The Church of England will make an official apology to naturalist Charles Darwin for criticising his famous theory of evolution.
Coming 126 years after his death, the church's apology will focus on how wrong it was for senior bishops in the past to misunderstand and attack Darwin's theory about man being descended from apes.
Senior church officials will post the apology in the form of an article written by the Reverend Dr Malcolm Brown on the church's website.
"Charles Darwin, 200 years from your birth (in 1809), the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still," the article says, according to extracts printed by The Mail on Sunday newspaper.
"But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests."
But the apology by Dr Brown, who is the director of mission and public affairs of the Archbishops' Council, has been dismissed as "pointless" by Darwin's great great grandson Andrew Darwin.
"Why bother? he said.
"When an apology is made after 200 years, it's not so much to right a wrong, but to make the person or organisation making the apology feel better."
But Dr Brown says everyone makes mistakes, the church included.
"When a big new idea emerges that changes the way people look at the world, it's easy to feel that every old idea, every certainty, is under attack and then to do battle against the new insights," he writes.
"The church made that mistake with Galileo's astronomy and has since realized its error.
"Some Church people did it again in the 1860s with Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.
"So it is important to think again about Darwin's impact on religious thinking, then and now."
Dr Brown said there was nothing incompatible between Darwin's scientific theories and Christian teaching.
What you have just read is indicative of what I see in mainline churches. It matters not if you are a creationist as I am, or one who believes that God made it all occur in a slow evolutionistic way. The point that matters is that over and over again we see the watering down of the God of the universe. By apologising they are saying God has done nothing, we have all come from the “goo via the zoo to you”, and that being the fact it leaves out the hand of the loving creator. But not only that, it leaves out or at least nudges aside the thought that is made so clearly in Romans:
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)
Because by aligning the church with this doctrine it is declaring that it is all by chance, so therefore we have no hope of becoming like Him.. Some may argue that Evolution has its way of bringing out the best. But without getting into the arguments for and against the theory let me stick to the heart of what I see as the crux of this matter. That God cannot be contained to a thought or theory. The whole of creation pulsates with the hand of God, from the most simple to the mind blowingly complex; from the minutest to the indescribable. It cannot be just by random selection, everything has a purpose including you and I. I cannot ascribe to the thought of God hoping it will all work out. It’s time the Church boldly began to claim who it rightly is and walk in the heritage that we have been given. I love this verse in 1 John
“In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that as He is, so also we are in this world.” (1 John 4:17)
We are meant to be like Him in this world, not as he was as he walked the pavements of Jerusalem but scripture is very clear "as He now is". What a mind blowing thought that the goal for me and you in this world is to be like Jesus IS, not was. But if it’s all a matter of chance and good luck, what hope is there for any of us, we may as well eat drink and be merry for tomorrow, we may be an aardvark.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Well, I have had time to think
An incredible thought that can become a reality;
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 3:21-22)
What are we to overcome? I believe we are to overcome the false belief systems of our carnal minds and indeed the world. Many of us are caught in this trap of an internal battle that many of us push onto the Devil, when in fact it’s our inner me that is our enemy. Flesh and blood do not define your true reality! Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ came and shed His blood and had his flesh so disfigured that no man could recognize him. So that is why we are not identified this way; unless of course our minds hold us captive. That’s why I believe we must over come our minds. He came to do away with an identity attached to flesh and blood, or what I like to call an “identity crisis”. After his resurrection they no longer recognized him by his fleshly identity. They recognized him by His voice! His sheep will know His voice and follow!
"Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it." (I Thes 5:24).
The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you! The One who calls you to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, is the One who by your consent, goes into all the world and preaches the Gospel to every creature through you!
This is the God that saves a man from the futility of self-effort. It relieves the Christian of the burden of trying to pull himself up by his own bootstraps! If it were not for this divine provision, the call to Christ would be a source of utter frustration, presenting the sorry picture of a sincere human, constantly stopped by his own failings. Unfortunately this is how many Christians live today, caught up in the "one day when " syndrome. You know, one day when I stop this or one day when I start this or one day when my life is better"…you get the idea!
If you will trust Christ, not only for the death He died in order to redeem you, but also for the life that He lives and waits to live through you, the very next step you take will be met by God himself, as the One who rewards those who diligently seek Him. You will have begun to live a life which is essentially supernatural yet overflowing with our own personality.
You will have become totally dependent upon the life of Christ within you, and never before will you have been so free, so released from the pressure of your circumstances, so released at last from that ever present mind game of good/bad, always in bondage to the fear of other men's opinions. What a terrible thing that many Christians are so motivated by the fear of man.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
In other words, you can do no more without Him than He could do without the Father. But how much could the Father do through the Son? Everything! He was available to all that the Father made available to Him. We can at times kid ourselves with our "sense of duty and availability". But my heart tells me that God wants willing sacrificial service that in spite of our mind battling against everything spiritual we rise up and offer ourselves wholeheartedly by faith trusting in Him.
“…because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be” (Romans 8:7)
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell.” (Col 1:19)
How much then can Jesus Christ do through you and through me? Everything! He is limited only by the measure of our availability.
Let me encourage you with the fact that God saved you with a purpose in mind, and if He had a purpose, then He had a plan and a procedure to make it happen! All that we can do is trust and obey for there is no other way.
Those are some of my thoughts. Pastor Rob
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 3:21-22)
What are we to overcome? I believe we are to overcome the false belief systems of our carnal minds and indeed the world. Many of us are caught in this trap of an internal battle that many of us push onto the Devil, when in fact it’s our inner me that is our enemy. Flesh and blood do not define your true reality! Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ came and shed His blood and had his flesh so disfigured that no man could recognize him. So that is why we are not identified this way; unless of course our minds hold us captive. That’s why I believe we must over come our minds. He came to do away with an identity attached to flesh and blood, or what I like to call an “identity crisis”. After his resurrection they no longer recognized him by his fleshly identity. They recognized him by His voice! His sheep will know His voice and follow!
"Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it." (I Thes 5:24).
The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you! The One who calls you to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, is the One who by your consent, goes into all the world and preaches the Gospel to every creature through you!
This is the God that saves a man from the futility of self-effort. It relieves the Christian of the burden of trying to pull himself up by his own bootstraps! If it were not for this divine provision, the call to Christ would be a source of utter frustration, presenting the sorry picture of a sincere human, constantly stopped by his own failings. Unfortunately this is how many Christians live today, caught up in the "one day when " syndrome. You know, one day when I stop this or one day when I start this or one day when my life is better"…you get the idea!
If you will trust Christ, not only for the death He died in order to redeem you, but also for the life that He lives and waits to live through you, the very next step you take will be met by God himself, as the One who rewards those who diligently seek Him. You will have begun to live a life which is essentially supernatural yet overflowing with our own personality.
You will have become totally dependent upon the life of Christ within you, and never before will you have been so free, so released from the pressure of your circumstances, so released at last from that ever present mind game of good/bad, always in bondage to the fear of other men's opinions. What a terrible thing that many Christians are so motivated by the fear of man.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
In other words, you can do no more without Him than He could do without the Father. But how much could the Father do through the Son? Everything! He was available to all that the Father made available to Him. We can at times kid ourselves with our "sense of duty and availability". But my heart tells me that God wants willing sacrificial service that in spite of our mind battling against everything spiritual we rise up and offer ourselves wholeheartedly by faith trusting in Him.
“…because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be” (Romans 8:7)
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell.” (Col 1:19)
How much then can Jesus Christ do through you and through me? Everything! He is limited only by the measure of our availability.
Let me encourage you with the fact that God saved you with a purpose in mind, and if He had a purpose, then He had a plan and a procedure to make it happen! All that we can do is trust and obey for there is no other way.
Those are some of my thoughts. Pastor Rob
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I am about to rush out to Bible study and was quickly checking my emails and I found what you will see below. I thought it was a great read and really challenges us all to go deeper. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you as you read it without taking your own opinions to it. Currently we are I believe on the verge of a great revival, and history shows with all revivals of the past man shuts them down. I wonder can we this time as the body of Christ work with God in submitted hearts and surrendered wills to see many touched by Him?
Dear Beautiful Body of Christ,
It is with GREAT pleasure that I write this email. I have been waiting for some time to write this email. We are being bombarded with the question "is this a genuine move of God?"
I know that there are those who are genuinely interested and want to be walked through this. I'm here for you to help you to understand and get to the other side of your questions. On the contrary, there are those who wish to take shots at what is presently happening in Florida and all over the world, forwarding emails around from people claiming to know that Todd is a false prophet and claiming that this is not a genuine move.
I will try to be as diplomatic as I possibly can. I submit this in Love.
Church, it's really time for us to wake up. There are emails going around from the critics/pharisee's (sometimes it's hard to tell the difference) that are trying to shut down what God is doing all over the earth. These naysayers are the exact same people that have criticized past moves and will criticize even the day of the Lord's return. It's amazing that we give more thought and time to the critics than we do to the Holy Spirit. We go to our prayer meetings during the week, cry out for revival and an outpouring (on our terms of course). We go to church on Sunday's and ask Him to come and be present in our meetings, but then we take sides with the critics and entertain the thought of this not being God and result in judging this current move of the Spirit. Then we wonder why the Holy Spirit is grieved and not wanting to hang out in the church. The real battle here is the battle against the spirit of religion that says it's gotta look this way or that way. Right now on the earth, there really aren't many options as to where God is really moving. God is still moving in Toronto, He's moving at Morningstar, He's moving through Joshua Mills, Patricia King, and our friends Trevor & Sharon Baker in Dudley, U.K., but apart from these and other pockets, there really isn't much. Maybe we should be looking at that and encouraging the church to get set on fire rather than trying to critcize that which we don't understand.
I don't want to be amongst those that one day stand before the Lord and He asks me the question, "Why did you criticize and judge a move of my precious Holy Spirit?" My greatest fear in life is to grieve the Holy Spirit. Rememebr when Jesus said in Matt 7,
1."Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2.For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3."Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4.How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5.You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6."Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7."Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8.For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9."Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10.Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11.If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12.So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13."Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14.But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15."Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16.By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17.Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20.Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Just because someone has tattoes and earrings does not disqualify them from being revivalist's and leaders of genuine moves of God. Maybe you prefer the polished look. Take Todd Bentley out of the picture and put your favorite preacher there. Are you happy now? Is it now a move of God? We need deal with our religious spirit that is holding us back from entering into the fullness of what God has. I suggest giving more time to listening to the voice of the Spirit rather than the opinions of man. Let's forward the emails around that are edifying to the Holy Spirit and let's stop trying to rescue mankind from falling into some sort of cult where we may all end up laying on the floor with same color running shoes. Todd is not a cultist. I have spent much time with him while he was here with us and he is the real deal. Not perfect, but the real deal. This email may offend you but what offends me is people having a go at my friend Todd Bentley who is an amazing man of God, full of the Holy Spirit, and a carrier of the anointing. He is the man that God has raised up in this hour to lead a worldwide revival. He is the real deal. He is not the Anti-Christ as some would portray him to be. Let's stand behind him in this hour. What he really needs right now is our prayers and support. He is doing an amazing job at hosting these nightly revival meetings.
Let me ask this question. Where in the Bible did satan EVER heal, deliver, save, raise 18 people from the dead, cause people to fall in love with Jesus, bring glory to the Father, and worship Jesus? I can't find it anywhere. But what I did find was that he loves to bring division and use God's people to do it. He did bring sickness upon people and cause people to turn away from God. Come on church, let's wake up and get in touch with the reality of what God is presently doing all over the earth.
A majority of the critics have never been to Lakeland, Florida and experienced for themselves what is presently taking place. Amanda and I were there for 2 nights and we can honestly say, the presence of the Lord was really strong in those meetings. It wasn't the presence of satan. I can promise you that!!!!!!!!
In closing, we at Revolution Church want to make a statement. Our church and ministry fully support and stand behind Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries and what God is doing through him. If you're not into the present move of God on this planet then Revolution Church is certainly, most definately not for you. The greatest move of God since the day of Pentecost is sitting right at our door. God is looking for a place to birth this baby here in our nation. Is your Inn full?
In Daddy's great & awesome love,
Dear Beautiful Body of Christ,
It is with GREAT pleasure that I write this email. I have been waiting for some time to write this email. We are being bombarded with the question "is this a genuine move of God?"
I know that there are those who are genuinely interested and want to be walked through this. I'm here for you to help you to understand and get to the other side of your questions. On the contrary, there are those who wish to take shots at what is presently happening in Florida and all over the world, forwarding emails around from people claiming to know that Todd is a false prophet and claiming that this is not a genuine move.
I will try to be as diplomatic as I possibly can. I submit this in Love.
Church, it's really time for us to wake up. There are emails going around from the critics/pharisee's (sometimes it's hard to tell the difference) that are trying to shut down what God is doing all over the earth. These naysayers are the exact same people that have criticized past moves and will criticize even the day of the Lord's return. It's amazing that we give more thought and time to the critics than we do to the Holy Spirit. We go to our prayer meetings during the week, cry out for revival and an outpouring (on our terms of course). We go to church on Sunday's and ask Him to come and be present in our meetings, but then we take sides with the critics and entertain the thought of this not being God and result in judging this current move of the Spirit. Then we wonder why the Holy Spirit is grieved and not wanting to hang out in the church. The real battle here is the battle against the spirit of religion that says it's gotta look this way or that way. Right now on the earth, there really aren't many options as to where God is really moving. God is still moving in Toronto, He's moving at Morningstar, He's moving through Joshua Mills, Patricia King, and our friends Trevor & Sharon Baker in Dudley, U.K., but apart from these and other pockets, there really isn't much. Maybe we should be looking at that and encouraging the church to get set on fire rather than trying to critcize that which we don't understand.
I don't want to be amongst those that one day stand before the Lord and He asks me the question, "Why did you criticize and judge a move of my precious Holy Spirit?" My greatest fear in life is to grieve the Holy Spirit. Rememebr when Jesus said in Matt 7,
1."Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2.For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3."Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4.How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5.You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6."Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7."Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8.For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9."Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10.Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11.If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12.So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13."Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14.But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15."Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16.By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17.Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20.Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Just because someone has tattoes and earrings does not disqualify them from being revivalist's and leaders of genuine moves of God. Maybe you prefer the polished look. Take Todd Bentley out of the picture and put your favorite preacher there. Are you happy now? Is it now a move of God? We need deal with our religious spirit that is holding us back from entering into the fullness of what God has. I suggest giving more time to listening to the voice of the Spirit rather than the opinions of man. Let's forward the emails around that are edifying to the Holy Spirit and let's stop trying to rescue mankind from falling into some sort of cult where we may all end up laying on the floor with same color running shoes. Todd is not a cultist. I have spent much time with him while he was here with us and he is the real deal. Not perfect, but the real deal. This email may offend you but what offends me is people having a go at my friend Todd Bentley who is an amazing man of God, full of the Holy Spirit, and a carrier of the anointing. He is the man that God has raised up in this hour to lead a worldwide revival. He is the real deal. He is not the Anti-Christ as some would portray him to be. Let's stand behind him in this hour. What he really needs right now is our prayers and support. He is doing an amazing job at hosting these nightly revival meetings.
Let me ask this question. Where in the Bible did satan EVER heal, deliver, save, raise 18 people from the dead, cause people to fall in love with Jesus, bring glory to the Father, and worship Jesus? I can't find it anywhere. But what I did find was that he loves to bring division and use God's people to do it. He did bring sickness upon people and cause people to turn away from God. Come on church, let's wake up and get in touch with the reality of what God is presently doing all over the earth.
A majority of the critics have never been to Lakeland, Florida and experienced for themselves what is presently taking place. Amanda and I were there for 2 nights and we can honestly say, the presence of the Lord was really strong in those meetings. It wasn't the presence of satan. I can promise you that!!!!!!!!
In closing, we at Revolution Church want to make a statement. Our church and ministry fully support and stand behind Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries and what God is doing through him. If you're not into the present move of God on this planet then Revolution Church is certainly, most definately not for you. The greatest move of God since the day of Pentecost is sitting right at our door. God is looking for a place to birth this baby here in our nation. Is your Inn full?
In Daddy's great & awesome love,
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Woo hoo, God is on the throne!
Wow what an Awesome testimony to the Glory of God. One of the young ladies in our church posted this on the internet on her Blog http://followthewhiteelephant.blogspot.com/2008/04/vision-or-proof-of-my-impending.html
(so its public stuff not private and I also asked her if I could share it). What God has begun in our church is truely AMAZING. More and more spontaneous miracles and touches from heaven each week. People giving there hearts to the Lord without being asked and then declaring it, baptisms in the Spirit, man its the book of ACTS all over again.
(so its public stuff not private and I also asked her if I could share it). What God has begun in our church is truely AMAZING. More and more spontaneous miracles and touches from heaven each week. People giving there hearts to the Lord without being asked and then declaring it, baptisms in the Spirit, man its the book of ACTS all over again.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Kingdom in a random thought...
Hi all!! I am just home from a youth meeting where our key young men were in the room. One of the things that came out was our potential in God. All of our futures are just potential until we choose to pay a price and trust God. What we have been seeing in Church is people being saved without a message even being driven into them and healings in the midst of worship. This is just a part of what we have been seeing happening at church. Part of what I said to the youth was "We are not into religious things but reality and for that reality there is a price to be paid"
We need to drop our preconceived ideas and thoughts on God and realise that for most (not all) it has been a concept we have followed rather than a relationship. Like a philosophy of behaviour rather than a true living being. Many wonder about what has been happening at church lately and the very straight avoid it, but the fruit has been amazing, as I said; salvations, healings, deliverance and a presence that cannot be described. In summary, leagues beyond what normal church has ever gotten us. As a Pastor I always search my heart as I never wish to lead people astray. "God show me" has basically been my cry. I hear the old adages like "I have seen this before", "this has been around", "What's the fruit". It challenges me to seek the truth, and yes it has been before but the degree to which we surrender is up to us. One of the phenomena that seems to rattle most religious cages is the laughter.....
Then I read an article that basically said this "Most of us associate laughter with humour. We’ve all experienced the side-splitting guffaw in response to a good joke, a funny story, or to an embarrassing moment. But gelotologists, (scientists who study laughter), suggest another trigger point altogether. This trigger is formally called the incongruity theory for laughter. The theory suggests that laughter arises when logic and familiarity are replaced by things that don't normally go together; when we expect one outcome and another happens. Generally speaking, our minds and bodies anticipate what's going to happen and how it's going to end based on logical thought, emotion, and our past experience. But when circumstances go in unexpected directions, our thoughts and emotions suddenly have to switch gears and laughter emerges out of the tension between what we expect and what actually happens.
In thinking about this I thought isn't that why we see so much laughter at our soaking services?? We have an expectation (Religious thought) of what Church/God/Life should be like and then WHAM!! Two different directions at once. Its like people who have a thought about what it should be like then they surrender and God shows up.
In the minds of many Christians, a chasm exists between the kingdom of heaven and the world in which we now live. The kingdom of heaven is seen as the place we are journeying toward, the better country the writer of Hebrews describes it. In contrast, our place on earth is seen as temporary; like Abraham, we are merely passing through. As a result, chasms stand between kingdom and earth, today and tomorrow, the physical and the spiritual. So we struggle to add things up in our heads and take the easy option. But if we will just step outside of ourselves for a moment and consider this thought. ....
What does it mean that we pray God's kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven? What does it mean that Christ repeatedly declared the kingdom of God is here and now among us? What does it mean that for lack of human praise the very rocks will cry out at the glory of their creator while the trees will clap their hands? What in your logical head does that look like?? Now in your spiritual mind what does it look like?? I am sure not seated in chairs nodding and thinking if we agree with a speaker or not based on our moral preferences. But it looks like Jesus, the one who contravened the laws of gravity and food production. The one who saw in the hearts of many and did incredibly offensive things like turning water into perfect wine for already drunk people or spitting in a guys eyes and letting him see. Or the richest and deepest thing to me was to say "He and the father were one",then "Lord make them one as we are". If that is not spiritual I don't know what is.
Well they are a few of my thoughts, but for those of you out there who may have dropped the baton and perhaps are avoiding the reality of a Spiritual Kingdom, I challenge you with this thought. How does the Kingdom you serve and are developing compare with the one the disciples were commissioned to build......
Mat 10:7 And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give.
Mat 10:9 Do not provide gold nor silver, nor copper in your purses,
Or perhaps you are one of the dead that need to hear the voice of God and Live??? God has got to be bigger than our concepts.....Its all up to you... Jesus has done His bit...
Those are my thoughts. Pastor Rob
We need to drop our preconceived ideas and thoughts on God and realise that for most (not all) it has been a concept we have followed rather than a relationship. Like a philosophy of behaviour rather than a true living being. Many wonder about what has been happening at church lately and the very straight avoid it, but the fruit has been amazing, as I said; salvations, healings, deliverance and a presence that cannot be described. In summary, leagues beyond what normal church has ever gotten us. As a Pastor I always search my heart as I never wish to lead people astray. "God show me" has basically been my cry. I hear the old adages like "I have seen this before", "this has been around", "What's the fruit". It challenges me to seek the truth, and yes it has been before but the degree to which we surrender is up to us. One of the phenomena that seems to rattle most religious cages is the laughter.....
Then I read an article that basically said this "Most of us associate laughter with humour. We’ve all experienced the side-splitting guffaw in response to a good joke, a funny story, or to an embarrassing moment. But gelotologists, (scientists who study laughter), suggest another trigger point altogether. This trigger is formally called the incongruity theory for laughter. The theory suggests that laughter arises when logic and familiarity are replaced by things that don't normally go together; when we expect one outcome and another happens. Generally speaking, our minds and bodies anticipate what's going to happen and how it's going to end based on logical thought, emotion, and our past experience. But when circumstances go in unexpected directions, our thoughts and emotions suddenly have to switch gears and laughter emerges out of the tension between what we expect and what actually happens.
In thinking about this I thought isn't that why we see so much laughter at our soaking services?? We have an expectation (Religious thought) of what Church/God/Life should be like and then WHAM!! Two different directions at once. Its like people who have a thought about what it should be like then they surrender and God shows up.
In the minds of many Christians, a chasm exists between the kingdom of heaven and the world in which we now live. The kingdom of heaven is seen as the place we are journeying toward, the better country the writer of Hebrews describes it. In contrast, our place on earth is seen as temporary; like Abraham, we are merely passing through. As a result, chasms stand between kingdom and earth, today and tomorrow, the physical and the spiritual. So we struggle to add things up in our heads and take the easy option. But if we will just step outside of ourselves for a moment and consider this thought. ....
What does it mean that we pray God's kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven? What does it mean that Christ repeatedly declared the kingdom of God is here and now among us? What does it mean that for lack of human praise the very rocks will cry out at the glory of their creator while the trees will clap their hands? What in your logical head does that look like?? Now in your spiritual mind what does it look like?? I am sure not seated in chairs nodding and thinking if we agree with a speaker or not based on our moral preferences. But it looks like Jesus, the one who contravened the laws of gravity and food production. The one who saw in the hearts of many and did incredibly offensive things like turning water into perfect wine for already drunk people or spitting in a guys eyes and letting him see. Or the richest and deepest thing to me was to say "He and the father were one",then "Lord make them one as we are". If that is not spiritual I don't know what is.
Well they are a few of my thoughts, but for those of you out there who may have dropped the baton and perhaps are avoiding the reality of a Spiritual Kingdom, I challenge you with this thought. How does the Kingdom you serve and are developing compare with the one the disciples were commissioned to build......
Mat 10:7 And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give.
Mat 10:9 Do not provide gold nor silver, nor copper in your purses,
Or perhaps you are one of the dead that need to hear the voice of God and Live??? God has got to be bigger than our concepts.....Its all up to you... Jesus has done His bit...
Those are my thoughts. Pastor Rob
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
My Brain Hurts
Recently I have observed many people including myself battle with the mind. It is such a strong place that can be of great help or incredible distraction.
The bible is clear, (Rom 8:7) "because the carnal mind is enmity (at war opposed to; against) God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be." (So why do we try to line it up in our mind?) We can all be good at controlling our finances, our career, maybe even other people, but chances are we struggle with controlling our own thought life. We might have expected our thoughts to be the easiest of all things to control, but there are times when taming the national debt seems easier than steering one's own mind to where it needs to be. I have experienced this over and over in my own life and seen it time and time again in well meaning Christian lives, who are searching to be free from debilitating mind sets. The Bible sets a very high standard by stating that we "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every thought!!! Man this seems to many and to all of us at times impossible. Yet the injunction is clear.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)
This verse is commonly applied to us in a negative way. It convicts us because our thoughts do not live up to this standard. We recognize that many of our thoughts are impure or unlovely or far from praiseworthy. Yet while conviction may be one purpose of this verse, we should not overlook the fact that it gives a positive command. It does not focus on what we shouldn't be thinking about; it tells us what we should think about. This is what can make a difference in our lives. The difference in applying this command positively instead of negatively hit home a few weeks ago when I was thinking about life. I decided to think differently. This was indeed a challenge to go beyond what had become my day to day thought life. To be honest, I found it difficult. I was not used to focusing on what is good; far more often, my critical spirit seizes upon what is not quite right. (Can't most of us be this way at times? So put that rock down!) While it took me a while to think of things that fit the characteristics described in Philippians, once I thought of them, my heart was full of life and gratitude.
I found that I started looking out for these things, striving to recognize good and make note of it in my mind. When I am pursuing thoughts that are pure, I simply have less time to spend thinking negative thoughts. It's a simple retraining process. Well OK, a long retraining process, but its more than worth it. The struggle to break an addiction is more effective when the addiction is replaced rather than simply resisted. If we only battle sinful thoughts by trying to shut them off, we will find that our minds abhor a vacuum even more than nature does. It is only when we replace the thoughts that do not honour God with thoughts that bring Him glory that we will have truly taken our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. It's more than not thinking bad, its replacing it with the power of life, JESUS.
If you struggle to find the motivation to discipline your thought life, consider that those whose thoughts are being changed and are living the fuller life. Lust, anxiety, fear, and judgmentalness may satisfy our cravings, and indeed make us feel better about us, but the end result is that they, like junk food, leave us feeling sluggish and spiritually dead. If instead, we think on the things that God recommends, we will find welling up in us a spring that is flowing with life. Its much easier to eat Maccas or KFC but let me recommend RMLTL - Renewed Minds Lead to Life!
Well those are my thoughts Pastor Rob
The bible is clear, (Rom 8:7) "because the carnal mind is enmity (at war opposed to; against) God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be." (So why do we try to line it up in our mind?) We can all be good at controlling our finances, our career, maybe even other people, but chances are we struggle with controlling our own thought life. We might have expected our thoughts to be the easiest of all things to control, but there are times when taming the national debt seems easier than steering one's own mind to where it needs to be. I have experienced this over and over in my own life and seen it time and time again in well meaning Christian lives, who are searching to be free from debilitating mind sets. The Bible sets a very high standard by stating that we "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every thought!!! Man this seems to many and to all of us at times impossible. Yet the injunction is clear.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)
This verse is commonly applied to us in a negative way. It convicts us because our thoughts do not live up to this standard. We recognize that many of our thoughts are impure or unlovely or far from praiseworthy. Yet while conviction may be one purpose of this verse, we should not overlook the fact that it gives a positive command. It does not focus on what we shouldn't be thinking about; it tells us what we should think about. This is what can make a difference in our lives. The difference in applying this command positively instead of negatively hit home a few weeks ago when I was thinking about life. I decided to think differently. This was indeed a challenge to go beyond what had become my day to day thought life. To be honest, I found it difficult. I was not used to focusing on what is good; far more often, my critical spirit seizes upon what is not quite right. (Can't most of us be this way at times? So put that rock down!) While it took me a while to think of things that fit the characteristics described in Philippians, once I thought of them, my heart was full of life and gratitude.
I found that I started looking out for these things, striving to recognize good and make note of it in my mind. When I am pursuing thoughts that are pure, I simply have less time to spend thinking negative thoughts. It's a simple retraining process. Well OK, a long retraining process, but its more than worth it. The struggle to break an addiction is more effective when the addiction is replaced rather than simply resisted. If we only battle sinful thoughts by trying to shut them off, we will find that our minds abhor a vacuum even more than nature does. It is only when we replace the thoughts that do not honour God with thoughts that bring Him glory that we will have truly taken our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. It's more than not thinking bad, its replacing it with the power of life, JESUS.
If you struggle to find the motivation to discipline your thought life, consider that those whose thoughts are being changed and are living the fuller life. Lust, anxiety, fear, and judgmentalness may satisfy our cravings, and indeed make us feel better about us, but the end result is that they, like junk food, leave us feeling sluggish and spiritually dead. If instead, we think on the things that God recommends, we will find welling up in us a spring that is flowing with life. Its much easier to eat Maccas or KFC but let me recommend RMLTL - Renewed Minds Lead to Life!
Well those are my thoughts Pastor Rob
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Hopping mad!
Hi all, sorry for the long delay between letters but CHRISTmas just ran into New Years. Speaking of which, may we all have a great and truly God Eye opening New Year in 2008.
I was just contemplating what to me is almost an epidemic in the Christian world, where we see more and more people Church hopping and never dedicating themselves to where God has them planted. You read hear and see all the reasons under the sun as to why people have shifted churches, but not many add up in a biblical way. Are we just too consumer-driven when it comes to “finding a good church”?
All sorts of reasons are heard; "they have nothing for youth", "it's to hot", "the preacher is boring", "it's not this or not that", "I should be in ministry now". Rarely do you hear "I am here to give my best and help facilitate God's dream no matter the cost. I am not my own I am bought at a price, so I am planted till God moves me".
Seriously, even seasoned people who have walked the road a long time are pulling out of ministry and sitting back pointing out the things that are wrong, rather than facilitating the change that the body may be indeed in need of. It seems like it's easier not to make the effort and find the reasons why not, rather than "I will become the change I see that is needed." Now please hear this correctly, we are still having the same numbers in our church so it's not a reaction to numbers. But rather what I see spiritually and hear from around the state.
I wonder in my heart is there a spiritual connection to this mallaise?
CS Lewis brilliantly describes this in The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape, a senior devil instructing a subordinate on how to snare a human soul, writes: "If a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The search for a "suitable" church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil." Is this you?
In my mind don't you want a church where worship is about God and not entertainment? Do you want a place where wounded people come for divine healing, or where healthy people come for exercise? I believe that breaking the cycle of church-hopping is similar to breaking out of a pattern of unhealthy, addictive relationships. Essentially, it involves becoming much more realistic about what it is that a church is supposed to provide. Just as a spouse is not there to make you happy, solve your problems, and give meaning to your life, so too a church is not merely some spiritual socket that will endlessly recharge you every time you stick your plug in! I've come to realize that a good relationship with either a church or a friend requires tremendous patience, a willingness to sacrifice, and a hell of a sense of humor. Both relationships and churches work better when we ask not what they can do for us but what we can do for them.
Well those are some of my thoughts. Pastor Rob
I was just contemplating what to me is almost an epidemic in the Christian world, where we see more and more people Church hopping and never dedicating themselves to where God has them planted. You read hear and see all the reasons under the sun as to why people have shifted churches, but not many add up in a biblical way. Are we just too consumer-driven when it comes to “finding a good church”?
All sorts of reasons are heard; "they have nothing for youth", "it's to hot", "the preacher is boring", "it's not this or not that", "I should be in ministry now". Rarely do you hear "I am here to give my best and help facilitate God's dream no matter the cost. I am not my own I am bought at a price, so I am planted till God moves me".
Seriously, even seasoned people who have walked the road a long time are pulling out of ministry and sitting back pointing out the things that are wrong, rather than facilitating the change that the body may be indeed in need of. It seems like it's easier not to make the effort and find the reasons why not, rather than "I will become the change I see that is needed." Now please hear this correctly, we are still having the same numbers in our church so it's not a reaction to numbers. But rather what I see spiritually and hear from around the state.
I wonder in my heart is there a spiritual connection to this mallaise?
CS Lewis brilliantly describes this in The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape, a senior devil instructing a subordinate on how to snare a human soul, writes: "If a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The search for a "suitable" church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil." Is this you?
In my mind don't you want a church where worship is about God and not entertainment? Do you want a place where wounded people come for divine healing, or where healthy people come for exercise? I believe that breaking the cycle of church-hopping is similar to breaking out of a pattern of unhealthy, addictive relationships. Essentially, it involves becoming much more realistic about what it is that a church is supposed to provide. Just as a spouse is not there to make you happy, solve your problems, and give meaning to your life, so too a church is not merely some spiritual socket that will endlessly recharge you every time you stick your plug in! I've come to realize that a good relationship with either a church or a friend requires tremendous patience, a willingness to sacrifice, and a hell of a sense of humor. Both relationships and churches work better when we ask not what they can do for us but what we can do for them.
Well those are some of my thoughts. Pastor Rob
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