I Repent.

 I repent. I have been a fool. I have listened to words of rebellion and I have spoken words of rebellion. No more. Let God be true, and let every man be a liar. I delight to do God's will for my life.

Pastor Mitchell gave us a blueprint that has brought us this far. Evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. I will be a part of this vision in my new home church. I will not go to Hell over things that I do not understand. And I will no longer have fellowship with those who have rebelled against our church and our churches.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

O You Of Little Faith

 "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Matthew 8:26

In this story we read of the time when the disciples and the Lord were in a boat on the sea and a storm rose up. The men in fear cried out to Jesus. He rebukes them, then he calms the storm.

Here is what I was wondering about. These disciples had been with Jesus for some time now. They were as close to Jesus as any man could be. How is it then that the minute trouble happens, they freaked out? How is it that after all of the words they heard from Jesus and all the personal time they spent with Jesus they seem to be unprepared for this situation?

My thought is that when we rely on God for everything, we are incapable to do anything on our own. People who claim to be walking with Christ today and pray about everything seem to be unable to solve any problem or do anything that requires faith.

Also, these men, for spending so much time with Jesus, didn't know him at all. 

"Who can this be?" is their response. Verse 27.

I think that a theology that claims that the answer to life is walking close to Jesus is somehow wrong in it's thinking. Faith is an action word, not a believing word. Faith is seen by what we say and by what we do. Being close to Jesus is not enough. Jesus told them that they had no faith. 

Think about it.

Conference Thoughts

 In Prescott, there are good people who take their family vacations during conference. There are faithful people who stay home and watch the conference services. Why do they not attend? You would have to ask them.

Here, they have been doing conferences for many years, and they act like this is their first time putting on a conference. Some people are still giddy with excitement. Pastor talks to us to tell us what to do and how to behave like we don't understand the magnitude of what conference is.

For me, this conference is about people that I do not know and hearing preaching from pastors who I do not know. I remember the first time that I preached at a local conference. It was exciting. I remember the first time that I attended a regional conference. It was interesting. Conference here is not the first time of anything for me and so I find it neither exciting or interesting.

I could stay home and not feel like I had missed anything. But I won't stay home out of respect for the Fellowship. Maybe I can hear God speaking to me even when the preaching is not aimed at me.

God bless us all.

Why Ask Why?

 There is something that we all do that is wrong. We always want to know why something happened. Why did they die? Why am I sick? Why aren't they saved? Why did God...

Asking why God did something implies that we can know the Divine purpose and motivation. Only God know why He did or did not do something. We do not have logical reasons for why we act or speak and we think that we can understand why God acts or speaks?

When you are tempted to ask why, stop, and remember that our is not to know why. Our duty is to do what God says. We have pastors and we have Bibles and God has not lost His voice.

Asking why comes from a proud heart.

The Heart of Worship

 There are a lot of things that I do not like about modern worship music. I am old enough to remember the old hymns and choruses. I remember when we did not have to stand up just to sing in church. I remember when hymns were written by people who were real Christians. And we sang them to the Lord like He heard us. We have drifted far away from what I remember.

Today we sings songs about God and about Jesus. We sing songs where the focus is I, me, my, or mine. We sing about feelings not faith. We stand like we are at a concert, not in church. And the big failing is we think because we feel something we have been touched by the Holy Spirit.

It is possible to be moved emotionally and the Spirit not be present. It is possible to feel emotionally high and there is nothing of God present. Feelings and the Holy Spirit are not the same thing. I have heard music that moved me to tears and I have felt the surge of music that brought me to my feet. Rarely do I feel that in church.

First, music must be God focused and God worshipping. Second, God will inhabit our praises and we may feel nothing. Finally, Let the music bring us to our feet. There is absolutely nothing spiritual about standing up to sing. Feeling goose bumps is not evidence that God is moving.

We still must worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth!

Advice On Dating?

 Pastor Rubi announced that he would be preaching on dating. I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say on this subject. Instead, he preached like an old man who is telling young people what to look for in a potential mate. Nothing on dating. He came across to me like he was upset or annoyed by the subject that he chose to preach on.

I went home slightly disappointed. I figured he would speak mostly to young people about dating. I figured that I would have to glean among the sheaves to get something that would be useful to me. I didn't figure that he would not preach on dating after he went out of his way to announce his intentions.

The next day I went shopping for books on dating for widowers and older men. I ordered three books on this subject. They will be at my front door in a few days. I know how to get for myself what I didn't get in church.

I do not know if dating is in my future. I do not know if marriage is in my future. I am trusting that God will work this out for me when the time comes.

When Good Friends Leave

 An old friend informed me that he and his wife are leaving the Fellowship. They have been around for many years. They once were valuable parts of one of our churches. They got into a conflict with their pastor, and they left the church where they were saved under a dark cloud of accusation.

Their problems followed them to the Fellowship church they transferred to. And now, after a few years of feeling ignored and unappreciated, they have decided to just leave and go somewhere new where their Fellowship baggage carries no weight.

I have written before that very few people leave our churches over doctrine. It is usually over relationships or pastoral insensitivity. If you talk to your pastor and then he preaches on what you told him that is a deal breaker. If you tell a friend in confidence something and soon everyone in church knows about it that is a deal breaker. When you leave and you are the bad guy that is proof that you needed to leave.

This guy has been a good friend. I am not surprised or shocked that they have left. I will not follow his example and leave.