A Christian Viewpoint

The eye of God observes all.
The field beneath his eye is black.
The people of God walk on top of the field.
Where they trod the blood of Christ is applied.
The blood cleanses.
And the field turns white.

recently given to me during an evening service

Jeffrey Dahmer? He made a full and complete confession of his crimes. Rev Ratcliff had a conversation with Dahmer and accepted the fact that he had repented. The goodnews came to Dahmer and he accepted its truth. It was only right for Ratcliff to then baptise Dahmer.

There was another guy as well; he specifically targeted Christians. He would abduct them. Keep them confined. Tortured many of them. Some he even put to death. He travelled to another location to grab other Christians and bring them back so he could torture and kill them. He was a very dispicable man. He was hated and feared by many.

His name? Saul of Tarsus. a.k.a. Paul. And what’s worse… some guy named Ananias baptised this guy. I guess there really is no real justice.

Thank God for that.

Grace and Mercy!

Now as a side note, when I was working at Mohawk Raceways as a security guard I had a lot of time on my hands. I read the story about Ted Bundy. I prayed for Ted, that he would find Jesus and accept forgiveness for his sins. Several months later James Dobson interviewed Bundy. I was glad to hear that Bundy accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Actually I shed a few tears of joy. A little more than three years later I read stories of Jeffrey Dahmer. I prayed for him as well. Fortunately he too accepted Jesus as Lord.

If Jesus can save them. If he could save Paul. Then he can save such a sinner as I. Therein lies the comfort of my soul.

When I am unloving because of self pity; when I am weak because I am carnal; when I am dysfunctional because I am depressed; it is during those times I am fearful that I am not making it. Then God brings this scripture to mind.

2 Tim 1.7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I quote those words. I sing those words. I pray those words. God has given me those words as a reminder and a promise; power, love and a sound mind as I walk in his Spirit. It is my hope.

The relationship of unions/managements is adversarial. It is the nature of the beast.

Unions had there times in the past. Yet a union only benefits a limited number of people in society. Then, the small people not unionised fall behind in the general scheme of things. It creates the have worker class and the have not worker class.

Then there is the raising of the minimun wage. Those at the bottom get immediate relief while those a buck or two higher per hour lose what benefit they have when the prices of goods rise accordingly.

If we go back in history it is the church that is the great equalizer. It is the church where fairness first appears. It is within the church that true justice and freedom come forth. It is when Christian people see evil and pass laws to benefit all that true goodness comes to the lowly and to the exalted.

When a church has to have its pastors unionize to get fair treatment then the church has become a partner with the world and has lost its spiritual connection with their creator.

There are many churches where pastors are abused. Many churches where the flock is abused. The answer is not unionization but repentance and love for each other.

The only thing a union could do for the church is to open a pandora’s box in the midst of the church. It would be far more reaching than wages and benefits for some… it would become a festering sore on the body of Christ.

I have just downloaded and installed wordpress blog tool onto my server. All blogs everywhere will be moved here so that I may work from a central location. Have patience as I learn to use this system. Thank You.

Occasionally over the last couple of months I have been taking some time while alone at night to look at my day and talk it over with God. The first things that get mentioned are sins. Confess them, ask forgiveness, then ask for strength, insight and guidance to better manage those areas.

Then I go for the next smaller sized thing in my life that I should talk about. Then smaller still. In other words… I get the camel out of the soup before I tackle the gnats. Then I can enjoy my soup while sharing in his presence.

😉

I always think of Apostles as those who go out and spread the word of God by laying down a strong foundation of the gospel message and then appointing leadershp to carry on the work… the other four ministries. It is also the duty of the apostle to visit sites previously started and to evalutate whether they are still in the faith (basic foundation) and to bring education or correction to those whom he has appointed to oversee the churches the apostle helped establish. There is a also a time when he should meet with other apostles and elders to evaluate all the works currently being done in the name of christ to ensure the truth continues to be spoken in love. At least that is my view on who they are and their responsibilities.

As Roy has written, the person must be humble above all else… fisrt to God… then to others. I am reminded that Moses is, after a fashion, an example of what an apostle should be. It takes a very humble man to stand before God to get direction. It takes an even humbler man to meet out discipline, with love for God first, a people (Israel) a close second, followed by individuals.

Paul came right out when his authority was challenged… he said not by their speech but by the power that came from their words. Paul’s apostleship would be proven by the power… signs and wonders, done at his command. For where the word is preached there is power following. Of course where a people are sensitive to God then that perfect witness within will confirm or deny that an “apostle” is from God.

Take your pick… the eternal witness (for the mature) or the power of God displayed among you (for the young in faith and the lost).

One further thought. When I am in a situation where a minister or ministry brings a bit of confusion, then prayer is a must until the Spirit gives insight to what is actually happening. Normally, there is a witness from God that I need to see beyond what my eyes perceive… I then enter into prayer until I can see with my spirit what is going on and/or what the truth is. Prayer is the key.

I was channel surfing and came across the Oprah Winfried Show. She had two guests with her. One was named Dr Beckwith. They were discussing a book called The Secret. Intrigued I watched the show for about twenty minutes. What they described is no secret.

I have read several books; think and grow rich, positive thinking, etc. I have listened to spiritual swamis on PBS. I watched other enlightened speakers. These books and speakers may start from slightly different perspectives but all lead to the same core belief.

What you sow in the mental realm you will reap in the physical. As a man thinks so he is. Mental or spiritual imaging brings about the reality. What you are tapping into is; god, the universe, the force or some such concept. They seldom promote this as God but in a fashion they are creating, envisioning, a super-consciouness.

The ideas they promote are basic wisdom principles. After a fashion they do exist. Some, if not many, will be able to profit from the exercise of this wisdom. Understand though, that apart from the God of the bible, it profits nothing on the scale of eternity. It does, however, can very well lead to destruction on the scale of eternity.

The guests do not believe in “the final judgement”. They do not believe in a literal heaven or hell. From what I got from the program they do not believe in the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross; to obtain salvation to all those who believe in Him and his work. It appears that the only sin is incorrect thinking (believing).

I am not writing that these men are intentionally leading people astray. The end result though may be people separated from God or people who will not be able to find God. It has truth but denies “The Truth”. Most people will never find “The Truth”. Yet the world can know this wisdom they preach and profit from it here on earth.

The devil doesn’t so much lie to people, but he certainly does miss-direct them with tasty morsels of “wisdom” devoid of that true “Wisdom” that comes from God.

These men and their followers are delving into the spiritual. There are eternal consequences. My suggestion is to stay clear from this way of thinking. Unless of course it is biblically based and you are being lead of the Spirit to put what the bible says into practice. Do not mix their philosophy with the teachings of the bible.

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