Welcome to Ralph & Cindy's Place!

I have often been comforted by II Corinthians 1: 3-7. Our Father in Heaven is the source of all comfort. When we are troubled and suffer, He is there to wrap His arms around us. And in turn, we are able to comfort others who are going through the same troubles. Not only does God want us to reach out to others physically, but to pray for them.

And you are helping us by praying for us....... (II Corinthians 1:11)

CHILDLIKE BELIEF

When we ask God to reveal His Word, He will.As I read Matthew 18:1-5, my eyes were open to the fact that Jesus was not only talking about children literally, but to all “childlike” believers.How many times have you seen the “religious spirit” throw cold water on a new believer because he/she was a little too zealous? Matthew 18:1 At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?" 18:2-5 For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. 6-7"But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse—and it's doomsday to you if you do. (The Message Bible)

Cindy Warren 11/2007

WHITE WASHED SEPULCHRE

As Jesus walked the earth teaching, healing, and delivering, His greatest rebukes were to the Pharisees and Sadducees. The strong words to the “white washed sepulchers” addresses the religious spirit. A religious spirit binds our minds and hearts to only man’s law or man’s interpretation of who God is. God wants us to know Him, to fellowship with Him in spirit and in truth. Growing up in churches infested with a religious spirit has made it difficult for many of us to simply be with God and trust only Him. To repent from or rebuke the religious spirit in our lives, we must be able to recognize it’s characteristics.

Indignant or prideful. When Peter and John were teaching about the resurrection of Jesus in Acts 4:1-3, the temple leaders were indignant of this teaching. Why? Their pride in their own knowledge was foremost and this new teaching went against their knowledge or understanding. Pride does not accept

revelation.

Tradition first. In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus says, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. (The Message Bible)

A few examples might include: work to keep your salvation; women keep their heads covered and wear only dresses; confess sins to the priest for forgiveness; teach salvation, but not the glory of God; teach Jesus on the cross, but not the resurrection of Christ; teach the goodness of God, but not the power. And the list goes on. Romans 10:3 states For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.

(New Living Translation)

Hypocritical. Jesus called the Pharisees, hypocrites, in Matthew 15:4-7 when they went against the command to honor your mother and father. A man I know told the story of his childhood in church. His teachers and mentors spoke of God and His commands in church, but he saw their lives the other six days contradicting what they taught. He grew to be a wild and rebellious young man until the Holy Spirit drew him into the Lord. The Lord called him into the ministry and later was asked to return to his boyhood church to preach. He rebuked the church on how their lives in the world kept him from receiving the Lord sooner.

No wonder many leave the church!

Judgmental. In Matthew 7, Jesus warns us not to worry about the speck in other’s eyes, but to look at the log in ours. Some may say, “I’m not judgmental.”

But do you catch yourself thinking about the person sitting in your pew who is not dressed appropriately? Or whose children are disturbing the service? Or who is covered with tattoos? Or has a “reputation”? Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

My prayer is that our eyes, ears, and hearts are opened to the true word of God, not religion. That He release us from our religious burdens and then we are able to walk in His purpose and power. Pray, now, for freedom.

Cindy Warren 11/2007