Monday, June 27, 2005

# 5: Is This for Real?

Christianity is God’s method of making a people into what they were meant to be: powerful human gods, in the here and now, to display His desire and displeasure to humanity (giving the invisible God visible flesh and blood). Would anyone have believed in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah if He didn’t have the power of God to perform many mighty miracles? Certainly not! Jesus said, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may learn and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” John 10:37-38.

The supernatural miracles were an intricate part of Jesus’ ministry as evidence that He was who He said. And I truly believe that if a religious group is not exposing heresy and exhibiting Christ-like supernatural powers to authenticate what they preach as truth, that group most likely is just another sector of atheistic Christianity. John 17:20. “Nothing is impossible for you.” John 14:12. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these."

The lack of this power in the latter part of the first century and preceding centuries is the main reason why there were—and still are—many extremely diverse Christian sects, all claiming their dogma as correct without displaying Christ’s supernatural powers. Of course, any who did not believe as they did were in error. Is it any different today? We cannot be continuing Christ’s work if we don’t have His superhuman power.

His teaching was and still is extremely radical to the point of being fanatical; without the mystical, He would have been called a lunatic. 2nd Timothy 3:5. “ . . . having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

Much of what is written in these pages may seem outlandish to many ears since we are so accustomed to hearing soothing words of love and acceptance that make us believe all is well. We must remember that any learned person who can generate a heart-tugging charisma and is able to write in a convincing manner can easily start a “Christian” denomination. Then I ask, who will verify that what he or she preaches is authentic? No one but the naive who subscribe to his or her teachings. It sounds like the old adage, “You lie and I’ll swear to it.”

Is God just a standby in our lives? In order for God to become as real as the physical world, He must not only be wanted but desperately needed. When the natural desires and pleasures of life have no satisfying meaning, then God will be able to make Himself real to those who seek Him with all their faculties. The more real God becomes, the less valuable the pleasures of the physical world become. God becomes real out of necessity when a person’s mind is kept on Him—a difficult thing to do.

What I mean is that when all is emptiness and despair, one can give meaning and importance to God. Christianity was not meant to function in our type of affluent society. Good times, comfort, security, and our Democratic freedoms are enemies of God by lulling people into believing that life is good. When we have it made, so to speak, a need for God can be no more than superficial. Then, we just need God to sanction our lifestyle as a semblance of goodness. When respectability becomes a visible function of Christianity (going to church in one’s Sunday best, etc.), Christ is made into an eye-pleasing, superficial do-gooder.

We are at war. There is no such thing as fighting an easy war. Are you ready to die? ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SOLDIERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Are you sick and tired of living a meaningless life? Are you ready to die for a great and noble cause that will change the world? If one succeeds, he or she may not come back alive. After two weeks in “torture school,” most won’t be able to handle this radical Christ-like lifestyle and will drop out. Are you ready to completely change your life, triumph over the greatest fears in life, make excruciating pain your friend, make the undesirable your bedfellow, and turn the world upside down?

Pure unadulterated belief in God’s ability to make your request a reality is the spiritual energy that brings Christ to earth. The end result will be one of two things: we will be victors over our sinful and lazy human nature or we will unknowingly succumb to God's enemies’ (the clergy’s) religious propaganda.

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