Systemic Lupus

Posted Aug 11, 2013 by John Penman in Devotional - Blog

The immune system normally protects the body against foreign materials, such as viruses and bacteria. Autoimmune diseases result from a failure of the body’s own defenses against disease. The immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign materials and its own cells. So the body starts attacking its own organs and tissues.

1 Cor 12:12  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

1 Cor 12:13  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Like many of you I was brought up in the SDA church. I am still currently serving as an elder in our close knit country church where my father served as head elder for forty six years until his death in 2010.

I understand how fervently we protect our denomination from false doctrines and how unfeeling we can be towards others when they seem to be a threat to our beloved church. 

Now that I understand the truth about the Father and His Son I find myself sitting on the other side of the fence. I have the potential to be viewed as a foreign body within the church {Systemic Lupus} and be attacked like many of you sadly have been. It saddens me deeply of the destruction taking place within our denomination. Wonderful, talented men and women who want to share their love for the Son of God cannot speak freely in their own church, but have to find other means such as the maranatha media website.

John 16:1  "I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

John 16:2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

John 16:3  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

 

Recently my wife and I had the privilege of visiting a country in Europe that used to be under the communist party. You could feel the suspicion of the older generation towards foreigners even though it was about twenty five years since communism died out.

This fear, of who is my friend or who is my foe, is in our own church. Being naïve, and excited about what I had found on maranatha media and revelation 1412 websites, I proceeded to make copies of DVD’s with beautiful labels ready to hand out. This was going to be my mission. Now I am sadly aware that there are very few who want to study things out to see if these things are so and feel they are doing a good thing by reporting you to the higher authorities in the church. (Systemic Lupus)

So sad, so very tragic.

But let us not stop loving and praying for we all were and still have the potential to be, opponents to Christ.

Act 9:4  And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

Act 9:5  And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

I pray our church soon, will cease being Saul and become Paul.