by Pastor James Bell

The willful ignorance of God and his purposes by the media and the entertainment industry has perpetuated a disturbing and false concept of God. For the most part, our culture is buying into it big time.

The idea is that God is somewhere up there sneering and snarling at you because you are so messed up. The message is that you have two choices available to you with regard to religious convictions:

You are incapable of being good and you are honest about it.

Or

You are incapable of being good and you are a hypocrite.

You choose. According to the what is culturally acceptable, you only get to choose one. Okay, what do you suppose is the best choice? Here is how it might be described:

“It is to be aware that you are upsetting “the Good Lord” by the way you live, but you are an honest sinner, who might actually be so real and so honestly human that God begins to like you and feel a little sympathy toward you. I mean, at least you are not a hypocrite, whom God and everybody else despises. God will let you know how he feels about you by the things that happen, or don’t happen, to you in your life. If things get rough, you might want to attend a church service pretty soon to show a little respect. But don’t let that hypocrisy rub off on you.”

Just one problem with that concept, though. It’s totally bogus. Two thousand plus years ago, Jesus came to earth and changed everything. Knowing that we are incapable of being good, the Son of God was punished in our place, paying the price for our sins. God loved us too much to leave us separated from himself. There is a difference between imperfection (as we grow spiritually) and being a hypocrite. It is not hypocritical to take a stand for what is right, even though you need forgiveness when you don’t do the right thing. That is progress. That is growth. It can also make you a target for those who have failed to create their own righteousness and criticize the righteousness of Christ in others. They have “dumbed down” Christian teachings to formulate their own pseudo-spirituality that they will take with them to the judgement and eventually to an eternal hell.

One startling fact has not changed since Jesus walked the dusty roads of Judea and Galilee. It is the religious who hate Christ the most. Jesus was executed by Roman soldiers, but he was killed by the religious. The same misunderstanding of the righteousness of God permeates “Christian America” today. To be “good” has become a bad thing. To be “bad” is now a good thing.

God’s response is unchanging. He continues to love those who sin against him, and he offers them a better way. But, being limited by our own mortality, every person has their last time to reject him before it is too late. Understanding that God is not your enemy, you have a great opportunity to experience eternal life, beginning right now. Think about this prayer:

God our Father, we find it difficult to come to you,
because our knowledge of you is imperfect.
In our ignorance we have imagined you to be our enemy;
we have wrongly thought that you take pleasure in punishing our sins;
and we have foolishly conceived you to be a tyrant over human life.

But since Jesus came among us, he has shown that you are loving,
that you are on our side against all that stunts life,
and that our resentment against you was groundless.
So we come to you, asking you to forgive our past ignorance,
and wanting to know more and more of you and your forgiving love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Stunned by the brevity and depth of this prayer, written by St. Augustine, I can only say, “Amen”.

How about you?

by Pastor James Bell

Somewhere in the peaceful meadowlands, between spiritual flights of fantasy and hardcore religious fundamentalism, there lies a treasure. It is the true purpose of God for His church. It has been significantly absent from many church growth seminars, prophetic conferences, and Christian ecumenical movements and events. But it is already being discovered and embraced by many. Could 2010 be the year of spiritual sensibility?

Christianity has always been perceived in a negative light by those who love darkness, and often marginalized by the media, but the last decade has been a tipping point for many Christians. They are sick and tired of being embarrassed by the inane antics of false prophets. They are weary of one moral failure after another by self-proclaimed spiritual leaders. They are fed up with the three-ring circus approach to defining a “move of God”.

On the other hand, faith-filled believers are not ready to capitulate to an alternative that denies the power of the Holy Spirit at work and in the church. They long for the stability of biblical truth, but feel emasculated by an anemic, mostly academic approach to Christianity that many hold responsible for emptying mainline churches across America in the last century.

As we begin 2010, there is a fresh wind of the Spirit blowing across this land! It is erasing cultural prejudice, tearing down denominational fences, and setting free both those in religious bondage and those deceived by charismatic extremism. The big question mark is where, among the religious landscape of the next decade, will these ones who are being set free from either wild-eyed fundamentalism or cold, faithless liberalism put down roots? The miracle to make this year especially significant might be the place where the minds of both groups ultimately meet. Here is a visionary glance at what this place might look like:

• The Bible being simply and clearly taught, replacing both enthusiastic-but-erroneous sermons and trendy, self-esteem raising messages.
• The ordinances of communion and baptism restored as a vital part of worship, presenting these ordinances not as symbolic rites, but as relevant experiences in God’s presence.
• Allowing Jesus to set our agendas and the Holy Spirit to mess up our plans (very popular in the church described in Acts).
• Realizing that spontaneous miracles of healing (physical and inner) happen during worship songs of all genres.
• Plainly spoken (as opposed to vague and rhetorical) prophetic words shared as a part of our worship services in either evangelical or liturgical settings.
• Prayer ministry by Christians to others at work, in our schools, and in relationships in our neighborhoods.
• Seeing Jesus in the faces of the poor, and doing something about it.
• Being effective conduits through which the love of God will flow out from the churches and into the communities, based on the needs of those communities.

More than those emotionally charged “outpourings”, so often concluded by strife or immoral and/or unethical behavior….or “hip and cool” trendy services, where we try (with a spectacular lack of success) to emulate the world and imitate Christ…a real move of God is needed in our land. What if something authentic, powerful, and transformational started right here at Hosanna?

by James Bell

Religion is not really a bad word. Some consider that word to mean dead, dull, dry, boring church services and dead, dull, dry, boring people. That’s not really fair, especially if we are talking about authentic Christianity, but we have to admit there is a reason people feel that way.

I have to plead guilty to being bored silly at preachers conferences, irritated while standing in a prayer circle of sweaty palms and repetitious phrases, and listening to endless debates about complicated (and ridiculous) religious philosophical viewpoints. If it were not for chicken-fried steaks and Dr. Pepper, I would probably not have survived some of those long-winded discussions.

“Anyone who sets himself up as ‘religious’ by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air.” – The Apostle James (in the Message Bible)

We need religion we can use! Atheists say religion is a crutch. I say it is a vehicle. It gets us to where we need to be. Religion is doing the gospel. It is bringing together the needs of mankind and the purposes of God. It is a hybrid of faith and reality.

Now, if you choose to not believe in the power of prayer, or divine healing, or God’s intervention into the lives of men and women, then the religion you are embracing might well be a corpse. Being a Christian without acknowledging the power of the Holy Spirit is like a religious “Weekend at Bernie’s”.

Recently, we have heard from four different people in our church about going to the doctor to continue treatment on the diagnosed cancers in their bodies, only to be told that those cancers simply were not there anymore! That’s religion you can use.

People who were considering divorce are experiencing a new love for their spouse. They are rebuilding their marriages on the foundation of the word of God. They are learning that it is not “always right to be right”. Godly humility is saving relationships and families. Usable religion.

A widow finds her lawn mowed. A man is laid off of work, but food arrives to feed the kids. The deaf who need translation are put on the front row, not the back row.  A single mother gets back-to-school help. This is religion you can use.

I know some people have given religion such a bad name that we often feel we must put another word in front of it. Authentic religion, true religion, pure religion, etc. I would like to pick that word up from the gutter, dust it off, clean it up, and use it. Its use should result in lighter wallets, sore muscles, weightier prayers, and open hearts.

There may be some things you don’t like about the church. You might find some scripture that have to struggle to obey. You may not even like the pastor very much. That’s okay.

Just make sure your religion is religion you can use. You’re gonna need it. I do too.

I enjoy strategizing, think tanks, roundtables, and even a bit of theological jousting. I love to read, and have challenged bookstore managers to update and upgrade their selections. My life experience includes stints as a Pentecostal, Charismatic, Methodist (only a year for not very good reasons), Baptist (ordained), and finally a non-denominational pastor.

Now, don’t you agree that these things should qualify me to be somewhat helpful to the Lord as one who could evaluate and explain the human condition? Actually, they are some of the many reasons God does not need or seek my advice. I am one of those poor souls who often just doesn’t “get it”.

In my prayers I have offered up some ways to: end wars (okay, it involved a lot of people being wiped out), eradicate poverty (similar to Egyptian slavery); end the AIDS epidemic (don’t even ask); and establish the Spirit-filled, non-denominational stream of Christianity as the only church choice (that one would make Nixon blush).

I didn’t even get answers to my thoughtful contributions. I felt a strangeness in my spiritual connection with the Savior. I began to sense a need to repent, hit the delete button on my Spiritual Depth file, and to fall once again at the foot of the cross.

After a few times, this cycle of events led me to a rather cynical conclusion about personal revelation. Most, or at least many, personal revelations and/or epiphanies are a result of a dangerously inflated ego.

“God showed me that my destiny is to impact multitudes who have been waiting for my ministry to emerge.”

“I received this word when I was a child, that I am to be a bright light seen by many, and that I will be sought out by the leaders of nations…”

“The Lord has singled me out from among my peers as one who is more sensitive and understanding of his purpose and plan than others”

If the person who received those words would listen very carefully to what God was actually saying, he might have heard,

“I am the Lord. It’s time for you to shut up about these words.”

You know why I can write these things, don’t you? Of course, it was me. People have given me words since I was a small boy. If all the words would have come true, I would:

1. be dead.
2. have been a jockey (at 6′3″?!?).
3. have married a really ugly girl.
4. have spoken to world leaders and preached to millions in huge arenas.
5. have given money to many who gave me the words.
6. have been one messed up, egocentric, bumbling, moronic pastor.
7. have written a few books on the “top list” of Christian bookstores.
8. have been all over TBN.

I do remember the “shut up” message that I heard directly from my Master. I know that he speaks in whatever words it takes to best communicate with those He loves. Words are nothing to God except vehicles for our limited understanding to utilize. He might never say such words to you. But they were perfect for me.

I quit trying to “discover” God and his secrets so I could share them and be spiritually deep to those I wanted to impress. I turned instead to the written word of God and was blown away with it’s beauty, truth and depth of expression. I simply fell in love with the Bible.

Then God began to speak to me (and sometimes through me) prophetically. I had a template against which to test those words. Giftedness would show up when I needed it most.

That’s my story. I don’t try to persuade or instruct God about our situations down here. Not any more. I seek instead to be obedient to every word He speaks. If He lets me understand why, that’s a blessing. If not, then that’s okay, too. Just glad to be part of the “big plan”.

As a result, I seem to be blessed with so many wonderful “little things”. Grandkids, dogs, hot wings, friends, and a great wife. Seeing people baptized, tears at the altar, marriages restored, and sicknesses healed. Those “little things” are a pretty big deal, actually.

So God doesn’t need my help, but He does want to utilize me in His plan. I’m good with that, and it seems like I feel His smile a lot more. I even have this little dance of joy I do for Him….

…but you’ll never see it.