Yesterday, I wrote about Common-ism and felt that I had covered the material as best that I could, or more correctly, as closely as I could to where I felt the Spirit was leading.  However, all last evening I kept feeling that I had left part out. That I had not finished what I was supposed to say. The writing was incomplete somehow.  So let’s continue and see what the ending is…

                First let’s look at the Common-ism as a community.  Inside this community of believers we are told that all were of One Mind and One Heart. Now does that mean they all thought the same thing about all the issues in life? Or that they never had an issue with another? No. Let’s look at what we are talking about here.  In Acts chapter 2, they added 3000 believers to their community.  Now this is a number that includes men, women and children. Then, in Acts 4, the number grows to 5000 men alone…not including the women and children (NLV).  Okay, so with all these people involved in the new Common-ism community can we honestly say there would not be differences of opinion when we talk about matters of material world? I can honestly say that there were differences and issues that arose. If not then why would the Apostles appoint 7 godly men to oversee the care of the Widows and Orphans? For more on that look at Acts chapter 6 starting from verse 1 and following.  No, there will always be issues that arise between humans due to our own wants and desires.

                So what exactly does Oneness mentioned in Acts 4 mean? This is addressing the oneness in belief and purpose. You see they were sitting at the feet of the Spirit filled Apostles of Christ. They were receiving the indwelling Spirit of our God. They all understood that no matter what their differences were carnally, they all shared the same faith, the same hope and most importantly the same love for each other. Yes, issues would arise between them, but they also submitted to their leaders and allowed them to solve the problem through love and understanding. This is displayed in Acts 6, when the Apostles appoint the 7 godly men to oversee the handling of the widows and orphans. Read verse 5. The Whole group was pleased. The Oneness that is discussed is an oneness that we submit ourselves to the word and the leaders of our community. That we love each other, no matter what, and this is borne out by our obedience and support of all the community.

                A final note about Oneness, these individuals did not take their fellows to the courts of the State. They allowed their community leadership to handle disputes and lived with the decisions. Why would that be? How can you remain in Oneness with division from within? If you are biting and clawing and fighting with each other, then the State community will see and what is different from the lives they are already living? Nothing. I would never join a community that was as bad as I was already experiencing in the world. What would be the point? That is also why the Apostles spoke so harshly about slander and gossiping. We are to build each other up in all things.

                Next let’s talk about possessions and ownership. Here is where the rubber meets the road. I have a personal challenge with this. You see in Acts 4 when they say that they held all things in common. They are saying that your house, whether worth $20,000 or $20 million dollars, does not belong to you…say what? Yup. Your home is not yours. It belongs to the Lord, your God and is only on loan to you. Your Lexus or Mercedes…not yours! It belongs to the Lord as well. Your wife and children…also a loan! Look at it this way; you were born into this world naked and alone. Your mother gave birth to you and loved you, but you did not own her nor did she own you. She was given you as a blessing from our Lord. You will leave this world in the same manner that you arrived in it; naked and alone. You will not be able to take your home, your favorite car or other items with you when you go to be with our Father. All you will have is the book of your life and it will be opened for our Father to read back to you. Will it be filled with your having hoarded all the blessings that He bestowed upon you to share with others or will it be a sweet aroma of blessings extended to others? This is the example that we see in Acts 4, where they sold their homes and land and then brought the money to the Apostles to be used for the good of all, and in that way ALL the Needs of the believers were met.

                Finally let’s look at how we are blessed by the Father.  A wise lady once broke it down to me this way; hold out your hand. Keep the fist closed and try to put a $1 bill into it. You cannot. In the same way, if you take what our Father gives to you and hold tightly to it you will never experience the other blessings that Father would love to give you. However, if you open that fist and hold your hand out flat…the dollar bill easily lays in it. So to with the blessings our Father gives. If you hold them in common as those did in Acts 4, then Father will be able to open wide the floodgates of His blessings upon you and all those you extend His blessings to. This is what Jesus was describing in Luke 6:38, “Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.” Father promises to meet all our needs and more if we will only be faithful servants and trust him to fulfill our needs. This is my major struggle. I continually find that I close my hand and hold tightly to the blessings that Father bestows upon me. It is a struggle each time I attempt to open my hand. Yet, that is what we are called to do, and one of the most important lessons we learn from Acts 4. It was one of the most important methods of spreading the Good News of Christ to the world. The care taken of all the believers through their Common-ism was so very desirable that 1000’s of individuals came to know our God in a short time. When was the last time that you saw 1000’s saved at one time? I can honestly say that I have never witnessed such an event. Yet, it happened not once but multiple times. We talk about how to expand the Church but do not live a ‘life of expansion’ because we will not open our hands to our Father. I am slowly learning this lesson and I hope that you will consider it as well. “Father, forgive my unbelief and greed. I know that you are a loving Father and will care for me in all my needs. Yet, I continually hoard your blessings. I ask that you send your Spirit to help me recognize any opportunity to bless others with your gifts and that I will trust you to always be there. I ask this in Jesus Name. Amen”

               

               

     Common-ism, what is it and should it be the new socialism? In Acts 4: 32-37, the writer talks about a better way of living life as a christian. This is a way of life that as a group or society, all members are of one mind and one heart. In other words, they all think and feel the same...right? And as a result of this oneness, all the members held their worldly goods as though they did not own them. They all shared their belongs as though they belonged to the whole. Everyone sharing everything they had. In this way, all the believers had their needs met and NO ONE was in need within the group. Wait a minute, not one person? According to the text, no one.
     First lets look at what Socialism is. Socialism as defined by the dictionary is  "an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy,^[1] and a political philosophy advocating such a system." Huh? What it means is that all the productive means within a society; all the manufacturing plants, the farming lands, the oil and minerals, the gulf waters, etc., etc. is owned by the society (government) as a whole and therefore all production is managed by the government to ensure that all people are treated the same. No one has an unfair advantage. As long as the oversight committee is made up of individuals interested in the true welfare of their people then this seems to be a viable working economic system. However, someone or a group of individuals will always be at the top of this system and therefore not all persons within this society will be equal. How can you say that all are equal and everything is held in common when at least one or a small group of the society will be presiding over the rest and determining who gets what? This system opens the door for a Dictatorial state and or an elite society such as was present in the fuedal system of the medieval ages. Our human nature will always bring out the individual who will attempt to usurp total authority and establish his right to rule all. Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Napoleon all attempted to use this system as a stepping stone to total power with some success.
     Then we have the other ism known as Communism...well what is it? Communism is defined as "a revolutionary socialist movement to create a classless, moneyless, and stateless social order structured upon common ownership of the means of production, as well as a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of this social order." Once again it is a state run economy where everything is held in common. Everything is held in common and controlled by the Governing State. Again, there is an elite group or individual.
     But isn't this the same as what the Bible was talking about in Acts4? Actually no it isn't and here is why. Let's break this down. First, the group was christians who were a part of the Roman society living in an occupied state. Rome was the government that controlled Jerusalem and most of the world at the time. The Christians were not a governing society and therefore could not control the economic system that they were living within. Jesus even acknowledged the Roman Government's control during his time here on earth saying, "Render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's", in reference to the tax that all were required to pay to the Roman Government. The Christians could not control the means of production and ensure that all people's living within their society as a whole received equal ownership of the wealth of the governing society they lived in. The Roman's and Jewish leaders were not a classless system. On the contrary there were definite references all throughout the New Testament illustrating the differences in castes within their social system.
     So how does this work? How is it supposed to work? Read it again, although the Christians lived within an Authoritarian State, they would come together and establish a unique system within their societies where they held all their belongs as belonging to the whole. Huh? In other words, each member worked in the local State run economical system as was necessary to survive. They of course had different levels of persons in these caste systems, some rich and some poor. Yet what made the Church different from the rest of society at that time was their use of these assets and belongings. First, let me state that at no time did the Apostles dictate what each individual would contribute nor did they demand an audit of each individuals assets as a whole. What they did was listen to the open, spoken needs of each individual within the Church and then let all the members know the needs of their people. Now these were NEEDS not WANTS. Once those needs were published, then each of the members of the Church would give as they could. The even went so far as to "sell their homes and lands. Bringing the money and laying it at the Apostles feet. Then it was distributed as each individual had needs." This is what we in class coined as Common-ism. This was in reference to the biblical wording of "holding all their belongings in common."
     What Common-ism looks like is the opening of our hands and saying, "Lord, everything I own is not mine. You entrusted it to me and now I am giving it back to you. Take what you need Father, and use it as you desire for it is not really mine." Once you say that, you have to be prepared to do what you are directed to do by the Spirit because He will come to you with tests of your faithfulness in this. He will show you the needs of others and expect you to do what is necessary to fill those needs with what you have been blessed with. Yet, sit for a moment and ponder this...what would it look like if you attended a Church where ALL the needs of EVERY member were met to the FULL? How much of an impact would our Christian Social System have on the Governing State if everyone looked at a Group of Citizens who regardless of their caste standing within that State, filled the needs of others and no one within that Church was treated as better than the lowest beggar who attended? Such was the Church of the Apostles and so should ours be. We say the Spirit is not alive within our Church and that miracles do not happen any longer. Are we listening to the Spirit when He guides us to fill the needs of our Brothers and Sisters?  I was challenged while reading and writing this in that I do not hold all the blessings that my Father has given me in Common for the use of all the members of the Church. I am guilty of closing my fist and holding back...it is a lack of trust and faith in my God to continue to meet my and my family's needs and wants. "Father forgive my greed and lack of trust in closing my fist, holding tight to the blessings you have poured out upon me. Send your Spirit to me that I may gain a better understanding of your desire for the use of those blessings you have loaned to me. I pray that your Spirit will help me overcome my greed and lack of faith in not meeting the needs of others as you have placed them in my path. In Jesus Name I beg this. Amen"

     While listening to Air1 on the radio driving home, the DJ was talking about a new realization for him about the culture and times of the bible versus our own times. We always seem to overlay our own culture and standards onto everything that we encounter, and this includes the Bible. When we do this we can get a skewd understanding of what is written down.
     The DJ was discussing the bible story of when Jesus was sitting and teaching his followers while at the house of Mary and Martha, Luke 10: 39-42. As a child and on into adulthood, I was taught this was a story about priorities and ensuring that we focus on what is important. Martha was obviously miffed that Mary was not helping and that she had to do all the work. This is in fact the truth  and a logical stopping point. Yet, was there more to this story than just a lesson on when to work and when to listen?
     Let's step back into the time of those who are involved and the culture that was prevelent during that era. You see all throughout the bible it speaks of men and their actions. The world as a whole was very male dominate and Paternal in nature. Even God's dealings was usually with a male. In that culture, men and women were seperated and never intermixed due to their beliefs and customs. The women cooked, cleaned and tended the young children. The men ate together in a seperate room; they talked and discussed business in a seperate room; and entertained guests seperately from the women. The woman would bring the food and drink but would not stay and dine with them. She would wait until the men were finished and would remain seperated. She would come get the dishes and clean up the place but not remain in the room. She was a servant in her home.
     So now lets go back to the text and look at this setting again...was more going on in Martha's mind than just Mary's not helping her with the duties of a woman? Martha was obviously concerned about the family reputation here. You see Mary had stepped across a boundary that could lead to family dishonor. She had intermixed with men at length and sat in the presence of men  when all the cultural norms would be saying she was acting as a 'loose woman'. Her sitting at the feet of our Lord, was litterally at the risk of not only her personnal reputation but that of  the family honor as well. Her 'place' at this time was in the kitchen or in another room seperated from the men. So when Martha went to Jesus to discuss her sister and 'complain' about the lack of help, she was also attempting to enlist his help in getting her sister out of there and back where she belonged so that their family would not become the 'local gossip' and looked down upon.
     With all this in mind, let's look again at Jesus' response to Martha..."Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled by many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her." Now on the surface that could be only addressing the fact that Mary was not helping, but what were the 'other things'? I submit that Jesus knew Martha was concerned about cultural dictates and her family's name. So why did He not adhear to the cultural values and send Mary back into the kitchen? Jesus was making a point to cross over the subservient male vs female tradition. He was acknowledging that not only was it proper for Mary to be with him but it was the best choice no matter the cost. That Jesus accepted her as an equal to the other disciples within that room. Jesus was saying that he loved all of us the same; male or female. He was crossing the segregation bounds that were prevelant during that time and challenging them. He wanted to challenge these old ways of thinking and tear down the walls of segregation that were built throughout thousands of years.
     Remember, in the beginning man and woman walked together throughout the garden. Both were talking with and being treated as children by God. God also stated that a man would leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife. And the two would become ONE. Not that the man would take a wife and she become the servant/slave within their house. God ordained that men were to treat their wives as Christ had treated His 'Church'. Yet I do not see where Jesus treated His disciples as lowly servants and slaves. Not once. No, it was Jesus who donned the towel and assumed the role of slave and washed their feet for them. Jesus showed us that we are to accept His daughters as equals and our treasured partners in this life.
     I usually forget this and have to be slapped in the face with it by the Spirit. I am always forgetting that servant/slave relationship that I am supposed to mimic as I walk alongside my bride. For this I beg my Father's forgiveness and my Penny's as well.
     "Father help me to keep this lesson at the forefront of my mind and help me to always demonstrate my love for your daughter so that our sons, whom you loaned to us, will understand what it means to be a Man of God. Amen."  

Retirement planning...

     So here is a question for all to ponder...what is retirement? What does the Bible say about retirement? I was recently challenged by this and had to stop and question my own views on this subject.
     Like most Americans, I was raised to work hard with the 'idea' that if I put into the Social Security System I would, in my later years, be able to retire. Yet, as I have grown older and am closing in on that magical time in my life that I should be able to draw a monthly stipend to allow me to laze around the house and drink iced tea or whatever is my dream of retirement, the government and all the economists are saying that there won't be anything  left for me to receive. The Social Security System is going broke. All the money that I have been putting into that system has been given away. Okay, now what? That wonderful bit of news started me thinking about what retirement is and what Father's plan for retirement really looks like.
     First let's talk about our American misguided ideas or dreams of retirement. We have been hit with all kinds of media and training that tells us that there is a magical time in our lives that we 'should be able to retire.' That being, a time in our lives where we can just sit back and enjoy a life of ease. We are entitled to it because we have spent all our youth chasing after the big dreams, all the high profile jobs and everything that our society sees as us having achieved success. We are told what success is, and how it looks and that you have to be willing to sacrifice everything to achieve it. We have learned this so well that our divorce rate and our broken homes are among the highest in the world. We value achieving those goals as our main driving force....I know because I bought into this as well for too many years. We have changed our American Values to 'it's all about me' and even our shows and media support this. No longer do athletes help each other up or slap one another on the back from opposing teams. Instead they stand over each other and taunt each other, that is our sportsmanship. Or if one is unhappy, let's just start a fight or throw a temper tantrum. Our youth thinks this is what sportsmanship is all about and we are condoning these attitudes by supporting our favorite troublemaker athletes. But that is for another writing...
     Our dream is supposed to be a Huge house with 2-3 Lexus' or Mercedes benz' cars in the driveway. A wife that is a super model or a husband that is a financial powerhouse. We are supposed to be able to travel the world and eat at all the fine restaurants while staying at 10 star hotels. Truthfully, some will actually achieve these goals and I congratulate you if you have done so. But was there casualties along the road to success?
     As we age we start looking at our lives and seeing the reality of what we have achieved. I also was slapped in the face with my lack of looking for higher involvement in my path. So the question I asked myself was 'how did you define success and are you happy with your success?' I will tell you that my own introspection was difficult for me as I looked at where I had been and what I had done.
    The Bible tells us Father's retirement plan is for us to store up in heaven our treasures so that when  we are finally retired from this life we will have a wonderful place to live and take our ease. He does not say that life will be easy nor that we will ever achieve the world's or society's definition of success. What Father does say is that where you hoard your treasure is where your heart will be, Luke 12:34. Therefore, if you scrimp and save and hoard your money and things in this life then you will be focused on earthly things. Whereas, if you follow Father's plan, you should find that you are supporting others with what He has given you. Am I saying that you will starve and not support your own families? NO. Father tells us that we are to take care of our own families (1 Tim 5:8), but He also expects us to support those who do not have a support network.
     You see America believes that as we age our usefulness is diminished and we at a point will become a 'dependant' upon our welfare system. All our ability to help society will have left with our youth. But God did not design us that way. In fact, I cannot find one place in the bible that God says,"upon reaching this age you will no longer be required to work." What I do see is that God tells us as we age that we are to teach and train the young men. We are to guide and mentor them with our knowledge and wisdom. The same is true for the ladies and young women.
     This reflection was initially troubling to me. I had been raised to believe that I was owed a retirement and that it was my right to be able to draw money from SSI upon reaching that age. Yet, now I can no longer look at this whole topic the same because God did not add retirement to our living plan. I believe that His real plan was for our young men to learn a trade in their youth and then as they aged to become more involved with His kingdom work. For example, most youth are interested in starting a family and working on achieving their dream of success. As they age they are more interested in their family but work has now put strong demands upon their time. Then as they get on in age and their children start to leave, they focus on that time where they can slow down but it is not upon them yet. Work still monopolizes their time. However, this was not God's plan. His plan was for us to mentor and teach others during this season of our lives. And as we get older we would be able to spend more and more time doing this because work would slow down for us as we no longer were able to drive ourselves like before. God knew we would not be able to maintain our fast pace forever; He created us. Therefore, I believe that it was His intention that we would devote our later years to furthering His work and training the youth of the next generation to follow Him.
     Finally, I would like to point out that during my search of the bible for a retirement plan, I did find one individual who was atempting to utilize a plan similar to our own planning of this age. He was the farmer who decided to store up crops in huge barns and after doing so thought it was time to sit back and take it easy. God said,"Fool! This night your soul is required of you and now who will benefit from all your wealth?" Luke 12:20. His plan was never for us to reach a point of retirement but to work until He called us home. That is our retirement plan and the best one we can every work for.

   In bible class, we are studying the book of Acts. The title suggests that it is the Acts of the Apostles and I understand how that could be derived. For the writer, everyone assumes it is Luke, writes about the actions of Apostles. However, if you give this book a more in depth look, I believe that it should be named differently.
     In my studies at Harding University, a religion based college, one of my Professors suggested that the Title would be more appropriately "Some of the Acts of some of the Apostles" due to the fact that only a few of the Apostles and their actions are mentioned within the contents of the writings. Not only were only a few actually written about, 4, but not even all of their actions chronicled. The writer himself, admits that only a few of their activities were written about so that the reader could gain a stronger faith, based upon these actions by those who followed Jesus.
     However, not all of the Apostles were written about. Were the others also performing miraculous signs and wonders as well? How about the disciples other than the 12? I say they were all involved in the expansion of the Body of Christ. Therefore, I pose the argument that even my Professor had it wrong and the title of the writings should have been, "Some of the Acts of the Holy Spirit in expanding the Body of Christ." Or if one wants "Acts of the Holy Spirit" for short. Here is why...
     As mentioned before, there were only a few of the actual 12 that were discussed in the signs and wonders of what was going on. Peter was shown preaching and taking a lead role not only on Pentecost but at other times in the book. John was also mentioned and seems to have been a traveling companion to Peter. Yet, others were also mentioned, and the actions of the Holy Spirit were more in line with what was happening in this book. For instance, when Peter and John were entering the temple and healed the cripple man in Acts 3. It was not a planned action but a Spirit guided action, the man had been taken there for years and when he saw Peter and John entering he took note of them. My belief is that he noticed them due to their not being the usual crowd that came through the gate and as a beggar saw a chance to request assistance from a new source that was not used to his pleas and therefore hardened to his advances. Yet he did not seem to believe that they would be overly generous, as he looked away. Peter had to command his attention, "LOOK at us" was his response to the beggar. That invites me to believe that Peter and John did not intentionally plan this whole thing, but that the Spirit was active in guiding this whole miraculous healing so that there could be no doubt about what had occurred.
     Then we see other individuals involved throughout this book such as Paul. Was he one of the original 12? Anyone familiar with the Gospels know that Paul was not. Not only that he was not listed among the 12 but that he also was not a disciple of Jesus at all. In fact, Saul as he was named by his parents, was a very devout and devoted Pharisee of Pharisees. He spent the better part of his time persecuting the new converts to Christ's Body (Acts 8). Yet most of the latter part of this book is devoted to the actions of the Holy Spirit through this same individual, and he becomes known as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
     Saul played a role in the execution of many Christians, including one of the disciples that the Spirit works strongly through. Stephen was not an Apostle and yet the Spirit worked strongly in him and he is discussed on several occasions in this book. The most thorough of which is his denunciation of the Israelites and his stoning; where Saul was standing there watching, giving approval and holding the coats of those killing him. Stephen is actually given a Spirit derived vision of Jesus and the Father, prior to his death quickly followed by his going to sleep. That can only be a Spirit induced miracle as he was being pelted by stones and I do not believe that anyone could sleep through the pain they would experience by stoning.
     On another occasion, Philip (bible does not say if he is the Apostle) was directed to travel on road between Jerusalem and Gaza, Acts 8. He is directed by the Spirit to an Ethiopian eunuch traveling on the road. It was not by accident that Philip was traveling on that road nor at a point where there would be water to baptise this man. Then at the end of the encounter another miraculous occurrence when Philip was carried away from there to Azotus.
      As you can see by now there are many accounts of action and not all by the Apostles who seem to be the focus of those naming this book. Yet, I believe that the original intent was not to focus the learning of the new christian upon the actions of the Apostles but to show them the actions of the Holy Spirit in order to instill within them the knowledge that the Holy Spirit did indeed come down and does indwell within Father's children. Holy Spirit not only indwells but is active in their lives and would guide them in their walk to be like Jesus the Messiah.
     Now the question for all today is, what will you do with the Holy Spirit? You can say that He is not still alive and active within us as many do today, and put God in a box that does not allow Him to be active and involved with us like He was with the Christians at the beginning. Or, is there an option for Holy Spirit to be truly alive and active in the world today? Could He still live and indwell within us and be active in our lives like He was for those in the beginning? And if He was still alive and active, how would we know? Perhaps it is not God who has changed but us? Perhaps Father still intends for His children to receive the indwelling Spirit for great things but we do not have the faith to support those works any longer. Perhaps we have allowed the great deceiver to convince us that there is no need for those signs and wonders as long as we have the Bible? Shouldn't the Word alone be enough? For what purpose would miraculous signs serve if you have the Bible? Maybe, just maybe the Spirit could help us reignite a world that truly cares about each other. And maybe the Israelites, who had the Torah should not have needed Prophets to help them remember and obey the Laws that were given to them, but they did and even signs and miracles were not enough. Why would we be any different today. I may have stepped over a bound with this but then I am not ashamed to say that I have been deceived for too many years in how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and I am just now realizing that He is capable of so much more for all of us. I pray that you will meditate upon this and come to your own realization on the Holy Spirit. I challenge you to show yourself where in the Bible that it states the Holy Spirit is no longer active in our lives. That we do not need Him because we have the Bible.
When you do find that please send it to me so that I can understand that as well...however, I cannot find it.
God bless you in your search for God's truth and plan in your life.