The "Let Us" series continued....in which I look up and comment on every mention of "Let US" in the NT...

Let us be hospitable to one another without begrudging or griping. If a brother or sister (or stranger) has a need - meet the need joyfully, remembering it is "better to give than to receive". Do they need a place to sleep? Give them your bed (or couch). Do they need to be clothed? Give them yours, or buy them some. Do they need food? Feed them! Daily if you must. The only time you do not help someone in need is when the Holy Spirit tells you not to - for example, bringing a homeless stranger into your home. My wife and I have done it with no problems whatsoever, still, especially when our daughters were young, we had them sleep with us, just to be cautious but of course, the Holy Spirit can be completely relied on, always, to warn us of potential danger. Another policy my wife and I follow is that all decisions must be agreed upon by both of us, concerning ministry.
In my experience, most churches are not need centered. They are unable or better put, unwilling to meet people's needs, spontaneously, at the Holy Spirit's request. Most churches get poor marks for meeting the needs of their own congregations, much less a stranger's needs. I was just told a story the other day of a young family of four that faithfully attended a church for years, tithing and giving offerings the whole time. Then one day the dad lost his job and had to move his family to another state. He asked his church for help with moving expenses and they refused. I now of another man who attended a denominational church for years, even working for them. He had a wife and child. One day, he suddenly became ill with an aggressive form of cancer - he had to quit his job while getting treatment. He was living in housing provided by the church. As soon as he could no longer work for them, they kicked him out of his house, even though unbelievers working for them rallied around him and offered to give up rooms in their homes, the church refused and still kicked him to the curb. He died a few month's later - exiled from the denomination he called home for the last decade of his life. I cannot understand how anyone, knowing how they treated this man, could continue attending this denomination's churches. For that matter, it is a shame on the American churches, and a indictment against Christianity as a religion, that there are any homeless people at all in the richest country on earth. I lament the fact that every city and town in America is filled with dozens upon dozens of churches - that could all be used to house and shelter the homeless, yet they do not. They often have such beautiful buildings, easily able to house and feed the homeless, on the floor on mats, on cots or even on pews - just giving them a warm, dry, safe place to spend the night would be such a great kindness, yet they do not. Some may invite the poor to a food pantry, but not to their feasts where they would have to fellowship with them and treat them with respect, as equals. We should esteem the poor and weak more highly than ourselves. More often than not, the cruelest people I've met are those who claim Jesus Christ as their savior. Reader - if anyone claims they're a Christian, ask to see their ID card - "If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he IS A LIAR; for he that loveth not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? He who loveth God (must) love his brother also". This is God's command and it is the hallmark of every Christian, it is our ID, our identity, simple though this may sound - our love for one another and all men, is what makes us His disciples "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another". If you cannot genuinely love me, if your love for me, a Jewish Apostle, is superficial, then do not claim to be my brother in Christ for of a truth, you are not of the same Body i am of. I say "Jewish Apostle" because there is so much animosity in many denominations towards Apostles and Prophets and towards Israel - "replacement theology" is running rampant, you know, God has replaced Israel with the Church (not true) and He's replaced Prophets with Pastors (also not true). You know who has replaced them? Satan, of course. 

"Let Us" series continued:

"Let us obey the Truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren". Our love must be sincere, not fake, like a politician's or an actor's (the root word of "hypocrite" is "actor"). When we see a need, and we can meet that need, love compels us to do so. The only exception being if God tells us not to. I just saw a story about Houston TX. The story related how that before, during and after a hurricane had struck the city, with many made homeless, in need of shelter, a mega-church in the city shut their doors and the wealthy pastors sat in their ten million dollar mansion and offered prayers. Now, these pastors may be offering money privately to help with the relief efforts but what they do publicly is what the public sees - and what the public sees is yet another Christian church preaching the gospel of love but not being very loving, not being "doers" when the opportunity arises. We cannot claim to be followers of Christ and yet not do what He would do, any longer. People look to us - like it or not, because they can't see Him. We are the only witnesses of Christ many people will ever see. They look at how we treat each other, expecting to see a higher standard than the world's, yet I've been better treated sometimes by lost people in the world than by my brethren in Christ. It's disheartening to meet anyone calling themselves a Christian, then find out they aren't followers of Christ at all, only followers of the religion Satan's invented in Jesus' name. We must attend to our own hearts, we must ensure we love with a sincere, pure love - no hidden motives or agendas, no strange fire. We must love without hesitation and without expecting to be loved in return. If this scripture is warning us about faking our love it must mean that that is a real problem. We know, because Jesus told us, that there are plenty of tares among the wheat, loving us with a fake, insincere love, who will turn and rend our hearts at the slightest provocation, who seek to wound us, often behind our backs, while pretending to love us to our faces - of such, turn away. Never thought of this before, but we could also call "tares", "tears" because they cause tears and tears....as in crying.

"Let us be courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing". Let's not only be polite to each other but to all we meet, especially those who serve us....waiters and waitresses, sales clerks and taxi drivers, homeless poor and rich alike - let's be kind and respectful to them all. Do not treat the pastor any differently than you do the lowest, most insignificant person in the church (for truly, no one is insignificant in Christ, but all are incredibly special and rare). Do not treat the stranger, who walks in your doors for the first time, any different than you do the most elder member of your congregation. It's not easy to return love for evil done against us - we must constantly remind ourselves that this is what God does for us our entire lives - especially to those of us who met Him as adults. We sinned against Him often, yet He kept His cool, kept His heart open to us, kept loving us in return for our evil. We must do the same for people who do evil against us, believing one day they'll become our friends. I've heard many stories of people who have forgiven tremendous grievances, only to see the one forgiven come to Christ, for truly the encountered Christ in the one who forgave them, like the mother who forgave the drunk driver who killed her son. I ask you, is a soul worth it? Is a soul worth your forgiveness? If the son who died was a Christian and his death led to a man's salvation, was it worth it? Not returning railing for railing is also not easy, especially when people are falsely accusing you, but like Jesus at his trial, we should remain silent and not attempt to defend ourselves. And remember, "a soft answer turns away wrath", it's difficult to remain angry with someone who does not return anger for anger, hate for hate. You snuff out their hate with your love.....

"Let Us" series continued

"Let us also not speak evil of any brother". This does not mean we cannot nor should not expose false prophets or teachers or pastors - wolves in sheep's clothing, who come among us to lead us astray but it does mean do not slander or accuse a brother, especially in front of others. If you have a problem with somebody, go to them privately, with a loving attitude, seeking peace, not with a haughty, "I'm better than you" spirit. Speak with the motivation to restore fellowship with them, not end it. Show him his error so he may repent, ask forgiveness, that the bond of peace may remain unbroken. By talking to him and not behind his back to others, you may find that it is you who needs to repent - you may have taken offense when none was given. Open communication, heart to heart, in love, will prevent small sparks from becoming raging forest fires consuming half the congregation. Dry hearts, that have gone a long time without the water of the word, the water Jesus spoke of in John 4:14, are easily ignited by hateful words spoken with malice, envious words that sow discord among the brethren. To summarize, speaking the truth in love is not speaking evil of someone; just guard your heart to make sure your motivation is what it should be "Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest you be condemned" "Behold, the Judge stands before the door" (of our hearts). A grudge is a feeling of ill will or resentment - this ties into Mt:6:14&15 - We must forgive one another or our Father will not forgive us. Do we want God holding a fault against us?
"Confess your faults (sins) one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed". When a brother confesses his sin to us, especially a sin committed against us and we forgive him and pray for him - we get healing. Our hearts get restored and the wonderful love and forgiveness we want from God for our faults flows to us. Forgiving each other releases God's forgiveness to us. This is so healthy for us that God does not say "confess your sins to God", He says confess them to "one another". God already knows you've sinned. Real repentance involves voluntarily going to the one you've wronged and throwing back the curtains of your heart and humbly acknowledging your sin against them. Sometimes we can't go to the one we've sinned against, even so, find a brother you can trust and confess that sin anyway - get it right out in the open, have your brother you are confessing to stand in for the one you wronged and forgive you on their behalf. In this way, "Mercy triumphs over judgment" and "Love covers a multitude of sins". Funny, sins hidden cannot be covered, only uncovered sins can. Our souls and hearts become restored and healthy when we know that those we've sinned against will respond to our sorrow at having sinned with love and forgiveness. In this way, we learn of the very real love of the Father, for it is one thing for our Father off in some distant heaven to forgive us but quite another to have a brother standing right in front of us forgive us...but soon we realize, it is really our Lord standing there in front of us, not a far off at all. This process causes our hearts to be knit together with the love God sheds abroad in our hearts. Hearts like this, that are alive with His presence now, are hearts He will keep in His presence for eternity. 

"Let Us" series continued:

"Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together". This is the famous scripture used by Pastors to keep people coming back to the jails they call "churches" - where Satan's will is done, not God's. This scripture is not admonishing us to "go to church" as we know them in our present day - because most churches will set you against the Father's will and will divide and separate you from other saints in your community. This scripture is saying, seek to fellowship with other saints. This can and should be, first and foremost, in our homes. The idea that our spirituality is primarily cultivated in our local church and not in our home is not of God. In our homes we have a choice, unlike in the local church, where the pastor is in charge, of allowing the Holy Spirit to be in charge and no man. In our homes, we can allow all those anointed and appointed by the Holy Spirit to help facilitate the meetings because the Holy Spirit is given free reign to do as He pleases, instead of being quenched, disrespected and ignored, like He is in so many churches, where man is in charge, not God. In our homes, prophecy is not despised, hopefully and the Holy Spirit may do whatever He pleases, say whatever He pleases, through whomever He chooses, whenever He chooses. Selah.
We are never to tell Him what He can and can't do, and when He can do it....we are to wait on Him in an attitude of worship, to tell us what to say and do. Religious services all have a format they follow that denies the power and presence of God. They are the same, week after week, in church after church, across the world. Look at God's creation to see how gloriously varied it is - look at how unique each one of us is - we are not to mimic and copy each other, we are not to wear Saul's armor, we are to be unique, who He has created us to be and honestly, every service we attend has the potential to look completely different from the last, when He is in charge.
We must lay down literally every thing we know about how we should conduct our meetings, at His feet. No more traditions of man. Put another way "Let's not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is"...in other words, watch how you assemble together - to do it in a manner pleasing to God...let's make sure He is invited to our assemblies!
Addendum: Please allow me to clarify something. I am not saying ALL pastors and churches are in error...neither am i saying many pastors are WILLFULLY following Satan's will and not Gods....Satan is very deceptive and he disguises himself as an angel of light ....even presenting himself as the Holy Spirit....many pastors are good men trying their best to be a blessing to God's people but none the less they are sincerely deceived into believing the Babylonian, Satanic inspired form of service they adhere to is of God....the foundation for this deception is the flesh...pride primarily....and we must all get free from every influence Satan has in our lives.....amen.

"Let Us" series continued....

I believe that just as we were "taught of God to love one another" we are also taught of Him to give. It's a part of our spiritual DNA. Christ in us - through the guidance of His Holy Spirit will compel us to give when and how much and to whom He sees fit. As with all doctrines except "love one another", giving is not a law to we who are followers of Christ. We don't have to give, we get to! Churches make giving a law. They teach tithing and offerings and spend a lot of time teaching about money and taking people's money. In Christ we are to give whatever He tells us to give - of a truth, He requires our very lives! We are to give far more than ten percent of our money! Always wait on Him to tell you how much to give, if at all. It may be all you have or nothing - obey Him, not the peer (or pastor) pressure you must endure in the service.
"Let us comfort one another with (these) words" not just with God's logos (written) words but let us comfort one another with the words that come our of our hearts "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". Our words can heal or wound, bless or curse - "let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt".
Let us not continue to be "foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another" may I add one thing to this list from personal experience? Let us not form "cliques" in our fellowships, picking and choosing who we'll let into the "in crowd" and who we'll exclude - basically choosing who we will or will not love. Rather, "let us exhort one another daily and provoke one another to love and to good works". Good works are proof positive we have the love we claim to have for each other. Time after time I've seen churches proclaim how important it is to love, but when needs arise and practical love needs to be shown with deeds - those same churches show themselves to be "hearers only and not doers of the Word". What was the difference between the house built on sand and the house built on the Rock? "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and DOETH THEM, I will liken him unto a wise man". Good works, by the way, are also how we store treasure for ourselves in Heaven - which is where our treasure should be anyway ,for then it's ours forever. All the rich people, glorying in their earthly wealth, will wish they had heavenly wealth on the Day of Judgment of our God. Even sadder are the many churches and pastors who set their hearts on earthly gain - ignoring the true wealth Jesus died to give them. His will was executed upon his death - we are the inheritors of His Kingdom "for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you His kingdom". "He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son".

"Let Us" series continued...

This is a continuation of my "Let Us" series wherein i expound upon every NT scripture that says "let us"...

"Let us be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us".   Yes, the Father forgives us "for Christ's sake", for if He does not forgive us, Christ's sacrifice would have been in vain. We are the salt of His sacrifice, we give meaning and purpose to what He did - He was being kind and tenderhearted and forgiving to us when He died for us, we can do no less for each other. We must not be like the man who received forgiveness for his debts but refused to forgive the debts of those who owed him. If we harden our hearts towards others, God will harden his heart towards us.
"Let us increase and abound in love one toward another - and toward all men, even as we do towards you". When Paul says "we", he is writing on behalf of other believers in another city (in this case, Athens), he is writing on behalf of Silvanus and Timotheus and perhaps others too. The point is, we should not limit our love and affection to those who fellowship with us in our own church. We should have a great love for and desire to fellowship with brethren of every stripe and color and background, no matter where they fellowship. In our city or town, denominational boundaries must fall! We are not whatever name or label our church ascribes to, we are simply brothers and sisters in Christ, though I acknowledge those who adhere to false doctrines will find it difficult if not impossible to fellowship (in any meaningful way) with those who follow Christ personally (though all churches claim to be of Christ, most are not. This is in fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy "take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ (or I am of Christ), and shall deceive many"). Still, those of us free of the spirit of religion must love and admonish those who aren't, in the hope that they too will choose freedom, leaving their denomination behind forever, knowing that no one's teachings are completely pure, except the Holy Spirit's. "Now we know in part, now we see through a glass darkly" but one day we'll see Him face to face. Remember, it is not "I" but "we" who have the mind of Christ. It is very, very dangerous and unhealthy to let one man do all the teaching in a fellowship for they inevitably teach error at some point and I've never yet seen a pastor receive correction when he teaches false doctrine. Besides, even if everything he teaches is 100% pure, direct manna from Heaven, he will still teach his "pet doctrines", teachings he is fond of and familiar with. We need multiple teachers to maintain a healthy spiritual diet. I sat under a pastor once who did all the teaching in his church (as is the custom in most churches) and after six months to a year he would start teaching the same things over and over again, the same themes. I've also been in churches that insist on giving an altar call at the end of every service (for salvation), though everyone in the room is saved and have been for years. The altar call (for salvation) you see, became a religious tradition to them, to the point where they didn't feel like they "had church" without it. Some churches have people sitting in them for twenty years yet they still teach the same (milk, pap) basic doctrines, over and over again. I say again, if the Holy Spirit is abiding in us, than He is our teacher and what we mostly need from our fellowship with one another is prophetic revelation. Paul said, concerning brotherly love, he did not need to write to them to do so "for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another". How refreshing to hear someone in authority say we are "taught of God", not man. We need far more men "taught of God" rather than taught of men at a Bible college. Everyone thinks their understanding is pure but I've had to repent many times of teachings I'd been taught by men I trusted, false teachings. We must not cling to our doctrines so tightly God can not pry them loose from our mind's grip. We must hold them loosely enough that the Holy Spirit can blow upon them and that which He blows away is chaff....dead doctrines that bring forth death in us. But I am warning you now - if you seek to ferret out any false doctrines taught in your church, when they find out you do not agree with them, they will give you "the left foot of fellowship", they will kick you out with it, lest you draw others after you in your "heresy". Though they are the ones teaching heresy and you are the one presenting truth to them, they cannot or will not see it. Go with forgiveness in your heart for them and pray to meet other believers like you who value and love truth over "doctrines of devils" and "doctrines of men" (the two go hand in hand, equally harmful). Start meeting in your living room. 

"Let Us" series continues...

There isn't even "Jew or Greek, male or female but all are One in Christ". When Jesus called his apostles, who would form the nucleus, the foundation of his Body, some were married, some were not, some were older, some younger (John was 15, some scholars estimate), some were professionals, others common laborers, simply put, He doesn't look at our flesh, our outward appearance or circumstances, when He calls us to come to Him and follow Him, no, he looks at our hearts. The only defining characteristic common to each apostle was their willingness to follow Jesus, wherever he led them, even to their deaths.
This same trait - our deep love for our God who has saved us, should be what draws us together, not any fleshly trait. Singles should fellowship with families. The first church I ever attended had a pastor who let me hang out at his house all the time and I loved being a part of their family, for I had none of my own. Young should fellowship with elderly, for both their benefits. Young men with older men (even the world sees this need with their "big brother, big sister program), young women with "aged women....that they may teach the young women". The point is, all of us need all of us. In Acts 2:44 it says "all that believed were together, and had all things in common". This is the Church I want to see in our day, before I pass on to the next life. In the book of Revelation, we catch a glimpse of Heaven. 5:9 says "They sung a new song", who are they? The redeemed of God by His blood "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (like the ark of Noah, God will preserve at least two from every people group on earth, in His body). We won't see blacks all huddled together with blacks in Heaven, nor whites exclusively with whites, or young in one corner with elderly in another. None of that will matter there. Did not Jesus tell us to pray that our Father's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? We see no schisms or divisions among us in Heaven at all! Therefore we should see none on earth! All are one in Christ in Heaven and so are we one in Christ on earth. "All that believe" should be together, with all they possess common to one another, regardless of race, creed or color.
I long for a fellowship like this on earth - one that simply has all who love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength in common with each other, and who love one another the same way. Whether old or young (or in between), or black or white or Asian or Native American or Jew or gentile or rich or poor (or in between), all are ONE IN CHRIST! All love truth and all desire a holy lifestyle and all are welcome and commune with the Holy Spirit each day and all seek to know and do the Father's will each day. Amen.