MESSY

 

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” I John: 4:1-3.

This scripture was not typically preached in the denomination in which I was raised. Many Christians under that label do not acknowledge the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and most believe that the need to “test the spirits” ended in the first century.
That view of a Christian’s walk on this earth leaves us with a couple of options: One, we read the Bible and try to arrive at the truth all by ourselves, or two, we ask the preacher or the elders or the brotherhood bigwigs what to believe and how to behave.

The former method, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is hopeless; the latter results in comfortable, codified, legalism.

But, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12, 13.

Who or what are these evil powers/spirits? Do we see them? Hear them? Feel them? How do we resist them?
And if the Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us gifts, how do we recognize Him and practice our gifts individually, in the body, and in worship?

Though the Bible offers guidance, the answers to these questions are not and cannot be codified. They are experiential and cumulative. They must be practiced over a lifetime.
And life is MESSY.

"Going Off"

After a combined 109 years as baptized believers in the Churches of Christ, my husband Bruce and I have, as the old-timers put it, “gone off.” In other words, we are now worshiping with a body of believers who do not have a sign anywhere on the property that says “Church of Christ."

Some of the brothers and sisters with whom we no longer worship are dismayed. Some saw our defection coming. But no one has asked us why.

The why is important. The why includes years of persecution and hardship inflicted during our ministry. The why includes unbiblical beliefs and practices enforced as “law” while other biblical beliefs and practices were ignored and deprecated.

Not that we have arrived at our new spiritual location after a long search for perfection. (As the old adage says, “A perfect church is a church that would not want us as members.”)

So the question remains, “Why?”

Our shared response is that we have been led and added to this branch of the Vine by God, just as we were led to serve His body within the confines of Churches of Christ for 42 years.

My personal response is a description of my new found spiritual freedom in worship. For the first time in my life, I am FREE:

·         To follow the examples of New Testament worship.

·         To respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

·         To add a song, a prayer or a word of knowledge.

·         To cry out, raise my hands or fall to my knees.

·         To shed tears of joy, or relief, or sorrow.  

·         To experience and acknowledge publically the presence of God.

·         To use my spiritual gifts to edify my brothers and sisters.

   Praise God!

We have not arrived at our new spiritual home empty handed. We come bearing treasure, a profound respect for Scripture gained from our years in the Churches of Christ. But it is this treasure that enables us to follow wherever He leads without fear or regret.