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Which Demomination is the right one?

In order to understand the real answer on this we need to have a bit of a history lesson:

Christianity really started around 20AD. From that time until 1053AD what evolved was a centralized church. This centralized church developed some political doctrines and some “bosses” or church heads, and depending on where you lived, there were different bosses. The boss in the eastern portion of the church was the patriarch Michael Cerularius and the boss in the west (controlled by Rome) was Pope Leo IX.

The big disagreement here was over who was the real boss, what kind of bread to use for communion, a small change in the wording of the Nicene creed, celebacy of religious leaders and purgatory, among other political views. There was a great split that occurred, or what we call “The great schism” where 2 giant religious factions were created, the Eastern Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church. The head of each faction excommunicated one another just for spite.

Later on, in 1517, a Saxony (now Germany) priest named Martin Luther was fed up with some of the corruption and political involvements of the Roman Catholic church (selling absolutions, etc) and came up with 95 theses which he nailed to the church doors in protest. This was really the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The people who followed Martin Luther were called “Lutherans”.

As the reformation spread across countries other reformers ideas cropped up and their followers, of course, broke off into further factions or “denominations”. These denominations were originally largely regional but today are almost all world wide. While the differences between all those denominations are interesting and sometimes heated, by and large, they all teach salvation through Christ by faith and the Bible as God’s word.

And that leaves us at today where there are many many Protestant “denominations” a person can belong to and 2 “Catholic” churches. So that brings us back to our original question, which one is the right one? Which denomination?

Given that your denomination teaches salvation through Jesus Christ through faith (which the Bible, God’s word, spells out for us explicitly in Ephesians 2:8) the rest is not as significant. You might visit some congregations and see which makes you feel welcome. See which speaks to you. You might take some time and dig into the differences between some denominations – some are fascinating, and see what speaks to you. You can spend some time talking to God about it, but the real answer is all of them and none of them at the same time. They all have something to offer and none of them are exactly right as they are all based in some way on the ideas of people and we must strive to base our Christianity on the ideas of Jesus.

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I believe in Santa Claus

I’m sure you, like me, have grown up with the exciting tale of Santa Claus, the wonderful plump man whos mission in life is to bring joy to children on Christmas day. While there are many disperate legends that really have combined to form this magical man, the one we are going to talk about is Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children, among several other things, was an early Christian greek bishop. There are many many stories and elaborations attributed to this holy man, but one that bears mention to the legend is that he was renowned for his habit of secret gift giving. This made him a great favorite of the people and much loved and revered.

Saint Nicholas also was one of the attendees at the Very first council of Nicaea. This council was very important where clergy affirmed that Jesus Christ was divine and not a mere created being or Arianism, proposed by Arius. Saint Nicholas was purportedly so incensed by the ideas put forward by Arius that he is said to have slapped him.

Saint Nicholas is a big part of the modern day Santa Claus and a wonderful legend that is so important to Christians.

Santa Claus brings joy and love to people young and old. Joy is something this world seems to be in short supply of in these difficult modern times, and love is literally a commandment from the Lord, himself:

Matthew 22:37 …“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’   On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

And I believe in Santa Claus, like I believe in love….

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Exactly how does a person get to heaven (get saved)?

How do you get saved?
My earnest hope is that everyone reading this is either asking this question or has asked it before. This is so very important because life on this earth is a fleeting thing and tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone. This season is often a reminder of this as we remember loved ones that have passed on and who are now not there for the family holiday celebrations.

The answer, of course, is in the Bible. It says:
“…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” Acts 16:31

So, what does that mean? Well, it was early on in the days of Adam and Eve when mankind was separated from his relationship with God. With that sin, the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, mankind (on the urging of the Satan, the great deceiver) fell for the lie that we could be like Gods as well (Genesis 3:5). That was just too great a temptation and we broke God’s rule.

When you are a small innocent child and your parent is cooking some wonderful meal in a pot on the stove, they often tell you not to touch. As happenens unfortunately too often, that child might grab the pot anyway, spilling the scalding contents upon themselves and get burnt. They might carry the scars of such a breach of the rules for the rest of their lives.

That is much like what happened in the Garden of eden. We broke the rules and punishment was separation from God, forever.

But, God is also a loving parent and made a way to pay the price for that punishment. He sent Jesus to us, to be punished in our stead. That was his gift to us. All we have to do to reconcile ourselves to God is to accept that amazing gift. Believe that Jesus came here to pay for your sins and accept his gift. Repent and follow his commandments:

“…love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind…And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22 37-39

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Participate?

I would love to hear your thoughts, questions and ideas. If you would like to participate in any way, please email me at linc at reverendlinc dot com!

Have a blessed day!

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The Great Commission or the Great Evangelism?

Had this conversation recently with a brother where he brought up his current study of evangelism with a group and thought I’d throw him for a little loop and maybe you too.

A long time ago, and I forget the reference, I head another preacher who tuned me into this idea and I’ll share it with you all here, and if you read the actual scriptures involved a couple times (read your Bible, folks, and not just listen to other’s opinions), you might agree..

Most people think of evangelism as the spreading of the Gospel by personal witness, but, is that really what it is or is that just an evolution of a misunderstood biblical term? Let’s see..

Eph 4:11-12
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Well, that’s the Biblical quote about Evangelism. God gives (makes) some people apostles, some people prophets, SOME evangelists, etc..

 Here’s the thing, in the“Great Commission”, Jesus told us *ALL* to go and do that, right? (Mark 16:15)..  So, how do you contrast that with SOME evangelists (above)?  Well, you have to add in the rest of Eph 4:12.  He gave SOME to be evangelists for the perfecting of the saints.  Well, the unsaved out in the world are not saints. Saints are believers! Evangelism biblically means to encourage and equip believers (for the perfecting of the saints). Lift them up! Encourage them! How wonderful a job that must be!

Now…. All that being said it’s still WAY important to actually fulfill the Great Commission where Jesus told us ALL to go out and spread the Gospel. So.. How does one do that? If you talk with people you’ll get the idea that’s one of the hardest things in the world to do. I mean, first you have to understand your own faith, right, and then get the nerve up to speak to someone else about it.

Well. As I mentioned before, I have spent years pounding the pavement with this and have found just the thing. It’s a program a brother shared with me long ago and it’s really perfect. It’s called “How can I share my faith without and argument?” a Discovery Series by Bill Fay.

You’ll hear people say they want to win people over for Christ, etc., but that’s not really how it works. Really, it’s God that does all the work and you just have to point people to him. This simple method shows you just how to do that. It’s only 5 short questions and 6 Bible references. I literally carry a pocket Bible with this stuff written in it. It’s absolultely amazing to see this work. Watch people read out loud what God says and see him reveal the truth to them. This could be the most worthwhile 20 minutes a Christian spends listening to something. Below you have links to the actual pamphlet, a one page reference and a youtube vid of Bill, himself, leading you through it. Enjoy!

https://imlisteningtogod.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/how-can-i-share-my-faith-without-an-argument.pdf

https://imlisteningtogod.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/share-your-faith-without-an-argument-summary-sheet.pdf

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My seminary – pounding the street!

As a Minister, I often get asked, mostly by haughty sanctimonious Christians (modern day Pharisees) what Seminary I went to and/or what my qualifications are. Most often this is just for some kind of misplaced competition to decide my legitimacy.

For the record, my parents never really pushed any kind of religious education for me and were not overly religious people, not attending church, etc.. I did attend some church and some sunday school education at a Baptist church with a religious Aunt of mine. I had some early personal experiences with the paranormal which pushed me into a long interest in such things, culminating into heavy study and involvement into Witchcraft and, eventually Satanism during my college years. There I met a brother Gary who God put in place to turn me around. He argued the scriptures with me and also t get me to go to church with him until I finally caved in and went. I was, and am lucky to still have him as a brother to rely on to this day. There, in a Fundamentalist church, I had my conversion. Heard the words and calling of God like thunder (literally). From there my education and interest continued until I felt called into the ministry in 1996. I was ordained and started right away!


“God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

We can see that in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

Clearly, I am part to that “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise”..

I do take some issue that all ministers and pastors must go to Seminary in order to preach/teach and minister. Although I absolutely believe that one must learn and be a student of Jesus’ teachings, more often than not, I believe those places are reserved for teaching doctrine and denomination. Both of those can, I believe be detrimental toward the real mission of spreading the Gospel, and inhibitive of the Holy Spirit whom the Bible says is the actual teacher (John 14:26). Although some would argue, we need to make sure that one’s doctrine or denomination is not overriding the word of God or his spirit directing you.

At any rate, it’s been a rolercoaster ride for sure, being ordained, being handed a church, running a homeless ministry and then moving across the continent, all the while being a bivocational minister. What I mean by that is being a minister has never been my sole employment – no I’m not a rich televangelist! I have always relied on an additional day job (I’m also a computer systems engineer) to fund both my family and my ministry. My Biblical education has come from self studies, those with my peers and, like the title says, years of beating the streets by foot meeting my fellow man where they were with the Gospel. And now, after all that and some baptisms, communions, weddings and funerals, I am here.

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Thanksgiving

In the USA, Thanksgiving day was started when the new world settlers and the Native Americans sat down together in celebration and friendship over a great fall harvest. It has since been made a traditional holiday where families, friends and loved ones get together and celebrate what they are thankful for for the year.

That being said, this year has been pretty dificult for many reasons. We have had covid and many people have been and still are separated from their families. Many people have had family members perish from this virus, lost their ability to work, to support their familyor pay rent/mortgage, etc.. On top of all that tragedy, personally this has been my first full year on dialysis.

With all those issues it can be hard to find things to be thankful for but there are always blessings when you think.

I am blessed to be able to still work and support my family. I am blessed to have a wonderful wife Michele that puts up with my shenanigans. My daughter Charlotte and her husband. My mother, sister Missy and her husband. I am blessed to have family that keeps in touch with me like Erin and Amy and Alison and my Aunts/Uncles Randy, Lisa, Janet, Michelle, etc., and a sister-in-law Lisa. They all show they care. I have fantastic friends that are also brothers in Christ. Tracy who checks in on me periodically – it means so much to me. Gary who has been a brother in Christ to me literally as long as I have been a Christian. Joel who is my constant buddy even though he lives 2000 miles away. Carl who was like a brother to me when I lived on the east coast. And there are many more of you – it makes me proud that it would take me so long to address them all here. and that brings me to the big one, God. Without God none of this would have been possible. Before I knew God my life was miserable and headed literally noplace. I had nothing and no way to get anywhere different. God changed all that and heaped all this upon me and, for that, I am truely thankful.

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Virgin Mary?

Well, let’s jump right into the thick of it shall we?
The other day I went to breakfast at my local diner and started some conversation with another patron who just happened to be a Greek Orthodox. He mentioned something to me in his stories that I took some objection to, although I didn’t press the topic since I didn’t have my Bible resources there to back me up. He mentioned that, of course, Mary (the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother) was a perpetual virgin and Jesus’ brothers (as mentioned several places in the Bible) were only half brothers from Joseph.

Before we jump on this I want to mention that my intention here is to stay completely Biblical. If it’s not in there, as far as I am concerned, God didn’t want it there. It’s either not true or not pertinant to the ultimate goal of salvation through Jesus Christ.

An intertesting take for sure, and I am positive this comes from the oral traditions that Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism rely upon, however, it doesn’t seem Biblical, or logical for that matter. Let’s examine:

Firstly and logically there is no evidence anywhere I can find to suggest that Joseph was ever married either previous to or after marrying Mary. The best I can find is this is another story carried on by the Catholics – the History of Joseph the Carpenter (Historia Josephi Fabri Lignari) which wasn’t written until between 600 and 700 AD, many hundreds of years AFTER the Bible. Secondly there are passages which explicitly mention that Jesus has brothers.

Matthew 1 “24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. 25But he had no union with her UNTIL she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.“

The key word there is UNTIL. He had no union with her UNTIL she gave birth to a son, meaning he did afterward. I mean, of course he did, she was his wife and in those days they tended to have big families. Indeed, the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus (Mat 13:55-56). The Bible text also uses wording specific to siblings (suggenes) when referring to Jesus’ siblings and not (anepsios), which is cousins or more distant relatives. Clearly they are flesh and blood brothers and sisters of Joseph and Mary. Of course that would be HALF brother and sisters as Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit , but for the purposes of this discussion they were certainly children of Mary.

Logically speaking , Joseph would not have outlived Mary as she was a much younger woman and even if Mary had “ascended” into heaven as the Orthodox believe, that wouldn’t have happened by the time frame these passages are referring to, so the brothers and sisters must have been biological children of Joseph and Mary.

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Welcome to ReverendLinc.com!

Welcome to ReverendLinc.com! This site has been a long time coming. A little history: I was ordained in 1996 and pastored a church for a while (Trinity Bible Chapel / TBC ministries) along with Pastor Clarence Rodwell before I moved to California. My main ministries have been helping the homeless since then and now, anything internet or online related.

With this particular site I would like to provide some honest opinions and critical Christian examinations backed up with biblical examples. I welcome you to look into all these things with me as we all journey together until we meet Jesus again!

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