CHRISTIANS NEED TO GET BACK TO BASICS: LEARNING TO BE LIGHT IN DARK PLACES.

Nick Vujicic’s latest video on his website Life without Limbs (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/) has really just spoken to me and I am sure to anyone who watches it. I encourage you to do so.
As a person who has victims of suicide within my own family, I was deeply touched by the message in this video. I often ponder about what extreme of loneliness and despair must a human being experience to prefer death to life. It hits me right in the gut when I think about it, but what really turns my stomach is the possibility of having ignored God’s still small voice asking me to be that light in a dark place and having ignored that stir within my spirit. Doing nothing is a choice most of us make every single day, every single hour without giving it a second thought, and yet the consequences of our indifference are so massive and final.

This video also touched me on a personal level because my husband and I started the “Light in the Darkness” initiative three years ago to provide food parcels to the homeless and families in need in our area. To date we have donated via our local branch of the Salvation Army way over 700 food parcels to individuals and families who for the most part are in that dark place with no hope, no respite, and no future. Interestingly, when we first set up the initiative we called it “Help to Feed the Homeless”, but a good friend of mine pointed out to me years later that seeing as we no longer provided food parcels to the homeless but also to families in any kind of need, it was fitting to give the initiative a new name which would reflect and incorporate all those whom we have helped. Two minutes later I was praying whilst having a shower and I asked God to suggest to me a new name which would define this initiative as He saw it. Immediately, the words “light in the darkness” came to me and ever since that day I have been constantly coming across media, videos, testimonies, music and Christian messages which speak of being light in the darkness.

I believe in this hour God is calling us all to simply be that light in the darkness, to simplify our well-meant enterprises in His name and to get back to basics: to help those who cannot help themselves, to bring joy and hope to those who have none, to share our resources and blessings with those who have nothing, and to simply BE ambassadors of Jesus Christ to the world, as Nick suggests.

Please watch the video and as you do, ask the Holy Spirit to show you in which dark place you can shed the light of Jesus Christ you carry within. Remember, you may not get to see or hear about the effect your words, actions or even attitude may cause in another human being but simply trust that when you feel that nudge, you have been chosen to act on it for a very important reason.

As I write about the simplicity God is calling His people to in terms of how to be light and salt in the world today, I also want to share with you a prophetic message published today by a lady whose prophetic words I have been following now for a very long time, long enough to know she speaks God’s heart. I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me.

Crunch Time by Priscilla Van Sutphin (http://ft111.com/priscilla.htm)
Nov 18th 2011

Crunch Time

The interval of time immediately before a project is due, when it becomes apparent that the schedule has slipped and everyone is going to have to work like dogs to try to complete the project in time. Crunch time usually occurs during the period between the next-to-last scheduled milestone (prior to which everyone was able to delude themselves that the schedule had NOT slipped) and the final deadline for delivery. During crunch time, workers are in crunch mode. Prevalent in the software industry, but used elsewhere as well.

“We’ve got three weeks left to complete six weeks worth of work. Looks like we’ll be living on take-out for a while.”
Definition of CRUNCH TIME a critical moment or period (as near the end of a game) when decisive action is needed
Mark 4:16-20 NKJV

16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Mark 13:14-20 NKJV

The Great Tribulation

(Matt 24:15-28; Luke 21:20-24)

14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’* spoken of by Daniel the prophet,* standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

The voice of the Lord…

“Where are you going oh sons of men ? Where are you going ? What are you pursuing, that keeps you away from your Lover ? I ask you, am I not enough for you ? At times I feel like a scorned lover, who is longing for her husband but he is too busy with business as usual, to notice that she has changed her clothing, and prepared a special meal, just so they could eat it together.

In the midst of turmoil there will not be the time to make important decisions with calmness unless you get your instructions from ME ahead of time. I tell you that time with ME is never wasted. I am the Living Word and knowing the Word is good. It is My love letter to you. But I want you to know me. It is not good enough to know your wife oh husband, or for you oh wife to know your husband by only what is history written down. It is important for intimacy if you KNOW him or her; to know their heart, their thinking, their hopes and aspirations, their preferences, what they like for dinner, what they smell like after a shower. You may laugh, but a wife doesn’t only want a husband to just service her sexually, and go off and busy himself the rest of the time. That would only build resentment.

Thus I say to you, COME AWAY MY BELOVEDS and seek My face for what you are to do in this hour, for tumult is at the door, disruptions and disasters are waiting to manifest. Evil intent in the heart of the wicked is being realized as you sleep. Arise and shine for your time has come and it’s crunch time for knowing My heart and what I intend for you. I am preparing you, readying you for your destiny. Destiny is opening it’s doors right now, and there are jobs, opportunities being presented in this hour for full time and part time positions. Some of you will have dual roles, one foot in business and one foot in spreading the Kingdom. Many of you will be conscripted into service through disasters and troubles. Violence is growing so diligence must also grow in your hearts towards time with ME. Take communion with ME, all the more as you see the time approaching it says, so

Come away, and seek Me with all your heart, like when you first grew to love Me.

Take time to strengthen your inner man, and to rest and listen to My heartbeat, as John did, laying his head upon My chest. John was just a teenager when I knew him here on earth, he was like a son to me, and he never stopped leaning his head on my chest to get direction for which way to go. I want you DEPENDENT on Me, not independent of Me.

Many still are going their OWN way, instead of My way. I have opened doors for some, so that you can be aligned with others who will work together with you in conjunction. The church MUST CHANGE it’s direction. It is headed towards a spiritual Armageddon without preparing the flocks for what is to come. You must pray their eyes be opened, and hearts changed to accept MY instruction for how to do this end times plan. The face of the church is changing, and the church must also change it’s ways of doing church.

Persecution is already planned, yet people are going on blithely without understanding the times they are in. Awakening is at the door. The people in the streets are going to see mighty wonders, but the opposition is also strong and will come in like a flood trying to drown what I loose. You must be prepared to be more fluid, and flexible in how you do church. Buildings are safe only for a short time more. But when awakening comes full force, it will only be a short while before the enemy raises his army to crush it through persecution and mayhem.

Arise and shine for your LIGHT has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Men will come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your shining. YOU WILL MANIFEST MY GLORY like no other generation before you. Don’t you understand what I have been preparing you for ? All the tests and trials have been to soften your hearts that you could love even those who will persecute you, who will think they are doing Me a favor.

The religious spirits are even now trying to allure my bride and suck her into their web of deception, but I have made you strong and discerning that you would recognize a snake from a fawn. Come away beloveds, and listen to MY voice. Quiet your hearts and minds from all the daily violence and corruptions on the news, and find your peace in time with ME. Let me soothe your hearts and minds, and strengthen you on the inside, that you can go forth as my warhorses in battle array. “

Zechariah 10
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.*

The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain,

Grass in the field for everyone.

2 For the idols* speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.

4 From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them.

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the Lord their God, And I will hear them.

7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;

Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.

8 I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them;

And they shall increase as they once increased.

9 “I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with their children, And they shall return.

10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,

Until no more room is found for them.

11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River* shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.

12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord, And they shall walk up and down in His name,” Says the Lord.

THE FOUNDER OF KIDS OF AFRICA: A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

I would like to flag today a wonderful charity which was founded and established by a good friend of my husband and our daughter’s Godfather.  The charity is called Kids of Africa and it was set up about 10 years ago by an incredible man called Burkhard Varnholt.  I was just catching up with their news and reading their latest newsletter and felt compelled to use my blogspace to commend and give thanks to God for the wonderful work carried out by Burkhard and his team over these last few years.

It takes great passion, courage, compassion and vision to begin something like this single-handedly and to then make it grow the way Burkhard now has.  I am humbled by the fact that not once I have heard Burkhard discuss with us his faith (indeed, I don’t know whether he is a believer or not), lecture us about compassion, preach to us about our duty to try to make the world a better place, or any of the things one normally hears from other Christians, which can often make us feel like a failure, guilty or a waste of space.  He is so understated and humble.  He never draws attention to himself or what he has achieved, but simply focuses on the children whose lives he is hoping to change.  Indeed he has already changed the lives of over a hundred children.  It was never about him, but always about them, and that is what makes him stand out from all the wanna-bes who seek after their own glory without the sacrifice. What an amazing legacy, what a way to live your life. What a way to lead others.  Jesus did say that those who humble themselves would be exalted, and to that end I write this post.

I search and search and hope and hope for more people like him amongst those who define themselves as Christian Leaders today.  Burkhard leads by example, from the front and sacrificially.  To me he exemplifies everything I would wish to achieve and accomplish in my own life as a Christian: a life lived for others and not myself, a life amounting wealth and comfort only to then be able to share and give it away to those who truly need it.  If you are at this point thinking that it is easy to give money away when you have much, yes for some people it may be though often the more we have, the tighter we get with it.  The kind of leaders who are quick to throw money and promises easily without ever getting their hands dirty never leave a lasting legacy.  Burkhard’s impact on dozens of other people, on a community is not just financial, far from it.  He travels to Uganda frequently and has overseen every single project, building, and bit of progress taking place in the Kids of Africa Village ever since he started this charity.  He knows every child in the orphanage personally and runs the whole thing with a team behind him to support him.  He is full-on involved and responsible for everything that goes on within the Charity away and at base.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my days talking about what I can do as a Christian or what I should do, working towards a new vision or program, a new way to reach the community or the freshest way of doing worship. I want to worship God by bringing Him glory and the only way I can do that is not by short-changing him with a few hours of my time singing at the top of my voice in the company of those who think like me, who live like me, who have as much as me or by spending countless hours in meetings trying to re-invent the wheel or have my voice heard above everybody else’s.  To glorify God I must take a risk, take a leap of faith, listen to His quiet small voice and follow Him where He wants me to be, doing what he wants me to do for His Glory no matter how small or unrecognised.

In my spirit I see the spirit of Jesus glowing out of Burkhard, whether he is aware of it or not. I see it not in words but in his every act of compassion, unconditional love, servanthood, and selflessness towards these African children and their plight. A heart like that is not cultivated by regularly attending any church, but simply by communing with our Creator, by seeking Him and asking of Him: God, what is the ONE thing I have been created to do that will best honour YOU, bring YOU glory and reveal to the world what is in YOUR heart? Maybe he never even asked God that question, maybe God whispered to him in a dream the vision to start this charity. It doesn’t matter how it all came about.  What matters is the fruit he has produced and continues to produce.  By their fruit you shall know them, Jesus said.

Burkhard, you are an inspiration and a great example to me and my family.

God bless you!

_________________________________________________________

Please check the Kids of Africa’s website for yourself, and if you are able to donate anything, no matter how small, please know it will be well used.  Check out some of the picture galleries on the website to see the standard of work, help and the quality of life that this charity is providing children who before being part of this little village did not have much of a future.

This is not one of your mega charities where admin costs take away a large part of what you donate.  Everything goes towards the children, their education and welfare, so please if you can, give generously.   The progress made through this charity is always tangible and personalised.  Please get involved and support it in any way you can.

http://www.kids-of-africa.com/who-we-are/

On the brink of Global Economic Collapse

This morning I found the article below in my inbox.  Its content relates pretty well to the subject discussed on my blog yesterday.  If you have not done so already, read my previous post please.

The world’s economic balance is hanging by a very fine thread, and we are still finding big, powerful and influential churches occupied with feeble pursuits such as helping its congregation to lose weight.  Never has the following verse of the Bible been more relevant than today, as the economic wheel that makes the world spin round truly hangs in the balance:

This economic turmoil will bring with it like never before big waves of casualties affected by poverty, hunger, unemployment, violence and illness and at a time when the church should be getting ready to be the light and the salt to the world, at a time when thousands of Christians should have been trained, equipped, taught and well rehearsed on how to minister to others who will present such challenging and dramatic needs, we continue to be self-absorbed and self-focused, we continue to be lukewarm and indifferent about the world perishing around us because our time, gifting, resources and most importantly our leadership has lost its North and its compass.  They have put their attention and focus in all the wrong places, in misplaced and misjudged ends and goals.

Tell me, what kind of military leader lets its troops fall into slumber and complacency at the very moment when there is a looming warning of battle and grave danger in the horizon, when there is knowledge about dramatic events threatening the stability, balance, safety and health of the territory those troops are responsible for defending with all they’ve got? And yet despite the numerous warnings in God’s word about how Christians must prepare for “battle”, and the millions of dollars and pounds invested on training the Christian Leaders of today, the acts of The Western Church spoken off today do not resemble in any way those spoken about in the Bible.  Perhaps the one similarity we could speak of is the quick increase in church attendance and membership in certain places but not as a result of a “Damascus” encounter where the individual personally meets with Christ, but as a result of the holiness of Christ being taken out of the equation and being replaced by worldly pursuits little to do with the cross. Somehow I don’t think Saddleback and Rick Warren would have made the New York Times’ Headlines had it not been for the very lack of reverence, holiness and shocking misplacement of loyalties and priorities at the very foundation of this church’s understanding of what defines people after God’s own heart.

“NEW RECESSION THREATENS the GLOBE”

-Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (Nov 10).

The OECD’s index of leading indicators for China, India, Brazil, Canada, Britain and the eurozone have all tipped below the warning line of 100, with the pace of the decline in Europe exceeding the onset of the Great Contraction in early 2008. Professor Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF, rattled nerves earlier this week by warning the world is “looking straight into the face of a great depression”.  The grim data is coming thick and fast. Japan’s machinery orders fell 8.2pc in September as the post-Fukushima rebound lost steam and the delayed effects of the super-strong yen began to bite.  Export orders have been declining for eight months.  “Outright contraction is possible in the quarters ahead,” said Mark Cliffe from ING.  Exports in the Philippines dropped 27pc in September, the sharpest fall in two years. Korea’s exports have showed sharply, caused by a 20pc slide in shipments to Europe. Manufacturing has been contracting for the past three months.  Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s chief, warned in Asia that “there are dark clouds gathering in the global economy. Countries need to prepare for any storm that might reach their shores”. She said “adverse feedback loops” are at work as financial stress and economic woes feed on each other.  China’s carefully managed soft landing has turned uncomfortably hard, with ripple effects through the commodity markets.  Spot iron-ore prices have dropped 30pc since July to $126 a tonne.  Copper prices have fallen 20pc since August.  Barclays Capital said the risks of contagion to China has become serious. The bank is monitoring the country’s “key high frequency data” for early warning signs of the sort of sudden crash in metals demand seen during the Lehman crisis…

“The credit spigot has been turned off in the US,” said Chris Whelan from Institutional Risk Analytics… Fiscal and monetary stimulus has disguised the underlying sickness in the debt-laden economies of the West over the past two years.  This heavy make-up has at last faded away, exposing the awful visage beneath.

It is a delicate moment. The risk of a synchronised slump in Europe, the US and East Asia is bad enough. What is chilling is to face such a possibility with the monetary pedal already pushed to the floor in the US, UK and Japan.  Worse yet is to do so with Europe spiralling into institutional self-destruction…

Fancy losing weight? Forget the gym and go to church instead

Well, I have to say that I think I have now heard it all: a church which has started a weight-loss campaign by means of putting in place accountability partners through small groups.  Please somebody tell me this is the plot of the latest Hollywood Comedy and not a genuine enterprise taken on by one of the most influential and well-known leaders in today’s Western Church?  Though on a first read this is truly comical, as I dig deeper, my heart really aches and my spirit is grieved, truly grieved.  The reasons for my heartache on this occasion are just far too obvious so at the risk of being patronising, I ask you to please read this article and see for yourselves.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments! Do you think these slimmer individuals may be the new wineskins Jesus spoke of?  Somehow I very much doubt it. This is in my opinion a mockery of the sanctification Christians are called to and of Christ’s redemptive power too.

I was disturbed by this article and the lengths Christian leaders go to to be contemporary, popular,  trendy and being seen to move with the times, or as some of the readers of the New York Times article have put it, to act “outside the box”.  Please somebody explain to me what weight loss has to do with Christ’s commission to his followers and disciples.  I thought the idea of accountability and fellowship were primarily for the sole purpose of building each other up towards sanctification, repentance, humility and ultimately the desire to become more Christ-like. and to inspire others to do the same.

This whole thing is yet another mockery of what The Church should be doing at this hour and rather than leading by example we are truly losing all credibility as God’s own people. As the powers of hell intensify in the world today, those wih suppossedly Godly authority and power to fight back are taking their eyes off the MAIN thing and letting their guard down.  Come to church to lose weight.  Someone out there must be cheering and having a good laugh and I don’t think it is God.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/at-a-big-church-a-small-group-health-solution/

1000 Churches and 4000 Homeless. Sound familiar?

Jesus said that the poor would always be with us.  He did not say however that just because they will always be around, we were to neglect them and their needs and put religion above love.  And yet that is exactly what the Western Church is doing. The piece below is written by a pastor who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.  It was sent to me by a website I have subscribed to and as I read it, I immediately felt the stirring of the Holy Spirit to echo in this space the travesty that this person is trying to put an end to by getting off the fence and by calling and recognising things for what they truly are.  Though he speaks of the situation in Nashville, Tennessee, I a pretty certain this is a reality which is also common in many other North American cities and States as it is in many European countries.  Indeed, I have witnessed this in the UK where I live.

My spirit totally resonates with what this person is saying.  It has done so for years but even today, despite the thousands of prophetic voices and secular voices who are shouting out: STOP PUSHING RELIGION OVER JESUS!, the Western church is blindly marching on to a beat that has nothing to do with the heart of Jesus Christ, and the watchmen and women who have been called to blow the trumpet are cast out to the sidelines as man’s pride determines that the kingdom of God no longer needs them on their ranks.

Expenses incurred by flashier technology, communications and stage setting, substantial salaries paid to people who are to shine like a lighthouse for those lost but who instead use that power, potential, gifting and resources to promote themselves and their campaigns, to gradually climb up the ladder of la creme de la creme of church hierarchy (and please note I am not talking here about the Catholic Church hierarchy, but a much more ferocious, deceiving monster disguised as an angel of light which operates by pulling the strings of the prideful puppets who are driving the Western Church today).

Most Christians I know are in love with the idea of being the Church of Jesus Christ to the world rather than being in love with Christ himself and His Church.  The problem is that what many Christians understand as what it means to be The Church falls way too short from what Christ intended it to be, and though many leaders know this deep down, they would rather live through the next best thing than push for authenticity and the foundational principles and core elements of the Christian faith.  Christian leadership is in my opinion for the most part gutless today.  There is a deeply rooted fear of alienating their following by getting down to the nitty-gritty of what it truly means to be a Christian.  Instead churches have become auditoriums, fountains of theoretical knowledge with little if any hands-on acts of grace, mercy, compassion and selflessness.   Show me a church that is intent in casting out a new vision for a concise, clear and to the point mandate that was given thousands of years ago by Jesus Christ, and what you truly have is a group of people who strive to define new ways and come up with new formulas to continue doing the same old, same old about Christ’s command to look after the orphans, the widows, the poor, the lost, those in prison, the broken-hearted, those tormented by demons, those in despair.  Oh no!  It is much easier to keep talking about it and to keep learning different ways to tackle all these ministries without actually doing any of it, or doing simply enough to be able to pat ourselves on the back, but not really giving our all to any of it as a church.   Just enough to make the church’s “resume” look like it is that of a church, but only just.

There are two of my posts which are by far the most read daily on my blog.  To me this is illustrative of what is going on in people’s minds today. These are:

“Why did I stop going to church? Because I was looking for Jesus and I could not find him there” (http://anewcreation33.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/you-are-always-on-their-lips-but-far-from-their-hearts/) and

“You are the only Bible most people will ever read” (http://anewcreation33.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/you-are-the-only-bible-most-people-will-ever-read-ouch-2/).

The world is hanging from a very delicate balance at the moment and men and women all over the world are beginning to truly see their own vulnerability and God’s supremacy above all that there is and ever was.  And as they do, the acts of The Church are scrutinized and closely followed and questioned.  The Spirit of Christ lives on but it is certainly not to be found amongst folk who are happy to part with their money, time and resources so that Sunday worship is more contemporary, slick and so that better venues can be hired, state of the ark equipment can be bought and the latest leadership trends can be taught in top-notch premises by the most charismatic, trendy and entertaining of speakers.

The name of Jesus is far too Holy and precious to be used as the banner that condones, promotes and fattens up the calf we call Church today.  As in Moses’ time many are once again ceasing the worship of such idol and instead turning their ears to the voice of their Shepherd Jesus Christ as He leads them to further the kingdom in fresh and unique ways away from a religious system which seeks to control, manoeuver and own what is freely given and should be freely shared and ultimately belongs to God alone.  Those who are intent on worshipping a golden calf which relies on its own discernment, wealth, power and authority will miss the spirit of Christ which lives on away from man-made enterprises that behave, operate and do without the spirit of God just as the rest of the world we fail to lead by example does.

Many will reject this message as coming from a person who in their eyes is intent on tearing down The Church as we know it, but in my heart I know that before I knew Christ and God’s word I did not have this message burning deep in my heart and now I cannot but shout it out to the four corners of the earth.  I will never tire from doing so and will only stop when that flame that burns within me is extinguished.   Many will say that it is more Christ-like to love than to criticize and judge, but what person who claims to love would let another continue living in error and deception? What kind of love for Christ is it that turns a blind eye to the shambles that today’s Western church really is?  Does God not tell us that wounds from a friend can be trusted? I may note be your friend but our faith in Christ sure makes us spiritual brothers and sisters, and God knows the bond birthed out of being part of the same family goes way deeper than any friendship. It is my absolute conviction that when it comes to Christianity and the role of The Church in the world at this hour, tearing down is exactly what is needed in order to allow good fruit the chance to flourish and abound.  There is nothing else for it.  We keep re-inventing the wheel, but the truth is it was never man’s job, responsibility or even calling to dictate how to follow the Holy Spirit, how to be a follower of Jesus Christ or how to even be the church.  One discovers how to do all these things by simply seeking and abiding in Christ himself.  It is all in the book and the truth is we have drifted so far from the simplicity of Christ’s heart that we can no longer discern where Christ ends and man begins.

I used to regularly read the blog of a Nashville Pastor, a very charismatic and likeable individual, a good man no doubt.  One day he shared in his blog that him and hundreds of other pastors in the States would meet for a spiritual retreat/conference on board of a cruise ship.  I left a comment on his site to challenge the audacity and blindness of hundreds of Christians leaders who had turned a blind day to the fact that they openly and publicly declared and identified themselves daily as having been given authority from above and as leaders of the Christian faith, and yet were clueless and blind enough to think that Jesus would approve of resources and blessings destined for spreading the Kingdom of God to be lavished upon the very ones called to lead by example in humility, meekness and sacrificial lives.  I was astounded at the level of deception that has gone into the deepest layers of the Western Church.  This pastor replied to my comment half agreeing that yes God’s blessings should be used wisely and in the same sentence defending that pastors have a very tough time of it and deserve to be refreshed and nourished spiritually as they need to be in fellowship with other pastors and be pastored themselves.  To the idea that pastors need to go on retreats and be nourished and refreshed, I have to say, don’t we all? We all have extremely busy lives full of responsibility, concern and things to do and places to be at.   As a mother, a wife and a person holding a job, and specially as a Christian sometimes I feel suffocated, desperately trying to come to the surface for a gasp of air to help me breath.  I spend most of my time looking after the needs of another, and I have to be honest, there are times when that kind of sacrificial giving just proves too much and I want to throw the towel in and be refreshed and nourished myself, but something deep inside as I am down on my knees ready to give up always gives me that wake up call that if I am to truly follow Christ, I am here for others and not myself and that the only refreshing and nourishment I  need is that of my spirit and that MUST come from Christ himself and no one or nothing else.

If the millions of secular Christians who have full-time jobs, families, and ministries manage to find time to nourish and refresh their spiritual life, then why can’t those remunerated Christian leaders do the same without rewarding themselves as the world would do for what is meant to be sacrificial?  How are they then different from the world? I do agree that pastors need to be pastored themselves, but that links us to the same principle that they need to go to the source and not hang out with others who are in as much desperate need to have their hunger and thirst quenched by the spirit of Christ as they themselves are.  The Spirit breaths more of the Spirit, the flesh will simply feed the flesh.

This pastor also told me that I should not knock down all these different conferences and retreats as a negative in the Christian world and put them all in the same basket, because he himself gave his life to Christ during one of this conferences.  God in his grace and mercy will give us ample opportunities to seek Him and to find Him, and yes He will use any place, time and circumstance to reach out to us and draw us to Himself, but what percentage of people attending these conferences and retreats do you think have not given their life to Christ already?  I can assure you, having attended a few of these things myself years ago, the majority have been a Christian for years already and are there for self-gratification and for fellowship which in many instances does not mean to pray and to lead sacrificial lives together, but simply to hang out with people who are of the same mind and will never challenge them or rub them up the wrong way, in other words with those who will tickle their ears.

There is a need for Christian teachers and shepherds to be out there teaching and shepherding, of course there is, but it is the thousands outside the church walls who have not heard it all before who are perishing in front of our very eyes not having known salvation, redemption and forgiveness, and not the millions who mechanically and lawfully march to the churches on a Sunday and walk out pretty much in the same way they went in: unchallenged, uninspired, and above all not having encountered God.  How could they? Jesus was never found amongst those who had it all, those who had need for nothing, those who were confident in their own ability and strength, or those who thought they knew it all already and had the magic formula to spirituality and to how to get into God’s good book so that in turn many blessings and prosperity would follow. My, my how far the mighty have fallen.

Below is that piece from the Nashville Pastor, whom by the way is not the same guy with whom I had a few exchanges in his blog.

1000 CHURCHES and 4000 HOMELESS??

-by ’Beres’.

I live in Nashville where more Bibles are printed than
anywhere else in the world. We have more Christian publishing houses in
Nashville than anywhere else on the face of the earth – more churches per
square mile – and, outside the Vatican, a greater percentage of bodies in
buildings on Sunday morning than anywhere else on earth. So we in Nashville
have a better chance to get it right, wouldn’t you say??

We have 1000 churches and 4000 homeless people living and
dying under bridges and in culverts. I know because I have prayed with them and
lain with them as they died, and every week I feed and pastor them. We can’t
even get it right enough for every church to reach out to 4 homeless people.
And yes, that includes children as young as they get.

Nashville is the headquarters for a swag of church
denominations, and para church organizations like the Gideons, and from this
buckle on the Bible belt of the richest nation on earth, missions go out all
round the globe. Those missions are funded with .01 percent of all monies
collected in North American churches.

That’s right! For every $1000 collected by North American
churches, ONE Dollar is sent to evangelize those who have never heard the name
“Jesus” – but from the latest stats, are probably well aware of the name “Coca
Cola”.

And frankly, whereas I once despaired of these manifest
failures of the church, now I say, Bring it on! Let the world see forever the
rich failures of putting religion before Jesus, ritual before relationship,
rules before lives and liturgy before love.

When the world at large finally see that the emperor has
no clothes, so also will the light of the real gospel of grace and peace shine
the brighter. For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound!

Let it get darker, our Jesus will shine brighter.