Tongues and What Else Will Cease?

 "Love never fails. But, whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away." 1 Corinthians 13:8

Unbelievers use this verse as their reason why speaking in tongues is not a valid Christian experience. They believe that all supernatural actions and expressions of the Holy Spirit ended with the death of the last original apostle. No more Divine healing, no more baptism in the Holy Spirit, etc.

If this is true, what else ended with the death of the apostles? The verse says prophecies will fail. That all of their talk about the Rapture and the end of time is unreliable and may not come to pass. Knowledge will vanish away, so why go to university or seek to learn anything since there is no guarantee it will be of any worth in the future.

It is dangerous to pick out the parts of the Bible that we don't understand or agree with.

Just As We Are

 I have heard more than one pastor use the statement from the pulpit; that most churches are full of good people doing nothing. Is this true?

1. I am there, in the service, present and waiting to hear what you have to say. I join in worship. I support in prayer and giving. I agree with the vision and I do not resist the moving of the Holy Spirit. That is something.

2. If a church is inactive and uninspired, the blame is on the pastor, not the people. Maybe the pastor has not said anything to inspire us. Maybe his words and his actions do not agree. Maybe the pastor is not sure of what we can do, so he challenges us to do what we can't do, and then gets frustrated when we don't do that.

3. I wonder if the unrealistic expectations of leaders is rooted in their lack of appreciation for their parishioners. Marriages deal with unrealistic expectations all the time. It doesn't work in marriage. It doesn't work in church. Marriage gets better when the couple begins to appreciate their spouse as they are and stops expecting them to be what they will never be. I wonder if the same thing would help a local church.

To conclude, I think the problem is unrealistic expectations, uninspiring preaching, and an unappreciative attitude. I think that these things coming from the pulpit drives a wedge between the pulpit and the pew. We love our pastors just as they are. All we ask is that they love us just as we are in return.

Prayer Worked!

 Recently I had pastor Martinez pray for me. I had pain in my lower back. After he prayed the pain was significantly diminished. But since he prayed for me I find that my health has returned and I feel as strong as I did over one year ago. God has renewed my youth as the eagles. I am grateful to be able to do things that I used to do and that the year of physical ailments is behind me. I am grateful to be in good health again.

Inspired or Inspiring?

 The word inspire basically means to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural influence or action. It is a word that describes the effect that one person or the Lord can have on another person. It is not a Bible word per se, but the work of inspiration is fairly common in the Bible narrative.

The Bible itself is God breathed. Men wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them to write.

"for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21

The root of the word inspire is the idea of to breathe or blow into something. The idea I thought of is how you can blow on hot coals and make the glow hotter or burst into flame.

The overall idea is being inspired to act. Inspiration motivates people to action. 

I am at an age where the men who used to inspire me are either gone; as in, they left the Fellowship, or backslid. Or they are dead, as pastor Mitchell is dead. 

The other idea is to live a life that inspires others. I live the best I know how. Whether I inspire anyone is unknown to me.

One final thought. Preaching that tells about Bible characters does not move me the way stories about real people does. I know that Bible characters were once real people. But what about today? It's like using Bible characters give the story more weight than telling about people we know today.

A Tempest in a Teapot

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24: 6-8

For the war mongers among us it seems that if someone in the middle east stubs their toe, it is the end of the world. Let someone launch a rocket or drop bombs and surely the Rapture cannot be far behind.

Let's look at what the Bible says. First, it assures us that we have no reason to be upset or troubled by these events. When the events in Bible prophecy really happen you will know, or you will not be here to experience it at all. Second, all of the things that Jesus told us about are only the beginning, not the end. Jesus said that we need to understand that the end is not when you see these things happening. The end is not yet.

No man knows the hour or the day. All we are responsible for is doing what we are called by God to do.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Thoughts From Genesis

 "And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Genesis 2:18

Adam never asked God for a wife. Adam did not know what he did not have. Nowhere does it say or even imply that Adam was lonely or that something was missing from his perfect life. God saw something in Adam and God went to work to meet his need for companionship. Marriage was part of the plan of creation. Maybe God was waiting for the right time to introduce marriage.

All of creation is described as very good by God. Adam's single condition is the first thing that is called not good.

In chapter one, verses 27 and 28, is the first account of the creation of mankind. In verse 27 God first uses the term them. He created them male and female. Then in verse 28 he commands them on what they are to do together. God created him, but God blessed them and God said to them. So chapter one and chapter two give parallel accounts of the same event.

God's work is never done by individuals. It is always done by couples.

Pray for those of us who are alone. We may not be lonely. But two are still better than one.

Rich And Poor

 In my daily devotions I was reading in Isaiah 32. I am amazed how often God speaks against rulers who oppress the poor. In verse 6 it talks about foolish people who "keep the hungry unsatisfied" and " cause the drink of the thirsty to fail".  In verse 7 it talks about those who  destroy the poor with lying words. In another place it talks about the rich who despise and abuse the poor.

"Because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor..." Amos 2: 6-7

In America it is only the efforts of political leaders that protect the poor from the hatred the rich have for the poor. If it were up to the rich, they would have it all and we would be judged unworthy to live in their society. 

"But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgement seats? Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by the which you are called?" James 2:6-7

God has chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God. God loves those who the rich hate.

Stop admiring the rich and stop making excuses to justify their wicked behavior. And stop despising the poor who make up most of the population of our small planet.

The rich say bigger is better. The poor say, enough is enough!