I am Giving Up Christianity Part One

I Am Giving Up Christianity

Part One

Authors Note:  This is my personal blog.  Because I am a prophet, I will sometimes release a prophetic word via this venue. However, for the most part, A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven is meant to be one’s peek into my personal discourses with the Lord.  With that having been said, the following discourse is not necessarily a prophetic word per se.  It’s just a discourse and my struggle with the season. If anything confirms in your spirit; amen.  If not, I prayerfully suggest you tuck it away for a later time. We test all things by the Spirit of God and keep the good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I have been struggling with some things for some time now.  By now most of my sphere of influence knows this.  I have been disappointed and angry.  I am frustrated and a little confused.  Today, I finally admitted what I have only alluded to in cryptic (and sometimes not so cryptic) posts and prayer.  I finally admitted for the first time out loud, that I am embarrassed to be called a Christian.   I said as much to the Lord. To my surprise, He sighed and said, “I can’t say that I blame you.”

I still love Jesus. I will always preach that He is the only way to eternal life.  I grew up in church, but I didn’t actually receive Him as my Savior until I was twenty-one. I couldn’t really figure out how to make Him Lord, so I backslid.  I tell people that although I knew that I had eternal life, I did not have a conversion experience until I was in my early thirties.  That’s why I love Luke 7: 36-50. The woman in that story reminds me of me.  I was so desperate for love and healing. When the Lord converted my heart, I was forever grateful. Jesus has forgiven me much, so I love Him much.  To this day, I still weep grateful tears at His feet, and I worship Him with tearful abandon. 

I consider myself to be pretty conservative. If the bible calls it sin; I call it sin. As a minister, I don’t have the luxury of making exceptions based on my opinions. However, as one who was like the woman in Luke 7, I struggle with disregarding or rejecting anyone; whether I agree with their lifestyle choices or not.  It has taken YEARS for the Lord to bring me to the place where I am, and He continues to work on me daily.  I can’t afford to be judgmental, or to try to control another’s journey with Him because I know the process: It’s easy to make Him Savior.  That’s a gift. It takes a lifetime to make Him Lord. That’s a choice. Jesus gives us all choices, and spiritually we all have a level playing field.  Either we want the life He offers, or we don’t.  I believe that as followers of Christ our job is to be living epistles. To be men and women of God who sometimes get it right, but who often get it wrong. We have one thing in common.  We have been forgiven much, so we love much. 

 I have been confident and proud to call myself a Christian until recently. I have watched as a movement that began as followers of Christ, who wanted a voice in government, become twisted into something else.  I love the idea of Christians living in the world wanting the impact the world through Christ; however, the moniker “Conservative Christianity” has taken on a meaning that does not reflect love, acceptance, and liberty. What started as a movement to change the world is…well, I don’t know what this is, but it is not Christ-centered, nor is it is changing the world. When did Christianity become a political machine that makes deals with the devil in order to gain control and political influence?

One of the reasons that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not believe he was the Messiah, was because Isaiah prophesied that the “government would be upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).  Because Jesus did not come to overturn the oppressive Roman government, He could not possibly be the Messiah. They didn’t understand that Jesus did not come to upset the natural government. What need did he have to forcibly take a government that was created by human hands?  He said it in Isaiah 66:

This is what the Lord says,

“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where, then, is a house that you could build for Me?
And where will My resting place be?
² 
“For all these things My hand has made,
So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord.

 He came to establish a new government; one in which anyone who would believe could be a citizen. That’s why Paul writes that Christ in and among us is the hope of God’s eternal glory.  As believers, our job is to build a spiritual Kingdom, not overthrow a natural one.  Our bricks are the people who come into relationship with Christ. Our mortar is the Holy Spirit.  Our cornerstone is Jesus Christ. Our current plan to dominate this natural kingdom called the United States through legislation and scheming is rooted in religion and idolatry. It is a testament to the futility of humanity, not the glory of a risen Christ.

I believe that God knew that the hearts of men were inherently wicked. He knew that they would create doctrines and denominations that were rooted in the spirit of offense, fear, religion, and control. He knew that as the Body of Christ, we would not even be able to agree on what day to worship. He knew that we would build churches that were split by doctrine, race, and class. So He gave businessmen the wisdom to establish a country where one could worship when and how they chose without fear of control by the government. 

He gave fallible men an infallible plan, and it worked. We have this wonderful country that relies on a system of government that limits power, but gives voice and opportunity to its citizens. He provided a country that assures equality despite not offering equity and promises liberty and justice for all.  Despite God’s infallible plan, the founding fathers had the same issue that men have struggled with from the beginning of time. The struggle of man is arrogance, willfulness, and self-deception and idolatry.   When we open these doors, we cannot control what comes in as a result.  Americans ascribed to a doctrine called Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the belief that our nation is God-given, therefore it is justified and inevitable that expansion in the U.S. would occur.  We killed in the name of God.  We enslaved in the name of God.  We destroyed an indigenous people and their resources in the name of God.  We stole the civil rights of others in the name of God.  We went to war in the name of God.  And now we want to legislate morality in the name of God. We repeatedly repent on behalf of the sins of our nation, but we fail to turn away from our idolatry.  Each time we justify an over-policing, we bow down to an idol god. Each time we voice disapproval at a mass killing but refuse to regulate gun laws, we sacrifice to an idol god.   When we let a child die in poverty and refuse to help the homeless because “they ought to get a job”, we sacrifice to an idol.   When we justify  the evil actions of an elected official because he’s willing to accomplish the agenda we set, we sacrifice to an idol.  When we tolerate or even- God forbid celebrate racism and sexism, we bow down to an idol. Every time we build another edifice or host another conference but leave a trail of broken, unhealthy, unloved and unrenewed souls in the wake, we sacrifice to an idol.

Democracy has not failed. The day that Christianity became an organization instead of an organism, we failed.  The day the national anthem became more important than Amazing Grace, we failed. We fail because seventy percent of the women who have chosen abortion identify as Christian.  We fail because fifty-four percent of Christian men look at porn at least once a month. We fail because half of all Christian marriages end in divorce. We fail because there are pastors bragging about their racist theology on social media.  We fail when we justify a rape culture, and ignore the abuse of women. When prophets create video messages instructing Americans who to vote for, but will not leave the lucrativeness of the church to witness to a dying world, we fail.  We fail because we curse the LGBTQ community and drive them from the ONLY one that can help them.  Yet the church’s perversion rivals the hedonism of Babylon. Epic Fail. We fail because we hate everyone else’s sin, but we justify our own. We fail because we build expansive campuses on the backs of people who are living in poverty.  We fail when we travel to the ends of the earth to build a well, provide schools, or rebuild a city, or to worship in Israel, but we ignore the cries of the broken hearted and the impoverished in our own country. When we reject those whose religion we hate, but refuse to evangelize, we fail. When we call the social justice that Jesus taught us “secularism,” and “cause oriented,” we utterly fail. Jesus said we should have done one without neglecting the other.  We get an F.

The legislated sin we see in our democracy is the result of a broken and hardened heart of a people who have traded prophecy for politics, reputation for repentance, events for evangelism, a ministry for money, and judgment for justice.  We have seen only fruitlessness in our ranks because our best efforts are missing one thing: The Christ, and the government that is upon His shoulders.  A conservative platform cannot fix that.  Deals with ungodly men cannot fix that. Religion cannot fix that.  Another legislative action cannot fix that.  As a nation, we are in trouble, and the Christians have to own their part. The church isn’t a reflection of the world. The world is a reflection of the church. We did this, and we will reap the full harvest of what we have sown. That’s not the Christianity that I signed up for, and I quit. 

To Be Continued in Part II

Out of the Chaos, We will Rise!

Out of the Chaos, We will Rise!

This morning I prayed (as I often do) for the nation and our election.   I felt led to pray for Donald Trump.  I have sensed for some time that God wanted him to be the President.   I began to pray for his relationship with God, and I saw clearly that the warfare taking place in this election was not to KEEP him from office  but to place him in office. The election will be hard-fought up until it is over.  Once again, the fight is for Florida and Ohio, as the territorial spirits battle to keep him from being elected, but he is God’s man.   

I fully understand that  even if for some reason HRC is elected, we will only be delaying the inevitable. God will only raise up another to takes Trump's place.  All of these things must happen so that the Kingdom can come forth.

With that having been said, I believe that it is the Lord’s will that he be given that appointment. I have reviewed many of the prophetic words that have gone forth, and the prophets have been very positive about his presidency. God has really had to minister to me about the future.  Although I see God’s ultimate purpose, the process for us to get there could be violent, divided and broken. I admit that when I took the first glance, I became frustrated and scared. But we don't have to fear in this temporal affliction because God is still in control. God has always used the chaos of man to birth out his best-kept secrets in plain view!  Out of utter chaos will come great glory. Even so, there are some things that the Lord desires for us to keep in mind. When we get out of step with God there are some very real consequences.

A Warning to the Body  1 Samuel 8: 1-21

 In 1 Samuel, leaders of the people of God demanded a King.  The Lord agreed, saying that Samuel should tell them what was going to take place.  Samuel warned:

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. ¹¹ He said, “This will be the ^[d]procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. ¹² He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to ^[e]do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and ^[f]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and ^[g]appoint them a king.

The people's hearts were hardened toward God's system of doing things, and they elected to do things the way other communities had done them.We are not electing a king, but we must be wise and refuse to be guilty of  the same sin as Israel. We cannot look to man for what only God can do. There is NO MAN that can bring about the promises of God.  We must look to Him and only Him for what has been promised. 

Many of our hearts became hardened in the frustration of the past season, and we have selected a candidate that fit what we have come to expect from our leadership. If he gets elected, we will get a leader who will:

Turn on the very people who elected him to the office.  He will blame the conservative, evangelical movement for the troubles in the nation. He will blame a mostly conservative senate and congress for not supporting him.

 Make enemies of our allies.  His history of strong-arming his opponents and bullying those he considers weaker will continue.

 Engage in petty squabbles, and try to use military force to get his way for personal gain and ego points.  The military will oppose him.

Systematically remove anyone who instructs or opposes him from their position.  He will not allow himself to be advised.

Will abuse his power, and his personal scandals will follow him into the office.

Surround himself with people who will do his bidding, some of whom will have questionable pasts and be woefully unqualified for their positions.

Overspend government money for his personal comfort and gain.

I hope to be wrong, but I believe his presidency will end in scandal (like Nixon). Pence will have his own issues with scandal, as some personal wrongdoing comes to the surface. It may not be very serious, but I am not sure.  However, I  do believe that eventually Trump will be humbled (and is being humbled) and yield his heart to the Lord.  We must begin to lift his case to the Lord and keep him in prayer.

We can expect in this next season that:

Race relations will dissipate as racists who believe they have an ally in office will begin to make war upon minorities.  Some minorities will reject peaceful protest and respond with violence. We will see chaos and division from the White House to the church house.

The nation will begin to turn on Christianity. The fight against radical Islam will actually create more Islamic sympathy. We will begin to see persecution of the saints like never before (http://coffeeandheaven.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-is-god-saying-for-2015.html).

The face of terrorism will not be Isis in this country. The face of terrorism will become radical grassroots coalitions/factions that will target the church and the government for its troubles.  Martial law, recession, and chaos will ensue. Some of these radicals will do heinous acts in the name of God.

The church will become divided as God exposes the spirit of religion in the church.  Religion is the enemy of the church, but it is the most insidious spirit in the church. We will see will known church leaders exposed for having ties to White Supremacy groups. Many other pastors who have become lukewarm and/ or weary in their assignments, will take their hands from the plow and leave the church.  More scandal involving church leadership will be exposed, others will unwittingly expose themselves in their behavior or social media rants. We will look raggedy and torn before the nation.

Many will leave the church and return to cultural and ancestral worship because they will not feel as if they "fit" in the church. 

I have prophesied this since 2008, but God is going to do a cleansing in the house of God. Millennials and the Gen X will exit the church in droves. This is already beginning as people seek the purity of God in action.  They want a church that does something. A line in the sand is being drawn as many begin to seek the Kingdom.  The traditional church will label these people as rebellious, liberal, and worldly.

Our God is Greater, and He is Mighty to Save!
This next season may prove to be daunting for all of us, but we must remember that our hope is in God, and the assignments that he has given us.  We must use the current season as a time of reflection and repentance. We must align ourselves with the plans and the purposes of God so that when we emerge from such a great transition, we emerge with the world's eyes searching for the church to bring hope. Above all things, we must pray. Perhaps some consequences can be abated or even avoided! Let's come boldly before the throne of grace and make petition to He who alone can deliver us. 

Rending our Hearts 

2 Chronicles 7:14

As Christians, we think that this election is about the lost.  It is not.  This election is about the FOUND! It is the hardness of our hearts that has created a platform for Trump, and there must be a repentant heart that begins in the house of the Lord. God is using the troubled time to expose the dross in our hearts and to bring those places of brokenness and sin to the surface. God is merciful and gracious! He is faithful to forgive us of all unrighteousness. However, we must see it for what it is and we must first tell the truth. Those places exist in even the most steadfast of us! God is calling us to shed all of our preconceived notions, biases, traditions, and stagnated mindsets.   I believe that while the nation is steeped in havoc, the Lord will be reconstructing our inner man.  He will deal with the hardness of our hearts, and heal our broken places. Those who have an ear to hear and a willing spirit will repent and turn away from their fleshly ways, as we are admonished to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14 As a result, God will heal our land.  He will heal not just our physical land, our spiritual landscape will be healed as well. Personal revival will begin to take place as people leave the place of complacency, stagnation, and compromise, and come into a place of passion and purpose for the things of the Lord.

Destinies  Fulfilled, and Room Made!

Even as the nation is in turmoil, many of us will find our place in the Lord. We will walk into our destinies, redeem the time and fulfill the longing and purposes the God has given us. Our gifts will make room for us! Those who have been faithful to a personal business or ministry will find that their platform has been established and our opportunities will abound. We must keep our eyes focused on the Lord as he transitions us.
God wants the Church to BE THE CHURCH! 

We are not called to dominate through strong-arming a country to bend to our will. We can only conquer darkness with light. We are called to be salt that seasons and light the brings illumination. If we do not use the principles and the word of God to direct our paths we become the very thing we hate: the American version of Isis. The government was never meant to save us, nor was it ever formed to teach us to live morally.  It is our purpose as Christians to bring the gospel to the world. The Lord is calling us to rise out of our complacency, leave the security of the four walls of the church, and BE THE VICTORIOUS, PECULIAR PEOPLE that He has established. 

The Kingdom is in us!

Joel 2: 16-17

In this passage, the ministers—those called to tend to the fires of the Lord, were instructed to weep between the porch and the altar.  They were called to worship, intercede, and make atonement there because it is a place where they could be easily seen. A remnant generation of ministers will emerge full of fire and purpose, but they will be full of the humility and love of the Lord.  They will stand up for the lost and the least, they will fight for justice and equality, and they will call the people to repentance and revival without apology. They will not hide behind their pulpits!  They will be seen in the community as more than "superstars of Christianity".  Signs and wonders will accompany them as they did with Peter on Solomon’s portico in Acts 3 as he healed the lame man, then preached the people into repentance.  These  emerging voices will be sold out to the Lord and will know no compromise.

He or she will not look like the norm.  They will be a multitude of races and cultures. Many of the fiercest evangelists will arise out of the Islamic nation. That is why we are must to WITNESS to them, not incarcerate them. In order to witness to them, we must be willing to show them the love of Christ.  One young woman I know has seen many Islamic women become open to the gospel because she was willing to make a relationship with them and simply share her love of God with them.  It was her passion for Christ that has won their hearts!

 Many of our most powerful intercessors and prophets will come out of witchcraft and the occult and out of the indigenous tribes. They will be tatted, and pierced, sleeved, and unusually clothed. They will come with signs, wonders, and miracles. Some of the most powerful of pastors and leaders will arise out of the African-American and Latino churches. That is why God cannot tolerate even passive racism in the pews. They will take to the streets, and be a beacon of light to a generation of millennials that have never experienced neither can they understand the division of race, sex, or culture which is our nation’s past.

God will raise up people who identify as homosexual, transgender, and lesbian, yet they will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and they will see many come to Christ. They will be a light of Christ to other LGBTQ people who search for the Lord with all their hearts. We will see a generation of LGBTQ people flood the pews.  As The Kingdom, our job will not be to judge them or try to “fix” them in their process. We must trust the Lord for their victory, for we will KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT.

What the enemy means for the bad of God’s people, He will turn for our good.  What seems sold away from us will be redeemed, and what seems lost will be restored.  Out of this chaos, will the Kingdom EMERGE!!!