Thank you Pope Leo

Greetings friends,

With the current war of words between Pope Leo and President Trump. Just wanted to share my thoughts.

I'm not a politician, nor do I live in the countries that are currently at war. I've also learnt a while ago that social media is becoming more and more overrun with click bait, and I just cannot determine what's true and what's not with absolute conviction anymore. So, I'm not going to comment on the wars and who's right or who's wrong etc... because other than the blurred lines of truth. No matter which side I turn to innocent people are dying. As a human being, I believe everyone's life should matter. Irrespective of colour or creed; and the only way that human life is going to be preserved and respected truly is if everyone puts down their weapons, physical weapons as well as the weaponizing of the tongue. I don't know how that's going to happen because we're living in a broken world, that spiritually speaking is morally bankrupt. Sadly.

But as a Catholic Christian, who doesn't believe in idolising popes because they aren't God. I have to say... I'm very impressed with Pope Leo. He's showing immense courage as a spiritual leader, and I believe he is representing Jesus very well currently. He quoted Jesus's words from his sermon on the mount:

- "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God"- Matthew 5:9.

I'm going to share another scripture that I believe corroborates that position.

- "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." - Romans 12:18.

War destroys more lives than those lost on the battlefields. Soldiers who survive wars have to contend with the psychological effects of it for the rest of their lives. Families are ripped apart because everyone loses someone they love. Economies take decades to recover which results in surviving populations grappling with poverty as they try and survive the aftermath of exploding prices and scarcity - most of us are already feeling it with petrol prices soaring. I don't even want to imagine what the outlook will be if any of this escalates to nuclear levels.

I'm well aware that war sometimes is inevitable sadly, and the Catholic church supports just war theory, which in a nutshell endorses self-defence as long as the response is proportionate and targeted at the imposed threat exclusively. But this shouldn't be used as an excuse to become trigger happy in any context. Anything that causes the loss of innocent life and threatens the peace that everyone has a right to shouldn't be celebrated in any context. If it is possible, and as far as it depends on you. Be at peace with everyone. I believe this is what pope Leo is standing for, because it's what Jesus would stand for... And I agree with him. 🙏✝️

Give this man a bells

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

🩵

Shalom.

Replacement Theology - Christian Zionism... Two sides of the same coin?

Greetings friends,

Just thought I'd share a reflection I wrote today in the midst of all the chaos going on in our world today:

Galatians 3:28-29

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans  12:18

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Psalm 122:6

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.

Reflection 

As the situation in the Middle East continues to swing on the pendulum of escalation to de-escalation. I personally continue to pray for peace, because first of all I don't live in the Middle East or in the USA. So, for me to have an opinion on the topic of the geopolitical situation there is not a good idea because I'm not there and automatically I'm misinformed by that fact. Secondly, I believe as children of God, our obligation is to be peacemakers. We cannot rejoice about war, no matter who is being killed. Christian persecution is at an all time high and it's bad and should come to an end. Bombing enemy territory that results in the death of women and children is also bad and should come to an end. Therefore war should never be a goal but an absolute last resort. 

I'm allowed to have an opinion as a Christian, regarding what I believe to be a correct response to all this, spiritually though. Prime Minister of Israel Benyamin Netenyahu recently made a comment about the Iran war saying "Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Kahn". His haters lapped it up because it gave them more ammo against him. His Christian supporters... Dead silence. This pretty much sums up why I don't support the current "Christian Zionist" narrative that is being pushed, but I'm also not in favour of "replacement theology" which states that Christians have replaced Jews as "the chosen people". Both positions I believe are wrong. 

I sometimes ask myself if the disciples were on earth today, how would they have handled the current context? Would they be happy that their God-given mandate called The Great Commission has gone from being 1 church to over 45000 different denominations - not counting the growing number of "non denominatioal" gatherings who preach "bible only and no religion", but in essence are just creating different versions of Christianity, which is, let's be honest, religion which has just been packaged differently? Would they be happy to hear the current leader of the Jews using the name of Jesus as a mere soundbite to justify war? Would they be happy with us as Christians arguing over whether we must stand with Israel or not? 

I personally think they would be extremely upset and saddened by the current state of Christian affairs. Is this really what they died for? To dismiss Israel is the equivalent of dismissing Jesus because without Israel historically, there is no Jesus. Let's be clear on that. Jesus was born Jewish, He followed Jewish tradition while He walked the earth in human flesh. Replacement theology is wrong. But, putting Israel on a pedestal, and turning a blind eye to some of the wrongs they commit like for example "accidentally" bombing Christian churches and having their supreme leader compare Jesus unfavourably to a murderous warlord like Genghis Kahn is equally wrong and quite frankly very disturbing. 

This is the danger of building our worldview and theology on bible study without context, and looking at the historical evidence of our Christian forefathers example. Common sense gets thrown out the window, and we follow narratives with a bordering on cult-like enthusiasm. As followers of Christ, it's our biblical mandate to pray for Jerusalem.. it's our biblical mandate also to be peacemakers and as far as possible, live in peace with everyone around us. Why? Because in Christ we are ONE As per Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Do you know why Paul wrote "first for the Jew then the Gentile" to the Roman church? Because in Rome Jews were regarded as second class - so, he had to remind everyone that Jesus their Saviour was born Jewish. I'm pretty sure the Christian Gentiles in Rome were still dismissing their Christian Jewish brethren. So, Paul a Roman citizen himself had to stand up for the Jews in Rome. This doesn't mean God shows favouritism. Quite the opposite actually. My friends, Christian Zionism and Replacement theology for me are two sides of the same coin - they are both manmade constructs that insufficiently point back to the truth of Jesus Christ and His Great Commission which was, is and always will be: "to make disciples of all nations-baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt 28:18-20).

Prayer 

Dear Lord Jesus,

By the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, by Your Grace, Mercy and Love please give us discernment to accept only what is of You and pleasing to You. As we continue to pray for peace, may Your Presence illuminate our minds and hearts, so that we focus on You steadfastly and not get pulled in all directions by the noise of information overload.

In Your Most Holy and Glorious Name Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Don't always agree with him. But he makes a good point here.

Shalom.

🩵

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

Marriage Of True Minds

Greetings friends,

The title of my blog post is also the title of one of my favourite poems by William Shakespeare. My idea of love was largely shaped by the golden age of rom coms in the 90's. I was so in love with love, that the first time I experienced it, I got married. Yes, of course I was fuelled by my hormones. I was 21! The opportunity to live out my rom com fantasy, coupled with the idea that I could get naked with someone every single day without having to use cheesy pickup lines first was amazing to me. I loved marriage, and always wanted to be married. Until I got divorced. 

Fast forward twenty years later, and despite believing I would never do it again. Here I am. Married again, to an incredible and beautiful woman, whom I love with all my heart. Speaking of love, I love James Sexton (platonically of course), he's just the perfect combination of funny, wise, unhinged and deeply human. This podcast, where he was on DOAC with Steven Bartlett is a gem of a podcast. I laughed out loud numerous times and even shed a tear or two. It's no surprise to me that this podcast has over 9 million views, it is one of the most profound dissections of love I've ever come across... Oh the irony that the proverbial scalpel was in the hands of America's top divorce lawyer! 

I agree with 90 percent of what James said. I disagree with his view that our kids can't be our greatest accomplishment in life, and no I don't have any kids. I just believe as parents, we want more for our kids than what we have, we should want better for our kids. So, if the only thing we achieved in life is raising kids to be better than us. Then that in itself is an incredible achievement, and something to be proud of. Secondly, because by his own admission he's not religious. Although he does believe in God. He reduces marriage to a simple legal status, and I can't blame him for that because he is after all a divorce lawyer. So, he deals with the legal aspect of love everyday. But marriage, when viewed right and entered into for the purposes that God created marriage for, is a far more binding thing than simply a legal status by wordly standards.

That being said, he gives excellent advice, and is surprisingly enthusiastic about love and marriage, given his line of work. I'd like to hone in on one particular thing he said: "happy wife, happy life .. who ever said that should be beaten to death." That was not only hilarious, but gave me lots of food for thought. It really is the most awful advice anyone can give to a couple, because it sets a precedent that one spouse is going to unconditionally do everything to make the other one happy, despite the cost to themselves. How is this a healthy arrangement? Nor is it biblical... Abraham subscribed to this advice, impregnated Haggai because that's what his wife asked him to do, and ended up with a very unhappy wife! So, to put it very bluntly, "Happy wife-Happy life" is bullshit. If you're in need of some kind of mantra or mental tagline to remind yourself of your responsibility as someone's spouse, then I prefer: "Happy Spouse - Happy House." 

Happy Wife - Happy life? No thanks.

Now that I'm officially in my 40's, I have a very different view of love than I did 20 years ago.Contrary to what I believed before, love is definitely a choice. We can come across 100 people a day that we find attractive, for argument sake, let's say out of those 100 people, "the stars aligned" and we managed to strike up conversations with 3 of those 100 people in that week. All 3 cases, we realized 90% of our interests and values are compatible, and we want to get to know them better. What now? By our own standards we've met our "soulmate" 3 times. Who do we choose? The "hottest" of the 3? Again for argument sake, let's say we leave it completely up to fate and flip a coin, draw straws or consult a "spiritual guru" who's going to burn some dodgy herbs in the hopes that we get the "name of your soulmate" coming through the smoke that's making you light-headed and fast tracking your lung disease. 

You pursue that person, get married. Now the real work starts, and suddenly you realize this perfect person that fate brought onto your path, who was 95% "just like you", actually doesn't put the cap back on the toothpaste when they're done. Has smelly feet, and thinks showering three times a week is the best way to save water. Now what? Your worlds collided "perfectly" in a cosmic sense, and suddenly you're married to the "smelliest soulmate on earth ". What's my point? It's two fold:

1) There are no perfect people in the world. Even your "proverbial soulmate" is going to have some annoying traits. You just don't know it because you've subscribed to this belief that love needs to be absolutely perfect, otherwise it's not real. 

2) Beauty by worldly standards, is literally only skin deep. We cannot base love solely on what we deem attractive to the naked eye. As the old saying goes: "not everything that glitters is gold". Beauty for me goes beyond what I look at. Attraction, like beauty is fleeting, and when we price beauty according to what fades then we're left with something very ugly when it does.

For me true beauty goes beyond the superficial. Who you are matters so much more than what you look like. We can have beautiful smiles, but if we don't make other people smile with our presence then it's a waste. So, my friends, no matter how we slice love, it always comes down to the choice of "who are we going to share that meal with". Let's make sure it's with someone who is of similar mind and same heart, because everything else fades, ages and dies, and the physical shouldn't be the currency that drives the value of our relationship. 

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

Shalom.

🩵

Co-Redemptrix Gate?

Greetings friends,

Pope Leo released a statement a while back asking us Catholics to not use the term Co-Redemptrix as a descriptive title for Mother Mary. Like most things pope's do, this has caused quite a ruckus in Catholic circles. Opinions are divided and as usual, greatly misinformed. As many astute Catholic scholars and theologians have pointed out, he didn't ban the term or dismiss the theology behind it, he simply cautioned us not to use it; specifically when talking to fellow non-catholic Christians, because it risks causing confusion. Now, before I give my two cents on the matter, what exactly is the meaning of Co-Redemptrix in relation to Mother Mary, and what is the theology behind?

So, first let's break down the word. The prefix "Co" means "with" or "alongside" and "Redemptrix" is the female form of "Redemptor" which is Jesus's title as our Redeemer. So, the word by this definition implies that Mother Mary is a "co-redeemer" with Christ, which implies equality with Christ. However, Catholic theology teaches that Mother Mary's perfect obedience to God in accepting to be the mother of Jesus, makes her a "co-redeemer" to our salvation, not by equal power and authority, but rather by complete obedience and subordination. In other words, she became a participant in our salvation alongside Jesus by perfect humility and obedience to The Lord. I watched a video by Dr. Taylor Marshall, where he compared it to an aeroplane, where there is the pilot and the co-pilot. 

Here's my thoughts, while I understand the theology behind the term, I still find the term misleading because the original wording it's derived from implies equality and not subordinate authority. While I respect Dr. Taylor Marshall as a knowledgeable theologian, I don't think the pilot-co pilot analogy to describe the title works because in that setting, if something should happen to the main pilot, the co-pilot takes over and becomes the main pilot. This makes the title for Mother Mary inaccurate. I personally don't feel comfortable using the term, and agree with Pope Leo 100%. It risks confusion, even with Catholics who don't know the depths of their faith, it could lead to people worshipping Mary instead of Jesus because they believe she's on equal footing with her son, which is completely false. 

Also, I don't believe Mother Mary would want these kinds of titles attributed to her. Mother Mary was the perfect servant because of her humility and obedience, this was her character and why she was hand-picked by God to carry His son into the world, yes I do believe from conception. Do we really believe she would be pleased with titles like "Co-Redemptrix", knowing full well that this type of language would cause confusion and doubt in the hearts and minds of her son's followers? I don't. Therefore, let's not overcomplicate things and just stick to the simple meaning of things; Mother Mary was immaculately conceived in her mother's womb because God had handpicked her from birth to be the mother of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We can call her the New Testament's ark of the covenant because she was designed to carry God's new covenant with His people in the form of His son Jesus, and she is our spiritual mother by virtue of carrying mankind's salvation within her. 

By virtue of this, I believe she is our most powerful intercessor and if we join hands with her in our prayer life and ask for her intercession, she will carry us to her Son, in the same way she carried her Son to us. Again, pointing to the spiritual reality that by becoming sons of God through faith in Jesus, we can see her as our spiritual mother, which carries a sense of reverant authority and an obligation for us to respect her. Not as an equal to Jesus Christ, but certainly as a person who is far superior to us. This is irrefutable fact and the essence of what I believe our Catholic faith dictates. Let's not complicate things further with man-made terms like "co-redemptrix". As Leonardo Da Vinci once said: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". Less is more, most of the time. This is also true of theology. Mother Mary is our lady of perpetual help, because she carries us in prayer to her son Jesus just like she carried her son Jesus to us so He could bring us salvation... If a title must be derived from this, then although poor and not reverant enough, I believe co-assistant would be more accurate than Co-Redemptrix because it implies a subordinate role to a superior role within the structure as opposed to a cooperative role with equal authority. In my opinion.

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

Dr. Taylor Marshall on Co-Redemptrix

Shalom.

🩵

Rest In Peace Ozzy ✝️

Greetings all,

I remember writing this on the day Ozzy Osbourne, the godfather of heavy metal had died: 

"People referred to him affectionately as "the prince of darkness"... The truth is he was an atheist. In his latter years I heard him say things like "God bless you" to young musicians when he met them. So, who knows, maybe he finally opened the door to God and welcomed Him. Nobody knows. Quite frankly, it's nobody's business either. That's between him and Our Father in heaven, the best thing we can do is pray for his soul because in that final moment, maybe he repented and accepted Christ. Nobody knows.

I've had many people look at me funny and on an odd occasion had to answer questions as to how someone who professes to be a Christian, also admits to being a fan of heavy metal and rock music, because it's "satanic". Is there a correlation between rock/heavy metal and satanism? There's overwhelming evidence that suggests there definitely is. But there's also evidence that Ted Bundy was a fan of disco music... So maybe those of you who happen to like that music, should be throwing it in the bin because it's going to turn you into serial killers? I'd throw it away because that shit gives me a headache and I'd rather listen to a washing machine. But that's just me. Go for it, if that's what floats your boat.

Here's a solid truth about rock/metal music. It was my constant companion throughout my teen years. People who were in school with me know I was never one of the "cool kids". I wasn't good at sports, wasn't an A+ student, I wasn't the goth kid either. I was just that odd ball kid with a very small circle of friends, and within that small circle, was our mutual deep love for rock music, because it spoke into our hearts during a time when our hormones were racing and we were trying to figure out who we were and where our place in the world would be.

Fast forward some 26 years later... Some things have changed. But not everything .I would say now I'm a somewhat oddball adult... Who is much more comfortable in my own skin, and with a much better understanding of who I am and where my place in life is. Here's what hasn't changed, my deep love for rock music. I do avoid songs that openly blaspheme God because I don't think it's right to enjoy something that is openly disrespectful to my Heavenly Father... That's why I don't listen to Marilyn Manson for example. Doesn't mean I hate Marilyn Manson, on the contrary, I think they are extremely talented and make good music. I just don't listen to their music on principle. Personally, I believe if music influences a person's behaviour to a point where they are harming themselves or others, then the problem goes much deeper than the music. The music is a symptom and not the cause. To quote Eminem's one song here: "They say music can talk to you... But can it load a gun up for you and cock it too?" No it can't.

We interact with all kinds of people everyday in our lives. Most of them probably don't share our beliefs, the guy who makes your food at your favourite restaurant might be a satanist... Does that detract from his cooking skills? No. Are you going to stop eating at your favourite restaurant because you believe the chef is going to hell? I don't think you should, but do as you wish. My point is, as Christians, we're called not to judge people because by the same measure we judge others so will we be judged. Yes, there's a fine line between judging and correcting, and we all mostly get it wrong because we're all sinners. At the end of it all... God is the only just judge. I will always be a rock/metal fan just like I will always be a follower of Jesus Christ.

I will be selective about what I listen to because of my love for Jesus, but I am not going to do a 180 now and say rock music is the "devils music", after how the music was my constant comfort and still is on days when things get weird... That would be hypocritical, and I've read enough of the bible to know that Jesus doesn't like hypocrisy. I've said it before and I'll say it again... Some of the nicest people I met were not Christians, while some of the shittiest people I've met were professing Christians. So, let's leave the judging to Our Father in heaven, and just try our best to live lives that please Him so that when He calls us to eternal life, we can claim our place in His kingdom. Ozzy had a strange way with words, but I'll leave you with one of his quotes that should really give us food for thought... Rest In Peace Ozzy.✝️ Thank you for your music and your legacy that became the foundation upon which the best rock and metal music has been built. 🎸❤️"

One Of My Favourite Ozzy Songs.

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

🩵

Shalom.

Addiction and it's roots

John 8:34-36

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Reflection

I watched a TED talk this morning on addiction that gave me lots of food for thought. It was by Johann Hari, a British writer and journalist. He goes on to cite a Canadian Psychologist by the name of Bruce Alexander who conducted an experiment using rats to prove that isolating an addict makes addiction worse not better. Meaning that interventions aren't effective to get people into rehab. He goes on to conclude that people who have well connected social circles are much less likely to fall into addictions, and while I think his theory holds water, I don't think it's water tight.

Despite having a keen interest in psychology, I'm not trained or qualified in the field by any stretch, so please don't take my word as doctrine. But for me, sometimes it's our social connections that get us into addictions to begin with. For me his theory isn't water tight because we've witnessed countless cases of people who have seemingly good lives. They have jobs, vast social circles, an array of qualifications, and lots of money and still fall into addictions. How many celebrities fall into addictions and have everything he described in his rat park experiment at their disposal?

So the phrase he coined after his experiment was: "the opposite of addiction isn't sobriety, it's connection" is good, but I personally don't feel it's the most effective way to avoid addictions because sometimes it's our "connections" that push us into addictions to begin with. Peer pressure is a proven theory too... And peer pressure occurs in social settings, so I personally don't agree that "connection is the opposite of addiction ". Sobriety is indeed the opposite, because sobriety is the descriptive word for a sound mind that is clear of obstructions like poor self-esteem etc, etc.

We can have all the connections we want, but if we don't have a sober mind. Those connections aren't going to help us at all. When it comes to mental health, there's nothing linear about it. But the root of mental health is clearly defined and just like any problem, to adequately solve it, we need to get to the root. How we get to the root is important, but getting to the root is the most important, and for me, Dr Bruce Alexander's theory doesn't get to the root of the problem. The bible tells us that The Lord gave us all a sound mind. Since He is the creator of sound minds...

For us to get "restored to factory settings", we need to go back to Him. Jesus mentions the importance of a sense of belonging by saying that in Him we are part of God's family... So yes, connections are important because we all need to belong somewhere. But before that we need to be set free from our slavery to sin, and yes addiction is a sin. It's a sin because not only does it ruin the body God gave us, but it also denigrates the sound mind God blessed us with too. We need to be set free from the spiritual chains the devil has shackled us with.

If we believe we're terrible and don't deserve love than we can be surrounded by all the love in the world and it's not going to help because we're shackled to the belief that we don't deserve it, and so won't accept it. Medicine heal the body, therapy heals the mind but only The Lord can heal our souls. Since our souls are the deepest part of who we are, the very root of our existence. We need to start there first. Let us go back to the Lord first to break our spiritual chains, and only then will we be free indeed to reconnect and reclaim what satan has stolen from us while he enslaved us to our fears, guilt, regrets and poor self esteem.

We're ALL fearfully and wonderfully made by The Lord (Psalm 139:14). Go back to HIM first and allow HIM to show YOU how precious YOU are and BELIEVE HIM. My friends, once He breaks those chains... PLEASE DON'T WELD THEM BACK TOGETHER and put them back on your mind...You are free indeed, so WALK IN THAT FREEDOM BACK TO YOUR FAMILY AND RECLAIM THE BLESSINGS GOD GAVE YOU BEFORE THE DEVIL GOT A FOOTHOLD. It's never too late to turn our lives around.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus,

Today I bring all people who suffer with any and all forms of addiction and lay them before You at Your feet. By the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Divine Power of Your Precious blood, rekindle in them the flame of Your love, so that when they look in the mirror, they see the person You created them to be and not the monster the world has convinced and conditioned them to see. By every word that comes from Your mouth, nourish their souls and by Your outstretched Hand, meet them where they are and deliver them from their darkness, bring them back into the light of Your Presence, and may they find what they lost waiting for them as they give you their chains in exchange for their spiritual freedom from the slavery of satan's lies and deception.

In Your Most Holy and Glorious Name Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Shalom.

🩵

Marcio

The "God-Said" Brigade.

Judges 6:33-40

Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel.Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised."  And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

Greetings friends,

Yesterday, I Iistened to this great sermon by Dr. Voddie Baucham on the mind and modern spirituality. It left me a little bit uncomfortable, because as he said it would, his message challenged a part of my worldview. But, it also gave me much food for thought, and I believe gave me a better understanding of what "God's will" actually means. I'm sharing this today in the hopes that by the Grace, Mercy and Love of the Lord, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, his message will do the same for you. 

Dr. Voddie Baucham Sermon

Every since the reawakening of my faith in 2015, I've attended many different gatherings with many different Christians from all walks of life. Thanks to the internet, I've watched many sermons, talks and videos on all sorts of topics related to Christianity. Being brought up in the Catholic faith, and still practicing it, Catholicism is always my frame of reference. I don't agree with certain practices within the Catholic doctrine. But all the fundamental things I believe wholeheartedly, and so I will always identify as a Catholic Christian, defending what I believe, while conceding to what I don't, because the truth should be more important than what church we attend. The church is the vehicle that's going to get you to The Lord, not the Lord Himself. 

This brings me to the topic of today's discussion... I've titled my post "The God-said brigade", because it's a growing movement within Christian circles that I've experienced, where Christians in their zeal for growing closer to God, won't make any kind of decision until they've "heard from God". Dr Voddie addresses this by pointing out the language people who do this use, and I can relate because I've heard this type of language many times, and I've been inclined to try it myself as well. So, for example, a person has a big decision to make, and before they make it, they're going to fast and pray about it. Then whatever brings them more peace, they conclude that it's God talking to them about what to do, as Dr. Voddie said, "as if God won't sometimes push us to do something that brings us no peace".

Let me just clarify here, that I've done this before and God has guided me in this way, and I only moved forward when I had peace in my heart, that no matter what, The Lord was with me. So, I'm not against this practice, and this is why I said Dr. Voddie's stance made me uncomfortable because I don't entirely agree with him. There's nothing wrong in asking God for a sign, and for guidance when it comes to big decisions, and trust me, if we do it with absolute faith. God will hear our prayers. Provided our intentions are to be obedient to Him, and not just for selfish gain. If we look at Gideon in the bible, he asked God for two signs and God answered him both times. 

Why? Because Gideon's intentions were truly to please God and not be disobedient, it wasn't a lack of faith. He had already decided, he just needed confirmation that God would be with him, because he didn't want to go ahead and risk failing at the task God had given him. Gideon knew he couldn't operate in his own strength alone and wanted to make sure he was doing the right thing, his faith, and humility pleased God, and that's why God was happy to confirm his request for two signs.Intentions matter always. But, Dr. Voddie makes a valid point that I have to concede when he says people who pray about things and only act according to "the measure of peace" they feel, are teetering along the fine line of paganism. He said that the pagans practiced things like necromancy and crystal ball reading to "be one with the gods" and gain divine knowledge. 

When we constantly ask God for signs about everything and ask Him to "confirm" things before we make a decision about every aspect of our lives. Isn't that a form of trying to "gain Divine knowledge and be one with Our Lord"? As Dr. Voddie said, we're not meant to know every part of God's Will for our lives. That's what pagans want. Most of the time, we are to pray, fast and then make a decision applying our faith, trusting that The Lord will be with us no matter what the outcome. This is the part where I was given much food for thought, because it's true. I am pro asking God for signs when it comes to big life decisions and think it isn't wrong to act upon a measure of peace that we may feel, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, so it would be silly to just rush into anything without having a "peace about it". However, like Gideon, we need to analyse our intentions for asking God when we're doing it. Are we asking Him for guidance because we want to be obedient to Him, and give Him the glory and honour when He guides us? 

Or are we just asking because we want Him to agree with what we're feeling and then dress up our lack of faith with "hearing from God", so we appear wise and spiritual to others? What if the path we choose goes wrong? Are we going to blame God for "misinforming us" or take accountability for our decision and admit that perhaps our intentions weren't 100% in the right place when we declared so boldly that we're "waiting to hear from God"? My friends, in my opinion, our relationship with The Lord should be built on the same criteria that a good marriage is built on. Honesty, Trust, Good communication and Loyalty. For those of you who are married or in a serious long term relationship, you will agree with me when I say there are aspects of your relationship with your partner that are to remain sacred between the two of you and should never be shared with anyone else. Correct? 

I believe the same can be said about our relationship with Jesus. There are certain things we may pray about and ask Him for that are to remain between the two of us, because He answered those prayers to increase our own faith alone and confirm to us that He is with us. If we share those things, just like when we share more intimate parts of our personal relationships, it may come across as boastful and self-elevating. For example, if you are in the habit of making breakfast in bed for your spouse, it's a beautiful thing that enriches your relationship because it feeds the mutual love you have. That's an intimate thing that no one else needs to know, and if you share it... Guess what's going to happen? It's going to make all the other couples who don't do that, feel like they're not good enough for their spouses and create unrealistic expectations in other people's relationships that might not fit their dynamic. I used a weak example, but it's just to illustrate that not everything should be public domain. In the same way, maybe The Lord only confirms things for us, for our personal growth and to affirm our faith. The minute we share it, it creates a unrealistic expectation in other Christians who don't have that kind of dynamic in their relationship with The Lord that makes them feel less, and we inadvertently exalt ourselves when we do this. 

I will conclude by saying just like marriages can grow and flourish by changing some of the ways we behave towards our spouses. For example, if we didn't make breakfast in bed for them before, maybe we should start now and see how it changes our relationship for the better. In the same way, perhaps if we're willing to try something different in our faith, our relationship with The Lord can also grow deeper and flourish. Again, I'm not opposed to asking for signs etc... But, as Dr. Voddie said, we need to be aware of the fine line between applying our faith, and not moving until God has given us "the inside story" on what He wants. That's paganistic by nature and could lead others down a deceptive path that most certainly won't lead to Jesus. Whether we temporarily join the "God-Said" brigade for a personal decision, or we're confronted with "God-Said" brigade Christians who seem to have God on speed dial for every single decision they make...  God doesn't have favourites. So, be wary of those who appear to have a "higher" connection to God than others.... Always pray, discern intentions and act in faith, trusting that The Lord is sovereign and will ultimately see us through because His Will prevails always.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

Shalom.

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