The Commercialization Of Church-Money Changers In The Temple?

Please hear me when I say that I am not trying to sow dissention among believers by anything that I write. I am writing my thoughts and opinions as of this moment which may change as God gives me knowledge or conviction on them.

It has been on my mind for a while now what I see happening over and over again with churches. I see several in my community and many more nationwide that seem to missing the point. I say seem to because I don't go to all of them. However God's Word says we will know by their fruit and the fruit I am seeing is not pleasant to eye or good for food as it were.

One thing I see a lot are electronic signs going up at churches. I know we live in the age of information and we want to give people what they crave by putting everything we have available on a sign. I get it, I really do. But I don't like it. I don't like it one little bit. When I see electronic signs at a church it just doesn't feel right. I seems more like a business. Of course that is what a lot of churches have become; businesses. Many are incorporated; like a business and it makes me think of Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple.

*sigh* And then there are the coffee bars and bookstores inside some churches. Hey I love me some coffee and I am all for having a fellowship time around coffee before church. I am not for selling the coffee. Again, I get the idea behind it; serve up some lattes and make sure people actually get to the service on time because they didn't have to stop at a Starbucks or some such place before church. I get wanting to be relevant and all that. Maybe the price of the coffee only covers the cost of making it; I don't know. I have never attended a church that has a coffee bar in it. I have only seen one when attending a concert at a church and the coffee bar was not open at the time. Still it seems to me to be a slipper slope. Just what lengths will churches go to in order to be trendy? Will we put circus performers in the lobbies? Will we have Ice Bucket challenges in masse in the church parking lot?

I hear the argument for these things to be that we are called to outreach the get them hooked then reel them in
thinking. But aren't Jesus and the Apostles our examples of outreach? Did they go into a town and put on a show? No, they came proclaiming the Gospel. Yes, Jesus and the Apostles performed miracles but never in a showman way of doing it. In fact Jesus often withdrew from the crowds after performing a miracle. Look at your Bible in the Gospels and see if I am not right. When we worry more about how many people we have in church than sharing the Gospel in church I believe we have missed the point.

Just when did the Gospel, the fact that God's Son left Heaven, became a little baby, grew into a man without sin and allowed Himself to be murdered, rose from the dead and ascended back into Heaven so that anyone who believes on Him would be free of the curse of sin and live with God forever; when did this Gospel become boring? When did the Gospel become irrelevant? When did the Gospel start coming in second to programs and hooks?

I am often asked if I watch this preacher or that preacher on television. Most people are shocked that I do not. I don't because many of them are more about hawking their special study Bible, or their book, etc. than preaching the Word of God. Many spend more time asking, nay pleading for money than they do helping one understand more of what the Bible says and how to apply it to our lives. Many live in mansions and drive expensive cars while widows and orphans go without to support their ministry
. Many speak at churches that are filled to the brim with people in expensive suits and designer dresses and shoes who would turn away a homeless person outside the church but give faithfully to support the ministry. ( I have nothing against wealthy Christians per say just those who are hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word who put themselves on pedestals claiming God has blessed them) No, don't watch most preachers on television. I hear and see on Facebook people quoting some TV preacher or other and I just shake my head. When did we decide we would rather follow men who talk well instead of Jesus?

These are things I ponder when I see those electronic church signs. And I pray, I pray that what people find inside that church isn't as flashy as the sign; but more glorious than a million blinking lights- the truth from God's Word.

Getting tired here folks; hope I didn't ramble too much.

Grace and peace CAC

Shake Rattle And Sift

Finally I'm back; sorry it has taken me so long. There has been some issues with computer sharing in the household.
I have a lot of things rattling around in this mess of mind I have. I will try to sort some of them out here. Firstly I have been thinking a lot about the situations in Iraq and Syria.
I am dumbfounded at the disparity of the news coverage compared to Ferguson MO. James Wright Foley's execution finally caused the attention to come back to what is going on in Iraq. I can't imagine the pain Mr. Foley's family is going through right now but neither can I imagine the choice all those family's in Iraq are having to make just because they don't believe the same way a small group of people think they should. I am also puzzled as to why many Christians weren't saying much of anything about Iraq until they heard about other Christian's dying for their faith. How is it worse that Christians were beheaded and such those who are Muslim etc.? It seems to me it would be worse the other way around because at least the Christians have real hope beyond this life. I guess I am just plain disgusted with human beings right now.
Let me preface my next rant thusly; I try really hard not to be racist; I don't judge people based on what they look like or where they come from but prejudice is; I believe an inescapable human condition.
The situation in Ferguson has finally turned a corner. Last night was; at last, peaceful. I just find it odd and irksome that what made the difference seems to be that Attorney General Eric Holder came to town. Mr. Holder is black. I just have a hard time believing that a white Attorney General coming to town would have had the same impact as Mr. Holder's did. I also saw a poll on the news that 60% of black people approve of President Obama's response to what was going on in Ferguson. Really? He refused to come back from his vacation in an act of support until a white journalist was beheaded in Iraq; but that's okay. Why? Because he is a black president? Why was it okay for Obama to basically ignore what was going on in Ferguson; yet so a previous administration to be vilified for the failings of FEMA during hurricane Katrina? Why do people rage about inequality and then partake of it with the same mouth? Why is it okay to vote for someone on the basis of race alone then cry about racism?
See I think all of these things and have all these questions I am afraid to say or ask for fear that I will be criticized for these thoughts. I just don't understand the way people think. I know I can't understand what it is like to be black; to have the color of my skin be who and what I am before anything else. But does that mean I have no right to say anything? Does that mean I have no right to an opinion?
See, the way I see what happened in Ferguson wasn't " look what those black people are doing" it was " look what those angry people are doing". My concerns were for the families trapped in their homes and businesses that were unable to open or damaged or both. My fear was that the violence would begat more violence; that the anger would give birth to more anger. My fears were realized all to truly and my heart weeps for this country that our communities can so easily be divided and torn apart. In the depths of my being I mourn for the Michael Browns of this world. But even more my heart mourns each man, woman and child whose lives were brutally taken from them by ISIS. My heart is torn in pieces over the parents who had to watch their children starve to spare them torture and beheading. I can't fathom how a world can sit by and so little in the face of these things. How often we as humans bemoan what is wrong with the world rather than reaching out to do something about the things we can change.
I shake my head in sorrow and confusion as these thoughts rattle around in my head and in writing I am trying to sift out all the prejudice and hurt. I cry out to God for patience with my fellow man and especially my brothers and sisters in Christ when I see a lack of empathy for those who don't know the redeeming power of grace through Jesus Christ. My spirit bleeds a little each time I see a professing Christian judge another's sin rather than lift them up. My spirit mourns when I replay in my head things I have said in anger rather than understanding. How easily we spout Bible verses to condemn but forget the words of our Savior that He did not come into the world to condemn it but to save it. I cry out to God to help me see through His eyes and I as I do all the stuff I wrote above no longer matters.
I hope I have not offended any one; it is not my intention.
Grace and peace CAC

Ten Days of Gratitude Day 5

Today I am grateful for my Magnavox  DVD recorder that my son bought for me over 6 years ago.  I have gotten a lot of use out of it and it is still working good..  I know, we now live in the age of DVRs and what I have is; to most, obsolete  Yet I am not one whom is easily persuaded to pay for television.  Local channels don't come in well where I live, so for some years I was paying for basic cable at $13.per month. When the cable company decided to drop basic cable from their line-up and therefore raised the rate; I called and told them to cancel my service.  The representative on the phone asked the reason and when I told I could not afford to pay the rate he asked if the could give me the same channels I had been  getting for $5 per month. Of course I said yes and happily paid that amount for the next 2 years.  When the cable company decided to raise rates once again, I canceled.  I like to watch television, but I know I don't need to watch a lot of it and don't see why I should pay over $30 a month to be lulled into watching more of it.  I do; however, have some favorite shows, and don't like to miss them when  I have to out or when two of them come on at the same time on different channels.  With my wonderful dvd  recorder I don't have to miss them; as long I don't forget to do it, that is!
Thank you son, for this gift that keeps on giving.

Not Dead Yet

Sorry for the delay in updating. I have been mulling over some things, stressing over some things and of late not feeling well. I seem to be reacting to something in the air these days and have a sore throat, coughing, and congestion. But so far no fever. I am a bit concerned about the color of what I am coughing up; but not to the point of asking total strangers about it ( Big Bang Theory reference. If you have never seen the show you should check it out sometime; way funny even if the theme song is wrong). All this by way of an excuse for staying away. But really it is more than that I just am not ready to talk about that here, at least not right now.

I was blessed beyond descripton this weekend at our church's Women''s Retreat. The guest speaker was a woman whose family were former members. God moved them away and I have really missed them. She is so real and so in love with Jesus it is contagious, and she is even more so now than the last time I saw her. She taught on prayer as the purpose of our daily lives, and it was challenging and comforting, and just plain WOW. I will write more later about it.

Today, I was blessed by reading this . Mostly because it fits my life so well right now. It never ceases to amaze me how God can use a dally reading plan set years ago, to speak to me in whatever circumstance I am in. No matter how my life may change, He never does and His Word is always relevant.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord. For now and ever more AMEN

AM Television Makes Me....

so freaking mad sometimes! I usually don't watch AM TV and this is why; I always see ( hear) something that just ticks me off. Today I somehow ended up stumbling across the Rachel Ray show. Today's topic was centered around the gal who played the wife on King of Queens, a sitcom a few years ago Leah Remini. I will leave you a link in a little bit. First I have to tell you what I think. The deal is this woman and her husband have a beautiful and intelligent 3 and half year old daughter that still takes a bottle, sleeps with them and keeps them up all night giving her first, milk, then another 4-6 bottles of water, and change her diapers. Yes diapers, that they need to keep their bed dry from all the liquid this kid is consuming. The excuse offered for this state of affairs is that they cannot stand to say no to her, it hurts Leah's heart to hear her baby cry. OH MY STARS! What does she think being a parent is all about?
I know people who have had just this sort of upbringing; their parents loved them into useless, lazy, manipulative people. I italicize loved because this is not real love people! It is not a healthy love. A parent has to love a child enough to say no, to see them hurt a little now to save them huge hurts later on. They have to love them enough to realize that they saying yes to them all the time will bring them nothing but misery when they get out into the world and realize not everyone will give them everything they want. Get real Leah! Love hurts! Love takes sacrifice, guts and determination.
I cannot begin to address every issue brought up in the show, see it for yourself and let me know what you think.
One thing that gets me is she talks about all the advice she has rejected and brings up that some have told her the child is manipulating her and Leah is like " Manipulating me to do what love her?" I practically yelled at the television.
"Manipulating you to get what she wants, cultivating a very unpleasant trait that if not dealt with now will follow her into adulthood and make her unable to have healthy relationships. If this is what you want for her, by all means give her a bottle until she graduates high school! Most people want to see their child learn more intelligent ways of getting their needs met, and try to teach children they don't always get what they want.
Why don't people understand the job of a parent is not to be liked, not to give all a child's mind can conceive of wanting, or be best buddies.
My daughter has heard this all of her life; the job of a parent is to raise up productive members of society. For Christians it is try to raise godly productive member of society.
OK I'm done, thanks for the use of the soapbox