God, Sex, and Confused Christianity By Thomas J. Koester

A few years ago, a Christian brother approached me and confessed that he was in a relationship with a married woman for the past two years.

He went on and told me the woman was unhappy in her marriage and that he and this woman were in love. The real shock came after he told me that he had spoken to his pastor about this relationship. Under full disclosure, he had asked the pastor if he should continue with the relationship, and the pastor’s reply:

“Well, let me pray about this and get back to you.”

Scripture is quite clear as to the answer of my friend’s question and confusion.

Why are so many Christians practicing sexual fornication, adultery, and other destructive lifestyles unchecked and unchallenged by churches and pastors?

Why are so many Churches and pastors so outspoken against homosexuality, yet tolerate their congregation’s practices of heterosexual sins and adultery?

Sexuality is sacred and purposed filled and is sanctioned only in the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman. Yet, even Christianity is progressively easing back from the sacredness of sexuality and marriage. And, it is creating excuses and confusion by its silence towards the biblical view of sexuality and its sacredness.

I guess it’s more profitable to be silent as a pastor regarding sexual sins than to preach God’s Word and truth as it relates to the sacredness of true sexuality. Christianity has created within itself a sin-dependent class and a sin tolerant class of Christians. I think many pastors and church boards believe that if pastors and teachers preached the biblical truth on sexuality their church attendance and tithing would rapidly decline.

And so, many churches and Christian leaders across this nation are flirting with the development of a hybrid-Christian world view of sexuality and political/religious correctness. Thus, mixing two world views to increase their fame and fortunes. I sincerely wish it were not so!

You can not use post-fallen man as a template of God’s ordination for the sacred. Only in Christ is man/woman restored, body, mind, and spirit. Either his/her mind is transformed or it is not. Our identity is not our sin, nor is it our sexual proclivities. Our identity and sexual orientation is redeemed and cleansed, and so we must cease from sin through the power of God’s grace and the blood of Christ Jesus, his Son.

Therefore, one cannot be a Christian and be homosexual, bisexual, transgender or transvestite in thought or in deed. Nor can one be a Christian and live a lifestyle of unchecked fornication and adultery. For Christ not only fulfilled all the law, but changed the direction of the law to inwardly, making even our hearts and minds the territory of His Holy Presence and Kingdom.

Sexual purity is a necessity and is not an option! Even so, God is full of grace and mercy. Only do not use his grace and mercy as a crutch.

The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit transforms and conforms us, even those with homosexual thoughts and feelings, into the attitude and image of Christ, the perfect man. It is a cooperative relationship between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of man, and it is not an easy process. It is at times messy and wrought with failure and setbacks, but God’s grace is not only his goodness, but more so, his enabling power of transformation and aid in our times of need.

The Spirit of Grace does not leave us in our sin and with our proclivities, nor leaves us subjugated to its strongholds of thoughts and imaginations, but rather delivers us from evil.

Yes, race, sex and gender are sacred and ordained by God as he originally created them to be. But not what sin has devolved or distorted it into.

Do not equate the plight of racism with sexual orientation or gender confusion. Even if gender confusion and homosexuality happens in the womb or is a result of early childhood environmental development, it does not make it sacred, but rather the results of the original fall and rebellion of man.

We are all born into sin, and none are innocent. Whether one is born heterosexual or chooses to be homosexual, we are all in need of a Redeemer and utterly lost and hopeless without Christ. The power of the Gospel is good news to both the outer and inner life of all people. None are left out or excluded from salvation and redemption in Christ. In God, there is no favoritism; nor racism; nor sexism. He is the God of all and has all the power to transform any sinner and of any sexual orientation.

Even though God originally created man heterosexual, the fall of the heterosexual man and his sexual promiscuity is just as vile as the sexual actions of homosexuality. The promiscuity of one is met with the same consequences as that of the other.

God ordained man and woman to be one. Anything beyond this is outside of God’s ordination and is subject to the laws of sin and death, for both the heterosexual and homosexual.

Christ is the hope of all peoples of the earth, and none are excluded from his saving power, except only those who refuse to believe and obey.

“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.” –Romans 12:2 World English Bible (WEB)

Don’t be confused, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, thoughts, and imaginations.

A life without standards is a life without value. A valueless life is a life without real love. Don’t be that person that cheapens love for sex—don’t do as the world does, but rather do what’s right, true and pure. Value your sexuality and the sexuality of others. Honor God with your body, and do not be confused!

The World Without Light & The Enchanted Chair – By Thomas J. Koester

Somebody hit the dimmer switch in the Church on the hill, and I think we all know who that “somebody” is.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” – 1 John 2:15

… And so, for worldly lovers—it’s lights out!

The light of the Gospel shining brightly from your inner life must be fueled by a fierce and unquenchable love for God and others. This light, filtered through your brokenness, will displace enough darkness for the blind to see.

I’m not speaking of physical blindness, mind you, but that of spiritual blindness.

“In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them.” – 2 Corinthians 4:4

“Although your people live in darkness, they will see a bright light. Although they live in the shadow of death, a light will shine on them.” – Matthew 4:16

We who call ourselves by God’s name must shine like beacons as the daylight is dimming and darkness is coming.

“You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights…” – Philippians 2:15

Can a nation be darkened in a day? Can the brightly lit torch of freedom be snuffed out without notice?

Yes, it happened while we were asleep in the light. All the while, consuming “Turkish Delights” and worshiping false gods and false teachers while sitting in enchanted chairs of passivity.

In the sixth book of C.S. Lewis’, The Chronicles of Narnia, titled, “Silver Chair,” the witch had placed a curse on the silver chair, so that when anyone sat on the chair they’d fall under the chair’s enchantment.

The Silver Chair was a magical device constructed by the Queen of Underland (also known as the Lady of the Green Kirtle), designed to keep Prince Rilian bound to a cursed enchantment…

“Every night, Rilian sat down on the chair to renew the manipulative magic. It made him susceptible to the witch’s lies and caused him to forget who he truly was.”

I think this is what’s happened to much of Western Christianity; we’ve become enchanted by worldliness, which has made us susceptible to the devil’s lies, and so, have forgotten who we truly are. And our forgettablness has ushered the world into darkness.

The Church was never to be about the “church,” but about Christ for the Nations, burning brightly as the light of God’s love and power over darkness. We were never meant to be bound to chairs, orbiting cathedrals, separated by a great divide between the clergy and the laity.

We’ve lost our place of influence because we’ve lost our identity, and in losing that, we’ve lost our mission! We have lost our identity because we’ve exchanged our First Love for second-hand worldliness. We have purchased the lie that if we look like the world, the world will come to us. How utterly foolish!

“If you belonged to the world, its people would love you. But you don’t belong to the world. I have chosen you to leave the world behind, and this is why its people hate you.” – John 15:19

Many Churches look so much like the world they have little to offer except a Savior without saving, a Lord without lordship, and a king without a kingdom. Who’d want to follow after that?

Somebody hit the dimmer switch in the Church on the hill, and I think we all know who that “somebody” is.

Our churches need to do what Motel 6 has done successfully over the decades:

“We’ll leave the light on for you.”

We need to rekindle our first love into a firestorm, recapturing God’s intended glory for the Church. Even our lives must reflect the glory of Christ and his good news! If you and I can do this, maybe we can light up the world again!

Deception in Your Church? – By Thomas J. Koester

No one who is deceived will say, “I’m deceived!” Deception is the state in which one has been taken captive by falsehood and error.

Did you know that error is a spirit? It is parasitical and will weaken your faith and ability to discern truth from error. If you are in a church, which is preaching and practicing error and there is no repentance, no correction, and no apology, you should not stay. Your spiritual health and possibly your eternal state are at risk.

“Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city. [But] without are the dogs and those who practice sorceries (magic arts) and impurity [the lewd, adulterers] and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and deals in falsehood (untruth, error, deception, cheating).” –Revelations 22: 14-15

When you tolerate error and biblical untruth, you will become party to the same eternal judgment on those who practice and teach such error. “Those who cleanse their garments” are those who have both authority and right to the tree of life and will pass through the gates.

Those who endure and tolerate error and falsehood are as guilty as sorcerers, murders, adulterers, and idolaters. Their’s is the same judgment.

There is no middle ground. Truth is not negotiable.

You can not, even in the slightest way, dismantle a portion of truth without becoming guilty of untruth, error, and deception.

You can not say that you hold and preach the “whole counsel of God” and at the same time ignore the command to love, cherish, and honor your wife. You might ask, what has marriage to do with truth and deception. It’s because the wife is the first to know.

You can not preach ecclesiastical unity and put your wife and marriage vows asunder. You can not hold to the New Covenant and ignore the marriage covenant. But far too many ministers do.

You shall not worship the anointing above the Anointer, who is God!

Did you know that you can perform signs and wonders; heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach the gospel and still end up in hell? Well, shouldn’t you at least think about it? After all, religious sin has got to be the most damnable and deceptive.

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?

And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” –Matthew 7:21-23

I plead with you, my brothers and sisters. Do not put up with error, even though you sense the “Lord’s presence” and an “anointing.” There is no excuse for falsehood, error, and deception. You can not violate God’s commands, no matter how many miracles and wondrous signs are displayed.

Remember, the Man of Sin, or the Lawless One [the one who does so called “righteous acts” without God’s approval], is about to be revealed, and his spirit is already at work in disobedient minds throughout the world.

The first command of the ten commandments of Satan is:

“Do what thou will.”

This satanic command is behind many so-called ministries. When a ministry is not doing God’s will, His way, they are indeed doing what “thou will.” They are obeying demons and not the Son of God. Their lack of discernment is due to their lack of knowing Jesus Christ and that Jesus has no relational knowledge of them. They don’t belong to God. They belong to the Devil.

People, attending a church and being involved in ministry, performing acts of healing, deliverance, prophesying, and speaking in tongues doesn’t make you a Christian or validate you as one. It may make you feel like a saint, but since when does feelings make you a saint?

Only he, who washes his robe and who does the will of God, shall enter through the gates and into the City of God.

Not everyone who says; “Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…”

Check yourselves! Your pastor will not be standing next to you on the day of judgment, just you and the Lord. It’s you who must give an account as to what you have and have not done—to what you have believed while on earth.

The key to entering the city is to know and be known by God. You are known by God when your love is validated by obeying His commands and doing His will. There is God’s will, and there is rebellion. No other will exists.

Flee the house of deception and don’t look back!

Cover your ears to the flattery and tune into the voice of your True Heavenly Father. Don’t fall for favoritism of ministers and “important preachers” over the favor and approval of God.

Don’t exchange your identity of son or daughter of God, for position or title. Don’t marvel that you belong to a church or ministry, but marvel that your name is written the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Do not tolerate deception, false and new teaching, error, untruth or half-truth, do not accept the gospel of earthly prosperity at the expense of eternal life and heaven.

“Repent and live, why must you die, O’ house of Israel!”

Rather, worship God in the wilderness of this life and world. This world is our wilderness, and heaven is the promised land for all who obey—all who truly love and are truly known in the courts of heaven.

Pray for clarity and flee deception. Do it now!

The Blue Whale Prophecy — Thomas J. Koester

Photos, snapshots, and praise; the awing crowds come and go.

To the Shepherds and Pastors, write:

I see a large and beautiful Great Blue Whale in the middle of the ocean. The great mammal appears to have life, as it floats along the surface, but just beneath the water line, are Sharks and Killer Whales, ripping and tearing at her flesh.

The feast and frenzy is attracting other scavengers beneath. No one knows the whale is dead. The ships and tourist keep flocking the great mammal, but at a distance. Photos, snapshots, and praise the awing crowds come and go.

The life has left the great whale for some time. No one noticed when it fought and floundered against its mortal enemies. The great mammal was pulled beneath the surface, just enough, just long enough to drown the great mammal. That’s what they do—Killer Whales tire and then drown their victims.

She’s dead! The only life sustained now is by scavengers, which eat away the great carcass, eating away from beneath, so no one will notice.

Where has all the life gone? Where are all the people? The seats are filled, but the faces are all new! Photos, snapshots, a little praise, a little worship and the awing crowds come and go. Her spiritual body is being ripped and torn, but alas, no one notices—no one cares! All the religious busyness has weakened her; the earthly burdens and grand visions of men have weighed her down, tiring her, just enough, just long enough to drown her!

As the whale lives in the oceans and seas, it breathes air. My Church lives in the world, but it must breath heaven, it must come up to me for every word that proceeds from my mouth, or it shall die.

It all looks good. It seems real life is here, but if you get close enough, if you look beneath, you’ll see — She’s being eaten alive! Scavengers, Profiteers, Scammers, Whalers! What Jesus has brought together, man tears asunder!

We are being built into a spiritual house, brought together by Christ himself, so that we may become the habitation for His Spirit, that we may do greater deeds, deeds complete in His sight! But your acts only produce seedless fruit. It falls to the earth but does not reproduce! Why won’t you seek Heaven’s pollen?

Believe me, crowds do not constitute spiritual relevance. They may come to have their bellies filled—they may be curious or want to be entertained. They’ll feast and feed if you let them, but they have no heart to obey!

Scavengers, Spiritual Vagabonds, Drifters! If you pursue them, when your life’s work is complete, you’ll not go out with a “bang” but with a whimper! It may go “BANG!” on earth, but it will be a dud in heaven! Better to ally with those who’ve not soiled their clothes rather than those who bask in worldliness.

“To the angel of the church, in Sardis, write:

“These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard, obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief. You will not know at what time I will come to you.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life but acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” —Revelations 3:1-6

Be watchful and intercede according to the intercessions of Christ Jesus, lest all is lost.

I felt led to present this prophetic word to my pastor — he liked it so much that he had it published in America’s Good News, regional periodical. Sadly, the message was missed, and three years later, my beloved pastor died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his face. It was unknown to all of us that he had been fleecing the flock, taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from many in the congregation, especially the elderly. His visions were far too large and too expensive for the small East Bay church.

Towards the end, he was discovered, and charges were filed in two Northern California counties. Rather than face his wrongdoings, repent, and accept the consequences, he ended his life, leaving behind hundreds of devastated believers. I was one of them.

“But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” —Matthew 6:25

Worship God and not ministry.

Don’t go out with a BANG on earth!

The All-Encompassing All-Consuming OtherWorldly Life – By Thomas J. Koester

Because God Dosen’t Holdback Neither Should We!

Full-Time Pastors are no justification for part-time Christianity. Neither is Christianity simply a vocation of the elite and educated clergy.

It is a radically new culture and community; a new way of life and living, it is not a compartmentalized life, whereby God is public on Sundays, but private on Mondays through Saturdays; not an alternate-parallel lifestyle–that is, one foot in Church and one foot in the world. It is an all-consuming, all-encompassing otherworldly life.

True Christianity is so radical, so alien that your only way to survive in it is to suit up in complete faith. Natural laws and physics are without limits and barriers; economy and dominion are infinite and ever-expanding. Sickness and disease are opportunities and victories for growth. For the believer, death is but a brief nap and an instant passageway from a lesser glory to full glory.

However, someone suggested that to reach the world, we must act like the world and, well, that’s backfired!

Somewhere along the way, we’ve become the world, and therefore the world has nothing to see; there’s no contrast. The world is left without a testimony. Jesus himself said before he ascended into heaven:

“When I return, will I find faith on earth?”

Let’s stop our part-time Christianity and make it our full-time life. Let’s not leave our Christian duties and responsibilities to our pastors, but all do the work of ministry.

Doing nothing to very little with our faith stunts our growth as a godly people. Serving others and doing the work of ministry causes us to flourish and reach maturity in the faith.

The world needs grown-up Christians and not another worldly-religious order.

There’s no doubt that tribulation can be a useful tool for the Refiner’s fire; purifying our body, soul, and mind. But, if we reject the Holy Spirit’s conviction of God’s Word, expect all pleasantries to disappear.

Worldly comforts are not a sign of godly favor. No sir—They are an indicator that you may not be a true son or daughter of God. True sons and daughters are purified by the things they suffer. They know it is the hour of chastisement, bringing about true repentance; so rather than pout and complain, they act with dispatch to be renewed and rejoined. They don’t get bogged down with shame, they get lifted with praise!

They become consumed in the life of Christ. He is the reason they triumph through tribulation and suffering. Their suffering is purpose-driven, that is to become closer to Jesus and the all-encompassing, all-consuming, otherworldly life He offers.

Final thought…

Remember, your pastor will not be standing in for you on your behalf at The Judgement Seat of Christ. Nope, it’ll be just you, and what you have, and have not done to the least of one of these.

You’re not saved by your works, but your works validate your faith. Faith without works is dead and works without faith and love is nothing at all.

I challenge you to show off your faith to the unseen world so that the world in which we live will see your faith and believe. Make your Heavenly Father proud, and give him many reasons to say: “Well done, my faithful son or daughter.”

When your faith lights up, it shows off the incomparable brightness and weightiness of God. Because God is all-encompassing and all-consuming, there is no room for worldly life.

Real Hope For A Hopeless America – By Thomas Koester

The hope that is in every believer is real hope for a hopeless America.

We need to find our place in His Story so that we can leave our mark in history.

The Nazi-Socialist and their sick eugenics are alive and well in America. Their aim is a “perfect society” through science and political power.

Abortion was originally, according to Margret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, a form of “depopulating the blacks from society.” Just like the Nazis dehumanized Jews, Gays, Gypsies, and Christians, Margret Sanger, and her “Planned Parenthood” cohorts have dehumanized the unborn, especially the unborn of color. Now, since its inception, abortion has killed nearly 60 million unborn just in America alone.

You see, dictatorial and tyrannical control requires a manageable population. This is not only about the numbers of humans but also the dollars it takes to manage them. Coronavirus was, among many things, about the killing off, or shall I saw more humanely, euthanizing the elderly and the weakest among us. In addition, the killing off of businesses creates general economic ruin and caused melee in our cities and towns.

This was done to usher in a New Economic Order that will require efficiency and dependence. Don’t you realize that we validated their evil trial balloon by our compliance?

Efficiency, that is, a more manageable populace, and a more weakened people lowers the possibility of uncontrollable revolt. This is why patriotism and those patriotic institutions we all love must go. This is why “The Good Ole American Way” has been under assault. This is why football, baseball, basketball, and soccer have been ruined, and our American flag and our National Anthem desecrated. This is what’s behind the destruction of women’s sports! Everything that makes us America is slowly canceled and removed in order to take away our identity and patriotism.

All of this is not new. It’s how every great nation before us has fallen. The coronavirus was simply the mechanism the Left used to take away many of our freedoms and liberties. It was used to divide us and subjugate us to lawless mandates. The virus also preoccupied us, giving the Democratic Left cover for the grandest theft of all times, the Presidency of the United States, and to control all houses of government, both federal and local.

These things were necessary in order to usher in the New World Order and the “New Economy.” Or, as the Globalists have renamed it, “The Great Reset.”

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, is hard to grasp, when we see so many bad actors in our government and news media outlets. So we have to remind ourselves daily that this is foremost a spiritual battle, which has brazenly manifested itself in the world of men.

There is no question as to where this is all heading. Godly men and leaders, such as pastors, reverends, and priests no longer have the luxury of the status quo of a typical Sunday service or Mass. It’s time to raise up armies of intercessors and train and equip God’s people in evangelism and spiritual warfare!

“It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, ’cause [America] is going bye-bye.”

If we want America to survive, the Church must become the standard-bearer once again. It must lead America back to God, or God will allow our nation to spit us out!

But remember, we’re the Church, and our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Kingdom Gospel puts things in the right order without the aid of political power. As a matter of fact, the Church is most powerful under persecution.

When the Roman armies occupied First Century Israel and all of Palestine, did it deter Christianity, or did it propel it?

We know the answer—persecution became the Early Church’s rocket fuel and launched the Church into world evangelism!

“… And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” – Matthew 24:14

We know what our mission is. It’s not to cower in fear or shirk our responsibility or to proclaim that the rapture cometh. It is to stand fast, hold our ground; keep the faith, and engage darkness with the might and power of God of the Angel Armies. It is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and unleash the power of the Gospel, that is, The Good News against the Bad News of World Socialism.

If we die, it’s gain. If we live, it’s Christ, the power of God unto salvation. Let’s show and offer the World Jesus Christ. Let’s all become Jesus with skin on and hold fast to the attitude, humility, and power of Christ.

Whether we are free or in bondage, our job is to be the Church and the Triumphant Bride of Christ.

Like you, I don’t want to disappoint Jesus when he returns. I want him to not only find faith on earth but to find a bright, beautiful, and radiant bride!

So, come what may! The Devil and his minions will do their worst. The Church, we will do our best because we have the Spirit of Christ, the love for Truth, and have love for one another, or at least we should.

We will win because God has already won the victory in Jesus Christ, our Risen Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The ending of the story has already been written. Just make sure that your names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, and all will go well.

We need to find our place in His Story so that we can leave our mark in history.

The hope that is in every believer is real hope for a hopeless America. Amen

The Church Without Mission – Thomas J. Koester

A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!

If we are to speak honestly and with integrity concerning local and world evangelism, we have to ask ourselves the following questions about our churches:

How many doors of homes and businesses have you knocked on?
Do you knock on doors weekly or monthly?
Do you have a regular and ongoing classes on outreach and evangelism?
How many times per month are you preaching the Gospel outside your building, in the market places, town squares, etc.?
How much of your annual budget is spent sending out its own evangelists and missionaries?
Is the summation of your mission and evangelism work simply ”tithing” 10% of your Church’s revenue to foreign missionaries?
Do you share, in an active and practical way, the Apostle Paul’s passion for reaching all the world with the Gospel?

I’ll make no guesses or assumptions about your honest answer to these questions. I will, however, make an observation. America would be in a much better state, culturally and spiritually if a fraction of evangelical churches prioritized these things.

Do you know how and why some churches grow and some churches decline here or in your local cities and towns? I’ll give you one word…

… SCANDAL!

Churches here, and I’m sure elsewhere, grow while some decline is mainly due to church-hopping, transient Christians, that have been hurt, wounded, devastated, ignored, maligned, and forgotten by well meaning spiritual leaders. Many brothers, sisters, and families leave churches due to scandal and abuse. If more churches were outwardly focused on reaching the world, we’d have much less of the world and scandal inside churches.

The Barna Group has polled hundreds of unchurched believers and has determined that nearly 3,500 people per day exit church never to return! The age group polled were from 14 to 33 years old. The number one response was that they left church due to a lack of connectedness!

Herein lies the proof that far too many inwardly focused churches obsessed with millennialism, prosperity, and emotionalism, rather than Kingdom of God outward expansion, eventually self-destruct, producing devastated and retreating believers, longing for an exfil.

Is it time for people to church-exit what church has become in America? No, I think it’s time for churches to exit its self-absorption and get busy evangelizing its own communities and beyond. For all you futurists out there, the Kingdom of God is here, now, and will expand with or without you.

“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” – Romans 2:7-11

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!

You’ll Not Find Me There – By Thomas Koester

I’m not in your work, so why do you lose yourself there?

The Barna Group and USA Today have estimated that 3,500 people walk away from church each day. Of these dechurched people, 80% are from the age group of 14-33.

It’s interesting that the single greatest issue reported by these people walking away from the Church is due to a lack of connectedness.

What does this mean?

It may mean that while people are looking for spiritual connectedness, our youth are not finding it in Church! So, they leave the organized Church looking for God elsewhere. Is it possible that in many churches today, God is not there?

I remember several years ago, Toni and I visited a church in Sonora, California. For the City of Sonora, it was considered one of the largest churches. We walked in and then later out of the church without any welcome or introduction. On our way to our car, I asked Toni,

“Honey, do you think we’re invisible?”

We then visited another church in Sonora and were ambushed by teens and adults with hands held out and warm greetings. Afterward, several people were genuinely interested in us. At one touching moment, a young man introduced himself and offered to pray over my back, as he noticed the pain I was in from a recent collision with a Hummer on Interstate HWY-4.

The stark difference between these two churches we visited, while anecdotal, seems to jive with the Barna Group’s study.

Needless to say, we joined the Church where we not only felt connected but became vital to that body of believers. In other words, the people there took the time to know us, understand our spiritual gifts, and, so, plugged us in to serve.

So, I want to tell my estranged fellow believers, “Don’t give up on the Church and find God there.” Like in most things and in many people there are good ones and not so good ones. Keep searching until you find a church you can call family and become vitality connected and useful.

Complacency and apathy do not belong in God’s people and in His Church. Yet, for many churches, their lack of utilizing people’s spiritual gifts breeds complacency and apathy. And so, sadly, many people become church dropouts.

Your spiritual gifts matter, and never settle for you or the gifts that God gave you to be benched or shelved. Your spiritual vitality and health are important to God and in the right Church also. Be humble and patient with God’s spiritual gifts, but also be wise and discerning.

So, to my dechurched brothers and sisters, I want to challenge and invite you back to God. To tell you that Jesus is there, where He said He would be if two or three are gathered together in His Name.

I am not on the internet, so why are you searching there?

I’m not in your work, so why do you lose yourself there?

I’m not in your affairs or hookups, so why do you hide there?

Is it because you no longer believe in Me or see Me that you continue to wander aimlessly? Is that why you have no fear of Me because I don’t shout and yell at you?

Is that why you trust more in things than in Me?

You’re hanging too tightly to the temporal things at the expense of the eternal!

It doesn’t matter how many Sunday services you attend. It’s your secret life that is denying your belief in Me. Your lack of connectedness in Church stems from your lack of connectedness to Me!

Your Sunday morning “hallelujahs” and “amens” mean nothing to Me without your holiness and devotion. I’m supposed to be in your heart and not in your religious ambitions.

I’m pleading with you to return to Me, even though you’re chasing shadows and lingering in sin, I’m still not willing for you to perish. All your difficulties are not a string of bad luck. It’s Me, dealing with you as a faithful Father!

You will not find Me in the false gods you love; in A.I., Tictok, X, Meta, or Instagram. People are into those things, not Me, I’m here, inside your heart—whispering My heavenly will, which is uniquely designed for you.

Take out the trash in your heart and mind. Ask Me to create in you a clean heart and clear head. All you have to do is admit your sins, cry your eyes out, and invite Me in. I don’t want to judge you—I want to love you!

Turn away from darkness, and come back into the light. I won’t shame you, I want to tame your feral heart. I want to quiet all that hateful self-talk you’re constantly muttering at yourself. Those nasty voices come from the deep broken places that you’ll not let me heal.

Hasn’t my Son, Jesus, convinced you enough that I’m in love with you? I want you here with Me in Heaven so that Father and Son can be with you there on earth.

I know that’s what you want because I put that desire in you before I created you. So, stop holding hands with sin and the devil! He wants you in hell. I want you here with Me. You’ll not find Me there in the devil’s darkness. I’m over here, in the Light of My Word, and in Jesus, My Son.

If you want the devil to stop harassing you and your soul to cease its pain, seek Me with all your heart and weary soul. I’ll be found. I’m not the one hiding.

You’ll Not Find Me There, because I’m over here—I’ve never left!

The Slippery Slope of Good Intentions – Thomas J. Koester

Good intentions won’t save you; far too many people have learned too late that that’s just the devil’s pavement to hell.

“As missional Christians, we don’t want to be stuck in the past, speaking to where culture was 10 years ago—we need to be relevant today.” – Alex Early

I disagree with Alex Early, and here’s why…

There is a difference between customs and culture. When Toni and I were missionaries in Puerto Rico and Dominica Republic, we were very careful about their customs and trained to respect them. It was our intent to bring the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven and the power of the Gospel through word and actions to the Caribbean people.

Communism was rampant throughout Dominica. One night, I was even picked up by Dominican soldiers at gun point and led away. We were not there to adopt their culture but to invite them into the amazing and life giving, soul saving, world changing, person of Jesus Christ; him crucified, buried in a tomb and raised to life!

The wonderful, undiluted, non-world-conforming, uncompromising, inerrant, ever constant, and eternal truth of God needs not be relevant to the world. Rather, the world must pursue the relevance of Heaven through Christ.

Didn’t Jesus teach us to seek His Father’s will and Kingdom as it exists in heaven for earth and not the other way around? Relevancy originates in Heaven and not on the shiftiness of earth.

The spirit of political progressivism has spread into the Church. It is a leaven and is working its way through the body. This is the unfortunate philosophical message in Mr. Early’s quote. While in the wilderness, didn’t Jesus reject the temptation by Satan to be relevant?

“Bow down and worship me,” said Satan, “and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world.” Matthew 4: 8-9

Cultural relevancy, that is, to adapt the Gospel to contemporary culture is demonic.In other words, using relativism as a tool of good intention to reach the lost leaves them lost. A relativistic gospel is a false gospel, no matter what you pave or cover it with!

The Gospel, as it was proclaimed in the beginning, requires no repackaging or homogenization; it requires no modernization or Hollywood sensation; it does not require special effects or celebrity endorsement. It finds its power working best in the weak, in the poor in spirit, in the persecuted, in the merciful, in those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and in the pure of heart.

These types of missional Christians need not be relevant to the in vogue culture. No, the world is not worthy of these types of Christ followers. If their message is rejected; let me say again, if their message is rejected, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and more tolerable for Gomorrah then it will be for that town, or, for that culture in the day of Judgment.

The culture and people must be relevant to the Gospel or reject it. To do so otherwise is to progressively reduce the Gospel’s message into politically correct and palatable speech. While it may produce a form of godliness, it will deny its power.

The ends justifying the means is not a biblical model. It is a key principle of the secular humanists, radical socialists, and Leftest revolutionaries.

We do not use the methods of the world to win the world! Rather, we use divine weapons to dismantle every thought and argument, which raises itself against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ and not culture.

Christ must become our culture, and we therefore must preach Christ as he was, as he is—as he will always be. Christ is constant and current in any age as himself.

We do not need to dress Jesus as hipsters or in saggy pants; braid his hair or tattoo images of angels on his shoulders or forearms. We don’t need to pierce his lip, his chin, or brow; they’ve already been pierced on our behalf. One day, we’ll all see Him whom we’ve pierced and out of fear and reverence we’ll all fall to our knees.

Yes, Christ is always relevant, in every age and in every culture. After all, He is the Alpha and Omega; the First and the Last; the Beginning and the End. He is our constant and our Rock.

If you recall, everyone, even Jesus’ own family, wanted him to both conform and be relevant. Jesus’ only relevance was his Father’s will and his Father’s ways. Anything more would be pride; anything less would be rebellion.

The war is over our minds and thoughts. It seeks control over body and soul. It has been lurking around for thousands of years. Now, in these last days, it has crossed the threshold of many churches, colleges, universities, and even our seminaries.

We must return to the scriptures and stop elevating what man says and thinks. “On Christ the Solid Rock [we] stand – All other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.”

Good intentions won’t save you; far too many people have learned too late that that’s just the devil’s pavement to hell.

Believe in Jesus Christ as he is or don’t believe at all. Relevance is the highway to hell, and narrow is the way to life, and few find it.

Good intentions save no one!

Celebrity Worship And True Saints – By Thomas Koester

The difference between celebrity worship and hero worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so, we’ve come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models.

“We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety.” Daniel J. Boorstin – 1914 – February 28, 2004, American Historian

We have done the same thing in the Church. We make celebrities out of ministers, authors, and musicians, and then we call them “Saints.” True Saints are birthed out of trial and suffering and not out of fame and glory.

There is no “American Idol” for Sainthood.

Saints are known only in heaven. In earth, they are despised, rejected, and ignored. Saints will never be seen at the front of the line. To them, being last is first; being invisible is visibility; being hidden is being discovered.

Outward talent and “anointing” do not confirm Saints. The Anti-Christ and his crowd disprove this theory every day.

The hidden-indwelling Spirit of God; the silent character of Christ, beneath the skin of a Jesus-disciple, is the surest mark of a true Saint.

They are not mostly heard, not mostly seen, but are camouflaged in quietness and a godly poverty. You would more than likely see them ragged and without, even confusing them as homeless and wretched. They would be despised and turned away from most houses of worship.

They may indeed have wonderful talent, but for them, the stage of such worshipful expression is a darkened closet, the solitude of a lonely trail or an alley of a forgotton city.

True Saints are sojourners, not citizens of earth, but passer-byers. There’s no time to sit and enjoy furniture, a sofa, or even a soft bed. No roof or four walls to call their own.

Their investments are not of this world. Their deposits are unseen and unknown to institutions of earth. Their only debt is love. They’re always tirelessly paying it forward from unseen resources.

True Saints are in a ceaseless love affair with Jesus. It never grows cold or just warm. Their passion for Christ grows hotter and hotter until the religious snuff them out.

True Saints are unwanted in most “churches.” Their presence is a judgment, and indictment against worldliness – There are only two ways in which a Saint will leave such a church; by divine decree or crucifixion.

True Saints don’t form clubs, ministries, or groups. Their fellowship halls are clouds of witnesses, those who’ve gone before, who cheer them on from a distant world. Two or three saints together are a crowd. Each one walks with a thousand angels – not because of who they are, but because of their nearness to Christ.

The more I write, the more I realize how rare true saints are and how far off I am. They are more likely to be born in the third world rather than in free and industrialized nations.

Lord, how we need you to birth true Saints.

As our society crumbles and our nation wains, a time is coming when Saints will reign. As darkness falls and liberty’s light grows dim, Saints will be counted, but no less than ten. For if more than ten true Saints existed in this great nation, this nation would have been greater!

Father in heaven, bring down your judgment against your worldly church. Purge her, refine her, and beautify her for Christ. Don’t listen to our petty-prayers of revival – bring rather true fire from heaven and cleanse us by the zeal of Christ and make us once again into a house of prayer and sainthood.

Forgive us for degrading Christ and his true disciples – Make us into Saints, like Saints of Old, tested by fire and prison, molded by persecution and derision.

Purge your people of worldliness and religiosity. We repent of our churchy and celebrity ways. We renounce worldly wealth, fame, fortune, and house – to pursue a better kingdom in heaven than on earth.

In Jesus’ Name and Authority, as it is in heaven, may it also be here on earth. Whatever it takes, Oh Lord, make it so. Your ends justify our suffering – Let it begin!

Rise up O’ House of God – Wake up O’ sleeper. Let your righteousness shine forth, and your saints arise from ash and cinder.