Losing Your Crunch Part 2

Losing Your Crunch Part 2

3/9/14

The second example I am going to use also demonstrates the laws of the environment and a few other naturally occurring ones that have always fascinated me.  Ever since I began my studies in Chemistry, Biology and more specifically Medical Technology my knowledge of physical properties has increased and over these decades of my studies  I have been amazed to learn of exactly how some of the physical properties of objects function.  One of these physical properties can be observed when two objects are placed side by side which is the subject of this second example.

Most of us enjoy the combination of cheese and crackers.  It is a combination that I was introduced to when I was very young and it is still a huge favorite of mine today.  When I was a young boy the only option that I had concerning this combination was a saltine and a slice of cheese.  Mom or dad would slice some strips of cheese for me and then I would quickly begin to build my cheese and cracker sandwich. For some reason they did not trust me with a knife, just as my wife does not trust me with a knife today; I still do not understand why. Anyway, the cheese and cracker sandwich was a snack that I loved to receive and would never complain when it was served to me.  The snack was quickly consumed and for the most part had no chance of long term survival as its manufactured state after it was presented to me.

After I grew up and became an adult someone in the western world had the brilliant idea of manufacturing a pre packaged cheese and cracker set.  Most of us have seen these items in the grocery stores where the cheese and crackers are kept in a separate bin and everything is sealed for preservation and freshness.  They can be expensive at times so I usually do not buy this product but every time I see one I think to myself of why I did not think about this product and produce something like this before that other person did.  The concept is a great one and with the contents provided there is a specific reason as to why they are kept separate.  It was not until I took Chemistry that I understood why this was necessary and as time progressed God showed me a very important concept about His Kingdom and our enemy’s kingdom and what happens when we try to mix the two.

Since I have converted to being a diabetic it is important for me to have a snack at times.  I do not need the sugar snacks but some type of protein is needed within my body to make sure that my sugar levels stay within their normal range.  There is nothing wrong with cheese as being a snack because it is a great source of protein and if cheese is in order then I must have some type of cracker along with it.  I still make my little cheese and cracker sandwiches and they serve their purpose quite nicely when and if I eat them.

For some reason we were in a hurry one morning and my wife was hurrying to make my snack so she put the cheese and crackers into the same pouch.  She did not think about what she had done and when I looked at the pouch to see what my snack was I did not think about the fact of the order either.  I usually go into work at 0645 in the morning and do not get off work until about 1500 or so which means that my morning snack would reach my stomach sometime around 1000.  So the contents of my snack have to be close to each other for about 3-4 hours until I have the opportunity to eat.  Most of the time what my wife fixes me this time frame should not matter and have no effect on the contents but with cheese and crackers there could be a problem if they are placed together for this long of a time.

The time came that I had enough time to sit for a spell and eat a portion of my snack.  I grabbed my bag and opened it to locate the pouch that contained my snack.  I had the mental taste of cheese and crackers in my mind all morning and as soon as my eyes hit the bad those memories sprang into action.  I found the pouch and picked it up and set it on my little desk.  I then opened the pouch and picked up one piece of cheese and two crackers.  This task was not hard to complete since the way the items were placed into my bag they had basically already formed a sandwich so all I did was continue the pattern out of the pouch.

The sandwich looked ok and the smell of the cheese and flavored crackers were still filling the immediate area.  I had no idea that there could be anything wrong with my little sandwich but that false reality was quickly erased as soon as I took my first bite of tat sandwich. There was hardly any crunchiness to the crackers and the flavor of the cheese had partially vanished.  The crackers had become soggy even though their physical appearance had not changed, or at least that is what I noticed on my first glance.

I took a closer look at my sandwich and noticed that the color of the cracker had slightly changed which meant that something had occurred to complete this change.  My scientific mind immediately kicked in and I was reminded that when one object that has a higher moisture content than the other object that it is attached to, some of the moisture of the higher content will cross over to the drier environment.  This physical law when put into motion will effectively change the consistency of both objects, and if tasted can be recognized in that area as well.  The sandwich had been compromised in such a way that it really did not appeal to my taste buds any longer.  While there was technically nothing wrong with the sandwich it had lost all of its appetizing thoughts to my stomach.  Needless to say I did not eat any more of the sandwich and really struggled with the fact that I had to throw away the soggy mess that was once going to be a beautiful masterpiece.

What a concept that can be illustrated here where our lives and spiritual lives are concerned and how if reflects upon the Church and her functional mission that Jesus ordained.  The cracker is a dry environment and is designed to be as such.  There are not too many popular soggy crackers out on the market and while this type of cracker is edible it would present a very harmful setting if any bacteria came into contact with it.  The cheese on the other hand can have a moister content because of how it is made.  We all know that some types of cheese are considered to be dry but even in this state the moisture content are still considerable higher by the structure and formation of the cheese.

It is a natural process when two objects are placed together that their contents will act accordingly.  The only way to avoid this mixing of contents is to keep the object totally separated until time of consumption.  As long as there is this separation then the physical laws of absorption and imbibition cannot take place but as soon as they are placed together these laws are subject to activation; nothing extraordinary or special just a fact of nature.  It is this concept of imbibition and absorption that comes into play on the spiritual aspects of our lives when we allow ourselves to be in close contact with the world.

The close contact that I am referring to here is one that allows the acceptance of world standards into our lives.  It is common knowledge that when something is first introduced into our lives it is an awkward feeling and presentation but if that source is allowed to continue to have an influence around us then that source will eventually become accepted as a natural part of our lives.  In human terms it is called a habit or a way of life that we “need” to accept as the truth.  We see this pattern occurring in today’s world with every turn of our head and it is not hard to understand why these events are transpiring.  What is more difficult to ascertain is that this same process is present within the Church and the influence of the world into the Church is on a breakneck pace.

The Church has failed to realize that it has voluntarily accepted the ways of the world into her gates and that while she is supposed to accomplish this feat she is also responsible to keep her separation status intact.  This explains why we cannot avoid living in this world but we sure do have the choice of not accepting the death wishes that the world has to offer.  The Church has completed this assimilation process with the world and it is now coming to light of exactly what has occurred. 

I was recently talking with one of my cousins online and she was asking me why the status of the Church has no bearing upon the world today and I mentioned briefly about this concept and how this integration concept with the world is not something new to the Church.  It was established shortly after Jesus’ death and has blossomed ever since.  The fruits of this worldly connection have been noticeable for centuries but due to modern methods of communication these fruits are easily portrayed.  We as Christians have failed to recognize this fact about ourselves and have voluntarily ignored the issues that have torn down our offensive capabilities.

It is this process of absorption and imbibition that has led to the weakening of the Church and the gain of momentum of the world.  It is a direct objective of our enemy to lessen our presence in the world and to render the presence and authority of the Church dead.  What we do not get is the fact that as long as our enemy can incorporate his kingdom into our lives we will not be able to do what God has commissioned us to do as human beings.  This act has affected the Church throughout our history, it is affecting the Church today and it will continue to affect the Church in the future.  It is a systematic failing due to the lack of understanding of what God designed us to complete and that design being redistributed as self as its replacement.  Self is the only law that the world has to offer and it can only be distributed into our lives, the Church, when it is in close contact with our hearts.

This is a kingdom concept that is being portrayed here through a terrible and deadly lie from our enemy.  The Church has become close enough to the world that she has heard the message of our enemy’s kingdom louder than what we have heard the message of our Creator’s Kingdom.  We have been so enthused about having our own ways fulfilled within the Church that we have accepted the ways of the world as a means to obtain our ambitions, even if we cry them out in the name of God.  What more of a “holy” blasphemic example can be portrayed to a dying world?  Think about what we are actually doing when we allow the world to become assimilated within the laws and confines of the Church.  It is a death sentence to the Church, which means it is a spiritual death sentence to YOU!!

There cannot be any compromise with the world when it comes to its acceptance of its ways into the Church.  A person can still invite and bring the complete sinner into the church building but if the Church allows that person’s sin into the Church and then allows it to stay without teaching them of their sin, then we are inviting the world to incorporate its laws into the Church.  Then when this condition occurs the question has to be asked of ourselves, who is the drier of the two objects?  And isn’t this the exact opposite of what Jesus said that we were to be?

Have you ever wondered why God would say that if a person or group of people, such as the Church, would be spit out of His mouth if they were lukewarm?  Can one compare this situation with stale chips and still not be blasphemous in their origins?  I believe it is possible and in fact I believe that it is an excellent comparison since the concepts of the reaction to the condition of the item is in question.  God is a complete God and He will use examples that our finite minds can use in order for us to understand.  A stale chip is terrible and the majority of us would do the exact same thing as I did when we encountered that chip.  Any company or manufacturing company knows that if their product is old, dry and feeble that their product will not sell and that it does not truly represent what that company promotes, so why would the Creator of all life produce and expect anything different from this standard? 

The bag of chips would be indicative of the Church and the chips are representative of the people within the Church.  The atmosphere inside the bag is uniquely created so that the vitality and freshness would be separate from what the outside conditions portray.  But it is the nature of the Church for its inhabitants to be shared with the world so their internal environment needs to be opened for the world to consume.  However, if the world is allowed into the Church and the true and sole purpose of the Church through the people of the Church are not used properly then the laws of the world, or in this example the laws of physical nature, will eventually take over.

We should also take notice that the concept of the cheese and cracker corresponds with the first example concerning the chips.  Both principles are active and are destroying the congruency of the Church and as long as the Church operates in this blinding fashion we will do nothing more but churn the waters of hate and deceit amongst our own building walls and give the world further reason to pick us up and throw us into the world’s garbage bin.  It is a guaranteed fact that if the Church does not return to her roots and once again teach the truth about God and accept His ways as the true law of the world, we are in for the shock of our lives and a shaking to our core that will be hard to imagine.

The command that Jesus said to His Church was to “go into the world and preach the gospel.”  The verb that He used here is an action verb which means that one must be on an active or alive status in order for it to be effective.  Sitting around within the confines of a building will not fuel this action verb and hence with given time become stale in its message and will be subject to worldly laws.  It is obvious that when Jesus came into the world He opened the bag of chips (the Church environment) because He understood that the world needed the nourishment and life that the Church could provide.  He also understood that the Church needed the authority to provide this nourishment so He commanded us “to go”. 

But look at us know and one will see a pretty church that has every need fulfilled yet we remain within the confines of our buildings knitting our own little booties and waiting upon the return of the Christ.  The Church is establishing fewer and fewer churches throughout the world and our population is dwindling by each day.  It is obvious that the world is still in the mood for the presence of the Church but its motives have drastically changed in that when the world reaches in for a “chip” it is to crush that chip and to make it lay waste inside the garbage can.  We cannot blame the world for this action for they are doing exactly what their leader has shown them to do. 

It is OUR fault that we are being thrown into the trash bin because we have deliberately ignored what Jesus has told us to complete.  We have told ourselves that our product is the best and that no matter how long we sit around and present ourselves to the world our taste and flavor will always remain.  Right now the world is throwing the entire concept of God and His ways into the trash bucket because the Church that He ordained to preach the gospel has sat on her duffs and not done what He commanded.  The Kingdom of God is being pushed back daily because of our lack of understanding and deliberate disobedience to what has been told to us.

It is this stale environment that our enemy is using against us and even today the majority of the Church does not see what it has done to herself.  It is true that God has opened our doors to the world and that is exactly what we are supposed to do but when we sit there and allow the world’s environment into the walls of the Church and then do nothing it is at this time that we lose our crunch by allowing the dry kingdom and its conditions to suck the flavor and life out of our mission. It does not matter if this occurs on the individual level, group level, or national level for once the process begins our mission is effectively cancelled and until we realize what has transpired, our troubles will continue.

Once the initial doors are opened then the true nature of the Church can be witnessed.  A dull and stale church does not have the vitality to sustain life and thus creates a setting of complacency and death.  This will be embraced by the world but will be rejected by those who actually have a desire to know God and want a change for their life.  It is this stale condition that can be compared to the verse in the Bible about God spewing or spitting the lukewarm person or group out of His mouth.  No one wants dull and boring yet they do not wish to have a spiritual show either.  Hurting people wish to be involved in a church setting that is alive from within and projects to the world a real difference from what is being presented to them outside of the Church walls.

People were created for uniqueness and the Church should be no different from this concept.  Each church setting should be unified and focused upon one goal, the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world.  God cannot accept a stale and dull setting for He represents total and true life for all mankind and this stale environment comes not from Him.  God did not create you in this manner nor did He create His Church to act in this dull manner either.  God cannot change His standards and ways so that means that the Church has varied away from its original plans, not God.

God expects His Church to be full of life and flavor when the world takes a bite out of what we have to offer in the confines of the church. This means that our lives must be constantly infiltrated with a supernatural source of energy and flavorings in order to make a difference in the mundane offerings that the world presents to everyone.  The Church must be at the forefront of all worldly issues and united against them in order to provide a different kind of lifestyle, one that speaks of hope, love and true happiness.  There is no way that the Church can portray this kind of action if we are in acceptance of the world’s standards and beliefs.  For if we do accept the world’s conditions as our own, then the Church becomes stagnate and stale and acceptable to the world, which is the definition of a dying Church.

What comes next when the person eating the chips realizes that the entire bag is stale, the bag gets thrown away.  And when this occurs in a church setting this means that the church is dead and has no life within its walls any longer.  God has no choice but to throw the entire Church away and start over once again, which means that He must wake us up again in His own manner and timing.  Isn’t it about time that we regain our solid and backboned stance towards the world before God has to step in and do our job for us?  For we all know that a flimsy and stale church is no match for the conditions of the world, even the conditions that we have accepted into the church will overwhelm us.  See, the Church was created to be different and separate from the world and not to accept the world within its walls, for the two cannot live together for they are eternally separate in spirit.

Restore your effectiveness to the world and return to God and allow Him to salt you once again to make a difference to the world.  The church building will sit on its own and rot away just as we do if we do not change our ways.  It is ok to be different from the world and God expects us to thrive in this difference.  So when you bite into a stale chip again think about how God looks upon your heart; then allow God to examine your heart in order to bring out all of the impurities that would cause you to become stale.  When this process has begun I guarantee that others around you will see the change and they too will have the realization of the new vitality that you have within.

The crunch that God restores into your life is not a preservative or a substance that will break down anytime soon, but it is an added ingredient, His own special ingredient that changes your form and shape so that you can stand out in the world again.  It is this personal recipe that makes you unique to others and is the reason that each one of us has the potential to push forward God’s Kingdom, which really irritates the enemy.  Be a light to the world and be a life to your church so that the Church may once again be restored to her original state of holiness, sanctity and purity towards the world.

DLB