Church Blog (Page 68)
Ask and ye shall receive (Mt.7:7).#3. “Where can I do my best work?”
You have to laugh when Solomon says of himself: “God gives great wealth, riches, and honour to some people; they have everything they want. But God does not let them enjoy such things; a stranger enjoys them instead. This is useless and very wrong” (Eccl.6:2). Christians and churches are quietly obsessed with the notion that “great wealth, riches, and honour” can speed the gospel along (all the while making life happy and comfortable for us along the way). It is…
Ask and ye shall receive (Mt.7:7).#2. “For what exactly are you asking?”
A preacher was to perform a wedding on the following Saturday but decided to call the couple forward in church to pray for them. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of their names. So, he said to the congregation, “Will those wanting to get married please come to the front?” Immediately, nine single ladies, three widows, four widowers, and six single men stepped to the front. When you think about it, it isn’t surprising that the deepest desires…
Ask and ye shall receive (Mt.7:7).#1. “All I have I was given.”
A young preacher opened a letter from his mother containing twenty dollars. As much as he needed it, he noticed a beggar outside on the footpath and thought: “That man needs $20 more than I do.” So, he put the money in the envelope, crossed out his name and wrote “PERSEVERE” across the top in large letters. So as not to make a scene, he put the envelope under his arm and dropped it as he walked past the man.…
Adjustments#4. “False teachers—Seven lessons I have learned so far.”
Lesson 1. Jesus did not hold back in his critique of those who would pervert the way of God. Lesson 2. He specifically called the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, blind guides, whitewashed tombs and snakes. These were the teachers of God’s Word. These were the men who were experts in it, taught it and proudly made converts to it – according to their various sects. Lesson 3. False teachers have no intentions of keeping God’s Word beyond the personal benefits…
Adjustments#3. “Strange fire—Seven lessons I have learned so far.
”Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s two oldest sons and heirs of the High Priestly office. Tragically, they decided to offer a ‘fire’ of their own preference in the tabernacle worship. God, having specified the fire required, punished their disobedience by sending fire from heaven and killing them. Lesson 1. Back in the day, the Nadab and Abihu incident (Leviticus 10), was the go-to passage to warn any would-be sinner that the wrath of God comes upon those who break his…
Adjustments#2. “Friendship—Seven lessons I have learned so far.”
Elvis had two unique abilities. Firstly, (and obviously) his outstanding voice, and secondly, his instant likability. He gave off the vibe that if you met him, you would undoubtedly be one of his closest life-long friends. Of course, those high gates at Graceland were not put there to keep millions of life-long friends in.Having just completed six decades on earth, I have been caused to reflect on how blessed I am to have friendships that have stood the test of…
Adjustments#1. “Fatherhood—Seven lessons I have learned so far.”
Lesson 1. I was young when I started, and now I am (nearly) old. Today my children are 26, 25 and 22 years old. Words cannot describe my love for them and Lynda, but it is a love lived in time. Lesson 2. When God blesses you with children you are immediately thrust into a parallel universe. If there were any traces of the freedoms of single life left in marriage up till then, they were purged forthwith. Lesson 3.…
Easier said than done.#10. “Here be Dragons.”
Leonardo De Vinci wrote, “Here be dragons” on a map that is known as De Vinci’s Globe. He wrote his warning in Latin, while other mapmakers of old adorned their maps with actual pictures of wild creatures. Thus, those wanting to travel beyond the borders of the known world were thought to have been given fair warning. Obviously, not everyone was dissuaded. It takes more than pictures and rumours to keep a determined pioneer at home. Going off the map…
Easier said than done.#9. “Calling the wanderers home.”
“There are no atheists in foxholes” goes a timeless aphorism. Proving that at times of extreme fear and concern religion is brought to the surface of the most irreligious of souls. I met a veteran who told me that he had made promises to God in the heat of battle that was fuelled by nothing but terror. He said that those prayers and promises were of a world where everything was literally splitting apart around him. A world where his…
Easier said than done.#8. “Who we imitate is who we follow.”
Threats, wars and disasters unite both nation and neighbours. The need to pull together for the common good motivates people to go beyond their previous limits. It is when the cost of the ravages of war or disaster are carried by some, but neglected by others, that resentment ends in the division. At the congregational level, we are continually engaging spiritual threats, wars and disasters. The devil is the first to cry unfair into our ears. He has a list…