It has been awhile.

I have not written in a while.  Just wondering who is following.  If you are please comment below.

Division along the Way

It continually amazes me at the level of division that lies just beneath the surface amongst most people who call themselves Christians.  We all easily justify it by saying "its OK, as long as you believe in Jesus".  Is it really all OK?  It is clear if you look at the world that something is terribly wrong.  I can not help but think the body of Christ could make a dramatic difference in a positive way.  In my opinion it is this underlying  division that keeps the church from exercising the power that has been entrusted to it.  I have to admit that I don't have many answers.  What I do have  are questions.  Questions that need to have answers if there is to be any continuity among followers of the Way.

1. Who exactly is Jesus?
2. Was His death, burial,  resurrection, and ascension just so we could go to heaven once we die?
3. What about the Kingdom He spent so much time talking about?
4. What is Jesus doing now?
5. Why are there so many different types of denominations today? Can they all be correct?
6. How does your view or non-view of the biblical "last days" impact how you live your life now?
7. What does a life of following Jesus look like?
8. How important is the bible?
9. Who was the bible written to?
10. Can what was written in the bible have a different meaning today than it had 1900 years ago?
11. What event(s) had to take place in order for Heaven to be available once a person died?
12. What did the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD70 indicate in bible prophecy?
13. What if you (or I) are wrong?  What are the consequences?
14. Why were the Christians of the first century accused of "turning the world upside down" Acts 17:6? 
15. What do you think the problem is, and what are you doing about it? (or perhaps you don't see a problem)

We need to put on our "thinking caps".  I bet the last time you looked at getting a new car, or gadget, or house, or whatever you probably shopped around.  You probably got online and checked reviews and talked about it with friends and family.  We call this due diligence in the business world.  You would be considered foolish if you did not spend the time to investigate completely what it was you were investing in.  Interestingly enough most people have only been exposed to one or two views of God.  Most people have not taken the time to weigh the pros an cons of the many views pertaining to Him.  I am urging you to use the gift of "thinking" and apply it to your biblical view.  Ask all the hard questions and be able to defend your answers.  The body of Christ needs to be united for it to be effective in the world.  I would argue that knowing how to answers the above questions will equip you better to contend for the faith.  Obviously the list of questions above are not exhaustive and you are welcome to post more in the comments below.

If you dare take the path of questioning everything then let me warn you that these topics are very emotionally connected for the majority of people.   As you are likely aware it is all but impossible to make a rational decision about anything when emotions get in the way.   Ask yourself if you are emotionally connected to the view you adhere to.  How open is your mind to learning opposing views?  I ask about open mindedness somewhat rhetorically because I know how I have been in the past.

What is the point you may ask.  The point is for you (and me) to grow. 

The Generation Controversy

So maybe you didn't know about a generation controversy.  The popular view in Christianity today is that we are living in the biblical last days.  There are a 37 verses in the bible that use the Greek word "genea" which is translated in to the English word "generation".  Below I have copied all 37 verses for ease of reading. Read them and decide for yourself what the word "generation" means.  Leave a comment as to what you determine with an explanation to support your definition.

1. Mat 1:17 NASB - So all the generations[1074] from Abraham to David are fourteen generations[1074]; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations[1074]; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations[1074].
2. Mat 11:16 NASB - "But to what shall I compare this generation[1074]? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,
3. Mat 12:39 NASB - But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation[1074] craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
4. Mat 12:41 NASB - "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation[1074] at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
5. Mat 12:42 NASB - "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation[1074] at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
6. Mat 12:45 NASB - "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation[1074]."
7. Mat 16:4 NASB - "An evil and adulterous generation[1074] seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away.
8. Mat 17:17 NASB - And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation[1074], how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."
9. Mat 23:36 NASB - "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation[1074].
10. Mat 24:34 NASB - "Truly I say to you, this generation[1074] will not pass away until all these things take place.
11. Mar 8:12 NASB - Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation[1074] seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation[1074]."
12. Mar 8:38 NASB - "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation[1074], the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
13. Mar 9:19 NASB - And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation[1074], how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
14. Mar 13:30 NASB - "Truly I say to you, this generation[1074] will not pass away until all these things take place.
15. Luk 1:48 NASB - "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations[1074] will count me blessed.
16. Luk 1:50 NASB - "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION[1074] AFTER GENERATION[1074] TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
17. Luk 7:31 NASB - "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation[1074], and what are they like?
18. Luk 9:41 NASB - And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation[1074], how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
19. Luk 11:29 NASB - As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation[1074] is a wicked generation[1074]; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
20. Luk 11:30 NASB - "For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation[1074].
21. Luk 11:31 NASB - "The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation[1074] at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
22. Luk 11:32 NASB - "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation[1074] at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
23. Luk 11:50 NASB - so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation[1074],
24. Luk 11:51 NASB - from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation[1074].'
25. Luk 16:8 NASB - "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind[1074] than the sons of light.
26. Luk 17:25 NASB - "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation[1074].
27. Luk 21:32 NASB - "Truly I say to you, this generation[1074] will not pass away until all things take place.
28. Act 2:40 NASB - And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation[1074]!"
29. Act 8:33 NASB - "IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION[1074]? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH."
30. Act 13:36 NASB - "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation[1074], fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;
31. Act 14:16 NASB - "In the generations[1074] gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;
32. Act 15:21 NASB - "For Moses from ancient generations[1074] has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
33. Eph 3:5 NASB - which in other generations[1074] was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
34. Eph 3:21 NASB - to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations[1074] forever and ever. Amen.
35. Phl 2:15 NASB - so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation[1074], among whom you appear as lights in the world,
36. Col 1:26 NASB - that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations[1074], but has now been manifested to His saints,
37. Hbr 3:10 NASB - "THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION[1074], AND SAID, 'THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS';

My second baptism

So it all began for me in 2006.  I found myself on my knees crying out to God for forgiveness and asked Him to enter my heart and offered Him my life.  Ever since then He has carried me along constantly revealing Himself. I think deep inside my mind I always knew that something was missing.  And when I was truly honest with myself I could identify the problem.  For some reason though i was unable to repent until then.  I mean, time and time again I would apologize to God, and soon there after go right back to whatever it was I was doing.  This time, in 2006, it was different.  I guess you could say i was tired of trying on my own.

I think the first book I read was one that my mom had given me several years prior.  this book kind of gave me an idea of what a purpose driven life looked like.  I still wasn't sure exactly what Gods plan was for me, but I knew that i had certain gifts and talents that He had given me.  So I figured the first thing i should do is get plugged into  a church.  After all, where else do you learn about God besides the church i thought.  Even though i lived literally a block from my parents church i chose to drive 35 minutes across town to attend with my brother.  It didnt take long and i was involved in everything.  You name it, college group, mens group, prayer night, worship team, youth group outings. if the doors were open i was there.  I needed to be fully immersed in order to get out of the rut my life had been in. This new church i was going to was great.  I had no trouble fitting in and making new frineds.  Clearly God was leading the way.  Doors seemed to open at every turn.  For the first time in my life i was able to be taught by a pastor who had a gift for teaching.  I was like a sponge. I would spend the week between sunday sermons studying to understand what i had been taught.

Right after my 30th birthday I was baptized (for the second time).  It was the first baptism of the year (outdoors) that was offered by this particular church.  To say i was hungry for truth was an understatment.  I wanted to know all there was to know.  Quite frankly I thought that this church was the same as the one i went to growing up.  Come to find out they weren't the same.  At least they weren't exactly the same.  I started to wonder why i was never taught certain things growing up that seemed to be core beleifs at this new church i was attending.  I was committed to seeking Jesus so I had to find out why there were differences. The more questions i asked the more i discovered that churches all over the place have slightly different belief structures.  Sure they all professed Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, but when it came to the Kingdom, Israel, end times, gifts of the spirit, resurrection, heaven, hell,etc.. They were ALL different.

What Gives?  Is it possible to have all these different outcomes from the same book? Something inside me refused to just ignore this obvious problem.  I decided to ask my pastor what his thoughts were on this topic. after all, he has been to school for this sort of thing.  He basically said if i studied the scripture i would arrive at the same understanding he did.  therefore it must be true.  For a while i accepted this because i didnt really understand the bible and he was sort of an authority on the subject. My idea of bible study early on was this: drop the bible on the table and look over the page it lands on.  If something jumped off the page it meant that God was trying to speak to me.  Eventually i met other people who were serious about the Word, who took me under there wings so to speak and coached me in how to study.  These folks were further along in their walk and mature in their understanding of scripture.  It didn't take long and i was easily arriving at the same conclusions that they had also arrived at.  I was zealous with this new knowledge and eager to convince everyone to see things my way. I guess you could say i was happily drinking the kool-aid served at this church.  Still a question lingered in my mind of why are churches so different and seemingly divided on the topics listed above.

Interpretation.  The answer to my big question is interpretation.  In order for any literature to be understood it must first be interpreted.  Down through the centuries men with different interpretations founded different sects and we call them denominations today.   Realizing that interpretation is the root of the division I decided to be open to other views in order to determine for myself what made sense.  It wasn't long after when i was strongly encouraged to not look into other views for fear of being led astray.  I kept remembering that Jesus said He would never leave me, nor forsake me Det 31:8.  And that the Holy Spirit would guide me to all truth john 13:16.  So why were these elders in my church discouraging me from exploring different views?  Did they lack true faith?  Only God knows. 

The Jesus that has been revealed to me through His Word is much greater than what i was taught in church.  The purpose of this blog is for me to express what i have learned so that you also can break the chains of the tradition you adhere to. Mark 7:13 "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."