Ephesians 4 Gifts

Prior to starting the study of Ephesians Chapter 4 I feel compelled to mention an important aspect. Often times, Christians take principles and concepts out of context. The following chapter is a perfect example of that. I have held and still do, that the way we treat non Christians, as opposed to Christians is different. In fact, that is not only the case in tone, but in attitude and expectations. I truly believe that Jesus was the ultimate example of this, he responded totally different to non religious people than he did religious people.

If looking at the life of Jesus, it is easy to see him confronting religious people, even his own followers, but often times, if not most all of the time, loving of the non religious people, whether a tax collector, a prostitute, or whoever else he came into contact with outside of religious beliefs different than his own. Yet, we as Christians, often times seem to take the confront all, speak against all, that is different than what we believe in a harsh directive tone and manner. The following chapter of Ephesians is one in particular that some often use as an example of the right to do this. Here is my challenge, Ephesians, as you can tell from looking at past studies, was a letter of Paul to the Church. Paul is in fact telling the church at Ephesus how they are to treat each other. There is no indication that this is the way we are supposed to treat people outside of our faith.

I have been criticized quite often because of the fact I try to be loving and considerate of people outside of our faith. I am slow to judge, and even slower to condemn. I simply believe it is not my job. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to do his work with those who are not of the same belief. In fact, in all honesty, I will say, that it does not matter what I say, or what I do, other than the fact that the Holy Spirit of God, may, or may not choose to use my words and/or actions. Of course at that point, I also understand that the person has the choice to listen or not. Bottom line though, I have the right, and even obligation to confront my fellow believer of where they may be wrong, even then though, it is to be in love, and with the intent of making right and good with God. When it comes to one who don’t believe though, I am to love, share what I believe after relationship is developed, and then let the Holy Spirit do his job.

Now with all of that said, remember, the words we will study today, were words directed towards the church at Ephesus, thus to Christians.

Ephesians Chapter 4

Unity with Christ
(1) As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. (2) Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. (3) Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. (4) All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God's people. (5) We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. (6) There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.

Paul is again letting it be known that he sees Jesus Christ not just as his Savior but as his Lord. He owes him everything, Jesus is seen as a master, and Paul gladly sees himself as a slave. Paul in his own humility is openly willing to beg for the points he is about to present. He cares about the people he is writing, but he also cares that they present themselves as living in a way that illustrates them as displaying God’s love for them and their need to live up to God’s expectations for them.

Paul starts hitting the message right off the bat with this church in this passage. Telling them to be humble, gentle, patient and loving of each other. One can’t help but think of how often those who call themselves Christian don’t act this way towards each other. It is important to remember this point a little later on, while there may be times of controversy within the church, among Christians, the way we treat each other should still be following these directives here. Believe me, I know how difficult this is, I know how often I fail, but I also know what I see among others who call themselves Christian. Unfortunately not only are we not these things with each other, we aren’t these things with the very ones that God loved so much to send his son to die on a cross for. We confront them, their wrongs, and expect that for some reason we are better than others, again, even Paul, uses these words carefully.

One of the things that I often have difficulty with is the elitism among some denominations. They tend to think they are right and everyone else is wrong. Yet, within this church, and even for all Churches, Paul is asking to find ways to be united and to live in peace. In other words, get along with each other. I can tell you from past experience as a pastor of a church. The reality is that more churches and denominations approach each other from a competitive perspective than they do a loving unified perspective. It is unfortunate, but that is the way it is. All churches, have to make the effort to get along, to help each other in the building of the Kingdom of God, instead of the competition and tearing down of each other. It is one of the things that in my opinion gives validity to the need that The Virtual Pew is a organization and group that works with churches of various denominations. While each church has to be a church that recognizes the basics of the faith in the person of Jesus Christ, we need to be able to make recommendations to the Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, and Non Denominational among others. The truth of it is we serve the one God. We are a part of the same body and the Holy Spirit has the ability to bring us together.

These verses also display the nature of what many Christians call The Trinity. Notice there is a distinct purpose of God, The Son, (Jesus Christ), and The Holy Spirit. Involved with all of that is the closing comment that all will work with those who call Jesus Leader and Forgiver. The concept that God works, while using us, is a concept I still marvel at. To think that God would choose to use me is unimaginable. Yet, that is exactly what God does, not just for me, but for all who have a relationship with his son Jesus Christ.

Questions:
1. How does Paul see himself in this passage?
2. How should we see ourselves?
3. What does it mean to be humble, gentle, and patient?
4. When Paul says be united and live in peace, what is he talking about?
5. What happens if we don’t allow God to use us?

(7) Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us. (8) As the Scriptures say,

"When he went up

to the highest place,

he led away many prisoners

and gave gifts to people."

This is an amazing passage of scripture that would be easy to loose sight of if we are not careful. There is the powerful concept that Jesus has given gifts to his followers. I often strongly encourage followers of Christ to take a gifts assessment test to see where their gifts are at. I actually have a couple of assessment tests that I strongly believe in but know others exist. For Christians who have not done this, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot. It will help let you know where your gifts are at from a Biblical perspective, but they will also give clarity as to why you are the way you are. I would encourage you taking one of these tests, then getting with your pastor, and or ministry leader and have them help you explore how you can use those gifts. For those that depend on The Virtual Pew, get with me, email me at mike@thevirtualpew.com and I will get you an assessment, go over the tests with you, and help you explore the best ways to use those Christ given gifts to help where you are, and to help with The Virtual Pew if that is the place God is calling you.

I have several Christmas gifts that are still in their packaging. I opened them from their Christmas wrapping but haven’t opened their other packaging yet and put them to use. I will assure you, until I do so I won’t experience the full benefit of those gifts. The same can be said with the gifts that Christ has given you if you are a follower of Jesus. It is time to open up all of the wrapping, and put the gifts to use.

Questions:
1. Have you taken a gifts assessment?
2. What are your gifts?
3. How are you using the gifts God gave you?
4. How do your gifts help others?
5. Would you like to be used by God?
6. What are you doing to be used by God?

(9) When it says, "he went up," it means that Christ had been deep in the earth. (10) This also means that the one who went deep into the earth is the same one who went into the highest heaven, so that he would fill the whole universe.

(11) Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, (12) so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. (13) This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him. (14) We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. (15) Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head (16) of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.

Some say, and I tend to agree, that Paul is reminding the church at Ephesus that Jesus went through the ultimate sacrifice for them. He literally went into Hell, and then ascended to, and went up into Heaven where he now resides. From Heaven, Christ can look over the earth, look over his people, and then be there to assist and direct the Holy Spirit as to what to do.

We need to recognize, Jesus is the giver of gifts. We can’t change what he gave to whom. Bottom line though, he knew what gift was best for each individual and gave that individual those gifts. He gave these gifts so that people could learn and better serve each other. Notice the gifts are not for our own benefit per say, but for the benefit of others. I fully believe, if you aren’t using your gifts to help the body or help other Christians or those who don’t believe in Jesus, then you are not really using the gifts that God gave you.

Verse 13 is critical, Paul is telling us that God is going to use this method until we reach maturity. For many, the belief is that we never reach full maturity until we get to Heaven. I don’t know about this. I do believe that we should continue to mature, as we get older, not just in our faith but in years. We should learn in such away that we have begin to take on these attributes that Paul talks about. As we mature, as we use the gifts God has given us to serve others, the more we become like Christ. Remember, Jesus was at peace and able to totally love every individual, no matter how much harm they chose to bring to him. Jesus was content, and able to do incredible works. As we exercise the things that Paul is talking about to the church of Ephesus, as we begin to use our gifts and serve each other, remember, we become more like Jesus in all ways.

Paul then goes on and gives a little strong admonition here. It is kind of contrary to other passages of scripture if you think about it. Some say we should become like Children, yet, Paul here is telling us to quit acting like children. He tells us this, I believe with the understanding that we have to be careful about what we listen to, and who we listen to.

One of the things I think the church has not done a good job of is looking at Scripture in its entirety and then evaluating the teachings of scripture with each other, thus finding a practical and consistent application. In the preamble to this posting I mentioned a way I think we do that. Christians treat non Christians like they should be Christians, often times misapplying scripture as a justification of doing that. They could simply look at the Bible in its entirety and evaluate what has to be a logical conclusion. I believe that looking at the life and teachings of Christ and the apostles provide quality examples to learn from. Yet, what do we often do? We listen to television or radio preachers tell us what to think. They tell us what to think because they don’t think the Holy Spirit can do his job. They Holy Spirit has to have others tell us the meaning of scripture. I would say be careful here, be careful about that radio preacher, that television preacher, even that internet preacher Mike Furches. Measure what I and or any other pastor says with the message of the Bible. Of course we can’t know that message if we don’t read it an apply it to our lives. Then again, we can’t fully know it if we don’t follow the directives that Paul has already given in the first several verses of this passage.

There is a major reason people don’t follow these concepts though, the first word of verse 15 gives us a good indication as to what is needed here, LOVE! The bottom line is, we talk a good game about love, but we don’t really love. We say we do, we say things like, “I’ll pray for you,” then we don’t. We say things like, “If you need me for anything let me know,” then we don’t follow through. Truth is, many Christians have forgotten how to love. Jesus is the ultimate measure of what love means. Yet truth be told we don’t want to be like Jesus, because to be like Jesus means we take up our cross and we follow him daily. Did you hear that? We take up our cross, which means exactly for us what it meant for Jesus, great sacrifice and ultimately death, not per say a physical death, although in many parts of the world that is exactly what it means, but certainly a spiritual death to the point that we give up and turn from all of the things that would cause us to not be like Jesus. Just as Jesus was able to raise from the dead, he is able to bring people together that have minor points of theological difference. He can bring us together and hold us together to accomplish the things that God desires for this world. A world where we care for the poor and needy, provide hope to the hopeless, homes to the homeless, food to the hungry, rehabilitation to the prisoner and on and on. The things Jesus desires for this world are illustrated in the way he led his life and in the life’s of those he touched.

Questions:
1. Why is it important that Jesus went to Hell?
2. Why is it important that Jesus went to Heaven?
3. Do you think the gifts listed are the only gifts?
4. Why or Why not would there be other gifts that Christ might give?
5. What would some of those gifts be?
6. How can you become more like Jesus?
7. How do you determine who you listen to and learn from regarding religious things?
8. How do you determine if a teaching is true or false?
9. Why would some teachers trick us into accepting their teachings?
10. What does it mean for you to become like Jesus?

The Old Life and the New Life
(17) As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. (18) Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, (19) and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.
(20-21) But that isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. (22) You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. (23) Let the Spirit change your way of thinking (24) and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.

Paul takes a step out of the norm here, he recognizes that there are those who don’t accept God who are stupid and godless. He talks about how they are stubborn, ignorant and have missed out on all that comes from God. Paul also makes several other negative comments here towards the non follower of Christ. I will note here, I can’t deny what he is saying, but we need to remember, he isn’t trying to per say point out the wrongs of the non follower of Jesus, but reminding people who are followers of Christ as to what their lives used to be like. These individuals already know the truth. One of the concerns I have here, is that people would use this passage to address any non follower of Jesus in this way. From Paul’s actions around others, in the way he reached out to them I don’t think this is Paul’s intent. I think his intent is to make clear to the Christians, in essence he is saying “You used to live this way, now quit.”

Notice the second part of the passage starts out talking about how the church was taught about how to act, they were taught about Jesus. Paul really hits this topic hard. One has to look at these verses in their entirety to have an understanding of what Paul is trying to say. Yes, after the fact, we all did some stupid, godless, ignorant things. Yet we have been taught about Jesus and the time for change is now. There comes a point in time that we have to change our ways. Now I firmly believe that God is involved in that, God helps people know when that time is. In fact, most people don’t like who they are, they want to change, often times they don’t know how. I think one reason Paul may be addressing this is that he wants the people who follow Jesus to act different. They need to be examples to others as to the correct way to act and behave.

Now on this point, notice there is a difference between again, the way I believe Paul addresses Christians and non Christians, here he is speaking specifically to Christians, it isn’t the non Christians he is speaking to making these comments to. It is Christians. Some have again confused my own expectations of Christians in the things they do and don’t do. It is a difficult area, I know an area I have at times failed myself. It is difficult because we have to distinguish between cultural issues, and legitimate spiritual issues. We have difficulty and we all base our views on our own interpretation of the Bible. Likely the closest to taking a pure Biblical approach is people like the Amish, yet I don’t think that is the answer either. I think becoming holy, means doing things that brings us closer to God as opposed to pushing him further away from us. Within this area, there are certainly the clear sinful things, wrong things like stealing, murder and so forth. But there are other things that may be sinful for some and not others, things like drinking a beer, or going to a movie. That is where Romans 14 comes into play. It all comes down to in part, following through with that maturity thing, listening to the directives Paul is giving, using your gifts, serving others and so forth.

Last note here, in support of my position, notice who it is that makes the change. We don’t by the name calling, the confrontation and so forth make people change. It is the Holy Spirit that brings about change in people. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we will become more like God, which is more in tune with what God wants for each of us.

Questions:
1. Notice Paul starts off addressing this to those who are a follower of the Lord, who are followers of the Lord?
2. What types of stupid, ignorant, godless things have you done before?
3. Are there any of those things that you need to break away from and quit doing?
4. Who is the model we pattern our lives after?
5. Who is the one responsible for helping us change our ways?

Rules for the New Life
(25) We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. (26) Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry (27) and don't give the devil a chance.
(28) If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.

(29) Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.

(30) Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.

(31) Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. (32) Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Paul before closing this section, talks about the rules for the new life we now have once we have accepted Jesus as our Leader and Forgiver. We have to stop lying, lying is a way to make ourselves look better, it really isn’t about doing or making God look better. It seems as if Christians are in that sense of competition I spoke about earlier as much as anyone. We get to the point we have to prove our point, and when someone disagrees, we get angry. Notice Paul don’t say don’t get angry, he says don’t get so angry that we sin. There is room for what I call a controlled anger, especially if over theological issues, but don’t let that anger dwell within you, especially to the point that you are wishing ill on the person you are angry at.

Paul also starts to address specific areas, he addresses theft, which is really self explanatory. We could talk about theft from employers by spending too much time on the internet, or lying about the day off and other forms of theft, but the Holy Spirit will make those areas clear to you when you need clarity.

Then there is the section of dirty talk. I really believe here, that many have misinterpreted what this means. Language, especially cultural language is not what I think Paul is addressing, I have some indication of that from other writings in the Bible, but also here. Notice here, the follow up is talking about what you do for other, how you build others up. I think that dirty talk is in reference more about how we treat others and by honoring our word. I could do a whole series on this topic, but think about hit.

When we do wrong, when we ignore what God wants us to do, we make the Spirit sad. I have to admit, I have done this and I know that every single person reading this has done this. The question is, do we keep doing it? I honestly believe that as we get older, as we mature, as we use our gifts, as we serve, then, we get to the place where we sin less. I know that to be a fact in my own life. It is why I strongly encourage you to think about, read, reread, and apply the truths you get out of this teaching today.

Paul is closing this passage, really talking more about relationship than anything. How do we get along? How do we show love to each other? It all comes down to actions. Are we kind to others? What does that kindness mean? Do we show others compassion and mercy? What does that mean? Do we forgive others? What does that mean? I know that I am as guilty of not doing some of these things as the next guy or gal. That is not an excuse to keep on with that type of action or behavior though.

As we come to know and become more like Jesus after we ask him to come into our lives and be our forgiver an leader, we will realize that he has something special for us. Christ loves each of us enough to give us gifts. As we receive those gifts, it is expected that we use them to serve and help others. As we do that, we become more and more like Jesus, in our attitudes, and in our life walk. I guess the question here is, “Where are we in that process?”

Questions:
1. What does it mean when it says we are a part of the same body?
2. How should we treat each other?
3. What are ways you have made God’s Spirit sad?
4. How can you make God’s Spirit happy?

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are numerous postings, and you will have to go into the archives to see the 100 plus postings over the last months.

Now I also want to remind you that you can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page scroll down to the left hand side of the page where you sill see our store. Your purchases through our Amazon store provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something on the page to buy, you can click on the search engine for the store, (do not put anything in the search box at this time) and you will then be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew and/or at the very least shop our store. The items on the store page are highly recommended.

Contact and Giving Information

Oh Yea, here is that contact information again.

The Virtual Pew

P.O. Box 17731

Wichita, KS 67217

Or you can give on line via Pay Pal at: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

To become a part of The Virtual Pew, visit, http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ To learn more about me visit http://www.furches.org/ I am also active on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/mikefurches I have another blog at http://blog.myspace.com/mikefurches To visit the Hollywood Jesus group at MySpace with membership by numerous Hollywood Jesus reviewers visit: http://groups.myspace.com/hollywoodjesus For a more in depth weekly study and conversation you an visit: http://virtualpewsermon.blogspot.com/ where you can access deeper teaching and ultimately videos for viewing and teaching. You can also subscribe to the newsletter at http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ or see the newsletter on line at http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can also sign up for the free newsletter from The Virtual Pew by visiting the main page for The Virtual Pew, or you can see the newsletters online by visiting this web site: http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can contact me via email at mike@furches.org or mike@thevirtualpew.com For those interested in knowing more about my own story, contact me for a free e-copy of my book The Keystone Kid in pre-edit form.

Oh boy Do I Get Myself Into Trouble

The truth is, I never fancied myself as a very good writer, in fact, when it came to the grammatical aspect, I consider myself a pretty poor writer. I am just now learning the times I should use were instead of where, and to from too. Fact is, without a spell and grammar check on the word processor, I would be in all kinds of trouble. For some of the publications I submit to, I can't tell you how grateful I am for editors.

Now on the other hand, I do think I have a knack for telling stories, and coming up with different ideas. I have had numerous people talk about my originality and things like that. I hadn't thought much about it until recently I started getting more responses regarding some of the things I have written, some written with artistic liberty, others written while using metaphor or allegory. I guess I am developing though because a recent comment that at least someone actually took one of my postings as literal got me to think about the intent of at least this one posting and blog/article.

I received an email from a dear friend this morning that someone had contacted them regarding the fact that I had been arrested for sex crimes and stealing when in fact I had not. It had to do with a blog I had written which you can view by clicking here, or you can click here for the MySpace blog where you can see some of the responses to that particular blog. You will also see the new tag at the front of the story describing it is a figurative blog. I didn't want to originally do the tag because one of the things I have been told is I am decent at is getting people to feel and relate to what I write. Sometimes, the shock value, more of a physical inclination, is beneficial to get people to understand aspects of the words on the page. It is a tricky and sometimes dangerous place, as is indicated in this particular instance because it is difficult to find a place where people can distinguish truth from fiction. This is a difficulty song writers often experience as people think their songs are all true, when in reality, they are often not.

In this case it was a figurative story illustrating we all do wrong and need to be careful how we relate to others. It was done from a mock press release type of form that uses Chapters 1 - 3 from the book of Romans in the Bible. I thought it would be clear I was writing the story from a figurative sense, but apparently to at least some, they thought it was true. I'm not upset how people received it, but am kind of surprised some didn't know what the intent of the blog/article was. By the way, I should mention why I use the term's "blog" intertwined with "article." I actually write what I consider a regular article for the web site The Virtual Pew. I use all of those on the various forms of The Virtual Pew and then blog them onto my MySpace account. Thus it is an article used as a blog. Hope this all makes sense but I know the difference between the two, and in this instance the two definitions intertwine with each other. Now back to point.

The truth is, I try to write in as much of a non religious perspective in both content and style as possible. Some ask why? The reason, at least in my own mind is clear. I am not writing for a "religious" culture. I am writing for a culture that for whatever reason has been burned out on religion, rejected religion, or just don't understand religion. It is a concept that many within Christianity have spoken about for years, yet not applied in their day to day lives. For example, we talk about how Christianity is not a religion but a relationship, then we go back to being "religious." I do believe, it is possible with some effort, to divorce the concept of religion with a relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, in some ways, I find it is critically essential that we do so. Now this is a theological concept here and I won't spend more time than this on this point, but, that is a basic explanation of what I am attempting to do with The Virtual Pew. A reminder to those having questions here as to what is stated on the front page of The Virtual Pew which also includes our Mission Statement:

"Welcome to theVirtualPew.com. For one reason or another, many of us find ourselves without a home church or place of worship. Some feel disillusioned with overly "religious" experiences, while others simply may not have felt accepted. We're not alone, and together, we can follow Christ and find fulfilling fellowship on the Web."

"Our mission is to help make fully committed disciples of Christ out of all people, regardless of background or circumstance by building a community of faith on the Web."

As a part of that mission, as a part of our intent, is to do everything possible to make the non religious, the non believer welcome. I will not compromise my beliefs in the person of Jesus Christ. It saddens me when I read of the mockery towards Christians, the Church, and other Christian groups, but I have chosen as a direction of this ministry to be different. I want the gang member, drug addict, prostitute, alcoholic, and every other person who either rejects Christianity, has issues with their own wrongs, to know, at least at this one place, they can experience love, and see people who follow Jesus that believes in sharing the love of Jesus with them by really loving them. That is not to say we reject other ministries that focus more on punishment, hell, sin and the like, but just as the Bible illustrates different methods of reaching and teaching people, I know the road this ministry has chosen to take, one of love, where we hope to be more illustrative of Christ. Showing love to humanity, and speaking out against systems, including religious, that would do an injustice to those they come into contact with. I firmly believe, it is not my job to make others feel guilty of the wrongs they have done. That is between them and God.

Now the truth of it, the mission and route I have taken has caused controversy and difficulty at times. I am okay with that, but for those we seek to reach out to, realize there is a cost a cost where many within the religious community don't accept what we do, appreciate it, or support it. I am aware of that, it is one of the reasons I firmly believe The Virtual Pew is broke now, in other words have no money. It is why I have to find odd jobs here or there, to keep this thing afloat. The sad thing is, I know of the impact of what this ministry has had. It is dramatic, no doubt about it. Many thousands of people have responded in a very favorable way to the ministries offered by The Virtual Pew. Daily interactions with people seeking help, from emails, phone calls, face to face visits and on and on. People who have been clear about the impact of this ministry on their lives, clear about the fact they had turned from God, and now have hope that they can have a relationship with Christ. The Bible says we will know who is, and is not believers or followers of Jesus by their fruit, or by the evidence of them touching and helping others. I will gladly say about this ministry, anytime anyone wants to do any fruit inspections, let me know, I will be glad to show you. Despite this evidence though, despite the success, there are still few that support what we do financially. Even sadder, is the number of religioius groups who does not try to understand. I am honored that many have considered the work I have done in Cultural Evangelism to be on the forefront of what has been done around the world. I was among the first to use movies to find spiritual messages, and focus on cultural evangelism. Yet, this new approach, of using the internet and trying to not be religious, while catching some notice, just has not been widely accepted as of yet by many within the church. At this point I am reminded of the words in the Bible, my rewards are not of this earth, they are waiting for me in Heaven.

It is not with selfish intent I do the things I do, let me be clear. I do them out of a love for the person of Jesus Christ and the love he showed me. I know what my life was like before I was a Christian, I know what it is like now. I will not trade it, and I love others enough to show them of the love and rescue that Jesus provided me. I hope people know, in that regard, when I say I love the opportunity to help and share with others, it is not just words, but a reality. It is difficult sometimes, for example, those phone calls cost, I am at the point that a pay by the minute service is not worth it, we are easily using $100 a month on those phone calls now, just related to The Virtual Pew. There are other charges, it takes time to do the articles, spend face to face time, provide services to people needing help, on and on, but I do it, and thankfully have a family that sacrifices financially and from a time perspective, because we realize the need to share Jesus with people who otherwise wouldn't hear that message.

Now to the jest of what started all of this, for the religious folks out there, as was the intent of my last posting which caused some controversy, we have all done so much wrong, that God can't accept us without Jesus advocating for us. We need to remember that when we start being so judgmental of people we say we want to reach or find ways to condemn for some reason. I am reminded here of a story told by Chuck Girrard formerly with the band years ago Love Song. Churck told this story on a video series talking about the early days of Contemporary Christian Music. Chuck at the time was with the band Love Song and they had all come out of the hippie movement, the same movement that I personally come out of, at least the tail end of it. Chuck was telling the story about one time playing in a church and this little old lady comes up and tells him, "Young man, it is so good to see what God has done with the inside of you. I can't wait to see what he is going to do once he changes the outside of you."

Some will see the above comment as a compliment, I and others, see it is a complaint and slap in the face. Here is the point; many recognize that God always changes the inside, he changes the attitude, the heart, the person. The other thing we realize is that the outside is a cultural component that God may or may not change. Sometimes God might even prefer that the outside stay the same. Christians understand this concept so well when it comes to sending people to do foreign missions. Unfortunately we don't realize or practice the same concepts where we live among our own people. As a result, we see Christianity flourishing around the world, and in America, at a decline, we don't know how to reach our own people. On a global perspective, that approach, has begin to spread and thus a need for a ministry like The Virtual Pew that has the potential to bring people together.

In closing today:

To the follower of Jesus, realize the wrongs we have done, we cannot afford to see ourselves in any way as better than anyone else. The best thing we can do is love them in the same way that God loved us.

To the non follower of Jesus, realize this, Christ loves you just as you are, there are others among us who do as well. Don't worry about the outside, consider Jesus for the changes he can bring to the inside.

Now to do something I haven't closed with before, the words from Paul in the Bible where he was writing to a young preacher friend named Timothy, and then the words form an old hymn that used to be sung in churches. Its words are still good reminders to all of us.

1 Timothy 1: 15 – 17: (15) "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! (16) But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life. (17) I pray that honor and glory will always be given to the only God, who lives forever and is the invisible and eternal King! Amen.

Chief of Sinners

Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me;
Died that I might live on high,
Died that I might never die;
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.

O the height of Jesus' love!
Higher than the heav'n above,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lasting as eternity;
Love that found me-wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not!

Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own;
Safe with Him from earthly strife,
He sustains the hidden life.

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are numerous postings, and you will have to go into the archives to see the 100 plus postings over the last months.

Now I also want to remind you that you can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page scroll down to the left hand side of the page where you sill see our store. Your purchases through our Amazon store provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something on the page to buy, you can click on the search engine for the store, (do not put anything in the search box at this time) and you will then be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew and/or at the very least shop our store. The items on the store page are highly recommended.

Contact and Giving InformationOh Yea, here is that contact information again.


The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Or you van give on line via Pay Pal at: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

To become a part of The Virtual Pew, visit, http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ To learn more about me visit http://www.furches.org/ I am also active on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/mikefurches I have another blog at http://blog.myspace.com/mikefurches To visit the Hollywood Jesus group at MySpace with membership by numerous Hollywood Jesus reviewers visit: http://groups.myspace.com/hollywoodjesus For a more in depth weekly study and conversation you an visit: http://virtualpewsermon.blogspot.com/ where you can access deeper teaching and ultimately videos for viewing and teaching. You can also subscribe to the newsletter at http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ or see the newsletter on line at http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can also sign up for the free newsletter from The Virtual Pew by visiting the main page for The Virtual Pew, or you can see the newsletters online by visiting this web site: http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can contact me via email at mike@furches.org or mike@thevirtualpew.com For those interested in knowing more about my own story, contact me for a free e-copy of my book The Keystone Kid in pre-edit form.

Pastor Mike Furches Busted for Various Crimes

After an email from a dear friend, and the response that possibly some are reading this thinking that I actually was arrested, please note, this is a figurative story. I wasn't arrested, haven't been in any trouble, and the video is actually not me, but one I found on YouTube. I thought the figuritive nature of the story was clear enough, but the intent is to show that all people, including me, sin, we are all sinners. The primary intent in this is that we can all come to a realization that our responsibility is to love others because outside of Christ we are no better than they. Don't worry, now I will say, we as Christians need to take seriously Jesus own words. He took the aspect of adultry, and murder to the next level. Paul builds on that in the letter to the Romans here, he makes it clear that we are all in sin, whethere that sin be gossip, or anger which Jesus states is equivlient to murder. Read, think and if you want to see what a lot of other folks have said you can click here to read their comments and my response.

Press Release: From The Virtual Pew
Regarding: Online Pastor Mike Furches Busted
Date: 1/4/07

The Virtual Pew, an online ministry recently had its pastor Mike Furches Busted for various crimes. Please see attached photograph of the mug shot obtained shortly after the arrest of Pastor Furches.

The Virtual Pew is sad to announce that its pastor is not perfect, in fact it hopes to use the failings of Pastor Furches as a means to educate others as to every individuals short comings. Crimes associated with Pastor Furches vary but in the initial response regarding the arrest he replied: "I know I have no excuse, God even stated so himself in Romans 1:20-23 that none of us have an excuse for what we have done. (20) God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse. (21) They know about God, but they don't honor him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, and their stupid minds are in the dark. (22) They claim to be wise, but they are fools. (23) They don't worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles."

Furches responded that he knew there had been times he had not sincerely looked for the truth behind the existence of God. He stated that he felt no different than many others who had simply taken the word for others. He knew this was wrong from the passage because it was clear to him that God had revealed himself in various ways. Instead of looking for the truth behind the existence of God though, he had spent more time around the television, the internet, and other various forms of entertainment including reading suspense novels and watching movies. He realized that as a professing Christian, he was as guilty of this as those who denied Christianity from both an Atheistic and Agnostic perspective. "To claim to know the truth, and then not live the truth is something I realize many have issue with." Furches stated. "I know many see this as hypocritical, and I guess it is. I realize that I have and can become so obsessed with other things that I forget about an all powerful, all knowing, and loving God."

Pastor Furches was also found guilty of sexual sin in the recent events. "I realize the seriousness of Jesus words when he said that if I have looked at a female and lusted or wanted her that it was as if I had actually committed adultery." Furches stated after being involved in this sin. "It is so hard though, I mean from sexy accounts and photos at MySpace to all of the pop up ads. It does not end there though, I get so many emails that seem innocent, but then when I open them up it is a porn site. It is so easy to get caught into that trap."

The Virtual Pew is reminded of the passage of Romans speaks about this. Romans 1: 24-31 is the passage that states: (24) So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies. (25) They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.

(26) God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural. (27) Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds.

(28) Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things. (29) They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip, (30) say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil.

These people don't respect their parents. (31) They are stupid, unreliable, and don't have any love or pity for others. (32) They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them.


When confronted about the punishment at hand, Pastor Furches responded that he knew from what he had read in the Bible that Gods punishment would be fair. He cited Romans 2:1-16. (1) Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. (2) We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. (3) Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? (4) You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?

(5) But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. (6) God will reward each of us for what we have done. (7) He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. (8) But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. (9) All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. (10) But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. (11) God doesn't have any favorites!

(12) Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. (13) God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.

(14) Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. (15) This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, 16when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.

In looking at the seriousness of the crimes against Pastor Furches, including lying, stealing, pride, theft, hatred, anger, and more The Virtual Pew felt the need to make it clear of the need to illustrate grace for Pastor Furches, just as grace should be offered every individual who does wrong. Illustrating the need to do this The Virtual Pew references Romans 3:21-31. (21) Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses. (22) God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. (23) All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. (24) But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. (25-26) God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus. (27) What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. (28) We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. (29) Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! (30) There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. (31) Do we destroy the Law by our faith? Not at all! We make it even more powerful.

When asked about this willingness to forgive, work with, and love, Pastor Furches responded. "I realize that I am guilty of a lot of sin in my life. My life has been far from perfect, but I know I have Jesus in my life to be my substitute when I go before God. Jesus will speak up for me, and even though I have failed in the past, and will fail again in the future, I am blessed and honored to know that Jesus calls me his friend as I try to do the things he has instructed me to. I know I will make mistakes but the love of Christ is perfect, it is perfect in every way, and thankfully that is what God will see when he sees me face to face."


When asked about what types of lessons he had learned from his mistakes, Pastor Furches responded; "I know how important it is to be careful about loving others instead of judging them. I realize that God will ultimately judge, but I am as guilty of sin as are the people who does not know God. The only difference is that Christ is there to provide a sense of salvation for me. It is like I was drowning and he jumped in and became the life guard. I had to accept the help he was offering, and I did. As I accept that, thankfully he isn't always confronting me with my individual sin, but with his ultimate love. I guess my responsibility to others, and the lesson I have learned is that I need to respond to others with that same measure of love. Enough to go in after the, offer a hand of help and love, and then let God be the one who judges. I think if we could all realize that we are no better than non Christians we would be better off. Of course our hope is better, our future is better, but not because of what we have done, but what Jesus has done for us. I only hope I can share that love with others in the way it has been shared with me."

Pastor Furches, and The Virtual Pew has indicated that anyone who wants to know how to be forgiven for their crimes and fine hope for the future may contact them via pm's, by posting here, or contacting them through the contact information provided.

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are numerous postings, and you will have to go into the archives to see the 100 plus postings over the last months.

Now I also want to remind you that you can visit www.thevirtualpew.com and on the front page scroll down to the left hand side of the page where you sill see our store. Your purchases through our Amazon store provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something on the page to buy, you can click on the search engine for the store, (do not put anything in the search box at this time) and you will then be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew and/or at the very least shop our store. The items on the store page are highly recommended. Even if just giving a buck or two, it all ads up and is appreciated

Contact and Giving Information

Oh Yea, here is that contact information again.

The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Or you van give on line via Pay Pal at: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

To become a part of The Virtual Pew, visit, http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ To learn more about me visit http://www.furches.org/ I am also active on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/mikefurches I have another blog at http://blog.myspace.com/mikefurches To visit the Hollywood Jesus group at MySpace with membership by numerous Hollywood Jesus reviewers visit: http://groups.myspace.com/hollywoodjesus For a more in depth weekly study and conversation you an visit: http://virtualpewsermon.blogspot.com/ where you can access deeper teaching and ultimately videos for viewing and teaching. You can also subscribe to the newsletter at www.thevirtualpew.com or see the newsletter on line at http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can also sign up for the free newsletter from The Virtual Pew by visiting the main page for The Virtual Pew, or you can see the newsletters online by visiting this web site: http://thevirtualpewnews.blogspot.com/ You can contact me via email at mike@furches.org or mike@thevirtualpew.com For those interested in knowing more about my own story, contact me for a free e-copy of my book The Keystone Kid in pre-edit form.

Ephesians Chapter 3 - Not Just for Some

(1) Christ Jesus made me his prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles. (2) You have surely heard about God's kindness in choosing me to help you. (3) In fact, this letter tells you a little about how God has shown me his mysterious ways. (4) As you read the letter, you will also find out how well I really do understand the mystery about Christ. (5) No one knew about this mystery until God's Spirit told it to his holy apostles and prophets. (6) And the mystery is this: Because of Christ Jesus, the good news has given the Gentiles a share in the promises that God gave to the Jews. God has also let the Gentiles be part of the same body.

Notice in the first verse Paul talks about being a prisoner for Christ. The Greek word often used to refer to prisoners is Dulos. Additional translations may use the concept of Bond Slave or Servant. In hearing this it is important to understand the implication of what a Bond Slave or Prisoner of Christ was in reference to. During the times this passage was written, and before slavery still existed. One of the things about slavery though is that every so often those who were slaves would become free people. Bond Slaves were people who would give up their freedom, in order to continue serving their masters. One of the indications that people had become Bond Slaves is they would have their right ear placed on a door post, have a nail driven through it and put in a gold ear ring to designate that they had given up their freedom to serve their master. These were, if you will, among the first groups of men and women with pierced ears.

Paul understood all too well what this concept was he was speaking of. He was one who while a good Jew, was also a good Roman. He was used to living life from both ends of the spectrum. He also understood the concept of what it meant to give up your freedom. Notice here, Paul talks about being a prisoner, giving up his freedom, in order to help those who were different than he.

While Paul was a good Jew, anyone who was not a Jew was considered a Gentile. In today’s world we can obtain value from this in that we see that God cares about not only the religious people, but also those who aren’t religious. Paul starts off in sharing that love by pointing out some unique aspects.

Starting in verse 2, we see a side of God that unfortunately we don’t see so much in today’s world. We see a side of God that is kind and caring. That continues on throughout the first few verses in various ways.

Paul wants those reading this letter to know that God has gone out of his way to get to know the people who were not religious. He gives some explanation that it was God who made the mystery about Christ known to him. Truth is, many today are confused and lack some level of understanding about who Jesus is. For that reason God sends his Holy Spirit to help people understand.

Now the Holy Spirit is a tough aspect to explain. One of the best ways I can explain it is the old cartoons where you see an angel on the shoulder of a character and the devil on the other shoulder. They are usually telling the person what to do, one the good route, and the other the bad route. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit that is there to help lead us and help us. In today’s world we might call that an “inner voice”, or “listening to your gut,” things of this nature. I just happen to believe that that voice or the thing that gives you that gut feeling is God’s Spirit.

Verse 6 here should also be a reaffirmation of what Paul has already written. God wants to get to know you despite what your religious background is. The Gentiles then included all non religious people. It is the same today. People often ask me why I am so passionate about getting to know people who aren’t religious. I think the reason is I know the God I serve really does care about them. I know that many non religious people for example will read this. I can say, as your friend and hopefully someone who has shown you that I am different than a lot of “religious” folks, God loves you and wants to call you friend.

Questions:
(1) Who are the Gentiles in today’s world?
(2) How is God kind in these verses?
(3) Who is responsible for giving the Gentiles the good news that they can know God?
(4) What can the non religious and religious people have in common?


(7) God treated me with kindness. His power worked in me, and it became my job to spread the good news. (8) I am the least important of all God's people. But God was kind and chose me to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured. (9) God, who created everything, wanted me to help everyone understand the mysterious plan that had always been hidden in his mind. (10) Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.

Paul now sees his vocation as spreading the good news that Jesus loves them. I can relate to that as I have often felt the same call. I personally really appreciate what Paul says in verse 8, he realizes that in the scheme of things, he isn’t anything more than a mere man, He sees others as more important than himself. Unfortunately, I also, as do many Christians, often get to the place where we see ourselves as being so important that we forget about the fact that God loves all people, even the non religious, and wants them to hear about his love for them. He uses another word here that I like to help those who aren’t religious understand what it is that God has for them, he uses the word blessings.

Paul is clear, the blessings, the love the things that God has for the non religious person is because of Jesus Christ. Paul don’t see Jesus as some off the wall religious leader, he sees him as the son of God who can make all kinds of good things happen for those that chose to have a relationship with him.

Verse 9 is also a reflection on who God is, he is the creator of everything. Notice Paul, nor should we get so caught up on the how did God create everything as he does the simple fact that he did create. We often want to put God in a box and have him fit our own criteria, but Paul don’t lose focus of what his point is here. He is making it clear, God wants people to understand the spiritual questions that linger in each and every mind. The questions about God are essentially the same today as they were during the time Paul wrote this letter.

Verse 10 is a verse I could spend quite a bit of time looking at. The truth is that we all need to understand that the church Paul refers to may, or may not be the church that exists today. What the church is supposed to do is the same, but what the church has become may not be following the intent of what God wanted. There are other things to see when looking at this verse though.

Paul recognizes the spiritual world that exists. It seems as if many times now the church ignores the spiritual forces that exist in our world. The people there had an understanding of the spiritual world, and many in today’s world also have that understanding. As I write this on Halloween Day, I am reminded of the fact that many will be talking about ghosts and goblins through out the day. Many will be watching horror movies and the like. There is still a search for the spiritual in the minds of people. Paul is saying it exists, there is good, and there is evil. Many within the church, and in fact many Christians have forgotten about this aspect. A part of this is not only recognizing that evil spiritual power exists, but so does Godly spiritual power. It is the Godly end of that power that the church is to show the world.

Again, I know on this area, that at times I fail, I also know though that it is God who gives me strength, especially when some of those within the church don’t understand why it is I do what I do, why I say what I say and so forth. Other Christians who read this will have experienced the same types of things. Truth is though, that despite the problems I see in the church, and among many of those who call themselves Christian, I still love them, and appreciate them. I still continue to strive after the one who is perfect, Jesus Christ. In some ways, that is an exhibition of the power that God has. I can see the faults, see the problems and continue to walk with God.

Questions:
(1) What types of jobs do you think God has planned for people?
(2) What is the characteristics used to describe God in these verses?
(3) Does the church do the things God has called it to do.
(4) How, or how not does the church do God’s work?

(11) God did this according to his eternal plan. And he was able to do what he had planned because of all that Christ Jesus our Lord had done. (12) Christ now gives us courage and confidence, so that we can come to God by faith. (13) That's why you should not be discouraged when I suffer for you. After all, it will bring honor to you.

God had a plan, he had a plan to let others know that he loved them. Paul again, reemphasizes the point that it is because of Jesus and what he had done. In a world where we see so many religious leaders and teachings, we face the same struggles as did people during Paul’s time, what about this Jesus? Paul makes it clear, it was Jesus and Jesus alone who was the method of how God shared his love with others.

Notice in verse 12 that Paul refers to the courage and confidence of sharing about God. Remember that Paul would eventually lose his life, he went through a great deal of difficulty because of his desire to share about Jesus. Paul was one who had killed Christians so he knew the consequences of his actions. Knowing those consequences though did not deter him from sharing about Jesus to those who were not religious. Paul understood though where his courage came from, it was from Jesus.

Paul understands and is teaching that faith in God is essential. It is one of those things that people have to eventually act on. While some don’t see the actual presence of God, in their hearts they have questions, they wonder. Paul is telling us that we can exercise that act of faith, taking a step that we don’t know where it will take us. When we do this we will have a better understanding of God and what he can and will do in our lives. We as well will have courage and confidence, despite what others may say about us.

Paul recognizes that there is some suffering to come about because of his faith, and the practice of his faith. We should also realize that. In fact, I would say that if we aren’t at times ruffling feathers, among the religious and non religious, we have to question if we are serving the same God in the same ways that Paul did. While we may offend people on both ends of the spectrum, we will also be reaching people on both ends of the spectrum.

I must admit, one of the things I love to hear is individuals who aren’t religious say to me, “Mike if most Christians were like you I would consider your Jesus.” I must admit though, that the one thing I would love to hear even more is individuals who would say, “Mike I am going to take it on faith that the God you serve is real. I realize many Christians aren’t like you, but would you tell me more about the Jesus you serve, I would like to know him.” The truth is, at that point, I know that I have honestly made a difference. It makes all of the controversy, the conflict, the confusion worth it. You see, I know in my heart that God wants me to care about the people I care about. I know that many of them see me as being different than many other Christians. I say these things because I also believe that God has a plan for all Christians in this way. He has a desire that we develop relationships with people in such a way, that while we may have suffering, confusion, debate, and misunderstanding among others as a part of our lives, there will be those who see that we love them enough to be different and endure those hardships because we love them. For all of the criticism that Paul often receives from those who practice no faith, understand, he did what he did because he had a ultimate love for the people who didn’t know God. He was after all at one time one of those people, one in fact who made his living in part by killing those with faith. What a difference in his life after he met Jesus and discovered the real person of Jesus as opposed to what the religious leaders had been telling him.

Questions:
(1) How long had God been planning to help the non religious followers?
(2) How did Jesus do in order to make the plan possible?
(3) How do we come to God?
(4) How did Paul see his suffering?

(14) I kneel in prayer to the Father. (15) All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from him. (16) God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers (17) and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love. (18) I pray that you and all of God's people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. (19) I want you to know all about Christ's love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is. (20-21) I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.


I have mentioned before that Paul talks about several times the importance of prayer, (talking with God.) Notice that the closing verses of this chapter is in essence a prayer to God.

I love the fact that Paul takes a place of service in his worship of God. He gets on his knees. He recognizes that God is the giver of life, all life. Paul also recognizes and gives God praise, he sees the good things that God has done. Paul is compassionate about the work that God has done, he wants the non followers of God to come to know God, he wants them to follow God. Paul talks about the importance of faith, and encourages individuals to stand strong in their faith. Another attribute that Paul brings to light here is the love of God and the love of Christ for each individual.

There is an old children’s song called Deep and Wide. We used to sing it in our small group for children, but Paul is letting others know, just as the song did, that God’s love is as deep and as wide as one can imagine.

In closing, for those that follow Christ, call him your leader and your forgiver, how much do we desire to let others know about God’s love? In what ways do we go out of our way to build bridges of love? Notice Paul is finding ways to share the good news of Jesus, there isn’t a lot of condemnation of hell fire and brimstone preaching here in the way we relate to others. I’m not saying there is never a place for that, but look at what Paul is emphasizing. He is emphasizing love, he is emphasizing the benefits of each individual knowing God. Paul is giving hope, he is giving encouragement, those are wonderful models which we can use in sharing Christ’s love with others.

Paul also is letting those who don’t follow the teachings of Jesus know that there is love available. Paul is letting each person know that God can do more for them if they give him the chance than they could ever imagine. That word of encouragement is not only for followers of Jesus, but for those who don’t know Jesus.

Questions:
(1) How do we show God that we respect him?
(2) Who gives life?
(3) What are some characteristics Paul sees when looking at God in these verses?
(4) How does God change the lives of those who follow him?
(5) What is Paul’s wish here?
(6) How can individuals and churches implement and show God’s power?

Oh Yea, here is that contact information again.

The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Or you van give on line via Pay Pal at: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

To become a part of The Virtual Pew, visit, http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ To learn more about me visit http://www.furches.org/ I am also active on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/mikefurches I have another blog at http://blog.myspace.com/mikefurches To visit the Hollywood Jesus group at MySpace with membership by numerous Hollywood Jesus reviewers visit: http://groups.myspace.com/hollywoodjesus For a more in depth weekly study and conversation you an visit: http://virtualpewsermon.blogspot.com/ where you can access deeper teaching and ultimately videos for viewing and teaching. You can contact me via email at mike@furches.org or mike@thevirtualpew.com For those interested in knowing more about my own story, contact me for a free e-copy of my book The Keystone Kid in pre-edit form.

Ephesians Chapter 2 - Goodbye to the Traditional View of Church. Now This is Something Most People Could Get Into

From Death to Life
(1) In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. (2) You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. (3) Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

Several things from this first passage that I think is important to make note of. Often times in Christianity some use the language of what I call "Christianeze." Simply put, this is using language that is unique to Christians. Unfortunately in today's world Christians have a habit of doing this, even more unfortunately, because they often spend time only with other Christians, doing Christian things, they develop a culture uniquely different than those who don't follow Christ. As a part of that culture is a new language. If not careful, because Ephesians is giving us a blue print of an effective church, it would be easy to get in the trap of getting caught in that "Christianeze."

In verse one Paul is not talking about being physically dead, instead he is talking about being spiritually dead. This is the place where individuals could care less about spiritual things, about things like church, prayer, Jesus, God, and on and on. In reality, some, are so caught up in themselves and are wanting others to believe they are right on all things spiritual they end up standing up against the very things God wants them to do.

It would be easy to get off track here, it would also be easy to get to the point some people are easily offended. That is not my intent. I'll use an example pointing towards my own ignorance. Imagine that I think a car should get 50 miles to a gallon. I come up with an idea of how that car could get 50 miles to a gallon and begin to present my views as if they are entirely correct. There is only one problem, I am basing my views on what I think, not on what I know. I have never studied cars, never studied what makes a car work, never studied engine components and on and on. In some ways, my arguments become foolish because I continue to make those arguments when in reality I am ignorant as to mechanical things. In some ways, this example is not far fetched from those who would pretend to argue what they think to be right regarding spiritual issues just based on their feelings without any serious study of spiritual truths. In reality, when we argue against the truths as are outlined in Scripture it is as if we are fighting against God. This is part of what Paul is saying.

Paul goes on in verse 2. Because we don’t know spiritual truths, and want to argue against the things that are in the Bible, or God and Jesus, we need to realize that we have followed the ways of the devil, and the ways of the world. On this point Paul recognizes there is an evil spiritual being, the Devil, Satan, or Lucifer, all the same entity under different names, who has control over the world. Paul says the devil rules the world and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God.

The next verse, 3, is also critical, Paul is telling us that we as individuals have selfish desires and selfish minds. Anyone think that sounds familiar. We live in a world where we promote, "If I Can't Please Everyone, I've Got To Please Myself", "If Nobody Else Is Going To Pat You On The Back You Might Just Have To Pat Yourself", and I could go on and on.

Here is the dangerous aspect of this. God wants us to obey Him, not because He is an evil ogre, but because He knows what is best for us. If in fact God did create us, He does in fact know us and knows what will make us happy. Unfortunately, whether listening to Satan, those around us, or our own heart when we haven't checked out from a Biblical perspective as to what we should do, who we should be, and how we should act, we are in fact, making God angry. Ultimately, there will be hell to pay for those that continue to please themselves as opposed to pleasing God. The sad thing about it is, that once we find ourselves doing what we need to please God, then and I believe only then, will we find ourselves in a place where we can truly be happy.

Now I must say, I don't believe we will be happy all of the time, obviously I, and anyone else who calls ourselves Christians goes through tough times. But ultimately, in the end, we will find reward for doing the things God wants us to.

Questions:

1. For those that are Christians, how are we different now than we were before we were Christians?
2. What are some of the things we have done that we know hurt God?
3. What are some of the ways we know the devil has influenced our bad decisions?
4. What are some of the ways we have failed in our own decisions? (Note on this one, make sure we only give blame where blame is ultimately due, to ourselves.
5. The Bible talks about God's punishment, what types of punishment do you think Paul is talking about?

(4-5)But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God's wonderful kindness is what saves you. (6) God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. (7) God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. (8 ) You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. (9) It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. (10) God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

Paul in the earlier part of the chapter paints a pretty gloomy picture, talking about God's judgment, the devil, our following our hearts instead of God's way and on and on. Notice, he hasn't forgotten about bringing us back to a point of reality as to what it is that God is like.

Often I hear from those who aren't followers of Jesus about how God is a hateful God, how Christians are always talking about Hell and so forth. It seems as if all they see are the bad attributes of God. Often times followers of Jesus forget about the merciful, caring, and loving God that exists. Paul hasn't forgotten about that, he makes a point to paint a picture of God in totality. Yes, God has expectations, but God is also merciful and loves us despite our imperfections. That don't mean we keep going and doing what we want, but God has made a way for us to have a friendship, or better yet, a relationship with Him.

Notice right off the bat, Paul recognizes that God is merciful and all of humanity has made mistakes that drives them away from God. This is called sin. Despite the hurt we have given God, God is like a loving parent who has a child who has done wrong. He has made a way to show that child love, and in return find a way to where we can know Him, and He, us better. It was through His kindness and the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ this is possible.

Paul is telling us, Jesus was raised from the dead by God's power, the same power that raised Jesus will raise us, and we will be with Jesus in Heaven. While many speak about how hard, how damning and how mean God is, Paul is telling us, God did this out of kindness. Paul is telling the church to remember, it wasn't anything they did, it was what Christ did. This is a good starting point, realizing that on our own, we can do nothing that will bring us into right relationship with God, however, through what Jesus did, living a sinless life, dying on the cross, and then being raised from the dead, we can have relationship with God and ultimately experience Heaven. If we simply believe in Jesus and apply His teachings to our lives.

People who haven't seen evidence of Christ don't know how to respond, they don't know what to do. Paul tells us in verse 8, it is an act of faith in God that we begin to experience the gift God has for us. One of the best illustrations of faith I have ever seen is in the Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

In this movie we see Indiana Jones go through his adventures to get to the place where he will go and discover the Holy Grail. He is near the end of his journey, he has made it through some death defying feats in a cave, only to be at the edge of a large crevasse at the edge of a canyon. Between him and the entrance to another cavern appears to be nothing but a long drop that will certainly lead to his death if he takes a step. There is no way he can jump, build a bridge or anything of that sort. He can only act on faith that his instructions that tell him to keep walking knows what they are talking about. Despite this understanding of what he is supposed to do, he knows, and sees in his heart and mind, that to take another step means certain death. It is as he decides to act on faith, and step into nothingness, that he realizes there is a bridge between him and the other cavern that he had not seen. That is how it is when we take a step of faith with God. We may not understand it, may not believe it to exist, may not even expect anything but bad to happen, yet when we take a step of faith towards God, we realize that God has placed bridges in our path all along the way. All along the way in fact that will help us understand more of the nature of Christ, just as it did Indiana Jones.

We have to realize, we can't get the treasure on our own, and neither could Indiana Jones. We have to take the step of faith. In that step, we have to remember, the step, while a step of faith, is nothing to the unimaginable ways God has prepared to care for us. Paul knows that God may use a flash of light on the road to Damascus, or He may use an invisible bridge to finance, children, conflict, broken marriage, or whatever difficulty we face. God in many ways, whether spiritual or physical has already answered our needs, we just have to act on faith.

On this point of acting on faith; in my life I have discovered a truth that I believe is from God. We take steps of faith on rare occasions. In the Indiana Jones movie I used as an example, when Indiana Jones goes to leave the cave, he has no issue with walking back across the bridge, even though he can’t see it because he has already acted in faith and knows that bridge is there. That is how we are, when we act on faith, and then go back to that situation again, most of the time, and after a series of events, we are no longer taking a step of faith, we are taking a step of knowledge. We can and do, get to points in life where we don't take a step of faith, we take a step of knowledge. God knows how to grow and mature our faith to come to a place of knowledge. If we never take those steps, we will never experience the knowledge and rewards God has for us.
Questions:

1. What does it mean when the verse says it is Christ's kindness that saves us?
2. Saves us from what?
3. This verse says that God raised us from death, what type of life do we have now?
4. What is the future world God has promised?
5. What are some ways you need to exercise faith right now?
6. What types of good things is it that God expects us to do?

United by Christ

(11) Don't forget that you are Gentiles. In fact, you used to be called "uncircumcised" by those who take pride in being circumcised. (12) At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises that God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God, (13) and you were far from God. But Christ offered his life's blood as a sacrifice and brought you near God.

Often people talk about how Israel and Jews are God's chosen people, they forget though that Paul, and numerous others in the Bible talk about Gentiles as well. A Gentile was simply anyone who was not a Jew. In fact Gentiles came from various religions and non religions of the time. They may have involved those involved in pagan worship, or those who didn't even believe in God. Paul is making it clear though, Jesus life, God’s gift, is for all people. That message then, is still true today.

In a world where racism and religious prejudice exists, it would be good to remember that God's gift, and Jesus life were for all people, not just the Jews. It is also important to remember that during the time this was spoken were many people who were enemies of Israel. While we read about, and hear about how Israel was often engaged in wars, we can see instances where God reached out to people of various beliefs, and that is certainly the case here. Jesus life, and God's gift at this point in time in history, had something uniquely different about it. It was an effort to reach out to all peoples of planet earth.

Questions:

1. With the conflicts that exist in the world today, does the message of Christ, and the gift of God change any?
2. Who specifically do you think God is calling us to love?
3. Who is it now that God desires to have relationship with?


(14) Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body (15) to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. (16) On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body. (17) Christ came and preached peace to you Gentiles, who were far from God, and peace to us Jews, who were near God. (18 ) And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit. (19) You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. (20)You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. (21) Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. (22) And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God's own Spirit to live.

All of Scripture is important, that is a no brainer, but in looking at the development of the church, these verses are critical to have some understanding of. Notice in verse 14 and 15 what Christ has done. He has made the effort to unite people despite their differences. Through Christ message and teachings, we can see He has broken down walls of hatred, disagreement, and conflict. These areas existed not only in religion, but in politics, race and societal economic ways. Jesus was about bringing people, even people who were different together. Notice, He don't require any one group to change to become like the other, in fact, there is for some a troubling aspect of the verse that states, he gave his own body to "Destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands."

Verse 16 is a continuation of that with an emphasis of the fact that Christ did what He did through the experience of the Cross. It was in His willingness to show abundant and perfect love for us, by giving up his life for our sins. Again, peace, and love is prevalent in this verse. It is clear we are to love each other, and recognize we are to be one together.

This aspect obviously is speaking in large about the Universal Church, not necessarily the local community church (although it is talking about that to,) but specifically the larger Church. I would note that includes those a part of The Virtual Pew. It is one of the reasons I am fairly careful about making sure we see each other in a loving compassionate way. Not to say there is never room for disagreement, but we have to be careful to make sure that the disagreement that exists does not overpower the love and acceptance that Christ expects.

Another interesting point here, is we see mention of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit in these verses. This is important in recognizing all three exist, with different purposes, and as different entities. This is a passage that those who don't recognize God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit have issues with. While they are all three God, they are all three different with different purposes.

There is good news for those who don't come from religious backgrounds. You can have family, you can be a part of the family of God, not just what you see and hear about. The truth is, what we see and hear about is often times not a reflection of what the family of God is supposed to be like. It isn't because it isn't rooted in aspects of peace and love that we see illustrated here. The sad thing is, that even good churches fail at this aspect of loving people who come from different backgrounds. It has been stated that the most segregated place in America is the church on Sunday mornings. One of the reasons for this, although not the only reason, is many have failed to work at building bridges of love, bridges that overlook race, social economic factors, and even cultural differences. Believe me, to address these things isn't easy, I know. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be addressed though.

I can only speak on this as a predominantly white man, (I am after all partially Native American), but that is the bulk of my experiences. I grew up in a Black neighborhood, never seeing and/or understanding much of the prejudice that existed. In some ways, I understand the African American community better than the White community. Here is what I have seen happen though, I have seen Whites often times come in, start working with the African American or other racial community, and then impose their beliefs on that community. Often times this isn't done in a malicious way, instead, there is good intent, unfortunately though, they fail to understand the cultures they are reaching out to. The even sadder thing, is that often times these communities will try to adapt their ways, even if just temporary to the community, mostly whites, who are trying to reach out to them. I will assure you, God's kingdom, and God's Church, is one that accepts people where they are. True love of God's family will result in getting to know and accept each other, despite differences.

Paul uses a building analogy in verses 20-22. He knows this is a process that isn't going to occur overnight. We have to realize that as well., the things we need to work on and change, aren’t going to occur overnight. I'll never forget the email regarding The Virtual Pew I received after it had been in existence for 3 months. You would have thought I should be up there on stage with Billy Graham. Building things of value takes time. The other truth is, that Christ has to be, and remain the cornerstone of what it is that is being built, in this case, and in the case of The Virtual Pew, a church.

I want to touch on the last verse here as well. Notice in verse 22 how Paul brings this all back home to a personal place. We are all a part of that building. Whether a part of building the church at The Virtual Pew, here on MySpace, at Hollywood Jesus, or wherever, we are all a part of the building, and we all have our own specific purpose. It is through us, people, you and me, that God's Spirit will work and accomplish its purpose on this planet. Of course we have to allow our bodies to be used for that purpose.

Questions:

1. How is the peace that God has given to His Followers evident?
2. What is the difference between Christ and the Law of Moses?
3. What was it specifically that Christ destroyed in your opinion?
4. Is it possible to hate someone and be a follower of Christ?
5. What does it mean to build our beliefs around Jesus Christ?
6. What is the Church?


Don't forget, next time we start on Chapter 3. It follows this posting. Here is a video that helps reflect the importance of loving each other. It is an old song performed by my wife, Amazing Grace.




Oh Yea, here is that contact information again.
The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Or you can give on line via Pay Pal at: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

To become a part of The Virtual Pew, visit, http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ To learn more about me visit http://www.furches.org/ I am also active on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/mikefurches I have another blog at http://blog.myspace.com/mikefurches To visit the Hollywood Jesus group at MySpace with membership by numerous Hollywood Jesus reviewers visit: http://groups.myspace.com/hollywoodjesus For a more in depth weekly study and conversation you an visit: http://virtualpewsermon.blogspot.com/ where you can access deeper teaching and ultimately videos for viewing and teaching.You can contact me via email at mike@furches.org or mike@thevirtualpew.com For those interested in knowing more about my own story, contact me for a free e-copy of my book The Keystone Kid in pre-edit form.

Ephesians 3

Paul's Mission to the Gentiles 1Christ Jesus made me his prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles. (2) You have surely heard about God's kindness in choosing me to help you. (3) In fact, this letter tells you a little about how God has shown me his mysterious ways. (4) As you read the letter, you will also find out how well I really do understand the mystery about Christ. (5) No one knew about this mystery until God's Spirit told it to his holy apostles and prophets. (6) And the mystery is this: Because of Christ Jesus, the good news has given the Gentiles a share in the promises that God gave to the Jews. God has also let the Gentiles be part of the same body.

(7) God treated me with kindness. His power worked in me, and it became my job to spread the good news. (8) I am the least important of all God's people. But God was kind and chose me to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured. (9) God, who created everything, wanted me to help everyone understand the mysterious plan that had always been hidden in his mind. (10) Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.

(11) God did this according to his eternal plan. And he was able to do what he had planned because of all that Christ Jesus our Lord had done. (12) Christ now gives us courage and confidence, so that we can come to God by faith. (13) That's why you should not be discouraged when I suffer for you. After all, it will bring honor to you.

Christ's Love for Us (14) I kneel in prayer to the Father. (15) All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from him. (16) God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers (17) and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love. (18) I pray that you and all of God's people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. (19) I want you to know all about Christ's love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is. (20-21) I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.