Drowning In A Lukewarm Sea
Why do I write my blog?
According to Wikipedia, Tulsa is called, "The buckle of the Bible Belt".
Indeed, when I moved here in 1989, there were more famous television ministries within ten miles (16 km) of my house than there were in the entire northern half of the United States. In fact, there was about the same amount as in the entire state of Texas.
There was also possibly the only Charismatic university in the world in Tulsa. Within half a mile (1 km) of my house there was a world famous Bible school. It was only one of several such schools within ten miles of my house. Of course, there are a variety of Christian K-12 schools, along with Christian home school groups.
There were camp meetings, and other conventions, put on by these ministries and schools. Some of them had so many attendees, that they had broadcast to multiple locations. Hotels would fill to capacity and some attendees would end up staying with local families. There was not a state in the United States, and hardly a country on Earth, that did not have someone at one of these annual meetings.
Almost every Christian network had a station broadcasting in Tulsa, and one network was headquartered in Tulsa. Thanks to digital television, there are even more today. In fact, last time I counted there was over a dozen such stations.
There was also a variety of Christian radio stations, including one of the very first Christian Contemporary Music stations in the world. There are so many Christian radio stations, that I found that I did not have enough presets on my radio for all of them recently.
Tulsa is a tour stop for a disproportional number of major Christian music artists for its size. The artists come because they are almost guaranteed a sold out show. This applies to artists of all major Christian music genres.
Christian movies also do well in the theaters here. Tulsa could probably support a theater that only showed Christian movies, if the Christian movie industry could produce enough quality movies. Still, people watch Christian movies on the various over-the-air and cable Christian television stations, along with streaming services like Pureflix and Parable movies.
Tulsa also had an excellent Bible Museum. Major exhibits that appeal to Christians almost always include Tulsa on their tour. Tulsa has hosted musicals like The Promise, museum exhibits like Abraham to Jesus, and even a replica of The Tabernacle.
Every kind of traveling Christian conference, rally, retreat, and revival comes to Tulsa. These events usually do well here. More people showed up for A Night To Honor Israel when it came to Tulsa than would fit in the largest venue here.
Not only are there a lot of Christian ministries, schools, and media in Tulsa, but a lot of Christian businesses as well. I heard Lecrae once say that there were no Christian plumbers. There are in Tulsa and they advertise it. In fact, for almost every type of business in Tulsa, there is a portion of those businesses that advertise themselves as a Christian business. This includes doctors, lawyers, auto shops, car dealers, and just about anything else you can think of. My roof was put on by a company that advertised themselves as Christian roofers.
Of course, there were the ever present Christian bookstores. They used to sell a lot of Christian media, including books by many Christian authors, as well as Bibles. Today, they sell a lot of Christian branded clothing beyond the ever popular Christian T-shirts. They have sold Christian jewelry like WWJD bracelets and purity rings. They sold Christian art like Thomas Kincaid paintings. They have even sold Christian Judaica like Chanukiahs.
You could not go to any event without spotting someone sporting Christian clothing or jewelry. You would find Christian paraphernalia in most homes in the Tulsa area.
I used to be a software consultant and I worked at a variety of places in Tulsa. I noticed that wherever I went, people would ask me where I went to church, not if I went to church. The assumption in Tulsa was that either you belonged to a church, or you were looking for one.
It was not hard to understand why, when there was a very disproportional number of mega churches for a city its size. There was also a great number of small churches and congregations of every size in between. I looked at the number of churches listed for the area once, and realized if I visited three per week, it would take me more than a decade to visit each one once.
Church attendance is so normal in Tulsa, that I have seen ten times as many Jews in the churches that I have visited, than the combined membership of the few Rabbinic Judaism synagogues in Tulsa. Yes, there are even Christian synagogues in Tulsa. Maybe Tulsa will have the first Christian mosque some day.
So, it seems appropriate to call Tulsa, "The Buckle of the Bible Belt".
So, what has it been like living in the buckle of the Bible Belt?
I have felt like I am drowning in a lukewarm sea.
While their Christian beliefs affect the voting choices of Tulsans most of the time, they do not translate so well into their day to day life. Tulsans may appear to be hot on the surface, but they are often cold below the surface. They are neither completely hot nor completely cold.
While many people have been involved in church for a variety of reasons, those reasons are generally pretty selfish. They want a church that caters to their wants. They want to know what the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) can do to help them build up their kingdom. They want a place where they feel comfortable.
These people are a far cry from the church at Savoy, Arkansas, when I was growing up.
This small congregation put on vacation Bible school in the summer. They ran a bus as far as 30 miles away to pick up kids in the surrounding farming communities. While they had plenty of fun activities at vacation Bible school, they made sure that every single kid heard the Gospel. They never once asked for money, although I doubt they turned down any unsolicited donations.
The members of the congregation of this farming community, so small that it does not even rate a dot on the map, did much more than that. They sacrificially gave for more than fifty years, so Miss Luther could carry on missionary work in southern India. They always made sure that she was able to bring the Gospel to southern India on their behalf - even through the Great Depression and World War II. They gave up things that they needed - not just wanted - because they were more concerned about the eternal needs of total strangers on the other side of the planet than their own comfort.
It seemed that the first thing they thought about in the morning, and the last thing they thought about at night, was what they could do to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth!
What a contrast with so many congregations that I have visited, or been a member of, in Tulsa!
I have that same fire burning in me, but I have met very few people in Tulsa, who share my passion. When I try to talk to people here about living for the king, they may politely listen but that is it. They have no zeal and no intentions of sacrificing their comfort in any manner to do so. They are simply not the real deal. They are not willing to pay the cost of following the Man of Truth.
They are wearing a costume when they go to work, since the advancement of their careers is more important to them than the advancement of His kingdom. They blend in with everyone else in their workplace and no one can see any difference in how they live their lives. They might have something on their desk that suggests they go to church somewhere, but nothing about their behavior sets them apart as being different from their co-workers. They avoid anything that will get them labeled as "being religious" or "a Jesus freak" or "a Christian" or anything that suggests that they burn with zeal for the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ). They especially avoid being associated with anyone burning with zeal for the Man of Truth, so they are not considered guilty by association. They will not risk their job to save their co-workers from the burning house that they are living in.
They dare not warn anyone in the LGBT lifestyle to pull their head out of the wood chipper before it is turned on. After all, they would not want to offend these poor souls by warning them to not live like they were married in Sodom. They are perfectly willing to let them believe that their DNA made them do it. They lack real compassion for people like Ellen DeGeneres.
They will not say out loud that the right partnership for love is very well defined by the Father of Truth. They will not say that the right time for love never occurs outside of marriage. They do not feel that it is their place to warn people to avoid living like they are chasing Aphrodite.
They would not tell their friend in a difficult marriage, that is perhaps even dangerous, to choose the path of true love by always showing love to their spouse. They do not tell their friend to get in a love triangle with the Man of Truth to save their marriage. They do not tell their friend that the woman in the marriage should act like, and be treated like, a wife instead of a concubine. They would never call their friends liars and thieves for withholding sex from their spouses.
They do not warn their friend in a difficult marriage to treat divorce as the nuclear option that will cause devastating damage, but rather encourage their friend to get a divorce to avoid being unhappy. They will then try to set up their friend with someone else to marry, without any regard to whose wife the woman is according to the Man of Truth. However, they will treat inter-racial marriage like it is some kind of sin.
They may say that they are against abortion, but they do not act like conception is the moment when people become alive. They dare not take meaningful action against the legalized serial killers who perform these abortions. They dare not say that these sick and twisted murderers should be executed. They would never tell people that there is a time for civil disobedience concerning things like this.
They live like those who do not know the Father of Truth six days a week, but then maybe give Him one day a week, when they put on their religious show at their "bless me" club. They are only giving to get worldly possessions when they pay tithes or give an offering. They do not give sacrificially out of genuine concern for the lost, but only as part of their strategy to get bigger, better, newer stuff for themselves.
They seem to have forgotten that telling people about the Man of Truth is all that really matters. They are not even willing to risk making someone uncomfortable in order to save them from the Chamber of Horrors. They say that they love people, but their unwillingness to tell people to repent of their sin, shows that they really hate them with the worst kind of hatred.
They are too nice to say what the Man of Truth said, and do what the Man of Truth did. The only people that they are concerned with being in the kingdom of the Father of Truth is themselves and their family. The Christians of Tulsa have become a lukewarm sea.
Of course, the root of the problem has been the religious professionals that run their congregations.
They never told their congregants that their behavior shows who's their daddy. Their congregants never heard that whose child they were depended upon who they obeyed. They are where their congregants got the idea that it did not matter how they lived their lives, after they admit to be imperfect, and asking for forgiveness for not being perfect.
Their congregants never heard that it is time for some tough love, when they see each other sin. Their congregants had no idea that they need to stay in the House of Truth, if they want to be saved. Their congregants were not warned to be dedicating the temple of their body, because it belongs to the Man of Truth. Their congregants did not know that they cannot do what everyone else in the world does, because they do not belong to the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) any more.
Their congregants never understood that total surrender is required to follow the Man of Truth. They have never heard that they must take the deal to be saved.
Their congregants never heard that the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) would make them able to keep their resolution to obey the Father of Truth. They were not told that the Spirit of Truth would write His Laws upon their hearts, so they could obey Him.
I tried several times to discuss these issues with some of these religious leaders. It has never gone well.
Twice I was put out of two congregations that I had been a member of for eleven years. One of them was a congregation that I had helped build from the time of its first service.
So, I found myself ready to do everything I could to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth, but without any meaningful way to work together with other like-minded people. Although, I have met a few people, they were all scattered across the metroplex. There may have been a few in my neighborhood once upon a time, but they had all long since moved away by the time I lost my favorite job in 2012.
Soon, I found myself without enough money to pay my bills, my daughters both living at home, with one of them looking for a job, and the other one struggling in the hospital. My favorite job had worn me out, and I was very sick with no health insurance. I was isolated from my friends. Yet, none of that bothered me.
What really bothered me was the pitiful state of Christianity in the Tulsa area. Where the fires of revival had once burned bright, nothing remained but dying embers and cold ashes. I was so desperate, that I thought about starting my own church, but soon realized that it was not a realistic option. So, I found myself crying out day and night to the Father of Truth, because I felt like I was drowning in a lukewarm sea.
Then one day, the Father of Truth said to me, "Son, I did not make you to whine. I made you to fight.".
I then proceeded to tell Him about all the things that I could not do because of my current situation. Even though I knew that He knew, I still told Him that I could not find anyone else who burned with zeal for the Man of Truth as much as me, outside of my own house, that was close enough that I could work together them with to do something for His kingdom. It seemed that the best I could do was keep from drowning in a lukewarm sea.
Finally, I asked in a very tired voice, "How I am supposed to fight?".
He said to me, "Write a blog.". This had never occurred to me.
So, I asked what the blog should be about, and He told me that it should be about truth. He said, that His people did not know the truth about so many things, because no one was willing to tell them the truth. They needed to know the truth, because He wanted them to be walking in truth.
I agreed to do this, but I had no idea where to start. So, I started releasing the sound of power and praying about this in the Spirit of Truth a lot. Then one night, the Spirit of Truth came upon me and I started chanting a poetic song. I knew that I was supposed to write down what the Spirit of Truth was speaking through me as my first post. So, I wrote my first post, "Come into the House of Truth", that very night.
After that, I followed up with a post explaining what is truth, since that was what I was going to be writing about. I was finally fighting back. I was no longer drowning in a lukewarm sea.
So, I have been writing this blog for the last six years to help other people come into the House of Truth. I have been making the truth available to anyone who desires to know it. I have been able to do what I can to help build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth.
Perhaps, you also feel like you are drowning in a lukewarm sea.
This was the case in the church of Laodicea, which caused the Man of Truth to warn them, that he would rather that they followed the Father of Lies whole-heartedly, than to follow him half-heartedly (Revelation 3:14-15). In fact, their lukewarm attitude made the Man of Truth feel like vomiting them out of his body (Revelation 3:16).
They looked at their material prosperity as evidence that they were living the blessed life, but he said, that they were actually blind to their miserable condition (Revelation 3:17). So the Man of Truth called them to repent of their materialistic world view, and lay everything down to follow him whole-heartedly (Revelation 3:18-20). He promised that everyone who overcomes the lukewarm sea will reign with him forever (Revelation 3:21-22).
Likewise today, people are falling away from following the Man of Truth whole-heartedly, but it is only so the Man of Lies (The Antichrist aka The Beast) can come to power (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Those who live a life, that shows they do not love the truth given by the Man of Truth, will not be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). You are living in perilous times, because people have been deceived by religious professionals into believing that they can do all kinds of wickedness without punishment, as long they belong to their church (2 Timothy 3:1-7). You are surrounded by a lukewarm sea, because people will not endure sound doctrine, but look for religious professionals who will tell them a fable of salvation without repentance (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
You must love the Father of Truth whole-heartedly (Matthew 22:37). You must love the Man of Truth more than anyone else, including your parents, spouse, and children (Luke 14:26). There is no loving the Man of Truth without striving to obey him in everything (John 14:21-24).
It is not everyone who calls the Man of Truth, "Lord", who will be saved, but only those who do the will of the Father of Truth in following him whole-heartedly (Matthew 7:21). So even though, religious professionals are causing the love of many to grow cold by teaching the Doctrine of Lies, so that their congregants become lukewarm, you must resist until the end to be saved (Matthew 24:11-13).
You must not be overcome by the lukewarm sea, if you want to counted worthy to escape the Tribulation (Luke 21:34-36).
This is why you must continue to do what you can to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15). This is why you must continue in obeying what is written in the Book of Truth, despite the lukewarm sea that surrounds you (2 Timothy 3:13-17). This is why you must keep preaching the truth, even when people will not endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-5).
You must do what you can to spread the Good News as long as you are on this Earth (Matthew 24:14). This is the commandment of the Man of Truth (Mark 16:15-16). If you are not helping to spread the Good News, then you are hindering the spread of the Good News (Luke 11:23).
So, you must fight the good fight, instead of drowning in a lukewarm sea! If you do not know how you can fight, then ask the Father of Truth, and He will tell you what to do (James 1:5).
Of course, you cannot begin the fight, until you come into the House of Truth.
The only way to gain the life that the Man of Truth offers, is to lose your life in carrying out his commandments (Mark 8:34-35). You cannot gain what he offers, if you keep quiet about him to gain what this world offers (Mark 8:36-38). You must give up what this temporary life offers to gain eternal life (John 12:25-26).
You can do this, if you will come into the House of Truth, because the Father of Truth will give you both the desire and the ability (Philippians 2:12-13). You can do this, if you will come into the House of Truth, because the Man of Truth will give you the strength to do this (Philippians 4:11-13). You can do this, if you come into the House of Truth, because the Spirit of Truth that will be in you is stronger than the spirit that is in this world (1 John 4:2-4).
So come into the House of Truth, by following the Man of Truth whole-heartedly, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
According to Wikipedia, Tulsa is called, "The buckle of the Bible Belt".
Indeed, when I moved here in 1989, there were more famous television ministries within ten miles (16 km) of my house than there were in the entire northern half of the United States. In fact, there was about the same amount as in the entire state of Texas.
There was also possibly the only Charismatic university in the world in Tulsa. Within half a mile (1 km) of my house there was a world famous Bible school. It was only one of several such schools within ten miles of my house. Of course, there are a variety of Christian K-12 schools, along with Christian home school groups.
There were camp meetings, and other conventions, put on by these ministries and schools. Some of them had so many attendees, that they had broadcast to multiple locations. Hotels would fill to capacity and some attendees would end up staying with local families. There was not a state in the United States, and hardly a country on Earth, that did not have someone at one of these annual meetings.
Almost every Christian network had a station broadcasting in Tulsa, and one network was headquartered in Tulsa. Thanks to digital television, there are even more today. In fact, last time I counted there was over a dozen such stations.
There was also a variety of Christian radio stations, including one of the very first Christian Contemporary Music stations in the world. There are so many Christian radio stations, that I found that I did not have enough presets on my radio for all of them recently.
Tulsa is a tour stop for a disproportional number of major Christian music artists for its size. The artists come because they are almost guaranteed a sold out show. This applies to artists of all major Christian music genres.
Christian movies also do well in the theaters here. Tulsa could probably support a theater that only showed Christian movies, if the Christian movie industry could produce enough quality movies. Still, people watch Christian movies on the various over-the-air and cable Christian television stations, along with streaming services like Pureflix and Parable movies.
Tulsa also had an excellent Bible Museum. Major exhibits that appeal to Christians almost always include Tulsa on their tour. Tulsa has hosted musicals like The Promise, museum exhibits like Abraham to Jesus, and even a replica of The Tabernacle.
Every kind of traveling Christian conference, rally, retreat, and revival comes to Tulsa. These events usually do well here. More people showed up for A Night To Honor Israel when it came to Tulsa than would fit in the largest venue here.
Not only are there a lot of Christian ministries, schools, and media in Tulsa, but a lot of Christian businesses as well. I heard Lecrae once say that there were no Christian plumbers. There are in Tulsa and they advertise it. In fact, for almost every type of business in Tulsa, there is a portion of those businesses that advertise themselves as a Christian business. This includes doctors, lawyers, auto shops, car dealers, and just about anything else you can think of. My roof was put on by a company that advertised themselves as Christian roofers.
Of course, there were the ever present Christian bookstores. They used to sell a lot of Christian media, including books by many Christian authors, as well as Bibles. Today, they sell a lot of Christian branded clothing beyond the ever popular Christian T-shirts. They have sold Christian jewelry like WWJD bracelets and purity rings. They sold Christian art like Thomas Kincaid paintings. They have even sold Christian Judaica like Chanukiahs.
You could not go to any event without spotting someone sporting Christian clothing or jewelry. You would find Christian paraphernalia in most homes in the Tulsa area.
I used to be a software consultant and I worked at a variety of places in Tulsa. I noticed that wherever I went, people would ask me where I went to church, not if I went to church. The assumption in Tulsa was that either you belonged to a church, or you were looking for one.
It was not hard to understand why, when there was a very disproportional number of mega churches for a city its size. There was also a great number of small churches and congregations of every size in between. I looked at the number of churches listed for the area once, and realized if I visited three per week, it would take me more than a decade to visit each one once.
Church attendance is so normal in Tulsa, that I have seen ten times as many Jews in the churches that I have visited, than the combined membership of the few Rabbinic Judaism synagogues in Tulsa. Yes, there are even Christian synagogues in Tulsa. Maybe Tulsa will have the first Christian mosque some day.
So, it seems appropriate to call Tulsa, "The Buckle of the Bible Belt".
So, what has it been like living in the buckle of the Bible Belt?
I have felt like I am drowning in a lukewarm sea.
While their Christian beliefs affect the voting choices of Tulsans most of the time, they do not translate so well into their day to day life. Tulsans may appear to be hot on the surface, but they are often cold below the surface. They are neither completely hot nor completely cold.
While many people have been involved in church for a variety of reasons, those reasons are generally pretty selfish. They want a church that caters to their wants. They want to know what the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) can do to help them build up their kingdom. They want a place where they feel comfortable.
These people are a far cry from the church at Savoy, Arkansas, when I was growing up.
This small congregation put on vacation Bible school in the summer. They ran a bus as far as 30 miles away to pick up kids in the surrounding farming communities. While they had plenty of fun activities at vacation Bible school, they made sure that every single kid heard the Gospel. They never once asked for money, although I doubt they turned down any unsolicited donations.
The members of the congregation of this farming community, so small that it does not even rate a dot on the map, did much more than that. They sacrificially gave for more than fifty years, so Miss Luther could carry on missionary work in southern India. They always made sure that she was able to bring the Gospel to southern India on their behalf - even through the Great Depression and World War II. They gave up things that they needed - not just wanted - because they were more concerned about the eternal needs of total strangers on the other side of the planet than their own comfort.
It seemed that the first thing they thought about in the morning, and the last thing they thought about at night, was what they could do to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth!
What a contrast with so many congregations that I have visited, or been a member of, in Tulsa!
I have that same fire burning in me, but I have met very few people in Tulsa, who share my passion. When I try to talk to people here about living for the king, they may politely listen but that is it. They have no zeal and no intentions of sacrificing their comfort in any manner to do so. They are simply not the real deal. They are not willing to pay the cost of following the Man of Truth.
They are wearing a costume when they go to work, since the advancement of their careers is more important to them than the advancement of His kingdom. They blend in with everyone else in their workplace and no one can see any difference in how they live their lives. They might have something on their desk that suggests they go to church somewhere, but nothing about their behavior sets them apart as being different from their co-workers. They avoid anything that will get them labeled as "being religious" or "a Jesus freak" or "a Christian" or anything that suggests that they burn with zeal for the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ). They especially avoid being associated with anyone burning with zeal for the Man of Truth, so they are not considered guilty by association. They will not risk their job to save their co-workers from the burning house that they are living in.
They dare not warn anyone in the LGBT lifestyle to pull their head out of the wood chipper before it is turned on. After all, they would not want to offend these poor souls by warning them to not live like they were married in Sodom. They are perfectly willing to let them believe that their DNA made them do it. They lack real compassion for people like Ellen DeGeneres.
They will not say out loud that the right partnership for love is very well defined by the Father of Truth. They will not say that the right time for love never occurs outside of marriage. They do not feel that it is their place to warn people to avoid living like they are chasing Aphrodite.
They would not tell their friend in a difficult marriage, that is perhaps even dangerous, to choose the path of true love by always showing love to their spouse. They do not tell their friend to get in a love triangle with the Man of Truth to save their marriage. They do not tell their friend that the woman in the marriage should act like, and be treated like, a wife instead of a concubine. They would never call their friends liars and thieves for withholding sex from their spouses.
They do not warn their friend in a difficult marriage to treat divorce as the nuclear option that will cause devastating damage, but rather encourage their friend to get a divorce to avoid being unhappy. They will then try to set up their friend with someone else to marry, without any regard to whose wife the woman is according to the Man of Truth. However, they will treat inter-racial marriage like it is some kind of sin.
They may say that they are against abortion, but they do not act like conception is the moment when people become alive. They dare not take meaningful action against the legalized serial killers who perform these abortions. They dare not say that these sick and twisted murderers should be executed. They would never tell people that there is a time for civil disobedience concerning things like this.
They live like those who do not know the Father of Truth six days a week, but then maybe give Him one day a week, when they put on their religious show at their "bless me" club. They are only giving to get worldly possessions when they pay tithes or give an offering. They do not give sacrificially out of genuine concern for the lost, but only as part of their strategy to get bigger, better, newer stuff for themselves.
They seem to have forgotten that telling people about the Man of Truth is all that really matters. They are not even willing to risk making someone uncomfortable in order to save them from the Chamber of Horrors. They say that they love people, but their unwillingness to tell people to repent of their sin, shows that they really hate them with the worst kind of hatred.
They are too nice to say what the Man of Truth said, and do what the Man of Truth did. The only people that they are concerned with being in the kingdom of the Father of Truth is themselves and their family. The Christians of Tulsa have become a lukewarm sea.
Of course, the root of the problem has been the religious professionals that run their congregations.
They never told their congregants that their behavior shows who's their daddy. Their congregants never heard that whose child they were depended upon who they obeyed. They are where their congregants got the idea that it did not matter how they lived their lives, after they admit to be imperfect, and asking for forgiveness for not being perfect.
Their congregants never heard that it is time for some tough love, when they see each other sin. Their congregants had no idea that they need to stay in the House of Truth, if they want to be saved. Their congregants were not warned to be dedicating the temple of their body, because it belongs to the Man of Truth. Their congregants did not know that they cannot do what everyone else in the world does, because they do not belong to the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) any more.
Their congregants never understood that total surrender is required to follow the Man of Truth. They have never heard that they must take the deal to be saved.
Their congregants never heard that the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) would make them able to keep their resolution to obey the Father of Truth. They were not told that the Spirit of Truth would write His Laws upon their hearts, so they could obey Him.
I tried several times to discuss these issues with some of these religious leaders. It has never gone well.
Twice I was put out of two congregations that I had been a member of for eleven years. One of them was a congregation that I had helped build from the time of its first service.
So, I found myself ready to do everything I could to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth, but without any meaningful way to work together with other like-minded people. Although, I have met a few people, they were all scattered across the metroplex. There may have been a few in my neighborhood once upon a time, but they had all long since moved away by the time I lost my favorite job in 2012.
Soon, I found myself without enough money to pay my bills, my daughters both living at home, with one of them looking for a job, and the other one struggling in the hospital. My favorite job had worn me out, and I was very sick with no health insurance. I was isolated from my friends. Yet, none of that bothered me.
What really bothered me was the pitiful state of Christianity in the Tulsa area. Where the fires of revival had once burned bright, nothing remained but dying embers and cold ashes. I was so desperate, that I thought about starting my own church, but soon realized that it was not a realistic option. So, I found myself crying out day and night to the Father of Truth, because I felt like I was drowning in a lukewarm sea.
Then one day, the Father of Truth said to me, "Son, I did not make you to whine. I made you to fight.".
I then proceeded to tell Him about all the things that I could not do because of my current situation. Even though I knew that He knew, I still told Him that I could not find anyone else who burned with zeal for the Man of Truth as much as me, outside of my own house, that was close enough that I could work together them with to do something for His kingdom. It seemed that the best I could do was keep from drowning in a lukewarm sea.
Finally, I asked in a very tired voice, "How I am supposed to fight?".
He said to me, "Write a blog.". This had never occurred to me.
So, I asked what the blog should be about, and He told me that it should be about truth. He said, that His people did not know the truth about so many things, because no one was willing to tell them the truth. They needed to know the truth, because He wanted them to be walking in truth.
I agreed to do this, but I had no idea where to start. So, I started releasing the sound of power and praying about this in the Spirit of Truth a lot. Then one night, the Spirit of Truth came upon me and I started chanting a poetic song. I knew that I was supposed to write down what the Spirit of Truth was speaking through me as my first post. So, I wrote my first post, "Come into the House of Truth", that very night.
After that, I followed up with a post explaining what is truth, since that was what I was going to be writing about. I was finally fighting back. I was no longer drowning in a lukewarm sea.
So, I have been writing this blog for the last six years to help other people come into the House of Truth. I have been making the truth available to anyone who desires to know it. I have been able to do what I can to help build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth.
Perhaps, you also feel like you are drowning in a lukewarm sea.
This was the case in the church of Laodicea, which caused the Man of Truth to warn them, that he would rather that they followed the Father of Lies whole-heartedly, than to follow him half-heartedly (Revelation 3:14-15). In fact, their lukewarm attitude made the Man of Truth feel like vomiting them out of his body (Revelation 3:16).
They looked at their material prosperity as evidence that they were living the blessed life, but he said, that they were actually blind to their miserable condition (Revelation 3:17). So the Man of Truth called them to repent of their materialistic world view, and lay everything down to follow him whole-heartedly (Revelation 3:18-20). He promised that everyone who overcomes the lukewarm sea will reign with him forever (Revelation 3:21-22).
Likewise today, people are falling away from following the Man of Truth whole-heartedly, but it is only so the Man of Lies (The Antichrist aka The Beast) can come to power (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Those who live a life, that shows they do not love the truth given by the Man of Truth, will not be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). You are living in perilous times, because people have been deceived by religious professionals into believing that they can do all kinds of wickedness without punishment, as long they belong to their church (2 Timothy 3:1-7). You are surrounded by a lukewarm sea, because people will not endure sound doctrine, but look for religious professionals who will tell them a fable of salvation without repentance (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
You must love the Father of Truth whole-heartedly (Matthew 22:37). You must love the Man of Truth more than anyone else, including your parents, spouse, and children (Luke 14:26). There is no loving the Man of Truth without striving to obey him in everything (John 14:21-24).
It is not everyone who calls the Man of Truth, "Lord", who will be saved, but only those who do the will of the Father of Truth in following him whole-heartedly (Matthew 7:21). So even though, religious professionals are causing the love of many to grow cold by teaching the Doctrine of Lies, so that their congregants become lukewarm, you must resist until the end to be saved (Matthew 24:11-13).
You must not be overcome by the lukewarm sea, if you want to counted worthy to escape the Tribulation (Luke 21:34-36).
This is why you must continue to do what you can to build up the kingdom of the Father of Truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15). This is why you must continue in obeying what is written in the Book of Truth, despite the lukewarm sea that surrounds you (2 Timothy 3:13-17). This is why you must keep preaching the truth, even when people will not endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-5).
You must do what you can to spread the Good News as long as you are on this Earth (Matthew 24:14). This is the commandment of the Man of Truth (Mark 16:15-16). If you are not helping to spread the Good News, then you are hindering the spread of the Good News (Luke 11:23).
So, you must fight the good fight, instead of drowning in a lukewarm sea! If you do not know how you can fight, then ask the Father of Truth, and He will tell you what to do (James 1:5).
Of course, you cannot begin the fight, until you come into the House of Truth.
The only way to gain the life that the Man of Truth offers, is to lose your life in carrying out his commandments (Mark 8:34-35). You cannot gain what he offers, if you keep quiet about him to gain what this world offers (Mark 8:36-38). You must give up what this temporary life offers to gain eternal life (John 12:25-26).
You can do this, if you will come into the House of Truth, because the Father of Truth will give you both the desire and the ability (Philippians 2:12-13). You can do this, if you will come into the House of Truth, because the Man of Truth will give you the strength to do this (Philippians 4:11-13). You can do this, if you come into the House of Truth, because the Spirit of Truth that will be in you is stronger than the spirit that is in this world (1 John 4:2-4).
So come into the House of Truth, by following the Man of Truth whole-heartedly, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Apathy, Apostasy, Eternal Security, Repentance, Resistance, Salvation
posted by The House Of Truth @ May 14, 2018
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