LIFE!

“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organizations do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always.”
... A.W. Tozer

New Podcast

Be sure to check out mine and James' New podcast entitled 2 Walk 2 Gether. Where James and I share more of our hearts on what God is doing with us on this Journey of faith. If you can't listen right away, download and listen later. We hope it will be a blessing to you. God bless.

Click On Link

www.2walk2gether.blogspot.com

The School of Christ.

T. Austin Sparks wrote a book called The School of Christ, which is a great book I may add. It basically teaches of our never ending learning of Christ on our journey with Him, and how deep that walk can go. I have, these past few years, have been on such a journey. It seems every moment of every day has been an intense, fast paced, and painful (at times) journey through True Christianity University. I guess it would be better described as True Christianity Elementary instead of University due to God breaking me down and taking me back to the basics. Christianity 101 if you will. These past few years can be best summed up by using the words of Paul when he used the words "simplicity of Christ". He was fearful that false apostles would lead God's people away from the "simplicity of Christ".

I, as so so many others, have unfortunately been led away, or better yet, never been led to such simplicity. I was taught, as many of you, that Christ is about everything but Christ alone. Ministry, worship service, Sunday and midweek meetings, Sunday School, five fold ministry, Baptisms, Church (denominational) doctrine, revivals, healing, and on and on and on and on it goes. To be honest, I don't know how anyone could have time for Christ when we are so busy pouring all we have into such things. Don't get me wrong here folks, I am not saying ALL of these things are bad of themselves, but as it is said in Hebrews "Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit." If God permits simply means if He (aka Holy Spirit) would lead us to. I am just saying that God has so much more than what we think he wants for us. God is so much bigger than the things mentioned above, and we have replaced, for the most part, God IN US with such things. After all, why would we need to learn to walk "IN the Spirit", as Paul says, when we have all the answers all raped up into this nice religious package of how to DO church, instead of being The Church?

I know I know, hard to take huh? Think of what I have been through the past few years for God to get me to see such. That is where the "pain" part has come in. I am so grateful for what God has done in me these past few years, and I know, as T Austin Sparks says, will be forever learning in the School of Christ. I have by no means "arrived", but I am more excited to see what God is up to tomorrow.

I have been in Rhode Island for almost a year, and God has taught me much here; in fact between Rose Creek Village in Tennessee and the church here, God has forever transformed me. I am such a blessed man to have walked this journey with such great men and women of God. I have seen THE BODY of CHRIST in her glory, and she is beautiful.

I do feel it's time to move on from this leg of my journey. I believe God has called my family and myself back to the bluegrass state of Kentucky. We will be leaving a great deal here in RI, but for the first time, I don't feel I will be separated from my brothers and sisters here. We are truly one. I don't know what God has in store for us in KY, but I can't wait to see what it is. I am today, more than I ever have, willing to go and do what ever God has for me. Even if that means living in all 50 states, and every other Country in this planet, I will do so because, as Billy Graham said, "I don't know what the future holds but I know who holds the future". I will trust in the One who holds the future.

Thank you Church in RI for your love and your service to our Father. I love you all very much. As for me....I will still be thinking....God bless.

Free Indeed

Gal 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Paul here was instructing the Galatians of "the way" that was paved by Jesus which, unfortunately, so many Christians have almost completely missed. We have the Jesus came and died on a cross, so we can go to heaven down pat; however, so many Christians are, to this day, still in bondage. This bondage comes in many different forms.

Paul was instructing the Galatians that they where no longer bound by the old covenant known as the law of Moses, but a New Covenant had been made. As we all know, Jesus came and did what we, mortal men and women, could not; He lived this law to complete perfection. It was sin, aka law braking, that pronounced death to all who would break this law. "the wages of sin is death Rom 6:23" Jesus did not sin, so He did not have to die in that since, yet he freely died anyway. This made a way for men to also overcome death; however, Jesus did much more than just die. He also, from the grave, arose up alive. These two things are what we hear so much about, and rightfully so, but we are missing something more He did. He went back to the Father.

Jesus told His disciples that He had to go, or the comforter could not come. The Spirit of God Himself. The very same spirit that led Jesus to do ALL that the Father told Him to do. Jesus said that everything you hear me say and all that you see me do was not Him but the Father. In the same chapter He says that they will do the same things and even greater things...why you ask...because He goes back to the Father. He said that God Himself would come down and LIVE in His children. Read John chapters 14 & 15. This is the freedom Jesus told us about, and what Paul was so trying to show the Galatians and Romans.

So many are, to this day, bound by the law of Moses. Today, children of God have the law written in their hearts, and have the ability to live it, just as Jesus, because He lives IN us. We can not live this out on our own. So many denominations put so much law on their members, known as legalism, that they have have become just as the Pharisees in Jesus day. We are also still in bondage to material things of this world and other lust that fills the heart of man. Paul reminds us that we have been set FREE of such things.

Now my thought for the day. Maybe we should put far more attention to God in us rather than bible studies about people who already understood this Truth. Not that reading scriptures are a waste of time, you should still read your Bible everyday. I am just saying, that we put so much attention on what we believe, or have been taught, the bible says, while the whole time we have THE WORD Himself living inside of us. If we are ever going to truly walk as Christ walked, we will not do it by reading about people who did. We will do it when we, ourselves, learn to embrace, surrender, and obey Christ in us. It is only then we will truly know what it means to be FREE. I would like to, in the near future, write a whole lesson on this subject. Until then remember...Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Still thinking.