At The Outset

When I was very new to Christianity a man came to our church that I had the opportunity to lay hands on, he was subsequently baptized in the Holy Spirit. A month or two later the man's mother appeared from inter-state on a visit and expressed a desire to meet me.

It transpired that she was in her mid-eighties and had been a faithful Christian since her mid-teens. By the time I met her she had been baptized in the Holy Spirit for roughly half of her life, and had being praying for her son to also be Holy Spirit baptized; as, by then, were his wife and teenage children also praying.

Seeking to meet and thank me, she asked if there was anything she could do for me. I simply sought if she felt that God had anything for me. Now, a few decades later I do not remember her exact wording, partially because as such a new Christian I was in such awe of being in this situation with this amazingly godly woman.

What she told me was that when-ever I knew I had something worked out, when I knew I had it right, then God would come along and change things; show me a different view and understanding of who He is, and thus a renewed approach to every aspect of my life.

I could have asked for my financial pressures of that era to be relieved a little, or for many things, but all I could perceive at that time was this wonderful Godly gracious old lady offering me her understanding in the heart of God.

What else can we really give and receive one with another than the gifting and comprehensions that have been laid before our hearts; such as I have, so do I freely give.

* * *

Many Christians are content to live by a simple Faith, a basic Christian realization of Jesus and thus salvation, with varying degrees of an unconsidered acceptance of the miraculous; basically an attitude of "I am saved", and I leave it to the pulpit to comprehend the workings of God in my salvation.

Most people usually come to a place where their basic doctrine is set and established in their minds, the whys and wherefores long established comfortably within their church. Parameters of behavior and mind set are unconsciously adhered to, in that we must be this or that; and yes most people are usually quite right in what they believe, but that is as far as their heart and mind ever reaches into understanding the workings of the Spirit of God.

The bible is like a flower as it blooms, the more you look into it and let the petals unfold, the greater is the beauty that shines before your heart. The purpose of this book is just to look into a few petals and thus let Jesus unfold His flowers for each of us as He sees fit. Then maybe, just maybe, we shall get to touch His pollen that feeds the love song of our lives.

I Love Jesus Christ.

I do not Only Love Him, because it is biblically appropriate, or the church tells me to.

I do not Only Love Him, because He loves me first;

I do not Only Love Him, because I have been forgiven so much that only gratitude and Love is left within in me towards Him;

I Love Him for all and every of these reasons, and yet beyond any consideration towards reason itself.

I Love Him because I love Him.

Jesus I Love You.

You are the fulfillment of my every hope in graciousness;

The rainbow to souls dawning;

The very moment in life's way;

The heart warmth of my yearning,

And momentum of each day.

You are the strength and peace of my mind, my feelings and emotions;

You are the Glory, and thus expounder of Love into all of Creation;

We are simply the grateful receivers.

We thank You.

We Love You.

Yielding

We, each of us as Christians attend the church that most fits our own personal Christianity, the church that socially, ceremoniously and individually fits the comfort of our own character. The person God created us each to be at this time 'at home' in our place to worship Him.

Yes every congregation has the critical and disgruntled, but I still haven't met someone who feels that they regularly attend the second best church in their area; unless of course they are about to leave anyway, or they are 'required' to be there by usually other family members.

God knows and understands this sense of home church belonging; He made it this way to suit the great diversity of human kind that He has created. He has given us as many church groups as there are expressions of Himself through the attitudes of peoples. Not one person or church more special than another, yet equally special to Him; all just as different as His expression in Creation is of us, His human species. All established by Him near enough to our dwelling needs to fit our heart needs at that time; this whole process is all just a little bit of His job vocation as God.

I once offered this whole situation of the differences between expressions of religion and Faith and people movement between congregations, up in prayer for a clearer comprehension. I feel I was given to recognize how God had the early Hebrews build their sacrificial and memorial altars to Him. It was a God directed precept that they were always formed with uncut rocks, gathered and naturally made to fit together.

Simple biblical examples of this include when Abraham built his altars; or when the Israelites as a nation crossed through the parting waters of the Red Sea; and again when they first crossed the Jordan River; on both occasions the rocks were collected from the dried river bed to build a memorial of the event.

In my prayer I was given to realize how each separate person is a rock in each church; and how each church is thus an altar to God; and each one of the churches are the rocks that become this planets whole altar to Christ, and thus worship to our God.

Sometimes if He feels the need He will take a rock (church member or family) out of one altar (church) and fit it into another, thus forcing all the adjoining rocks (people) to shuffle around to make room for each other along with the new folks He will bring in to each congregation.

When people go out to begin a new church or ministry this can be a change of great joy, or alternatively God might have a plan we don't understand. Often when we personally resist His inter-church rearrangements He will need to cause an unpleasant experience that forces our decisions, church upheavals, personal affront and so forth.

Sometimes the changes could pleasantly be a case of new Christians coming into our personal circle of people, or someone just moving house into our area, and so on; as God so desires change will come.

In this way the characters and characteristics of the entire world's individual churches shuffle along as the moods of society develop and change. The basic foundational attitude and ceremonial program of the overall church itself not changing a great deal; but the external impact of a developing society affecting peoples' general behavior and dress code, and thus the overall mood of church social acceptability.

Yes monasteries will remain monastic, and congregational leaders who try too many new socially innovating ideas will find their own over-sighting leadership often not...