1984 (Bent)

 

“1984” written by George Orwell in Nineteen Forty Nine is one of the great novels ever written. I actually read it in 1984 and it's one of the reasons why I wanted to learn to be a better writer. The whole book is really good if you have not read it, I highly recommend it. There is a quote in it that says, “The people will not revolt, they will not look up from their screens long enough to notice what is happening.” C. S. Lewis portrayed fallen man as “Bent” that is, he is constantly looking down and therefore, can’t get life right. The fact that the world is filled with “smartphones” has given us all a sense of narrowness and focused on social media, and other things, rather than communicating with family or friends without looking up. The smartphone hasn't alone done this, as Orwell was referencing TVs, but the notion is the same. We will not look away long enough to notice anything else, but what we want.

When Moses had gone up to meet with The Lord at Mount Sinai and was getting the Ten Commandments along with other laws, Aaron was left with the people down the mountain. In Exodus Thirty Two it says, 

“And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is A STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE.” (ESV‬‬) 

From Satan, who rebelled against The Lord to try to overthrow Him and was cast out of heaven, to Adam and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit, to the Israelites who whined and complained until exiled, and the Jews of Jesus' time seeking to kill Him, and up to today, we as humans always found a way to reject and not notice The Lord. Moses had gone down the mountain to see what was going on and we read in Exodus, Thirty-Two, Nineteen Thru Twenty-Four, 

"So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

The Israelites who had stayed down the mountain because they were afraid of The Lord earlier decided to press Aaron to make them gods similar to the ones that they had come to know in Egypt. Instead of seeing the glory of The Lord and realizing the miracles The Lord had shown them to be released from Bondage, they chose to keep their hearts and minds in Egypt, which is always a picture of sin in the bible. The thing that we also miss many times is that Moses, being angered, threw the tablets that had The Lord's writing and laws on them, breaking them. Sin has a way to not only mess our lives up but also impacts those around us, to the point that it makes us do foolish things with the things of The Lord. Aaron, being the priest that was supposed to be leading the people in true worship, allowed the lure of sin and the "shiny" man-made things to be looking down at the idol, rather than up to The Lord. It also shouldn't surprise us later in the Bible that the sons of Aaron present strange fire that angers The Lord, and though the bible never says what the strange fire was, we do know that it was not pleasing to The Lord. 

The sins we allow as parents, or as "priests" of The Lord, within our families or in our houses of worship, quickly can turn them into houses of idol worship. Where we don’t know the harm, or we ignore it altogether. You can look at all the churches and people out there today that have compromised, watered down, or just flat out quit teaching the Word. America more so than any other nation, although most of the world reminds me of what Judges Twenty-One, Twenty-Five says,

“In those days, there was no king in Israel. EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYE.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

It’s so easy to be “Bent” down at church, at a conference, a during so called "worship," but not humbled to the Lord. It’s easy to stand at sporting events, concerts, or rallies for social events, but how we constantly change what we stand for and or root for. People for all time and for whatever their hearts believe will stand or "bow" to them, ultimately for what we want and never notice that slowly but surely the God who died and rose for us is being taken away, not LITERALLY, because The Lord can't be taken away, and yet people won’t revolt and defend, their faith, let alone The Lord,! 

Now Orwell is referring to government and how Socialism and Communism will slowly take away our rights and life, and we will all become robots, and we see that happening slowly here in America. I think it speaks of the loss of love and obedience to The Lord, similar to the Israelites partying at the fire while the idol formed and how many churches are similar in their robotic worship. Atheists are succeeding in making people believe that The Lord is dead, because the people claiming to be "godly," can't even defend the Word, let alone allow our lives to reflect The Lord we claim to follow. 

I refuse to be one of the crowd and fall inline with the “Gold calf” makers and prove my God exists. He is everywhere and has shown His invisible attributes for all man and in all times, Paul Writes this in Romans One Twenty, 

" “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (ESV)

When people are “bent” and “stiff-necked” there is not enough proof in the world for them to see, to understand, and they will continue to walk in their own ways. So my question is, will you look up and humble yourself under the love and grace of The Lord? Humble thyself in the sight of The Lord and He will lift you up!” Jose Barajas

Infomercial Theology

by Jose Barajas

“When we go to sleep, the TV is left on as my wife likes to have the sound on as it soothes her. On my side of family, we have this sleep power; (I’m joking as there is no such thing) in that we can sleep anywhere and instantly and that drives my wife mad, but that’s why I don’t mind the TV being on. I do wake up a few times during the night and I hear the informercials that I’m sure we all have seen or heard. They’re all the same, regardless of the product being sold, as they have an energetic host who is an expert in using what they’re selling. They make the items they’re selling seem so easy to use and that we can do all things. You can cook full course meals, clean your house, or repair everything in your house, all so easily and instantly. People buy them and get them and then they sit in their cupboards or closets as they don’t work, or never take the time to use them correctly, or they were just bought at a whim. 

Paul in Romans Ten Eight Thirteen says, 

““For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (NET‬‬) 

He is quoting Joel Two Thirty Two, that says the same thing. Now here is where people crack me up, because “Meme” religion explains it all. Atheists or those who mock Christians and say the Bible is false and contradicts itself use these type of passages and reference them to how scripture is false and wrong. One example is what Joel and Paul say and what Jesus says in Matthew Seven , 

“Not all who call on My Name will be saved!” 

Scripture can be like informercials, where not all things are what they seem and half using the "products" or being enamored by the thing being sold. Many in churches, or so called "religious" people choose to only study half of what is said, or we only quote or know the happy verses. Paul in Romans Ten before this says, 

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” (ESV) 

Many “confess” at conferences and churches with a little “sinner’s” prayer (that isn’t scriptural), and we tell them, “welcome to the kingdom of God!” when we don’t truly know their heart. We will see, Jesus is saying, it means more than just saying some words that aren't because of true repentance, and Paul even continues in Romans Ten, 

“and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”‬ ‭(ESV‬‬) 

The word believe in the English language is very watered down like love, and other cliché words. It can be casual as, “I believe I can make it by five,” or it can be an intellectual assent like, “I believe what they say.” The Greek word is “pisteuo” which means, “To be convinced of something, or to give credence to something.” It’s not flippant or an after thought and that is not what Paul or any of the New Testament writers were thinking when they wrote it. Jesus even said, we must DENY SELF and TAKE UP OUR CROSS DAILY. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never physically carried a  wooden cross that weighed roughly One Hundred and Sixty Five pounds, but what Jesus did, and though Jesus spoke metaphorically when He said this, He meant what the cost of following Him was. People have died, have been jailed, have been beaten, and stoned, for His Name’s sake, and we can’t even share our faith because we’re afraid of what others might say, or because it’s not politically correct. 

Do we “believe” the lies of the informercials and the “fake” promises of what they offer like the false “RAVENOUS” wolf’s that are being allowed to spew their lies using Jesus Name to “solve” all your problems for “$19.99?” 

So back to where the passage that people say is contradictory when Jesus says, “not all!” but what Jesus is saying isn’t contradictory, if the other passages say, all who call on His Name can be saved? Let’s look at what Jesus is saying, “Not all!” in Matthew Seven, 

“““Not everyone who SAYS to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, BUT the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your Name, and cast out demons in your Name, and do many mighty works in your Name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (‭ESV‬‬)(Emphasis added) 

Most of the items sold on informercials don’t work, aren’t used the way they’re intended and or people get cheap imitations of the real product. It’s no different with many churches and so called prophets or “teachers” of the word. Jesus prior to these verses was warning against false prophets who would come in sheep’s clothing, but really were ravenous wolf’s! (I think when people quote this verse, they only say wolves in sheep’s clothing, but Jesus is saying, RAVENOUS!) Think about that when you hear false prophets like Joel Osteen, Steven Furtick, Brain Houston, Bill Johnson, T.D. Jakes, Rick Warren, and so many others, that when you look at this list, you make think, I’m wrong, but have we looked at what they are teaching compared to the TRUE gospel, or because they have successful “ministries that they are OK? Think Ravenous and we think mean, ugly, full of venom, but they dress  like sheep, “Meek, soft, stupid” and then you might get the picture. The enemy’s best trick is to make us think that the fruit isn’t bad for us and we can be like God, but is that SCRIPTURALLY true? Do we know our WORD enough to understand that the “INFOMERCIAL” is just a sham, a way of making money and doesn’t line up with the WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE? Jesus isn’t looking for SHOWMEN, looking for FAME OR MONEY, but looking for humble, broken, contrite men and women who will “deny self” and do the will of the Father.  

Jesus doesn’t want people calling His Name and “buying” the Christian lifestyle, where we hide it in the closet, or never use it again. He desires those who call on His name to “use” the gifts He has given us to continue His ministry of calling and disciplining people, not for show or for a fad but for eternity. So my informercial is simple, do we call on the Name of Jesus only when we’re in trouble, in vain, to get what we want, or do we truly call on His Name letting Him guide and lead us, walking with Him daily? He is ready to save you and bring you into His rest, the choice is simple and yours to make. But wait there’s more, we get to spend eternity with Him, won’t you make that “CALL” and fall on your knees, repent and come to Jesus?” Jose Barajas

Our Heart of Worship

 “I remember hearing the "Heart of Worship" for the first time, it was not only heart felt, but listening to the lyrics allowed me to understand that God wants more that a "pretense" or false worship. I was not on a worship team at the time, but knew that it was a song that I wanted to learn and play over and over again.  

Matt Redman’s home church in Watford England was going thru a tough time spiritually, but the people were only there to hear the music and the band. Mike Pilivachi, who was the pastor of the church  asked his congregation, 

“what they were bringing to God in worship, or if they were just there as consumers, soaking up the music?”