"The Church of God Has Only One Altar" (Bonhoeffer)

"But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:32)

There is the way of Jesus Christ, and then there is the way not of Jesus Christ.  This is the simple, fearful, clear division of humanity.  It is not tags and cliches, not catch phrases, and insider talk.  It obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible, which determines condemnation or freedom from condemnation.  What keeps me in this thinking is the "God-Breathed" Word Himself.  Regular, daily reading, not just of favorite passages, but a reading which takes me frequently through the Bible keeps me focused on, "not my will, but Yours be done."

The battle of the Church historically always has been the conflict between the will/agenda of Jesus Christ and the will/agenda of men.  Indeed, impure men have attempted to use the Church of Christ for their own purposes, their own will, their own "kingdoms" since the beginning.  During his rise in the German political scene and even after his election to the German Chancellery, Adolph Hitler used Christianity to further seduce the German people.  "We are determined, as leaders of the nation, to fulfill as a national government the task which has been given to us, swearing fidelity only to God, our conscience, and our Volk."  He would declare, that his government would make Christianity "the basis of our collective morality.....May God Almighty take our work into his grace, give true form to our will, bless our insight, and endow us with the trust of our Volk."  History is the judge. 

Yet in these same days, Bonhoeffer was also rising to prominence in Germany.  He once stated, "The church has only one altar, the altar of the Almighty... before which all creatures must kneel.  Whoever seeks something other than this must keep away, he cannot join us in the house of God....The church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will than the will of God, however well-intentioned."

It is no different today, politicians, friends, religionists attempting to use smooth talk to seduce, and men of God proclaiming the Truth of the Word of God.  I have lost friends over the years because of this.  We all have sin in our lives and sooner or later the Word of God will deal with it in our lives.  Now we can choose to attempt to justify ourselves, and in the process deceive ourselves, or we can face the Word of God and embrace Him, His purposes, His will, His "assessment" of our lives, and the victorious way out.  This struggle will either unite us or divide us.  I pray God, it will be the former.

Father, in Jesus' Name, if I ever try to justify my sin or the sin of others, convict me deeply.  Amen.
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Prophetic News at:     www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2