In Spirit and In Truth

I must admit that I have been "hiding" out the last few days, despite the fact that I have had the time to sit and write a post. I have been evaluating my blog's purpose, my blog's audience and which direction the Lord wants me to take. Originally, when I started this blog, 9 months ago, it was to promote the concept to the seeking unbelieving society that one does not need church to find God. It was to protect, proclaim and hold dear the name of Christ that has been abused and misused by so many, so that those who DO seek Him KNOW Him as He is to BE known. It was to be a source of simplicity, in this confusing time of doctrines of  men. For that reason, the original name of this blog was "Confessions of an Unchurched Believer". However, naturally, my blog attracted those who claim Christianity as a belief, and in this church-soaked society, my claims (which ARE the promises of God) to walk in Faith, in trust in Christ alone, as He makes me stand, outside ...

I was awarded a Perseverance Award from my brother in Christ Isaiah , owner of Joie de Vivre . My thanks to you for considering me and my humble blog! The award is to “… acknowledge those bloggers who have invested their very life in their blogs so as to encourage, build and warn others.” Many awards get passed from blogger to blogger, unfortunately all those who I would have considered granting this award to have already been awarded. So what I will do instead is acknowledge those who have demonstrated brotherly/sisterly love in communication, and respect when dialoguing about the Word of God with others. A subject that is typically tense and can be used to attack others, these people have stood out above and beyond the rest: BrotherMark at Grow and Know Isaiah at Joie de Vivre Carol at The Bible Thumper's Soapbox The War Analyst at The Warfare Journal (Congratulations to him and his wife on the birth of their new baby!) May the fruit of the Spirit co...

I was asked once, "What worshipping God looks like in my life". It was a question that I welcomed as an opportunity to testify and share, but it also identified a perception that worshipping God is largely limited to being visible and in a group (gathering) setting. This perception is supported by the many claims by Christians of "falling away" if one is not in a physical church or group. My worship of the Father is by the  fellowship of  His Son. My worship is not limited to a day of the week, but minutely as I am His Temple in where He resides. My worship of the Father is my love for Him and His truth. My worship of the Father is in serving my husband. My worship of the Father is in the ministry of my children. My worship of the Father is in the hospitality of my home towards others. My worship of the Father is listening to that gentle voice in my heart. My worship of the Father manifests in being still in Him and waiting on Him. My wors...

As a child I absolutely loved " Sesame Street "! Every morning I would settle down  with my pillow and immerse myself in an hour of colorful, monster puppets and dancing letters. My most favorite part of the program was when the game "Guess Which Thing Doesn't belong Here" came on. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this game, it was a game in which four things, people etc, would be portrayed and three of those things were similar leaving one thing that didn't "belong". It's around major Christian holidays such as Easter I feel as if I'm once again, piecing together the things that don't belong. Take a look at the pictures I have selected below. Can you tell me which thing/person doesn't belong here?     If you choose the cross of Christ as the "object" that doesn't belong in this group, then you are correct! If feel they are all related...(sigh) what can I say? Traditions Verses Faith For tho...

( continued from part 1 ) a child's father I have had the pleasure of watching my husband father our children. Truly, it is the most beautiful thing I've seen. While I have had a father until the age of 17, I was emotionally, fatherless. this is not to say that my father was a horrible parent. Oddly, he was very generous of his time and in his compassion to others, it just wasn't directed towards his family as we needed him to be. As an adult, I see the deliberate direction from the Lord in my childhood. One in which I can rejoice in, looking back. My physical father wasn't there in the way I needed him to be, but my Father in heaven was. It made it much easier for me to"look to Him" as I was searching for someone to look to.  My children, absorb every word from their father's mouth. They lap it up as truth, and I can see the process of integrity, character and understanding budding in their very young years. While they are very normal as children, the...

We  live in an age where the wisdom of man has reached new heights. Where technology spurs forth with gaining speed each passing year (month). There is no question that the "tree of  knowledge of good and evil" ( Genesis 2:9 ) has been manifested in the 21st Century. There is no question that mankind has become enamored with their own intellect. There is also no question, that the Christian Culture has become enamored by the intellect of man as well.   a serpent's wisdom Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Looking at the Hebrew lexicon of subtil it says: Result of search for "subtil": 2450 chakam khaw-kawm' from 2449 ; wise, (i.e. intelligent, skilful or artful):--cunning (man), subtil, ((un-)), wise((hearted), man). 5341 natsar naw-tsar' a primitive ro...

As of late, there has been quite a bit of talk on my blog about church today. Where it is in the history of "time". The need for physical fellowship. Apostasy from sound doctrine. So naturally this article immediately grabbed my attention. Read this article and tell me if we do not need to reevaluate everything that is considered "Christian" in today's society. Please pay special attention to what pastors and reverends are saying as well. My comments are in blue. Underlined texts are the sentiments I am responding to. The following article is: By Jacqueline L. Salmon Evangelicals' new twist on Lent Catholic traditions adopted as 'worship renewal' Evangelicals observing Lent? Fasting, and giving up chocolate and favorite pastimes like watching TV during the 40 days before Easter are practices many evangelical Protestants have long rejected as too Catholic and unbiblical. But Lent -- a time of inner cleansing and reflection upon Jesus Christ 's ...

As time moves along in this climate of "windy doctrines", Ephesians 4:14 it never fails to amaze me what sort of "new" doctrine comes along by the whim of one's creative imagination. Here's one for the books: "revirginization" apparently is making a comeback from the early 1990's. Here's an excerpt from the article: "She was the granddaughter of a Pentecostalist pastor and the daughter of an assistant pastor, and she believed sex outside marriage was wrong. "I felt really bad from a religious standpoint," she recalls of the experience. "My thoughts were really clouded because I was so emotionally bonded with my boyfriend. That overshadowed my religious world." Though the relationship lasted for seven years and produced two beautiful children, a part of Watts always felt guilty. She wished she could step back in time and recapture her lost virginity. Thinking of how "I could have ruined one of greatest fulfillm...

Yes. Exactly. I do have to bring this up since so many church-goers, insist on my being in a modern church environment, for the sake of my spiritual growth. In other words, I simply cannot "walk" without interaction from "like-minded" believers, whether single or married. As I mentioned it's been a long journey prior to the arrival of my "peace with God, by the justification of my Faith" Romans 5:1 , what I have discovered during this journey was that my faith was tentatively placed with God, and wholly placed in "gatherings of ourselves". I simply had to have "church". As someone who grew up in a unloving family environment, I desired the physical/spiritual support of a "real" family. I was extremely disappointed and let down by many attitudes I encountered in various churches. I wasn't being fed as I needed to be. So, I took my questions, that ministers found such discomfort with, upon the Lord. Boy, did I discover...