Mediation

I was listening to a podcast today addressing the topic “Morality of Disobedience”. The context of the discussion centred on the issue of clerics who violate trust. Many believers have become disillusioned with all things related to faith because of paedophile, philandering, embezzling, perjuring and faithless clerics (Isaiah 56:10-12). In the cases when church leaders engage in these blatant violations of trust, is it moral for the congregants to be disobedient? Well this depends on what standard we are choosing to obey or disobey. Many have come to equate God with the church, so when the church and its leadership fails, individuals become disillusioned with God and stop believing in His goodness (Ezekiel 34:1-6). This is a direct work of the enemy of souls. He has orchestrated a system, manipulating our desire for the visible and the tangible, causing us to equate the sinless, infallible God with sinful fallible human beings. God’s standard is sure and perfect and can, through His help be obeyed. Church standards and traditions tend to fall short of God’s perfect will (Matthew 15:3-9).

With this knowledge how do we overcome the faults of human beings to see the never-failing God? First, we need to know where to find God. In His infinite wisdom God has provided us with a book in which we can find all the information we need to know about Himself and ourselves (John 5:39; 2 Peter 1:19). An honest reading of the Bible will bring us to an understanding that this book is very different from all others. However, many believers in the Bible have been made to think that scripture cannot be understood by an individual without the interpretation of an organized system. This is fallacy. The Bible clearly teaches how it can and should be interpreted. The Bible is inspired by the God and written by individuals with varying writing styles all conveying the same message of the love of God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible interprets itself, one passage is related to another that give more clarity to the previous passage (Isaiah 28:9-13). When the Bible is earnestly studied as a whole, with dependence on God, the giver of this word, we will all come to the same conclusions, as seen during the time of the reformation.

So, what of the church community? Scripture teaches that we are not to forsake the assembly (Hebrews 10:25). So then, are we all expected to congregate under the administration of those that cause injury and harm through wanton violation of God’s laws? Following the principle of ‘line upon line’ and precept upon precept’ we learn that assemble does not require an established “mainstream” church body, Jesus said that where ever two or three are gathered in His name He is there to bless (Matthew 18:20). Therefore, the key to obeying God’s command of assembly requires that we gather with others that truly believe in Jesus and He will bring a blessing (Acts 2:1-4). The reality is even when we are alone and unable to find another soul who shares our belief in Jesus, He is there to bless, because we as believing individuals are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). There is an old saying that rings abundantly true in these circumstances “you plus God is a majority”. Elijah stood on his own, with God behind him, in the face of a completely apostate Israelite nation and was victorious (1 Kings 18). Therefore, if we would have victory and genuine peace in our lives, we need to seek for God not the church.

Then if the church is not necessarily the way to God, then how do we gain forgiveness? As we read the Bible we learn of our sinful condition (Psalms 51:5). We also learn that Jesus came in the form of sinful man and by living the obedient life conquered sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:3). By virtue of His victory, Jesus is our only mediator, and the only way back into favour with the Father (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). Through this gift we are now able to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive forgiveness and mercy (Hebrews 4:16). The churches of today may claim to be our one route to God, but a careful study of God’s word will reveal that Jesus is the only way to the Father and in searching the scriptures we will find Him (John 5:39). When we come to know Jesus and learn how to love Him, we will find true peace and atonement with the Father (Matthew 11:29; John 14:15; Hebrews 4:15, 16).

Keep the Faith

Déjà vu

According to the dictionary worship is “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”. Then what is reverence? – “deep respect for someone or something”. Okay, let’s summarize. To worship is ‘to express deep respect or adoration for a deity’. Reading scripture, we learn that there is no being worthy of worship but the Almighty God (Exodus 20:3-6; Psalms 99:5; Matthew 4:10; John 9:31; Revelation 22:9). With this understanding how does one worship? According to scripture worship is expressed by obedience to commandments (1 Kings 9:6; 2 Kings 17:13-17; 2 Chronicles 7:17-22). Therefore, the commandments of the one we choose to obey is the one we worship.

God in all His omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent complexity, as He relates to man is very simple and straightforward. God, in all His creative majesty, chooses to create beings and bless them with life. In recognition of God's position in the universe and in gratitude for the gift He has blessed His creatures with, God demands our worship (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14). However, for this worship to be perfect it must be given freely. Therefore, when God creates any living, sentient being He gives them the free will to choose whether to worship Him or not. In order to determine loyalty God therefore presents His creation with a test.

For the first beings of our race this test came in the form of a fruit. This test in its simplicity was profound (Genesis 2:17). In all respects this test was easy. Hundreds and thousands of fruit options from which to choose. One to avoid. Worship God and eat the others or worship self and eat the one. The first of humanity was duly warned of the consequences of self-worship – disloyalty to God would sever them from their Source of life resulting in death. Loyalty to God would cement their attachment to their Source of life resulting in everlasting life. As we are all painfully aware our first parents chose disloyalty and ate the fruit, thereby plunging us into the condition in which we find ourselves.

However, God in His infinite mercy chose to pay the debt we owed for disloyalty. As a result, we now have a second chance at the same test - will we be loyal to God or disloyal. Will we acknowledge Him as the Creator of all things and Lord of the universe? The test this time is also elegantly simple, worship God on the day He asks or on another (Revelation 14:6, 7). Some see it as so simple that the world's fate could not possibly rest on so basic a choice. Why would an infinite God care about something so small like a day or a fruit? However, what we need to understand is that God is not in need of our grand gestures. He does not require our good deeds. He is able to accomplish, without us, all the good deeds we prioritize over His actual requirements. He created it all and can do with it all as He pleases, when He pleases and how He pleases (Psalms 50:12). The one task He has placed in our hands is to choose whether to be loyal to Him or to self.

Will you worship Him on His day or worship yourself on your own chosen day (Exodus 20:8-11) in the manner He requires (Isaiah 58:13)? Will you receive the rest He gives from your weekly labour or will you seek to find your own way (Genesis 2:1-3)? Will you keep the day God blessed and sanctified, holy or will you attempt to make another day holy (Daniel 7:25)?

This is the choice with which we are now faced. Will you make the simple choice and be loyal to your Creator, the Omnipotent God, though the heavens fall?

Be Blessed

Perspective

Perspective – a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view (OED). I find this a curious concept; a person makes decisions based on their perspective which is determined by their education and experiences. As scientists we are trained to try and view data objectively only stating the facts of what we find and subsequently relating it to previous observations. Making decisions based on our own or some other person’s perspective seems to me to be very dangerous. My education and experience are not the same as yours and it can never be the same. However, in most aspects of life we face similar decisions. So, if that is the case there should be a standard by which decisions should be made. Then, what is the standard? Social doctrines of today would have us believe that each of us make our own standards leading to each person having their own truth. I find this nerve-racking. I’ve heard pilots say if they worked with this idea flying would cease to be safe. Likewise, in life there needs to be a fixed standard that originates from an unbiased perspective.

Truth, “what is truth?” a man once asked not waiting for the answer (John 18:38), Truth is that fixed standard that we need that has an unbiased perspective. It overlooks all of us and sees things as they are not as we want them to be. As Bible believers we believe that truth is in the Scriptures. This book that has remained largely unchanged and verifiably so, contains truth. Its predictive descriptions give us confidence that its principles for life and salvation are truth; and when put into unwavering practice we have living proof of its validity (2 Peter 1:16-19). I’ve heard the comparison being made that the way to salvation is like blind men attempting to describe an elephant, some getting a hold of the leg, others the tail, some the ears and some the trunk, with no one having the full concept. I find this analogy offensive. How fair would God be if He left us groping around in the dark with no way to know if we are even facing the right direction? How can we all be heading to the same destination with so many different concepts of how to get there? This is lunacy! The Bible tells us clearly how to achieve this goal – Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

I saw a counter-political slogan recently that bothered me it said, “Make Lying Wrong Again”. It’s a very true statement, lies seem to be an acceptable way of life among humanity, that needs to be smothered. However, the reason it bothered me, is because the socio-political group behind this encourages lying within their own ranks. Lack of adherence to the unbiased truth of God is lying. Invoking God’s principles while not following them is, to me, the worse kind of lying – hypocrisy. Jesus spoke to this advising that we remove the beams in our own eyes before assisting our brother with the mote in his (Matthew 7:5; Luke 6:42).

I submit that most of us have one particularly massive beam in our own eyes – an obsession with our own perspectives – pride and selfishness. We are utterly incapable of seeing life for what it is because we get stuck behind our varyingly priced educations and experiences. This needs to be dealt with first. We need to adopt God’s truth because it comes from a panoramic point of view. He sees all and knows all and above all, made us all so he knows what we all require. He gave us Ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) that when faithfully followed, and all of life is processed through them, make life peaceful and happy for all. But until we take on this perspective it is best that accusations not be made because it will only lead to strife and bitterness (Philippians 2:3).

With Love

A Little Leaven

Come Search with Me - Scrutiny of Relativism & Pluralism

Loss

Growing up I never understood the grief in death. My grandparents on both sides died before I was born or was old enough to remember any of them. My first experience with genuine loss came when I was 20-years old. My aunt died. I’d been to funerals for different relatives and family friends before. Some of those deaths were sadder than others for various reasons but the first one to really hit me was my aunt. She’d been there my whole life. I used to stay at her house when preschool was done until my parents picked me up. My sister and I used to go to her house during school holidays to watch TV (before cable came to where we lived). We became friends with her music students. Sometimes I would go with her when she had playing engagements, at some church or other, to be page turner and general baggage carrier. She was my idea of what and aunt was to be, not intrusive and always available. When I was away for college, I’d always check in with her on my visits home. When she passed, I was away at school and couldn’t make it back for the funeral. I remember the sense of loss I felt. My sister and I cried together for the loss of our aunt. That loss shook me, but I was still firm. A few years later another aunt died, I’d known her my whole life as well, but she was different from her sister. She was one of life’s truly unique personalities. She was a nurse, a very good nurse. But she lived a bit more in her own world marching to the beat of a different drummer, as one might say. I was also away at school when she passed. I don’t remember crying when she died, I was sad, but I imagine that I may have been inoculated to the grief, by the loss of the first aunt.

Then a few years went by and I received the gut punch from which I’m still recovering. My father died. There still are no words to express this pain. He was my protector, provider, teacher, and friend and he’s gone. When he died, I was at home. I’d finally finished my last degree and came home. He’d been sick and about a year before he passed, he received his diagnosis. I got the call on New Year’s Eve with the news. I called his siblings to let them know. When I came home, he and I hung out like we usually did, I tried to be as much help to my mother as I could in caring for him. Then 11 months after his diagnosis he went to sleep, and it knocked the wind out of me. But as I have been raised to do, I went into work mode. My tears were not immediate. There is a lot of paperwork and planning that happens at the end of a person’s life. I called his siblings and informed them, then I did all the running around associated with planning a funeral. When we sat down for family worship that Friday night it all came flooding out. No more work to do on the Sabbath, you see, so it all came out at the sound of his favourite Sabbath hymn. That Sabbath happened to be my birthday. Then we buried him that Sunday.

I’m writing this because a friend of mine lost his mother, after a lengthy illness, a few days ago and I’m not sure how he’s dealing with it. Two other childhood friends recently lost their brother, suddenly and unexpectedly, as well, and I know one of them is struggling. I know there many other people in this world that are experiencing loss in various degrees for varying reasons. I learned recently that at least 70 people in my country have been declared missing. This number is exponentially greater across the world. A loss like this I imagine may be worse than death because you are stuck in the land of not knowing. Loosing a loved one has caused many to lose their faith in God. I was reading John 11 recently and it brought me to tears thinking about my father. I really believed that my daddy would get better, to his last breath, I believed. He’d never really been sick the entire time I knew him, I was sure he would recover. But he didn’t, and the story of Lazarus made me ask God why. Why not my father? He was still relatively young. He was highly active and very energetic up until his diagnosis. Why didn’t I get that miracle? I believed. The simple answer is, The All Knowing, All Loving, All Powerful God, saw that the greatest good would come from allowing His faithful child to rest. The hurt and the pain and the added responsibilities left by those who are gone will draw those who remain closer to Himself and bring Glory to Himself (John 11:4). But we must be humble and accept God’s judgement in life (Romans 8:28). God allowed John the Baptist, His servant, the greatest of the prophets, to die in a most vicious manner (Matthew 11:7-11; 14:3-12). Judgement will be meted out on the perpetrators of his death but a greater good was achieved, Christ was lifted up and we all have a hope of salvation (Luke 3:16; John 3:30).

Like Martha I know I’ll see my father at the resurrection. I believe his sins are forgiven and I know he served the Lord faithfully and believed completely in every Word of God. The waves of sadness still come, with I think that he won’t see me married or know my children in this life. But I have faith that he will know them from the rest of eternity in a land were there will be no more sickness or dying, no more pain or misery and all tears will be wiped away and all things will be made new (Revelation 21:4). Until that day I keep most of my thoughts of him, happy ones. I remember the positive impact he had on his students, his laugh, his sense of humour, his reliability, the example he left of what a father should be. His example let me know some of what my Heavenly Father is like (Matthew 7:11). Now that my earthly father is gone, God in Heaven stands firmly, unwaveringly and reliably as my Protector, Provider, Teacher and Friend.

May this bring you Comfort

Humility

There are two very different groups of people in the world today, who claim to be the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Now I do not proport to endorse or oppose either claim as I am not God. He is the one Who scattered ancient Israel and Judah, He is the one Who knows who they all are, and He is the one Who can and will inform them of their identity at the appointed time (Isaiah 43:5-7; Jeremiah 31:10; Amos 9:9; Zechariah 1:19). And when that identity is revealed no one can refute it. So, with this being my opinion on that matter why do I mention these people? I am using these two groups as an example. Both of these groups claim Jacob as their father, both claim to be serving the One True God, both claim to be following the ancient Hebrew scripture and both, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, have missed the lessons that Israel was to learn in being scattered, and the task Israel was appointed to accomplish. The Jewish people, during the time Jesus was physically on Earth, preferred the teaching that the Messiah was to come as a conquering king that would destroy their oppressors and elevate them to a high and lofty race in the earth. The spiritual leaders of the Jews did not accept or teach the truth of the Messiah’s true purpose – to die in our place paying the debt for sin (Isaiah 53:3-5 Daniel 9:24-27). They desired temporal elevation over eternal salvation (Luke 12:16-21).

Ancient Israel, because they were chosen, by The Almighty God, to be the bearers of the special message of hope for redemption, became haughty and proud and self-confident. They forgot that God did not choose them for their “profound righteousness”, He repeatedly informed them of their superior stubbornness (Exodus 32:9; 33:3-5; Deuteronomy 9:6-13, 27; Judges 2:19). God stayed with them because He made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and any promise God makes He keeps (Genesis 12:1-3; 22; 15-18; 26:3-5; 28:13-15). The peoples currently claiming to be the descendants of these faithful men cause me concern because their rhetoric echoes heavily of the sentiment of Ancient Israel, a proud, haughty, self-serving, self-defending, self-exalting spirit that does nothing but drive people away (John 8:37-45). God’s true people, by this point, should have learned or at least should be learning the lessons of humility (Romans 11:16-24; Galatians 3:29). God will only use the truly humble to carry out His work, because only they will rely fully on Him (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we hear from God, Himself: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.”

God is so willing to forgive our sins, but we need to acknowledge them and repent. There are three major sin categories defined in scripture: “the lust of the flesh”, “the lust of the eyes”, and “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). These are all deadly. The first two – lust of the flesh and eyes – in a humble man are more likely to bring about a repentant heart than the third – the pride of life. Viewing the outcomes of one’s actions to gratify physical desires and the pain caused, can bring a conscientious person to genuine sorrow for sin. However, when the pride of life is brought into the mix it is very difficult to change course. The feeling that “I am justified in all my actions” and “what I am doing is right because that is how I see it”, makes one less likely to assess one’s course in accordance with The Standard. This is the reason it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). The rich, whether rich in finances, education, friends, even scriptural knowledge tend to rely of what they have as opposed to relying on God.

Scriptural knowledge is vital. However, without God it will not get anyone anywhere. It is for this reason, when Jesus sent out His disciples to preach, that He told them not to bring a script (Mark 6:8). They were to have the Word of God in their hearts through diligent study, but when presenting, the Holy Spirit would guide their words (Luke 12:11, 12; 2 Timothy 2:15). Self-reliance needs to be completely gone in order for God to work fully and mightily (Proverbs 3:5, 6; Jeremiah 33:2, 3). These groups claiming to be God’s chosen conduit of truth have a great wealth of knowledge of the words of Scripture, but they have missed the meaning and have not gained the transforming influence that scripture is to have in the soul (1 Corinthians 13). The same can be said to us as spiritual Israel. We too have a wealth of knowledge, for which we are responsible and until we let God transform our lives we will only be “sounding bass and tinkling cymbals”. When the Word of God is truly known we will gain a clear perspective of where we fit into the grand scheme of life (Isaiah 45:9, 10; Romans 9:20, 21). We are His workmanship, wonderfully designed to uplift God and Him alone thereby drawing all of humanity to Him (Psalms 139:14; Ephesians 2:10; John 12:32).

Humbly,

How to Run a Business

The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the United States of America’s constitution states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This was adopted into the Bill of Rights on 15^th December 1791. I have been listening to a podcast series about the twenty-seven amendments to the United States of America’s constitution and I find it interesting that this amendment is the one that garnered the most attention and is the most misunderstood. This causes me to wonder if the lack of understanding, and the perpetuation of confusion, while explaining the amendment is intentional. While listening to the umpteenth reading of the verbiage of this right a clarity hit me. The amendment is simply saying that in order to maintain a free state a well regulated militia should be able to be formed. What is a militia? According to OED a militia is “a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency” or “a military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities in opposition to a regular army”. I find this second definition interesting, but I’ll return to that shortly. The definitions plainly state that a militia is composed of civilians not career military personnel. Therefore, in order to form a well regulated militia, in the event that the state drifts away from being free, the civilian population needs to be armed and capable of using their arms. The second definition that the OED offered I found interesting, because resisting a less than free state is viewed as rebel or terrorist activity (eg. American Revolution).

Now, before anyone leaps to any conclusions, I am by no means a gun toting second amendment fanatic. However, I do have an appreciation for words, and when I find people misapplying, misunderstanding and misrepresenting clear verbiage I am driven to address it especially when there is a spiritual connection. The Word of God is compared to a weapon, an extremely sharp two-edged sword, which can cut in both directions (Hebrews 4:12). As Bible believing Christians, dwelling in the middle of a spiritual war we can apply the verbiage of the 2^nd Amendment to our Christian walk. In accordance with Scriptural teaching we all belong to a church. We are baptized (born) into a faith group (nation). These faith groups have leaders who are to, with the guidance of Biblical Scripture (national laws), lead the faith group. However, some lose their way and set aside the clear teachings of the Bible and form man-made teachings that result in sin (bondage). Now this is where the 2^nd Amendment kicks in. The church members (civilians) should be so versed in Biblical teachings (armed) that they can rein in the now rogue church leadership (maintain a free state).

The Bible admonishes us – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) As Christians, it is incumbent on us to search the Scripture daily, for ourselves, and plant it in our hearts that we do not return to the bondage of sin (Psalm 119:11). The leaders of the church have a responsibility to disseminate truth to the people. However, the people also have a responsibility for their own personal growth. God will hold church leadership accountable for not teaching the Bible accurately (Ezekiel 9; Matthew 23). Each individual will also be held to account for not obeying what is clearly written in Scripture (Galatians 5:7; Revelation 20:13). Therefore, it behoves us to take personal responsibility for our own soul’s salvation (Philippians 2:12). We cannot rely on fellow sinful human beings to sustain obedience to God (Luke 11:52). The battle for salvation is not for the faint of heart. We all need to take up arms (the Word of God) and be prepared to wield it deftly as Jesus did in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). The devil hurls fiery darts at us seeking to destroy us, our only means of defence, as demonstrated by Jesus is “It is written…”. Know the Word of God, meditate on it day and night, reject sin in all its forms, and your freedom in Christ will be maintained (Joshua 1:8; Psalms 1:2; John 8:34-36).

In Peace

For Every Truth: I Told You Before

Haemorrhage

I heard a statistic recently, that 70% of the youth population of my church is leaving, and that the majority of this number are those who grew up in the church. This is very disconcerting to know. A large part of the leadership of the church are spreading the idea that this mass exodus is occurring because the church is not being relevant to the youth. So, they have made changes to make the church feel more attractive: modifying the music, the dress code, and the complete message of the church to make the youth feel comfortable. As a young person I can safely say this will do nothing to help anyone. I am deeply offended at the notion that the youth of today are so shallow that something as petty as not having drums in the church or being expected to dress appropriately in the presence of The King of the Universe, would drive them from the place where their Saviour should be found. The real reason young people are leaving the church is simply this, the hypocrisy of church leadership.

The first thing to consider is this: numbers mean nothing to God. He can, and has, and will continue to, work by few or by many (1 Samuel 14:6; Judges 7:1-7). Therefore, the numbers leaving, staying, or joining do not matter. God is first and foremost interested the quality of persons claiming His name, not the quantity. In church we hear the accounts, from the Bible, of great men and women of faith, honour and integrity, like Job, Abraham, Deborah, Jonathan, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We also hear modern mission reports of the faithful like George Müller and his orphans, or the missionaries surrounded by lions that were saved. But this belief in God is not demonstrated in our leadership. The purpose of the church is to provide a means by which individuals can meet God, not to provide for the self-centred desires of sinful human beings. Services and messages are to be designed with praise to, and magnification of God, as the primary goal, not for the congregation’s enjoyment.

All our lives growing up in the church we’ve been taught about an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills yet as soon as the church needs to be repainted out comes the well-crafted, guilt-tripping tithe and offering sermons, and the appeals dictating how much money is needed from each church member. Where is the faith in God? When Moses was constructing the Sanctuary, he had to send people away with their gifts (Exodus 35:21-35; 36:1-7). Why? Because God moved on their hearts. The leadership was obedient to His will and taught the people to live in obedience. His name was being honoured, reverenced and uplifted by the Israelites. During the time of the youngest king of Judah, Joash, the temple was in disrepair because of prior ungodly leadership. When Joash restored proper worship to God the people brought their offerings willingly and abundantly and the temple was repaired (2 Kings 12:1-14). During the time of the early church all the believers were so committed to the purpose of the church, they gave all that they possessed to the further spreading of truth, and God blessed them for it (Acts 6:31-37). Where is the faith?

When individuals in the church commit blatant wrongs against God and against each other we placate and make excuses claiming not to have the right to judge instead of calling sin by its right name. As a result, false witnesses remain in the church repeatedly offending and giving the church a bad name with their vile, thieving, self-centred, faithless behaviour against church membership and others in the wider society. Had the presence of God been working in our churches we could and would with boldness uphold the standards of God in our membership allowing the faithful and the wider community to be safe in what is to be the house of God. Consider God’s instructions for dealing with those who broke His Sabbath day (Numbers 15:32-35) or God’s instructions through Paul for the vile offenders in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:1-8). Some of us leave because we are berated for seemingly tiny sins while members of church leadership continue with their vices and get protection (Matthew 23:24). All sin in the church should be dealt with appropriately. None should be covered none should be ignored all should be dealt with fairly and in proportion, because all will lead to death if left to fester. Where is the justice?

We learn in scripture that in order to receive eternal life we must keep the commandments (Luke 10:25-28). Most of the elders in the church hammer this into our heads but never discuss why and how this should be done. The youth of the church have questions and these questions need to be answered and the Bible has the answers if we would just read it. But most of the church’s leadership (possibly because it would be self-condemning) do not provide adequate guidance and study help. We need to hold the Bible as our primary text book and any book that supports it, we need to put away these books containing the musings and imaginings of non-scriptural, god-less, uninspired, inferior minds. God will hold church leadership to account for every youth that is lost because of their selfish withholding of truth (Matthew 18:6; 23:13). God’s justice and mercy must be taught in equal measure so that individuals may receive the full picture of God’s love. God calls us to reason with Him so that we may come to a clear understanding of how our salvation will come about (Isaiah 1:16-20). Jesus took the ultimate punishment so that we could have a second chance at making the right choice in every temptation that is allowed to pass our way. When this is explained, and practical tools are given to support the youth in holding fast to God’s strength to obey they will have a reason to stay in church. Where is the truth?

These were just three of the many hypocritical inconsistencies the youth find in the church, not to mention the perpetuation of baseless racial, and cultural divisions. Those of us from over-privileged societies need to be extra cautious about our hypocritical ways. Because we are not face to face with the tangible challenges others face daily, we tend to forget that this life was meant to be a struggle (1 Peter 4:12). Our struggle is against sin amidst a barrage of discouraging attacks from outside and inside, through which God said we must endure in order to be saved (Matthew 10:22; 24:13). Our pastors - self admittedly - are more interested in their own pleasure and entertainment than leading out prayer meeting. We need to pray for vision to see beyond this life. This is not the best there is. Until there is a genuine revival and reformation in the church, where we return to obedience of the truth of Scripture the church will continue to haemorrhage its youth.

By Faith

No Excuses - The Rebellion

No Excuses - You Knew

Being Kingdom Conscious

The Pure In Heart