Self-Evident Truths

 "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." US Declaration of Independence

Here are a few things that I find ought to be self evident in our Fellowship.

1.New converts are the life blood of any church. They add a dimension to our Fellowship that we desperately need. Without a stream of new converts we find ourselves just hanging on.

2. New converts and our youth are the keys to revival. Grandma and grandpa will pray and give and support the vision. But it is young people who see visions, not old people.

3. We always need to be reminded to only run with the runners. There are those on the cutting edge who need a challenge and an example. There are those who stay by the stuff. Remember that 80% of the work is always done by 20% of the people.

4. Everyone is valuable. Some for what they do now. Some for what they used to do back then.

5. Pastors never retire. Unless they are forced out by infirmity. Many ought to retire, but no one will.

Do these thing seem self-evident to you?

What Can You Do With A General

 "Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age." Josh.23:1

By the end of Joshua's life it had been years since the fighting stopped and the land was divided and the people began to occupy their inheritance. Joshua had led the people after the death of Moses. He had followed the Lord faithfully. And by the end of this book Joshua had been long retired. His sermon in these final chapters was the final address Joshua would give publicly.

We think that we will live at our prime years forever. We think that we will never slow down. We think that God will sustain and support us and that we, if we are lucky, will die in the saddle.

"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." is how Douglas McArthur said it in his final address to Congress in 1951. His war fighting was over long before he faded away.

"What can you do with a general, when he stops being a general" Bing Crosby sang in White Christmas.

Joshua had stopped being a general long before he died. He did nothing noteworthy after he retired. Could this be one of the reasons why pastors never retire, they are afraid of having nothing to do and becoming irrelevant? You can become irrelevant and still be in the pulpit.

Back in olden days men retired and then wrote books about what they learned. Too bad no one reads books anymore.

In Person is Best

 I am grateful to be in good health again. I am still taking several meds to deal with heart failure. But the meds are working. My doctor today told me that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. So I will continue the regimen ordered by my cardiologists and I will continue to take care of myself.

Much of what you read online covers such generalities as to be of little specific use for me. This is why I go for regular visits to my doctor. He knows me and he knows what I need to stay healthy. The pseudo-doctors online do not know me or my particular condition.

What is true of medical treatment is also true of spiritual treatment. There is no substitute for attending church services in person. My pastor knows me and he knows what I need. He has a stake in the outcome of my life, as one who must give an account.

Remember, it's the banana that leave the bunch that gets skinned.

The Bible Is God's Word. Period.

 I want to cast my vote for making the Bible the word of God. Period. Not the writings of any man or the thoughts and revelations of particular individuals. We use book, chapter, and verse to help us locate something in the Bible. But I think that by calling it by the authors name, we cheapen God's word to us.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jn.1:1

Christ is the word of God made flesh. But He did not write his own biography. Yet since He is the Word we can rightly cite his teachings and quote His words as Gospel. Not so with Moses or David or Paul. 

I just think that we need to stop saying that this is what Paul said or this is what Solomon said. Let's let God's word be God's word and let God's word speak for itself. No matter what style of preaching you practice, it revolves around God's word. God anoints His word, not ours.

We are way past the time when the Bible was put together. We are way beyond the time when it first came to our attention who wrote what and why.  Let God be true, and every man a liar.

Just Saying

 One reason why a local church slows down and settles in is the simple fact that we become very conservative as we get older. Not politically, but in real life. We reach a point where we are more concerned with maintaining the status quo and we lose the vision that is needed to go on to the next level. We have more to lose so we become risk adverse. We have had some successes, but the failures make us think twice about trying or venturing. We have so many financial responsibilities that we learn to budget and to count costs. And one day we realize that we are more interested in maintaining what we have than in getting more. They say the the biggest enemy of the great is not evil, but good enough.

Most men do not die in the valley of despair. They leap from the pinnacle of the temple of success. Just saying.

Communion Service Thoughts

 We had a communion service tonight. Yes, we did it on a Sunday night, not on Easter Sunday morning. Why? The short answer is you would have to ask our pastor. I think that pastor thinks it is too religious or too churchy. It's not hard core enough or something. Maybe he is afraid that people will feel too religious and not be on fire for God. It might surprise him to find out that Christianity is a religion and that we are religious people who love the pomp and circumstance of religion.

We also do not have a communion set to serve from. We make it work, but it is really not very impressive. Those sets are not very expensive. And it might make communion be a little more organized and a lot less chaotic. In the church where I grew up they had a travel sized communion set to use when visiting those who could not be there in person. I'm sure we do not have one of those in pastor's office.

At least we finally had communion and we who served managed to serve everyone. They say we take communion seriously, but our actions do not agree with our words.

The Effects Of Sin

I am beginning to think that most of the crazy health and wellness fads we are bombarded with begin in the gay community. These are guys who are so scared to death of AIDS and HIV that they will try anything to beat the rap that their lifestyle exposes them too. Also, when God uses the word confusion with reference to homosexual activity it tells me that leaders who come up with goofy ideas often turn out to be gay men. 

God is not mocked. Sin has consequences. Those effects are not just eternal damnation in Hell. It is affecting the physical and emotional and mental and psychological life now.

What is interesting to me is how crazy business leaders and not liked or supported by the unsaved world either. This is an issue that normal people recognize as a problem that needs to be solved.

There is not a supplement available today that can take away sin. Only repentance and faith in Jesus Christ can do that.