What is the meaning of the word "Church"?

Generally, the term that is translated into the word church is ekklesia. This term means - called out assembly. In the Greek it referred to a lawmaking assembly apart from the civil authority. This is expression is assumed to be fulfilled by the institutional church today. Is this explicitly so? As washed in His blood, redeemed, re-born, followers of Christ, we are the Body of Christ. In scripture, ekklesia- church- always refers to the Body of Christ. This Body is only made up of born-again disciples of Christ. One would have to admit that this description does not apply to all church attenders, or even all church members. The "church" is not a building, a meeting place, a denomination, a 501 (3)c non-profit corporation. It is a group of people. A living, breathing, manifestation of the life of Christ in the world, made of of His people. If one would allow that this is the case then what are the logical implications of that statement. We are commanded to not forsake gathering together. With whom are we to gather together? With the Body of Christ- of course. Does attending a meeting with non- believers fulfill this command? NO. Is church for the saved or unsaved? Given the definition of the church as the Body of Christ- the answer is obvious- the saved. Does this describe your church?? It matters not the rationalization- church is for evangelism, to preach the word so that they might hear and be regenerate, to serve our neighbors, etc. The answer is still- the gathering together is for those that belong to HIM! Can an unsaved person worship God? Again the answer is no. The gospel is foolishness to those that perish. There none righteous- no not one. There are none that seek after [Him]. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Holy, means called out, separate. We are called to be Holy as He is Holy, in the world but not of it. But...but...but...how are we to save sinners??You and the church don't and never will. God saves sinners, in His grace and mercy, not by our best efforts, smooth words, and slick programs. If we cannot correctly identify and differentiate between the church as it is-a man made institution- and the Body of Christ- a holy people sanctified unto Him and His works; how on earth do we expect the world to know the difference? We demonstrate our love of God by obedience to His will, NOT by doing what we think is right in our own minds. If we don't even know how to rightly define church, how will we ever discern what it is that we are supposed to be obedient to?

Truth Seekers Wanted

One the most maturing and difficult times I have had in my walk with God was a time when He led me to make a list of all the things that I thought were true about Him, His Word, and what it meant to be a follower of Christ. God then wanted me to list these beliefs, and categorize them into three classes. First those beliefs that were required or explicitly stated in Scripture, secondly, those beliefs that were based on church tradition, and lastly those beliefs that were a part of my personality- things I wished were true. It was a humbling experience to discover how few of my beliefs were actually stated in Scripture- and therefore definitively true- and all the others that were not. It was a lesson both in humility, and a lesson in grace. God showed me that I needed to test all beliefs/opinions by His Word and measure them to see if they were true. It gave me a measure of my maturity in Christ, i.e. how well I knew the character of God. It also reminded me to be very careful not to ascribe my opinions to God, and to be more diligent in seeking make sure of the truth of my testimony of Him. The lesson in grace I think was even more important. This lesson reminds me during fellowship/discussion, to always be ready to extend grace to a fellow believer who may hold a different opinion than I. It may be a case where one of us has just not grown enough to be ready to know a particular area of truth. God extended me grace when I held some very strong opinions which were in error, I need to do the same. Similarly, any opinion is to be measured by His Word, the totality of Scripture, so that one does not do what is right in one's own eyes, ignoring real truth as revealed by Christ and His Holy Spirit in His Word. God does not change, in Him there is no shadow of turning. His truth does not change, but due to His infinite nature and our finite nature, we will only know in part in this material realm. We grow into the Truth, this is the process of sanctification, being conformed to the image of His Son. As long as any fellowship or discussion is based in a desire to know His truth, Him, and not on defending our opinions- unity will follow. The unity is based on the person hood of God-the very life of Christ in us- not a denominational or doctrinal framework. This is where unity in and of the body of Christ are found.

What is the Purpose?

As you can see in the description of this blog I think Scripture tells us what the purpose is. The overall, bottom line purpose of everything, creation, life, mankind, every action is to bring God glory and honor, for He is worthy of the same. He does not demand it, He commands it by virtue of His perfect character. The heavens and earth declare the glory of God. Man was made in his image to reflect His glory. God calls out a people for himself in order to bring glory to His name before all the nations. God calls, saves, and sanctifies this holy people to testify to His power, grace, mercy, and bring His name glory.  I think this is an important point. It may seem obvious, but we often do not apply this truth in living our lives. We see things in the temporal, and have trouble gaining a more heavenly perspective. We focus on this life- such as it is- material, visible, and temporary, and forget that though we are alive in Christ, this "life" is not fully manifest prior to our glorification. That is true life- as we were created to be, glorified in Him and with Him. This lack of heavenly perspective is what causes me to question- How can I ever "glory in tribulations"? I think the only way this is possible is to look at it through the lens of God's glory. I can "glory" in trials, knowing that it will bring glory to my Lord, my Savior, the love of my  life and the reason for my existence. He is worthy. Any suffering or trial that I may suffer is a pittance compared to what He suffered for me. When you love him with all your mind, body, and soul, and realize who He is, what He has done, and what He deserves, only then can you gladly suffer for His name sake. It requires a right recognition of God, fully revealed in His Son and His Word. If you don't love Him in that way, one can only presume you don't really know Him. Every mention of an encounter with the Lord in Scripture, results in prostration, a recognition of unworthiness, and acknowledgment of His awesome being. Pretensions are tossed aside as His glory and majesty are manifest. In His presence you are forced to admit that He is worthy. On that day every knee will bow before Him as Lord, not under force or coercion but by the inability to lie and deny Him his due honor. This right understanding of God, fuels the flames of our love for Him, and enables us to say with Paul- to live is Christ, to die is gain.

New Year's Resolutions

I have to admit I never really understood the whole excitement over New Year's Eve. I mean really you are just hanging up a new calendar, which tracks a relatively arbitrary method of keeping track of time. Different cultures and different calendars all have different starting points. I do, however, find the idea of making New Year's resolutions to be an interesting concept. We make a list of things we would like to change about ourselves, or do differently in the coming year. It is a time of introspection, a time when we seek to admit that there are things in our lives that we would like to change. I have done this in respect to my walk with Christ. I try to find character flaws or habits that I would like to change, in order to be more obedient to God, to bring more glory to Him by the way I live my life. As time goes on and I am less than successful at accomplishing my list of goals, I find that there have been changes in my life, but they were not the things I thought were priorities. God, in His sovereignty is constantly sanctifying His children, conforming them to the image of His Son. It is humbling to realize that what I thought were my biggest shortfalls, are not what God considers to be my most glaring failures. The things that hinder my fellowship with Him, most often were things I was not even aware of. I find that God is best served by my willingness to listen, to be aware of the whispers of what He is accomplishing in my sanctification process, instead of putting my head down and plowing through with my agenda. I find I am usually plowing the wrong row! So at this time of year, seek God's face, ask Him what it is that He wants to purify in you. You may or may not get a clear answer. In either case, walk softly, listen and trust that He will complete the work that He started in you, and yield to His Holy Spirit. In this way He gets the glory, and you will not glory in your will power and dedication to change yourself. In our weakness His strength is glorified, and in His omniscience He will cause all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Seek His agenda, not ours.

What if ??

The world is getting more perilous every day, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilence and disease, economic hardship, more governmental control, signs in the heavens- surely Christ is going to return soon- I mean how much worse can it get? I think a lot of Christians think this way and draw the "obvious" conclusion that His return is just around the corner. Is this necessarily true? I mean people have been predicting the end of the world as we know it- Armageddon- since the time of Christ. Why is this the case? We might say they were merely poor students of the prophetic literature and misinterpreted the signs of the times. Why were they so convinced they were correct? I think it it because of the human proclivity to only see things through the lens of our own experience. This is the worst situation I could imagine or have experienced, this must mean Christ will return soon! History is replete with examples of people who thought this way. World War I,II,Nuclear holocaust( Hiroshima and Nagasaki), the Cold War, the Small Pox epidemic, the Black Plague, the Great Depression, the War for Southern Independence,  all surely could have led one to believe that it couldn't get any worse than this! Yet they were wrong. It could and did get worse. Is it reasonable to wonder if the same is true today? The fact that as 21st century American Christians- who have had it pretty easy by the way- can't imagine it getting any worse- Christ must be coming back to save me- is pretty ridiculous. There is a plethora of examples both historically and currently in other nations where Christians have had it a whole lot worse- Sudan, Darfur, Palestine, Malaysia, China. We are called to "stand until the end". Are we prepared to do that? So many Christians are "checking out" of the battle for the faith, their community, their church, because they are so sure Christ is coming back soon. What if He is not. What if His time is still years, decades, centuries in the future. If that is the case would you be doing anything different? Would you be contending for the faith more vigorously? Would you be preparing to protect and provide for your family- all in His strength of course? What would Christ have you to do if the end of the world was NOT nigh? What does He say?