The Politics Of Division Is Not Our Way

I hope you are going to celebrate all things Quebec tomorrow. We have the privilege of living in one of the most unique and incredible parts of Canada. It is unfortunate that we often allow the politics of the day to keep hidden the best part of this province, which is the people. La Fête National is not about the government of this land but about its citizens. It's not even about language, we just made language the focus.

Many years ago the French language came to represent the culture of Quebec and became a cornerstone of identity. There are a number of places in the world that are in the same position, but there are also a few unique places that find their identity in things other than language. One of these places is the Netherlands (Holland), and in a parallel fashion, the people of Flanders. I have had the privilege of knowing some great people from this area of the world.

In Holland/Flanders different languages are not seen as a threat but as a means of communicating, which is the purpose of language. They seemed to take on such a love for language that learning as many languages as possible was celebrated. My great grandmother was originally from Passchendaele in west Flanders. From all accounts she spoke six languages but did not teach them to any of her children.

I might consider this just a story passed down about a well loved lady but my own experience told me how true it was. When I moved to Belgium one of the first young people I met was a 14 year old young lady who offered to act as my interpreter. When I asked how many languages she spoke she told me five and was hoping to learn a couple more. She was Flemish.

My point is that these people did not find their identity in language. Their culture was not defined by language. These people were tied together by a shared history and wonderfully expanding traditions. It was relationships, their way of life and their shared values that defined them. They did not feel threatened by new languages but embraced them.

This is very close to the expression of the Kingdom and the Church that represents Jesus. Paul wrote:

“You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)

We have made the mistake like Quebec politicians of trying to rob the Body of the diversity that makes us beautiful and strong. What we have in common is that there is only one way to the Father, who is Christ Jesus. We are united under the same Father and we are joined together by the same Spirit. We share in the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. We have the same mission which is to demonstrate the Kingdom to a lost and dying world. Our vocabulary is that of the Kingdom. Our actions are those of our King. But we are not defined by one of the many diverse languages we use to worship nor one of the many traditions of the culture we were born to. Our identity is found in Jesus.

We are wrong to allow any of these things to separate us from each other or to be a source of division. Just as there is nothing that separates us from the love of Christ there should not be anything that separates us from this same expression of his love in each other. Our goal with each other is to love each other with Father’s extravagant love. Together we stand. Je me souviens.

Division In The Body Explained By A Bunch Of Cobras

Recently I heard a great lesson taught that included the event of Aaron's rod turning into a Cobra. As I listened to this great lesson the Spirit suddenly applied it in a different manner. He used it to highlight the growing division in the Body of Christ. Yes, as much as we are seeing strains put on certain societies during these days of pandemic we are seeing strains in the Body. When something is put under pressure the weakest points begin to reveal themselves. 

You recall the "rod to Cobra" sign found in Exodus 7. This was the second time Moses and Aaron were meeting with Pharaoh. In anticipation of Pharaoh not recognizing Moses' authority Yahweh had trained Moses in a couple of signs. The first was to throw down his staff and it would transform into a Cobra and then when he would pick it up again it would transform back to a staff. So Moses had Aaron throw down the staff. I am not sure Moses was prepared for what happened next.

Pharaoh looked at this sign of authority and immediately called for his spiritualists. Each one of them threw down their staffs which also transformed into Cobras. But the Lord demonstrated his authority over all things by having Aaron's Cobra consume all the others.

In our current age we have not done well in developing our relationship with the Lord. We have all the tools. We worship, we study, we fellowship but we fall short in actually understanding relationship. We don't understand that Dad just wants to hang out with us because he enjoys us. We reserve certain times of the day for him never realizing that he is always with us because he wants to be involved in our day. He enjoys ongoing conversation and so do we once we get use to it. But our failure in this means we are not overly familiar with his heart, his ways and his voice.

So, what does this have to do with Cobras?

Jesus said that we would know the Spirit intimately and for the most part we don't.* But we do know that the enemy makes counterfeit moves. The Cobra is only one example. The Lord transformed one staff and the enemy transformed many. Now because we lack the discernment that comes in intimacy with Spirit, we run away from all Cobras. We avoid them at all cost and call them all works of the enemy and are ready to stamp them into the ground.

A portion of the Body has made it their purpose to act as exterminators to rid the land of all the phony Cobras. But they lack the intimacy to have the discernment to know the difference so when they attack the Cobra they have no idea if they are attacking the Lord or the enemy.

Remember when the disciples were complaining about the man who was casting out demons when he was not part of them? And what did Jesus tell them? He said leave him alone because who ever is not against us is for us. Check out the end of Mark 9. We spend far too much time on worrying about the counterfeit to the point that we lump the authentic in the same category. Consider Moses.

Moses didn't freak out and swear off miracles and signs after seeing the counterfeit. In fact it appears that Moses didn't say a word or blink an eye. He simply stood and watched as the authenticity of Yahweh consumed the feeble-minded counterfeit. The enemy came to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus came to give life. If something brings life and gives God the glory then what are we doing attacking it. If it has come to steal, kill and destroy it will become apparent. What are we doing when we set our sights on things we don't agree with or that we don't understand? We are joining the "steal, kill and destroy" column. 

Stop being afraid of snakes. All we are saying to the world is that we don't trust that Dad can take care of his own. Does he need us to steady the cart when the oxen stumble? I don't think so. And by attacking the snakes you could be coming against Dad himself and that never turns out good. Just stand and watch the authentic Cobra consume the counterfeits.

Don't forget that we have been given another test for the authentic besides the discernment of the Spirit : love. Many of the ministries I see being attacked these days have demonstrated authentic love for Jesus and his people. These ministries recognize the source of their blessings and seed huge amounts of money into other ministries. They are consumed with building up and never tearing down. They make it a point never to speak against another ministry and where there is problems they come alongside to help, not to destroy. Can we say the same about those who seem to relish in passing on bad reports that are nothing more than gossip? They will know us by our love not by our doctrines. (Not saying good doctrine is not important only that they have no value without love).

I feel bad for those who see it as their life's purpose to tear down others. All the scripture I read tells us to be occupied with lifting up, building up, encouraging, supporting one another. Looking for counterfeit Cobras under every stone and around every corner can mess you up. If the the Spirit does point something out to you (make sure it is the Spirit) it is so you can pray for the situation or that person, that Jesus will be glorified in it or them.

I know these words won't make much of a difference in the divided and fractured Body but it will share with those I love what I received today and maybe help them see what I see. In writing these words I feel a release of something that was building in me this week. You and I can disagree and still love each other because the Lord is the Lord of us both and he will bring correction wherever it needs to be applied. 

*John 15:16-17 And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and he will never leave you. The world won’t receive him because they can’t see him or know him. But you will know him intimately, because he will make his home in you and will live inside you.

Simplifying The Complicated, part one - The Context

The world is a pretty messed up place right now with growing divisions and hatred. Unfortunately it has been my experience that what is happening in society will soon be reflected in the Church. It is suppose to be the opposite with the Church influencing society but in my twenty-eight years in ministry as a pastor I have watched the Church change to reflect our society. So sure enough, we are seeing growing division and even hatred increasing in the Body.

We are complicating what our Father designed to be simple. Sure, we can allow the deep study of theology turn a simple thing into layers of complication but when we get down to what is really important we discover how simple it is. I don't usually find a lot of helpful things in Solomon's Ecclesiastes but there is one phrase he wrote that I try to keep close to me:

God made human beings straightforward, but they search for many complications. (7:29)

Yes sir, I find that sums us up quite well. So I want to uncomplicate things by taking a few days to consider what is simple and important according to Fathers design. We are going to look at : 1. loving God, 2. loving and valuing ourselves, 3. loving and valuing our neighbour, 3. honouring everyone, 4. loving each other in the same manner Jesus loved his disciples. Along the way we will also touch on considering others more important than ourselves, considering the interests of others along with our own, and loving our enemies.

Before we get into these sub topics we need to consider the context which is really the main topic. We have been called into the ministry of Jesus Christ, our King. His ministry is not one of judgement and condemnation but of reconciliation. Ours is a ministry of reconciliation as Father invites all of humanity (ALL), to leave the path of rebellion and return to a full and healthy relationship with him.

This is where we tend to take something that is so simple and complicate it with a terrible perspective and wrong theology. Our Father has no desire to destroy anyone but we do get to chose our own path. He has paid the price to cover our rebellion, making it possible for us to return to him. The cross should be all the evidence we need that Dad is for us not against us. And the fact is, if he is for us who could be against us because there is no one like him.

We need to examine all of our thinking and attitude in this ministry because we need to assume that we are complicating it. We need to measure the motivation of our words and actions against the fact that while we were the enemy of God Jesus died for us. He did not require us to change before we came to him. If we could have changed we would not have needed him. But we were desperate for him because we could not help ourselves.

Yet too often we require people to clean up their act before we will hang out with them. We require them to change before we will call them friend. We want them to conform to us before they are transformed by the Spirit and this is terrible and dangerous. Too many of us think our job is done when people conform to the church we belong to and so they miss out on the One who transforms. Because they are satisfied with "fitting in" they think they have found Jesus and so stop looking. We have complicated Father's simple design.

Our responsibility is simple, to be witnesses of Jesus. We are to teach everything that Jesus taught but this is done with actions and attitudes that match Jesus' words. It is with power. It is flavoured with hope. It reeks of peace. It overflows with joy. It looks past situations, conditions and circumstances and focuses on people. It recognizes that each person, regardless of status, position or rebellion, is the object of Father's love. He is chasing after them and he has placed us in their lives so that he can. All that matters to him and to us are people.

So over the next few blogs I want to unpack the simplicity of our life in Christ and in this world. I want us to recognize :

"Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)  

You've got it. Everything you need for simple living has already been deposited in you. We let go of systems, methods, false expectations, arm length evangelism and we go after those Father loves by entering their lives as friends, in purity of relationship and desire. Let's do this!

United By The Blood

The beauty of the Church is that it is not homogeneous. It can't be. You and I are now family, no matter where we live, what we have done, what we look like. In the same worship center we will find police officers and ex-criminals, politicians and voters, the wealthy and the poor, the elderly and students. In many churches you will find people who speak all kinds of different languages, different skin colours, different origins. But regardless of our differences we have one thing in common: The grace offered through Jesus.

When we live in the Spirit the Church is a thing of great beauty; when we live by the flesh our differences make it an ugly place. It is vital that we understand that the Church cannot exist according to the flesh. It is not a club, a thing of business, something of this world. The Church is not a thing to be managed by a board of elders. It is a living thing that has life through the Spirit. Without the Spirit there is no life and it is an institution like any other institution of man.

As members of this living Body we are united by the Spirit under the headship of Jesus and this one thing must be remembered:

All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)

That is something else we have in common: We have all been found wanting by Yahweh. We have all fallen short of his standards. None of us can get there because we have all been in rebellion to him; we have all sinned. It doesn't matter about any of our differences, no one is better than anyone else because all sin is in rebellion to Yahweh. However, Jesus changed all that.

Jesus gave us something better to have in common with each other. Jesus paid the price so grace could be applied to all of us and in this grace all of us are treated as righteous, regardless of our past, regardless of our sin. In the Church there is no one better than another, no one great, no one small, no one more privileged than another. There is no male or female. There is no rich and poor. There is no colour. There is only us and our relationship with Jesus. This is the Church, the Body of Christ.

To anyone without Jesus, the Church is a bizarre place, filled with a collage of people. It is not homogeneous in the flesh but it is in what cannot been seen by the eye. In Jesus we are all the same, we are all children of Father and we are all covered by the blood of the Lamb. What was impossible for man was possible for Yahweh. We are family.

I Came To Send Fire On The Earth

FIRE! FIRE! If you have ever stood in a building and heard that called out you know the panic it can cause. You know the fear that grips you. You know the emotions that take over and cause you to flee. You know how the brain shuts down with only one thought in process: Survive. Fire is a frightening thing but it is exactly that which Jesus speaks of in a very revealing moment, when his heart is opened and we can clearly see in.

Today it is hard for us to imagine Jesus as anything but loving and kind, and he is, but his love is more than that to which we limit it. The modern day preacher has tamed his imagine, making him cute and cuddly; a play thing for children. How sad that we have misinterpreted the Instrument of all creation in such a manner. How shocking to our conditioned ears to hear his voice speak so plainly:

I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49)

Perhaps you aren't familiar with this passage; most people aren't. We would rather picture Jesus walking around with a lamb across his shoulders and children skipping about his feet. But this is the One who commanded the storms to be silent. This is the One who commanded the demons to flee. This is the one who commanded life back into the dead. This is the one who drove out of the Temple the thieves, and he didn't use words but a whip. C.S. Lewis described him as safe but not tame.

Jesus came to start a revolution. He came to set the world on fire. He came to introduce us to the Kingdom of Heaven and that turned the world upside down. Yes love, and yes spiritual peace between his Father and us individually but far more than that, he brought fire. He brought everything of which he set the example. Everything he seeded. Everything he seeded and that the Spirit came to grow. We need to at least try to grasp what he meant by this:

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (John 11:12)

If refers to the eager crowds that came flocking to John the Baptist and then to Jesus. They wanted what was being offered and acted like a people besieging a city. The "take it by force" refers to the zeal, the passion, the desire of the people to lay hold upon what Jesus offered, to make it their own. It alludes to a passionate fire, burning within the people, desiring change. This is what Jesus came to do, to set the world on fire with a desire for the holiness, righteousness of Yahweh. But there is always a price.

Setting the world on fire came at a cost and that cost is the lose of peace. The world is afraid of a passionate heart. A fire is hard to control and the world is all about control. Jesus warned he came to bring fire, not peace:

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (Luke 12:51)

And then he went on to describe the division the fire would cause in society and families. If that is what happens as the result of fire then so be it. It is better to have division with fire than peace without it. The Good News of Jesus Christ cannot result in yawns and mediocrity. It is meant to provoke passion for or against. You can't shrug your shoulders at the name of Jesus, not after the fires have been ignited. There is nothing worse than facing the fire and walking away lukewarm:

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[a] I will vomit you out of My mouth.  (Revelation 3:15-16)

My friends, where are the flames? Where is the passion? Where is the preaching on the streets? Where is the shouting from the rooftops? Jesus does not provoke discussion over cups of tea. He sends the demons into the pigs. His love provokes men to tear apart roofs. His presence inspires men to jump out of boats in a raging storm. We can't be around him without his presence provoking wild and passionate faith in us, provoking extravagant gestures of love.

Read our history. The Church is not for the faint of heart. Serving the King is not without risk of life and limb. To trust, holding on to faith, will not allow us to stand still as the flames come calling. Passion for the Name. Compelled by his love. Provoked by the Spirit. We cannot remain the same; our spirit yearns for the fire. He has kindled the flames. Will you be consumed?

Loving Without Compromise In A Divided Home

Things are changing very quickly in the Church's relationship with the world and we are beginning to see large divisions in the Church herself. There is a great spirit of confusion because the enemy is taking advantage of the fact that people do not know their Bible. Even though we have more resources available to us than ever before, biblical illiteracy is incredibly high. When we don't know what Jesus taught it becomes easy for the enemy to change our heart with a changing of the wind as we are seeing in our society of late.

At the end of the Old Testament we find the book of Malachi and at the end of this book we have a warning to not let go of the Word of God. We also find here the promise of what the returning prophet Elijah would do:

And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)

So many parents hold on to these words as a promise not understanding their significance. This is not speaking of family strife but of generations that had turned away from the patriarchs of Israel, who had left the teaching of the ancients and had rebelled against Yahweh. In other words it was speaking of the nation of Israel. So this is the condition of Israel when John the Baptist began preaching and he was effective. The people turned and repented, receiving a baptism of repentance. Jesus had another warning for parents though:

Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ (Matthew 10:34-36)

Jesus spoke of what is only natural because the flesh cannot be friends with the Spirit nor the Spirit with the flesh because they are contrary. When a son or daughter refuses Christ and the parents stay steadfast then there is division. When the son or daughter belong to Jesus and the parents do not, there will be division. We are going to see much more of it in the days to come as the world sinks deeper into its depravity and the saints continue to stand on the Word. The hatred will grow and we will see greater division. Jesus knew his the cross would not bring peace to the world but would bring peace between those who accepted it and Father. But he warned us:

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (v. 37-38)

Many of us will do anything to have peace in the family. We will be willing to compromise the Word, bend some things that Jesus taught, all for the sake of peace in the house. Peace at all cost, but Jesus warned against it. No matter the cost we must pay, we have to keep to the understanding that Jesus is of highest importance and priority. Even if we lose our entire family as a result, we must stand with Jesus; we must love him more than any other.

Yes parents, our hearts will be crushed as the sin of unbelief divides us from our flesh and blood. Yes children, your hearts will yearn for the council of your dear parents, but our love for Jesus must be superior to all of this. It is hard but that is exactly what the enemy is counting on, that our earthly affections will keep us from Jesus. We cannot compromise on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We cannot compromise on the holiness of our LORD God. We cannot live but the Word of God.

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (v. 39) 

We never lose hope nor give up on those whom we are separated from because of unbelief; we love them too much to give up. But neither do we move from the Rock, upon whom we stand, to be with them in their depravity. Every person will have to make their decision and will be held accountable for that decision. We can pray for them and try to persuade them but they have to make and live with their own decision. Do your best to get them in now because it is almost too late but whatever you do, don't go wandering yourself because the curtain is being drawn on this age. Stand fast my friend and pray.

Something Is Not Right In The Church And I Think It's My Fault

Something isn't right, and I think it is my fault.

Something is not right in the Church. We are missing something; something in the teaching; something in the learning; something in the living; something in our understanding and relationship with Jesus. It isn't hard to miss. Just stand back and listen to the reaction to A&E's treatment of Phil. Listen to the rhetoric. Read the Christian comments to news articles and other people's comments on these articles. There are two things that I have noted from this.

First, we don't have much love for the world, at least how Jesus sees it. Somewhere along the line we have missed what he meant when he said that he didn't come into the world to condemn people but to save them. The world is lost. We should not be surprised or shocked by their behaviour. They can't help themselves. It is why they need Jesus in the first place. Their behaviour is just a symptom of the real problem. When that problem is dealt with then things will begin to change. The thing we need to remember is that they can't see or understand the problem without Jesus. By us concentrating on trying to change their behaviour we are only going to distance them from Jesus.

This leads to the second thing that is becoming obvious from this situation: There are two major camps developing in the Church that is causing a wide open split. I am not going to label these camps but just point out their general differences. In one camp we have people who believe we must confront people with their sin and not to do so is to water down the Bible. In the other camp we have people who believe we shouldn't concentrate on the sin but instead on the person in the hopes to be able to introduce Jesus. Both camps see the other as being wrong and willingly argue publicly about their stand.

I wish the solution was any easy one but the way people are digging in there will be no compromise because each sees that they are doing what Jesus would do. As far as I can see it, the truth is found in both. It is possible for us to talk about sin without a condemning attitude. We can discuss why certain behaviours are a result of our rebellion against God and just what a powerful hold those behaviours have on us. We are not as free as what we think. But in order for that to work we must be willing to be honest and open and explain how God has transformed us and is continuing to transform us. We can't place ourselves above those who have yet to receive Jesus. Consider others more important than yourself. You are already saved.

At the same time there has to be a shift in our message. What comes across now is that we have to change before we can come to Jesus. We are setting aside Paul's teaching, "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us". The Church is not into behaviour modification but into heart transformation. You and I cannot change anyone. It is only the blood of Jesus that saves and it is only the power of God that transforms. We are not the judge, jury and executioner. We are nothing more than the messengers, the living testimonies of God's grace and it is with grace that we must love as Jesus loves.

We know that it is the Father's desire that everyone would be saved. We know it because we read it in the Bible. We also know it by his character and actions. However, Jesus also demonstrated that our Creator has left the decision up to us. He has explained the consequences of our decision but it is up to us. All we can do, with love and grace, is pass this message on to the world. That's our entire purpose. The rest is between them and the Holy Spirit. But doing it with condemnation is going to close far more doors than it will ever open. That's just as bad as showing someone grace without talking to them about the author of that grace.

There isn't a lot of time left and hearts are getting a lot harder these days. We need to make the most of what little time remains. May the Spirit bring healing and unity to the Church so we can get on with our mission. In my opening sentence I said there was something not right in the Church and it was my fault. Yes, mine and every other Pastor because we are not training our people to do this correctly. We are teaching moral living, and how to live for Jesus with eyes constantly inward. We are teaching humanism, to meet the physical needs of a very needy world. But we are not training them to fight for souls as we ought. This must change.

1 Timothy: Stop Wasting Your Time

I have to be careful when I am teaching from apostle Paul's epistles because I enjoy tracing the events of the early Church, and can get distracted from the message therein. There are clues in all of the epistles that, when tied in with the book of Acts, gives us a good timeline as to the events.

For example, in this letter (1 Timothy 1), Paul mentions leaving Timothy behind to look after certain doctrinal matters in Ephesus while he headed off to Macedonia. This was when Paul felt in the Spirit that he had to go to Jerusalem and hoped to go on to Spain. However, as he traveled through Macedonia, on his way to Jerusalem, the Spirit revealed he would be arrested and end up in Rome.

We can also see here that Paul left Timothy with a significant responsibility in this huge area of ministry in Ephesus. Paul had charged him with the responsibility of keeping people fixed on what was important:

When I was leaving for Macedonia, I asked you to stay on in Ephesus and warn certain people there to stop spreading their false teachings. You needed to warn them to stop wasting their time on senseless stories and endless lists of ancestors. Such things only cause arguments. They don’t help anyone to do God’s work that can only be done by faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)

Of course, in the midst of this great work that was taking place in Asia Minor, the enemy was present to spread seeds of distraction and division. Here Paul named two things that people were wasting their time on: senseless stories and endless lists of ancestors. Paul made his point firm: these things do nothing to help anyone do God's work that can only be done by faith. I think we need a few Timothy's to rise up today with the same mission.

Let's face it, the enemy has done a pretty good job at dividing and distracting us over useless things. I am not a Catholic and I do not look to the Pope as my spiritual leader but I understand what he was saying the other week. He said that the Church was being distracted by issues of sin instead of pursuing our mission.

What is our mission? To make disciples. How are we making disciples when we are out waiving placards against homosexuality and abortion? Do we not understand that if we carried out our mission, to make disciples, that homosexuality and abortion would not be an issue?

The world cannot understand spiritual matters. The world cannot understand why homosexuality is wrong. The world cannot understand why unborn children are a gift of God, precious and deserving full protection. They cannot understand these things because they do not have Jesus. They can only understand, we can only understand, by the Spirit of God. So we need to be involved in their salvation not their condemnation.

I am not saying that we should not tell them about sin but if that is all we do then they are lost. Paul charged Timothy with the responsibility of pointing out what was wrong because the things they were involved in only caused arguments and division. Timothy was given that authority. We need the anointed of God to rise up and tell us to stop it; there are more important matters to deal with. We need to set aside what divides us and lift up what unites us. We need to be united in the Spirit. We need to be unified in our mission, of making disciples.

Paul told Timothy what to teach the Body but we will look at that tomorrow. Today it is enough to think on this matter and how it applies to us. What is it that we are occupied with that is of no help in doing God's work? What useless or senseless thing are we distracted with? What is part of us that is not part of faith? What are we allowing to divide us and stall the advancement of Jesus'mission? Do we need a Timothy to bring us correction? Are we just playing church, acting as philosophers, not understanding our place or purpose, becoming a block to salvation instead of an agent of the Spirit?

God, speak to us the truth, no matter how much it hurts.