Perfect Attendance?

Do as I say, not as I do. This seems to be the attitude shown by some in leadership positions around us. It's like challenging people to fast while your belly is full. It is mental gymnastics done by those who think that they are above the law.

One thing that I see in some churches is the disconnect between church attendance from our pastors and regular church folks. Someone who never misses a service is more faithful to their church than someone who is out preaching but absent from his home assembly. There were times when I was more faithful to my church than my pastor was, even though he was in church more than I was. He was in church somewhere, but not here.

There are people who can live anywhere, and the rest of us who must live somewhere. There are people who go to church somewhere, and there are others who can go to church anywhere.

My conclusion is simply that if we are more faithful to church that you, at least don't hammer on us to be more faithful. Appreciate those who stay by the stuff. 

One thing that some pastors will never earn is a gold star for perfect attendance.

Loneliness Is Overrated

 After my wife died I felt a loneliness that is indescribable. The absence of a need relationship as one author put it. The brutal separation of two become one flesh being ripped apart. But grief is not a permanent residing place and I have moved on.

Loneliness is overrated. Especially if you are a part of a local church. If you are trying to live a self centered Godless life you might feel lonely. But church give social interaction and close relationships to as many people as you can stand.

Social science tells us that widows who do not marry again right away will probably never marry again. I am okay with that.

We did not know that the last few years were going to be our last years together. But the last years of my marriage were the best years. Why you ask? Because we both stopped trying to change the other and we accepted each other as we were. I stayed with Kathy through the hard times, when other men would have left. Through sickness and in health, till death did us part.

We were not perfect people without flaws. This does not mean we were not spiritual, it just means we were human.

A woman marries thinking she will change him. A man marries thinking she will never change. I have lived long enough to see that both are wrong. He will never change, she will change dramatically. Marry young and grow up together. Enjoy each other as they are.

Speaking In Tongues

 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;" Mark 16:17

Speaking in tongues is common to us in our Fellowship. We do it all the time. But it is controversial or contentious to some who claim to be Bible believing Christians. The Bible talks about speaking in tongues. 

Acts 2:4 says "and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Some people heard them worshipping in a foreign language, but not everyone did. Tongues are not for us to understand, it it only for God to hear.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels..." 1Cor. 13:1

"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not;" 1Cor. 14:22

The record of the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts tells that people who were filled with the Spirit in other places and at other times also spoke in tongues.

"For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God..."Acts 10:46

"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied."  Acts 19:6

It is God's will that all who are filled with the Holy Spirit will first and foremost speak in tongues.

"I would that you all spike with tongues..." 1Cor. 14:5

"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all:" 1Cor. 14:18

And finally, a word to those who use 1Cor.13:8 as an excuse for not being filled, I say obey the scriptures.

"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophecy, and forbid not to speak with tongues." 1Cor. 14:39

I bet that those who are against speaking in tongues do not prophecy in church either.

The main question is not do people still speak in tongues when they get filled with the Holy Spirit. The question really is, why don't you speak in tongues?

"...Nevertheless when the son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8

400 Years of Silence

 Some people fret over the 400 year gap between the Old and the New Testament. Why so long they ask. Why wasn't God speaking or active during those years? This is a question only God can answer. Could it be that time had to elapse so that Christ could be born at the right time? For some reason known only to God, it was important for Christ to die exactly when He did.

My question to add to this mystery is, why has God not said anything since the first century CE? The writings of the apostle John are the last words written that are in the Bible. First, second, third John and the Revelation are the last times written words were incorporated into the cannon of scripture. We spend most of our time taking ancient texts and working to make them understandable to a modern audience.

I have said this before, but we get more instruction on how to organize and run a local church from modern church history than we get from the Bible.

I guess that God had said all that He had to say by the end of the first century CE. The Bible, which tells God's story going all the way back to the creation story, has zero to say about AI or high tech or even the printing press.

One thing that this tells me is that people do not change over the centuries. There is no evolution causing people to adapt to our surroundings. But, cultural practices are vastly different today from what they were in ancient times. Abraham may have had the same hopes and fears as us, but his morals were quite different. 

So do not lose sleep over the missing 400 years. We have had 2000 plus years of silence to date.

Sermons On TV? Really?

I remember way back in ancient times how pastor Mitchell would schedule an evangelistic movie to be shown on Sunday night When he was out of town. As the Door Director I often had the job of making that happen. Pastor had no assistants.  It was him or a movie.

Tonight we had a better than normal Sunday night service. Pastor was back from conference and people were glad to have him back. I was surprised when he announced that we would be watching a conference video instead of having one of our three pastors preach.

Oh well. It was good anyway. But it wasn't live. I guess the Holy Spirit can move either way.

I do not like watching a sermon on TV.

Conference Thoughts

 I checked the Prescott church's website to see who was announced out of their conference. For the first time  I did not know anyone who was announced. I recognized two names for changes. This must be a sign of getting older and of not living in Prescott anymore.

Several of the bigger regional conferences plant their own churches out of their own conferences now, so there were not as many churches planted out of the Prescott conference. Seven international and six domestic.

Conference is about more than planting churches. And an aging church does not plant as many churches now as they once did in earlier years. When we were announced pastor Mitchell had a pool of disciples who he was working with and training. As you age that pool gets smaller.

My friend in Prescott was exhausted by serving at conference. I remember those days. The folks in Prescott work their fingers to the bone to serve the conference body.

Conference is an exciting time. Make sure you attend a conference in your area.

Where's The Peace?

 If it bleeds, it leads. So is the motto of most news gathering organizations.

It's never so bad, that it can't get worse. Or so the say.

Peace blows so few bugles in most of us. Or so they say.

King David needs to get saved. He is a whiner.

Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell. Not me. I am happy  living where I am. Save your cliches and dogmas for someone who cares or for some unstable soul who you can manipulate.

If life goes from one catastrophe to another, from one crisis to another, you either live in the middle east, or you are not saved. Jesus gives us peace. Jesus gives us a living hope.