Month: June 2017

The Oneness of God: It Isn’t Just Semantics.

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

Years ago, when our oldest child was going into his second grade school year, we made the decision to homeschool. We had previously been very pleased with his school, but during his first grade year, we began to see quite a bit of New Age material coming home in his daily parent packets.

In the state we lived at the time, every homeschool had to have an umbrella school that they were accountable to. The only umbrella school that we knew of at the time was a trinitarian based church school.

When we approached the principle of the school about homeschooling under their umbrella, I made sure to explain to him what we believed doctrinally. He listened patiently, and then said with a shrug, “No problem. It’s just semantics.”

Honestly, I didn’t even know what the word “semantics” meant at the time. I could tell from the flippant manner in which he tossed out the word that he wasn’t appreciating the difference between our two drastically different doctrinal viewpoints.

I could have taken the approach that said, Well, if it’s not a big deal to him, then it’s not a big deal to me. After all, my son would never actually be in a classroom setting with him.

Yet, it was very important to me. I would never have wanted him or anyone to think that I agree with the trinitarian doctrine, when the Oneness of God is the foundation of knowing God. Because of this, I wrote out on a piece of paper, briefly describing my belief in the Oneness doctrine, and signing and dating it for him to put in my son’s school file.

Trinity doctrine contends that the one God exists in three separate co-equal and co-eternal persons. There is no logic in this teaching. No matter how it is softened or rationalized or explained, three co-equal and co-eternal persons means three, not one.

Oneness doctrine contends that God is a Spirit. The Holy Spirit. The Eternal Spirit of God manifest Himself to the world in the body of the man, Jesus Christ. This is the INCARNATION. That man was the son. The son is not eternal. He had a beginning. He was the only begotten of the Father. After Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended into Heaven, the same Holy Spirit of God that dwelled in Jesus, infills Believers today as the Holy Ghost. Three manifestations/roles/offices of God. Not three separate beings or persons.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Why is it so important to understand the Oneness of God? As long as we believe in Him, love Him, and do our best to serve Him, isn’t that enough?

The first reason, I have mentioned. God’s Oneness is the foundation that He expects all other knowledge of Him to be built on. It is the first of all commandments, according to Moses’ and Jesus’ teaching. It is not our place to try to make God who we imagine Him to be. It is His prerogative to define Himself to us, not vice verse.

Secondly, just as in building a natural structure, if the foundation isn’t sure, every level that is built on it will be more and more structurally unsound. So it is with doctrine.

Where the trinity is taught, rarely are Jesus’ name baptism and the in filling of the Holy Ghost taught as a necessity to salvation. Even further removed from the unstable foundation of trinity doctrine is the subject of holiness.

On the contrary, where the Oneness of God is taught, you will almost certainly find the clear and biblical teaching of the New Birth as in Acts 2:38 -Repentance, Baptism in Jesus’ name, the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and a lifestyle of Holiness.

I now know that Semantics is the interpretation of language meanings. The principal was saying it didn’t matter what I believed, verses what he believed about God. That it was fine to interpret the godhead in whatever manner each of us chose to do so.

No, my friend.

All paths do not lead to the same destination. It matters what you believe about God. Click To Tweet

The Oneness of God isn’t just semantics. It is Truth.

Warm Regards, -Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE HERE to my newsletter, and email me at pat@patvick.com

 

What Is The First Commandment Of All?

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

When Jesus was approached with this question, “What is the first commandment of all?” He didn’t hesitate to answer with complete clarity.

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-30)

Notice the red letters. This was Jesus, Himself, reiterating Moses’ teaching in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”

Moses spoke this to the children of Israel just before they were to go in and take possession of the Promised Land. This was to be the bedrock, foundational commandment that all the others were grounded on.

The people were instructed to teach the commandments to their children at all times, especially this first and greatest commandment of the Oneness of God. They were to write it as a reminder everywhere, as frontlets between their eyes, and upon the posts of their houses, and gates. Everywhere. All the time.

One way the Jewish people followed through with this commandment was the use of the Mezuzah. It is a small rectangular box, ranging from simple to very ornate, which they attached, literally, to the door frames of their homes. Inside the Mezuzah are the scriptures, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, as a perpetual witness of the Oneness of the God of Israel.

A CONTINGENT BLESSING

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy 6:3)

Now, here we are in America, the most blessed land in the world other than the nation of Israel. The only other nation in the history of the world to be founded solely on the principles and commandments of the one, true living God. How can it be that the majority of people who proclaim Christianity today in America believe and teach the false doctrine of the trinity?

The Hebrews were given the Promised Land because its original inhabitants worshipped multiple so-called gods, making idols and bowing down in reference to a variety of imagined deities. The pure and unadulterated Truth of the Oneness of God was to be the foundation of His people.

Although you would be hard-pressed to find a church-going person in America today that would say they believe in three Gods, to believe the doctrine of the trinity is to believe the same doctrine that got the Canaanites evicted from their land.

WHAT IS THE ONENESS OF GOD?

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

God is a Spirit. He doesn’t HAVE a Spirit; He IS a Spirit. The Holy Spirit. A Spirit is invisible. God manifest (revealed) himself into the world in the body of the man Jesus Christ. Suddenly, He was visible, tangible, perceivable. Jesus was not the second person in a trinity of beings. He was and is the IMAGE of the invisible God.

Moses testified of it. The Mezuzah testifies of it. Jesus testifies of it, and Oneness Apostolic Pentecostals all over the world testify of it…

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Warm Regards, -Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE HERE to my newsletter, and email me at pat@patvick.com.

 

 

Carpe Diem! (Why does God speak to me in Latin?)

~ Pat Vick ~ 18 Comments

I woke early this morning with the phrase “Carpe Diem” in my head. It was my very first thought, before I was even awake enough to think. I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was a few minutes after 5:00 a.m. Six a.m. is my normal time to get up, so I stayed in bed another thirty minutes and got up at 5:30.

I went about my morning routine of making coffee, and settling into my library chair to read the Bible, pray and write. It was still before my 6:00 a.m. rising time.

My curiosity was in full sprint, so I opened my iPad and googled the phrase “Carpe Diem.” I had assumed the word Diem referred to God in some way, as in Deity. Not so. Turns out, Carpe Diem is Latin for “Seize the Day.”

So, very early in the morning, God woke me up by speaking the phrase, “Seize the day!” In Latin, no less. I was pretty amazed by this, and told Him so.

I continued with my morning routine of Bible reading, feeling quite fulfilled that I had already heard from the Lord. I was reading in Jeremiah chapter seven, when this happened.

“And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;” (Jer. 7:13)

And this…

“Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:” (Jer. 7:25)

From these scriptures, we can conclude that it is God’s Standard Operating Procedure to rise up early every day to speak to His people. Not that God sleeps, but we do. So, as the earth rotates, causing the sun to rise in each time zone, God begins to communicate with His people. He calls us personally, but we don’t hear or answer Him.

GOD, WHY WONT YOU SPEAK TO ME?
How many times have we asked God to speak to us? How many times have we longed to hear a word of direction or encouragement? Jeremiah 7:13 assures us that He is doing His part to communicate with us early every day. He is always talking, but we must be listening.

GOD, WHY WON’T YOU DO SOMETHING?
How many times have we asked the Lord to move on our behalf? To work in our present troublesome situation? Jeremiah 7:25 assures us that just as He set about every day to send His prophets to speak into the Children of Israel’s lives, He is setting events in motion daily for us. His Spirit is always moving and working on our behalf, but we don’t recognize the people or events that He sends our way.

CARPE DIEM!
Why Latin? God knows I don’t speak or understand Latin. Fact is, God is all about getting our attention. He knew my curiosity wouldn’t rest until I had figured out what my morning wake up call meant. He is much more interested in the mechanics of our lives than we give Him credit for, and is even willing to use unorthodox means to engage us in conversation. Just ask Jonah, or Balaam, or Peter.

GOD, WHY SO EARLY???
• Blessings can be missed if we don’t seek the Lord early in the day.
• God’s will can be delayed if we do not seek Him early.
• Our spiritual senses are most sensitive first thing in the morning.
• The unexpected always happens as the day progresses.
• God has always chosen to speak to His people early.
• If God wants to speak to us, do we need any other reason?

May your prayer life and walk with God rise to a new level of spiritual maturity as you SEIZE THE DAY.

Warm Regards, -Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE HERE to my newsletter, and email me at pat@patvick.com.

 

Three Things a Christian Must Learn To Harness

~ Pat Vick ~ 12 Comments

We all want to live productive lives. Lives full of meaning. Beneficial to our families, our communities, and to the Kingdom of God. Most of humanity goes through life hoping for this to be true, but we don’t have to leave it to chance.

If we are going to be all that God has called us to be, we must break free from the lackadaisical mindset of simply drifting through life. Do we really want to live from day to day just hoping for the best outcome? Surely not.

God has called each one of us to be victorious and productive for the Kingdom. There are three areas, if we learn to harness and redirect the energy from, we can expect to live more fully in our high calling for God.

TIME

We’ve all said it before, “There just isn’t enough time!”

We don't know the length of our lives, but we all have the same amount of time as it passes. Click To Tweet Sixty seconds in every minute. Sixty minutes in every hour. Twenty-four hours in every day. Three hundred sixty-five days in every year. Ten years in every decade. Ten decades in every century.

The question is, how do we spend it? What activities do we allow to consume our allotted time?

The more time we spend on one thing, the less time we have for others. Click To TweetEveryone needs down time to relax and refresh, even the occasional vacation to regroup with family. However, countless hours are wasted on a myriad of activities that do not play a meaningful part in our life’s purpose.

Think about how many hours, on average, you spend each day on things like television & movies, social media, hobbies, sports, and talking or texting on the phone. Be honest with yourself. Now, multiply those hours by 7, and multiply that total by 365. How many of your hours last year were spent on insignificance?

That number should be sobering. It represents time that can never be retrieved. It can never be used for anything else. It has already been spent.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

The psalmist understood that we are only allotted so many twenty-four hour periods, and we should use them wisely. We must harness the energy from time spent on frivolous pastimes, and focus it toward activities that will grow us spiritually, and benefit the Kingdom of God.

God expects us to anticipate and make a plan for our days. Click To Tweet

One way to do this is to refrain from time-stealing activities. Another, is to make a written plan for the next day, week, month, year, and decade. This plan can and will be altered as you go along, but will give you a starting point to a life full of purpose.

APPETITE

More. That is the nature of flesh. Always more. Rarely, will flesh say, “That’s enough.” Whether it is food, entertainment, sensual pleasures, or possessions, the flesh wants more.

Our flesh must be disciplined. It must be brought into submission to us, as we are in submission to the Spirit. God has given us fasting to teach our flesh to be satisfied, as well as to destroy every stronghold that controls us.

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6)

Left to its own, flesh will bankrupt your soul. Click To Tweet

Every Christian should have a regular fasting day each week. If fasts are not scheduled, there will never be a convenient time. A good fasting goal to work toward is one day a week, three days a quarter, and seven days a year. Start small and consult with your physician on how to implement fasting while taking medications.

Along with fasting, another way to gain control of your appetite for more in every area of your life is to commit to live more simply. BECOMINGMINIMALIST.COM is a very helpful website to get you started.

THOUGHTS

Did you know that not every thought that comes through your mind is your own? The devil has perfected implanting his own thoughts into people’s minds. When a thought pops into your mind that is not in your nature to think, and doesn’t line up with the Word of God, it must be captured and restrained.

Countless people's lives have come to shipwreck over one thought that wasn't even their own. Click To TweetWe can’t just let our thoughts run wild and reek havoc. It is possible to take control of our thoughts before we think them.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”(Philippians 4:8)

When we realize a thought has breached our filtering system, we must capture it immediately, and bring it into submission.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Use this process as many times as necessary to take control of your thoughts:

• Identify the rogue thought.
• Acknowledge that it does not line up with the Word and Spirit of God.
• Repent of thinking it.
• Refocus your thoughts by reading and speaking scriptures.
• Redirect your thoughts to productive and spiritually mature topics.

CONCLUSION

It will take effort, focus and consistency to harness the wasted energy consumed by our time, appetites and thoughts. The reward, however, will be so beneficial to our lives, and spiritual growth, that we will only regret not taking control of these areas sooner. You will find that it only takes a few, simple, consistent decisions to set your life on a course filled with productivity and purpose.

Warm Regards, -Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE HERE for our mailing list, and email me PAT@PATVICK.COM.