reimagine christianity - Note 2.0 - The Reimagine Network

GUEST POST ~ LOVING JESUS NOT RELIGION

If you've been a part of Our Resolute Hope's ministry over the years, you know that we are not very fond of religion. I love to tell people I'm not religious in any way, but I love Jesus. The word religion comes from the Latin religio and it’s a compound word which means “return to bondage.” And I tell people that the word religion isn't even in the Bible. Some Believers are quick to point out, “Oh no, Frank, you're wrong. It's in James.”

“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27 (NASB)

Well, I don't ever want to undermine our English translations, but we have to remember a translation is a work of man where we take the original Greek or Hebrew language and translate it into English. That's why we have concordances and lexicons to look up those words and see if the translators really did their job.

In this instance, they did not do their job. The Greek word that has been translated “religion” in the Book of James is actually the word “reverence,” or I would translate it as “worship” because that's what reverence is. And so the text should read, “Pure and undefiled worship is the taking care of orphans and widows.” You see, we've reduced worship in our culture to singing praise songs.

Worship is life.

The number one word used in the New Testament for worship is latreia which means “to serve.” So, as Jesus said, when you visit someone in prison, you're visiting Him. When you bring someone a drink of water, you're serving and worshiping Him.

True worship is the expression of His life of love flowing through us to love others.

Pure and undefiled worship is revering the One who deserves it most, the One who redeemed us so that we could fulfill our glorious purpose in creation. That purpose is to express the invisible God to a physical and visible world. Go express Him, my friends, and the love and care of those who need to be loved and cared for. I hope you were encouraged today by the ministry of Our Resolute Hope.

Dr. Stephen Phinney

President & Founder

IOM America | Identity Matters Worldview Institute

End Times Prophecies Connection Points:

https://www.iomamerica.net/end-times-conference

https://www.iomamerica.net/substack-podcast

https://drstephenphinney.substack.com/

https://www.iomamerica.net/eschatology-series

www.iomamerica.net/this-preeminent-darkness

www.IOMAmerica.net

Mail | IOM America | P.O. Box 71, Sterling, KS 67579

#ReimagineCHRISTIANITY...in Ex-Christian America

Note: Grid News published this report.

It repeatedly quotes Stephen Bullivant, author of the new book Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America. (see more at>>> )

We must #ReimagineCHRISTIANITY...in America

A personal reply from my friend and colleague David Bryant - -

Thanks for sending me the article below. I've read a number of article lately based on Bullivant's new book. This is a nice summary of what has been uncovered through his thorough research.

Yet all of it results in increased grief in my soul.

Not to sound too melodramatic here, but by the compelling of the Holy Spirit--that is, it is IN me but not OF me--I've found myself for 25 years as a "voice crying in the wilderness" about the crisis concerning the Church's lack of a great enough vision of Christ inside our congregations and ministries which, as this article reveals, has now borne the bitter fruit of apostasy--with a projected accelerating disassembling of the Christian movement in our nation in the near future.

The fact is, the Jesus the Church presents, the one who "get us" and is all "about us", lacks the wonder and majesty and greatness to seriously captivate hearts--especially when it comes so little understanding of the marvels of his saving power and supremacy for now and for eternity. Since so many believers, and Americans in general, appear not to "get him", therefore multitudes are finding out there's no good reason to hang around him, or those who claim him, any longer.

Yes, my heart grieves, deeply grieves, this morning (and all the time really) because I know with CHRIST NOW we have pioneered a whole new way to help bring people into a transforming, compelling, life-fulfilling encounter with the glory of Jesus--admittedly, it is just a beginning but it provides the road map for many others to follow and improve.

And yet now -- we have nearly totally run out of funds so that come our January 15 board meeting, despite the fact of this emergency of a "mass exodus" from Christianity, we may need to pull the plug -- despite the fact there currently exists no other initiative (that we know of), either digital or otherwise, exclusively focused on confronting and curing this deadly crisis, to pick up this mandate and mission.

SO here at Proclaim Hope! we are crying out to the King of Heaven for a mighty, even miraculous, intervention within the next few days. Surely someone, somewhere is being prepared by the Spirit to join forces with us in a way that will take our mission (and our extraordinary inventory of resources and contacts) to the next level--to, as I've said this fall, we can begin to "flood the zone" (saturate the Church) with the supremacy of Christ.

Otherwise, shortly we will become a casualty where, as Scripture would put it, "the wind blows over Christ Now and it is known no more".

At no other point in my life have I been so sobered by "the handwriting on the wall"--both for our nation and for our ministry--as I am at the close of 2022. We stand at the vortex of what genuine spiritual warfare looks like.

Please pray for us. DAVID

PS. No need to respond. Thanks for listening and praying. That is enough.

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reimagine christianity (2)

GUEST POST ~ LOVING JESUS NOT RELIGION

GUEST POST ~ LOVING JESUS NOT RELIGION

Worship is life.

True worship is the expression of His life of love flowing through us to love others.

#ReimagineCHRISTIANITY...in Ex-Christian America

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