The Apostle John records;
Rev 1:10
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
(KJV)
God has never spoken to me quite that way. But I was in the Weiglestown SureFine (Pennsylvanians will recognize that as a grocery store) on the Lord's day when a song that I have not heard in years came rolling back. When that happens often God wants to get my attention and show something to me. Sometimes it is to show a concept that has been correctly followed in the church and sometimes it is to show me how we have followed our own ways.
"My Religion is not Old Fashioned, but it's real genuine.
Two and two make four together, As it did in my Lord's time,
Modern days don't make a difference, You can't alter truth or time,
My Religion is not Old Fashioned, but it is real genuine.” Writer: Stuart Hamblen
And I began to wonder about this. Even with the credentials of Stuart Hamblen; and they are impressive, when I hear a song, a teaching, a sermon, a book, I "check it out with the word." In case you don't know, that is the Word of God, the Bible. If I can't find a couple of scriptures that CLEARLY support the song in proper context, I stow it. If I find one that CLEARLY contradicts it, I dump it. That goes for songs, teachings, internet postings, sermons, books, prophecies, utterances of apostles. Nobody alive has the credentials to bypass this check. Not Billy Graham, not the pope, not anyone.
And I started to mull over in my mind Hamblen's words. Yes, my religion is not Old Fashioned. Sure it is close to 2000 years old. But it is as viable today as it was when after speaking in tongues Peter got up on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2 in case you didn't notice) and declared that our sons and daughters would prophecy. It kinda blows the "no women in ministry" teachings, doesn't it? I have seen that. It is as alive today as it was when the Apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa and said, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." (Acts 26:19)
It is as real as the day Peter saw the sheet lowered and was told to eat the food once forbidden him as unclean. (Acts 10:11) Yes, "my Religion is not Old Fashioned, but it is real genuine." And it is as real as the day that Paul and Peter divided the church, Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. (Yes, Paul is the father of the Gentile church, not Peter. Read the letters they wrote to the churches.) (Gal 2:7) My religion is both timeless and timely.
Sure many things have changed since that time. The earth was thought to be flat when Peter preached that sermon in Jerusalem. They thought the earth was the center of the universe. They thought light traveled instantly. But on that day two plus two was four. On that day Jesus was Lord. Today we know the earth is almost round. The earth is not the center of the universe and neither is the sun. Light travels a paltry 186,000 miles a second. (Job 38:19 has a verse that talks about light in its way so God knew about it all the time.) But two plus two is still four. Jesus is still Lord.
What has not changed? Truth. Man's concept of the shape of the earth, its location and the speed of light changed. Man's concepts have changed but then they are always subject to change. But two plus two is four and Jesus is Lord are truth. They are and will be true. You can't alter truth. I rarely quote the secular but Winston Churchill said it so well.
"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is." Winston Churchill
No matter what you try to do with it, truth will still be there staring you in the face. The statement by Churchill is certainly supported by scripture. But there are those who say. "Times are different today." People today cite the shaky economy, the perilous world situation, corruption in government, corruption in business, corruption in the church, disease, greed, strife, hatred, malice, just to mention a few.
But in my nearly 60 years there have been other times of shaky economy. There have been times of uncertainty. We had government corruption and immorality that went to the White House long before Nixon, Clinton or Johnson. We had the cold war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and a host of others. These things are not new.
