God is a God of order

Praise the Lord Saints.

2 Timothy 1:7King James Version (KJV)

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God is a God of Order and Principles and He doesn’t just say things randomly and allow us to put them in the order we want.

I say that because I want to ask the question, why did He put power before love followed by sound mind?

Over the past month I have been dropping spiritual bombs and truths that have for years “men of God” have ran from and sugar-coated or watered down so as to think that everyone would like them and they would be the most popular preacher in town.

The Bible says whom the Lord Loves He chastens and if you don’t correct your children, you hate them.

Proverbs 13:24 (Amp) – 24 He who spares his rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines diligently and punishes him early.

Proverbs 19:18 (NIV) – 18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.

Pastors are like shepherds and the saints the sheep or parents to children. When leaders decide they know what’s best for their children contrary to God’s instructions, destruction and chaos are soon to follow.

Power and faith or the power of your faith overcomes fear which is why it’s used first. Once fear is defeated, now one must have the Love of a father to tell the children things that will grow them spiritually and finally they must use a sound, correct, spiritual, and scriptural approach to teaching them.

It seems that every time there is a pagan holiday, every religious wannabee preacher has to add their two cents and post YouTube videos of research done by someone else. While it’s cool from the standpoint that the information at times is useful and accurate, that’s not always the case.

I have seen videos saying Jesus is a mythical, fictitious imaginary person that could not have existed and done what the Bible says He did. I could go on and on but the point would be mute.

I believe people have the right to celebrate whatever they choose to do and for the most part worship whatever or however they choose. What they can’t do is try to connect religion, pagan, and spiritual together like they are one in the same.

That is where I draw the line.

If you want to tell your kids that Peter cottontail is hopping down the bunny trail hiding eggs all over the church or field or wherever, cool. If you want to celebrate Resurrection Sunday that’s cool too. Good Friday, saying some fat white guy in a red and white suit is gonna drop down your chimney and distribute the gifts you wrote to him about at the North Pole and let’s not forget how he is traveling the entire world in a few hours to accomplish all this. Again, cool.

If you want to decorate your yard with a nativity scene with 3 wise men looking at the “baby” Jesus lying in a manger, great.

Everything I just mentioned is customary and completely and totally inaccurate scripturally though.

Of course, rabbits are mammals and don’t lay eggs; YouTube the origin, its plenty there. Jesus rose after the Sabbath had fully past, sundown Saturday. Mary and dem came to the tomb on Sunday morning to anoint the body; they laid Jesus in the tomb sundown Wednesday, don’t know how Friday came into being; YouTube Saint Nick, too much to cover and not relevant; The bible speaks of 3 gifts that were given, never how many wise men; only the shepherds saw Jesus as a baby lying in a manger, by the time the wise men had arrived, Jesus was a young child under three years old.

As leaders and representatives of Jesus Himself, we have an obligation to speak the truth, the true Word of God as it was given to us as though Jesus Himself is in the pews, and to be quite honest, if you trust and believe the Word of God, He said He would NEVER leave us nor forsake us.

So, every time there is a compromised or watered-down message coming from the pulpit, He is there.

Remember what Aron said when Moses came down with the Word of God and he collected all the gold from the people when they wanted to make their own idol, he was afraid of the people and the people made him do it; remember what Moses said when he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock as God told him to do, the people made me do it.

In both instances, what was the result? Did God grant them a reprieve or give them a mulligan, a do over, a second chance to get it right? Aron was punished and of course, Moses lost out on the Promised Land.

We as leaders at home and in the pulpit have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that when it comes to spiritual matters that we represent Jesus and in doing so must teach to please Him not man.

Till next week,

God Bless.

Rev. Dr. Rob Harrison, Ph.D. – pastorrobharrison@gmail.com, @drrobharrison

Chaplain – Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Pinellas

The Apostolic Open Door Church of God & True Holiness – 2800 41st Ave. N, St. Pete.