When my husband was a boy, he wanted to plant a tree in his yard. He trekked through his several acre yard, across the country road, and into the woods to find the perfect tree to transplant.
He was delighted to find a beautiful specimen with perfectly spaced limbs. Back home he trudged, carrying his precious cargo with him.
He spent quite a while digging the perfect hole, and planting the little tree. When he was finished, he stood back and imagined a beautiful full-grown tree that would cast a pleasant shade over that area of the yard, and a home for countless birds.
After his lengthy project was completed, he proudly showed his little tree to his mom. Her heart sank as she saw what he had planted. A Sweetgum Tree -the nuisance of any yard.
I can imagine the wrestling in her mother’s heart. Should she tell him right away, and send him to get a different kind of tree? But she saw the swell of her sweet boy’s chest, and the proud look of accomplishment on his face…Surely it wouldn’t live long…and then she would comfort him, and help him choose a more appropriate tree baby.
That tree was a fighter from the start. It thrived through hot summers, frigid winters, ice storms, hail and high water. Yes, that little tree was destined for big things.
Today that little tree has become a little boy’s dream. It stands 30 feet tall, casts a fabulous cooling shade, and is a safe haven for countless country critters.
Don’t you dare try to walk barefoot in that area of the yard, though. And Heaven help you if you’re not wearing protective gear while the lawn mower is running. And by all means, wear sturdy shoes that keep your ankles from turning easily on uneven surfaces.
Many of us are reaping the effects of things we planted in our youth. Even if we have come to the Lord, others must still deal with our past choices.
It’s a new day. A disciplined day. Let’s be aware and take responsibility for what we plant. A little tree can grow up to be a big nuisance…or worse.
“Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” (1 Corinthians 3:8)
I was driving to work when I realized I hadn’t even knelt and prayed before I left the house. I had read the Word, written my daily devotion, scanned Facebook, and then gotten ready and left for the day.
When I realized that I hadn’t made the time to pray, I immediately began making excuses…”Lord, this flesh is so hard to keep under control.”
He reminded me of Adam and Eve in the garden. Adam said pretty much the same thing about Eve…It was this woman you gave me…
If we take a look at Adam and Eve as spirit and flesh, we see Eve (flesh) being tempted. Adam (spirit) could and should have disciplined the flesh, but he didn’t. He chose to partake of the forbidden fruit when Eve offered it to him. Because of this, they were both judged.
It may feel like you have no control over your flesh, but that is a lie from the enemy of your soul. We must continually strengthen our spirit so that our flesh can stay disciplined.
“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12)
I see it all the time -another “Pentecostal Church” sign in front of a church that I’m pretty sure is quite different from the Pentecostal Church we pastor. It’s no wonder there is so much confusion about what being Pentecostal means.
Not too many years ago in America, it was almost taboo to say you were Pentecostal. Not so today. More and more people boast in the fact that they have some association with Pentecost, as if they have risen above some social barrier.
While it’s great that people are excited about visiting a Pentecostal Church, it’s often difficult for those who are actually trying to find one to attend.
With so many different flavors of Pentecost to choose from, how do you know what to look for? How do you know what’s important? What does Pentecostal even mean for Heaven’s sake???
PENTECOST
The word Pentecostactually means Fifty. It was fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that He poured out the Holy Ghost (Spirit of God) on the hundred and twenty disciples who had waited in the upper room in Jerusalem for the promised gift.
When the promise came to them, everyone in the upper room began to speak in unknown tongues (languages) as the Spirit enabled them. This supernatural phenomenon, along with lively worship, is what most people refer to when they think of being Pentecostal. While it is the first thing, it shouldn’t be the only thing.
Speaking in tongues is the initial sign of receiving the Holy Ghost (God’s Spirit), but being Pentecostal is more than speaking in tongues. Many congregations, denominations and religious organizations allow for being filled with the Holy Ghost (evidenced by speaking in tongues), yet never continue on into the fullness of the Pentecostal experience.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT?
There is one core difference that separates one Pentecostal Church from another -whether it is Oneness or Trinitarian. Every other teaching trickles down from this core doctrine.
Oneness Doctrine
The biblically correct teaching that God is one, based on Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”
God is one. He is a Spirit. He manifested Himself in the form of a man (the son of God/flesh) so that He could become the sinless sacrifice for our sins, and die in our place, allowing us to have access to eternal life.
Trinitarian Doctrine
The erroneous teaching that God is three, based on the Catholic Nicene Creed, adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.
God is three separate beings, co-equal and co-eternal. This was not what the prophets taught. It was not what Jesus taught. It was not what the Apostles taught. It was not what the early Church taught. It was manufactured 325 years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
Why does it make a difference if a Church is Oneness or Trinitarian?
A Oneness Pentecostal Church will teach Acts 2:38 as the only plan of salvation. Repentance, Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the in filling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. A Oneness Church most often promotes some level of holiness and separation from worldliness, as well.
A Trinitarian Pentecostal church (or any trinitarian church, whether they are Pentecostal or not) will allow, and might even seek to be filled with the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. However, they will not teach that it is essential to salvation.
A trinitarian church will baptize using the titles, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost,” but not in the name of Jesus.
Most Trinitarian churches teach that you are saved when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, and that anything else you do is good, but not necessary for your salvation.
Can You See The Difference?
As you can hopefully tell, there is a big difference between these two doctrinal beliefs.
-The Oneness of God
-Acts 2:38 as the essential Plan of Salvation
-Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
-The infilling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues.
-Holiness/Separation from worldliness
These are the key factors you should start with when visiting or looking for a Pentecostal Church to call home.
Peter was given the Keys of the Kingdom (plan of salvation) by Jesus in Matthew 16. He revealed what those keys were when he preached the first message of the New Testament Church in Acts 2.
It was one of the most tragic things I have ever witnessed. I was riding with my husband in the tractor as he carried round hay bales to our cattle. It was a cold and sloppy winter day. As we came through the gate, the herd followed along with the tractor, bawling their impatience with every step.
My husband moved the empty hay rings over several feet to more dry areas, and then lifted each bale high over a ring with the hay fork attached to the tractor, and set them down inside. The cattle began shoving their faces down into the delicious hay, pulling out big mouths full. They stood chewing in the cold drizzle with mud covered legs and frosted breath.
There was no pasture grass this time of year. The cattle’s survival until late spring rested solely on the hay delivery and their ability to get to it.
We sat in the warm tractor and watched them munch. We always spent a few minutes counting heads, taking note of whether a new calf had been born, and the general welfare of the herd.
It was only then that we saw it. The mud covered mound down a small incline from the hay ring’s previous location. We had assumed it to be a partially eaten hay bale that had been trampled into the mud. The horror of what we were seeing settled over both of us at once. My husband spoke the sickening words first, “I think that’s a cow!”
He got out of the tractor and slogged through the mud, waving the herd out of his path. He leaned over the mud coated mass to find she was still breathing…barely.
Cattle moving under their own steam can be tricky to get where you want them to go. When they are sick or weak, it can be even more difficult. It looked as though she had slid backwards in the mud where she couldn’t get the traction she needed. She had become mud caked in her struggle to regain her footing. The other cattle had quite literally walked on top of her to get to the hay while she got weaker and weaker from lack of food in the cold.
If she had any hope at all of surviving, we had to get her up out of the mud pit that she had backslid into. We had to get her eating again to give her body nourishment and warmth. My husband did the only thing he knew to do. He used the hay fork on the front of the tractor to lift and scoot her, as gently as possible out of the pit to a flat and dryer spot of ground. Even then, you would never know she was a cow under all that mud except for the periodic puffs of frozen breath.
I wish I could say that we saved her. We tried the best we could, but ended up losing her that day. Our best efforts weren’t enough. We were too late.
This painful memory always causes me to think of my Christian brothers and sisters who have left the faith, or at least put their walk with God on hold to pursue their own agenda. Wealth, Sports, Recreation, Fame.
Whatever it is they choose to pursue, they feel like they are at a safe enough spot to be able to come back to the God’s House whenever they choose, not realizing the precarious position they have gotten themselves into. They don’t realize these things they have chosen to pursue will eventually suck them down so deep that they can’t get back.
We much keep better check on those we love. We must keep them connected to the local church. We must make sure they are being fed the Word of God on a regular basis. We must be aware of tell tell signs that they are losing their hold on Truth, and their footing in the Kingdom of God. We must engage them in honest conversation, and insert ourselves into their lives consistently.
The only thing sadder than a Christian backsliding, is a Christian backsliding and being trampled by fellow Christians, just taking care of themselves, completely unaware that their brother or sister has fallen. God, help us to be concerned.
I bought a dictionary in the fall of 1985 when I started my first and only year of college. I still have that dictionary today. I used it to look up the word “Fundamental.”
When did “Serving as an original or generating source, Primary, Basic, Of central importance” become a bad thing? I’ve always thought being authentic, rather than fake, was a good thing, and something to be sought after and pursued.
If you are a bike rider, you want to ride a bike that has all the BASIC parts: Tires, Frame, Seat, Peddles, Handlebars, brakes.
If you go to a pet store to buy a puppy, you don’t ask, “Do you have any in the back, maybe one with a broken leg and only one eye?” No…You want one with all the BASIC parts!
If you buy a house, you want it to have all the BASIC parts: Footer, Floor, Walls, Roof, Windows, Doors, Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom.
If you must have surgery, you want your doctor to have all the BASIC knowledge, education, internship and residency.
Why is it that when so many people look for a CHURCH, they don’t mind it being a mamby pamby, wishy washy, anything goes, double minded, anyway you want it, quickshod, inkblot, quicksand kind of assembly?
COME ON NOW!
Shouldn’t we expect THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD to be comprised of the ORIGINAL, Bible-based, Non-negotiable, BASIC PARTS???
And shouldn’t we expect that when we hold churches accountable to those BASIC INDICATORS OF TRUTH, that we aren’t labeled “FUNDAMENTALISTS,” as though it meant the same thing as HERETIC or BLASPHEMER or ABOMINATION?
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I take God at His Word, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I stand on Deuteronomy 6:4, “Here O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” and NOT A TRINITY, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe what Jesus told Nicodemus, Unless a man is born of water and Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God, So be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the basic plan of salvation that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two is the New Birth that Jesus spoke of, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe NO PERSON AFTER THE DAY OF PENTECOST will be saved and see the kingdom of God without being born again of the WATER (which is Jesus’ name baptism) and the SPIRIT (which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance), SO. BE. IT.
-If Fundamentalist means I believe a Christian must live a sanctified life of HOLINESS, “without which no man shall see the Lord,” so be it.
People may look at me narrowly and say, “She’s one of those Fundamentalists. Basically, she thinks the Bible means just what it says, and God really expects us to repent, be baptized in Jesus’ name, receive the Holy Ghost, speak in tongues, dress, act, speak and live a certain way…and Oh, she doesn’t even believe in the trinity.
I’m sure those people will mean this description as an insult, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I will take it as a COMPLIMENT.
I smelled your cologne today, as I do at this time every year. I only take your shaving kit out once a year. It’s just the way you left it. Manicure kit, razor, bottle of prescription medication, a ziplock bag of discolored granules -perhaps epsom salt, and your cologne. I wouldn’t dare spray it. I can’t imagine the fragrance on anything or anyone but you. Ten years; ten sniffs.
I draw the smell in, and I am hugging you again. Ferociously. I am enveloped in your arms and plaid shirt. It’s always plaid. Even though you wore suits and dress casual attire so often, you liked to think of yourself as a rugged kind of guy. To be held in your arms again, if only in my imagination, is a delight. I notice your shoulders and arms are more sinew rather than the bulk they use to be. I think you’ve decided to get healthy in your mature years.
For a moment, my face is against your chest, feeling your heartbeat and the reverberation of your voice as you say, “Hey, Patty!” You were the only one who called me that, one of my many aliases, the evidence of being adopted at seven. There was no one nickname that stuck. Everyone just came up with one of their own for me. You called me Patty, or Sister, which you called both of us girls. When you said Patty, it had a softness to it, like a caress. I wish I could hear you say it again. I’m so thankful that I can still remember the exact way your voice sounded.
[bctt tweet=”My mind drifts back through the years, picking up the special memories, and leaving the rest. Sifting the wheat, and gifting the chaff to the wind.” username=”patvickdotcom”]
Remember when I was in junior high, and our class took a trip to the Capitol? You asked if a friend and I could go back to your office with you, separate from the group. I admit I loved the looks of admiration. I was a Princess for the day. Remember how I asked you to pose for a picture like you were taking a business call?
Remember when you took us yard selling and ran out of gas? Always pushing it to the very last thimbleful. That must be where I get it from. We had to coast down the hill, through an intersection, into the gas station.
Remember when Logan went to his first prom? I called you and told you, and you said, “And Mama’s a little sad,” and I cried. You knew exactly what I was feeling. There were two more proms that you never got to comfort me through. They were so handsome and beautiful. You would have been so proud. Your oldest grandson has made me a Memaw three times over. Three boys. Can you believe it? I wish you could bury your face in their bellies and smell their fragrance, just like I’m smelling yours.
Remember when you showed up at the office out of the blue? I didn’t even know you were in town. You took me out to eat, and bought me a milkshake. You reminisced about your days as a boy, seeming puzzled at where all the years had gone. You said, “I still feel like that little boy inside.”
You memorialized the dogs that you had loved as a boy, and talked about the one you had at the time, a schnauzer named Hercules. You said, “He’s the best dog I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost that dog…I’m tired of losing people I love.” I knew it was more about the people than the dogs. Thank you for letting me glimpse your heart that day. I wish I had the time back to share with you the dogs…and people that I’ve loved and lost.
I should have known that day that something was amiss. You were always just so larger than life. I couldn’t see you any other way. Tough as nails. Invincible. Frank P.
Remember when I called, and you seemed distracted. You finally had to confess that you were at the hospital having a blood transfusion.
…A blood transfusion…
Suddenly, you were mortal, after all. Then it was a blur. Calling the siblings, and asking if they knew. No. You had decided to walk this path alone. Why do people think that’s best for everyone? We had hardly any time at all to say goodbye. To say, “Thank you, I love you,” or “How dare you?”
Hospice came.
Family came.
People I didn’t know came.
Death came.
We did have that one last special moment, ten years ago today. While breathing in the last breath you ever breathed out, I held your hand as you crossed over.
I smelled your cologne again today for the tenth time, and cried.
Senator Frank P. Lashlee June 30, 1937 – June 18, 2008
Warm Regards, -Pat
As always, please feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, email me: PAT@PATVICK.COM and SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter.
INVITATION TO SHARE
-How do you choose to remember loved ones who have passed away?
-Have you been successful at “sifting the wheat, and gifting the chaff to the wind” from relationships with deceased loved ones?
I bought a dictionary in the fall of 1985 when I started my first and only year of college. I still have that dictionary today. I used it to look up the word “Fundamental.”
