Shake the dust off your feet when you leave…

Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for this town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:11-16, NIV)

If there’s one thing I wish God would keep away from our free will it’d be selective reading. In the context of human behavior it seems to be that part of us that ignores all that causes discomfort or even change. It’s the stuff that’s most of the time is essential, yet we chose to not regard it as such. It’s what makes us almost Christians in the most important of times.For the past few weeks the words of Jesus from Matthew 10 can’t get out of my head. They’re like a mosquito bite – you’ve just thought it’s dealt with and then you accidentally touch it… There it goes again – itches for ages. I figured I must investigate deeper the question of Why do Christians seem to never give up trying to get people into heaven? Read the rest of this entry »

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The First Century Christian Conference/ Convention

They (the believers) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs wede done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47, NIV

The book of Acts is one of the books that come closest to my heart. Probably because the Old Testament is a bit farther from my personal cultural experience and Revelation simply has too many variables when it comes to interpreting its meaning. Acts, however, speaks at a level I seem to understand easier. Well, anyways. These few verses have been on my mind lately because a few weeks back I was sitting at church on a Sunday, I heard an announcement of a conference and suddenly I thought – It appears that only at conferences we come close to living as it’s described in the quote above. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jesus Is My Friend…

Chances are, if you’ve listened to Christian music, that you’ll continue the title with something like “He’s my special friend…” But, that’s not where we’ll be going with this current article. So, put that on the side and switch to challenge-ready mode instead.

Now, here’s the complete title of the article: Jesus is my Friend, but the unsaved people around me will still go to hell. Got the chills?! Well, if you can’t handle the sentence in bold above, then I’ll rephrase a quote from the movie The Matrix – Take the blue pill (quit reading), and when you wake up tomorrow morning life will go on as normal, and you’ll think of this sentence as just a dream. If you keep reading, hopefully there won’t be a turning back. Read the rest of this entry »

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Selective Christianity

Selection is in the heart of consumerism. Selection is what drives you as you browse the grocery store. Selection is what “helps” you have what you want. Selection is behind the relationship you have with your partner. Does that mean you’re a selective Christian? Well, it could… One thing is certain, though – being surrounded by so much “selection moments” can surely make you one. The more you exercise your selection abilities, the more you’ll think that you are always in the position and authority to select.

How is selection being practiced by Christians? It’s quite simple to answer actually – just pay attention to it as you go in your everyday life. The first thing which comes to mind is (sadly enough!) God’s very Word. We (me including) all have what we call “favorite verses”, favorite books, favorite characters. But what about the rest? Does our narrow focus mean that we don’t consider the rest of the Bible as important, as valid, as applicable… as directed to us? Yes, yes, yes!!! That’s exactly what it means. I know this will challenge you a bit, but answer to me, please, why then do you not study all parts of the Bible equally and apply them so? A bit too many Christians rather learn the “give me” and “bless me” verses, than the “I will do” or “I will be” ones. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lost Lives. Saved Lives.

This post has been strongly affected by LifeChurch.tv’s 30 Days to Live series, which you can watch at this address: http://www.lifechurch.tv/Default.aspx/p/39? SermonID=115&CategoryID=8 I suggest that you take the time to watch those 4 sermons (~30min. each). The basic thought behind the whole series is something like this: Life on earth is just a brief moment. Live your life with God as if you had 30 more days to live. It’s quite an awakening thought as to what is actually important in life. Even more so are the interviews with several people for whom the doctors say have a very limited time with us, as well as some others who have barely made it alive through cancer and other life threatening diseases.

The thought of lost lives has been on my mind for quite some time, but these sermons helped it develop much deeper. Have you ever thought about the lives of people you read about in the news? Where will they end up? Take it a step further – as God’s sent one does it impact you at all? Read the rest of this entry »

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Am I a Double Faced Christian?

It has been a while since my last article on the theme of true or vintage Christianity. This one will be a bit more different than the previous, yet the focus is the same.

What do I mean by double faced? In brief – the fact that among Christians I behave in one way and then among non-Christians in another. That was too simple… I don’t want to be misunderstood. I’m not talking about details, certain use of language, etc. I’m talking about a general attitude.

How do I behave among Christians… Well, I’ve noticed that I’m more critical, I expect more… often you would say I’m not as welcoming as I ought to be. I realize that often it’s also harder for me to truly love Christians (compared to non-Christians).

Then among non-Christians I catch myself to be much more lively, much more welcoming, certainly show more understanding… It’s just much much easier for me to express and show love for those people – whether they like me or not. Read the rest of this entry »

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My King. By S.M. Lockridge

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“My King” by Dr. S.M. Lockridge

My King was born King.

The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King.
He’s the King of the Jews – that’s a racial King.
He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King.
He’s the King of righteousness.
He’s the King of the ages.
He’s the King of Heaven.
He’s the King of glory.
He’s the King of kings
and He is the Lord of lords. Read the rest of this entry »

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Transparency. a.k.a. Seeing Through.

I’ve been thinking. What I’ve been thinking about is the problem of today’s church concerning transparency. Now, this is a fairly new term in the realm of human relationships, but I think it very well relates to the aspect of holiness and wholeness we so often hear about.

What is transparency?

“free from pretense or deceit : FRANK b : easily detected or seen through : OBVIOUS c : readily understood”

This is what Webster Dictionary says about the adjective form of our word. This is also the general understanding of the term with which I approach my problem with today’s church.

I somehow struggle to see a church which is transparent in its everyday ministry – in any direction. Read the rest of this entry »

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On Hierarchy and Divisions. a.k.a. The Big People and The small People

What’s all this about now? Well, if this is what you’re hearing in your mind after reading the title – this is a little post about a discussion which has been going on in my mind for a very long time, just that it never got out. It’s about the fact that more often than not, certain people in the church are treated differently from the rest of God’s flock. These often happen to be the leaders… No, nothing against the leaders as such – being a leader is as biblical as it gets, and I also believe it’s a special gift from God. However, I don’t agree with the fact that these people tend to be treated differently. What I mean is to ask Why are leaders/other people “in charge” often treated in much better ways (eg. with more attention given to them, more benefits, as well as special dinners/lunches/etc., etc.) than the rest of God’s people? Read the rest of this entry »

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Searching for Vintage Christianity a.k.a. Tired of Christianity

It has been a while since I’ve talked about this topic in “public”. However, lately I’ve been feeling that I need to somehow address it… The initial idea of a title for that posting was “Tired of Christianity”, but then I decided not to shock you. How nice of me!

Unfortunately I’m not able to invest all the time I want in addressing the issue, but at least I’ll be able to lay out my worries.

1. One of my greatest struggles for the past three years has been in understanding the place of academics in Christian life. From one side I face the argument that education was necessary, it is still necessary, etc., etc. My concern, though, is not with the presence of education itself, but with the methods of education. And while in the Jewish world the connection between the Rabbi and the students was strongly personal and spiritual before knowledge-driven/oriented, today I notice that Christian education leans more towards the (I would dare to suggest) differing in this Greek Academy. Read the rest of this entry »

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