In Jesus name, LORD we asatata-shouldaboughtahyundaibutinsteadiboughtanaccord... WHAT!

So yesterday, we had lunch with the Pastor. We being Reflections, one of the arts groups in the church (conducting skits etc. pre-sermon to illustrate a current teaching topic or theme) It was a somewhat informal lunch; open forum style. Family members were invited, little children and what not. People were served at their seats 2 by 2…

Christianah, did you bless the food?
Oh man, Pastor called me out. (If you’re following, Christianah is the Nigerian-English form of pronouncing my name).
Oya, bless the food. (Translated: Bless the food, now).
Has my Pastor heard me pray before? (not that it matters, but just wondering) . . . In Jesus name…

I was just thinking, (a little Monday #LBS: laughing but serious), what if I began with the typical food blessing prayers and then busted out in tongues...! You would probably be like: what? Whoa! I know I would certainly have the “you cannot be serious” look on my face that I honestly don’t do a good job of hiding sometimes. ;)

This is kind of similar to my feelings about a prayer leader, leading a group in prayer and the majority of the prayer is in tongues. Key word: majority. What are you saying? This is distracting. Some of my energy is then spent tuning out the prayer leader.

Definitely not attacking or denying the power and the at times spontaneous nature of tongues but this is just something that is slightly bothersome when it is deliberate, loud (with or without the mic but usually with the mic) and in a corporate setting for corporate prayer. (Please note the specific qualifications).

So much so, that I remember wanting to go up to a Brother and thank him for the way he led his prayer set during a 24-7 prayerthon. (I didn't, not yet.) It was entirely in English, the language of the majority, and spoken with clarity.

A few of my friends and I have briefly discussed this recently and some are doing a study on it. I would like to hear your thoughts if you have some revelation or thoughts on this topic/practice as well. Let's rightly divide the word of truth.

Below are some verses I pulled from 1 Corinthians 14, but please read it in its entirety.

6) But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching?

9) So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

11) Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me.

12) Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.

13) Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

14) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

19) yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

22) Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

23) Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

27) If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.

Religious v. Relationship

Pulling one out of the archives, after various conversations about my Independent Study: seeking to see and learn about Jesus from different perspectives, just like studying the Gospels. It does not substitute an independent relationship with The Father. This post is almost a year old and there's several more where this came from. Anyway, here it is, unedited, unchanged from it's original version circa May, 2011, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. I'll probably dig back into the archives to post a few more soon.

Religious v. Relationship

Thoughts cross my mind when I see the several denominations and practices all under the umbrella of Christianity. I drive passed another church and wonder what it would be like to fellowship with that congregation or denomination. As Christians, we have so many degrees of Christianity.

To the outsider surveying religions generally, Muslims or Jews appear very religious because of their visible adherence to a strict set of rules. The five pillars of Islam mandate a Muslim to pray five times a day at set times a day. The Jews believe salvation can be bought by works.

In contrast, Christianity contains a wider spectrum of religious practices due to people breaking away and starting their own sects. For Christians, we have varied interpretations of what is Christianity and therefore various rules we abide by resulting in several denominations.

Sometimes I see statements such as “Christianity is watered down” because we are all diverse in our practice or adherence to our beliefs and what we prioritize after the first two commandments. I’ll also see people quoting Ghandi “I like your Christ, I don’t like your Christians.” That’s one of the most incorrect statements documented. There’s no way you could like Christ, without liking His Christians.

We’re all going to church with the same end goal; to be in Heaven together with the Father. You can pray five times a day or 50 times a day and other people may or may not see what you’re doing. For Christianity, what matters is your heart. Therefore, denomination or intra religious debates puts our focus on a topic we are not qualified to judge.

Many times we want religious rigidity.

“Christianity is always less of a set of rules and more of a heart posture.” - Tolu Akande

God will look at the heart of all Christians at the judgment seat. We cannot gage how connected anyone’s heart is to the Father. We cannot judge someone’s heart or intentions for what they are doing. And though works are good and needed, our works will mean nothing if our heart was disconnected to the Greatest One of all, the Greatest love of All!

Deliver us from mere routine and religion. We don’t need religion. We need relationship. An intimate relationship of our heart seeking the Father’s heart and the emotions and attributes of Him.

“So what if I know all the language, so what if I sing all the songs, if my heart’s disconnected from the Greatest One of all.” –Caleb Andrews

“When we pursue religious acts without pursuing the knowledge of God, we are also in danger of becoming Pharisees.”

Blessed are the flexible because they cannot be broken!

First outstanding lesson of the new year... 
The people that judge don't matter and the people that matter don't judge.

There is a serious confusion I witnessed today, but it comes with the territory in these settings.

This setting is a place where there is authority from above and authority from culture and both get mixed together.

All in all, as for ME and my house; WE. WILL. SERVE. The Lord.

So those that don't matter, (I mean those that judge) can say what they want but God sees the heart! It is really only His judgment that matters.

Blessed are the flexible because they cannot be broken! - Pastor F.

~working not to please man, working to please God!~