Author: Kyle Fuller

I love Jesus. I desire to encourage and equip the body of Christ and preach the gospel to those who don't know Him.

Pulp Non-Fiction

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

When reading the Old Testament, I often think about what is said in Luke 24:27, “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” To me, that is just so cool! It lets me know for sure that while the Old Testament does indeed have its own contextual significance; it’s still all about Jesus.

Alright, with that in mind, I was reading in II Kings 4: 8-37 the other day (the story of the Shunammite woman and her son) and I wondered if perhaps this was one of the passages Jesus used as an example of OT scriptures that spoke of him. I won’t take up the space to put the whole passage down; take a moment and read it yourself. I’ll wait…… Ready?

After the Shunamite’s son grows up a bit, one day he apparently has heat stroke which results in his death later that afternoon. The woman saddles up and makes a bee-line for Elisha the prophet. She tells him what has happened, and then Elisha sends his servant to go and lay his staff on the boy, presumably to restore him to life. Well, you read it; nothing happened. So, Elisha goes himself, and this is the cool part, the Bible says, “He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD.  Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands.” Elisha repeats this and the child comes to life.

When I think of Elisha sending his servant on ahead with his staff; I think of how God sent Moses (remember he had a famous staff as well) and all the prophets to Israel, but they were not able to bring eternal life. The law and the prophets could not remove sin. No, Elisha, whose name means “God is salvation” (go figure), had to go to the dead boy himself just like Jesus came Himself. Like Elisha, Jesus “stretched himself out,” he put his mouth on our mouth, his eyes on our eyes, and his hands on our hands. He became man, bore our sin, and brought us to life!! Hallelujah!!

Here it is, short & sweet: Jesus is life eternal. It was always the Father’s intention to send the Son, and even in the OT, he was talking about it. Although it has its place, a miraculous staff just isn’t enough. Come and experience the life-giving Son!

Thy Kingdom Come

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

(While I most definitely “see through a glass darkly,” I wanted to share with you  some of the research I’ve done as I have tried to understand a little bit more about the Kingdom of God. As you will see, I am really fond of Ladd’s The Presence of The Future , probably because  I agree with a lot of what he has to say (just being honest). While this is in no way a comprehensive study on the Kingdom of God, I do hope it will cause you to think and seek the Lord earnestly about these things.)

There is an abundance of discussion pertaining to the Kingdom within the ecclesia today. One could almost say that we have become inundated with “Kingdom Talk,” and there are as many points of view as there are people discussing them. If we are to understand the relationship between the Church and the kingdom we must first understand exactly what the kingdom is. Are the Kingdom and the church synonymous? If not, what is the church’s role and message in the world as it relates to the Kingdom? These are the questions we shall explore in our present endeavor.

According to George Eldon Ladd, the relationship between the church and the Kingdom will ultimately be defined by what one understands the Kingdom of God to be. If the dynamic concept of the Kingdom is correct, it is never to be identified with the church. The kingdom is primarily the dynamic reign, or kingly rule of God, and derivatively, the sphere in which the rule is experienced. In biblical idiom, the kingdom is not identified with its subjects. They are the people of God’s rule who enter it, live under it, and are governed by it. The church is the community of the kingdom, but never the kingdom it self. Jesus’ disciples belong to the kingdom as the kingdom belongs to them; but they are not the kingdom. The kingdom is the rule of God; the church is a society of men.[1]

Ladd insists that the New Testament never equates the believers with the kingdom, and that the message of the early church was the Kingdom of God and not the church itself.[2] Despite the analogies in the parables of the Kingdom given by Jesus in the gospels, one must resist the temptation of declaring the Kingdom and the church as synonymous. Ladd concludes that the parables, specifically the parable of the tares found in Matthew 13, have “nothing to do with the nature of the church but rather teach that the kingdom of God has invaded history without disrupting the present structure of society.”[3]

There is without a doubt an inseparable relationship between the church and the Kingdom of God; but one must be sure to recognize that there is, at the same time, an overt distinction in identity between the two. Entering the church is not tantamount with entering the Kingdom in that the Kingdom, in its present form, is an invisible realm in which God rules, whereas the church is both visible and tangible. True, to enter the Kingdom means to participate with the church; but one can see, as in the parable of the dragnet, that an entrance into the church does not guarantee one’s participation with the Kingdom. The church is the result of the Kingdom entering the world and is itself a creation of the Kingdom.[4]

The Kingdom takes its departure from God, the church from men. The Kingdom is God’s reign and the realm in which the blessings of his reign are experienced; the church is the fellowship of those who have experienced God’s reign and entered into the enjoyment of its blessings. The Kingdom creates the Church, works through the church, and is proclaimed in the world by the church. There can be no Kingdom without a church- those who have acknowledged God’s rule- and there can be no church without God’s Kingdom; but they remain two distinguishable concepts: the rule of God and the fellowship of men.[5]

Once it as been established that the Kingdom and the church are indeed separate entities, perhaps the question should be asked in what way is the church an instrument of the Kingdom. Is the church the means by which the Kingdom of God is ushered into the world?

There is much talk within the church, especially within the Dominionist and Emergent factions, that the church should infiltrate the various sectors of “secular” governance, and work to usher in the Kingdom of God upon the earth. These factions see it as necessity for the church to institute the rule of God in the society and culture of contemporary historicity; a posture which has had adverse effects when assumed in the past.

According to Murray Rothbard, it was ideology including Christian involvement in politics that precipitated the “welfare state” now entrenched in American society. Rothbard says: “A critical but largely untold story in American political history is the gradual but inexorable secularization of Protestant postmillennial pietism over the decades of the middle and late 19th century. The emphasis, almost from the beginning, was to use government to stamp out sin and to create a perfect society, in order to usher in the Kingdom of God on Earth. Over the decades, the emphasis slowly but surely shifted: more and more away from Christ and religion, which became ever-vaguer and woollier, and more and more toward a Social Gospel, with government correcting, organizing, and eventually planning the perfect society. No matter how commendable the goal of such tactics, there is not one example in the entire Bible of political or social “activism” ever being advocated or used by God’s people.”[6]

It would seem to this writer that the function of the church as an instrument of the Kingdom should perhaps be understood in an evangelistic context as opposed to a political movement. It may be that the church, in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, is the means by which men are exposed to the message of the Kingdom and are thereby born again into the Kingdom of God’s rule. Instead of attempting to subjugate an unbelieving world, perhaps the church’s true mission is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, subjugating the hearts of men, and as a result the ethics of the Kingdom would become more and more prevalent within the society in which man lives.

If the Church is an instrument of the Kingdom and not the Kingdom itself, if it is indeed to be understood as an evangelistic tool and not a political movement, it behooves the church to understand the message it is expected to declare to the world. What is the declaration the King would have His citizens declare to those who have not yet submitted to the rule of God?

The King himself has given the church the paradigm for Kingdom preaching. The gospel that Jesus preached was that the Kingdom of God, while to be completely consummated in the future, had indeed, by the appearing of himself, come into history. Again, Ladd gives a beautiful summation asserting that Jesus’ Kingdom message was: God is a seeking God, God is an inviting God, God is a Fatherly God, and God of judgment, who in the person of Christ is acting redemptively upon the earth.[7]

“Jesus proclamation of the presence of the Kingdom means that God has become redemptively active in history on behalf of his people. This does not empty the eschatological aspect of the Kingdom of its content, for the God who was acting in history in the person and mission of Jesus will again act at the end of the age to manifest his glory and saving power. Both the present and the future display God’s Kingdom, for both present and future are the scene of the redemptive acting of God.”[8]

The message the church should be preaching to the world is the same one Jesus preached during his earthly ministry. The gospel of the Kingdom is that God has now come in the person of his Son to seek out, and invite mankind into a relationship with himself through Christ, thereby escaping the judgment which will be executed upon those who are unwilling to submit to his rule. The church proclaims in its message, and displays by its ethics that while the final consummation of the Kingdom awaits future realization, the reality is that the Kingdom of God has indeed come.

While the church is not synonymous with the Kingdom, it nevertheless exists in an inseparable relationship with it. The church, as often has been said, is a people who live “between the times.” They are caught up in a tension between the Kingdom of God and a sinful world, between the age to come and the present evil age. The church has experienced the victory of the Kingdom of God; and yet the church is, like other men, at the mercy of the powers of this world. The church is a symbol of hope, a proof that God has forsaken neither this age nor human history to the powers of evil. The Kingdom of God has created the church and continues to work in the world through the church.[9]

While Jesus never talked about building the kingdom or of his disciples ushering in the kingdom as do so many within today’s ecclesia,[10] the church is indeed inextricably bound to the Kingdom in that it is both its creation and instrument. Until that time in which the not yet is eternally transformed into the now, the church will be that which is made up of them who cry, “Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

1. George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of The Future, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), 262.

2. Ibid., 263.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid., 264, 265.

5. Ibid., 277.

6. Murry N Rothbard, “Origins of the Welfare State in America,” Ludwig von Mises Institute (August 11, 2006), http://mises.org/daily/2225, (accessed October 4, 2011).

 7. George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of The Future, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), 171-217.

8. Ibid., 172.

9. Ibid., 338.

10. Ibid., 333.

Selfless

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Selfless

Every move You made was in surrender, every word You said

Was in love showing us the heart of the Father

Everyone You healed was with compassion and the life

You lived and gave was the selfless life of a servant

**

Jesus, lately I’ve been thinking

That I spend way too much time thinking about me

I can hear your Spirit call for me to take up my cross and deny myself

And to lay down my life and follow You

**

 Every where I look all around me, everywhere I hear

The cries of those in need of the heart of the Father

Needing to be healed with compassion, needing to be filled

With the selfless life of the One who came as a servant

**

 Jesus, lately I’ve been thinking

That I spend way too much time thinking about me

I can hear your Spirit call for me to take up my cross and deny myself

And to lay down my life and follow you

**

There are people You place in my life torn and broken up inside

They need to hear about You Lord, about Your cross, about Your blood

But I just pass them by and leave them lying there dying and bleeding

Still I go to church each week and I’ve somehow made it all about me

Yeah, I sound so sincere when I pray, “Lord, draw me near”

And I sing for joy all the while Your Spirit is grieving

**

  Jesus, lately I’ve been thinking

That I spend way too much time thinking about me

I can hear your Spirit call for me to take up my cross and deny myself

And to lay down my life and follow you

( “Selfless” Copyright © 2011 B.Kyle Fuller)

“What You Pray I Pray. What You Say I say.”

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

We’ve been talking about prayer lately. We’ve asked ourselves the question, “Why should I pray?” We’ve discussed the fact that when we pray we should keep in mind that we are praying to a holy God. Now, I’d like to look at how we know what we are to pray.

“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word [emphasis mine].” (I Kings 17:1)

” Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!” (James 5:17)

When we first meet the prophet Elijah, he kind of pops up on the scene and announces that it won’t rain unless he says so. That’s definitely a bold statement to make. What catches my attention even more than the claim that it won’t rain is the statement he makes, “…except at my word.” What gave Elijah the confidence (maybe audacity is a better word to use) to make such a claim? I think reading James’ commentary on the deal gives us a little more clarity. James said Elijah prayed earnestly (lit., “prayed with prayers”) that it wouldn’t rain.

Elijah said that he stood before the Lord. In other words, he served the Lord continually. He was a man who spent time with God, developing an intimate relationship with Him. As he “stood” before the Lord, the word of the Lord came to him, and that let him know how he should pray. James lets us know that this wasn’t just a casual offering up of a prayer or two, but earnest, continual prayer regarding what the Lord had spoken. Elijah was so “in tune” with the Lord, knowing His heart so well, praying only that which God had spoken to Him, that he was able to say, “It won’t rain unless I say so.” He knew what to pray (and say) because it was the very word of the Lord that had birthed the prayers  in him!

You can see another example of this kind of thing in Daniel 9. The Bible says that while Daniel was reading the writings of Jeremiah, he understood that the period of Israel’s desolation was complete, and this understanding moved him into a time of prayer and fasting. What Daniel read in Jeremiah provided the framework for his prayers.

How do we know what to pray? I think in light of what we’ve looked at today, we can confidently say that the Lord desires to birth His prayers within us through an abiding relationship with Him, and as we hear Him speak, we understand His heart and know what to pray.

“Hey Haters”: Indeed

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Recently we were saddened as we watched a video in which the name of Jesus was maligned and Eddie Long was “crowned King”. Many (including myself) within the church decried this event, humbly pointing out that this most certainly was not of the Lord. We continue to pray for those who are directly impacted by Long’s “ministry.”

We are commanded in the scriptures to test the spirits, to see whether or not they be of God. (I John 4:1) When you encounter various teachers, when you read books, listen to sermons, read my blog,  etc…, measure it against the Word, and ask the Lord for discernment as to the spirit behind what you are observing. All that glitters is not gold and remember Jesus said just because we prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles in his name does not mean we are known by him.

Another video came my way today, and while no king was crowned, I was as saddened by this as I was Long’s pseudo-coronation. As you watch this video, pray for discernment and ask the Lord to speak to your heart. Is this truly the way of the cross ? I share this video (link down below) with you not to tear anyone down, but that we may be among those who “because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

Hey Haters (Steven Furtick)

The Way of the Cross

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I think if you look at the way in which Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness you’ll find that perhaps his primary objective was to circumvent the cross. As I have thought about this, and considered the current climate in the Church today, I believe that the body of Christ is being tempted in much the same way: There are other ways than the “way of the cross” to achieve God’s purposes.

Jesus  had come, assuming the brokenness of his creation, and this meant going to Jerusalem, and dying on a cross (Matt. 16:21, 20:18; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:31).  After being baptized by John, the Bible tells us that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit, and that the Devil tempted him. Jesus had been fasting in this barren place, he was hungry and tired, and it was at this point (and probably all during the 40 days) that the Tempter confronted him.

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” The Devil is telling the Church the same things today. The Tempter comes and says to the body of Christ, “Look guys if you really are the Church, if you really have his Spirit and are full of God’s power, use it to meet your needs. Hey, you’ve got needs and rights, the Lord wouldn’t want you to suffer. Use that faith of yours to manifest what you need to sustain you. It’ll increase your faith when you see your needs met. After all, you’re no good to any one else if you don’t survive.”

The enemy knows that like Jesus we are to be submitted to the purposes and the will of God. Like Christ, we are to willingly lay down our rights, denying ourselves, existing off of the very “bread” that comes from having heard God speak. Satan knew that if he could get Jesus to give in at this point he was one step closer in diverting him from the cross. And the Tempter seeks to do the same thing to us.

“Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

   ‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

“Jesus,” the Devil was saying, “the cross can be avoided altogether with one big miracle; just show them who you are.” We are offered the same alternative today. The Enemy comes and says, “Hey, this cross business is going to be really painful and messy. There’s no need for you to suffer like that. What better way to get people to see than a miracle! They’ll believe, and you don’t have to suffer! Let’s concentrate on miracles, spiritual gifts, and stuff like that. Ah, think about it. A ‘bull’s-eye’ word of prophecy would blow their minds. They’d have to believe.

Here again we see the enemy offering an alternative to the way of the cross.  The Church is being tempted to bypass the way of the cross for the miraculous.

“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’”

Here we see the devil again tempting the Lord to bypass the way of the cross. He tells Jesus that he’ll give him all the nations if Jesus will simply worship him. “Look Jesus, if it’s nations you want, I can give them to you. There doesn’t need to be a cross, just do it my way, and they are yours.” We learn in scripture that Satan’s way is primarily the flesh way. When Peter told Jesus that he (Jesus) should not have to suffer and die, Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” See, Jesus knew his was the way of the cross, and this way is always contrary to what man or Satan would pursue. I think the Church is tempted (regarding the nations) in much the same way today.

The Devil comes and whispers, “Listen Church, no need for this cross business, take the nations by influence and power. Take over the political arena, get the right laws passed, infiltrate the culture, and I’m out of business.”

We are called, as followers of Jesus, to the way of the cross. It is in our weakness that the strength of God is made manifest. As we lay down our lives, take up our cross, and follow him, the life of Jesus and power of God will be made known. Are we to do justice, feed the poor, clothe the naked, and disciple the nations? You betcha! But, these things are the result of the way of the cross, not a substitute for it. Remember when Jesus fed the 5,000? Did it make everyone a believer? Did they all repent and follow him? No, they tried to take him by force and make him king. What did Jesus do? He left, and then later rebuked them for not truly wanting him. They were only seeking to use him. Jesus had his face set towards Jerusalem and the cross.

The Apostle Paul knew that the way of the cross was the way to really touch people for Jesus. He told the Corinthians that true ministers are “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.” (II Cor. 4:10-12)  Friends if we are ever to truly know the power of Jesus’ resurrection we must first be conformed to the image of his death. This is the way of the cross, and the means by which we are to make disciples.

Praying To A Holy God

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, the first thing he told them was, “Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name…” I think many of us have lost sight of the fact that when we pray we are praying to a holy God. While it is most definitely true that God is our Father, that we have his very Spirit in us that enables us to cry out “Abba Father,” and that we are tenderly loved by God himself, we must remember that he is God and his name is holy.

While I understand the motivation of many when they tell others to just talk with God like you would anyone else, we must keep in mind that while we don’t have to pray to God using King James English, he is not just anyone else. He is altogether holy and separate from anything that we can even imagine. He’s not just another buddy that we call up and say, “Hey, yo God…” When we pray, we are addressing the almighty living God, creator of heaven and earth. He is holy and his name is to be reverenced.

Among Christians today, it seems that the casual manner in which they approach God is worn like some sort of badge of spirituality. We are told in the Bible that even the angels cover their faces before our holy God. Think of the times in the Bible when you read about people having a real up close encounter with the Lord; it scared the daylights out of them! John, the beloved Apostle who walked with Jesus, ate with him and leaned against his breast, says in the book of Revelation that when he turned around and saw the One speaking to him he fell down like a dead man. When Isaiah had his vision of God he said, “Woe is me!” It seems like today it has almost become unpopular to speak of God’s holiness. People immediately shout, “Legalist, Pharisee!” We want a God we can control, a snugly teddy bear, Santa Clause God that we can manipulate and who is subject to our every whim. Why have we become offended when we are reminded that we pray to a God that says, “I am the Lord God and there is no other!”

The understanding of God’s holiness should produce confidence when we pray. The God we pray to, the “Our Father” is the One before whom the hosts of heaven bow down and cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come…You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” This holy God before whom mountains tremble and the earth quakes is the One that loves you!

The fact that our Abba is holy means that he is separate and different from all else, there is nothing nor no one like him. I think we see this so clearly in the cross. This God who is holy, righteous, and beyond comparison revealed his heart in the offering of Jesus.  Someone has said, “What God’s holiness has demanded, his grace has provided in Jesus.” Can we not pray in humble reverence to such a God as this?

To be continued…

Let Us Pray: Why?

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Why must I pray? How am I supposed to pray? How do I know if  I’m praying the will of God? These are just a few of the questions about prayer that most of us ask. While I would not even begin to claim that I understand everything about prayer, I would like to share some thoughts on the subject. So, please join me as we  see what we can learn about this thing called prayer.

The first thing about prayer that stands out to me is the fact that when we pray, we are intentionally placing ourselves in a position to encounter God. We read in the Bible things about seeking the Lord, waiting on God, crying out to the Lord, and coming into his presence, well what does all of that mean? How do you do that? It’s in prayer. We cant (at this point) physically come into the presence of God. I can’t physically “enter his gates.”  Prayer is the way I come to the Lord. Prayer is how I encounter the presence of the living God. (I understand about community & the Body, but we’re just talking about prayer right now.) I can  come and talk to God, and what’s more, I can hear him speak to me. (Yeah, I said it.)  No wonder we meet so much opposition when we endeavor to develop our prayer life.  Through prayer I am communing with the living God. Why must I pray? I should think the answer is pretty obvious! In prayer, I’m meeting with God and he has the tendency to “rub off” on you. (And to rub stuff off of you as well!) It has been said that demons get alarmed when a Christian begins to read the Bible, but they TREMBLE when Christians begin to pray.

I heard pastor Dennis Hall once say that “how much we depend on God is a gauge of sorts as to a Christian’s maturity.” The mature disciple is one that depends upon God and prayer is perhaps the ultimate sign of this dependence. “But I thought that the more one matures the more independent he becomes.” Isn’t that what they tell us? Once again we need to be reminded that God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. We seek a spiritual maturity that only comes through surrender and dependence on God. Our heart before the new birth cries out for independence and maturity according to the flesh, but the heart of the disciple relates maturity to his relationship with God. Let me ask you this, when Jesus said, “I do nothing of myself. I only do and say what I see and hear from the Father,” how do you suppose he saw and heard those things? You already know the answer-prayer, communing with the Father. What an example he gave us to follow!

Simply put, when we pray, we are meeting with God. We can’t really meet with him and not come away changed.

To be continued…

DISCERNMENT (Concerning Eddie Long)

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

We are told in the Bible about false teachers and deception, how in the last days “false Christs and false prophets will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” We are told that people will have itching ears and accumulate for themselves teachers  who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

I share the following video (see link down below) with you in hopes that it will provoke you to prayer and the study of God’s word like never before. While some may be tempted to scoff and make light of this video, I assure you this is no laughing matter. This is just one example among many of dear souls who are being led astray (in every race & culture), people who need to have their eyes & ears  opened by the Spirit of God. Notice, in this video, the use of scripture, the name of Jesus (Yeshua) being evoked,  and the sheer manipulation of the congregation. Also, take notice of the hands raised in “worship,” the excitement, and the “words of prophecy” spoken. Friends, what you see in this video is NOT the Spirit of God!! This is the spirit of  antichrist.

We must spend time at the feet of Jesus, meditating on his word, and being continuously filled with his Spirit. Let’s pray for each other that our “love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that we may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
New Birth Crowns Eddie Long as King (click to watch video)

I Wanna Get Spiritual, Spiritual…

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

It is very popular in our culture today for people to say they are attempting to become more spiritual. It is greeted with general acceptance when people claim to have come to a realization that materialism in its many forms is not the chief end of man, and decide that perhaps spirituality is what’s missing in their lives . Many today are claiming to have experiences with God. There is indeed a trend towards the spiritual in American culture today. We are encouraged by talk show hosts and self-help gurus alike to return to traditional values, begin to pray, have faith and seek after God. Sounds pretty good huh?

Jesus said that no man can come to the Father (God) except through himself. He told the Jews at one point that if they were truly hearing from God, if they were taught of God as they claimed; they would believe in him because he was sent by God. Jesus said that the Father himself testifies that he (Jesus) is the way by which men can come into relationship with God. Jesus also said that the Holy Spirit testifies concerning him. He said the Spirit would glorify him. Jesus also told the people that if they truly understood scripture they would believe in Him. The point I’m trying to make is that if we are truly having a “spiritual awakening,” if we really are in touch with and hearing from God; it will be centered on the person of Jesus. Trying to be more spiritual without an intimate relationship with Jesus is really just another way of being religious.

It is vastly unpopular today to claim to know something absolutely. It is frowned upon by the majority of the populace when some one claims that this or that is the only way. However, that it is exactly what Jesus did. He said I am the way, the truth and the life. The apostle John, in his writings, tells us that you can’t have the Father without Jesus. We find that any one who does not confess that Jesus is the Christ, God who took on a real flesh and blood body, is not of God. I know you’re not supposed to say stuff like that nowadays, but it’s true. John tells us that if you have Jesus you have eternal life. He put it like this: “…for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1John 5:9-12)