Learning How To Behave In Church

 "...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1Timothy 3:14

I have noticed that there are people who think that they are worshipping when it appears that they are putting on a show. Their movements, their actions, their volume, all suggest that the focus of attention ought to be on them and not on Jesus. Sometimes these folks are on stage, and sometimes they are in the pews, but their spirit is obvious. They need to control themselves.

I have noticed that there are well meaning saints who speak in tongues for 30 minutes and they call that praying. That they can speak non-stop for 30 minutes is an achievement, but it is not prayer. Pray with the spirit and the understanding is the Biblical admonition.

Liturgy is a big word to define how we conduct our services. There is a fine line between spiritual and worldly, between entertaining and meaningful. The Holy Spirit is willing to fill our services as long as Christ is glorified among us. It is not about volume or emotion, it is about lifting our voices and lifting our eyes and lifting our prayers to our Heavenly Father and to Christ Resurrected.

"...the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." 1Corinthinas 14:32

Get Married Now!

 I am going to say something that may just give away how old I am. But it is something that I need to say. I think that the young people in our churches need to be getting married. I am an advocate for getting married young, like right out of school. Either high school or college. But the first thing once you are done with school is you should be talking to pastor about setting a date to get married. 

Children go through puberty and then we make them wait forever before we think they should get married. What is wrong with parents that you discourage your children from doing what God intended them to do from the dawn of creation? You are married, why not them? Your marriage failed, but why not give them a chance to do what you could not do? There is no valid excuse for children in their early 20s not being married. 

I think that in spite of the sodomites who reject God and marriage, and in spite of the national moral climate that promotes promiscuity instead of monogamy, young people need to do what is best for themselves and get married. Dating and courting are just means to an end. You do not need to learn how to date. You need to find an eligible mate and marry them. If they are not in your church, find one where you can. 

It's time to stop finding 100 reasons not to get married and instead find one reason why marriage is in your future this year. 2022. Dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, pastor, sons, and daughters. Find a reason and pray and ask God to make it happen for you. I believe God will bless you when you do what He says is best for you.

The Future

 I have been blogging for almost 8 years now. I have written just about everything that I had to write at some point in time. I still post news for the sake of those who did not hear it locally like I did. But unlike a pastor who has to keep on even when he is burned out I do not have to continue posting for the sake of posting.  What to do? Maybe the best way forward is to do nothing.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - Then Came The Morning (Live)

We Move On

 One thing that you notice in life, by virtue of long life, is that we move on. There are people or things or even events that at the time we think that they will be important forever. We think that influential people will always influence us. We think that valuable assets will always have value. And we think that life will remain as it is right now.

Pastor Mitchell is dead and is enjoying his time in Heaven. But his influence is waning every year. It won't be long before there will be disciples attending our conferences who never heard pastor Mitchell preach in person and who never talked to him in person and who may not even know who he was and what he did.

My wife Kathy died 8 years ago. She remains a precocious person to me. But the number of people who knew her and who valued her is shrinking year by year.

My old house was nothing special. But I lived in it for 24 years. I used to miss it. But it's value to me is slipping away day by day. Someone lives there now, but it's not me and so I don't care much about it.

Our old building is still there. But it looks old and tired and worn out. Some are feeling nostalgic over that old building. But it's time to move on.

God is the only constant in life that does not get old or irrelevant or tiresome. Christ, being alive form the dead is alive forever and he is no longer tied to ancient cultures and societies. The Bible is an ancient book and it takes a lot of effort and hard work to make it relevant to modern society. That's why we have pastors.

I don't want to be a skeptic or an unbeliever. I choose to believe that the Bible is God's word to us. But as time goes on the influence of men who we thought would be a constant in life has changed. It remains to us when this happens to move on in life. To move on in faith, in love, in loyalty, in commitment, 

"...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead..." Philippians 3:13

"Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind..." Phil. 3:15

Through It All - Andrae Crouch (lyric video)

One Year Ago Today

 One year ago today I left home and began my great adventure. So much has happened to let me know that God has been helping me all along. I can honestly say that moving here was easy. Living here has been a challenge. But through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus and the unseen hand of God in human affairs.