Please don’t hate me because
I think differently from you on some things, or because I don’t celebrate Jesus
Christ in all the same ways in which you do, or because my understanding of
what scripture teaches may be a little bit different from yours. For, we both claim
to believe in Jesus Christ, and in God the Father and the Holy Spirit. We both believe
that Jesus died on a cross to save us from our sins; to free us from sin, and
to give us eternal life with God. And, we both desire to see others come to
faith in Christ, too.
So, why do you get so angry
when what I believe is different from what you believe? Why do you “slam the
door in my face,” defriend or deride me on Facebook, perhaps unfollow me on
Twitter, ignore me and avoid me out in public places, or treat me like I just
committed some horrible crime? Why do you mock me, gossip about me behind my
back, and make false judgments about me just because I believe differently from
you? Have I now become your enemy by proclaiming the truth as I believe it to
be, and as I believe scripture teaches it? Aren’t you are my brother or sister
in Christ?
…
The Lord Jesus led me to read
Galatians 4 (vv. 8-11 ESV).
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved
to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God,
or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and
worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once
more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have
labored over you in vain.
There are multiple lessons
the Lord has taught me, in particular over the past 13 years, regarding “weak
and worthless” principles of the world which were ingrained in my life from
childhood and which he wanted out of my life. So, with each revelation he gave
me regarding these ingrained principles, I listened to what he taught me, and I
obeyed him, but sometimes to the strong disapproval of other Christians who
still hold strong to some of the things which God has removed from my life.
Flag-Waving
For one, I was a flag-waving,
flag-pledging patriot who sang the national anthem with hand over heart, with
great enthusiasm. I believed the USA was a Christian nation, and I believed
what I saw and read in the news, that it was true. I believed what the
Republican political platform said I should believe, and I voted according to
that platform, that is, until…
The Lord opened my eyes, and
he showed me the real truth about the US government, and what they are doing
across the globe in conquering other nations, killing innocents, and confiscating
and destroying property not their own. He showed me that I could not trust our
leaders to tell the truth, or the mainstream news media, either. He taught me
that our government works for “the beast” and that they are instrumental in
bringing “the beast” to the world throne. And, he taught me that to pledge
allegiance to the US flag is to vow fidelity to this evil government, which I
should not ever do.
So, I no longer pledge to the
flag of the USA, and I don’t vote in our elections, because our votes don’t
count anyway, because our government is not the real government of the USA. Rather,
a shadow government of the Elite of the world run these United States of
America, and they choose which puppets to put in office, anyway. And, I no
longer believe what is in the news, but I ask the Lord to show me what is true
and what is false.
Institutional Church
I also was a member of more
than one institutional church over the years of my life, and my husband and I
were even church planters twice, and we did the 501c3 not-for-profit tax exempt
incorporation of our fellowships, because that is what we were told we needed
to do to become a “church.” We also followed our leaders’ advice in using
marketing schemes in order to gain people to our church fellowships, but all
the work we did in marketing our “church” never led anyone to faith in Jesus
Christ, and it only convinced one person to join our fellowship, in this last
church-plant effort.
Then, the Lord Jesus opened
my eyes to see the institutional incorporated church from his vantage point. He
sees it like he saw the money-changers in his temple, who were turning the
house of God, which was to be a house of prayer, into a place of business. And,
that is exactly what has happened to so much of the church here in America. By
incorporating under the federal government of the US, the body of Christ has
been turned into a business and is marketed just like any other business, using
human techniques, and often ignoring the Holy Spirit and his guidance.
Not only this, but by
incorporating, the church has partnered with this evil government which is
working for “the beast,” and in doing what we read about in Revelation 13. But,
even if they weren’t working for the beast, they are still the ungodly, and we
are not to partner with the unrighteous, but we are to come out from among them
and to be separate so that we don’t share in their sins or in their punishment,
and because there is no fellowship between light and darkness (See: 2 Co.
6:14-18; Rev. 18:4-5).
So, I did what God said for
me to do, and I came out from the institutional church which is married to the
US government, and I fellowship with other believers outside the walls of
institutional Christianity. And, I share what the Word teaches on these subjects
of not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers and of not turning the
body of Christ, the people of God, God’s house, into a business of
human-making.
Holidays
I used to celebrate all the American
holidays or traditional celebrations, but we never did the Santa thing. But, we
did celebrate Halloween, 4th of July, Christmas, Easter and
Thanksgiving. We eventually phased out Halloween, because of the evil in it, but
we still held on to all the other celebrations.
Then, as I became aware of
the true roots of our nation and of the true nature of our government and what
all they are doing throughout the world, I could no longer celebrate the 4th
of July, nor could I pledge allegiance to the flag nor sing patriotic songs.
Then, the Lord began to make
me uncomfortable about celebrating Christmas and Easter. I began to see how
Jesus Christ was being upstaged by Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny on these
holidays or celebrations. And, Jesus began to open my eyes to see how he sees
these celebrations, which are a mixture of pagan celebrations and religious
celebrations, which God forbade his people from participating in all throughout
biblical history.
I began to see how these
celebrations were not really about Jesus Christ but they were about buying
gifts we couldn’t afford to give to people who didn’t really need or want them,
in many cases. And, there was so much greed and commercialism involved in this
celebration of Christmas, in particular. And, Easter was more about getting new
(or used) clothes and Easter baskets and eggs than it was about giving honor to
our Lord who died on a cross for us.
So, my husband and I
evaluated all of this together, and together we made the decision to stop
celebrating these holidays, too. We have not yet made a decision about
Thanksgiving, although, in my experience, that one seems to be more about
people stuffing their faces full of food, oftentimes until they are sick to the
stomach, and it often seems to have little to do with truly being thankful to
the Lord, yet I realize that not everyone has the same experiences.
Conclusion
As I have become aware of
these various institutions of men which were ingrained in me from childhood,
and of what my Lord wanted my response to be concerning them, and I have obeyed
him, I have also been faced with rejection, anger, rage, and even hate from
other believers in Jesus for whom these institutions are sacred.
Not everyone has responded
this way, mind you, but there have been quite a few who did. And, this is what
prompted my opening statements. I have just seen so many Christians (or
professing Christians) react so angrily to anyone not following these
traditions, and I don’t believe that we, as Christians, should treat one
another that way.
Not worshiping the government
is not to be equated with not worshiping God, although many Christians do
equate these. Not celebrating Christmas or Easter is also not to be equated with
not celebrating my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I celebrate him every day!
And, not attending an institutional church is also not to be equated with
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, for we can and should assemble
together outside the walls of institutional religion.
So, you can choose to judge
me, reject me, hate me, unfriend or unfollow me or whatever, but I must obey my
Lord and do what he says. I hope you will stick around, though, and that we can
still enjoy fellowship together. For, our goal together should be the salvation
of souls for Jesus Christ and to see the church walking in the ways of the
Lord, following him in all his ways.
For Our Nation
/ An Original Work
September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is
falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in all
ways.
Trust Him with your life
today.
Make Him your Lord and your
Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow
Jesus.
He will forgive you of your
sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new
within.
Men betraying: Our trust
fraying.
On our knees to God we’re
praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all
things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things under His
command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in all
ways.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He offers
suture.
He is all we need for this
life.
Trust Him with your life
today.
Friday, December 1, 2017,
3:34 p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for what you have taught me over the years
regarding obedience to you.
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