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After Easter: Teaching Children to Seek Christ

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Introduction

Easter weekend has come and gone, and the familiar rhythm has played itself out once again. The eggs were scattered across the yard, the children ran with excitement, the baskets were filled, and the candy disappeared almost as quickly as it was found. Yet when the noise settles and the sugar rush fades, a deeper question rises to the surface, one that lingers long after the decorations have been boxed up and the plastic eggs have been stored away. What, exactly, have we taught our children to search for? What desires have we shaped in them? What appetites have we awakened? And what kind of treasure have we placed before their eyes?

The Biblical Metaphor of Searching

Jesus spoke often about searching, but His stories carried a weight far greater than seasonal traditions or childhood games. He described a man who stumbled upon something so valuable that it redefined his entire life. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” [Matthew 13:44] He also spoke of a merchant whose entire livelihood revolved around discerning value, a man who spent his days searching for pearls, until one day he found a pearl so surpassingly precious that it eclipsed everything else he had ever seen. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” [Matthew 13:45–46]

These stories were not about candy, prizes, or seasonal excitement. They were not about momentary joy or temporary rewards. They were about Christ Himself, the Treasure hidden in plain sight, the Pearl of Great Price whose worth cannot be measured and whose glory cannot be exhausted. Jesus was not calling His followers to a weekend of searching but to a lifetime of seeking. He was not inviting them to a brief moment of excitement but to a continual pursuit of the One who alone satisfies the soul.

The Problem with Cultural Traditions

Yet when we look at the patterns we place before our children, we must be honest about what we are actually teaching them. At Christmas, we tell them to look under the tree. At Easter, we tell them to search for eggs. Throughout the year, we reward behavior with trinkets, treats, and temporary pleasures. Without realizing it, we disciple them into a rhythm of searching for what is fleeting rather than what is eternal. We train them to chase what is hollow rather than what is holy. We hand them empty eggs while Christ offers a tomb that is gloriously filled with resurrection power.

Earthly vs. Heavenly Treasures

Scripture speaks plainly about the difference between earthly treasures and heavenly ones. Jesus warned His disciples with unmistakable clarity: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” [Matthew 6:19–21] Earthly treasures fade, break, melt, or disappear. Heavenly treasures endure forever. Earthly rewards satisfy for a moment. Heavenly rewards satisfy for eternity. Earthly searching ends in an empty basket. Heavenly searching ends in a transformed heart.

The Open Invitation to Seek Christ

The world hides plastic eggs in the grass, but the Father does not hide His Son in the same way. He reveals Him openly in the Scriptures, where the prophets, the psalms, and the apostles testify of Him. He reveals Him in creation, where the heavens declare the glory of God. He reveals Him in the quiet tug of the Spirit, who draws the heart toward repentance and faith. The prophet Isaiah issued a timeless invitation that still echoes across the centuries: “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” [Isaiah 55:6] The call to seek God is not seasonal. It is not tied to a holiday. It is not dependent on decorations, traditions, or cultural rhythms. It is a daily summons to pursue the One who pursued us first.

Living the Resurrection Daily

Every year, Easter fades. The decorations return to their boxes. The baskets are shoved into closets. Life resumes its ordinary pace. Yet the resurrection was never meant to be a weekend event. It was meant to be the launching point of a lifelong pursuit. The early church did not gather once a year to remember an empty tomb. They lived in the power of the resurrection every single day. Luke records that they “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” [Acts 2:42] Their lives were marked by continual devotion, continual seeking, continual hunger for the presence of God.

Reclaiming the Search

Somewhere along the way, we traded that daily pursuit for a calendar event and a candy hunt. We replaced the search for Christ with the search for trinkets. We substituted the Pearl of Great Price with plastic eggs. We exchanged the eternal for the temporary, the holy for the hollow, the substantial for the superficial.

Perhaps it is time to reclaim the search. Perhaps it is time to teach our children that the greatest treasure is not hidden in the yard but revealed in the Word. Perhaps it is time to show them that the most valuable pursuit is not for what melts in the sun but for the One who reigns at the right hand of the Father. Perhaps it is time to remind them that the greatest discovery is not found in a basket but in a Savior who stepped out of the grave.

Conclusion

The invitation still stands, as clear and compelling as ever: “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” [Isaiah 55:6] After the candy is gone and the decorations are boxed up, let us point our families to the only Treasure worth searching for, the only Pearl worth selling everything to obtain, the only Savior who conquered death and offers life everlasting. And may our children grow up knowing that the greatest search of their lives is not for what is hidden in the grass but for the Christ who is revealed in the Gospel, the risen Lord who calls them to Himself with love, truth, and eternal promise.

Let the People Tremble

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Earth Shook, but Heaven Has Been Shaking Longer

Pennsylvania felt a tremor, a brief and passing shiver beneath the soil, the kind of seismic murmur that registers more clearly on an instrument than in the human body. Most residents went about their day without noticing anything unusual, while a few paused long enough to wonder whether something had brushed the edge of their awareness. Yet even as the ground settled back into silence, a deeper and more consequential shaking continued—one not measured in magnitudes or plotted on geological maps, but discerned in the spiritual atmosphere of a people who have grown accustomed to stillness.

The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble. (Psalm 99:1)

The trembling Scripture speaks of is not the panic of those who fear collapse, but the awakening of those who suddenly realize that God is moving in ways they can no longer ignore. The earth may tremble for a moment, but heaven has been shaking the church for far longer, calling God’s people to recognize that the true disturbance is not beneath their feet but within their souls.

A Mild Earthquake Is a Warning, Not a Catastrophe

A minor quake does not topple buildings or send cities into chaos. Instead, it exposes the quiet truth that the ground we trust is not as immovable as we assume. It interrupts the rhythm of ordinary life just long enough to remind us that stability is never guaranteed by the earth itself. In the same way, the shaking within the Body of Christ is not meant to destroy but to awaken. God is not judging His people with devastation; He is correcting them with disruption. He is loosening the grip of comforts that have become idols and dismantling routines that have replaced relationship.

Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven… that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26–27)

This divine shaking is not punitive. It is purifying. God removes what is temporary so that what is eternal may stand unobscured. He shakes the structures we have built on sand so that we might rediscover the Rock beneath our feet. He shakes our complacency so that prayer might rise again. He shakes our illusions so that truth may shine without distortion. He shakes our idols so that worship may return to its rightful center.

The Church Has Felt the Tremors, but Has It Woken Up?

When the earth trembles, even slightly, people talk about it. They compare experiences, check news reports, and wonder aloud what it might mean. Yet when God shakes His people, the response is often muted. We explain it away as cultural turbulence or personal inconvenience. We assume things will settle down soon, as though settling down were the goal of the Christian life. But the early church understood the purpose of shaking far better than we do.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)

The shaking was not the event. It was the announcement. It signaled that God was present, active, and unwilling to let His people remain unchanged. The trembling of the room was merely the outward sign of the inward transformation that followed. The question for today’s church is not whether God is shaking us, but whether we are responding with the same urgency and surrender.

If a 2.1 Gets Our Attention, What Will It Take for God’s People to Wake Up?

This question lingers like a prophetic echo. If the ground can tremble and we notice, why do we ignore the trembling in our spirits? If the earth can shift and we discuss it, why do we remain silent when God shifts the atmosphere around us? The shaking of the land is a footnote; the shaking of the church is the headline. God is calling His people to tremble again—not in fear of destruction, but in reverence for His holiness, in repentance for their drift, and in devotion to His reign.

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion… and the heavens and the earth shall shake. (Joel 3:16)

The roar of God is not meant to terrify His children but to awaken them. The trembling of the people is the sign that the reign of the Lord is being taken seriously again. This is not a suggestion. It is a summons.

The Shaking Is Not the End. It Is the Invitation.

The tremors that brushed Pennsylvania will fade from memory. The news cycle will move on. The charts will reset. But the shaking in the Spirit will continue until the church stands firmly on the only foundation that cannot be moved. God is not shaking the earth to frighten us; He is shaking His people to awaken them. He is calling His church to recognize that the true quake is not geological but spiritual, and the true danger is not the trembling of the ground but the stillness of a sleeping people.

Let the people tremble. Let the church awaken. Let the shaking accomplish its holy purpose.

America’s Crisis Is Not Biblical Illiteracy — It Is the Absence of the Living God

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Introduction

As America reflects on its moral and cultural upheaval, many commentators have pointed to biblical illiteracy as the nation’s defining crisis. They warn that without the vocabulary of Scripture, society loses the categories necessary to sustain truth, virtue, and freedom. This concern is understandable, and the erosion of biblical language in public life is undeniable. Yet Scripture itself teaches that the collapse of a nation does not begin with the loss of religious vocabulary but with the loss of the Living God Himself. America’s crisis is not merely that it has forgotten the words of Scripture; it is that it has forgotten the Lord of Scripture.

The Root of National Collapse

Throughout the biblical narrative, nations do not fall because they lack access to truth. They fall because they reject the God who gives it. The prophet Hosea declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6), yet the knowledge they lacked was not academic. It was relational. God continues, “Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” The issue was not literacy but lordship. Israel possessed the Scriptures, the priesthood, the temple, and the covenant, yet repeatedly turned to idols. Their downfall came not from ignorance but from unfaithfulness.

America’s Present Moment

This distinction is crucial for understanding America’s present moment. The United States has more access to Scripture than any nation in history. Bibles fill our shelves, apps fill our phones, sermons fill our feeds, and theological resources are available at the tap of a screen. If biblical literacy alone could preserve a nation, America would be the most stable society on earth. Yet the opposite is true. The problem is not that we lack the text but that we have abandoned the God who speaks through it.

Jesus’ Confrontation with Biblical Literacy

Jesus confronted this very condition in His own generation. The Pharisees were the most biblically literate people of their time, yet He told them, “Ye search the Scriptures… and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life” (John 5:39–40). They possessed the vocabulary of truth but resisted the Person of Truth. Their crisis was not interpretive but spiritual. In all their study, they had not found Christ.

The Example of Saul of Tarsus

The life of Saul of Tarsus underscores this reality with striking force. Trained under Gamaliel, zealous for the law, and fluent in the theological categories of his day, Saul embodied the very literacy many believe America must recover. Yet his mastery of Scripture led him to persecute the Church, not embrace Christ. Only when he encountered the risen Lord did the Scriptures he knew so well come alive. Reflecting on his former achievements, he wrote, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ… and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8). His transformation came not through further education but through new birth.

The Crisis of the Church

This is the heart of America’s crisis. We have built churches that teach principles but do not produce disciples. We have created religious environments that inform the mind but do not transform the heart. We have defended biblical values while neglecting biblical obedience. We have celebrated Christian heritage while resisting Christian holiness. The result is a nation shaped by the language of faith but untouched by the life of God.

The Call to Discipleship

Jesus did not establish seminaries; He established disciples. He did not say, “Take My course,” but “Follow Me.” Discipleship is not an academic exercise but a supernatural work of the Spirit. It is the process by which men and women are born again, conformed to the image of Christ, and empowered to live as witnesses in a darkened world. When the Church abandons this calling, the nation loses its light. When the salt loses its savor, the culture decays. When the people of God trade the Living Word for religious substitutes, the nation loses the moral clarity only God can give.

The Loss of Biblical Life

The Scriptures warn repeatedly that when a people forget the Lord, they lose far more than vocabulary. They lose the very life that sustains righteousness. Moses told Israel, “It is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47). Jeremiah declared, “My people have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). The crisis of America is not the absence of biblical language but the absence of biblical life.

The Path to Moral Recovery

If America is to recover its moral footing, the Church must recover its spiritual power. We must return to the fear of the Lord, the necessity of repentance, the reality of the new birth, and the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. We must proclaim the gospel not as a cultural artifact but as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). We must teach the Scriptures not merely to inform minds but to form hearts. We must once again become a people who do not simply read the Word but are read by it.

The Biblical Foundation for Liberty

John Adams famously warned, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” His concern was not institutional religion but the inner moral restraint necessary for liberty to survive. Yet Scripture goes further still. It does not teach that religion upholds a nation, for religion has toppled empires and fueled oppression. Rather, the Bible declares, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Holiness, not mere religiosity, sustains a people. And righteousness does not arise from education or tradition but from hearts transformed by the living God. A nation may be religious and still be corrupt; it may be biblically literate and still be spiritually dead. Only a people submitted to the Lord can sustain the freedoms they celebrate.

The Frozen Chosen: A Prophetic Editorial to the Body of Believers

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“By Now You Ought to Be Teachers” — The Divine Indictment

The modern church is filled with believers who have mastered the art of showing up without ever truly growing spiritually. They attend services faithfully, sing with enthusiasm, and serve occasionally, yet they remain unchanged in their spiritual maturity. These are the saints who occupy the church building but never embrace the deeper promises of faith. They are what I call the “frozen chosen.”

The Spirit addressed this condition long ago, warning believers through the words of Hebrews: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12). This is not a gentle suggestion but a stern rebuke.

The Lord is essentially saying that you have been part of the church long enough to grow, to mature, and to reproduce spiritually. You should be teaching others by now. Yet, instead, you still require someone to reteach you the basics repeatedly. This confusion of longevity with maturity is the tragedy of the frozen chosen.

The Highchair Church: When Milk Becomes a Lifestyle

Paul’s words to the Corinthians express a similar frustration: “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat” (1 Corinthians 3:1–2). Milk represents the beginning stages of faith, while meat symbolizes spiritual growth and maturity.

Unfortunately, many believers have made milk their permanent diet. They seek comfort without conviction, blessings without burden, inspiration without obedience, and sermons without surrender. They grow older in the church but not deeper in Christ. A church filled with believers who refuse to develop spiritually will never be able to fully digest the truth.

The Immaturity That Weakens the Witness

Paul warns the Ephesians about the dangers of spiritual immaturity: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14). Immature believers are easily swayed by trends, follow personalities rather than Christ, fall for false teachings, get offended quickly, and require constant supervision.

Such believers cannot stand firm because they have never learned to walk in faith. They cannot discern truth because they have never learned to listen to the Spirit. They cannot lead because they have never learned to follow Christ. A church filled with spiritual children cannot confront the mature darkness of the world.

The Mission Failure: When the Church Refuses to Go

At the heart of this editorial lies a deeper issue: the church has failed its mission. Jesus did not command believers to sit and wait, stand in one place, or hope that people would come to them. Instead, He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).

The mission is to go, not to stay; to make disciples, not merely maintain programs; to teach, not tolerate; to preach, not preserve. We are called to be living stones (1 Peter 2:5), lights in the world (Matthew 5:14), salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), witnesses unto Him (Acts 1:8), and ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Yet many believers have become stationary stones, dim lights, flavorless salt, silent witnesses, and passive attendees. We change pastors, churches, worship styles, and programs, but we rarely change our posture. Discipleship demands action and commitment.

We desire salvation without surrender, calling without cost, and purpose without participation. But Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Hearing without doing is not discipleship; it is self-deception. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

A church that refuses to go is a church that refuses to grow.

The Illusion of Progress Without Transformation

Many congregations mistake activity for advancement. They celebrate anniversaries, programs, conferences, installations, and renovations, but none of these guarantee true transformation.

Jesus did not say, “By this shall all men know you are My disciples—that you attend faithfully.” Instead, He said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

A church can be busy yet barren, full yet fruitless, loud yet lifeless. If the people are not growing, the ministry is not succeeding.

The Lampstand Warning: When God Removes What Man Preserves

The Lord Jesus gives a final warning to churches that refuse to mature: “Repent… or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place” (Revelation 2:5). The lampstand symbolizes God’s presence, approval, witness, and authority.

A church may hold onto its building, programs, traditions, and calendar, but if it refuses to grow, God will remove its lampstand. He will not endorse immaturity, empower stagnation, or anoint apathy.

A frozen church is only one step away from becoming a forsaken church.

A Resolution for the Body of Believers

Let every believer hear the Word of the Lord: “By now you ought to be teachers.” Growth comes quickly to those who pour out what God has placed within them. The whole concept of sowing and reaping applies to doing the work of the ministry. Do not be a perpetual student, lifelong infant, or spiritual dependent. Leave the Father’s house and go to work in the field.

Resolve to grow beyond milk, hunger for meat, go into the world, preach the gospel, teach the nations, shine as lights, live as witnesses, obey the Word, and bear lasting fruit.

For the Spirit is speaking to the churches: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 2:7), before the lampstand is removed.

Where Are the Levites?

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

An Editorial on the Priesthood That Lost the Presence

The Priesthood That Forgot to Ask “Where Is the Lord?”

“O priests, this command is for you.”** [Malachi 2:1]**

There is a verse in Scripture that does not whisper, does not hint, does not suggest, but speaks with the full weight of divine judgment, and it is the verse that exposes the entire collapse of the modern pulpit: “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know Me; the shepherds transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal.” [Jeremiah 2:8] This is not a mild rebuke. This is not a gentle correction. This is the Lord Himself declaring that the spiritual leaders of the nation had abandoned the very thing they were entrusted to guard. They handled the law but did not know the God who gave it. They preached sermons but did not seek the presence. They stood behind altars but did not stand before the Lord. They led the people, but not toward green pastures — they led them into a barren wilderness, and the people followed because they trusted the shepherds who no longer trusted God.

This is why Churchianity must die in the wilderness it craves. It is not a movement of consecration but a system of convenience. It is not a priesthood of presence but a priesthood of performance. It is not a people led by Levites but a people led by Aarons who have forgotten the fear of the Lord. And Scripture does not soften its language when it speaks of such leadership. It says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture.” [Jeremiah 23:1] It says, “His watchmen are blind… shepherds that cannot understand.” [Isaiah 56:10–11] It says, “They feed themselves and not the flock.” [Ezekiel 34:2] It says, “Her priests have done violence to My law… they have made no distinction between the holy and the common.” [Ezekiel 22:26] And it says, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest to Me.” [Hosea 4:6] These are not the words of a frustrated prophet. These are the words of a holy God who refuses to bless a priesthood that refuses to be holy.

The Giant of Religion Must Fall

There is a giant standing in the valley of the modern church, and it is not Goliath — it is religion. It is the giant that mocks the armies of the living God with its traditions, its routines, its empty rituals, its predictable services, its polished performances, and its unconsecrated priesthood. It is the giant that convinces people they are spiritual because they are busy, that they are faithful because they attend, that they are worshipers because they sing, that they are disciples because they serve. It is the giant that has replaced the Ark with a stage, the altar with a platform, the Levites with performers, and the presence with production. And like the Philistines, the modern church does not realize it has adopted the very methods of the enemy it claims to oppose.

Israel learned from the Philistines how to move the Ark. They watched the world handle holy things and decided it was easier to imitate the culture than obey the command. They placed the Ark on a cart because the Philistines did it first. They substituted convenience for consecration, efficiency for obedience, and innovation for holiness. And when the Ark stumbled, Uzzah died — not because he was wicked, but because the priesthood had forgotten the order of God. The giant of religion always falls the same way: not by argument, not by debate, not by reform, but by a single stone of truth aimed at the forehead of a system that has lost the fear of the Lord.

The Levites Were Not Optional — They Were Essential

When God established the tribe of Levi, He did not create a volunteer team. He created a priesthood. He set apart a people whose entire existence was defined by proximity to His presence. Scripture says, “At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him, and to bless in His name.” [Deuteronomy 10:8] Their calling was not to impress the people but to minister to God. Their role was not to entertain the congregation but to carry the presence. Their identity was not rooted in talent but in consecration. And when Israel crossed the Jordan, it was not the warriors, not the elders, not the singers, but the priests — the sons of Levi — who stepped into the waters first. Scripture says, “And the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan until all the nation finished passing over.” [Joshua 3:17]

The people could not cross until the priests obeyed. The waters did not part until the priests stepped in. The nation did not advance until the priests carried presence. This is the divine pattern: no Levites, no crossing; no priests, no promise; no consecration, no conquest. And this is why the modern church is wandering — not because the sheep are rebellious, but because the shepherds are unconsecrated. The people cannot rise above the priesthood that leads them.

Churchianity Must Die in the Wilderness

The wilderness is where God lets unbelief die. It is where nostalgia dies, where tradition dies, where grumbling dies, where fear dies, where compromise dies, where every system that refuses to seek the Lord dies. The wilderness is where the first generation fell because they would not stop looking back. And the wilderness is where Churchianity must fall because it refuses to look up. It craves the predictability of Egypt, the familiarity of tradition, the comfort of routine, and the safety of a god it can manage. It does not want the mountain. It does not want the fire. It does not want the voice. It does not want the presence. It wants a golden calf it can worship without surrender.

But the God of Scripture does not negotiate with idolatry. He does not bless a priesthood that refuses consecration. He does not empower a pulpit that refuses repentance. He does not anoint a leadership that refuses to ask, “Where is the Lord?” The wilderness is the graveyard of every system that refuses the presence of God. And Churchianity must die there, because only then can a consecrated priesthood rise.

The Call for a Consecrated Priesthood

The question that echoes through Scripture and through this moment is simple and unavoidable: Where are the Levites? Where are the priests who tremble at His Word? Where are the shepherds who lead the sheep to green pastures instead of barren routines? Where are the ministers who stand before the Lord before they stand before the people? Where are the leaders who refuse mixture, who refuse compromise, who refuse to handle holy things with unclean hands? Where are the ones who will step into the Jordan and stand there until the people cross?

The giant of religion will fall.
The wilderness generation will die.
The Ark will move again.
But only when the Levites return to their calling.

For the Word still stands:
“Be holy, for I am holy.” [1 Peter 1:16]
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” [Joshua 3:5]
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” [James 4:8]

The people are waiting.
The Jordan is rising.
The giant is mocking.
The wilderness is claiming another generation.

And God is asking one question: Where are the Levites?