Is it time to grow up?

Thirty years ago I was working with a couple of pastors who had a simple, yet radical thought. They conclude that there is only one church. They decided that it was time to put aside this identification with denominations and place our allegiance with Christ first. This may seem obvious to some but it was not being played out in the church. They were divided, jealous of one another, competed against one another and focused on how great their denominational beliefs were.

Thirty years later I am saddened to note that nothing has changed. Are we still infants?

1 Corinthians 3:1-5 states “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task”.  Today Paul and Apolos represent the denominational beliefs or the individuals that we follow.

So why is it so important to grow up? One thing to note is a child is easily deceived by those which have the appearance of being more mature. Today there is so much error in the church. For example:

·       Love without correction – This is really hate because the person giving the love does not care enough to correct so that you can become the righteous person you need to be.

·       Grace without the law – It is impossible to have grace without something to be forgiven yet those things considered wrong are becoming less and less.

·       God being our servant – We are called to be God’s obedient servants, not the other way around.

·       Leadership without humility – The VIPs in our church are an embarrassment to me. We all need to walk in humility, not seeking titles and position, but humbly following Christ and serving one another.

When we Follow Christ and when we grow up we will not be deceived. A mature person in Christ does not consult a mere man about what is right and what is wrong. He seeks God first and studies God’s word. When a person sees error the person does not follow it, but walks in the opposite direction.

We have a chose. Do we continue being infants and blindly follow those in leadership or do we follow Christ, study God’s word and become mature.

When we discover that Christ is greater and that His way is better, then we will be able to shine a light into the darkness and transform our country. It is only through Christ that the church will be lifted up. If we do not grow up we will be robbed of our birth right by both our leadership and by the world. Greatness is there for young and old. We can transform our communities once we discover that God has invested a great deal in us and can do a great thing through us.

the purse of the little children

I keep thinking about the dream of the purse and the little children,of the previous post.
Little children cannot  earn money they must rely on their father to fill their purse.
I said to the children, your purse is better than mine,and their father smiled when I said it.
I am not sure if the current things happening in the USA relate to this dream,but we could do well to be like little children and trust our father to provide and fill our purse not rely on ourselves or on a collapsing system.(the crane and the fallout in the dream)
Gerrie

Wisdom is better than Money

I had a dream last week,a warning dream about finance.
I was a passenger in a van driving through a town I saw in the distance a crane collapsing, it also caused some construction to start falling,I told the people in the van that we may be impacted by the fallout,but they were not looking and slow to react
I got out of the car,I only had one shoe on, a sandal.
,I went to find Stuart to see if he saw the fall of the crane but he had been busy working and had been facing the other way attending to people.
we began walking into the town that was in some confusion,then Stuart handed me my shoe,someone from the Van had passed it on,I put it on and when I looked down the shoes had changed to a pair  that was closed in and suited much better for walking and the situation we found ourselves in.
I then found myself following someone from my past into a church,we looked for somewhere to sit,it began to rain hard,it had no roof,so I took shelter under a table,there I found two small children,they each were holding a purse,the same as my own,I said to the eldest,is that my purse?...,he said no and showed me,it was exactly the same but had pictures or illustrations on it. I said yes it is the same as mine,but it is better,the children's father was there listening and he smiled as I said this.It seemed important for me to say this to the child.
I believe the dream is a warning of financial collapse and fallout,The Church has an open roof,we meet together outside,
God will provide for our walk,( the right shoes )Wisdom is better then money, (the better  purse with pictures. )
proverbs 27.18 whoever tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,and he who cares for his master will be honored.

Are you drinking dirty water?

Would you ever dip a glass in rotting meat and then fill the class with water from a water purifier and drink it.  It would seem silly, wouldn’t it? It would seem sillier to say that the water is pure so it should be safe. But this is exactly what many Christians do with God’s word.

Many people stand up and use God’s word to teach or make a point. They use it to justify one thing or another. Some even use it as a reason to justify some things which the bible clearly states is wrong.  But like the water example, how many people look at the vessel using the pure word of God. The bible states in Mathew 23:25“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

What the bible is saying here is that if the person is unclean on the inside then even though they may be using something good like God’s word, it is tainted by the wickedness within. No Godly truth can come from such a person. Anything they say should be disregarded.  So what should we be looking for? The bible talks about a person and their fruit. The bible states in Mathew 7 23 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. Again in Galatians 5 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We need to look at the fruit of the person speaking. We need to see that they walk in love, humility, and self-control, leading people to God rather than themselves. Seeking to serve and glorify God and His righteousness rather than promoting themselves, a denomination or a fad.

If we listen to people who do not show good fruit, we will become sick and deceived. If we listen to people who  bear good fruit, we will be well nourished and will grow in Christ.

God Bless

Wake Up

last night attended an inter denominational prayer meeting, where we prayed for The Church to wake up! I have heard that myself when I am still sleeping in the morning,Jesus said wake up!
about six months ago I was reading the Bible down at a local beach,the scripture where Jesus says to his disciples why are you sleeping?
nearby was a man sitting on a bench,I had never seen him before,he asked me what was I reading and what did it say?
I was reluctant to tell him,,but he persisted in asking me,so I said 'why are you sleeping" he took a step backwards and looked shocked,it turns out he was a pastor in a  church from that area,he had just been to a Christian Community leaders meeting and was down the beach praying,he had also heard God speak that to him sometime earlier. I then told him a dream I had that week,
My husband and I were driving in NZ, laying,along the road in a very dangerous and precarious position were babies and alongside them were their teachers,they had their eyes open but appeared to be asleep.Why had these babies been left there?
I interpreted it to mean,The Church hasn't been making disciples of our babies and they are in a very dangerous and vulnerable place,we need to wake up.
The morning I met that pastor, I also heard on the car radio the song by Keith Green called Asleep in The Light.,it was very challenging, have a listen to it if you can.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXb45UTUFWU
blessings
Gerrie

Dream in NZ- breakthrough

Dream of breakingthrough

I had this dream just before the recent shakes in Seddon and Wellington.
I was traveling around NZ with a group of women,we were staying in a place that was below sea level,I looked out the window and saw that it was  very dark & raining hard and that it would flood,so I warned the powers that be and they listened ,We had to climb a steep ladder to safety,at the top were a group of women in a room that was like a bakery they were eating bread,at the door stood an officious woman with a clipboard that barred the way. Stuck on the ladder were hungry women. She said to me,you can't come in here as your names aren't on my list. I said something like,don't be stupid and pushed my way through.
three people gave me this interpretation, the bread was the bread of life, the officious woman with her rules and regulations could represent the church,the women the world and the darkness. We need to breakthrough to help these ones reach peace and sanctuary and the bread of life.
coincidentally last week, heard of a lady from Christchurch who came to playgroup at the local church,she lost a child in the earthquake,she truly is seeking peace and sanctuary,I pray that she does not meet religion but the bread of life.
Gerrie