Salt and Light: What We Are Called to Be

There is an epidemic of love these days. Perhaps its a pandemic. Many churches have gone cold (Matthew 24:10-12), and very few people are even aware that the sign of a disciple of Christ is loving other disciples (John 15:33-35). There is plenty of pomp, and pretty pictures on the wall to wall screens, but little felt love. The Light that should be burning so bright among the faithful has trickled to a candle about to blow out in American Churches, and I can hear the voice of our Lord Jesus saying, "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God," (Revelation 3:2), and, "But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first! Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." (Revelation 2:4-5). I cringe when brothers and sisters in other parts of world ask how "do Americans do church," because now I know they are wanting to import death, not life. The church in America has dry rot, and its clinging to Constantine, and traditions of men (Mark 7:8, Mark 7:14, Matthew 15:8), is leading to its slow and certain death. Intellecualism is pervading in the Americano Church, instead of Spiritualism, that is hearing Voice of God and moving in His Gifts and Power (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). The problem with intellectualism, is anyone can replicate it, and you do not need God to be intellectual in your teaching, but to have the anointing, that is speak with authority you have to have Holy Spirit, "And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes." (Mark 1:22) I have often said, anyone can mimic the love shown by giving gifts, money, or an act of service (with getting what they want in mind), even psychopaths and sociopaths can play at love with giving presents, but only Christians can share Agape, Ahava or what is called the deep Emotional Soul Connection, because we have Love itself, God who is love (1 John 4:18) living in us (Colossians 1:27), and we suppose to spread this love!, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35). 


I have often said, many say "We can do our traditions, and rituals at church meeting with God or His Spirit," to that I respond, What is the point? The whole point of gathering together is to seek God, feel His presence, and share Him together as a Family of Faith while we pray, take communion, teach, and move in gifts of Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). And yet instead, many are spectators, and one man or woman gets up to teach, often from a purely intellectual or scribal perspective that I can find on YouTube, Godtube, blogs, and etc. What cannot be duplicated endlessly in dronish way, is the Spirit of God, and people on fire for Christ who thrist for Him and move in annointings nad gifts of God, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one [of you] has a hymn, a lesson (teaching), a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. ²⁷ If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. ³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³² and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³ For God is not a God of confusion but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:26-32),  If you went to meeting where you felt God the Trinity's presence, people were healed miraculously, you had voice [your opinion mattered, your interpretation, and you being able to speak at all] and got to teach and share your thoughts in circle with other Christians on Scripture, and everyone mattered and was dynamically moving in Spirit of God; it would be so intoxicating you could prefer it to Monday Night Football, or any of Vacation amusements you can put together! When God is allowed to show up, and His people seek His face, and move in His ways, and Power, and everyone in Church is given a voice; you won't have to start churches like ELEVATION, MOMENTUM, and  VENTURE to create growth, the growth will come when people go to meeting in houses and etc and God shows up, and people actual care, love, and let each member have voice and move in their God given gifts, both vocational and spiritual.

This next generation isn't godless, they are just sick of godless churches; that is churches that content to keep the Spirit of God out. The Millenials and other younger generations I believe would crave Christ if they could experience Him how Bible says you can! If every Millenial, Generation Y, and Z person attended a meeting where they felt God's presence, His annotining, saw His power and love ministered, and had voice to share their thoughts, questions, and etc; you would find lines of Millenials and more outside a house. I believe these next generations are not hopless, but they aren't hypocrites, they hate the pomp and lack of God in his purported houses or churches, and they sound like Ghandi, "I love your Christ, I however don't like your Christians." Because in churches they attend no one is moving God's power and presence, and each person doesn't have value, instead its one solitary figure and worship band that gets all the attention, not God. For this reason legions of young believers are leaving the church system (institution, building, denominations) and joining the Apostolic Reformation and similar reformations that return to meat and Truth of the Church (Ecclesia) being the Body of Christ, and each member has something to offer in circular motion, they each get to share hymns, teachings, prophecy, and etc.; not propping up one leader who gets to do it all! as in case of the Institutional Churches.  

As Christians we are suppose be polarizing. When people encounter us they are suppose to so feel presence God the Trinity, that they respond in one of two ways, "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). We suppose to either radiate a perfume or stench of death to those around us! Instead most churches in America are indifferent, boring, and lukewarm; their scent is nothing, like vanilla in a room that has had vanilla scent for weeks (no one notices) or perhaps dung in a room where everyone's senses have adapted. We were meant to be Salt and Light, to effect people when they encounter us, that Christ and His presence bleeds through us His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and that we be so dynamic in Holy Spirit that people want to come to our house meetings where everyone matters. Instead, either one of two things happens, they do encounter Spirit but once saved they are sent to a sychophagus, a white washed tomb church where everything inside it is dead men's bones and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28), or they don't experience Spirit at all and follow the 'heralded' intellectualism that gets a smirk from Minerva the fallen angel, but does not win anyone to the One True God and Messiah Jesus Christ. It might actually shock the intellectual elite in Americano churches to know that the apostle Paul, who is esteemed as the most eloquent apostle next to John, actually strived not to be eloquent, "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified," (1 Corinthians 2:1-2), Paul knew that many of Greeks wanted to hear new things (Acts 17:21), and loved mythos (2 Timothy 4:3-4), and liked their ears being tickled (2 Timothy 4:3), and so to be articulate and showy in language was actual to hinder the Gospel. Of course, once among mature believers, Paul did use eloquence and deeper teachings, and I am not declaring war on intellectualism or wisdom, to do so would be to declare war on Christ who is source of all knowledge and wisdom (Colossians 2;2-3). 

Salt and Light, we are suppose to be Salt and Light. Jesus says this, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].

¹⁴ “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16). Our Lord and God is using a powerful example of metaphor, salt is preservative, and it keeps things healthy, in ancient times they salted meats to keep them good in much same way frigarator does today, and so when He calls us salt, He means we are suppose to preserve, to keep Life, that is Him, who is the Life and Light of Mankind (John 1:4-5, John 14:6). But if we cease to be salty we no longer are preserving Life we now have inside us, Christ living in us, and people no longer see the Life giving properties of our Lord Jesus in His power, demonstration of His love as He told us to (John 13:34-35, John 15:12), and beyond; our salt or example of our Savior then grows salt-less if we fail to do these things. The Lord then uses light as parallel example, that we should not hide the Light of World, Jesus Christ, and this light is seen in deeds as Jesus says above, and that is crux of this post, that the Western Americano Churches have lost their salt and light, or as James puts it, "Suppose a brother or sister [in Christ] is without clothes and daily food, If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead." (James 2:15-17). Theologians try to spin this into works based salvation, which is not what James is talking about, He is addressing a problem that even Christ saw when He gave parable of Salt and Light; a lack of deeds expressing and showing the love of Christ, the lack of light in the supposed candles called disciples. 

We need to be Salt and Light, Perfume or Death, Love and Truth (John 1:17) to everyone we encounter. The time has come be the dynamic church of Acts (Acts 2) and Corinthians (1 Corinthians 14:26-32), moving in power and gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), letting Lord Trinity speak to us and teach us (Matthew 23:7-11, Luke 12:12, John 14:26). We should  be learned in Holy Scriptures (Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments), but we should also go to God directly, to listen to His voice, to move in Holy Spirit, hear the voice of Christ Jesus, and obey Will of Father! Test everything with Holy Scriptures, but do not substitute hearing God's voice and leaning into His Spirit and authority with the Scriptures; they are companions, The Scriptures and The Spirit; they never contradict; but we are meant to operate in both, much like Salt and Light. Amen.