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I heard a quote from Pastor Leo Giovinetti today that really sums up some problems people have in the church all the way back to the church in Corinth and even the Levitical priesthood through the Pharisees and Sadducees.

He said we have to unlearn Calvary Chapel.  Unlearn United Methodist.  Unlearn Southern Baptist.  Instead we need to sit with Jesus.  This is a profound statement that comes straight from the heart of Jesus.  It is found in the gospels.  The Pharisees were too tied up in their tradition.  They had forgotten God.  The Corinthians were arguing amongst themselves who was the better leader to follow, Paul or Apollos.  They had forgotten the one they were supposed to be following.  The Ephesians held fast to doctrine very well.  They weeded out the false prophets and teachers, but in the process they had forgotten their first love.

It will do us well to ask ourselves what is more important.  The institution we attend or the one that institution serves?  Unlearn Calvinism.  Unlearn United Methodist.  Unlearn Baptist.  Unlearn Calvary Chapel.  Unlearn Catholocism.  Unlearn Lutheranism.  Sit with Jesus.

If this statement offends you.  Consider why that might be.  Do you put your faith in the institution, or the one the institution was originally set up to serve?

It is no suprise to any mature christian that attacks will come from without the Body. The attacks that really hurt are the ones that come from within. For the last two weeks I have been struggling with this.

The bible warns of the consequences of the decision of what we worship.  Essentially, we become like that which we worship or hold in reverence and high esteem.  What is it that you are holding in reverence and high esteem?

This seems to be a popular misunderstanding of how salvation works.  It is even more confusing since the book of James speaks of faith and works in a way that can be viewed with a quick look as speaking of works being required for salvation.  That is far from the truth of the matter.  James and Paul both agree that Faith is by grace and that because of that grace you exhibit that sanctified status by works.  Jesus said you will know them by their fruit (Matt. 7:16, 7:20).  In this case, he was speaking from the other side in that you will know false prophets and teachers. Matthew 7:17 indicates he means it in reciprocation, too.  We have phrases like “walk the walk” and “actions speak louder than words”.  That is exactly what James is talking about.  You can believe and have faith but true faith will exhibit itself through the fruit that you produce.  Fruit is obviously being used metaphorically.

There was a long time between posts from November to this last month.  The reason being I was working on an article that grew larger than I had anticipated.  As such, it turned into an 80 page booklet.

The Armament of God

The Apostle Paul metaphorically tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” but what does that mean and why do we need to put it on? How does one go about wearing the armor of God? This book discusses the pieces of the armor. It describes the meaning of each of the elements and the forms of the devil’s attacks. In the western world we tend to ignore or even scoff at the concept of a spiritual world. Some even allegorize the devil as not real. Paul, in each of his letters, warns that he is real and this battle is real and we need to be properly equipped to engage in the spiritual warfare waged around us. For this, we need to learn to utilize the entire Armament of God.

It is popular to teach that Paul was chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote this and that is where he got the idea for the metaphor.  While this may be useful, this book will show that these metaphors are used throughout the bible in the same way consistantly making the source for the armament more than just convenient imagery.  It has a deeper meaning which speaks of the integrity of the text of the bible as a whole.

This book covers each part in detail.  Crosses it definition with other locations throughout the bible and gives practical advice on how to apply each part.  Including the fiery darts Paul wrote about but I find are often glossed over especially in western culture.

Well, there is one day remaining and it doesn’t appear that the ISV.org will get the money they were needing for a leather bound run this year.  However, the ISV foundation isn’t giving up.  Below is a note sent from Dr. Welty himself.

That being said, there is still 1 day. I have learned that my own understanding, while somewhat useful, isn’t a thing to be leaned on. Now where did I read that? Proverbs maybe? (3:5)

Yes, there is an alternative to Facebook that even uses facebook to log in.

I don’t do social networking.  I tried it for a time but deleted my profile from that famouse facebook.  Recently I heard about another project that is pretty much facebook but without the censorship of prolife messages.  I didn’t delete my profile because of the censorship, which I didn’t know about at the time, I deleted because I never used it and didn’t like their attitude toward customers and privacy concerns.

Anyway, try it out.  http://prolifebook.com/

I received great news today just as I was leaving work.  In my email, Dr. Welty announced that a new printing of the ISV was being organized in hardback and leather bound copies.  However, they need some money to get the project going.  I find the ISV extremely readable.  It is what I use for my daily reading, though I only have it on computer forms.  When I do not have a computer nearby I use the King James version.  I find it does a great job of clarifying the greek verb tenses and as such brings enlightenment to verses that otherwise seem confusing without more study into the original languages.

Here is a video describing the ISV from the kickstarter.org location.

I had the opportunity to go see this film last Saturday thanks to a special viewing presented by the Holy Cross Church of Las Cruces.

It is a good movie.  I advise watching it.  When watching it, it is easy to be in a mindset that this is just a movie and none of it is real.  However, remember that this movie is based on events of the 1920s in Mexico.  These were real events and real people.

They say “it can’t happen here”.  When the prologue appeared on the screen describing the new laws President Calles had implemented, they looked very very familiar.  I hope it doesn’t happen here, but the enemy is subtle and tenacious.

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

I want to point out to those who are upset or offended or just perplexed by priests who fight.  Read about Phineas in the bible.  The Levitical priests even had a role to play in armed service, see the story about the short reign of Queen Athalia of the southern kingdom.

Remember that no matter what is happening, everything you do should be done for God.  Be that flipping burgers, preparing reports, sweeping floors, fixing cars or teaching.  Do it for God.