Praise the Lord, Bro Bryan
You don't have to answer my posts if you don't want to. lol
(You don't anyway.)
Now you bring up a very good point about facial hair. I once was "clean shaven", myself. Then I started learning more of what the scripture had to say about facial hair after I left the FUPC CHURCH to live in the country.
Organized religions of men seem to always carry their own favorite flavour of legalism. I surely wouldn't make a law about having facial hair or not having it. I would not willfully add to the word of GOD as so many pastors do today. There is no forbidding of facial hair in the scripture and pastors need to get this right. I find it interesting that CHRIST JESUS had a beard.
I have listened to the arguments presented by some of the Neo-Pharisees of the FUPC and they surely have not convinced me that facial hair is of the devil. HOWEVER... I am beginning to think that if the ladies are not to lay scissors to their hair perhaps men are not to lay scissors to their beards. Perhaps men must leave their beards grow naturally, or make it all shorn. As I said; I will make no such law concerning appearances because it just isn't in the HOLY BIBLE. My beloved HOPE wants me to keep my beard. Personally, I think it is an annoyance but I keep it for her anyway, because I love my wives and my wives both seem to prefer it that way. lol
The FUPC forbids wearing of rings - even wedding rings, or any other type of jewlery. Setting at naught has never been one of my strong points. I don't wear rings or jewlery because my LORD told me not to - not because the Pastor said so. When a true worshipper receives a word from the LORD he or she should take heed. I got rid of my jewlery and I don't miss it. There seems to be a good amount of scripture to support such an action and I do readily confess that the peace that came with ridding myself of jewlery was the same peace that came to me when I disposed of my television over 20 years ago. Whoever is able to receive it, let him receive it: I will make no new laws; but I will establish the law in grace. I listen when the Holy Spirit speaks and Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice". Praise the LORD.
Since the wearing of a wedding ring, which I later discovered was indeed a ROMAN tradition and not an APOSTOLIC custom, I often used to wonder by what sign did GOD's people express to others (unsaved) that His people were indeed married. It seemed to me I could just naturally tell when a man or a woman was married usually within the first five minutes of conversing with them. It just seemed to be there in the spirit and that was good enough for me. But not all people have the Holy Ghost. I often find myself reminding myself that not all people have discernment like that, and to be careful how I talk to people :::chuckles::: Please pray for me because I still have trouble with this. Sometimes I take too much for granted.
So I asked the LORD about it. For the longest while it seemed that I never received an answer. Then one day, I happened to notice some Hutterite people selling fruit and vegetables when I was in town. I chatted with one of the men there. Apparently men leave their beards grow and do not trim the corners of their beards because this tells the rest of the public that they are MARRIED. Now that makes a whole lot of sense to me. I guess I should have asked what the Hutterite women do to signify that they were married also, but it didn't cross my mind at the time. Perhaps I'll remember to ask the fella the next time I see him. AGAIN: I wouldn't make a law about it.
Neither will I advise my brethren to just do what they "feel in their heart is right". The heart is not very smart. In fact, the heart is deceitful above all things, says the scripture. "Who can know it?", says the scripture. Well, it should stand to reason that ONE certainly cannot be deceived. GOD will judge the heart. I believe that when a saint sets their heart before GOD on such a matter they do not leave that altar empty. I believe that the WORD will come to them and they may heed the council of the Holy Spirit in prayer concerning such matters of the heart. I wear a beard because I am indeed a married man and because my wives prefer my facial hair, which is very soft, I put up with this annoyance.
Many ignorant pastors fail to understand that the razor was a BABYLONIAN invention perfected by Egypt. Egyptians shaved...Everything off and they considered all body hair unclean and corrupt. Of course, they had a caste system that permitted the "lower orders" to have body hair. Egyptians also multiplied horses and wives. They made a business of everything and they prospered immensely in so doing; that is, until JESUS decided to take His people away from Egypt. This is also where the ROMANS got their belief that facial hair was barbaric, beastly, and uncivilized... from Egypt. So perhaps I am just one of the "lower caste" in the FUPC church and that is why I'm still allowed to have hair. lol
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT:
Shaving is a Babylonian custom that was perfected in Egypt. Any good historian knows this is the case. Nonetheless I still shave. I don't like hair growing all over my neck - no matter how "soft" it is. lol
Has anyone noticed how the churches of men are now shaving their heads bald? It seems to be increasing more and more and quite popular in trinity churches for over a decade now. Is Egypt in our churches again? Just curious.
JT
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