house – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: April 2

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. (13) And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.'” Matthew 21:12-17

When Jesus arrived at the seat of both religious and political power, He confronted religious authorities as being “a den of thieves.” When Jerusalem was robbed of an environment conducive for spiritual renewal, their leaders were indicted by Jesus as thieves. Religious leaders were using their followers as merchandise to be traded for profit, and their souls were both hungry and lost. An atmosphere of greed reproduces after its own kind. It spreads like a contagious disease thus hindering those who would otherwise listen. They would rather gravitate in the direction of their instructions. Jesus did not approach the civic leaders first. He confronted religious leaders for their perverse ways. The house erected with the intent of worship must first become a house of prayer. If the priorities are misaligned, the activities will be dishonorable. The confrontation followed the coronation among those who recognized Him as King. The Lord is determined to have what He desires. His communion with the Father was the source of His strength as the Son of Man. The Church will be as strong as she is consistent in prayer from which all other activities must find their origin.

06 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: December 6

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:”We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.” Isaiah 26:1

There will be a day where the people of God will have a new song on their hearts. Those who had been driven into exile while the land had been forcefully taken from their hands will return to the land of promise. God Himself will be a firewall around them. They will live in a fortified city and their song will be of victory while they experience a level of peace beyond any that they had ever known. This is the future state of the Church of the Living God. God will provide both deliverance and protection for His people. It will not be a place inhabited by a den of thieves or corrupted by money-changers, magicians, sorcerers, or any who have a bent in the direction of corruption. God will establish His rule and His peace will abide among the people. This is the battle that is raging today. God wants His Church back and is determined to gain reentry where His praises are to be offered up by His people. It will happen for sure. His House shall be called a House of Prayer, Praise, and Power because He will reign among His own thus establishing His peace among them.

03 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 3

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely.” Leviticus 26:13 (MSG)

God identifies with us and calls us His own. In order for us to experience the blessings of communion, there had to be a divine rescue. The attachments of old held us as slaves to another. It was our condition and geographical location. We were in our Egypt and joined to the culture of Egypt. What where once were was so much a part of us that our objective was to further conform to what we were able to see. But God’s love sought us out and reminded us that we were in a place that we did not belong. The dissatisfaction within our souls not to settle was His mercy and grace reaching down to the lowest parts in order to lift us up above the slavery of Egypt. Then He ripped the harness off our necks enabling us to move about freely. Now that we have been set free after having been given the will to be free, let us not return to the house of bondage. We are now free to worship and free to serve God with our whole heart, soul, and strength. We have been freed that we may move freely.

01 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

August 2016 Article: “The Shaking of Kingdoms”

Posted by wwalker Categories: Articles

Heb 12:27-29 The phrase, “one last shaking,” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. (28) Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. (29) He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!” (The Message Paraphrase)

God’s established authority, having been compromised, gives rise to resulting calamities that expresses violence within the heart of the rebellious. Sin is rebellion and is practiced by those who contradict God’s Word and is offended by His standard of absolute righteousness. Since it is impossible to measure up to His standard independent of surrendering to His Son, Jesus Christ, the futile search for alternatives merely lead to further frustration of the heart. The essentials stand clear and uncluttered regardless of contrary opinions among those who consider themselves too intelligent to trust the simplicity of God’s Word. Jesus spoke of the ignorance among His own people when He said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42b) The practice of sin blinds one from understanding or even having an interest in what works and produces a permanent resolve to the issues of our day. Therefore, more laws must be passed and further modified, increased military strength to regulate the inevitable, and a dependency upon the decisions of ungodly leaders leading to increased fears and ultimately hopelessness and despair. When His authority is violated, security and the people are threatened.

The closer we come to the return of Christ, the more the light of His glory exposes the intent of the hearts of mankind. The increase of warring factions is not coincidental. Injustice becomes the measure among those lacking an absolute standard. Unfortunately, most are not able to draw the line that connects decisions made on a personal and collective basis and the consequences that follow. God merely withdraws a small measure of His grace that allows people to have it their own way. Only God knows the end from the beginning. All of us have the right to choose what we will to do with our own bodies, what we wish to say, and where we wish to go, but we do not have the right to determine the consequences of our decisions. The prophetic Word is a warning to all; yet it is still be ignored today as it has throughout history!

There will come a time when there will be one last shaking. A shaking of our economy, a shaking of our educational, and economic systems, a shaking of our political system, a shaking among religious institutions; everything will be shaken. The shaking will take place as a means of exposing the futility of everything established where the Lord has been expelled. God is actively cleaning house! First, there must be the uprooting of the residue of rebellion that stands as a monument of man’s strength when he stands alone. Babel was incomplete and its structure was not secure—it represented confusion. However, God is erecting a Kingdom that cannot be shaken! It is time for each one of us to examine ourselves and ask the question, “What are you building? Whose side are you really on?” He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and the time is soon coming where are will eventually realize that the only thing that matters and will have a lasting effect are those things initiated and sustained by Him.

01 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

October 2015 Article: “A House Divided”

Posted by wwalker Categories: Articles

Matt 12:25 “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

What happens in a divided house? Whether it is a family household or a nation, the result is still the same. Challenges rising in these present times require unity of purpose perfectly centered in the truth. Yet most hold on to their opinions without giving consideration that there is wisdom above and beyond their limited sources of reference. In the time of crisis, their belief systems shrivel up with nothing left but endless arguments and debates without merit. The Church, the House of God, and the Household of Faith were intended to be the places where matters of morality were settled. A divided church not upholding the standard of Christ then becomes a divided house that becomes the primary cause for the moral decay in society. This indictment may sound harsh, but God’s eyes are fixed and focused upon His own people and how they represent His Son on the earth.

As part of the construction of the Babel, an observatory tower was built in order to preserve the reputation of the people as well as to establish their unity apart from God. “And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”(Genesis 11:4) It was their unified effort of defiance that produced the first city. As it is today, the will of the people versus the will of God struggles against the power of the people in conflict with the power of God. Little wonder that our cities today lie in ruin. Our Christian witness has been compromised, leaving the world with limited choices. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Ps 127:1

When the moral standard is raised by the Church cities, can be transformed. The power and standard of God provides safety and protection over geographic areas, and as we know, the battle is fought and won in the heavenly places over principalities and powers. The Church is the moral compass that measures the standard established within the world. So as the Church goes, so goes the world. If Christ is not the standard within the Church, then the world has no other recourse than to degenerate into a chaotic state. Satan dominates and fills the spaces left unoccupied by God’s people. He is the author of confusion and the master of deception. If the people who are called by His name do not see this, the devil’s work continues undetected. The masses are left to choose the side of a reduced standard, never realizing that both sides lead to death.

When the enemy comes in (with his limited choices), the Spirit of the Lord will raise His standard against him! Appointed and anointed preachers who are not a part of his game of chance will preach an unadulterated Gospel in order to raise the sights and hearts of the people above the fray. God confuses the minds of the rebellious and leads His people on a path of righteousness. He calls His ministry gifts in the Book of Revelations the angels or messengers of the Church. God will raise His voice above the many voices that are speaking today with a message that will compel the hearts of people to be drawn away from the current practices and trends of society. They will clearly hear and respond to His Word of reconciliation by bridging the divide that exists. They will then know that there is only one Way, one Truth, and one Life.