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I
remember Carlton Pearson coming to "power" in Tulsa. I never heard him
preach. But when I lived there, I remember all the going's on of Azusa
and the how Tulsa buzzed during that time. I also remember passing by
his church on So. Memorial occasionally. It was big.
There was a
special on TV last night called "To Hell and Back" and was an expose on
the rise and fall of Carlton Pearson and how he, by his own admission,
created his own version of "Hell." But as I watched the story, so much
of it had an air of familiarity. I could relate to about half of
Pearson's story -- the first half. Pearson came to a point where
Biblically he simply could not support the traditional human doctrine
about Hell being a physical place where people are tormented (or will
be tormented) forever and ever. It just isn't there.
The second
part, I had a tough time with. He believes that not only is there no
"Hell" in the traditional sense, but that everyone, and I mean everyone, regardless
of their confession of faith, will one day arrive in heaven. What is
interesting is that I recently had a conversation with a friend in
Christ over this same issue. This person also believes the equivalent.
That everyone is going to make it to heaven. So with that recent
conversation on my mind, I watch the interview with Carlton Pearson
with great interest - especially since I spent about 9 years in the
Tulsa area.
I agree with Pearson that there is no such thing as
a traditional "Hell," while I do admit the Bible speaks very plainly
about judgment and punishment. I cannot, however, reach Carlton's
conclusion that a confession of Christ is irrelevant to one's
salvation. I can see why it would be tempting to believe as he does. It
makes the gospel of Christ the "icing on the cake" and not the cake
itself. | | |
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I
stopped at the Kwik Shop this morning on my way to the office as I
usually do. Nothing exciting there. I went in for a Krispy Kreme and a
Caffiene Free Diet Coke. (Yeah -- I know). Anyway, the young lady at
the cash register asked me if I wanted to buy a lottery ticked and I
said, "No. Actually I've never played the lottery." She said, "Really?"
I said, "Nope. Not one time." She said, "I never did until I got this
job and now I'm addicted." She said it with a giggle and a smile. I
think she wanted to come accross as if she was joking - and maybe she
was.
But I thought about our spiritual warfare and how Satan
teases us with the small things and hopes that we think it's only a
joke - no big deal. One little thing here. A little bit there won't
hurt. That's how he grabbed me, anyway. Not with lottery tickets, but
something else.
Would you mind spending a few moments today
praying for that young lady - that when the time comes and she realizes
that she truly is addicted, should that be the case, that she will have
the resources to battle her addiction. While we're at it...let's pray
that God would also show us our own pitfalls. It's probably something
that we think isn't all that serious. Something that we talk about with
a giggle and say - "ahhh...no big deal." | | |
| There's
an institution out there that wants you to believe that church is about
what happens in the building that sits out on the corner. It wants you
to believe that you "go" to church. And that if you are going to be a
good person, your life is going to be centered around that "going." It
wants you to think that if you "go" - and the more you "go" - the
better you are.
I'll just bet some of you are there right now.
You've gone to church. And there you are. The institution has you
trapped. You're "at" church. But the Lord Jesus Christ has set us free
from thinking that church is about going to a building.
Fly from
that place! Stop "going" to church. Stop being "at" church. Let go of
that terminology and that ideology and that phraseology. Instead - BE
the church. People -- it's time to escape the building. It is a pile of
bricks and mortar. It is an ediface build by human beings destined for
destruction. Abandon the idea that your life is wrapped up in what
happens inside that geographical location.
Jesus once said, "The
kingdom of God is within you." For decades and decades that Hebrew
poeple were bound to a building - the Jerusalem Temple. Rightly so for
God himself had declared it to be his dwelling place. But now WE are
the dwelling place of God and yet we are still so tied to buildings,
pews, stages, carpet and sound systems. All these things are destined
to perish with use.
Escape the building. Don't "go" to church.
Go and "BE" the church. Then no matter where you are or who you are
with - "wherever two or three are gathered in my name - there I am with
them" says the Lord. It doesn't matter one lick what happens inside the
building on Sunday if it doesn't affect what we do in the world on
Monday!
Worry more about BEING the church on MONDAY then GOING to church on SUNDAY!
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