Do Prayers Matter?

 

DO PRAYERS MATTER?

 

Most prayers (in just about any religion) fall into two specific categories. The reason for this can be the mechanical kind of training that spiritual adherents are given about prayer. We may want to consider (a subject for another time) that prayer is a spiritually powerful tool for communicating with God-in a conversation sense-available to us at every stage of our spiritual journey and progress.

The first kind of prayer is a request to God—please help-I need this or I need that. Often referred to as a “petition”, this prayer is aimed at obtaining something from God that we feel we are not getting. The other kind of prayer is thanking God and praising him in appreciation. This type of prayer falls under the idea of “worship”, a lost art in the relationship between God and His people.  The question is, can my prayer change the mind of God?

What do we ask when difficulties and challenges arise-something like- “God, can you send me a miracle?” Do we think God will say, “Ah! Thank you for asking! I forgot all about you down there. Here, I’ll give it to you now.” Is that what God is all about?

Do we ask the sun, “Can you give me some sunshine?” The sun is constantly shining! It never stops, even at night. The fact that we experience darkness has nothing to do with the sun-the sun does not shut off its power to us. It happens because planet Earth rotates and we experience night. If the Earth did not do this.. we would all be dead. Now, I may see a sunset, but the sun never sets. The Light-force of God is the same; it constantly gives whether we realize it or not.

So where is the Light when we are not experiencing it? Something in ourselves rotates and then we become blocked—we are not connecting and are not sourcing our souls to find out why. Our egos kick in and God says, “Oh, you think you know better? Do it on your own. Fine.”

What we do not realize is that God is never withholding from us. He keeps giving the whole time. Just our breath alone each day-waking up each day-is God giving to us. But when our system is not open and shuts down we can fail to sense it. So, it can appear that when we ask God to help us, He is not paying attention. But He constantly helps us—when we are awake, when we are asleep, when we pray, when we do not pray.

Remember, the purpose of the prayer is to open ourselves up, not to open Him up.

God does not need us to have appreciation for Him. The sun, just like the Light of the Creator, will shine whether you appreciate it or not. Having gratitude for the Creator helps to keep our systems open. We need to see the difference. Getting prayers answered does not depend on God listening-but how our spiritual lives-are connected to God. When we do not show gratitude, our systems shut down and then we cannot hear the answer. It is like being on the dark side of the planet Earth. Appreciation and gratitude put us in the Light.

David Fournier Rev. Dr.

The Centre for Hebraic Insights

The Power of Acceptance

 

Almost all of Christianity would come to agreement concerning the need for a positive confession of faith in the finished work of Jesus as a mandate for entrance into heaven. From there, the differing faith groups and belief systems head off into many segments. According to a recent post on Wikipedia, there are 38,000 Christian denominations. If we figure that number has a 30% inaccuracy rate, that still leaves 26,600.

That number probably does not represent the factions within those denominations. The point is clear: Christianity is widely divided on issues of faith, practice and systems of belief. A strange situation for a faith group whose most celebrated and known author, the Apostle Paul, chastised the early followers for spreading factions and following individuals rather than following the Author and Finisher of their Faith.

Impacting this organized division even more is the varying degrees of belief concerning social issues. While millions of dollars are spent on the issue of same-sex marriage (both on the pro and con sides of the argument), with a constant series of votes and appeals, a recent sociological study by the Interagency Council on Homelessness states that not only are the number of homeless in America increasing, but women and children are larger segments of the homeless than ever in the history of America.

In Matthew 25, Jesus made no clause or provision for “when I was considering same-sex marriage, you stopped me.” Jesus addressed the current landscape and built His platform for discipleship based on our love for each other and how that expression of love would change the way people lived. He taught that faith based on belief in Him would carry effective and needed change into the community.

As we watch the mission of Jesus here on Earth unfold, we are hard pressed to find a segment of population He did not address. From the religiously elite to the religiously rejected, Jesus accepted them all. But beyond acceptance, He offered them the keys and tools to transform from stereotypical elements of society into positive elements of change. Because Jesus transcended cultural norms, He was able to transform cultural norms. He also-taught a message of love and reconciliation to His Father-based on the care and concern for the poor and needy and disenfranchised-that has transcended time.

This conversation about Jesus and cultural norms is huge.  He understood clearly that when you serve the people that have needs-you change the structure of the culture that builds the walls to keep people in need.

It appears, however, that this strain of Jesus’ teachings has not stuck with today’s culture of Christian practice. How does 38,000 different denominations weigh in on the issues? 38,000 different ways! In terms of impact, what could be the largest single community for social justice and the relief of the poor and needy has been down-scaled to 38,000 different voices all singing their own agendas. Make no mistake about this fact-there are many ministry operations out there that are fully committed to the poor and disenfranchised.  I am suggesting here the power of a united force of Christians working towards the end of poverty, racism, illiteracy and the many challenges facing our society today.

Adding to the challenge is the seeming disrespect the different denominations express for each other. Just try listening to a Christian radio station and you will hear one pastor after another talking over the opinions and teachings of the guy just on before them. Rather than putting together a constant stream of refreshing consciousness, we have become just like the political radio stations, a band of talking heads with no center-point of agreement and all manifesting a pre-programmed agenda.

Acceptance of each other, with our successes and failures, our diversity and differences, is the Path of Jesus. As a Christian, do you love the homosexual? Right where he lives, or after his conversion? How about the black man or white man? Do you see Jesus or do you see past generations of negative stereotyping?

People have said to me that they will come halfway. They are willing to meet in the middle, with their 50% and the other parties 50%. Thank God that His plan to redeem the Universe did not include Jesus stopping halfway. With Jesus hovering somewhere in the Mesosphere, we would all die missing Heaven by miles.

It takes the “all in” level of acceptance, my 100% with your 100%. That 200% creates the environment for the Light of the Creator to shine. Here is a prayer I read I think says it all…

I am going to get out of the way and allow the Tree of Life to lift me up. In the past, I have been stubborn, set in my ways, and I will let go. Instead of clinging to my beliefs, I will open up.

I will allow the Light of the Creator to shine down into my world and transform my life. I have real desire, not for myself alone, but to connect to the Creator. Letting go of my Ego and stepping aside, I feel the Divine Force of God taking over.

It is time for all or nothing. We could assemble the greatest spiritual force in the history of humanity by offering the gift of acceptance to everyone, all the time! Perhaps our generation, our people, our time, could sound the call that would bring Messiah here to Earth. May it be So!

Think for just a moment-if we surrendered our agendas and religious prejudices-and worked to serve each other and the communities entrusted to our care-we COULD BE generation that ushers in the Return of the Messiah…

David Fournier Rev. Dr.

The Centre for Hebraic Insights

rgclasses@outlook.com

 

Bad Theology-Teaching Things Jesus Did Not Teach

 

Today’s theologians, teachers, prophets, the “anointed”, all lack the discipline it takes to be tested. As a matter of fact, when questioned, catch phrases like “I have learned from Ya, or, God told me” quickly rise to the surface. Here we were, chatting like grown-ups, and you drop the G-bomb on us.

Facebook has been an interesting addition to our theology; just about anyone with Internet access and a Facebook account can now gain audience to the World Wide Web. Multitudes of bloggers have also hit the web, causing an information highway so crowded with misinformation (and no apparent off-ramps) that navigating the course is highly suspect at best, dangerous for sure.

It was not my love for theology that prompted me to write on this subject. It was an article on Facebook posted by a man concerning the subject of the Humanity of Jesus. The article is an attempt to bridge Kabbalistic teachings to how Jesus can’t be God, or equal with God. The author seems surprised that Christians are not taking to his teachings or find offense at them. There truly are not any links between Kabbalistic thought and Jesus directly.  The Divinity of Jesus is a cornerstone element to the Christian faith practice and is up to the adherents to determine.

I will say that his materials and presentation (video series on YouTube) are very well done. But that is not really about theology. It is a really good sales job. He moves between using the Greek (when the Greek makes his case), Hebrew (when using Hebrew helps his case) and as needed, the old “pull out the New Testament and quote Paul”, but alas, he engages Paul only when Paul helps.

When you consider his teachings, in the end, it appears as very cool and classy revision of the Gnostic teachings on the subject. There is a way to package your materials that will give them the appearance of cool and modern, but in the end, they prove out to be rehashed and unproven ideas. Moving forward, I want to point out there are three types of these theologians, all dangerous in their own way and how to spot them.

Bridge Theologians:

Bridge Theology takes a run at an already accepted type or teaching, parallels it, then bridges across to make their claims look, smell and even act like an accepted theology. Bridge theologians must maintain a sense of connection with the past, but still have a hint of “modernity” about them. Quick to please and hardly ever in it for a fight, bridge theologians present the “new and improved” and explain that to be relevant in today’s world and culture, we must shape our teachings and approach to the culture around us. What bridge theologians fail to see is that the bridge they are building leads out of the church and not into it.

Destination Theologians:

Most common of the theologians, destination theology starts with an idea and relentlessly builds and builds on it until the connection is made. This is the shabbiest and most deluded theology we have in our faith today. An example of this is the several theological trash heaps of dating the return of Christ. Add seven here, take away forty here, divided by the year that Israel became a nation, minus the anti-Christ’s birthday and bam… you got it! Despite the fact that is has never added up and for sure, never happened, these destination theologians still reign supreme at your local Christian book store.

Seriously, that whole thing Jesus said about “no man knows the hour of his return except the Father alone”, we all know just doesn’t sell books.

Fascination Theologians:

“Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere”.

You had me at hello. Fascination Theologians feed off the general state of Christians today that don’t know their Bibles, don’t submit to leadership and go to the church or gathering that best fits their music needs. Most Christians today could actually be convinced that the Dali Lama is in fact, a llama.

The people clamor for a new story, or at the very least, a story with a better ending. We all get that Jesus had to die, but why do we? Can’t this story end better for us; after all, it is all about us, right? Fascination theology sees your bet and raises you five. Why settle for a story so old you have to blow the dust off it to use it? Can’t there be a more mysterious and creative “best version of me now” with a huge helping of “God knows its not my fault” and for desert lets drink the “I’m ok, you’re Ok, we are all ok” Kool-Aid. (I can’t believe I had to auto-correct Kool-Aid, couldn’t remember how to spell it)

Here are some simple measuring tools to view different types of teachers and theologians:

 Who did they study under, did they finish their studies? I see a lot of lone rangers riding herd out there, professing all kinds of height, but when pressed, there is no depth.

Who keeps them in check, who do they submit to? Again, a good theologian or good teacher keeps his teachings and thoughts available for criticism, accountability and growth.

 If I didn’t know what they were teaching, if I never heard it, would it impact the simple message that God loves me, Jesus died for me, and I am to love others as God loves me. Do all the theologies being spewed today offer any hope to the needy, the poor, and the disenfranchised or in the end, is all about selling a book, a seminar or YouTube video?

Not meaning to sound like a downer, but we owe it to Jesus to stop drowning His message out with bridge, destination and fascination theology and take His commands in the New Testament to heart. Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life… Or is this message better stated: “Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his doctrines and teachings to upright the ship of misinformed teachers.”

As for me, I am just one voice hoping to shine a light to the path to returning to the words, actions and commands of Jesus. Maybe you are one voice too…

David Fournier Rev. Dr.

Centre for Hebraic Insights