Dancing before the Lord

2 Samuel 6: 14-23.

Everyone knows the story of King David dancing before the Lord in the streets clothed only in a linen ephod, which was a priestly garment, or a type of girdle.  And David danced with all his might.

They brought the ark of covenant back to Israel & made sacrifices.

Now, his wife Michal, Saul's daughter, saw this and told him how it was unbecoming a king and how dare he!

He told her straight out is was before God who had chosen him. He basically said, I will be honored in my own house. And Michal, never had a child. Which was a very bad fate of any married woman.

This situation reminds me of today's churches. The more conservative think dancing before God is a horrible thing, while more charismatic churches encourage it. And the latter is right, considering the above example. And those who do believe in dancing, leave the more conservative and go find a place where they can worship fully.

One wonders, what will be the reaction of the conservatives when they reach heaven and see all the dancers in God's throne room....

 

Song, Dance and Playing Instruments

Psalms 33: 1-3. KJV

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument with ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.

The importance of worship with song and instruments is mentioned many times in the book of Psalms, yet in today's churches, it's simply a prelude to the teaching. Something to be hurried through. Not savored or enjoyed. Or done instead of a pastor preaching or teaching.

During this month, we'll be studying song, dance and the playing of instruments and how, in God's eyes, they are VERY important.

Are you happy?

Are you happy? A simple three word sentence with huge impact. Many people go through life surviving, doing what they think they should, chasing a dream that turns into a night mare. Very few go after what they really want because they've been programmed to think that's abnormal.

After watching the Hallmark movie, Stranded in Paradise, it got me  thinking. Was I happy? Were all the survival jobs I worked for over three decades really worth it? Did I really step out and taste life?

Oh, I did a few times, but those were rare. Mostly I worked for thankless and disloyal employers, enduring positions I detested, for one reason - Money!

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Our government worships it. Many churches worship it. Every person in our society thinks it's important. Is it? It's ink on paper. Pure and simple.

Are you happy? Are you doing what God called you to do, or are you following the dictates of society?

Dreams and their meanings

On Sid Roth's It's Supernatural, last week's guest spoke about sleeping and receiving information or prophetic dreams from God. The guest spent year's researching dreams in the Bible and put together a Christian book on symbols in dreams and the Biblical take on what they mean, rather than the current popular secular meanings.

The guest even shared personal experiences and the outcomes when warnings were acted on, like preventing their church from dividing when two major families had a disagreement. With prayer and counseling, they got through the crisis.

This is a powerful  and informative segment. Highly recommended and available on the It's Supernatural website.

 

Lack of Knowledge

The Bible is like any work of literature. In order to understand it, one must first be aware of customs, history, symbols, the importance of numbers, figures of speech - all those things that Literature teachers attempted to teach their students in school.

Yet, this is largely ignored by seminaries and pastors. Instead, most get a type of moral teaching, while true understanding of God's word goes untouched and mostly unnoticed by most church goers.

God himself in the book of Timothy encourages all of his followers to study His word, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Those who do are often looked down upon the supposed teachers because often what is found, is somewhat different from what is being taught.

Tradition is fine. Truth is better. Even God said his people were destroyed due to lack of knowledge.

Knowledge is the one thing every believer should go after.

Good Question

Why is modern Christiandom,on the average, like the 400 years of spiritual darkness that fell on Israel before John the Baptist and the birth of Christ?

Why do modern theologians, the ones who teach the leaders of the church, tell them myths like, tongues was only for the early church to spread the gospel, instead of telling them truthfully it's for us today as well?

Why are many of the 'religious' programs on TV only begging for money instead of ministering to people?

All very good questions.

Any one have any good answers?

Where has the US failed its men?

There's an epidemic in the United States that isn't even passing over Christian men. It's obvious everywhere if you talk to the women. In the place where the blogger works, most are single moms working to support themselves and their children on salaries that are barely above poverty level and often having to take their former spouses back to court time and again to get the financial support they were promised.

Problem is, this epidemic is not confined to nonbelievers. Even Christian men are leaving their wives despite what the church teaches about marriage. They are all moving on to other relationships, new spouses, moving back in with their parents or setting up bachelor pads.

Where is this country failing its men? What has happened to committing to a relationship and staying in it, even when everything goes bad? Or did the men only get married to be with their wives in the good times? How can it be that when times are hard, these men run for the hills rather than standing beside their mate and battling it together? Or have the courts just made it too easy for men to tuck their tails and run?

The Bible instructs men to stay with their wife from their youth, so it can be speculated that this has been a problem for centuries. Do men have some natural instinct to dump on older woman and move on to a younger one?

Unfortunately there are more questions than answers. Perhaps the churches need to stop concentrating on making money to build a larger building and concentrate on teaching men to stay with their wives and children. This would be a far more fruitful use of their time.

Yes, it's good to have divorce recovery groups. Yet, in these groups, folks need to be taught how to weather the storms of life and stay together since many of them do remarry and get divorced a second time.

'Where are you men of courage?' Courageous. Yes, where are these men of courage? I think they all need to take a forty day journey and take the love dare. Fireproof. Maybe then they can battle the giants of fear and defeat in their lives. Facing the Giants. And do the right thing. Flywheel.

(If you don't know the movie references, I highly suggest all four of these Christian films.)



 

Movie Review - Brother White

Brother White is a light hearted comedy about a children's pastor who is keeps making mistakes and is reassigned to a struggling sister church. While he is delighted, not all of his family is due to the questionable location of the building. To make matters worse, a banker is trying to foreclose on the property.

This movie is delightful and full of touching moments. Not to mention an absolutely wonderful concert at the end. This film is upbeat, positive and recommended for family viewing.

Out of five stars, this film rates a three and half.

Modern Day Prophecies

In recent months there have been a number of prophecies, both religious and secular, saying the United States is due for a major economic meltdown. Money will be useless, the government will fall and then with no where to go, everyone will turn to the church who will rise up and take care of people's needs.

Part of this has already been seen with churches stepping in during Hurricane Rita to help survivors. Many have food banks. Others are sponsoring job networking groups. More recently over a thousand volunteers descended on Denver, CO with KLOVE for Sharefest and saved the school district lots of money in upgrades and repairs.

The increase in church or religious involvement in the community is wonderful. Hopefully, there will be more in the future.

However, what makes the prophecies believable and yet not are two factors.

1. Secular economists are saying the US and the entire world is headed for another major collapse. Millions will die and after that happens life will be better for the survivors as they rebuild.

2. The prophets keep making these predictions saying the US is under God's judgement. Yet still they ask for money to buy their books, CD's or DVD's to tell people how to survive and prosper in the horrible days ahead. Really? And they're the ones saying that money will be useless? If that is so, why don't they just give their resources away?

Will these events really come to pass? Or are leaders just preying on peoples fears?

Sources: Various educational & religious channels.

'Why Not Question" : Movie Review - 'WWJD What would Jesus do?'

'WWJD What would Jesus do?' focuses in on a church and town that is fading. Faith is low and the leadership of the town would do anything, including demolishing the church to put in a casino to save their town. Enter a drifter whose challenging words seem to impact the community who no one would help or give him a job. Although this film is a bestseller and has a stellar cast, the plot line is somewhat disappointing and the dropped angle of drifter's involvement half way through the story lessons the impact of the final outcome. 'WWJD' is however, a lovely family film and has some great music and poignant moments. Recommended but only earns a rating of 2.5 on a scale from 1 to 5.

'Why Not Question' : Movie Review - 'Time Changer'

In honor of AnomalyCon, the local Steampunk convention, this weeks blog will be about the Christian movie 'Time Changer'.

'Time Changer' is film about a Victorian professor who can freely teach Godly beliefs in the classroom and is sent one hundred years into the future. What he discovers is that God has been pulled from the public classrooms and church has become about social activities.

Although a bit preachy at times, 'Time Changer' is a wonderful attempt at Christian Steampunk, a very hot genre in Science Fiction right now. It is fun and shows the difficulty of a Victorian era man trying to cope with modern day and the change it has on his life upon returning to his own time.

Recommended for fans of Steampunk who want to see an example on how to use their faith in this exciting new genre.

'Why Not Question' : Today's problems

Life is full of disappointments and sometimes we think God is just plain crazy.

For instance, we land a job we really don't want and can't understand why we're wasting time doing something that is so far below our talent level we dread getting up in the morning. However, there might be one incident that makes it worth while and we hope God does something good with it like He promises.

Life, particularly today, if very unpredictable. Jobs are scare. Finances are tight. People are losing their homes and living in their cars or in the streets. Employers are picky and unreasonable.

How can we, as Christians, shine in a place so full of hopeless and need?

Yes, some churches are providing food banks. Others have stepped in to help those struck by tragedy. Many did so during Katrina, Rita and the tornado outbreak of 2011.

Yet, as individuals we are overwhelmed. Many of us are no better off in this time of trouble.

Is there an answer?

We can only hold on to God and pray He provides for our needs.

'Why Not Question' : Three Days and Three Nights - Where Did They Go?

The Bible tells us Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights. Yet most churches teach Christ was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday morning. Does anyone else see the error in this? If tradition is correct - than Christ was only in the tomb for two nights and one day. What happened to the other two full days and one night? And why do people blindly believe what is being taught rather than what God's word says?

We are instructed in Timothy to study God's word, workman who do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. However, it seems today's Christians are too 'busy' to bother and only listen to what their priest, preacher, pastor, tell them. Thus, an erroneous teaching about the when Christ was crucified and rose, has stayed around for far longer than it should have.

It is far more likely Jesus died on Wednesday and rose on Saturday. The Jewish day runs from Sunset to Sunset - not Midnight to Midnight as it does today. Thus the sabbath would have started on Friday when the sun went down to Saturday at the same time. One would also speculate that Christ rose at the moment the sun set. The next morning the women went to the tomb - since it was customary to wait three days. Seems they wanted to make sure the person was actually dead. This little piece of information gives new meaning to the raising of Lazarus,the reaction of his sisters and why Jesus waited longer before going to see Mary and Martha.

Most Westerners are unfamiliar with Eastern culture and so this very important point escapes the reader. So Christ being in the grave three days and three nights emphasizes the point he was dead. It is also interesting to note NO ONE had come back from the grave - not in those days. So Jesus rising was quite spectacular.

Adding these little known details begins to bring the accuracy of the Bible to the fore front, defusing what tradition teaches and enriching God's word for the modern day believer.

'Why Not Question' - What Christians could learn from the Science Fiction Community

There is a great deal Christians could learn from the Science Fiction community. Yikes! Christians fleeing in many directions of the mere mention of Science Fiction.
Ahhh! Save us from that unGodly thinking.

Oh, come on now. There are Science Fiction fans in many churches. It just isn't talked about because of this very reaction. Why set one's self up for condemnation?

However, the original comment stands. There is much Christians could learn from this tight knit and very open community.

What you ask? What could unbelievers possibly teach us?

Ever been to a Science Fiction convention? Answer is probably no, but please, bear with the blogger.

To begin with a convention, or con as it's normally called, is a huge family reunion. Most in these circles, and there are many sub genres, only see each other once maybe twice a year. It is a time to catch up on each others lives, the things one wouldn't post on Facebook, go out to eat together, see out of town friends, and engage in activities mutually enjoyed, example, gaming, filking,(SF folk singing), talking with authors or artists, viewing art, buying new stuff in the dealer's room, hanging out in the Con suite where free food is served, making new friends because everyone there is attending for the same reason and have a common interest, not to mention all the hugs exchanged. They're family.

Unfortunately, in many churches, people do not feel so welcomed. Yes, there are small groups as in the SF circles. Yes, everyone attending church has the same reason for being there and a common interest.

But today, everyone in church seems to be so busy they don't get involved in each others lives. They rush in for the service and rush out, maybe saying a quick 'Hi', before leaving to get the family home, fed and in front of the TV for the football game or to get the homework completed.

Rarely do Christians seem to take the time to get to know each other, hang out, talk, go eat together, or do anything that is common during a Con.

After all, Christians are all part of God's family yet seem to treat each other as perfect strangers and content to stay the way. No, it's not way in every church, but in the larger ones, it's the norm. One can go to church, sit in a pew, be preached at and leave, without ever speaking to anyone else.

This is unfortunate and part of what is wrong with churches/Christians today. How can a secular group have it so right and God's people so wrong?

'Why Not Question' - The Changing Church

The Internet, TV and the rush-rush of daily life has changed what 'Church' is today. Most of the more conservative or traditionalists still think of it as gathering in a particular building with other people on Sunday morning and/or evening and Wednesday Bible studies. Not to mention belonging to a certain denomination.

Nowadays however, several factors have changed that concept.

First, TV. Now those who are shut in or who have limited time and can't spend all Sunday morning in one spot, can watch the TV pastor of their choice for maybe thirty minutes or an hour and then move on to other things. Or, if they have time on Thursday evening, or Tuesday, they don't have to wait until Sunday. Church in this manner also allows for different types of teachers so they don't get convinced that only one thought pattern or belief system is the right one.

Second, the Internet. There are numerous sites where Christians can network together and have a 'church' of online believers. Also, many churches are starting to live stream their services so that a member does not have to leave their home to attend. This is a very handy in the event the roads are slick or it's snowing or illness.

Third, there are others who have gotten over the idea that a church building is necessary. Instead of expecting people to come to them, they go to the people and have services in office buildings during lunch breaks, on the street, or in homes. This is a return to the original concept of what was going on in the First Century church when believers met daily and in homes.

Each of these new methods,and the above list is by no means exhaustive, shows progressive thinking and a willingness to move out of traditional ideas into a new century where people have limited time and want more from their church than the same old - same old.

Bravo!