I LOVE JESUS!

I can, and do say, unequivocally, I love Jesus!  I love Him because He first loved me.  I love Him because He laid down His life for me. I love Him because He shed His blood at Calvary to save me.  I love Him because He blesses me more than I deserve.  I love Him because He demonstrates and shows His love, grace and mercy toward me. Yes, there's no doubt about it, I love Jesus!

I love God's church, as well.  I love God's people. God's people are a very diverse group of people.  They come in all shapes and sizes - literally!  His church is alive and well!  Of that there's no question.

I do take issue with this thing we have today called "church".  I'm speaking of the organization recognized by the government called "church".  You see, God's church is not a corporation or an organization.  It's a living, breathing organism.  We are more than a legal entity on a piece of paper.  We are God's people made in His likeness!  We are God's people who have been blood washed and blood bought with the precious blood of Jesus! We are God's people who have been set free from the bondage of sin.

Being set free from the bondage of sin does not mean we should come under the bondage of religion.  That's like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the old adage goes.  God didn't save us to put us in to a another type of bondage.  We are free in Jesus!

I do believe we should gather with our brothers and sisters to encourage and exhort one another in our spiritual journey (Hebrews 10:23-25).  The Scriptures don't say how often we should gather or what, specifically, should go on in our gatherings besides encouraging and exhorting one another.  Nor do the Scriptures tell us how long our gatherings should go.  That would be too structured, in my opinion.  We could gather several times a day, once a week, every other week, once a month or whatever the case may be.  The important thing is that we gather for this general purpose of encouraging and exhorting one another. 

Another thing that is important in the meetings is that there not be a one way, front to back ministry.  In the New Testament church each member had opportunity to minister and interact.  These days, everything comes from the front back. We have professional and paid clergy to tell us what to do and how to do it.  What ever happened to everyone ministering as  the Holy Spirit moves upon them?

Don't you think its time to get back to Bible basics?  I believe if we want to be a biblical New Testament church we will need to do so.  If we want the Lord to have free reign in our gatherings we will need to do so.

Yes, I love Jesus!  However, I can certainly do without all the baggage that comes along with what passes for "church" these days.  Who's with me?  Tired of "church as usual "  Then let's do something about it.

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward a link or use the icons below to repost this blog.