A New Year, a New Opportunity

Once again, we find ourselves at the threshold between one calendar year and another. These last couple of years have been a whirlwind of worry, fear, and loss for many. And many also look forward to 2022 with pessimism. But one thing that I have learned is that in the struggle is where life happens, where opporunities a presented, and where God moves and molds us into his perfect image. In the struggle we find strength and learn to trust in God's promises. We want good times. We want things to work out even as we worry, and if we are not careful, fixate on how things could go wrong. I think the pandemic has put a lot of people in this mindset. One running joke I would often see online back in 2020 was a month by month list of various bad things(like 'murder hornets") that would be inflicted upon us throughout the year. The attitude in 2021 seemed almost worse in a way as a certain resignation seamed to sink in. But I think much of this is noise. I'm not saying that it's been easy, and many of us have lost loved ones or otherwise suffered during this time. But much of the worry and fear comes from this constant noise coming from the news, the government, and even those around us that paint a bleak picture. But what I've found is that when I stop paying attention to that and focus on the many blessings that God has given me instead, then my outlook becomes bright once again. We all have struggles and troubles. We all have been and continue to be affected by the pandemic and the public response to it. Jesus said that in this world we would have trouble, but that doesn't mean it has to be our focus or dominate our outlook. Whatever trouble we are in, whatever struggle we face, Jesus is still Emmanuel, God with us. If we walk with Him and are sheep of His pasture, then He leads us beside still waters and makes us a table in the presence of our enemies. He restores our souls. Though we walk in shadow and among death, His rod and staff comfort us. So 2022 is a new oportunity. Not an opportunity to avoid all trouble or have everything be bright sunshine and roses all of the time, but an opportunity to walk closer to Jesus than we did this last year. It's an opportunity to lean further into His promises. An opportunity to enjoy our blessings more, and love our families more. An opportunity to strenghten our church and contend more for the precious faith that was once delivered to the saints. God bless!

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void.  The word void here means waste, desert, or desolate.  This is much like the natural state of mankind.  The human condition is wasted and desolate, but in Genesis chapter 2 God formed man out of the dust of the earth and he breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul.  In St John chapter 20, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said "receive ye the Holy Ghost."  Just as God breathed into Adam and he became alive so is it when the Spirit of God comes into us and fills us with His life. He gives us life and life more abundantly through the Holy Ghost so that we are no longer a void, so that our life is now formed and shaped into something for the Master.  Insomuch that we are a new creature a new creation in Him amen.

365 Opportunities

     2019 is here and many people are making predictions and setting goals for the new year.   Many resolutions are being made only to be broken before February even arrives.  Generally, I don't make many predictions and even fewer resolutions, but I would like to share a thoughts on the new year.
     I saw a cartoon the other day in which one of the characters asked the other what he thought the new year would bring.  His companion stated that it would bring 365 new opportunities.  I think that's a great way of looking at it.  Today I was reading in 1st Corinthians chapter 3 where Paul was speaking about building on the foundation of Christ.  He spoke of how that some might build of gold and silver and some might build of hay and stubble.  He spoke of some work enduring and some being burned up in the fire.  And these two things together make me think about how I want to take advantage of the opportunities each day affords me in this coming year.
    In short, I want to build.  I want to build everyday.  I want to be building on the foundation that is Christ and I want to build carefully as Paul admonishes in the same text.  Some days I may only have the strength to drive one nail and some days, God willing, I may have the strength to erect whole walls.  Either way, I don't want to miss an opportunity to be busy about my Father's business.  It is my desire and sincere wish that each day I may add something, though often small, to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom that Jesus appointed unto His disciples so long ago and that we have inherited if His Spirit dwells within us. 
     So, 365 opportunities to build, to plant, to encourage, to edify, to teach, to reprove, to tear down the strongholds of satan, to grow in the Spirit and find deeper depths an and higher heights in the love of Jesus Christ!  I can't wait!  :-)

Being the Only One

 I remember on the first day of the forth grade our teacher gave us large name tag stickers for the front of our desks and told us to write our names on them and stick them on a particular side of the front of our desks.  Then, she stepped out into the hallway to talk to one of the other teachers or something and we all began to do as she asked.  I printed my name on my tag and went to put it on the side of the front of my desk that the teacher had instructed.
     However, before I put it on I looked around and noticed that everyone else in the class room was placing their name tags on the opposite side of the desk than I was.  I looked over at my best friend, Andrew, who was affixing his name tag onto the desk next to mine and asked him why he was putting his name on the wrong side.  He assured me that I had misunderstood and that he and everyone else were putting their tags on the correct side of the front of their desks.
     Well, I figured that surely he, my best friend, wouldn’t tell me something wrong, and I didn’t think that the entire class could possibly be wrong with me being the only one right about it, so I placed my tag on the same side of the desk as everyone else and waited on the teacher.  When she came back in, she was mad.  She began to reprove us because not one student in the class had obeyed her instructions.  It turned out that she was telling us to put our tags on the same spots that the previous year’s students had put them on in order to cover the places where the paint had been peeled off when the previous tags were removed.  Because we had disobeyed, the ugly unpainted places on our desks would show for the rest of the school year.
     I learned a lesson that day though, and it’s always stuck with me.  Just because I’m the only one doing something the way I’ve been instructed, even if everyone else I can see is doing it another way… doesn’t mean that I am wrong.  Jesus said this in Matt 7:13-14:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

     So remember; the next time you feel like you’re the “odd one out” for holding on to the Truth found in God’s Word and His commandments, and everyone around you is trying to tell you it’s not necessary or that you’re doing it wrong… take a lesson from a one time fourth grader and just keep on being obedient and true to what the Teacher actually said.

Doctrines in Distress...

Greetings in Jesus Name,

I don't know what it is really, but I've noticed that people have a tendency to let up on the doctrines and beliefs that they once held dear as time passes. Now, if these were false doctrines, that's actually a good thing, but that's not the phenomenon I'm describing today. I'm talking about people who for some reason let go of truth that they once had in order to accommodate their family members' or friends' perspectives or just decide that they don't want to be separate anymore and desire to pursue a more convenient lifestyle.
It's sad to see when it happens, and sometimes I have been surprised when talking to someone that used to hold a certain truth dear and realize that they have lost it somewhere along the way. But such is human nature. The children of Israel constantly had this problem and no matter what God had done for them or how many monuments and markers they established to remind themselves, they always seemed to slip away from God over time.
I think that part of the problem is that when people have truth for a long time they lose their love of the truth and begin to take it for granted. This happens in relationships too, but then when we talk about walking in truth we are talking about a relation with God. We have to love truth if we wish to keep it.

Doing the Right Thing...

Hello,
It's been far too long since I updated this blog, but I am doing well and keeping well busy. I'm also trying hard to do the right thing even though it metaphorically gets me socked in the face sometimes! This past sabbath's sermon was about where God told Ezekiel that he would make his face like flint against those that opposed his prophesies and words from God. It seemed timely to me. Sometimes it helps to have a rock hard face when everybody's knuckles seem to be coming right at it... :)

Divisions

There are two basic types of Divisions pertaining to Christians today:

* Division between the Church and the World

* Division between the Church and Itself

These two division are very different from one another but the differences between the two are the subject of much confusion, pain, and destruction. To begin with the first, division between the church and the world, is a GOOD division. The Bible instructs us to be separate from the corruption of the world and its sin. The second one, division between the church and itself, is the BAD division. It is the tool of Satan to divide and conquer soldiers of the Faith.

Here are a few bad scenarios that I see concerning these divisions:

Scenario #1: People in church desire to have certain things in the world in their lives and they do not remain sufficiently separate from the world and are led away of their own lusts into sin.

Scenario #2: Christians erect walls of division amongst themselves that are not based on the Word of God and needlessly splinter into factions base on doctrine that may stem from tradition, background, or peculiar ideas that are indefensible in the Word of God.

Scenario #3: Under the guise of removing "needless divisions" between people in church, certain ones encourage fellowship with and participation in sin.

The first scenario will destroy a church. The second scenario will destroy fellowship between God's people and eventually the church. The third, if left unchecked, will destroy all associated churches, pervert and corrupt all involved people of faith, and transform the church of God into a den of reprobates.

There is no easy remedy for any of the above scenarios as far as the flesh is concerned. God's people need to be a Spiritual people. Without wholly submitting ourselves to God's will and His Spirit of Truth, there is no way that we can overcome of these. I think that when we see these scenarios starting to pop up in our churches we need to be keen to make sure that our focus is in the right place and then take action to stem the tide.

Be watch, be vigilant, and always keep your purpose fixed on the edification of the Kingdom of God.

God Bless!