Western Civilization's Biggest Blunder

We modern people think we know so much of the natural world, yet we hardly know anything at all. Think about the depth of knowledge and wisdom from the subatomic world and then expand that into the vastness of the universe. Think of the wonder of the cellular world and then expand that wonder into the majesty of the humpback whale. Think of the diversity of ecosystems around the world and all that it takes in winds and weather patterns to keep this all in balance. Yet God knows and understands all of this. All of this falls within His field of expertise which is, well, everything. And then go on to consider that even in the midst of all the wonder of the natural world, there is a spiritual one that is even greater and more magnificent than the natural one. Here is our greatest deficit, and the west’s greatest blunder. To our utter detriment, we have almost completely ignored the spiritual world. Sadly we have ignored it to the point of even denying it exists. Why? The answer is because we cannot use rationalism to discover it; the scientific method is powerless here. So instead of searching out how to discover it, we have ignored it, or worse denied its existence, and this has caused us tremendous loss. We have ignored the world where our true purpose lies, where our true meaning is, and where we truly live. We have completely lost touch with this spiritual world because we have been taught that if the scientific method cannot discover a thing or demonstrate a concept, then it therefore doesn’t exist.
So we have died as human beings, and we have become mere animal. In a way, Nietzche was right: we have “killed” God. What is more right is we have killed our capacity to know Him.
But God is not dead. No, He is alive and well. Not only is He alive and well, but also He is in quite a good mood. He is in such a good mood that He is ready to unleash His goodness into the earth. Those who are ready spiritually will see Him, those who are not will try to explain it all away. To be ready for Him we must be ready for a spiritual world. We must realize that God is far and above the scientific method. That is one thing that has completely baffled me about the embracers of naturalism. Why would anyone want or need a God that could be boiled down by the scientific method? He would be no better than us. And why base the entire meaning and purpose of life in the scientific method? Why? The scientific method cannot discover ANYTHING beyond itself. It is limited in its scope. It is a powerful method, yes, but it is limited nonetheless because it is bound by the observation of limited man. And even if the knowledge of man obtained by science reaches incredible peaks and we can explain emotions and behavior and thought and soul, it will still not be able to touch the spiritual world at all. And because the scientific method cannot touch the spiritual world at all, then it cannot be used to prove that the spiritual world does not exist. Even simple logic shows a universal negative cannot be proven, so we cannot cry “the spiritual world doesn’t exist” because science cannot touch that world and it therefore cannot comment on its existence.
We have suffered tremendously as a people for ignoring the spiritual world. In our quest for knowledge (which isn’t necessarily evil in and of itself) we have ignored the very world where the deepest mysteries and greatest wisdom reside. We have ignored the world where God Himself dwells, and we can readily see the results of ignoring this world by looking at our cities and their spiritual and moral dilapidation even in the midst of growing material splendor. As the glory of steel and money and luxury increase, so do the terrors of murder, theft, divorce, drug abuse, and child abuse.
So when are we going to wake up? When are we going to see that in order to meet the world’s needs we are going to have to enter into the place where science and humanism cannot possibly lead us? When are we going to begin to ponder the existence of better and more incredible worlds and beings? And in that quest when are we going to begin to see that we have missed the mark on an incredible scale? When are we going to see? When are we going to see?

Time for Reformation

Time for Reformation
Everywhere I go there is a dissatisfaction with what we have all been taught about God and church. Everywhere I go I talk to people of all colors and social classes and the talk is the same: there has got to be more than this. I believe that God is helping me to see why.
The enemy has so far succeeded in creating a religious society within “Christian” nations that in most places one cannot differentiate between the “real” Christian and simply a religious person. There is no visible difference because there is no visible power, so therefore people come to the logical conclusion, based on their premise and their experience, that Christianity is not for real and it is no different than any other religion. See, people are looking at a structure that the enemy built and put the label “God’s House” on it, so they look at it and rightly say, “That is not God.” So people say, “Heck with this” and they just live the best they know how. Those people are not full of evil intent, they are simply speaking what they see. They are simply living out what they have been shown. In other words they are in the dark because the light has never been shown to them. They have HEARD about it, but they have never SEEN it. Some people know deeply within them that God is for real, but that is all they have to cling to as they struggle through their lives. They believe He is for real, but they are never led to really experience Him. If the church of Jesus wants to see a transformation then we must undergo a reformation. Not an awakening, not a renewal, not necessarily a revival, but a reformation. This reformation will be where God Himself forms us into a loving and radiant bride for His Beloved Son. She is to be perfect, spotless, and without blemish. She is to be the perfect match for the Perfect King. That word “radiant” is there for a reason. Radiant things emit light and that is what a world of darkness needs. Yet God must be the author of such a work. No work of man could ever achieve this place of intimacy with God, nor could any work of man, no matter how extravagant and costly, ever put us into that place where He longs for us to be, emitting the light of His love. When we arrive there, the enemy will have no ability to counterfeit God’s intimacy with us. God is love and God Himself cannot be counterfeited. Sure, the enemy will have his alternatives, yet just like when the magicians of Pharoah stated, “This must be God for no one can do miracles like this” so will the reformation of the church be.
This reformation is not God’s call for the distant future. It is not to come to be in the millennial “sweet by-and-by.” It is not for us to simply say, “That is for heaven after I die.” NO. It is for now. The responsibility is on us for now. We can no longer ignore the promises of God that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, nor can we ignore our Lord’s commands (not suggestions, not requests, COMMANDS) to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, and spread the good news of the kingdom to the poor. We have changed His commands to our simple deeds of pray for the sick, comfort the survivor of the dead, give medicine to the leper, ignore the demonic or send them to the psychiatrist, and tell the poor about their future in heaven. I wish God would have destroyed this false gospel much sooner than He is going to, but I would probably not be here if He had. Yes we are to do good works, but they are to be the works that the Father has ordained, not the ones we simply achieve with our good planning, fund raisers, and organizational skill. Many cults and religious organizations can do that. It is time for those who call Jesus Lord to let Him be. It is time for those of us Who God has named “Son and Daughter of the Living One” to be just that. The time for reformation is upon us and many people are crying out for it to be birthed. Congratulations! You have been chosen. You are a part of making history!

Spontaneity

Spontaneity
Time for some spontaneity
And in that statement is no spontaneity at all
For it is bound within earth and time
And schedules and pressures and all sorts of rhyme
That even takes the spontaneity out of the spontaneous
And turns it into rigid rules
Where life dies
The phone rings again
Bringing up a spirit of sin
I am so sick of the ring
That would change if I would sing
The goodness and graciousness of God
Instead of the praise of the devil, which is complaining
Complaining is praise in reverse
Where my entire being grows terse
And my health and my happiness fade
My heart turns as cold and hard as jade
But isn’t nearly that colorful or beautiful
And it smells bad too.
I say I long for the new
Yet I am not willing to choose to walk in it
Until now when the spirit was able to overcome my brow
And the Light of the universe let out a spark
That quenched the hot and fiery dart
That the complaining spirit had in me
My spirit now set free
Will release a “thank You” to the only One
His light much brighter than the sun
It even makes my jaded heart turn warm
It turns from stone to flesh
And the aroma of Jesus starts to rise
It reaches my spirit, reaches my eyes
And I can finally see that what is bothering me
Is nothing in His presence
I have His life, I have His essence
And there is nothing else I want or need
His life is the very wondrous seed
That I want planted in me
In good soil that grows a hundred fold
In a good heart that lives and never grows old
Plant it deeply, Lord,
Plant it deeply
I receive it freely, I give it freely
Plant it deeply, Lord,
Plant it deeply
I receive it freely, I give it freely


K. Duane Carter
1-3-09