Necessary Things

“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.” Acts 15:28

                 Unnecessary necessaries clog our lives.  Junk drawers, packed closets and stuffed files illustrate the point.  A brief look inside many pockets and purses may reveal a lot about what we think are necessary things: Cell phone; chapstick; Kleenex, keys, perfume, eyeglasses, nail clippers, nail files, compacts, drivers’ license, credit cards, coupons, gum and pocket knives.  In a real emergency, however, many things we think are necessary would prove useless.  If you need food, water, protection from the elements and predators, the list of necessities would change dramatically.  From a spiritual standpoint, it’s amazing how many complicate life with burdens that hurt rather than with truths that help.  Man anoints the accessories, secures the superfluous and falls for the fluff, but tragically overlooks things critical to survival. 

                Are there necessary necessaries?  When the Apostle Peter opened up the door of salvation to the Gentiles, it touched off a huge debate over whether or not the Gentiles should be included in the church.  Many Jews thought that the Gentiles had to submit to circumcision, keep the Mosaic ordinances and observe many other Jewish rituals.  The first General Conference was called to settle the dispute.  Finally, the church leaders ruled that the Gentiles were not obligated to keep the Jewish observances with the exception to prohibit four things:  meats offered to idols, drinking blood, eating things strangled and fornication.  They wanted to “lay upon you [Gentiles] no greater burden than these necessary things.” 

                Note that this ruling was limited to the difference between the Jewish religion and the Gentiles.  It could not mean that these were the only requirements of salvation because it mentions nothing of faith in Christ, repentance, baptism or any other vital components of the gospel.  Yet, the idea of necessary things rings true. 

                Remember Naomi and two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth?  Uprooted, devastated, ravaged by adversity, Naomi had made a hard decision to go back to Bethlehem.  The story, however, is not really about Naomi.  It is about Orpha and Ruth.  It came down to deciding what they thought were the most important things in life.  “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee …for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Ruth 1:14-18.  Orpha could not let go of those things that had no ultimate value.  But Ruth took inventory of her life.  She recognized that all she had in Moab were idols, superstitions, and a life of emptiness.  She had found something in Naomi’s God that far outshone anything she had ever known in Moab.  She reduced her entire life to the things that she knew she really needed. 

                I contend that we can we reduce salvation to a few necessary things.  It may look confusing.  Christianity is only one of twenty-two major groupings of religion in the world.  Moreover, under the Christian umbrella, hundreds of denominations, sectarian beliefs, branches and divisions vie for recognition.  Some hardly believe anything; others live in communes or caves.  Some compromise away whatever truth they had: others suffocate themselves with legalism and drop out of circulation because of fear.  The point is that we cannot entrust our eternal salvation to man and his beliefs.  If you will pick up your Bible and seriously investigate the things that are necessary, you will find everything you need to know.  Each of the following instances settles the issue of necessities.

                Faith.  This is square one.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”  Hebrews 11: 6.  Nobody can find salvation unless he or she has faith.  You have to believe that man is a sinner, that the sin-contaminated soul cannot enter into eternal life, that Jesus Christ is the only savior of man and that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the gospel of our salvation. 

                Repentance.  Many scriptures speak of repentance, but this verse clinches it.  “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”  Luke 13: 3, 5.  Repentance means to feel genuine remorse for sin.  It means to turn away from a life of sin.  The deeper the repentance, the deeper the conversion.  Unless a person repents, salvation is impossible.

                Water Baptism.  Baptism is not optional.  If it were, Peter would not have risked losing his Jewish friends by supervising the baptism of Cornelius.  “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”  Acts 10: 48.  Also, baptism is the way to get into Christ.  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  Galatians 3: 27.

                Holy Spirit Baptism.  Birth of the Spirit is a salvation requirement.  “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.   Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3: 5-7.  This is underscored by the New Testament pattern.

                Belief in the deity of Christ.  The fully enlightened  revelation of Jesus is to understand that he is God Himself!  “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”  John 8: 24.  Jesus is the Father!  “Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”  John 14: 8-9.  The phrase, “ye shall die in your sins” flags this as a necessary truth.

                Holiness.  Finally, separation from the world qualifies as a necessary doctrine.  Some assert that we need a more convenient message to preach to the world.  The bible, however, refutes this position.  “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”  Hebrews 12: 14.  Is this not a scripture that testifies to the necessity of holiness?  As long as this scripture and a host of related scriptures are in the Bible, it represents an indispensible component for eternal life.  Here is the secret to living a holy life:  “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Galatians 5: 16-17.

                Be wary of those who constantly pry around necessary things, treating them as unnecessary vestiges of tradition.  Whenever a cardinal truth falls away, the entire structure becomes weakened.  Ironically, the failure of every organization, denomination or sectarian belief was caused by people who were attempting to make things better. 

                One more point:  necessary things may be necessary, but don’t think they are difficult or dreaded.  Jesus said in John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”  The good news is that the most important things, the necessary things, are also the best things! 

Asking the Right Questions

People ask questions according to their level of knowledge and their true motive.  Good teachers say they can tell how well a class is catching onto a new idea by the quality of questions that the students ask.  Like an old sage once observed, a well asked question is half answered.  This cuts to the heart of many dialogues, both in and out of the church, that boast plenty of sound and fury but signify nothing.  The twenty-first century church cannot afford to ask irrelevant questions that have little or no bearing on our mission.  Whether we ask questions that elicit unimportant answers or supply answers to questions that nobody is asking, we waste precious time on our critical mission.

            Most of us would agree that a soldier under enemy fire should not be asking about the polish on his boots or his weekend pass.  First EMS responders to a horrific crash on the freeway should not be asking each other about uniform styles or who the best manufacturers of ambulances are.  In these days of urgent soul-winning, we must not be asking questions rooted in pride, selfishness or inane trivia.  We must not fritter away our time with questions stemming from fear, bitterness or a gross misreading of the purpose of the church.  We can become so obsessed with carnal pursuits that we forget the spiritual nature of our mission.

            Jesus’ disciples painfully illustrated this point at Bethany, just prior to Christ’s ascension.  Their mood was a strange mixture of gloom and giddiness.  The gloom was brought on from the imminent departure of Jesus, but their giddiness showed their anticipation of a triumphant return of Israel to power, maybe even world dominance.  Barely able to contain themselves, they asked, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”  Good question.  Wrong question.

            Jesus stopped the question cold.  “And he said unto them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.’”  When Jesus denied them access to this knowledge, he was not disparaging their curiosity; He was jarring them back to their mission at hand.  He went on to say, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)  In other words, Jesus was signaling his followers not to ask questions about their promotions; instead, ask questions about God’s power!  The success of the spiritual kingdom had priority over the restoration of the physical kingdom.   

            Two millennia later, this response of Jesus to His disciples should make us think.  Are we asking the right questions?  Are we gaining any advantage by asking who has the biggest, nicest or most expensive church building?  I wonder if we really need to know who gives the biggest offerings, has the finest music program or boasts the most luxury cars in the parking lot.  We all want our ministries to be more effective, but I wonder if we spend way too much time discussing computer paraphernalia, projection systems and state-of-the-art lighting. 

            I’m afraid to guess how many pastors host counseling sessions trying to explain why this person was promoted over that person or why they insist on dress codes and behavioral standards.  On a more personal level, how many countless hours do church members spend asking questions about who is to blame for their failures, how can they feel more accepted in this or that group and what are the minimums for spiritual discipline.  

            In the second chapter of Acts, the crowd gathered at the explosion of spiritual power in the upper room and asked “What meaneth this?”  When they were told, they asked “Men and brethren, What shall we do?”  Both were honest questions from sincere hearts and both received powerful answers. 

            Examine your questions.  Are you secretly revealing a selfish intent by the questions you routinely ask?  Are you hoping God will do something that serves a prideful motive on your part?  When you ask questions that focus on God’s power, on becoming a more effective witness, on giving yourself more completely to His cause and on sacrificing more of yourself to Him, then you get His attention. 

I Will Write Again

Sorry about the last few months.  I have taken a brief sabbatical from writing (except for necessary columns) so that I could stick my toes into another pond—publishing.  I am discovering that the things one puts on paper (screen, actually) makes a huge difference to the publisher.  If you know your publishing software, you will be interested in knowing that I started out with Adobe PageMaker 7.0 only to discover that it has been discontinued.  I soon switched over to Adobe InDesign with only a minimal upgrade cost.  ID is where it’s at! 

My first book is published and the shipment will arrive today.  I have high hopes that it will take off big enough for me to underwrite the future projects I have in mind.  I have not yet mastered the program.  The smallest things are the most frustrating…like how to make the program start page numbering on the 2nd or 3rd page instead of the first, or how to insert running headers for chapter titles.  Oh well…bored yet?  The learning curve is longer than I thought it would be, but I think I see a pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnel.

My future publishing projects include a number of unpublished books written by Fred Kinzie, my father-in-law who passed away in February of this year.  He left some rich and worthy writings that need to be published.  Also, I have several other projects of my own that I want to put in print…serving as my own publisher, of course.  Eventually, I will get back to my first love of composition.

Our website www.inspiritllc.com is up and running, although much work remains to be done.  We will market the titles we publish on that website.  Visit the site in the next few days and check out the new material.  You can purchase books on the site through PayPal. 

JMJ

Dealing with Your Past

(This begins a series about you—-your past, presest, future, your salvation, your repentance, etc.  It will become a set of booklets that will hopefully help people understand and process the events and situatiions in their lives.  The first in the series, A Short Book about You, has been written to use as a gift to visitors to an Apostolic church.  It is in publishing at this point and will be available to purchase online.)

Your Past (Part One)

1

He called himself John Doe.  Seattle authorities said he emerged from sleeping under a tree in Discovery Park and flagged down a Metro bus for help.  No official diagnosis was immediately given, but the initial signs were that he suffered from an acute form of amnesia.  An hour after the police posted his picture on their website, an Internet reader recognized him as an English teacher he knew in China, Edward Lighthart.  John Doe had no memory of that name or position.  He remembered nothing of his extensive educational background, his travels which took him to Europe, Asia and Australia or his family and close friends.  At the time he went to the police, he was totally detached from his personal history.  It was as though nothing had ever happened to him.  He was a man with no past.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, German pop star, Senait Mehari, cannot get away from her past.  When she was a schoolgirl in Eritrea, in sub-Saharan Africa, she remembers being terrified by the drone of planes overhead.  Objects started dropping on the ground, soon followed by huge explosions. 

“Bleeding children staggered out from the smoke,” she recalls, “and screaming mothers ran towards them. I ran over and was greeted by a picture of desolation: blackened children, broken bodies. And dolls. There were dolls lying everywhere. One of the children who had just arrived picked one up and was engulfed in a fiery explosion. She fell to the floor in a fireball. We stood there transfixed with horror. The dolls were filled with explosives; they had been specially constructed and scattered to maim and kill children.”

Years later, her past continues to traumatize her.  Following the bombing, the revolutionary army that exploited orphans like Senait picked her up and drafted her into their cause.  For the next three years as a child soldier, she experienced war first hand.  She never killed anyone, but she saw two of her little friends shot down.  She was forced to bury them along with countless corpses of other soldiers.  Rescued by an uncle and sent to Germany, she now campaigns against the use of child soldiers, based on her own tragic childhood.  Mehari is a woman with a past—a past she prays she could forget. 

Senait Mehari lives in all of us.  We may wish that the illusory figure of John Doe would show up to disconnect us from our past, but he never does.  We not only remember, many of us are enslaved by our memories.  Our life’s experiences define us and dictate our state of mind to us.  There is no delete key. 

2

You Are Your Past

Your life consists of the totality of events you your have experienced from the moment of your birth to the present.  Out of this myriad of experiences come impressions, beliefs, opinions and perspectives that you call as your identity.  Erase this and you would have no frame of reference or meaning in life; you would be little more than a functioning robot.  Your past tells more than who you were yesterday.  It tells you who you are today and likely portends where you are going tomorrow.  You have heard the catchy phrase “today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  For many people, that first day of the rest of their lives looks too much like the last day of their past life.  Today is only the next day of the life that they have been living. 

If you have a disturbing past that reaches into your present and casts a dark shadow over your future, you cannot ignore it.  It must be addressed.  This decision is the mountain that rises before you as a huge, insurmountable barrier.  It’s like perching on a second story window ledge of a house on fire.  The heat grows in intensity, forcing you to do something.  If you stay where you are, the flames will engulf you; if you jump, you risk losing your life in the fall.  The first option means certain death; the alternative is your only hope for survival.  You have to jump.

You may have been at this place before, but you didn’t have the strength, the know-how, the motivation or the courage to confront your reality.    You may feel so overwhelmed by your past that you have resigned yourself to it.  The handcuffs and leg chains of the past resist every attempt to escape, regardless of how desperate you are to be free.  It is much easier to identify with a known yesterday than an unknown tomorrow.

Your past is made up of many things.  Some of the more common manifestations of a troubled past consist of the following components:

• Toxic relationships.  A toxic relationship is an evil bond between you and another person(s) but you cannot escape from it.
• Devastating experiences.  Devastating experiences may be the death of a loved one, a debilitating injury or disease, a huge financial loss, or a prison sentence. 
• Unwise commitments and contracts.  Unwise commitments and contracts are agreements into which you entered and now realize that they are wrong but you cannot break them. 
• Destructive habits.  Destructive habits are behaviors you have developed that now have become second nature to you. 
• Addictions.  Addictions are dependencies on substances you have formed, such as alcohol, tobacco or drugs, and now they have physiological or psychological hold on you.
• Integrated mindsets.  Integrated mindsets are opinions you have grown to believe about yourself and you have internalized and adopted them as your character. 

This is not a complete list, but it covers enough ground to get you started.  If you can identify with one or more of these conditions, you must stop, turn around, look at them head-on and boldly confront them.  It may be extremely difficult, but you must strip away the emotion and hurt from each memory and look at them objectively.  Do not be afraid of what you see.  Fear will keep you from moving forward.  Find out what makes the elements of your past so hurtful and decide that you can and will do something about them. 

3

The good things about your past.

            Just before you look into all the garbage of your past life, remind yourself of the good things that have happened to you or that you have to your credit.  Did you have someone in your life that loved you and would do anything for you?  This person could have been a mother, a father, a sister or a brother; maybe a grandparent or an aunt or uncle.  Reflect on the good feelings and emotions you have when you think of this person.  This is important for several reasons:

• This person(s) is as much a part of your past as are the negative influences.  If you focus only on the negatives, you are cheating yourself out of the positives.

• You need the good memories to counteract the bad ones.  When you get overwhelmed by bad memories, you become unbalanced in your perspective of life.  It is easy to slip into a mindset that tells you that nothing good has ever happened to you; no one cares about you; you are a total disaster.  Some people talk about the power of positive thinking.  They are right.  The other side of the coin, however, is just as powerful.  If you become convinced that you are a bad, unwanted or rejected person, your thoughts can generate feelings that are extremely powerful. 

• You can draw strength from the good parts of your past.  Anyone who loved you and invested his or her time, energy and money into you gave you strength that you have never really used.  Anything good that you accomplished has not vanished.  It stands as a testimony to positive abilities and beliefs that remain a part of your life.  Emotional hopelessness blinds you to good and positive things.  A false sense of despair often grows out of a failure to recognize positive values.

• You can reconstruct a positive future from the good building blocks in your past.  You are about to build a future that will be much more rewarding to you than your past has been.  What will your future look like?  How can you believe in it?  The good building blocks that you can identify from your past provide a template for your future.  The joy, the hope, the peace and the love that others had when they were a part of your past gave you the look and feel of your future.  Stop telling yourself that you don’t know how to be happy or that you don’t know how to love.  You do know how.  The problem is that you have suppressed these good memories so long that they seem like fairy tales to you.  It is time to confirm that they are real and that they can be renewed in your present and future.

 

21 Suggestions for Success

By H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.

Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Be forgiving of yourself and others.

Be generous.

Have a grateful heart.

Persistence, persistence, persistence.

Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

Commit yourself to constant improvement.

Commit yourself to quality.

Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

Be loyal.

Be honest.

Be a self-starter.

Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.

Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.

Take good care of those you love.

Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

The Outpouring

Compile all the adjectives descriptive of Holy Ghost crusades in foreign fields as well as the home front, roll them together and double them. This may help you to capture the intensity of the moment at the Buckeye Lake campground July 31, 2009. The overflow crowd, estimated at 4000 in the tabernacle alone, jammed into every available pew, wrapped around three sides of the platform, and stood around the perimeter.  Before service started, nearly five hundred people had to find seats in the annex tent, and over two hundred latecomers were directed to the dining hall to watch the service on a big screen. People who had never experienced a Pentecostal service before were there, wide-eyed and trembling. Those whom we dub as “chronic” seekers were there. People from every religious, ethnic and social background were there. Like an electrical current, anticipation charged the atmosphere.

Planning the crusade was tough. How could we get five thousand people on the grounds? Where would we park the cars? How would we control the crowds? Would the neighbors object? In the end, we concluded that it would be better for people to get the Holy Ghost in chaotic conditions rather than to preserve the calm and deny them the opportunity. The crusade was on! Our published goal projected at least one hundred people to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Within fifteen minutes of the altar call opening that goal was met. A shout went up at 120, reminiscent of the second chapter of Acts. At 153, I thought of the fish-laden net in John twenty-one. The numbers kept climbing. The final count leveled off at 210. Judging from the number of cards filled out, the number could be closer to three hundred. Notable miracles also were reported. A woman with a broken hand was suddenly able to move it normally, with no pain. Another man who had serious injuries from falling off a ladder was able to walk. Many affirmed by raising their hands that pain had left their bodies.  Would these people have received the Holy Ghost or gotten their healing had they not come to the crusade? Perhaps, but this event provided the reason for them to be invited and the opportunity for the miraculous. Without that combination, it may have never happened.

The entire week of 2009 Camp Meeting proved to be a build-up to a successful crusade. Monday through Thursday, evangelists Jason Sciscoe and Greg Godwin elevated our faith to new heights with incredible teaching and preaching. Their ministries set stage for our crusade evangelist Doug Klinedinst, who preached with great anointing and closed with a powerful altar invitation. Many thanks to our crusade coordinator Brother Ken Bulgrin, with help from Brothers Ken Dillingham, Aaron Bounds, James Stark, Greg Sheets and Catalyst Coordinator, Keith Smith. This team made it happen. Thanks also to the many pastors who got on board with the vision and lent their vital support.

As thrilling as the results of The Outpouring were, the numbers filled with the Holy Ghost do not represent its total impact. To every pastor, to every saint, to every church member, the crusade results give us another needful reminder that God does reward faith. The immediate goal was to see souls baptized in the Spirit. Our overarching objective, though, was to see the spirit of the crusade imported into every local church service. Ohio is poised for a spiritual earthquake. Even in discouraging times, even while surrounded by economic and political turmoil, revival can explode! We may not be able to create the same atmosphere with the crowds and personnel, but we serve the same God, we believe the same Bible and we can expect the same results. The whole process starts with faith. When we plan for a move of God, when we talk with faith in our hearts, when we fast and pray, when we put legs on our prayers, God comes through. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Hebrews 6:10). Unwavering faith builds the platform from which revival can launch locally, district-wide and around the world. I urge Ohio to keep it up. Reach for it; preach for it; pray for it; expect it! Our time has arrived.

The Orphans Are Whining

If you kill your parents, don’t cry about being an orphan. If you don’t know how to drive, don’t blame me when you wreck your car. If you close your eyes, don’t scream when you step off the cliff. If you spend all your money, don’t complain about being broke. Make up your own cute analogy. It’s pretty easy (if not all that clever).

This is my take on the so called “health care crisis.” The snowball effect of liberal policies in America has created an ever-expanding, all-pervasive, unsustainable victimhood mentality in our society. But self-inflicted injuries don’t qualify for victim status.

The orphans are whining.

Where to begin? Social security? The unintended consequence of social security legislation in the 1930’s was the transfer of responsibility for one’s future from the individual citizen to the federal government. A long debate raged during the development of the SSA, but protests were overwhelmingly drowned out by the collective sense of relief shared by society as a whole. Did we need the government to act at the time? I think the answer is yes because the depression was far deeper and more structural than anyone could have addressed privately or even with Hoover’s “volunteerism”. Even now, however, many people believe that it was not SSA that brought the country out of the depression, but WWII that turned things around.

After the crisis was well in hand, however, politicians did not step back from the necessary emergency measures. Their political instincts told them they were on to something big. The more they doled out public monies, the bigger the voting bloc became who supported them in the polls. Little wonder, then, that they plunged the country even further in the same direction with expanded benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, GI Assistance, Head Start, welfare, food stamps, etc., until they established the entitlement society we have today.

All of these entitlements have to be paid for. How? Who do you think pays for them? The taxpayers, of course. This led us to a growing number of takers and a shrinking base of givers. Each year brings more takers. Each year brings fewer givers. Now, another problem emerges. With more takers and fewer givers, each giving unit has to come up with an increasingly bigger amount. Naturally, the givers begin to protest, and even balk. They say they can’t keep it up. But they have no choice. The growing number of takers also has a correspondingly greater political clout. The givers are outnumbered. They have to keep giving because it is the law…a law that the takers have passed.

But I have only described the taxation side of the problem. The people who create the wealth in the country—the manufacturers, the business people, the entrepreneurs—should be given a free hand to create the wealth that sustains all the takers, right? One would think so. Not. Now enter the regulators, the bureaucrats, the agencies, the inspectors and the policy makers to saddle the wealth creators with huge increases in the cost of doing business. Why? Because these evil people are so greedy that all they want to do is make money. They should be ashamed of themselves. They can’t be allowed to get away with raping, pillaging and polluting the land in order to make money. So, they now have to pay more to make money and they have to give more of the money they make to the takers. Does this make sense? Hmmm.

Here is the outcome to which we are headed. Let’s use the number of one thousand dollars to illustrate what’s going on. For every thousand dollars the givers make, the takers take five hundred. For that same one thousand dollars, the regulators assess the cost of four hundred dollars. Now, the givers have only one hundred dollars to show for their one thousand dollars of investment in work. They have to put ninety-nine dollars back into their business for materials, payroll, advertising and other costs of doing business. They are now left with one dollar.

Decision making time. The business man looks at the one dollar that required so much work and then he looks at the five hundred that the takers took and the four hundred that the regulators assessed. Common sense tells him that he would be better off as a taker than a giver. So, little by little, one by one, the givers stop producing wealth and join the takers and regulators.

The base of givers thus gets smaller and smaller until, as a group, they reach the breaking point. They can no longer produce enough wealth to satisfy the takers and regulators. What do the takers and regulators do? Change their tactics? Ease up on the taking and regulating? Why, no! Never! They just scream louder, whine longer and complain more to each other. They demonize the few givers that are left and say they are getting meaner, nastier, stingier and more evil than ever.

And so, the government has to step and solve the problem. How? Why, by increasing the number of takers and regulators, of course! In fact, the government moves to the head of the takers line and makes the first claims on all the productivity.

So, the orphans are whining. I remember reading something a long time ago about a goose and a golden egg. Probably some kind of capitalist fairy tale.

The Emotional Aspect of Doctrinal Truth

We usually think of doctrinal truth as a concept or proposition arrived at by means of intellectual or cognitive processes. Wikipedia defines cognition as “the scientific term for “the process of thought”. Its usage varies in different ways in accord with different disciplines: For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual’s psychological functions. Other interpretations of the meaning of cognition link it to the development of concepts; individual minds, groups, organizations, and even larger coalitions of entities, can be modeled as “societies” (Society of Mind), which cooperate to form concepts.”

Whether or not we have thought of this in a specific way, we believe this. It stands as a primary reason why Urshan Graduate School of Theology was founded. Our explicit purpose may be found in the use of the word “theology” in the school name. It means the science or study of God. All of us have an understanding—or even a conviction—that we should apply our mental faculties to the pursuit of truth, the acquisition of scriptural knowledge and to cognitively understand God, insofar as our finite minds allow us to do that. We use reason, analysis, investigation and other kinds of mental exercises in this pursuit. Carl Jung identified eight cognitive processes that humans use to perceive themselves, the world around them and their perception of truth: experiencing, reviewing, interpreting, foreseeing, ordering, analyzing, connecting and valuing. The study of the Jungian model is fascinating and one would benefit greatly in looking at it in-depth. Actually, cognitive psychology is the one branch of the field that I personally find the most credible.

God equipped man with the ability to think on a level above that of the animal kingdom. Since we were made in His image, then this property must be a reflection of the nature of God Himself. The mind is not an enemy of God nor is it to be considered insignificant in our relationship to God. In fact, Jesus said that we were to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:37).

But beyond the human nature to be inquisitive, the bible itself encourages us to apply our minds to understanding God. Consider the following scriptures:

· Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

· These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11

· We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 2 Peter 1:19

· But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

The mind, however, cannot be completely trusted. It is affected by the fallen nature of man just as every other aspect of our existence bears the curse of sin. That means that we cannot give a blanket endorsement to every thought, every mental process or every conclusion that we reach through human reasoning. We can be misinformed. We can be biased. We can be illogical. We can be devious. We can be stupid. Albert Einstein said, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” While we’re on stupidity quotes, Elbert Hubbard said, “Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”

We also have to remember our good Greek friends in Acts 17. My Greek professor at the University of Toledo started his introductory course with a lecture about the Athenians. He said that around 500 B. C. there was a colony of geniuses who lived in Athens the likes of which has never been duplicated. They either began all of the great disciplines of the mind or they significantly advanced their study. Philosophy, politics, medicine, literature, art, drama, mathematics, physics, music, architecture, language, just to name a few, were developed in this culture. Their ideas about religion, however, although entertaining, were bizarre.

Paul went to Athens hundreds of years after Greece’s Golden Age, but the traces of its past lingered on in the minds of its intellectuals. After Paul encountered them on Mars Hill, he wrote the following passage to the Corinthians, who, no doubt, always felt a little inferior to the geniuses of Athens: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:19-21. Later, he wrote: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-6. Thus, we must never trust solely in human cognition, especially in the spiritual realm. It is inherently inadequate in leading us to ultimate truth about God. While it is not right to say that the knowledge of God is illogical or that the understanding of God is non-rational, it is right to say that the contemplation of God goes beyond the limitations of the human mind. Ultimately, God knowledge is revelatory and experiential.

Perhaps the clearest scriptural passage that demonstrates the revelatory knowledge of God comes from the gospel of Matthew when Jesus asked the disciples who men said that he was. After they reported on what they had heard on the street, Jesus put the question to them personally. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus did not give an initial confirmation to the substance of Peter’s statement. Instead, he commended him for the manner by which he acquired the knowledge. “You are blessed, Simon Barjona. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. This was revealed by my Father in Heaven.” Perhaps the reason for the greatest theological error over the centuries, the doctrine of the trinity, is because it was the result of man’s attempt to rationalize the state of the Godhead, making it conform to human wisdom instead of divine revelation. As such, it not only fails the revelation test, it fails the logic test as well.

But man continues to try. This thought of God is so intriguing that we cannot stop our inquiry. The problem is that our intellectual quest not only falls short of the mark, it leads us astray. A. W. Tozer, in his book, “The Knowledge of the Holy,” says, “Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control. We need the feeling of security that comes from knowing what God is like, and what He is like is of course a composite of all the religious pictures we have seen, all the best people we have known or heard about, and all the sublime ideas we have entertained.” And yet, “the world by wisdom knew not God.”

In my view, the only real solution to this dilemma must begin with reality—the state of things as they are. The knowledge of God does not begin with the abstract. It starts with what we know in the tangible and sentient world. Jesus laid the groundwork for this. “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-3. A child lives several years before he or she can think in abstract ways. Yet, we understand that learning begins before this later stage development. The relatively new theory of Emotional Intelligence emerged in the mid-nineties which held that any measurement of IQ that did not factor in EQ was flawed. A number of studies have been done which demonstrate the presence of emotions not only in neo-natal children, but also babies still in the womb. Intra-uterine crying, anger, expressions of pleasure and pain have been registered before birth. A baby’s sense of love and security appear much earlier than its intellectual abilities.

Our understanding of God, therefore, cannot be limited or confined to the cognitive processes. We must embrace God on an emotional level as well as on an intellectual level. Personally, I do not believe that it is even possible to come to God on the basis of an intellectual pursuit. If it were, the giant brains among us would be the loudest proclaimers of the gospel. Instead, they are usually known for their skepticism, if not atheism. Our relationship with God may be confirmed, broadened, deepened and understood by our intellect, but it will never be the primary reason for the relationship. Moreover, anyone who does not develop an emotional tie to God will not survive the turmoil and deceitfulness of the flesh in living for God.

This leads us to my conclusion. Ultimately, the truths of God are not held in the head but in the heart. God has designed our relationship with him to touch all areas of our lives, body, soul (mind) and spirit. His truth is not meant to be intellectual only, but also an emotional experience. Hence, we have the phrase “the love of the truth.” Paul writes this in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

What, then, is our challenge? It transcends the hard facts about God. It goes beyond knowing God intellectually. It is to love God. It is to love the knowledge of God. It is to love every aspect of God: his oneness, his holiness, his might and dominion, his solitude, his justice, mercy, faith, grace and every attribute that we can use to describe God. The bond that we have in this God/man relationship is not in the magnitude of our knowledge, but in the depth of our love.

If you don’t think that God is that interested in something so primitive, so non-intellectual as love, think again. Remember Abraham and Isaac? The whole purpose for that scenario was not to prove Abraham’s intellectual grasp of God, but to find out if his love for God was greater than anything else in Abraham’s life. “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” Genesis 22: 10-12. In the New Testament, God still requires proof of our love for him. “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” 2 Corinthians 8:8.

Recently, I heard a young preacher, Brother Joel Urshan, preach about the revelation of John. He wasn’t talking about the Book of Revelation, but about the revelation of Christ’s love toward him. John referred to himself as “that disciple whom Jesus loved.” He seemed to be must more secure in this understanding that was Peter, who failed his Master.

The emotional aspect of doctrinal truth finds expression in our love for God. This lies at the heart of true theology. It could not be stated in a more beautiful way than John did in 1 John 4:6-13. “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

Our greatest duty may not be to fully understand God.

It must be to simply and completely love God. On that basis, God can reveal more to us than we could ever know using our intellect. Moreover, to love God means to love His revealed truth. Any doctrinal truth that we possess will be lost if it is held in the hands of those who do not love God. Anyone who proclaims a love for God and simultaneously disparages the truth of God proves himself untruthful.

I love this Apostolic truth. I celebrate it. I have bought it. I will not sell it. I commit myself to its defense, whenever it becomes necessary. When given the opportunity, I will preach it, teach it and write about it without compromise. If that is an emotional response, so be it. I am convinced that God wants an emotional relationship with His people because He created us as emotional beings. I have no higher calling.