Let's see who I can hack off today

And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Matthew 10:28 

Here is your glossary for today's post.

Church = every person who has a relationship by way of confession with Jesus

Fellowship = the place we go on Saturday or Sunday to sing and pray and listen. Or drink coffee and    eat donuts.

Leadership = every person who claims a place of authority in the church/fellowship. This includes pastors, deacons, SS teachers, elders, ministry leaders.

IHOP = International House of Prayer (no pancakes today)

Bethel = Christian University, church, community

Jim Jones = Pastor who lead his fellowship in mass suicide, Guyana, 1978

I am not trying to be a rebel. Or a pain. Or mean or anything.

What I am trying to do with these posts is get you to THINK .

Think like a follower of Christ.

Think with the power of wisdom.

Think like you're not just another cow in the herd.

I can talk my head off and give you info on Islam, Satanism, cults, blah blah blah, but those aren't the real danger to the church today.

You oughtta know already that these are bad.

 I don't need to slap a sign up on the rim of the Grand Canyon that says “No Diving”. You're not stupid.

I have recognized a growing trend in the church to to idolize certain sources of spiritual teaching. Ah really, that's nothing new. If it was new, Jim Jones wouldn't have been able to kill 909 people.

Wow! You say. That's harsh! Valarie, are you really comparing Jones with what is going on today?!

No! Yes. Kind of.  What I am going after is the herd mentality of the church.

I am NOT saying people are trying to lead us down the Kool-aid path. But.....

I'm saying we need to be knowledgeable of our scripture. We have to know, when someone is standing there teaching, and has “adjusted” the Bible, that we are listening not to the Word of God, but a personal narrative.

We have left the realm of the King, and are now in the office of Secular Sociology.

Most of these people who do this are well meaning. They are really burdened by the Lord to teach, evangelize, minister to the needy, lay hands on the wounded. They are not bad people.

Butbutbutbutbut! They are teaching what they were taught, without delving into the Bible to learn for themselves. Or they've been sparked with a great idea, and have skimmed the Bible, and the internet, for a scripture or two that just might work to base their teaching on.

If they were taught by someone working from knowledge and wisdom, that usually works just dandy. If they were taught by someone with an agenda, usually based on their personal fellowship traditions from childhood, not so much.

I took issue with a clip from Bethel.tv posted on Facebook today with Kris Vallotton teaching from Esther. I understand the point he was trying to make, I really do. But the truth is, he rearranged the actual events to fit his message. Why would you do that?

Improving God's message? Don't think it works that way.

I'm trying to be a real follower of Jesus. I am so far away from being a true believer it's scary. I read and research, I pray and talk and listen and cry and laugh and cringe. There is so much of me and so little of Him in my life and I want it the other way around.

Years ago, I was asked what I wanted in my life. It hit me in a flash.

I want to love God as much as He loves me.

If that is your desire, you are going to have a hard time getting there by receiving messages from leadership that doesn't know the Bible. Or is tweaking it for their own agenda.

Let me throw a little aforementioned scripture down.

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. Rev 22:18,19

I know this is specifically about the book of John's revelation, but I'm sure God wants us to be wary of any place in the scriptures being fiddled with.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:39-47

You're saying “Valarie, I think you've gone overboard. What could moving a time frame in one little verse hurt? He's just trying to make a point that is good.”

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:17-18

(I just threw that in there for good measure!)

Let' me give you a small idea of why tweaking/rearranging/adding/subtracting/messin' with scripture can and will change your view of God's story.

Ahem........Read with precision, paying close attention to punctuation.

I love eating Grandma's peach pies, and painted butterflies.

I love eating Grandma's, peach pies and painted butterflies.

I love eating Grandma's peach, pies, and painted butterflies.

I love eating Grandma's, peach, pies, and painted butterflies.

I love eating, Grandma's peach pies, and painted butterflies.

Five sentences, all using the exact same words, all unique.

You tell me. Did the addition, or subtraction, of a few commas change anything? I went from a person who loves my Memaw to a cannibal in one tiny mark. Yeesh!

Go read Esther. Ye search the scriptures for a reason.

This picture has nothing to do with my post. I just like Chihuly.



I'm not telling you not to listen to preachers and teachers from Bethel, or IHOP, or any place. I'm saying when someone starts teaching something from the Bible, and YOU have to take their word for it, you are at the mercy of MAN for your understanding.

Get in the Word. Read! Research! Dig like a crazed terrier! Fall in love with the poetry, the angst, the mystery and the action!

Stop letting someone else do your work for you.

No workie, no eatie. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (You've really gotta read this whole chapter!)

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:6-12

Okay. I'm done.

Almost. One last hit. “The Message” is not a bible, so stop using it as one.

Okay! I'm done!

Make Ready the Way of the Lord!

Are you ready to fight? Have you been a watchman on the wall, surveying the coming and going of the crowd?

Are you prepared to make the way of the Lord?

Do you even know what that means?

“Make ready the way of the Lord!” The cry of John as he walked out in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

We tend to diminish this statement, this call, to “He's a-comin'! Put on a clean shirt!”

Oh, fool-hearty children. You seriously think John risked life and limb to get you to comb your hair and put out the good towels?

No. It was a battle cry. A charge! A trumpet blast!

“GET READY! HE'S HERE! Soldiers, up and running! Get your weapons, saddle up and ride. THE WAR HAS BEGUN.”

Franklin Graham is making waves this week in the news. Why? Because he is stating his opinion, based on his experience, education in Scripture, and belief in the tenets of All Mighty God.

And that, my pumpkins, is not going to go over well. Not in Washington. Not in political circles. Unfortunately, not in many 'churches' in the country.

There is more to this than a crappy government. Our leadership in the USA is not incompetent, or lazy, or stupid. Our present situation is a well mastered, cleverly executed and driven plan. And not a new one.

And the church mice keep doin' their thing. Teaching Bible classes. Having fellowships. Playing games. Starting up ministries.

And Rome is burning.

We are called to be warriors. Not just praying and hugging people (which is wondrous

) but to learn to fight, to war, to win. If you think we are going to win peacefully, you have NOT been reading the book. Real Christians do not live in fear. We are getting ready for WWIII.

It will be here.

It will be on my street.

I am going to win.

How about you? Are you ready? Will you stand and fight for those who cannot? Will you be the cold cup of water Jesus was talking about, or are you going to be the wanderer in the desert crying to go back to slavery?

Make ready the way of the Lord!!

Church Phrases

Church Phrases.

I hate church phrases.

What are they, you ask, a little tremor in your voice.

Church phrases are those neat one-liners we are all endowed with through ministry training, Sunday School, Sabbath School, Bible study, pastoral “repeat after me” stuff, etc.

But, we use this to help people, you say. Auuuugh! That's ridiculous!! I'm sick of them.

The reason I hate them is...........they ain't scriptural! They don't even make sense most of the time. They are dopey traditions we get saddled with usually when someone in charge has read another book of a third party's experiences with God.

One of the least faves is “Wow! God really showed up this morning!”

What the bob saget is that supposed to mean? Where was He? Hiding out in the wings awaiting His introduction? Eating donuts in the green room listening for His cue?

Where do leaders get the idea that God has to wait until we INVITE Him into our presence?

How do you correlate an all powerful, omnipresent Creator with someone who needs YOU to call the shots?

My thought has always been “HEY! Maybe YOU showed up; shut up; and finally listened enough to realize He was right there all the time.”

Next in irritation level. “God is a gentleman. He will never force Himself on you.”

Well. La-ti-da.

In my understanding, a gentleman doesn't give you enough rope with which to hang yourself. (Nice grammar, eh?)

The Most High God of Heaven can, and will, jerk you upright, hug you tight,slap you down flat, rock you like a baby, roll you around in a mud-hole, hold your hand in His, or shake you like a rag-doll if that's what it takes to get your head out your own stupidity and look at what He has for you. He will keep on and on, especially if there is someone bearing down in prayer for you, until you either get it, or you decide to shoot yourself repeatedly in the foot.

How about this snippet of soggy wisdom? “God never closes a door without opening a window.”

Oh. My. Head.

Who makes up this stuff?

Ever have God close a door?

Yup.

Ever run around like a chicken, trying to find that open window?

Yup.

Ever get totally frustrated with God because there wasn't a window, much less an open one?

YUP!!

My experience is when He closes the door, it's because you're not supposed to go in there!

Your two year old wants to climb the 20 foot ladder they're using to paint the house. You say “No!” and lock the screen door. But you open a window in the bedroom, just in case he really wants to climb that ladder.

What kind of parent are you?!

Why do you think God shuts doors, locks doors, slams doors?

To keep you from going though them, ninnyhammer! You wanna get out? Go the RIGHT door. Quit looking for an open window to sneak through.

Don't bruise the Bride.

Walk in your healing.

I got more!

What I'm trying say, as I stomp all over my friend's toes, is we have got to stop living “Christian” lives based on the latest fad of ministry. We have GOT to read the Book and DO what it says! We have got to have a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ and do what He did, does, and always will do.

How else will we stand, folks?

How can we love, if we are still reading a script?