Who am I?

I grew up thinking I was a Pentecostal. I grew up in a Christian family that went to a church affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. I'm not sure at what point I would have started identifying myself as a Pentecostal but it would likely have been around the same time that I became aware that there were other Christians who weren't Pentecostal. Probably around my early preteen years I became aware that there were Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc.... "What?!?!? Not every Christian is a Pentecostal? Why Not?" Those were the innocent thoughts of a growing boy exposed to the division of the Christian faith.

 I don't recall ever being outright told that Pentecostals were better Christians than the Christians from other denominations but it always felt like an unspoken acknowledgement between the Pentecostals and it has likely been the same within other denominations.  "Those Pentecostals are a little crazy"..."Those Baptists are too conservative"..."Those Catholics are too religious"..."Obviously the (insert your denomination here) church has gotten it right and everybody else should learn from us!" While the branches of the church can be divided into four main groups (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant), these four main branches branch out further into an estimated 44,000 different denominations worldwide today, in 2013. That is up from an estimated 500 different denominations around the year 1800.(1) Some of these denominations get along well with each other and share very similar beliefs. Some do not at all. At some point, some Christians stood up and said "Hey, this division by denomination is not healthy for the church as a whole and isn't the way Jesus intended for His followers to behave!" Cue the end of denominational affiliations...

I'm not sure when the whole "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" church movement started but I'm quite certain that it was started by those who were tired of being placed within a specific bubble of Christianity. The problem that has arisen from the lack of official denominational affiliations is that you often end up with a church full of people who came from different denominational backgrounds and therefore have slightly different beliefs. These differences in beliefs eventually pop up and create challenging times for a church body. The biggest problem is that   "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" have become their own category. All the denominations look at the non-denominated thinking "they don't even know what they believe!"

It almost brings me to tears to think about how divided we have become. We are meant to be unified in bringing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to those who need it and we are often too busy disagreeing over our differences. I'm not sure what the solution is to bring healing to the body of believers that we call the church. I do know that we need to focus on that one aspect that ties all Christians together. Jesus. Every single one of us that has heard and accepted the truth of Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour can be tied back to one simple charge given to the eleven disciples by Christ Himself:

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:16-20 NKJV)

 

 

Every one of us can trace back our relationship with Christ from today all the way back to the day that Jesus gave this command to His own disciples . The disciples went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples. You may be wondering, what is a disciple? The term "disciple" is derived from the Koine Greek word mathetes, which means a pupil (of a teacher) or an apprentice (to a master craftsman) The Latin word is discipulus meaning a learner. I choose to devote my life to being a student of the teachings of Jesus. I want to learn His ways and follow in His footsteps.

 

I am not a Pentecostal

I am not a Baptist

I am not a Methodist

I am not an Anglican

I am not a Catholic

I am not a Lutheran

I am not a Calvinist

I am not an Armenian

I am not a Reformist

I am not a Protestant...

 

I am a DISCIPLE and

I am affiliated with JESUS

 

 

I choose to leave it at that!

Much Love,

Mike

 

(1) http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/StatusOfGlobalMission.pdf

The Firstfruits

What is meant by the term firstfruits? To put it simply, “firstfruits” is a biblical term for the first of something. In Old Testament times, firstfruits were literally the first of a crop. Before the Israelites were able to keep and consume any of their crops, they were instructed to give to the Lord. Doing so was a demonstration of obedience and also of trust. Something terrible could very well have happened to the rest of their crop before they would get to harvest or use it. They were choosing to trust that God would continue to provide for their needs. This firstfruit principle was used for animals as well. The firstborn of an animal was to be given to the Lord. Again, this showed obedience and trust. Perhaps that animal would never give birth again. Firstborn sons were even to be given to the Lord! The cry of the Israelite’s heart was meant to be “everything I have belongs to you, Lord”.

What the firstfruits were NOT is leftovers. God did NOT say to the Israelites, “I will provide everything you need in abundance. When you have gotten enough, please give back to me whatever is left”. They did not give the runts of their animals to God, nor did they give God old animals that were way past their prime.  Their trust in God was to be demonstrated by giving FIRST and trusting in His abundant provision after the fact. His commandment to Israel was “You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.” (Exodus 22:29-30)

Here is a revelation for you. God didn’t need their firstfruits.  Let that sink in.  This is the same God that provided millions of Israelites with manna and quail. He provided them with water from a rock. This is the same God that fed thousands with a little bit of fish and bread. Twice. God was not asking the Israelites to give Him their firstfruits for any reason other than it kept them in remembrance of the fact that it was given to them by God in the first place.

 The practice of this obedience is what allowed the writer of Proverbs to say “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine”. (Proverbs 3:9-10) The Israelites were aware of the connection between giving freely of firstfruits and being able to trust that God would provide more than enough.

Let us apply this to life today. God still desires our firstfuits. We don’t all have crops and a farm full of animals. What we do have is money, time, gifts etc... This brings forth some questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we giving God the firstfruits of our finances? Are tithes and offerings on the top of our monthly budgets? Are they even on our monthly budgets? We are living in a society where it is easy to believe that the money we make is what is providing for our needs. Is your money running out before your month? The world says get another job…or maybe a better job. God says “give me your firstfruits and you will have plenty”.  How about our time? Is our quiet time with God the most important part of our day? Or is it put to the side to make room for more “pressing things” like putting in an extra hour at work, getting the kids to their latest extracurriculars, or getting that extra little sleep? The giftings that are given to us from God are also something that we can give the firstfruits of. Are we using our gifts for God? Are we using them for our own enjoyment or personal advancement? Are we using them at all?

 So what happens if we forsake God of our firstfruits and use them to serve our own purposes? Joshua 24:20 says to the Israelites, “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good”. That’s scary. I’m thinking God has been showing that He is surely “slow to anger” based on the fact that we are all even still here.

Here is another revelation for you. God does not need your firstfruits. Let it sink in. This is the God that created the universe, the earth…and you! He is simply drawing out of you that recognition that He is your provider. By giving your firstfruits to God, you are acknowledging His provision for you. You are saying to Him, “Lord, I realize that everything I am and everything I have is from you”. God doesn’t want our leftovers. He doesn’t want us to give Him the extra money we managed to scrounge up at the end of the month. He wants us to show us that when we give him our firstfruits of finances we won’t have to scrounge up at the end of the month.   He wants to show us that when we give Him the first 30 minutes of our day, we seem to have an extra hour at the end. He wants to show us that when we use our giftings for Him, He will bless us with more giftings.

I can’t explain how it works. I know that obedience in the giving of firstfruits in this day and age isn’t a small step. It’s more like a large leap. I know what God says though. He says “try Me”.  Literally.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in my house,

And try Me now in this,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such a blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

(Malachi 3:10)

With Love,

Mike