Jeremiah 3:15-17 - The blog of pastor.ctj

Beloved, while we are here, arguing over semantics, disputing doctrinal minutae, and chasing the dollar almighty, our brethren in China are literally laying down their very lives for the Gospel. Hebrews 11 is being repeated in our days... While we are here naming and claiming houses and land, and bigger cars. Where we make sure that our 'Pastors' have jets, 3500 seat sanctuaries with plush seating, and the like, there are literally underground seminaries, where people spend 16 1/2 hours a day studying scripture in hand dug, underground caves. I am swiftly coming to believe that in many ways, they are better off than we beloved. Why? Because they are connecting to God in a way that goes far beyond the comfortable day to day, and God honors that. Part 1 "I was not arrested because I committed a crime. I was taken to jail because I'm a Christian. But that's all right, because I understand that when we suffer the Lord will have glory because His people stand up for Him...

I am a proponent of, a believer in, and Pastor of, a House or Simple Church . I am someone who was raised in the 'Traditional Church', then spent 17 years in a Mega-Church, then 3 years in a small 'parachurch' and has now spent the last year Pastoring a house church. For those of you who are not sure what 'House Church' is, please take some time to watch the video below. It is called 'When You Come Together' , and is about 20 minutes long. Admittedly, this is not for everyone, but to me it should be, for this is truly church... Blessings Video Courtesy of House2House Ministries Download this episode (right click and save)

Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." So, the President Elect says that he is against gay marriage in public, (but for 'civil union') but then tells ‘Bishop’ Gene Robinson that he is for equal civil rights for gay people. Who is lying, Mr. Obama or Mr. Robinson? Mind you, this is not a semantics argument. Marriage is, according to the gay community, and every court that has ruled on it so far, a 'civil right', so clearly Mr. Obama did, (if he did say these things) , by choosing those words, voice his clear support of gay marriage, adoption et al. This does make sense in that the United Church of Christ (UCC) boasts among its 'firsts' : 1972: Ordination of first openly gay minister The UCC's Golden Ga...

An Open letter to Pastors, in particular, and Christians in general: Blessings to all. Now that the buildup of the last 6 months, and the euphoria of November 4 and 5 is over, it is perhaps time to start thinking about what an Obama Presidency truly means for us a people, but more importantly, as the Church. I have been hearing many professed Christians over the past few days scrambling to justify their largely emotionally based vote for President-Elect Obama with prayer, calls to prayer, and the following scripture: Proverbs 21:1 - The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Personally, I find the use of this scripture an affront, dishonest, and an excuse. The reality is that for many of us, we left God behind when we entered the polls, and now expect Him to fix it. For you, I respectfully refer you to 1 Samuel Chapter 15 . Read the entire chapter beloved, but the key verses are here: 19 “Why then did you not o...