I Give Up!

I have been contacted by a number of people this year who have said in essence, "I give up! I cannot be a Christian. This is too hard. I can feel my heart growing harder towards God. Those who claimed to be saved have shown themselves to be hypocrites and have let me down. This whole faith thing cannot be real. I just thought Jesus would be different."  I received another of those messages tonight.

These statements remind me of a dream the Lord gave me years ago, about which I began to write a book entitled, "Why Adam Cannot Be Saved". It is like I am watching this dream come to life before my eyes, which confirms for me that I need to complete that writing. However, I am just tonight finishing another book with my pastor called "The Organic Gospel"; and that too is very fitting.

Don't get me wrong.  I completely understand that each individual must make their own choices in life.  I also know that there will be (and is currently) a great apostasy as people turn away from God and go back to the world.  Yet, a big part of the issue I believe is that people have no idea what it means to be saved.

Most Christians believe that being a Christian means you just believe Jesus died for your sins.  That is not true.  Even the demons know this.  Such persons mentally ascend to faith (intellectually acknowledging Jesus), but proceed with trying to live out the "Christian" life in their own human effort without being born again. Jesus becomes an accessory to make me feel okay in my sin, a person to call upon when in need, or someone to help me achieve my worldly dreams. People run the gamut in religion, trying to be accepted by God by following the dictates of some religious organization. They try to live Godly, but without the life of God within, all they can do is emulate it. This road of dead works leads to a dead end and will only bring you to complete and utter frustration & exhaustion. As we explain it to our children, being a Christian means receiving that Jesus died for our sins and in turn laying our lives down for Him so that He may live through us.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

"And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." II Corinthians 5:15

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

This is not something you can do on your own; you cannot will it to happen and nor can you do enough good deeds to bring it about. You must have the power of the Holy Spirit renewing your mind and transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. 

Most Christians grow weary because they do not understand salvation.  They do not understand that the Gospel message sent to bring them into salvation is organic, purposing to grow the very nature of Christ within them...not have them perform for Christ.  Most people arguing about doctrine and religious Babylon do so because they have not been born again.  If people truly understood the Gospel, then a lot of this striving and debating would end. Failure to understand this will cause to you "go back and walk no more with Jesus" (John 6:60-66).

We must be born again if we are to see the Kingdom of God, and that is not simply a religious catch-phrase. Satan has set-up a false religious system and a perversion of the Gospel to prevent you from entering into new life in the Spirit.  Will you just take the delusion and die or will you finally reach out for that which is real and live?

For those who feel that they are struggling in the faith or worse, failing to overcome the enemy - whether in sin, fear, doubt, unbelief, etc. - I want to encourage you to hold on and seek the truth in the Scriptures. I truly believe that the book, The Organic Gospel, is going to be an eye-opener and a great blessing for many who have struggled in Christianity and who know deep within their hearts that something is wrong in their faith. Not because the book is from us, but because it makes plain the way to salvation and the many deceptions throughout the churchworld which seeks to blind you to to it.

Please pray for us as we look for publishers and distributors for the book. If you would be interested in reading a copy, please send us an email and I will advise you when it is available.

As an encouragement, I would like to share one of my daughter's favorite songs...and it is quickly becoming a favorite of mine as well.  God Bless!

The Help

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." I Corinthians 12:28

It is interesting how we see ourselves, including after salvation.  Even our perceptions of who we are and what God can do through us must be cast down (II Corinthians 10:5).  Our image of ourselves, our past, our experiences, our weaknesses, our inabilities, our shortcomings, our comfort zones...must all be brought to naught and made new in Christ in order to move forward in Him. 

I have long thought that my calling in the Lord was to be in the ministry of "helps".  It seemed to be what I was good at: helping others.  Someone needed help finding a job?  I could help.  Someone needed help with a particular writing?  I could help.  Someone needed a website created?  I could help.  Adults needed for children's church?  I could help.  A performance by the dance ministry was desired?  I could help.

I was always happy to help others as it gave me a sense of purpose.  I was being fruitful in the things of the Lord.  After all, God has given us all talents for the benefit of the Body of Christ.  Yet, there may come a time when God expects you to use your talents directly and not just lend them to others for the work He has called them to do.  What about the work He has called you to do?

In the parable of the talents, each person had individual responsibility for investing the talents God had given them and bringing about their own resulting increase to the Kingdom.  God gives "to every man according to his several ability" and each was held individually accountable.  It was not enough for the servants to just give their talents to others to invest (Matthew 25:14-30).  Similarly, we must prove our own selves faithful with what God has entrusted to us.

It is wonderful to help others in their work for the Lord, but we cannot hide there.  The Lord has a work for us to do as well.  It may be comfortable to be part of a team or a Body, but sometimes God will cull you out alone to go or do what He desires.  We cannot stay in the background, but we must each take our own stand and get about the Father's business.  We must each be personally accountable and personally responsible for that which He has given us to do.

Sometimes, when given a task to do by the Lord, we immediately limit ourselves.  Like when God told Moses to go deliver His people, Moses immediately became self-conscious saying, "Who am I that I should do this?" (Exodus 3:11).  I have felt this way before, even very recently.  Upon the Lord telling us to step up, we start thinking of reasons why we are not capable of the task and why the Lord should choose someone else.

"And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do." Exodus 4:10-15

Moses had many reasons why he should not be the one to do what God asked.  His entire concern was based upon his own insecurities and how he thought people would respond to him. Yet this is the thing, is it not God who is doing the work?  Is there anything He is limited in doing? If we are depending on our smarts, our know-how, our strength, then surely we will fail.  However, if it is the Lord of Hosts who ordains the work, will He not see it through to completion (Psalm 127:1)?

When we shirk back from what God is telling us to do, we are expressing unbelief in Him.  We are doubting God's omniscience and power.  This is why the Lord got angry with Moses.  Did not the Lord know whom He was calling for the work?  Was it not His determined counsel to choose Moses?  Did God make a mistake?  It is the same for us. Do we trust the Lord to bring about what He has said or do we not?  When God leads us to do something, are we hemming and hawing, dragging our feet or are we going full steam ahead trusting Him to bring about the outcome?

When discussing these issues with my pastor, He said to me, "You have to be responsible for bringing in the harvest just like every one else."  That shocked me.  Wasn't I helping to bring in the harvest?  Yet that was just it.  I had found my comfort zone being part of the crowd, blending in to the background, but God was calling me to step up from the shadows and get on the front lines of the battle.  It has to be a personal war fought where God can bring about personal victories through willing vessels.  Where are the sheaves being brought into the Kingdom based upon my life being laid down?  Even this blog - which has also been a way for God to get me to deal more directly with people - has a certain amount of anonymity to it.

Upon this realization, I prayed, "Lord, help me not to see myself through my own eyes."  Then I thought better and said, "Better yet, Lord help me not to 'see me', but to see you."  When God leads us, we should not look to ourselves at all.  Empowered by His Spirit, we can do all things.  As we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will not be limited by our own [mis]perceptions.

Maybe God is leading some of you to step out and do what seems to be impossible - or at the least improbable.  Maybe you hesitate because you don't feel capable, you are afraid of failing, or you have just gotten too comfortable where you are.  Forget how you see yourself and let God's will unfold in your life.  You will be amazed at what He can do...and you might not even recognize yourself in that kind of freedom!