Much of modern Christianity is about highly produced meetings, videos, movies and music.  Seems many Christians feel that they have nothing to contribute if they aren't  accomplished speakers or musicians.  This is a lie that the enemy would love to have us believe.  While we are thankful for every expression of Jesus' testimony and life in this hour, we have to wonder how the early church reached the entire known world without any of our modern conveniences.  The early believers had ONE thing that revolutionized the world... the testimony of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  It did not depend on their theological training (many were illiterate) or their charismatic persona.  It was  "their story of Jesus' life" that they had experienced.  

So, let's make this personal... YOUR story is IMPORTANT!   YOUR story of JESUS' life being revealed in YOUR person is not about theology or Christian principles, it's about YOUR real experience of HIS life.   YOUR  comment or testimony spoken under the anointing of the Holy Spirit can be more powerful than a million dollar presentation to a person in need.   The Holy Spirit  makes Jesus known through believers, even in their (our) weakness.  We are HIS instruments, HIS conduit, HIS temple on the earth.  Remember Paul's declaration in Ephesians 1:22,23... that "Jesus is head of the church (ecclesia) that is the fullness of the manifestation of the presence of Jesus in the earth."   That is NOT my opinion... that is the testimony of the Holy Spirit as recorded in New Testament scripture.  How can we walk this out?

The world is overwhelmed with bad news.  There is death, destruction and despair in every newscast.  Terrorist groups are bombarding the internet with hundreds of thousands of propaganda messages daily, indoctrinating, spreading influence, and recruiting new converts.  We believe it’s time for the Body of Christ to use the same technologies to bombard the airwaves with personal messages of faith, hope and goodwill.  Not just from professional speakers, teachers and musicians, but from real people who have experienced blessing, salvation, healing, etc., and are willing to share that experience with others.

I recently shared this statement with a group of local pastors and got a variety of reactions.    I think some agreed, some not so much, and one asked me to clarify my statement.  It was a rather rash statement after all.  And this is a dedicated group that prays together weekly for God to revive and restore our churches and community, knowing that it must be a work of the Holy Spirit, as all of OUR efforts have had very limited results.  But I would like to present a few reasons that led me to make the statement, and also explain why I'm so excited about it!  I'll save the best for last.

There are many things covered in scripture and the natural thoughts of man seem to gravitate toward the negative principles, such as judgement, division, punishment, sin shame, etc.  Perhaps this is because natural man knows somehow that he is separated from God and even many Christians judge themselves harshly because they still don't measure up to expectations that they and others have established as Biblical standards.  I have to emphatically state... "You don't measure up... EVER!  Let's just get that out in front of everyone.  Anyone who thinks they measure up to God's standards is living in complete deception.  Ok, now I've said it, and stones should be thrown any moment.  Where do we go from here?  

The gospel (and the whole Bible for that matter) clearly defines the state of man without God.  Man IS separated, he IS rejected, he IS unable to do anything that recommends him to God, BUT... God has made a way through Jesus Christ to bridge every division, separation and rejection from God.  The blood of the cross covers ALL.

But this isn't only an evangelical statement.  I believe the Christian community desperately needs to change its way of looking at things.  That it needs to evaluate everything it hears and does by one question..."is what we're doing and teaching building and revealing spiritual life?"  Let's take a look further into this.

We had an amazing Band of Brothers meeting in Carrizozo this morning.  Got off into a discussion on the subject of Christian meditation.  Several agreed that it seemed that the emphasis on Eastern religion and New Age in the 70's and 80's caused many in Christian circles to be overly cautious, or even antagonistic toward meditation.  The Bible clearly commands  us to meditate on HIS Word and person.  Here are just a few scripture references:  Jos. 1:8, Ps. 1:2, 63:6, 77:12, 119:15,     I Tim. 4:15 etc.  So why are we afraid to engage in scriptural meditation when it is so important to our faith?

In the previous article, (God, Horses and Green Slime) we looked at Gen. 1:26 where God says to God, "Let us make man in our image and in our likeness let us make them."  We noted that it is difficult to think of human life as "slime or descended from monkeys" when we see that we came from the heart of God, who valued Adam (humanity) enough to declare that Adam was the best of all HIS creation.  After all, man (Adam)(insert your own name) was created in the image and likeness of God.

However, there was another being in the garden that wasn't nearly so happy with the new revelation of man.  This being was or would be cast out of heaven for pride, insubordination and citing rebellion among God's angels.  This original rebel would get back at God by corrupting the image that God had cast in clay and filled with HIS life... God's Adam.

God is spirit, so we don't know whether Adam looked like God.  We do know that Adam had the attributes of God.  HIS personality, HIS character, HIS heart of compassion, HIS righteousness, HIS creativity, etc.   These were the "image and likeness of God" that were placed in Adam when God breathed HIS life (spirit) into Adam.  But the serpent had other ideas...

Our custom is to gather together at the El Paisano restaurant on Saturday mornings and have coffee, fellowship and Bible study.  One Saturday morning fellowship included a friend of ours who had come in for the holidays and was staying for a few days.  He happened to be a cowboy and a man who had spent a good deal of his life training horses, mules and donkeys.  He also was a traveler and adventurer and told a fine story.  We had several people there that were city folks, so the conversation of course moved toward the romance of the Southwest, cowboy life, and various tall tales from cowboy folklore.  Our friend was in his element, with his cowboy attire and mannerisms (including the Mexican Spurs which he wore into the restaurant) and the folks were leaning forward listening and asking questions as he was doing his thing.  

Our city friends were enthralled by the stories and the discussion soon turned to the mystic relationship that the cowboy had with his horse.  As talk turned to “the horse whisperer,” Howdy explained that the horse only thought of his owner as a food source.  As long as he had his hay and oats, he was content to stand in the corral and eat and poop.  The horse didn’t know who he was or what his purpose was (other than feeding, breeding and surviving.)  He could be an expensive and well bred horse, but until the master took him in hand and began to teach him who he was and what his purpose was, he was just another expensive hayburner in the corral.  What a profound thought.  And how much more applicable is the principal when applied to people.  How many people in the world don't know who they are or what their purpose is?  How many people who call themselves Christians don't know who God has called them to be or what they are called to do?

I appreciate Harv's message on The Peace of Jesus, and have been meditating on some of the morsels presented.   My perspective usually wanders off into the practical realm, so was thinking about how we believers can (should) live at peace with one another as part of the manifestation of that "peace of Jesus."  HE has provided for it (shalom)... therefore, the precedent and the grace has already been given for all to walk in that peace.   Learning to communicate properly with other believers could be a great place to start.  

Sometimes when we try to help others to be reconciled together or bring some light into a conflict, it is helpful to give both parties some communication tools so that they can even begin the process.  I remember past times when Edith and I were unable to communicate about certain things because the emotions were running so high and the pain and frustration were so great.  Any attempt to communicate resulted in a volcano of anger and accusation that spewed out and derailed any attempt at reconciliation.  Sooo... we learned to write letters to one another.

New Testament scripture always points toward the fact that there is ONE church ... one universal church on the earth and one local church in each city.  The local "churches" are all a part of the universal church.  Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, all of the "churches" also are one according to scripture. 

I'd like to develop the point that there are actually TWO churches (or at least two things that we call "the church")  that are entwined together.  One is the real church which consists of the people of God (the ecclesia) who are walking in HIS Spirit and focused on HIM (the one described above in Ephesians 4), and another which is the religious order which we often call the "church."   This order is part of the "world systems."   You can see it in operation when people are more concerned with liturgies, religious order, money,  admiration of men, etc.  When their love is for the things of the world.  Understanding the difference can free God's people to better represent Jesus as they utilize some of the worldly assets of the "church" (buildings, leaders, finances, etc.) but remain focused on "life in the Spirit" and free of having those "things" become their main priority.

There are many relevant aspects of the kingdom of God as it is revealed in His body. Here are a few which come to mind. Each of these is important and must be carefully considered in the life of the ecclesia, BUT, there is one that must be positioned far and above all the others for any of them to be applicable.