The Foundation of Different !

Carolyn Epp's Testimony !

Changelings!

Living As Children Of Light

Living as Children of Light

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.


20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephessians 4:17-24 [NIV]


3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.


8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible.

This is why it is said:

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:3-16 [NIV]

Proverbs 21:16 [NIV]

A man who strays

from the path of understanding

comes to rest in the company

of the dead.

Numbers 22:32b-33 [NIV]

"I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me."

"The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."

Put Me Through Your Ringer God!

Psalm 51:1-3 (The Message)

[selected excerpts]

Generous in love—God, give grace!

Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt,

soak out my sins in your laundry.

I know how bad I've been;

my sins are staring me down.

You're the One I've violated, and you've seen

it all, seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

whatever you decide about me is fair.

I've been out of step with you for a long time,

in the wrong since before I was born.

What you're after is truth from the inside out.

God's Laundry Machine

Psalm 51:7 (The Message)

7 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

The Lord Disciplines Those He Loves

Hebrews 12:5-11 (The Message)

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children.

This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live?

While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

The Disciplined Heart

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (New International Version)

2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.

5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

The Church of the Headless

Cut Off From Christ !

Finding The Head !

Cut Off From The Head

Christ is the head of the body, the church.

Colossians 1:18a [NIV]

What's Your GPS?

Connected To The Head Is The Place To Be

God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons.

He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

When it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.

Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe people and things, animals and atoms get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

From Colossians 1 [The Message]

Reflections On Toxic Faith:

Fertile Ground For Toxic Faith

Early Signs of Developing Faith

What Toxic Faith Looks Like

Final Stages of Toxic Faith

Hitting The Bottom

The Final End of Being Toxic

Source of Reflections Material:

TOXIC FAITH
STEPHEN ARTERBURN
& JACK FELTON
A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers
Nashville

Early Signs of Exposure to Toxic Faith:

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY STAGE OF TOXIC FAITH EXPOSURE

· Unwillingness to discuss problems. The individual becomes unapproachable about increasing out-of-control behaviors.

· One-sided sermons. Edicts, Scriptures, and judgments so fill the dialogue with the person that all conversations cease.

· Faith attached to a person. A comforting person becomes the link to toxic faith.

· Intoxicating affiliation. First experiences in new toxic faith group produce immediate mood alteration.

· Growing attraction. Every new meeting, person, and experience increases the attraction to the toxic faith group.

· Heavy church attendance. Attendance becomes a means of avoidance and a way to be part of the group with little relationship with God.

· Conformity with other addicts. The person starts to look, dress, and talk like others in the group.

· Lack of intimate relationships. Intimacy with friends and family is sacrificed for the sake of religion.

· Growing denial and self-justification. The person becomes blind to problems and justifies behavior.

· Scripture as a weapon. Verses are quoted to judge others and justify self.

The initial stage of toxicity is a difficult one to spot. Many who do the same things as those receiving toxic exposure are actually involved in a real faith, but their motives and foundations are different. Many faithful followers would be wrongly labeled as in the first-stage toxic faith.

Fertile Ground For Toxic Faith:

FOUNDATIONS OF
TOXIC FAITH

· Abusive parent, often the father. Abuse is physical, emotional or sexual.

· Child deprived of nurturing. Neither parent meets the basic emotional needs of the child.

· Feelings of alienation. Child feels detached from the family and what is perceived as a perfect world for others.

· Attitudes of perfectionism from imperfect parents. Demanding parents inflict the child with an irrational desire to be perfect and make no mistakes.

· High expectations. The parents are relenfless in demanding the child be what they were not and attain what they did not.

· Low affirmation. Although the child exerts tremendous effort, the parents are never satisfied and rarely provide positive feedback to the child. Irents' addiction problems. Frequenfly, one or both parents will be alcoholics or sex addicts, or they will exhibit some other obvious compulsive behavior. Absent father. A child of divorce may have little male influence.

· Feelings of being dirty. Abuse and negative attention leave a child feeling guilty and dirty.

· Poor peer relationships. Afraid to share personal reality with others, the child feels cut off emotionally from friends and often seeks destructive relationships. Vivid fantasy world. Reality becomes so difficult that the child creates a fantasy world and retreats to it frequently.

· Feelings not shared. The home has provided little freedom to express emotions, and the child never learns how this is done or why it is helpful.

What Does Toxic Faith Look Like ?

One or More of the Following

TOXIC FAITH CHARACTERISTICS

1. "Special" claims about character, abilities, or knowledge.
2. Dictatorial and authoritarian leader.
3. An "us versus them" mentality
4. Punitive in nature
5. Overwhelming service
6. Followers in pain
7. Closed communication
8. Legalism
9. No objective accountability
10. Labeling

The Final End - LOST FAITH

What Then ?

Hitting Bottom

At the end of the progression is desperation so intense that it forces change. Mental and emotional breakdowns are common among religious addicts when the magic wears off. Some attempt to take their lives. Some take the lives of others and then their own. They do desperate things because their minds can't handle the incongruity between their beliefs and what they know to be real. They feel betrayed by God and the world, and they don't care who they hurt as long as they don't have to suffer further humiliation. Many see the only way to guarantee this is to die or be forced to be admitted to an institution, such as a mental hospital or a prison.

In the end, the presence of a false god denies the addicts what they desperately need, a loving relationship with a loving God. Unfortunately when they finally put down their work, performances, rituals, and need for perfection, there is often no motivation to seek the true God who could heal their broken hearts.

THE FINAL STAGES OF TOXIC FAITH !

A TOXIC FAITH MELTDOWN

· Despair - The addict begins to sense hopelessness because the toxic faith is not producing the desired results.

· Erratic behavior. Knowing something is wrong and refusing to change beliefs, the addict attempts to fix the problem by changing behavior rather than the heart.

· Resentment and anger. As the addict's world falls apart, everyone else is to blame, and everyone else is a source of rage.

· Obsession with beliefs. Continually wondering what is wrong with the faith, the addict questions, ponders, and thinks through each belief until the addict is completely unable to concentrate.

· Deep depression. Collapse of beliefs leads to the inability to function.

· Physical deterioration. Depression and stress take their toll on the body, resulting in fatigue, lack of appetite, and medical complications.

· Stagnation. Once faith is lost, all else seems lost, and the addict is unable to do anything but obsessively ponder past mistakes.

· Searching for another fix. Other addictions such as food, drugs, and sex intensify as the addict seeks relief from other sources.

· Fear. Experiencing major insecurity, the addict becomes afraid of everyone, seeing each person as a threat. The addict is afraid to continuein the toxic faith system and afraid to get out.

· Family deterioration. Stress and distrust destroy family relationships, resulting in affairs and divorce.

· Financial collapse. Work-related problems and fman-cial irresponsibility often result in fmancial collapse.

· Hitting bottom. Running out of self-will and manipulation, the addict must give up the addiction and turn to God.

What Uncircumcised Christian Philistine Are You Afraid Of?

Colossians 2:13a [NIV]

Making a Monkey Out of You!

Colossians 2:20-21 (New International Version)

20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?

Just Another Way of Making Yourselves Look Important.

Colossians 2:20-21 (The Message)

vs. 20-23 So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? "Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

This Deceptive Philosophy Is Both Religious and Secular.

"Uncovering the Truth behind The Secret"
Published in The Morning Sun on Saturday, May 19, 2007

Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

(The Following Are Excerpts From This Pastor’s Web Post Outlining A Current Philosophy Sweeping The Secular Culture.)

"You are the most powerful magnet in the universe . . . so as you think a thought, you are also attracting like thoughts to you." All you have to do is "put in your order with the universe," think positively that you will receive whatever it is you desire, and you shall have it.

Such is the philosophy ... the "law of attraction" and it is a natural law as "precise" as gravity. But, unlike gravity, which happens without your participation, it is up to you to tap into the "law of attraction."

So, how do you tap into the "law of attraction"? You determine what it is that you want in life and then you think it into existence. The universe is at your beck and call. It has no choice but to respond to your thoughts.

If you want to be rich, you need only think of yourself as rich and the
universe will make it a reality.

As Byrne states, "The only reason any person does not have enough money is because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thoughts."

If you are sick, it is because you have failed to think of yourself as immune to any and every cause of sickness, for "you cannot ‘catch’ anything unless you think you can."

If you are unsuccessful, it is because you have not thought of yourself as successful, and so on.

(This) is nothing but pure fantasy. That should go without saying, but, evidently, it needs to be said, since millions of Americans are buying into this "hollow and deceptive philosophy."

Bookstores around the country are selling out of this book left and right. And, the spiritual danger to those "taken captive" by "The Secret" is just as serious as it was, and remains to be, to those "taken captive" by "The Da Vinci Code."

You see, the real secret behind "The Secret" is that old evil foe, the "father of lies," Satan himself. ... This was the content of the "hollow and deceptive philosophy" he employed to tempt our first parents in the Garden of Eden. "... You won’t die. God is holding out on you, for He knows that when you eat of that tree, you will be just like Him" (cf. Gen. 3).

My friends, you cannot be a Christian and accept (this) "hollow and deceptive philosophy"... " contrary to popular belief resulting from the teachings of many false teachers in the world today, faith in Christ does not bring instant health, wealth, and success in this world.

The Bible teaches us time and time again that Christians will suffer in this world. In fact, the Bible assures us that life in this sinful world will be more difficult for believers than for unbelievers.

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy."
Instead, trust in Christ. Your reward will come and it will not be temporal, but eternal.

In Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name. Amen.

In Christ,
Rev. Thomas C. Messer, Pastor
Peace Lutheran Church-- Alma, MI
www.peacealma.org -- (989) 463-5754
email: pastor@peacealma.org

Life's Like A Computer -

Deceptive Religious Philosophy

2 Timothy 2:24-26 [NIV]

24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 [The Message]

Colossians 2:8-10a [The Message]

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.

Colossians 2:8 [NIV]

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

A Few Philosophies Influencing Us -

Looking For You!

Romans 5:20 - 6:2 The Message

All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good?

Map Points - Where Are You?

These lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Colossians 2:23
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

In the Old Country!

Are you stuck in the Old Country?
Are you still stuck in the basic principles of this world
right where you were before you died to sin in Christ?

Are you mired in a form of Christianity
that in reality depends on human tradition,
the ways of a past?

Is it the religious tradition you were brought up in
but that means nothing more after you have come to Christ
than it did when you practiced those traditions
without even belonging to Him?

Would you feel guilty if you left?

Would you be condemned if,
honest, you said nothing is different
even now that you are Christ's
and filled with His Holy Spirit?

I'm Looking For You!

Where Are You?

Are You Still Stuck In The Mud

In the Old Country?

Its Time To Break Free!

Recommended Reading: Toxic Faith

click book for link to on-line sources
Lists 21 signs of Toxic Faith

and many other helpful understandings

Colossians 2:23 (New International Version)

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Colossians 2:6-22 (New International Version)

6 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 - rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

8 - See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

9 - For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 - and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 - In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 - having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 - When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 - having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 - And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

16 - Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 - These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 - Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 -He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

20 - Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 - "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 - These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

Spiritual Friendship

Spiritual Friendship

Friendship is a spiritual trust from God. Close friendships are relationships within which we can learn of God’s kind of loyalty. Without loyalty in friendship there is no love. Disciples of Jesus discover in Him a loyalty that is nothing short of miraculous. In Jesus, God chose to set aside divinity in order to embrace our human condition. Jesus was loyal to God’s love for us all the way to the cross. Love and loyalty in friendship exist together side by side.

click tree for a link

Love and Loyalty

Kindness

Continue In His Kindness - Romans 11:22

A Severe Cutting Off - Romans 11:22

A Glorious Kindness We Can Abandon - Romans 11:22

The Root and The Branches

Psalm 143:5b-6 [NIV]

Romans 11:22 [NIV]

Romans 11:18b [NIV]

Romans 11:16b-24 [NIV]

THE ROOT AND THE BRANCHES

16b. If the root is holy, so are the branches.

17. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18. do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 20. Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

22. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

1 Timothy 6:6 [NIV]

Can we have contentment without godliness?

Isn't godliness also something God has to teach us?

Seems to me both of these hinge

on whether we uncompromisingly,

above all else,

love God unconditionally

and whether that love permeates

every pore, every second, of our being.

God Teach Us To Love You

In Spirit and in Truth.

Phillippians 4:12-13 [NIV - edited]

Have you learned the secret yet?

I don't mean mentally!

Phillippians 4:11 [NIV]

Oh! This is something to be learned!

Galations 2:9 (MSG)

Proverbs 1:30-33 (New International Version)

Job 2:10b

A Guided Reflection On - Acceptance

Fill In Each Blank Below With The Phrase:

MORE ACCEPTANCE LESS EXPECTANCY

With God do you need to have __________________

To whom else do you need to have _______________

How did Paul phrase _________________________

a. Phillipians 4:11

b. Phillipians 4:12

c. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Does acceptance require death to self?____________

Romans 1:19-20 [edited based on NIV]

Rejoice!!

Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again:

Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4 [NIV]

Romans 1:18-20 [NIV]

Listen to this passage

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Proverbs 1:20-33 [NIV]

Listen to this passage

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,

she raises her voice in the public squares;

21 at the head of the noisy streets [a] she cries out,

in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:

22 "How long will you simple ones

[b] love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

23 If you had responded to my rebuke,

I would have poured out my heart to you

and made my thoughts known to you.

24 But since you rejected me when I called

and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,

25 since you ignored all my advice

and would not accept my rebuke,

26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you-

27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me.

29 Since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear the LORD,

30 since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

31 they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm."

Footnotes:
Proverbs 1:21 Hebrew; Septuagint / on the tops of the walls
Proverbs 1:22 The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs generally denotes one without moral direction and inclined to evil.

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 [NIV]

The Intellectual Mind

Matthew Henry's Commentarty [Revised] - Matthew 16:24

1 Timothy 4:7-8a [NIV]