Every Knee WILL Bow or Kneel

 

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend on my social media accounts lately where it seems to be easier for some to mock Christianity and the beliefs surrounding Christianity. Not just a disagreement, but a mocking, or a reviling of a belief system that for many over the years has been held sacred. Yes, there are some “Christians,” over the years who have mocked as well, but an old morality concept that two wrongs don’t make a right I think still holds true. Unfortunately, we now live in a world Jesus addressed where He said an eye for an eye would leave everyone blind among other things., thus having little or no positive effects.

This afternoon, (I was a little late due to not feeling so well) when doing my study, I came across a compelling passage and thought from various places in the Bible, but I will quote from Romans 14:11,

 

¹¹ It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.” 

 

Another passage from Philippians 2:10-1,

 

¹⁰ So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
¹¹ And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”

 

The bottom line, whether one likes it or not, every knee will bow and ultimately confess that Jesus is indeed, the Christ, Messiah, Savior, Lord, Son of God, in fact God! 

 

There is a question that arises from that though: the attitude of the one kneeling in the end?  You see, if the Bible is true, and I believe it is, and provable and reliable, what one thinks of Christ now, how they may mock Him, how they may perceive the reality of God, doesn’t matter. It is also very clear and Jesus Himself makes it clear, He is the only way to Heaven. Yet, many think it is their good works, (in reality as filthy rags, (used tampons) before God), or finding God in their own way, or that there are many ways to God that will get them into Heaven, but that clearly is not what the Bible says. Not liking what the Bible says does not make it wrong. In fact, it should cause one to ponder about their thoughts, "what if I’m wrong?"

 

It is important to also understand a misconception that many have, that is that we can earn our way into Heaven and into the good graces of God. That simply isn’t true. In fact, Christianity is a belief system that says we can’t do it on our own, it is what keeps it from being a religion and instead based on a relationship with and an acceptance of Jesus as God’s one and only begotten Son. It isn’t about what we can do, it is about what the Son of God, via the gift of God the Father in perfection, already did, Jesus Christ offering Himself up as a sacrifice, a substitute for our own wrong doings. It is through Him, an ultimate act of Love and sacrifice, that we accept, receive, and make the decision to follow Jesus as our Leader, Savior, Forgiver, and Lord.  Of course, that process is something I am more than willing through The Virtual Pew to talk more about with you, personally, one on one, even helping you find a local church and even providing some teaching and help in helping you understand the relationship with Christ Jesus that He wants to have with you.

 

God has also provided for us now, on this earth, The Holy Spirit as a guide to help us grow more in love with Jesus each day so much that we can’t help but tell more about Him to others tomorrow. That doesn’t mean we will always be happy and everything around us hunky dory and there is unfortunately a great deal of false teachings about Jesus out there. We can however, find a joy and a peace that passes all understanding even in tough times once we come to Christ.

 

Many misunderstand and see God as an Ogre, an evil entity. The truth is, God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. It is the choice, a free one, that He has given you the right to make in and for yourself. The question is, what decision will you make? 

 

So, realize, one can mock, put down God, be critical and so forth, but if God and the Bible are in fact true, every knee will ultimately bow before God. At that point, will it be too late? Will it be because you recognized through life on this earth that He was in fact God and you chose to follow Him, or, will it be because you realize you have one last grasp to claim him because you were wrong through life, and at that point, you realize it may in fact be too late?  I beg you to consider, making that decision now. For me, lately in life, I’ve seen too many friends and acquaintances dying to not at this point in my life, share what I believe to be truth, not because I am making a judgement on you as a person, but because I want to share the reality of a future that I believe awaits me, even with my problems and imperfections, an eternity with God the Father that will be beyond anything I could have ever imagined, where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more PTSD for me, no more heartache, no more tears, no more…. but instead, love, joy, and an eternity of life in incredibly wonderful ways I never imagined. I pray that God's Holy Spirit speaks to you through todays thoughts. 

The following is information on how you can support the work of Mike through The Virtual Pew and his Movie Reviews that provide spiritual insights. 

 

For going on some thirty years now I have done the work of The Virtual Pew, in part planting seeds but another huge part is getting to know people and being called by many Pastor Mike by my involvement in social media. From engaging in life, I have seen the impact of my work on people on the fringes all over the world. I have run homeless programs, housed homeless people worked with drug addicts, prostitutes and much more. All while giving back my salary, and for the last 8+ years not taking a salary. You can help tremendously by supporting the work, not just from the movie reviews but the work that goes along side that in the development of relationships of helping save lives and give purpose to the lives of others. I appreciate your consideration in this calling that I have seen and know God uses. 

If willing to help, it is greatly appreciated. I ask you, do not write checks or make contributions to me. All contributions should be made either to The Virtual Pew or Mosaic. The Virtual Pew is a Religious Organization and Mosaic is a 501-C3 nonprofit. 

If willing to help this ministry continue you can donate online at the following.

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If desiring more information about this ministry or the testimonials from others, please don’t hesitate to ask. I really am dependent on others to support this missional ministry to keep it going. I have nothing left to give as I’ve depleted, and I’m not complaining, my savings and retirement accounts, now, it really is dependent on you to allow yourself to be used by God to help us out.

I am more than willing to share at your church, business and so forth. I have shared across America as to the work God has done and done for me. I love those opportunities.

Blessings and thank you,

Mike Furches

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There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives on The Virtual Pew and Mike Furches Reviews. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

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Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

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The Death of a Friend, Who Happened to be Homeless

It was several months  ago that we started receiving phone calls here at Mosaic from an inmate in prison. It all really started with a phone call from the parole office regarding housing requirements here at Mosaic. There was an inmate they wanted us to consider for housing. It should be noted Mosaic is an Intentional Christian Community which offers housing for homeless persons, (among others, not just homeless) in the community who want to be a part of our mission and ministry. My wife and I live here with those in community. It wasn't long before we received the calls and letters from Chris Davis. One of the conditions we have, as stated to Chris is the person has to come to church for a couple of weeks, let us get to know them and we go from there in making an initial decision. This was made clear to Chris and he stated he would be here in when he got out of prison.

As the weeks went on, he never showed up and I had no way to contact him, then almost a month ago I met him downtown during a Saturday morning breakfast provided at one of the parks by another local ministry. We spoke quite a bit over the next weeks with him promising to come to Mosaic to give us a shot. I brought up the topic every time I saw him, "Man I would love to get you in but you have to come by!" "Yeah I know, I will try to make it." Chris would always promise. Yet, it didn't happen, all along the while, staying on the streets. 

Over the last weeks Chris was hanging out with another homeless guy, Geno, who Breakfast Bob Johnson has been working a lot with recently. Geno will hopefully obtain housing in the community through Officer Nate and the Housing Outreach Team (HOT) Program provided through the local police department in the very near future. For those that don't know, Breakfast Bob does a lot of the front line of ministry in the community, he along with the HOT Program are among my top 2 recommendations outside of Mosaic. They are on the front lines, we at Mosaic are at the finish line of helping people.  A lot of the work needs to be done. 

All that said, Chris was hanging around Geno like glue for the last couple of weeks while Geno has had various medical issues, it appeared that Chris was there helping take care of Geno.  I have spent a lot of time with them over the last couple of weeks, more than usual, normally 2 - 3 hours a day. Each time asking Chris to come by and check out Mosaic. We spoke about other things, the last time, Monday morning we spoke a lot about the television show The Son's of Anarchy, he loved the show but hadn't seen it this season. He asked me to give him updates on the show, which included numerous spoilers so I did, he stated he was glad he had someone to speak to about the show, I told him that if he moved in he could stay caught up on the show because I never missed an episode. Chris stated he just wasn't ready to move in for various reasons. He promised he would come by though.

There had been many times Chris and I spoke about Christ, about how Jesus had provided me my joy, my life, had taken me off the streets and my issues. I shared that for me that included total surrender, in all ways. Chris brought up his alcohol problems and I reminded him of the reality that surrendering to Jesus doesn't mean that we have to be perfect in what we do, it just means we try to become more like Jesus and God's Holy Spirit would give us strength, it would be one of the benefits of Mosaic, we could help each other as a house, even with things like alcohol problems. Chris responded that was what he needed, the support, he again promised, to check Mosaic out. 

We had that conversation again on Monday, we later had a phone conversation where I challenged him about some things that was going on that didn't sound exactly the way it should.  I am confident Chris had developed some manipulative behaviors. While some are critical of folks who do that, I am quick to remind them I learned those same behaviors on the streets, it is a necessity to survive. I don't see the behavior having to be a negative, as I had told Chris, you can learn to use that behavior to the benefit of helping others, I knew why he had developed that skill, why he was that way.  It didn't mean I agreed with everything he was doing but I wasn't sure why he was doing what he was. I told Chris that, made my point clear. I have learned that component of being honest, truthful and to the point with individuals, I told Chris I thought he would appreciate that, he told me he did.

Why do I tell you this story?  I spoke to Chris on Monday, Tuesday morning he was found dead in downtown Wichita, likely as a result of over consumption of alcohol and the elements. Yesterday was tough for me, it was tougher likely on those like Breakfast Bob Johnson and Anna Long whose boys had also been spending time with Chris. Today I not only grieve for Chris, but Anna and Bob who keep the work going on.

This morning I continue to grieve, I continue to question things. I know folks think I beg for help for  I believe in an eternal lake of fire, but I also believe in a loving God who has made provision for all to receive the salvation provided through his son Jesus. Yes, there is worth those I am honored to serve, while I sometimes have to look for it, it is there. That said, I still wonder about Chris and his children, what will they learn or think about their daddy?  They will grow up to some extent with the confusion I did as a child never knowing their father. I grieve for their pain and the pain of all of those who knew Chris. For many, they will read in the next day or so about another homeless person who died, for me it wasn't a homeless person, it was a friend, a father, a guy who needed help, it was Chris, and I am glad I knew him and shared with him for the brief moments in time I did. There are other Chris's out there on the streets, will you get to know them?  I hope and pray you do.  If so you will learn what I have in this ministry, you will be touched with love, just as much as you touch others with that same love Mosaic and other homeless programs, maybe I do, but understand this, I do it because I know that what we do is a life and death situation for some. There are those who will disagree but I believe in a Heaven and a Hell, I believe what Jesus said that no one goes to the Father in Heaven unless they go through him.

Please note the following is a standard posting for our ministry and work, today, I want to make it clear, the best thing you can donate is not money, (although that is appreciated as there are ongoing financial needs) but your time, your time in getting to know the people on the streets, the people Jesus commands us to love and get to know.  God bless you for your time and thanks for reading.  

The Virtual Pew and our other work is supported solely by the kindcontributions of others. You can click on the donate button below to give anyamount to this work that does so much more than just post articles on the net;I draw no ongoing salary from the church I pastor, Mosaic Wichita which is

predominantly a homeless church; I am grateful for any small amount you cancontribute to help with this ministry.  Believe me there is much moregoing on than most realize.  I will also provide information to verify the ministry and income that comes into this ministry and work.  Thanks and

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Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information

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Are There Dogs In Heaven?

Recently on a trip to Tennessee for my mothers’ funeral I had the honor of visiting a little mountain church. The pastor of that church was largely responsible for the decision my mother ultimately made regarding Jesus. I really enjoyed a number of things about the church although it was somewhat different than the church I pastor both here on line and the physical church in Wichita Kansas, Mosaic. Roy is what I call a yeller, in other words, he yells during his sermons. That isn’t a bad thing, it’s just different. I actually enjoy these kinds of preachers on occasion and Roy is a prime example of the reverse discrimination that many throw out towards others churches and preachers of this style. For those of us who are a little mellower we tend to think there are things wrong with churches that have a pastor that raises his voice. The truth is, Rock Springs Baptist Church in Butler Tennessee, is a wonderful example of what the church should be. Not per say in the style of the message, but in the example given by the lives of the pastor and the lives of the church people from the mountains of Tennessee. The more I sat in this church, listened to the message and observed the things I did, I realized how similar the ultimate message was to what I have preached and advocated for, for some time.

Today I speak about something I saw at this church on July 5, 2009. While an affirmation of something I already believed, it strongly reinforced my ideas of what the church, both the building we call church, and the people, who are the church, should be. I hope you enjoy the video and while there are some issues regarding the need for a whiteboard during the filming process, the message is hopefully clear, it is a lesson many of us, whether members of a church or not will likely appreciate. Enjoy!

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Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information

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