True Spirituality

Greetings beloved,

After watching an expose on the so-called revivalist, preacher, healer Todd Bentley the other night (see last post), I found myself contemplating the idea of true spirituality, and concluding that if the Christian Church truly understood it, charlatans like Todd Bently, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Peter Popoff, T.D. Jakes, Joel Olsteen and the like wouldn't have a ministry (please understand that I am not judging these individuals, only the false things that they say and do in the name of our Heavenly Father).

For years I've heard Christians saying, "I can't worship in a church where I don't feel the Spirit." They have relegated their spirituality to being determined by their feelings, falsely assuming that if they don't feel the Spirit moving, He must not be there. What HOGWASH! First of all feelings are subjective, which means that they change from one situation to another, and are therefore not reliable to base any important decision upon. Second, Christians should instead use as their rule of life and faith, something that is objective, or unchanging like God's Word the Bible. For, through it God has given to us... "all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue," (2 Peter 1:3 NKJV).

God, says in His unchanging word: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36: 27 NKJV), and "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD'"(Ezekiel 37:14 NKJV). Furthermore it says in the Gospel of St. John 14: 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." It goes on to state similarly in these scriptures; Romans 8: 9 "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him," Romans 8: 11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you," 1 Corinthians 3: 16 "Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you," 1 Corinthians 6: 19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" 2 Timothy 2: 14 "Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure, which has been entrusted to you."

Friends, the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity and therefore He is omnipresent (everywhere at once). Beyond this fact, as Christians, we are assured in His word that He dwells or lives within us. Consequently, whether or not you feel the Holy Spirit, He is there! Thanks be to God! And for those who say, "I know He's there, but because of all of the dry, dead religious tradition He can't operate." More HOGWASH! Who do we think we are that we could even suggest the notion that any man, by way of what he does could control or hinder the work of God? This type of belief elevates man to the place of having more power or authority than God, and that my friend is blasphemy. God has promised His children that whenever they gather to worship Him (notice I said 'worship Him' and not 'feel close to Him by the repetitious singing of contemporary christian music and positive life message'), He will be there [see Matthew 18:20].

So, beloved I tell you this, if you are not experiencing God, it's your own fault, you're looking in the wrong way and in the wrong areas. To experience a real relationship with God and understand True Spirituality, you first must have a right heart (see Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8). Secondly, we must be actively looking for God in the proper ways... "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV). Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk has explained it this way: 'Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of our existence. But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being. Someone will say, "I come alive when I listen to music," or "I come to life when I garden," or "I come alive when I play golf." Wherever we come alive, this is the area in which we are spiritual. And then we can say, "I know at least how one is spiritual in that area." To be vital, awake, aware, in all areas of our lives, is the task that is never accomplished, but it remains the goal.' In other words, instead of looking for our spirituality in certain places or things, we need to learn to recognize God in every moment, and in everything. Meister Eckhart once said... "To grasp God in all things---this is the sign of your new birth." Amen!

In closing; I admonish you all to never let anyone tell you that God is here or that God isn't there, or that the only way to really worship God is by attending a church that is alive with the working of the Holy Spirit. God is everywhere. His Holy Spirit is also everywhere, and His purposes and plans are always in operation, and cannot in any ways be hindered by man (see Matthew 24:23; Mark 13:21; Ephesians 1:3; 2:6, 10, 13; Colossians 2:10).

God's blessing's to you all,
+Ernest

God Is Not Fecetious

Greetings beloved,

Couldn't sleep, its 2:48 am so I thought I'd blog. I was watching ABC Nightline news on Wednesday evening when I happened to see an expose' of the controversial preacher Todd Bentley who is currently operating so-called tent revivals in Lakeland Florida. While sitting in my easy chair holding my 8 week old daughter, I began to sob as I saw a 2 year old girl in a stroller who had been born with her bladder and colon outside of her body as her father wheeled her towards the stage to try and receive a healing. The doctors had given up on her, and in desperation her father brought her to Mr. Bentley's revival. Unfortunately, the little girl wasn't healed (I believe her name is Kaylyn Wise, please keep her and her family in your prayers). As the program continued, tears streamed down my face when a 15 year old boy who's body was wracked with Spina-Biffida was fooled by Mr. Bentley into casting aside his crutches, believing he was healed, only to find himself struggling to get up off of the floor after falling down several times prior. Mr. Bentley claims to have given sight to the blind, opened deaf ears, and further stated that he could provide documentation of thousands of confirmed healings. However, when asked to provide only three he could not. Mr. Bentley is a charlatan and his ministry is a scam. He has no formal training in theology or ministry, and he refuses to align himself with any organized denomination or chain of accountability. He's even conceited enough to believe that the world needs "about another thousand Todd Bentleys." My heart breaks for this man and especially for all those whom he is manipulating. Please pray that he would come to know God in a real way, and repent of what he's doing.

Furthermore, to all those who are confused about God's healing and would like to know the truth, I offer this article that was written by the late Dr. Walter Martin:

First Peter 2:24 says of Christ, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
One of the primary rules of biblical interpretation which must never be violated is context. What is the context in 1 Peter 2? Answer: salvation. There is no way to interpret it in any other sense. The verse is talking about Jesus on the cross dying for us, enduring punishment and bearing our sins, thereby providing salvation for us.

When certain people get hold of this passage, however, they change the context from salvation to physical healing. Every time such people see the word "heal" in the Bible they assume it refers to the miracle of divine healing for the physical body, regardless of whether the context indicates otherwise.

A number of times in Scripture the word healing has specific reference to spiritual healing. There are diseases of the soul that have to be healed -- and the primary disease of the soul is man's unregenerate state, which is rooted in sin. The good news is that God has provided healing for this disease of the soul. And that is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 2:24. He is not saying that physical healing of the body is guaranteed to every believer.

Certainly, healing for the body is a benefit of Christ's death on the cross, a benefit for the church as a result of His atoning sacrifice. However, it is not -- it has never been in the history of the church -- a guarantee that God has to heal your body; He doesn't have to!

God does say He will graciously entertain our prayers. He says that if we exercise faith, and if our request is in accordance with His will, He will hear us. But He never said that the mark of true spirituality is that you would never sneeze.

Some within the church will try to tell you, "God's perfect will is that you are never going to be sick." Well, I'll tell you something: there are certain lessons -- if you are honest -- that you'll admit you never would have learned unless the Lord flattened you out long enough to get your attention. Sometimes God teaches us things through our suffering.

Moreover, I must say that sometimes a person, after praying for a healing, may receive a no from God -- a benevolent no, a kindly no, a protective no maybe, but no nevertheless. Tragically, however, there are teachers -- in the Faith movement, for example -- who have the colossal gall to tell people that if they were more spiritual, if they had more faith, if they believed like they believed, they would be well. Such faulty teaching can crush whatever faith these poor people have.

Now, I believe you should go to the Lord and believe Him for healing, and trust Him for healing, and pursue Him for healing. And I believe you should search your soul to make certain there is nothing in your life standing in the way of healing. But you must come to Him and lay yourself out on His conditions. The Scripture says,

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).

If perhaps God intends to teach you something through an illness, He might not heal you immediately. So don't think you are being neglected by the Holy Spirit if you don't get healed. Don't assume that the Lord is against you. Don't conclude that you necessarily have an absence of faith or secret sin.

Take a good look at 1 Peter 2:21:

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

Circle the word example in this verse. Here we are told that Jesus suffered. And He left us an example. We are to follow in His steps.

And what is the meaning of Philippians 3:10, which refers to "the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings"? Let us be clear on this: suffering is an integral part of the fact of life, and is often used by God in the development and maturation of the Christian.

The apostle Paul had a greater standing with the Lord in terms of his ministry than I have or anybody else has ever had. According to 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Paul requested healing from the Lord three times. And three times he got an answer back: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Translation: God said no to Paul's request for healing. And God had a purpose in saying no.

Did Paul have lack of faith? Rubbish! Was Paul suffering from some secret sin that he was carrying around? Do you see how utterly absurd this is? Do you see how it plays on people's emotions and lives? Do you see how it undermines faith in the absolute authority of Scripture and transfers it to a human being whose experience becomes the criteria?

This type of teaching eats like a cancer in the body of Christ and it must be resisted and opposed at every opportunity so that Christians will not have a cloud hanging over their heads all the time. Instead, they will realize that Jesus really does love them (despite their illness) and that any healing that may come is in His sovereign hands, not ours.

Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.

Friends, God is a God of love, He's not facetious or cruel, teasing young children with semi-healings, while leaving their bodies misshapen, week and bound to their crutches or wheelchairs. Whether we understand Him or not, we need to realize that God loves us and thinks of us unceasingly. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10). "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). We need to trust that God knows what He's doing and that He has our best interest in mind, knowing that there is a reason for everything under heaven. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3).

God's blessings to you all,
+Ernest

Really Good Website

Greetings beloved,

I hope that your fourth of July celebrations were replete with God's joy, blessings and family.

Today I would like to introduce you to a very good website that addresses many different questions about life and God. It tackles such questions as does God exist? Where life actually came from? And each subject is discussed at a college level. Here is the link, I hope you will be blessed by it: http://www.everystudent.com/menus/existence.html

God's blessings to you all,
+Ernest

God Bless America!

Greetings beloved,

Happy Fourth of July! Just to let you know how I feel about my country, let me say... "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all!"

My prayer for today is: "God Bless America, the land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her Through the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam God bless America, My home sweet home. AMEN!"

God's blessings to you all, happy fourth,

+Ernest

All Apologies

Greetings beloved,

It has been a very long time since I posted last, and for that I apologize. My old computer went kaput and we were forced to get a new one. However, because it was unexpected we had to wait for the funds to come available (budget, budget, budget). Also, since my last post We have had an addition to our family: little Hannah Rose pictured to the right, who is now 6 weeks old (Thank You Lord for such a beautiful and healthy child). God is so good!

On Saturday June 23rd 2008, at the Anglican Church Worldwide's Good Shepherd Pro-Cathedral in Belleville, Illinois, I was consecrated as Bishop (see photo below). May God help me to fulfill my duties as Bishop of this Church and to continually rely on Him for guidance.

Friends, I know that I did not follow through with my daily commentaries as I would have liked to, maybe I'll pick that up sometime in the future when I have more time. For now I am going to try and post something everyday to the best of my abilities, so I hope that you will drop by from time to time to check it out.

My prayer today is; "ALMIGHTY, Merciful and Loving God, direct my life's paths, and as I seek to let Your light shine, help me to follow You, and please show me the way. AMEN!"

God's blessings to you all,

+Ernest