|
|
 |
|
| |
This morning's sermon was on Romans 9. It is amazing and tragic that Israel had it all and still rejected God. Below is a list of privileges Israel had:
The Adoption
The Glory
The Covenants
The Law
The Temple Service
The Promises
The Fathers
The Savior
It occured to me as I read this list that these people had God dwelling among them in the temple at the center of the encampment, then later, in the temple in Jerusalem and missed His divine plan for their lives.
Read the list above again.
Don't we as the church also have these very things? Since we have been adopted (or grafted) into the family of promise.
We also have the Glory of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
We have the covenants of God toward us for our salvation and future.
Of course, the Law of God is to be hidden in our hearts, "that I might not sin against You.".
We are to maintain our bodies as "the temple of the Holy Spirit", and serve each other using our spiritual gifts to edify the body.
As children of God we have all the promises of God. They are for us.
The Fathers (Abraham, Issac, Jacob, etc) are our fathers. Their legacy is ours as children of the promise.
And of course, we have the Christ. "The way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.".
We have these things as Christians certainly, but hasn't our country which claims to be a "christian nation" had these privileges for years? We cannot reject God if we are truly saved, but just like Israel, is our country rejecting Him little by little?
Pastor Rollin told us Jesus' ministry was to go to each synagogue and teach until they rejected Him. Paul's ministry was first to the Jews then to the Gentiles (as he saw the Jews reject the Christ and the Gentiles accept Him).
Is our culture and nation rejecting Christ so we will lose these privileges as a nation also? Are our churches preaching the true gospel so we can keep these privileges (not to mention God's favor) in our churches? The truth matters..
I pray we won't reject Christ today. I pray you will accept Him today. It's not too late.
Paul Mimeault
|
| |
| |
It has only taken me 35 years and a whole lot of frustration to figure out the real rules for "getting along" in "church". Call me naive. I thought the Bible was the rule book and our standard for living. Perhaps it still is supposed to be, but "church" doesn't work that way.
Here are the three rules for "getting along" in "church":
Give your money.
Do what you're told.
Keep your mouth shut.
Unfortunate, but reality. I've figured out why I have been so disappointed with "church" for so long. I haven't been super rich at any time in my life, so I tried to make up for it with lots of service time. It seems that is not a suitable substitute for cold hard cash, and is not respected as much either.
I've never been one to do what I'm told very well even when there is Biblical grounds for it (but especially when there isn't). I think it has something to do with being human.
And, I have never been one to keep my mouth shut when I see something that needs to be addressed and dealt with. I remember reading something in the Bible about doing this... It's called loving people.
You know, it seems to me that the "church" is pretty powerless right now. People don't really respect what we stand for. I have thought about the reasons why. Here are some.
Church members don't really love or respect each other unless it's Sunday or Wednesday and they have been following the above rules (even then it's rarely real), and among other things, we tend to twist Scripture to justify our sin. And the sad truth of the matter is we are just following the example of our leadership.
Maybe we should spend more time praying and less time playing "church". And maybe we should be a whole lot more careful who we allow to be our leaders.
I know this blog is a downer and I'm not following the "rules". At least it's the truth.
Paul Mimeault
|
| |
| |
There is a line, somewhere, that defines an appropriate and an inappropriate relationship with someone of the opposite gender while married yourself. I have been told the line is that you should never have a relationship with someone of the opposite gender other than your spouse except in a very impersonal manner.
Jesus said to "love one another." So where is the line? What did He mean?
Just a note. It is my opinion that part of "loving one another" is allowing someone to have an opinion that doesn't always match mine completely. This is very hard for me. Please pray that I am understanding and loving as we discuss this topic.
Paul
|
| |
| |
Barbara Spooner was played by Romola Garai in "Amazing Grace", the story of William Wilberforce and his fight against slavery in the 18th century. There is a very moving and inspiring moment in this film where Barbara and William are sitting on a bench in a very large yard talking.
William doesn't want to talk about the slave trade because he feels like a failure after many years of failing to make a difference. The fight has taken his youth and his health. He is done.
Barbara says this,"It seems to me, if you have a bad taste in your mouth you spit it out, you don't keep swallowing it back.".
Very wise advise. William's "swallowing back" the words that he felt in his heart were making him sick. It is wise, at times, to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself. I believe it is never a good thing to speak lies and hate toward another with the intent to do damage (to sin against someone). But to speak the truth is never the wrong thing if you are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. Holding in what needs to be said can cause you physical harm and may be harmful for the one you need to say it to.
Describing or expressing the pain and hurt you are suffering (whether justified or not) may be the catalyst that person (or you) needs in order to make necessary changes in there life.
A good friend told me to talk to someone I have in my life whether or not that person responded well to it or not. Then take a break and try again, and keep trying until you have it settled. Notice I didn't say until you get what you want. The relationship must be both ways and should be one that grows and nurishes both people in it.
In William's case, he needed to stop allowing the battle to make him sick and allow that poison that had been making him sick to make the guilty ones sick.
Paul
|
| |
|
|
