Fun at the park

Chrys bought us some pizza last night and we met at the park. We had lots of fun, even though Jack got squished a couple of times.....he kept going back for more! Here are a few pics.

My bff, Chrys :)

I was told this picture really doesn't look like me (on the left) and I don't think it really looks like Chrys either, but it is the only picture I have of her! So here we are, a few months ago at the FlyFest.

New Glasses

The day after Jayla's birthday she had another eye appointment. I managed to snap a picture of her getting her eyes checked! She still has to continue the patching, but if her vision does not improve anymore between now and the next visit, she can stop patching (it was about the same this time as it was last time). Her vision has greatly improved in the last year! It's not bad now, and her left eye (the "lazy" one) is no longer twice as bad as the right! I am very hopeful that she will only have to wear glasses for a couple more years! It was later in the week when we picked up her new glasses. Jacob had to try on one pair.....he couldn't resist!

The new Lego store!

The day after Lego Club we went to the opening of the brand new Lego store, the first in our state!!! It was a fun place! We had a great time, once again, with some homeschooling friends. Afterward we went to the food court and then left our friends and went to Build-A-Bear so Jayla could spend some birthday money on a new outfit for Cuddles. She chose the Ariel costume because she LOVES Ariel so much!

Jayla's dance recital

Jayla's dance recital went very well! I am hoping to have more pictures and video (DVD quatlity!) soon, so I will post more when I get them. In the picture above, she is 4th from the right in the front (click to enlarge).

Sleepy time

When Jonathan and Daddy were gone to camp, Jacob said he was scared to sleep alone. I thought he was in bed but later went to check on them and found him in Jayla's bed asleep! It was just too cute! These things are rare around here, especially in the heat! (Oh, and notice the kittens in the little doll cradle!)

Lego Club!

Our homeschool group has a monthly Lego Club meeting. It is set up where each family who wants to join puts in one set or bag of Legos ONE TIME, then everyone plays with all of them together. All of the kids are very good at sharing because there are so many, and they always have a blast. We have not been in a while, so the kids were really looking forward to it! We even invited some friends along who were just visiting and checking out the homeschool group to see if they are interested in joining (it's just a free online, no-obligation group). I think one of the families may! Yea! :) They each have boys who are just a few months younger than Jonathan (they will both turn 9 in the fall), and these boys are quickly becoming some of his very good friends.

Interestingly enough, I know Noah's dad (the redhead on the left) from church about 15 years ago, and Myles knows Andrew's dad (the dark-haired one on the right) from when they were just a few years old, but they haven't seen each other in about 20 years! We have recently started visiting this church where they attend, and Andrew's dad is the pastor while Noah's dad is also very involved with the leadership. It has been so great reconnecting with the families, seeing Noah's family again (he also used to be in my Sunday School class when he was barely walking!) and getting to know Andrew's family. The wives/moms are so sweet and lovely people. I feel honored to know them and that they wanted to hang out with us on this day! :)

Jack

Jayla

Jacob (get that tongue out there!)

Noah, Jonathan and Andrew

Funny Food

Chrysinda and I went to IHOP the other day at about 3 in the morning. We ordered some onion rings, and look what we got! Okay, so it's not exactly the same, but this is the most interesting onion ring I've ever had! I hated to eat it......but I did. :)

Boy Scout camp

Well, I wasn't there, so I can't give the details, but he did, um, scout stuff! Fishing, hiking, archery, etc. This was the first time he went to summer camp, so he also got to swim this time! He had a great time and is looking forward to more in the future. He is a Webelos now, but we haven't bought his next uniform yet, so he still has the blue. Myles is also planning on being a leader this coming school year, so they will hopefully get to do all kinds of fun things and make tons of great memories together, as well as learning, um......scout stuff! :)

Happy Birthday to Jack-Jack!

I just can't believe it! Today my baby is two years old! He's been through a lot in his short life so far, but he is doing very well right now and is such a sweet boy. He truly lights up the room when he walks in. :) He has brought a smile to my face and pulled me out of my grumpiness many times!

I thought I'd take the opportunity to record some milestones. He has been walking now for 5 months. He is much more stable now, but he still doesn't have the best balance. :) He doesn't really fall very often though, he just stumbles a lot and almost falls. He has also started running recently. He has tried in the past, but he is actually getting some speed up now!

He also LOVES to dance! I hope we can get him into some kind of dance class when he is a little older, but for now he just dances freestyle......or Jack style! I've got to get a video of it because it is so stinkin' funny! I'll try that tomorrow when he's dancing to the worship band in the church service. :) He also still loves to drum, but he has lightened up on that a bit and loves to move his whole body more to the music. He does still love drumming though, as you can see in the video I recently posted! When it comes to music, he will also sway his body and sing......SO CUTE! He is definitely my muscially-inclined child out of the four!

Jack also has a whopping 8 teeth now and is working on a couple more. I haven't been able to get a picture yet, but if you ask him to show you his teeth, he smiles really weird so you can see all of them! It is so funny!

I'm not sure of his exact height and weight, but he's got to be close or right at 30 pounds now. He will NOT follow me when we go out somewhere, so I still have to carry him a lot. He really won't follow me though! I don't understand! He will pull on me or will just hang, so I have to bribe him with a sucker or a drink to get him to follow me or else I have to carry him. :) What a stinker! I've had to use the mei tai a couple of times recently, and it was a lifesaver!!!! (Or I guess more of a back saver. Ha!) In fact, he is in the mei tai in the picture above!

Talking! He still doesn't say a whole lot of words that the average person can understand, but he will imitate just about anything. He says his B's really well, so those words are more clear. I just tried to get him to say "water" a bit ago, and he kept putting a B on the front. :) He does have a few words he says, but you have to really pay attention because, even for me, they are hard to understand right now. I mostly recognize repeat sounds and not so much words necessarily. But he does continue to add to his vocabulary daily!

There is much more to my little Baby Jack-Jack, but these are the milestones I really wanted to record here. He is growing so fast, too fast for Mommy! Happy birthday, Peanut! We all love you so much!

Doughnut Kids

I don't think I ever posted this picture. This was taken at Krispy Kreme (bet ya couldn't figure that one out!) on National Doughnut Day. Jacob really racked up the free doughnuts. He asked for a second one when I wasn't paying attention, then he just walked up and grabbed a cup of doughnut holes and helped himself! I offered to pay for them, but the guy working told me not to worry about it, that happens a lot. He was cool. :) But, I didn't want Jacob "rewarded" for his behavior, so he didn't get to finish them, and I gave them to the other kids. Which ended up working well anyway since (whiny voice) they didn't get another doughnut but Jacob di-i-i-i-id! (sigh)

We met some friends there that we don't get to see often, so it was a fun time! We got to catch up a little while the kids played and enjoyed watching the doughnuts through the large window as they were being made. I'm glad this is only once a year though, because doughnuts are just not my "thing". But I guess one free one a year is okay. It was definitely worth spending time with friends! :)

Birthday party

We went back to this new favorite splash pad a few days later for a combined birthday party. They get something like this every year, but it is usually something small with just a few friends and some cake. They usually have individual parties, but this year due to circumstances and finances, we combined Jonathan's and Jayla's. I didn't get many pictures, but I think my friend Mandie did, so I'll have to see if she has more I can add to this.

Okay, catching up!

Myles was on vacation the week before last. Monday of that week (the 8th) was Jayla's birthday! We were going to go to a big water park, but due to circumstance beyond our control we ended up just going to a splash pad. It was our first time to try this one out. It was fun, but we soon discovered an even better one just down the road (which turned out to be our fav so far). Despite the circumstances ruining our original plans, we had a great, memorable day. (I'm experimenting with making collages, so bear with me on the pictures! Click to view details in full size.)

The first splash pad
The second, more awesome, splash pad

My Little Drummer Boy

I know this video is horrible quality (using my phone in low light), but you can see it well enough to get how cute it is! :) I just love our little Jack-Jack! He has such a sweet personality and is always so pleasant and such a joy to be around!

He loves to drum. Yesterday he was watching a video on YouTube of someone else drumming (there are some crazy awesome drummers on YouTube!!!), so he was playing along with him with a couple of long straws. :)

I know, I know.....

It's been a while! Once again I have lots of pictures to catch up on! Since my last post we have had a birthday (Jayla), a party (for her and Jonathan), played at a splash pad 3 times, had lots of dance rehearsals in preparation for the recital WHILE AT THE SAME TIME Jonathan and Myles were gone to Cub Scout camp (never doing that again!!!), the recital, lost two more kittens, only have one puppy left to sell, visited a new (to us) church including a bible study and monthly fellowship, a church reunion and much more! I've got some great pictures of Lego Club and the new Lego store to share! Please check back here because I don't know if I can get to it tonight, but I will start posting pictures soon. :)

Think! Week #41 solution!

Click on the button to view the original challege.

The items to use. We don't eat much cereal, but I found some similar boxes to substitute. :)

brainstorming and trying different things

getting a plan togethernearly done!

now just need to add the mast

trying to make it as tall as possible and adding more tape for strength so the straws won't bend

now for the moment of truth......


It floats!!!

Jack is a smart little guy! He went to get his own boat to join in the floating fun!

The mast is 40" tall and the boat floats! Yea! :)

At the end of this video Jonathan was saying that it was sinking, but he was just playing. It floats very well! I had to help them more than I wanted to, but for their first Think! challenge I thought they did very well! I'm hoping that Jonathan gets into this more though since I had him in mind when planning this. I really thought he would enjoy it more but he just wanted to go play. Jayla loved it though and is really looking forward to doing this every week!

Happy National Doughnut Day!!!

Here's another freebie for ya! In honor of National Doughnut Day today, Friday, June 5th, Dunkin' Donuts is giving away one free doughnut with the purchase of any beverage!

But wait! There's more!

Krispy Kreme is also giving away a free doughnut of your choice, no purchase necessary!

If two free doughnuts (and a beverage) are not enough, call around to your local doughnut shops. I'm sure you'll find more. Enjoy!

Think!

Time for our first Think! challenge! This is definitely going to be fun, and I can see lots of getting wet in our near future! Go check out this week's challenge and join in the fun with us! Pictures and/or video needs to be sent in no later than noon on Saturday, so get to work!

Pride month for what???

I can't even write about this here because it is just too detestable, but read about what our president has been up to this week! Didn't we learn anything from Sodom and Gomorrah? This is the beginning of the end! Oh, and here is a good blog post about the topic that is worth reading.....if you can stand it. Blech! Seriously, you'll just have to read what other people have written about this topic! I've typed too much already!

The Early Church vs. Cults

Someone jokingly commented to me recently that the early church of the New Testment almost seemed like a socialist or communist community! On the surface maybe it does a bit, but when you look at the whole picture, it is such a beautiful thing!

Acts 2:44-45 - ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

The difference here, it seems, is that these early Christians were happily giving everything they had of their own free will, not by being forced or having laws made that took everything from them. They were very content in living simply and gave out of love for God and each other.

What I really wanted to talk about right now though is cults. There are so many today as a result of false teachers that 2 Peter chapter 2 and other passages warn about. First I want to look at some of the signs of a cult. Here are just a few, and the group or leader does not have to fit in every category to actually be a cult.

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
3. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
4. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
5. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
6. The leader is always right.
7. The leader tends to be determined, domineering, and charismatic.

Now, go through this list again and think about a church, maybe the one you attend or used to attend.....

Pretty scary, huh?

Now as I said before that a group or leader does not have to fit into every single category to be a cult, the same is true for the opposite. Just because a group or leader fits into one or two categories does not mean they are a cult. It can be a fine line sometimes, but there are plenty of groups or people out there who have just been misled and maybe have not realized what they are doing and teaching. Some actual cults may not realize it either though! But we do have to realize that some people are just deceived by false teachings themselves, and maybe some of what they teach is true (which is how false teachings are so common, they mix lies in with the truth).

Okay, I'm rambling. Let me give specific examples of a church I have gone to in the past. Compare with the list above.

1. The pastor had total, final say in the way things operated, who was allowed in the building, who would be the next deacon, etc. Even if there was a vote it was very clear he had control of the group to the point of very subtly (or maybe not so much) getting them to vote on who HE wanted to be the next pastor! The average person may not have noticed, but I was watching specifically for these things!
2. The pastor always seemed to have an answer, even though many times he clearly pulled out of Scripture certain passages to "support" his false beliefs while twisting them to say what he wanted them to say. If anyone disagreed with him, he would pull them aside and tell them, with all his authority, that he has to "protect the flock", which was another way of saying "do things my way or you're outta here".
3. While it is true the bible says that Christians will be hated by the world and persecuted for Christ's sake, this pastor would preach over and over again that we are in war. It is true, but he preached it in a way that kind of stirred up that inner war cry, ready to go out and conquer the world.
4. The church was going through a merger that "ended badly", and I have since wondered if maybe it didn't happen because they saw these cultish tendencies! But the pastor and his followers (the mindless sheep) seemed to paint a picture of this other group as evil people who were not true believers but following false doctrines themselves. Maybe they were, I don't know!
5. Well, of course no one can ever be "good enough" to get into heaven, but I guess the reason I included this point is because this preacher pounded Calvinism into everyone's brain over and over and over again, and Calvinism teaches that because we cannot be good enough, we are not capable of even accepting the gift of salvation (because that would be our own works!), but Christ makes that happen. He calls you and regenerates you without your consent, so to speak. So he just continued to cram that doctrine down everyone's throat (to maintain total control as well), so everyone believed (or so it seemed) that they do not have free will.
6. Of course he was always right, and there was no accountability for him, so he remained in total control! In the early church there were elders (plural) appointed at every city, and all the little house churches were part of the larger whole body of believers, so they all had accountability! Not most modern churches though where there is only one pastor! And the younger pastors tend to have more pride or are at least more susceptible to it, and I definitely saw it in this man!
7. Determined he was! Definitely determined to have things run his way rather than God's, and determined to doctrinate everyone with Calvinism! He was definitely domineering as well, always taking the lead even when someone else was supposed to be speaking or teaching. Charasmatic? Oh, yes, he definitely was! It makes him a more likable, believable guy!

I'm sure there are more characteristics I could name off, but these are the ones that stand out to me the most. It was hard to be a part of this group. While I dearly loved the people and even the pastor and his family, it was hard to continue listening to the false teachings week after week. And this was a baptist church, the one denomination I thought was "safe"!

My heart really goes out to this family (he is still the pastor) and the families who are still there. Please pray for them!

I just wanted to blog about this so you could see how many modern "churches" are actually more like cults than they are the early church! Watch for these things in your own church, and if you see them, run away fast and take as many with you as you can! Start a home church with the purpose of being like the New Testament early church. Study doctrine together; not man's doctrine, not denominational doctrine, but doctrine straight from the bible. The things the apostles wrote! Partake of the Lord's Supper together while you are having a weekly meal. Pray together. Lift each other up daily. And fellowship together, which isn't hard to do when you eat together regularly. :) Oh, how I long for this every day! Once you taste it you will not go back to man's way of "doing church". God's way is so much infinitely better!!!

FREE Root Beer Floats at Sonic!

Sonic Drive-in is offering free 10 oz. Root Beer floats tonight from 8pm to midnight! Visit their web site for more details and to find a location near you!

And in case it matters to you, the type of root beer that they serve at Sonic DOES have caffeine! But hey, it's free and only one night a year, right? :) Enjoy!

The purpose of meeting together in the early church

Acts 2:42:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

I've already talked about preaching in the New Testament.....it was directed toward non-believers and it was always the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection that was preached. There was no preaching IN the church to other believers.

So what did they do in their regular meetings? According to Acts 2:42 they taught/studied the doctrines that the apostles delivered to them, they fellowshipped together, prayed together and ate together. Now, I believe that the "breaking of bread" was the Lord's supper because they all partook of one piece of bread in which they broke into pieces and shared together. But also, if you look at the institution of the Lord's supper, they were eating the Passover meal, so I believe it was also a normal part of their weekly meal.

So the New Testament Church did 4 main things:

1. studied doctrine together
   
2. fellowshipped together
3. prayed together
4. partook of the Lord's supper and a meal together

So many "churches" nowadays preach at least 3 times a week, sometimes more, and people just go sit in a pew and listen (or sleep) and then go home! There is very little fellowship, very little prayer, very little studying doctrine and very little eating together, though some do observe the Lord's supper each week.

There are a couple of good things I can say about the denominational church we attend for now. We do not observe the Lord's supper weekly or study doctrine weekly, but there is a lot of fellowship and a meal together every week as well as a weekly prayer meeting. I love the people there, I just wish it was more like the New Testament Church!

Dreams

My good friend Sasha had one of those strange but funny dreams last night and gave me permission to post it here. :)

"We were at a church and the preacher was like this real meat eating guy ... he believed we "need" to eat meat and had discussed it a little before the service started - at which time you had shared your vegetarian thoughts etc. with him ... then, during his service he was announcing that he was having a workshop about the importance of eating meat and he said "I'm going to show you why it's important that YOU eat meat" - directly to Jonathan!

Your jaw dropped, Jonathan burst out crying - and Jayla followed - at which point you stood up in disbelief ... you were saying "did you hear that" ... and took the kids out."

Isn't that hilarious?! Leave a comment with a dream you have had recently, especially if I was in it. Ha!

Doctrines of Men, part 3: Historical Church Documents

I wanted to include one more type of false doctrines to this topic: Historical Church Documents.

This is mostly associated with denominations (see how they all tie in together?), but they are still all doctrines of men. What are these historical church documents? I am speaking of creeds, confessions of faith and catechisms! This would also include individual churches' bylaws.

I may surprise a lot of people here, and even my own husband originally thought I was being "extreme", but over the last few weeks we have seen the dangers of following these documents. It may be true for some that they are based on the bible, but then I have one simple question.....

If it is based on the bible, why not just use the bible???

The danger in using these documents comes when someone or a group of believers begin putting these documents above the bible. I have heard preaching from these documents from the pulpit, which shouldn't really surprise me since the church doesn't follow the New Testament model to begin with! But this pastor actually said that we cannot fully rely on the bible only, but we also need these historical documents to know what our forefathers believed! I knew he valued these things far too greatly, but I was shocked to hear him say that. The Bible and the Holy Spirit (pray for wisdom and discernment!) is all you need in order to know the will of God and His doctrines! We do not need any doctrines of men or anything to "clarify" what the bible is saying!

See, that is how all the "isms" slip into churches these days. If believers would stop referring back to "church history" (that is not from the bible) and simply read the bible for what it says, there would be much more unity. Even many of the martyrs who died for what they believed in were heretics! The murderers didn't care what the martyrs believed, they just killed them for taking a stand, true or not! Just because they died for what they believed in does not make me obligated to follow them, I am obligated to follow GOD only.

The second more obvious problem is when man's interpretation of the bible is incorrect, and many believers are "catechizing" their children with these false teachings. Maybe most of it is true, but maybe some of it is not......are you sure you want your children learning and memorizing from them rather than straight from the bible? If you feel so strongly about teaching the catechisms, why not just use the questions and verses as a guideline and not even read what the written answers are? Find the answers for yourself straight from the bible!

As for the individual church bylaws, there is so much wrong with all that. First of all, it sets that one church aside as an individual, distinct organization, and we already know that denominations are not from God and that He desires unity among His Church (singular). Secondly, where in the bible does it talk about church voting, for example? They were told to appoint elders in every town (because all the house churches were one church!) in Titus 1:5:

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

There is much more to say about all of these topics, and maybe I will expound on them more one day, but this is some food for thought to anyone who is reading. I pray everyone will throw out their "hand-me-down doctrines" in exchange for reading and studying the word of God and see what the bible really says about certain doctrines. Some denominations are right on with some of the doctrines, but the fact that they are a denomination is not biblical, so you know we will find much more! I do not ever expect to find the "perfect" church, but I also am not willing to settle when I know of one that is truly following the New Testament example for the church of God. These little house churches do exist, they are just few and harder to find. If you do not find one near you, why not start your own! It may not be "ideal" and maybe you feel inadequate as a teacher, but do the best you can with what you have, and pray that God will send true believers to you who can all participate in the edification of the believers. It is such a joyous experience to truly experience this from Acts 2:42:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

And I'll blog more about this verse in the near future. :)

Denominations in the Early Church

1 Cor. 1:10-13 - ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹² Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

1 Cor. 3:1-4 - ¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. ² I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Along the same lines of teaching unity, the early church taught against division. I don't even need to say anything else on this, I'll just let the bible, God's holy and infallible word, and the Holy Spirit of God speak for Himself.

Unity in the early church

Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity

John 10:16 - And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

John 17:11 - Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

John 17:21-23 - ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Acts 2:44 - Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,

Romans 12:4-5 - ⁴ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

1 Cor. 10:17 - For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

1 Cor. 12:5 - There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

1 Cor. 12:12-13 - ¹² For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:26-27 - ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Gal. 3:26-28 - ²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Eph. 1:10 - that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Eph. 2:14-21 - ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵ having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

Eph. 3:6 - at the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Eph. 4:1-6 - ¹ I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Eph. 4:11-16 - ¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

With all this talk about unity, I think God may be trying to tell us something! If we are all listening to the Holy Spirit, we WILL be in unity. He would not give us all different interpretations of His word! So what does that say about Christians and "churches" today? Should there even be churches (plural) or just one Church, all members of the body of Christ?

Doctrines of Men, part 2: "isms"

And this time I don't mean kidisms!

This may not have to do exactly with the model of the early church in the New Testament, but it is about all the false doctrines being taught now that were warned about in those days! I find it especially interesting that some of the preachers who even warn about false doctrines are themselves teaching other false doctrines! The devil is sly indeed!

So let's just name a few of these false doctrines to begin with. These are all doctrines of men, perhaps based on some scripture, but they are almost all twisted to some degree to fit what the original false teacher wanted to be taught.

1. Arianism
2. Syncretism
3. Marcionism
4. Syncretism
5. Universalism
6. Gnosticism
7. Nestorianism
8. Pelagianism
9. Marionism
10. Glossolalianism
11. Montanism
12. Eunomianism
13. Monarchianism
14. Sabellianism
15. Macedonianism
16. Apolinarianism
17. Nestorianism
18. Eutychianism
19. Arminianism
    
20. Monophysitism
21. Monothelitism
22. Noeticism
23. Docetism
24. Subordinationism
25. Ebionism
26. Patripassianism
27. Modalism
28. Antinomianism
29. Gnosticism
30. Manicheanism
31. Unitarianism
32. Calvinism

Let's take a look at the last one, for example. The main 5 points of Calvinism are TULIP:

Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election (God is sovereign and can do whatever He pleases, so he chooses who will go to heaven and who will not)
Limited Atonement (The blood of Jesus does not cover the sins of the whole world, only the sins of the elect)
Irresistible Grace (no one can resist the grace of God......no free will of man)
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)

John Calvin came up with verses to fit each point, and it sounds very convincing if you are not familiar with the entire bible to some degree or if you don't at least study for yourself. I just want to pick out two points of this to disprove, though I disagree with more than these two points.

Election - Romans 8:29 - For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Most people who agree with Calvinism stop after the word predestined. But if you keep reading, you will easily see with your own eyes that God did not predestine us to a place (heaven or hell), He predestined (or predetermined) for us to be like Christ! That is what predestination is! And we are called His elect if we are followers of Jesus! That's all there is to it. Not difficult to understand at all, is it?

Limited Atonement - 1 John 2:2 - And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

John is writing to other believers, and he is telling them (us) that Jesus died for the whole world! It is very clear here. He says "for our sins" and then goes on to say "not for ours only but also for the whole world." How much more clear can it be???

There are many more verses, but that is all you need to see to know that Calvinism, which seems to be making a huge comeback recently, is another false doctrine of man.

I find it interesting too that Many Southern Baptist churches and seminaries teach this and yet they do not practice infant baptism, and Calvin believed and taught infant baptism! He persecuted those who did not practice it! If he can be so wrong about one subject, why are so many blindly following his other teachings?

James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Pray for wisdom and the Holy Spirit will help you understand God's word. You do not need someone else's hand-me-down doctrine that is probably false to understand the Bible, just read it for yourself and let the Holy Spirit interpret it for you! Pray for wisdom and discernment. Be sure it is the Holy Spirit who you are listening to or you might just come up with a false doctrine of your own! But if it is the Holy Spirit, then all believers should be in unity, because God would not give us each different interpretations. Division and confusion is from satan, not God. Denominationalism and false doctrines are from satan, not God.

Doctrines of Men, part 1: Scriptures against it

Col. 2:20-23 - 20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Titus 1:10-16 - 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Isaiah 29:13 - Therefore the Lord said:

“ Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

Matt. 15:1-20 - 1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

We (followers of Christ) need to stop listening to other people's doctrines, the hand-me-down fables that are usually associated with denominations and cults.

2 Tim. 2:15 - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We are each accountable for our own lives and how we live, so study for yourself and don't let someone else tell you what to believe. Just read the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Just be sure it is the Holy Spirit! Pray for wisdom and discernment!