over the hills and the valleys of sectarianism!

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I wanted to share this beautiful message written by my good friend Fernando Souza. You can find out more about Fernando by clicking here.

The wall is filled with colorful little hands, with people who have giant heads on stick-figure bodies, with the sun that always lives in the upper corner of the page. This is what the wall in my mother-in-law’s house is like. It’s an art gallery that time has assembled, a museum of affection. Hanging there are drawings that my daughters have made since they were very little.

Another day, after a coffee, I stood there, looking at that mural. I saw the first scribbles, the attempts to draw the family – always with a smile that went from ear to ear. I saw the phases, the evolution of the lines, the signature that was taking shape. Each drawing, a time capsule of a childhood that flew by.

From an adult’s technical point of view, the works are full of “mistakes.” But, obviously, that’s not why they are there, framed with so much care. My mother-in-law didn’t keep them because they were masterpieces. She kept them because she saw in each one the heart and the little hands of her granddaughters. She wasn’t evaluating the art; she was celebrating the artist.

And in that moment, “I Saw.” I saw with a clarity that moved me. This is exactly how God, the Father, looks at the wall of our lives.

He sees our scribbles. Our clumsy attempts to love, our prayers with “stick-figure bodies.” A critic would look and point out the flaws. But the Father, no. He looks at each of our days, at each of our attempts to get it right, and it’s as if He says with a smile: “How precious to me are your thoughts!,” a truth that the psalmist recorded. His thoughts about us are not of criticism, like those of an art judge; they are thoughts of affection, like those of a grandfather looking proudly at the drawings on the wall.

We worry so much about delivering a perfect work of art to God, and He is just waiting to receive a sincere drawing, made with the colored pencil we have in hand. That wall, full of color and a love that ignores perfection, was one of the most beautiful sermons I have ever received about grace.

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