I'm over it. I'm over watching the religious system that operates and thrives from a place of fearful control, all the while calling it faith and teaching others to do the same. I'm over watching the enemy wreak havoc in the church by preying on the weak. Where are the men of God that will stand up and say no more? My heart is just so heavy. I've noticed with sadness that there are more and more divisions within our churches and I'm not simply talking about different demoninatons. I'm talking about the ability to walk peacefully in the light and truth with other believers in real agape relationship practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ. We tend to look more like the pompously arrogant pharisees of Jesus's day than the salt and light of the early believers. We have a huge movement of people pulling away from the gathering of the saints and turning towards an internet buffet of whoever agrees with them at the time. We have another resurgence of gentiles attempting to become Jews. We have self appointed five fold ministers abusing and taking advantage of immature baby believers and churches that are so desperate for a sign that they willingly allow themselves to become abused and degraded all in the name of "honoring" these so called men and women of god. We line their pockets with money while the homeless population in our cities are multiplying every single day. We have people creating and teaching false doctrines about demons so that now you can literally lump anyone that disagrees with you into a category..... "she's a Jezebel, he's a Jezebel". It's gut wrenching to watch as more and more men and women worship teachers, healers, prophets, evangelists, and pastors hoping that somehow they might "get" their anointing and these people are willing to hurt anyone that may come between them and their "blessing". Baptism with water for salvation has somehow become a serious point of contention and repentance is almost being thrown out completely. There is no balance, grace is being taught as license to sin and WE as a church have found ourselves sickly and anemic with absolutely no influence on the world around us as we all chase and buy into the next big things. We fill ourselves full with the knowledge of the scriptures never coming to the place where we realize that we know nothing if we don't know Him. We are all so self serving that we cannot but barely discern our lives in churches from the dog eat dog ways of this world. I'm not speaking of unbelievers, I am speaking to professing believers that would rather be right than get right with their brothers and sisters in Christ. It's so easy to point the finger but after alot of contemplation and some serious prayer I can see clearly that there is but one root that has clearly grown in our church culture without much opposition. That root simply put is pride. Everyone wants to be something more in the kingdom. Everyone wants the power, the glory, and the fame. Everybody wants to be served but no one wants to humbly serve others unless of course it serves them. Simply put, everyone wants to live but no one wants to die. Pride inside of us must die before anything of heaven can grow within us. We have traded the cross for a crown and sought to somehow find an easier way than the way of Christ. Well my friends I speak the truth when I say this, there isn't one. We must all make this choice for ourselves. Will you lose your life for His sake or would you rather live your best life now? As for me and my house, we are devoting ourselves to practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself, devoting ourselves to learning how to love Him, to obey Him, and to make Him known. Even if no one comes with us and even if we're hated for His namesake we will not quit or deviate from the narrow way and we're going to keep telling others the good news of the kingdom calling them all to repentance and faith hoping they will join us. What are you going to do?