Yesterday I talked about the sturdiness of some of the old churches and landmarks built on the Kansas plains. It wasn't for nothing. I don't love these things for formality. I love them because they stand the test of time. I look at these edifices and landmarks as enduring art and spiritual symbols, like I look at a good work of literature, or a good piece of music, or a painting, or whatever thing or method a good artist or spiritual person uses to convey their work. They endure through time.....being things you can see or hear, or having been brought to your time because they weren't forgotten. But now the world is cheapening, spirits are being lost, religion is rampant, people believe nothing that requires faith - and only little things don't require faith because they don't have to be tried and proven because most of them still work in the present, so they are great deception builders, and deception forces back fear, which only adds another layer to the deception, until one is so convince of their way they can't believe how true God's word is. But all the storms of life have went around them, the clouds were seeded to rage but avoid them, and the Dark hand guided the storms by them so they could be kept in deeper deception yet. People must not believe the Bible. But everything ever written or said has someone's experience in it, and is part of the vast information along with our own experience we have to live on, that's all. Give me one book of any kind in life and one acre to live on or one hole to put my head in and that will be my world, or denomination. But if Christ sends you into the world, you are subject to everything in the world, and no one is going to pray to take you out of it, the Rahabs are going to have to be justified, the prostitutes enter in, the loud and hard playing musician belt out spiritual lyrics that give terrible appearance of evil, and if your were sent by Christ, you live in it and fight with it and receive of it all what is good for your place and work in life at that time, and likewise suffering what still seems so wrong to you and what you can't reconcile to your life yet, though it is in your world because you are there in the world with it.

In one of the Jesus' parables, there are two situation with one like storm. In the one event, the storm came and beat vehemently against the house but could not shake it because the builder dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. In the other event, the storm came, and it said the house immediately fell. Take note that the storm came no matter what. The so called solid house didn't stand because there is no storm to try it, that don't make it a solid house. Life is fair, the storms are everywhere. How you beat them, you build a solid house on the Rock. The Christian must not believe in any storms for their life. I see where it's now called grace or whatever. They put up a shack for their religion and live in it, and for the most part there hasn't been a puff of wind yet, because when there is, they will be greatly disturbed. Because the Bible {and that ain't no great deal until you use it for your life and claims and religion} from beginning to end tells us of the inevitable storms and darkness of life, and how we can watch the light arise in darkness and how we can stay in our spiritual houses and ride the storms out and the spiritual darkness along with it that continuously circles and plagues the earth over all people, tribes and nations.......on the just and unjust alike, and in reverse, the rains that melt the clods and the blessing of it, coming fairly over the just and unjust. Well the storms do the same, they come no matter what. And if you don't believe in the storms, then why aren't the storms for your example to learn from? Because they are right in nature in full view. Where did the Christians ever get the idea they could build a shack on the flood plains of baptism, or build a shack in the dry forest of cloven tongues of fire, or build a shack in tornado alley where the whirlwind of the Spirit rushes in?

I know this is a bitch of a post, and it's not going to be set well here. But not wanting to receive something in the world you claim, is not being honest. Don't fault me. Don't you claim you want your life so you can see your wrong? Well when a new way opens up to look at your life, the writer shouldn't be faulted. There's nothing in the nature and shadows out there, or in the Bible either one that says your life shouldn't be tried and weighed. You know it's not fair to build a religious shack and avoid all the storm, or claim unjust restitution when the baptism drowns you, or the fire burn you, or the whirlwind wrecks your shack. That's why I visit these great landmarks I spoke of yesterday......to remind me of the spiritual house I must continue to build. The blackest clouds have moved across the plains and prairie and have swallowed up everything, but the great landmarks will reemerge out of the clouds, sturdy and sound. That's an example, that's hope to watch a huge structure reemerge straight and bold.

Brent

but the great landmarks will reemerge out of the clouds, sturdy and sound. That's an example, that's hope to watch a huge structure reemerge straight and bold.

I have a question.

If we really believe we are in the end times would it not be better to use tents and temporary shelters rather than build these huge, straight and bold structures?

Or is it that we really down deep don't believe the end is upon us?

In the NT, people were waiting around for Jesus to appear. They were told to get back to work. The work is saving souls. Since all will perish, it don't really doesn't matter whether it be tents or buildings. Some place needs to be where people can hear the word. I do think that most churches place to high a value on the appearance on the building. But they sure are comfortable to be in. calledoutPTL

"I have a question.

If we really believe we are in the end times would it not be better to use tents and temporary shelters rather than build these huge, straight and bold structures?

Or is it that we really down deep don't believe the end is upon us?"

Mark,

I wanted to get back to you on this matter. I was mostly speaking spiritually. But I want to show that that is no less laborious than building a beautiful edifice on a virgin prairie land, for which I used the huge Catholic churches of north central Kansas as a symbol for.

The Bible says there's profit in all labor, and that the laborers are worthy of their hire. There's no religious exception. No one can say your labor isn't good because it don't conform to what they think is right profit.

Let me give you an example in Christian literature. I don't much care for CS Lewis' writings. But he worked hard to produce them. And today they are not only considered Christian writings for our time, but they have literary value to. His writing is art. That's a good reward in itself if his writings are nothing else. Believe it or not, I find a little art in Reuben Koehn' Selected Editorials. And sure enough, there appears to be labor in them. This is good enough for me to receive them, not for what I can't believe or live, but for his effort. This is why art fascinates me, because most artist believe in hard work - they're not something for nothing people.

But the hand writing's on the wall, because today Christians increasingly are believing and devising deception in themselves to steal a gift and pervert true grace. They think the end of the world is coming, and they're probably right, because I pretty much see it that way myself. But I quit living literally for that. To me it's a great religious sin to quit working and building because grace and a gift is going to cover you, and then wait idly for the end of the world to come. It's a five foolish virgin deal. I know the other five virgins slumbered too, but they worked hard enough to have oil with them. I like to slumber too, but I like to do it prepared. The least one can do is live normally and work honestly in whatever they are able to do.

Brent