Following Jesus

     In this world, words are thrown about until their meanings are distorted or lost. Ask someone of their faith and they will say I'm a Christian. Usually that is followed by "my denomination is Protestant, Catholic, tongue speaking Holy Ghost Believer, etc. So here we are, we have Denominations, (To name the nations) to separate identity, God forbid you were mistaken for the wrong type of Christian, people might think you are a Holy Roller, or one of those door to door pests we hide from, pretending  we are not home, and then there is that group that believes it's ok to have multiple wives ( out of the frying pan into the fire). There are several types of dancing, there is the lively dance where you tuck your hands under your arm pits and wave your elbows while you strut around, I call it the chicken wing dance. usually people that do it have first worked into a frenzy. There is dancing in the Spirit, an inner voice says, if you want a blessing get up and dance, or get up and run around the building, or just let go and let God lead. I am not putting this down in any way, I have been blessed this way myself. At times I speak in tongues, I have received the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. It is unexplainably joyful and you are filled like an overflowing spring with the glorious Spirit of God. What does Jesus think of his servants splitting into factions, and destroying the Unity of faith in the bonds of peace? It was never his intention, so why would it be instituted? Is Christ divided?

     When Jesus walked physically among us He gathered disciples from everyday people. We are to be as those faithful servants, Followers of Jesus, we have so much trouble trying to fulfill our calling in this world of church organizations. Why? like the example when the Ark of the Covenant was on the move. A certain man got worried that the cart might tip enough to dump the Ark, he reached out and touched it with an unclean hand, and when he touched it he dropped dead. Being a Pastor is a serious calling. He must be clean in his heart and in deeds & must examine himself often to see if there be any faults, and if there are, he must pray and repent, he must leave his life open before the Lord !

     The Pastor watches over the flock of God, he sees that they are healthy, well fed, sheltered it the strong tower. So, our obligation as followers of Jesus is to take hold of the teachings in the bible, and establish them in our hearts so we become as He is. The followers of that day didn't claim to be Christians, they lived like He taught them, and because they were so much like Jesus that people referred to them as Christians. It is not a club that you join, even though some denominations have you join, pledge part of your income, give you certificates of baptism, at one time there was a dress code, numbers began to dwindle and now there is no dress code.

Make no mistake, following Jesus is the straight and narrow path that leads to life everlasting, any other way is an onramp to that Broadway the leads to destruction. Read your Bible daily, pray without ceasing, ask Jesus to show you any wicked way that might be in you. Ask him to set you amongst a people that love the truth of the word of God, contrary to what some say, do not forsake  coming together to pray, praise, worship, sing and rejoice in the Lord.