The Revolution Brigade

They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 8:11)

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 TImothy 4:2-4)

Would someone please challenge my apathy from the pulpit?

“But, you seem like a model disciple!?”

Why?  Because I have a blog about Jesus?  Because I’ve mastered the lingo and syntax of the prayer movement?  Because I lead worship or teach from the scripture?   Please.  Depending upon which hour of the day you run across me I may be apathetic, carnal, spirit-filled, full of faith, or throwing a pity party.  It doesn’t necessarily make me a bad person, you do the same thing.  Whether or not you admit it is your business.  I’m moving from glory to glory, just like everybody else.  The problem is, between glory and glory there is sometimes some inglorious stuff.  It’s just life.

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¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

 ¹²“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

I was meditating on this scripture today and the thought occurred to me that if I were to preach the pure, unadulterated Word of God the way that Jesus preached it, many people would not like me.  Jesus uttered these words out of a foreknowledge of what his disciples would go through.  Many would be crucified, beheaded, burned, tortured, murdered and exhiled for preaching the pure Word of God and the good news of the resurrection of Christ.  Do we really think so much has changed in the past centuries?

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Every once in a while I’ll do a post that is just a few links to people that I read regularly or that are part of my faith tribe.  This is a tribute to a few interesting blogs from people that I know.  You should check them out if you get a chance:

Lloyd Phillips –Lloyd is an apostolic and prophetic voice that is a good friend of my faith family.  We are definately memebers of the same “tribe,” and I defer to him as a mentor, although we really haven’t spent that much time together.  His blog covers spiritual and political matters and is updated about once per month. 

The Paraclete’s Hammer –David McNelly is a brother from another mother, so to speak.  We go back like Converse high tops, having attended the same school and grown up in the same small town.  David is a theological genius of staggering proportions, waiting to be discovered by the world at large.  Friend him now before he blows up and gets international.  Also, if you don’t know what a Paraclete is, I suggest a word study.

Brad Hayes –I can’t say that I’m really close friends with Brad Hayes, but we associate with one another via facebook and IHOP Jax.  I like the spirit on this guy, and I highly recommend following his blogging efforts. 

That’s it.  Just a quick post to recommend a few friends.

This is not the most unpopular teaching in history, this is just a tribute (sorry, I was listening to Rick Pino’s new CD, and thought how much he sounded like Jack Black, and that line just sort of happened.  Forgive me.)

I titled this post “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing” because these thoughts first occured to me while reading A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, in the middle of a chapter called “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing.”  I began to ponder what it might mean to actually possess nothing, and whether that is something that God would truly call me to do.

What things do I allow to sit upon the throne of my heart, usurping the rightful place of a Holy God?

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I keep hearing Christians, particularly from my generation, quoting the concept of separation of church and state as a reason for not being politically involved as a believer. The context usually goes something like this: “The separation of church and state says we shouldn’t bring religion and politics together,” or “religion and politics don’t mix, and that’s why the constitution separates church from state.” I just thought I might take a minute and make commentary on that notion.

The language in the US Constitution from the First Ammendment that separates church and state is as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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