Theocentric Musings

If you pay attention, in scriptures Jesus healed in a variety of different ways. He had a habit, it seems, of healing various people in various different ways. It should give us pause when we look at a singular thing as a way to manifest healing or manifest miracles. I think people pigeonhole healing and miracles due to their reliance on scripture, rather than reliance on Christ in them and the Holy Spirit. The problem with relying on scripture alone regarding ways to heal, is as I mentioned, that Jesus healed in a variety of different ways. Jesus did so many miraculous things we don't even have record of all of them, yet we try to place limits because we don't read it in scripture. John wrote that there were so many more things that Jesus did. He said that the books of the world couldn't hold the accounts of them. So, simply looking to scripture as an example of how to walk in healing and miracles is not going to tell you the be all and end all of healing and miracl

Something I've been thinking about for a little while... I feel sorry for a lot of pastors. Among all the other issues that many have written about to bring awareness of, one other thing that quite a lot of pastors have to suffer from is a fear of growth. What I mean is that if they grow in their theology and it goes against something their congregation or denomination they are a part of believes, they will at  best be called names, at worst be out of a job and livelihood. So in many cases their learning has to be more of an affirming, quite a lot of pastors can't stretch themselves because it can cost them a roof over their heads. It's really sad, and it's clearly not what God had in mind when establishing the church. We know that none of us have arrived, we are all seeing things through a glass darkly, but sometimes we behave as if pastors have all the answers or have arrived and keep them stuck in one rut or we turn on them. What a burden. So I personally am

  Sounds good on paper, but there's one thing that gets forgotten. You do have to actually be compassionate to be "compassionate". The definition of compassionate is a deep feeling of sympathy and sorrow for another. Synonyms of compassiona te are commiserate, mercy, tenderness, clemency. Look up the definitions of these words. How many that share a trope like this one actually express compassion? 90%? 75%? 50%? 25%? 10%? 5%? 1%? Based on my experience not many are actually compassionate, that's saddens me because it takes a great message and turns it into an ugly platitude. So maybe there are 3 huge lies our culture has accepted, the 3rd would be that our culture has redefined being compassionate into some kind of caricature of it's true meaning, and have actually redefined it as compassion's antonyms. Our culture, including the Christian culture, loves to speak crass while pointing out other people's shortcomings with vitriol, usually whi

It's interesting when we look at Deuteronomy 20 and Matthew 5 and we notice that Jesus spoke against doing something that the writer of the OT attributed to God the Father. An incident where the writer conveys that God, Himself, is actively speaking words leading the people to engage in genocide of various peoples. Are God and Jesus divided or is there something else at play? http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+20%3B+Matthew+5&version=GW

Just thinking out loud... If satan is just God's obedient attack dog, being used to do God's will, then God would be in sin for punishing him for his actions. If satan's work is God's will then satan can not be charged with any crimes against God or humanity, he cannot be punished simply for being obedient. If God is the one leading satan by the nose and guiding or approving of him doing and influencing the disgusting things darkness is involved in, then the guilty party deserving of punishment would be God. Of course people come up with different ways to justify their beliefs of God using darkness, and they will swear up and down that if their belief is true that this is somehow a "holy" act, but that is a stretch. There's nothing holy about darkness and anyone or anything that is actively, maliciously, and intimately involved with darkness and it's fruit in people's lives quite simply cannot be called good.

I remember reading in scriptures about the times the apostles were picketing the Roman Empire. Their vivid stories retelling the anger they displayed while protesting the decisions Caeser was making. The disdain and disrespect in their words when they were bad mouthing the Royal Guard. The viciousness they walked in while lashing out at other Christians that believed differently than them and counseled that they should walk in love and forgiveness, and refused to go along wit h their mean-spirited attacks on the lost. Wait, no I don’t. When I recall what I read in scripture, and in history, that actually sounds like something the Pharisees would do, and did, and they paid the price for it in AD70. I guess some people never learn from other’s mistakes.

If we know we will be persecuted, why do we act surprised when we are? It's a given. Knuckle up and deal with it... By walking in love and forgiveness. What greater way to prove your faith.

I have finally figured out why certain people are so adamant about this “God wants us holy not happy” nonsense. It’s because they picture a “Holy God” as being so stinking angry and ready to smite anyone that looks at Him wrong. So in their mind they can’t fathom how holiness and happiness can live together. And they behave like this fabrication of a god they constructed in their mind. It just is frustrating that you can’t convince them that they are so completely off base.

I've ran into quite a few people that completely misinterpret what I am saying or meaning by something, and I know I'm not the only one they misinterpret the same way... Yet they refuse completely to consider that they may be just as bad at interpreting scriptures.

I was watching something recently and I found it very interesting. It was one of those elimination types of shows. On this particular show it was an artistic competition with 3 judges who would rate the artists' work and then make a decision on who would be the weakest artist to be put up for elimination. A certain artist on the show went up against another artist for elimination. Two of the artists not up for elimination were helping that other artist to defeat him and send him packing. The artist made a comment that the other artists needed 3 people to beat him because they “feared” him. That was his honest perception of the situation. The problem was that it was not only completely in error, but even sadder, that you could not convince him of his error. He was stuck believing a lie and nothing could convince him of the truth. You see, they wanted him gone because he was not pleasant to be around. He had a very abrasive personality. He suffered from a huge ego. He could n

I stumbled upon this site of Christopher Gregory, a "prophet", http://thepropheticnews.com/2014/05/06/a-warning-to-america-and-the-church/ ,  I normally don't like to give sites like this air time, but I use this as an example of the way so many are ignorant of the source of destruction. I read blogs like these so that I can know where to direct prayers, and what to speak out against. You see, this is the stuff that those that understand the New Covenant and our standing and place of dominion have to step up and speak against in the name of Jesus. Prophets like the one who runs this blog, instead of speaking against these curses that God shows them is on the horizon, they actually support the curses and when God shows them satan's plans, they stand back spouting hate and using this as a judgment against those they don't like. Instead of stopping satan in his tracks, they allow satan place to cause destruction. This is an example of the satanic curses coming

It never ceases to amaze me at how many "Christians" have an angry, evil, fear mongering, hate-filled god. On second glance their god sounds an awfully lot like satan. Makes me wonder.

  I agree with Jeff Turner  on this wholeheartedly, please visit his blog at http://jeff-turner.org/  for many messages and videos of his preaching. Enjoy these words by Jeff Turner: If you are in the same place in your beliefs today as you were 10, 20, or 30 + years ago, one of two things is going on - 1.) You are the luckiest son of a gun on earth, and out of 7 billion + people just happen to be the *ONE* who believed everything right the first time around, or 2.) You've stopped listening, learning, and running headlong towa rds truth at all costs. Christianity, and life in general, while being a place of rest and arrival, is also a continuous journey on which beliefs are shed and new ones are gained; old paradigms are challenged and new ones emerge to take their place. There is something to be said for stability, sure, but there's also something to be said about stagnation. Teachers specifically ought to be constantly growing in their understanding of Who God is and o

I wanted to talk today about "Thorns", I had realized in conversation with a friend that I had studied this topic for so many years, but I had never actually placed my thoughts down on pad, or in this case into the 0s and 1s of my blog; so, today is the day I tackle the subject. Firstly, I want to make it abundantly clear that Paul's thorn in the flesh was not "sickness", any teaching claiming it was sickness is untrue. I wont go as far as saying it is satanic in origin, but it is promoted by those that have been misled. We are speaking of a man that walked in healing in such a powerful way that fabric that touched his skin would be used to heal those miles away. He had no problems when it came to healing, there is not one documented time he failed in healing.  Someone may say "hold on, what about Timothy (1 Tim 5:23)?" But in that case I believe the issue was simply something similar to what happens if an American goes to Mexico and drinks the l

    It's great that it's the National Day of prayer and all, if that's your thing, but we are in union with Christ on the daily, 24/7/365, we can pray all day erryday. It's cool to promote a single day, but have we fallen short in promoting the truth of "Christ in me" and the indwelling Holy Spirit? I'm not against corporate prayer, or setting aside a day to pray, I have no beef with either of those things, but I feel that the church hasn't really been taught that prayer encompasses more than sitting on your knees, laying prostrate on the floor, with your eyes to the ground or to the sky. Nor has the church been taught that the prayer of a single righteous man is as powerful as the cries of a million. Some depend, yes depend, on every ministry on the internet, every pastor, every bishop, every elder, praying for them, with the ill-gotten wrong belief that their prayers don't have as much clout. A single Christian has the same Holy Spirit

  I'm glad that I have found a lot of friends on social media and blogs that are willing to ask the hard questions, discuss them, accept where God leads in them, and are willing to share their walk with a fearlessness, willing to stand up to any backlash. This last week a singer, Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay, learned the hard way what happens when the church is against you, simply by ASKING QUESTIONS. For wanting to learn, for wanting to gro w, for wanting to make sure they have all the information. A man was attacked for doing the mature thing and seeking truth, seeking wisdom, not just following something he felt he didn't know enough about blindly. I guess now he felt how the marginalized people the church attacks on a daily basis feel. This is the type of stuff I point out in the church because it's a plague. If your underarm area smells, you take a shower and clean the area, you don't just keep spraying deodorant on it for years. Well the church needs to