NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

                                                     NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

    The Jewish New Year was observed many weeks ago, and it is not
celebrated similarly as the Christian New Year. For the Jews, it is a
time to reflect on their failures over the past year, and to try to right
their ship of life. Christians can learn from that, because we usually
celebrate (not observe) a secular holiday. Every Christian needs just
one resolution for the new year. And, it would be marvelous if each of
us could just keep that resolution. So...here's your Christian resolution.
"I will follow the teaching of my Savior as recorded in the Books of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I will follow the two commandments
Christ gave us in Matt. 22:37-40, and I will not impose any restrictions
in other parts of scripture not given us by Christ, Himself." If you can
do this, you'll have a Spiritual Resolution and New Year.

    Here is your guideline, and if you follow Christ's instructions from
the verses above, you will not divide any people from the opportunity
to accept Christ's offer. "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets." Pretty simple and just. Many of 
the Christians I hear are not following the second part of Christ's
teaching, which is also a strong indication they aren't really committed
Christians. 

    If you claim you're a Christian, you must believe God created all
people. That includes Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Europeans, Arab.
and mixed races. God loves all mankind, but detests sin. Christ never
taught hate, and the closest He ever came to violence was overturning
the money tables and chasing the moneychangers out of the temple.
Christ never taught separation and even healed lepers. He did not deny
people the opportunity for salvation.

    Before you think you understand the separation happening between
Christians and people in general, consider the entire chapter 29 of
Matthew. You may have trouble correlating these verses with today's
situation. Remember, Christ is berating the leadership of the Jewish
nation. That includes the lawyers and church leaders. Verses 27 and 28
describe the characters of many American leaders. This is not to accuse
any political party, because both have their share of loud mouths with
underdeveloped brains. But there is major responsibility for many of
the seated Christian pastors and leaders. Their family values consist of
man-determined rules not mentioned by Christ. 

    This is a continuing problem, first with Israel, and later up to now,
with Christian pastors and church leaders. The pastors and spokespeople
for the Christian church go along with popular congregation desires, and
don't preach the most important issues facing Christianity. Congregations
like to promote issues that don't affect them personally, such as abortion
and homosexuality. They have to "give up" nothing to be "good", and can
adopt a self righteous attitude. This is so easy, and their resolution to
oppose these sins is a slam dunk. Their opposition does absolutely
nothing to improve their own character. They are actually judging others
in direct opposition to Matt. 7:3, "And why do you look at the speck in
your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

    Before you expound on particular virtues, I ask you to judge
yourself on common sins such as gossip, the most damaging of the
sins listed in the Ten Commandments. Ex. 20:`16, "Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor." This is the one sin causing most
problems in congregations according to the pastors I have spoken
with. When you repeat a rumor, you are promoting gossip. This type
of "goody" spreads like wildfire, and once your rumor (actually a lie)
is out there, many who hear it may never find out the rumor was not
true. This is base character assassination. This was rampant in the
political campaign and is frequently utilized by the justice system
on the local, state and national level. People, especially those who
scoff at education, often eagerly accept these rumors, especially if
they are "juicy."

    Americans grow up learning that getting ahead in life is usually
tied to violating the Tenth Commandment. Ex. 20:17, "Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,
nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor nor his ox, nor his ass,
nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Probably the worst covetousness
has to do with money and power. That is the goal of practically all
politicians. People tend to covet expensive cars, expensive clothes,
expensive homes and other goodies beyond their earning level. It's
not wrong to better yourself as long as you don't do it at the expense
of others.

    Self righteousness abounds in Christianity, as people recognize
the sins of others while overlooking their own shortcomings. And,
this is where Christians are getting a giant black eye right now. Show
me a smug, self righteous church member who speaks out against
the generally mislabeled sex sins, and I'll ask him if his life is so
pure without sin to cast the first stone. John 8:7, "So when they
continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He
who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."'
Of course none were without sin, just as you and I are not sinless

    All sins are of equal value. Isaiah 64:6 tells us how righteous we
are, and nothing we do can change his description. "But we are all
like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are like filthy rags;"
That public official who tells you how great a Christian he is, should
go back to the four gospels for self determination. Does he believe
all same sex marriages are for the purpose of sex? Most aren't. Visit
hospitals or managed care homes and you'll see the need for support
and companionship. There are programs and financial help available
only to married people. 

    I do not hear pastors preaching the difference between support
or companionship marriage and sexual marriage. I don't hear pastors
explaining Christ's ugliness. WHAT? Christ ugly? The Supreme Court
conservative majority rules that a corporation is a person. That means
a corporation bears the likeness of God and Christ. Apparently these
five fake Christian justices never read or ignore the very first book of
the bible: Genesis. Verses 1:26 and 27, 'Then God said, "Let Us make
man in OUR IMAGE, according to OUR LIKENESS; let them have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps
on the earth." So God created man in HIS 0WN IMAGE; in the IMAGE
OF GOD HE created him; male and female HE created them."'Now, go
to any of the four gospels where Christ appeared, spoke, taught and
was recognized by untold multitudes of people. This is the biblical
IMAGE OF GOD. Our five conservative Christian judges don't follow
scripture. Their ruling opened the floodgates of money for both parties
in the election. So, you Christians who accept this ruling, take down
your pictures, paintings and busts of Jesus Christ, because He isn't
the likeness of God. Do you think God will be smiling upon you as
you replace the real Christian art with corporate logos? Do you
think America will be blessed under a corporate god?

    Those "Christian" judges also set in motion a problem soon to
develop and create further separation in America. By ruling that
private businesses can deny service on a religious basis, they have
violated a main part of our Constitution separating church and state.
That isn't even the main problem. Their ruling means every other
religion can demand the same privilege. That includes Islam and
Atheists, among many others. Further, employers can manage your
personal beliefs and refuse to give you a job unless you bow to the
religion of THEIR choice. 

    One of my mentors, who spent many years pastoring several
churches, told me a major problem in the church is promotion rather
than teaching the Word. In America, bigness is the rule. I hear the
pastors of some mega churches preach, and they frequently get
scriptures wrong or they misunderstand the language. I hear the
management of some Christian radio stations skirt the laws of
advertising by giving a donor's name for a contribution. I also see
churches with lavish "extracurricular" programs to draw large
crowds and, hopefully, more members. There is always some teaching
of scripture, but it is secondary. People are much more interested in
entertainment than studying the Word.

    It seems that church people have created a dividing line among
all people, ignoring that God gives everyone a choice. Gay people
are shunned and abortion is murder, although it's okay to let the
pregnant woman die to try and save the fetus. Odd that anti-abortion
people don't want any responsibility for all the "extra" children. I'm
not for blanket approval of abortion, but it is necessary in some
instances. I also hear the selfish loudmouths wanting to deny
foreign children a safe haven in America. The real reason is because
it will cost some money. Forget all the rubbish offered as to why
we shouldn't accept them. We certainly did a Christian job displacing
those pesky native Americans. Or, have you forgotten how the
Indians provided food to the Pilgrims? At least that's the story we
tell at Thanksgiving.   

    The present day Christian leadership has adopted a policy of
divide and conquer. One state has already proposed to make that
state religion Christianity. Of course there are many restrictions
considered part of the rule of Christianity. That a state would do
that isn't new because we had a similar situation that caused the
Civil War. Our many Christian denominations in America have been
dividing believers and would-be believers since the days of the
Pilgrims. They preach brotherhood, but check out the man made
rules of the denomination. Since God created all people, and so
many are not Christians, do you think He made mistakes?

    Americans are world leaders in giving, and were largely 
responsible for maintaining peace in the world over the last
century. To be sure, we are all sinners, and none of us is qualified
to assume we are elite in finances, looks, education or anything
else. As Christ said in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-11), heaven will
not be populated by wealthy and powerful people as we identify
them today. A Christian is a servant of God, a worker following
the Leader, Jesus Christ. A Christian has the cross to follow as
a symbol, not the dollar sign. Christ died for your salvation, and
you will take nothing with you to Heaven or Hell.

    This message contains many negatives, but they are listed in
an attempt to reach real Christians who are permitting greed and
envy to move forward. You need to identify the proper people who
are destroying the nation, and do the research on major issues that
slip silently by while you boast about your Christianity. If you follow
the spiritual resolution I listed, both you and our nation will have
an opportunity to receive all the blessings God has for His faithful
servants. Are those two Commandments Christ gave us in Matt.
22: 37-40 too much to ask in return for Christ's sacrifice? I pray
you will delve into the instructions Christ gave us instead of
listening to the outrageous propaganda coming from the pulpits
and politicians. Happy New Year!

Rev. Walbear




    

CHRISTMAS

                                                                     CHRISTMAS

    Christmas is a great deal more than the traditional observance most Christians celebrate. The reason for our celebration is the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. But, if we paid attention to books of the Old Testament, Christmas would mean much more. We
shouldn't forget Santa Claus, either, because he gives us an  excellent teaching point. In fact, symbols of the Christian observance of the holiday all can teach the story of Christ. 

    We may begin our understanding of God's long range plan of salvation by learning the lesson in the eighth book of scripture, the book of Ruth. This is a relatively short book, and I urge you to begin your Christmas holiday by reading this book. It is a love story and tells about redemption. You see, there was redemption long before Christ was born. The method was different, but the end result was the same. After I was ordained, I was given the task of presenting my church's Christmas message. I was very excited to have this opportunity, and I learned much about the politics of the church from this early episode. I was about to turn to the New Testament to prepare the message, when the Holy Spirit sent me to the Book of Ruth. I didn't have much understanding in those days, and thought I was in the wrong place. However, after reading the book, I understood I was supposed to present the story of redemption. That's why God sent Christ.

    Before it was my place to present my message, the senior pastor gave his "introduction" for me to give the Christmas story. However, before I could begin, he had the congregation turn to Luke 2:1-20. There it was: Joseph and Mary sent to Bethlehem to register for taxes, no room at the inn, the wise men, shepherds and birth of Christ. He didn't leave much for me, except, I believe, an attempt to embarrass me and elevate him as senior pastor. He was in total shock when I gave my message of redemption through the Book of Ruth. He had never heard that message for Christmas. Chalk up one for the Holy Spirit.

    Another Christmas season I used another book from the Old Testament to illustrate God's mercy in redemption. Please turn to the Book of Jonah. This is another relatively short book, but has a terrific impact. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, a large city inhabited by a fierce people who piled mounds of skulls at the entrance to the city to invoke fear. Jonah was instructed to preach God and redemption to these people, a task he had tried to avert by running away. It's understandable you wouldn't want to preach to these people. God showed great mercy because the people did repent, and God didn't destroy them.

    The third person in this story of redemption is John the Baptist, and this is the first character from the New Testament. You can read about him in all four gospels, but I like John , chapter one. These scriptures are the forerunners of redemption and salvation,
and that is exactly what Christmas is about. Every child, Christian or not, should have the opportunity to hear the story of Christ's birth. It should not be overshadowed by Santa Claus and gifts. Instead, Santa and gift giving should be brought into the Christian story. It's not just mercy and redemption: it is really about love.

     It's a shame Christian lawmakers are wasting their time trying to enact strict personal laws, while they can't even maintain the traditional observance of Christ's birth. They have seen Merry Christmas replaced by Happy Holidays. They have seen traditional
decorations toned down and even banned. Worst of all, they have caved in to the almighty dollar, and have encouraged a commercial takeover of the holiday season. There is more excitement on Black Friday and the mad rush to the sales than teaching the meaning of
Christ and salvation. Further, people, Christians included, miss a red letter opportunity to use the made to order symbols.

    The symbols are the tree, which can represent the cross on which Christ was crucified. Even young children can understand a simple explanation of sacrifice and salvation. The lights represent the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, who dispelled darkness with the light of truth, honesty and love. The reindeer remind us of the setting of Christ's birth, His lowly status, and the animals that surrounded Him. The star guided the shepherds and wise men to the place of His birth. The gifts brought by the wise men were delivered with
love and were needed when it was necessary for the holy family to flee to Egypt. In addition to the gift of salvation, God has given  us gifts of the Spirit. Some of these are explained in Ephesians, chapter 4. 

    The incentive is for everyone, adults and children, to live a Christ-like life and be good people. We exchange gifts as a symbol of love and respect. Santa now handles the delivery of gifts, and expects children to be well behaved during the year. Santa, like
Christ, does not have favorites, and represents the mercy and good that Christ taught. Some form of Christmas is practiced in many countries around the world. Christ welcomed and sacrificed His sinless life for all who would accept His offer of eternal life. That
includes all races. If you separate races and support anyone else who does, you are violating Christ's teaching and God's plan of inclusion for all who believe in Him. There is only one heaven, and both bad and good people in all races. Christ will judge you, and
decide if you qualify for heaven. 

    You cannot be filled with happiness and joy for Christ's birthday if you're filled with hatred of any kind. Don't be fooled by those half dozen verses in Proverbs stating God hates certain things. Those verses are not part of Christ's teaching, and were written by people with no religious standing, including King Solomon. Those verses are good suggestions for living a Godly life, but not following them does not exclude you from salvation. A sin is a sin, and all are judged equally. None of us can stop sinning because we are carnal in nature. 

    For those Christians who suffer from self righteousness, I send you to John 8:1-12. This is where a woman in adultery was brought for judgment. Jesus drew a line in the sand and invited any sinless man among her accusers to toss the first stone. Death by stoning was
the punishment for adultery. One by one, the men left, because none were sinless except Christ. In the Christmas season, all Christians should be keenly aware of Christ's teaching, which was all about love. If you bear hatred, whether racial or otherwise, your Christian walk is in big trouble. The gift of eternal life is there. Don't blow your opportunity by excluding love from your Christmas.

Rev. Walbear

    

PROVERBIAL CHRISTIANITY

                                       PROVERBIAL CHRISTIANITY  

    This is a message that may be hard to swallow, but it's based on
scripture. Christianity in America has been gradually changing over
the past 50 years. Because of the gradual aspect of change, few people in the church world are aware of the change and the consequences that may follow. Mixed in, and making the changes more dangerous, are the carnal egos and personal agendas of some leaders.

    Anyone who professes to be a Christian should be a follower of Jesus Christ and MUST follow His teaching. His teaching in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John MUST be the guidelines and practice to follow. These books have His words. No other books in the bible have His words. There are the words of kings, prophets, disciples and others, but none of these people are Jesus Christ. While the Epistles are important, they do not contain the words of Christ. For the most part, they are cultural guides as people enter into the practice of Christianity.

    There have been two major problems introduced into Christian  churches and congregations. Most church people have no idea of these growing problems. A sermon based on one or just a few verses of scripture usually will not reveal the problem. That is especially true if scripture is taken from the Book of Proverbs. Christ did not speak the words of Proverbs, and you must understand exactly who did write this book. The book has much wisdom and good advice, and is certainly of value. But, you must be careful to understand the difference between a carnal writer's advice and the very words of Christ.

    Sometimes one word in a verse of Proverbs which, by and large, is good advice, is EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF CHRIST'S teaching in the four books of the gospel. I'll get to that word and other examples shortly, but first we need to examine who is writing this advice in the book. Many of the proverbs were written by King Solomon. We are told he was the wisest man who ever lived. He was wise, as indicated by his decision on the mother of a child. But there is much more you should know about this wise man. After he was anointed king, he set about killing all those in the court and leadership who had opposed his being king. This you will find in 1 Kings 2, where the closing verse 46 states in part, "Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon." His fame spread, and people said (1 Kings 4:31), "For he was wiser than all men." Note carefully, they said he was wiser than all men. He was not wiser than the Son of God. He obtained great wealth, but fell victim to carnal desires--a large herd of horses, and hundreds of wives and concubines. The women worshiped strange gods, and this was Solomon's main undoing. Even the wisest man 
cannot be blameless and equal the Son of God. It was Solomon's 
excesses that caused God to split the Jewish kingdom.

    Not all of Proverbs is attributed to Solomon, and little is known of
some of the other writers such as Agur and Lemuel. Not one of these
writers wrote with the knowledge and wisdom of Christ, and their writings do not make up the Christian manifesto. If you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you are not a Christian unless you carefully follow Christ's teaching. While the proverbs contain some good advice, they are not Christ's rules.

    We have three types of ministers. Each relies on a certain aspect
of the bible. Some ministers stress the epistles, especially the letters
of Paul. This results in confusion, because some of Paul's directions
to newly established churches deal with cultural differences. Some of
the problems from this includes such things as the use of color, which
has separated some denominations from others.  Another problem is
forbidding women to be pastors or church officers. Women's leadership
in the church began way back when Moses, Aaron and Miriam were
selected by God to lead His people. Remember, the Jews are His original
people. You (and some pastors) need to study a little history so you don't make these types of mistakes. God appointed man to be the leader of a household, not a tyrant (Yes, I'm familiar with that word). If you know anything about the primitive years of world history, you should know why He made that appointment. God constructed men to be physically stronger and better able to protect and lead a family. It was not because man was wiser. 

    Some ministers teach strongly from Proverbs. This is basically advice
on how to live for success and to please God. The Pauline teaching
creates confusion and separation. Proverbial teaching creates violence
separation. Ridiculous, you say? I direct you to Proverbs 6:16. "These six
things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him." The 
problem here is the use of the word HATES. Jesus Christ was sent by
the Lord to instruct and heal. Christ NEVER used the word Hate. He
described various sins, but covers each and all with His shed blood.
In fact, He said just the opposite of hate. Matt. 22:39 states, "And the 
second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If you don't
know the First Commandment, it is "You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Christ
taught only LOVE, never hate. It's unfortunate the writer of Proverbs
6:16-19 used the word hate because God and Christ are the opposite
of hate.

    Ministers who like the word hate use passages such as I quoted,
and add their own pet hates such as homosexuality or other sex related
situations. I have heard several such ministers, and they really get
into ranting and raving. They don't rave about infidelity (some are
guilty of this), theft, or, worst of all, (6:19) "A false witness who speaks
lies, And one who sows discord among brethren." They equate same
sex marriage with dirty sex and ignore the need for companionship,
especially among the elderly, and the program benefits that are
available only to married couples. These ministers either don't know
the Word of God, or they are deliberately using an emotional appeal
to gain vigilante or mob support. 

    These antics, such as the West Baptist congregation and others, are
driving a wedge between actual Christians of the bible and professing
Christians who are ignorant of the bible, following a pied piper. If you
aren't aware of Christ's teaching and listen and follow this false
teaching, you are in deep trouble. God expects you to study scripture
and understand His Son's teaching and sacrifice.

    At least part of the general public has realized the difference between
Christ's teaching and this Proverbial teaching. The growing result is a
black eye on Christianity. It is difficult for a minister of Christ to convince
someone that the hate proverbs aren't Christian rules. You'd be surprised
how many non Christians know a lot about the bible, and have decided
they want no part of the hate cult. And folks, that's exactly what this
type of teaching is--a cult. It is separating Christians in the church by
forcing them to take sides on the issues. If the pastor preaches hate,
you're expected to grab hold of the rope and yank. So much for love.
As Christ once said, (John 8:7) "He who is without sin among you, let
him throw a stone at her first." All sins are equally bad and may be
forgiven. 

    So, why not teach the hate verses? They are part of showing you
not to do things and, like most of the bible, are there to encourage you
to use your mind and reason. The church today is full of people who
are self righteous, believing they have all the truth. In reality, they have
little truth. If you doubt this message thus far, turn to John 3:16, "For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now, one
last word about hate. Turn to Matt. 5:44 for the last direction from Christ
about hate. "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the just and on the unjust." If your speaker or pastor
talks about hate, ask him about these verses. This is Christ speaking,
not just a man.

    You have a choice. You can follow Christ in love, or you can base
your hatred on the few verses of Proverbs written by a man who became
the victim of tremendous success and wealth. If your choice is to join
in the muck racking of the Proverbial Church rather than the true
Christian Church, at least refrain from calling yourself a Christian.
It's difficult enough to win souls for Christ with all the wrong teaching
by some "Christian" leaders and churches. Remember, when you
accepted Christ you pledged to follow Him, not King Solomon. Your
Christian walk will either be accepted by the Savior, or you will be
rejected as warned in Matt. 7:23. "And then I will declare to them,
'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."'

    Be careful who you follow, because you will answer for your actions. You should have a personal relationship with Christ that supersedes any relationship with a mere man, no matter how famous he may be in the "church" world. You do have a choice.

Rev. Walbear