There Only Is One

Everywhere I look, everything I see as of late, falls short of the integrity that Jesus was and is. I am so tired of looking at that which comes close and then moves away. The free video series that can be an obvious tool for extending the Kingdom of God with the caveat that peoples availability during the scheduled time slots precludes most from viewing the full series freely, so you can buy the series. You can’t download them legally so if you missed any the only viable option is to purchase the series. Really? I stand corrected here – the weekend of 18-19 Nov you are able to view all or any of the series that you may have missed for free if you registered to view the series.  Then in another different vein, there’s the teaching outline aide that is available for a popular Christian Apologetic book if you buy a hardcopy book and write a book review. Ebook version purchased aren’t acceptable? Really? And just out of curiosity, how many coerced book reviews do you really need? This is not a kind statement for me to make but it bothers me that one has to purchase a hard copy of the book and provide a book review in order to receive the “free” teaching outline aide.

Are there realities that I may not be aware of, that’s quite possible and if I have offended anyone, please accept my apology, but I’m only telling it like I see it, from my own limited perspective and there may be others who have the same questions that I have.

I understand about making a living but does everything have to be slanted towards monetary gain when we are talking about promoting the Kingdom of God with tools for the Church? The bad fruit of excess and greed with regard to wealthy estates and high end transportation at the expense of the Gospel for some within the ministry of Christ. Do you think that Jesus would clear out our temples with the money venues we exploit if He walked this earth today? How far have we moved away from the examples that Jesus gave us to follow with regard to spreading the Gospel, how far have we moved away from the pattern that the Apostle Paul followed so as not to put the Gospel in a bad light?

I don’t understand how those who do these things don’t think that others don’t take notice and see the obvious hypocrisy. I am not a rich person, I have worked all of my life and have helped many along the way, including our own five children, which continues to this very day.  I have a small pension but no nest egg, any wealth we gained along the way went out to assist others, we exclude ourselves whenever possible to provide. We live modestly and there are many like minded believers like us. Many who give of their time and limited income to assist the spread of the Gospel and address the needs of others. We need more leaders, men and woman of integrity, that lead by example.

The political banter that never ceases to use an opportunity to promote oneself and shoot down another. Saying you walk the high road but then blatantly walking the low. Playing the odds at holding onto power at the expense of the principles that you say you uphold. Our political choices for government leave much to be desired. And it’s not because we have the wrong political system, in principle the system is sound, it’s the people who fill the positions we elect them to that fail us. There are exceptions but they are few and far between. We need more leaders, leaders with integrity, both within government and within the Church.

Are my expectations too high, probably, especially when dealing with political realities but how about within the Church? I don’t think so. The world we live in has it’s own values and these values have little to do with true justice and integrity. The oppressed continue to be oppressed and the problems of injustice continue to be ignored. We are divided because our values are divided, we fail to consider others in the same manner as we consider ourselves. Do unto others is a platitude that no longer means anything because our focus continues to focus on self, be it abortion, inequality between the different races and of course, the accumulation of ever expanding wealth by those who have gained power to control. We all know what the real problems are, unchecked greed, unchecked manipulation by those who have gained power to manipulate.  Collectively we lack the determination to correct these wrongs because it will change the status quo, both individually and collectively at the personal level. We’re not looking for a just society, not if it will affect the way we live today and tomorrow.

Am I disappointed in our society, yes, but I understand what is happening, Jesus told us how things would be as we approach His return and I do believe His return is approaching. Maybe not in my life time but relatively soon. The stage is being set as never before. Am I disappointed in the Church, yes but I am part of the Church so part of the blame lies at my door. The Church is becoming vibrant in many parts of the world, especially where it is outlawed and under suppression. It’s where the Church is currently free to speak that truly disappoints me because we have mistakenly assumed that morality and integrity can be legislated into law and forced onto the populace by gaining a majority of power within the government and voting for our best option or person that supports our goals. I understand the logic but if the best person is sorely deficient of Christian morality and integrity, just exactly what do you think will be actually achieved?  And if the majority of those who govern at the state or provincial level are also devoid of Christian morality and integrity, how will their votes tally up with correcting the wrongs of our society? That will never work because people need to change first and only the Gospel changes people. We’ve chosen the external approach and ignored the internal reality. How’s that working for us?

If we are Christians that place our reliance and trust in Christ and what He has done, and what He does in our lives today, then our number one priority should be spreading the Gospel and ministering to others as Jesus asked us to do, individually and collectively. That is the mandate of the Church. That has always been our Marching Orders.

Can Christians serve the Lord through service to their country, obviously they can but unless what I see is totally out of touch with reality, those who hold a Christian worldview are in the minority and that will never change until more people change via the saving grace of the Gospel.

The only one who has integrity that is without question is Jesus. He perfectly fulfilled the Law. He perfectly followed the will of the Father, even unto His death and His triumphant Resurrection. What He did for us and will do for others is the Gospel of the Good News. The new birth where God’s Holy Spirit lives within us and changes us according to His likeness is where change happens. We can’t take our eyes off of that reality, because if we do, we are lost.

If I have offended anyone here, please accept my apology, to offend is not the purpose of this post. To rethink our priorities is.

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!