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Monday, November 26, 2007
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I really enjoyed the testimonies at
church yesterday. I think many of us are encouraged and moved by the stories of others. Maybe you have a testimony of how God has changed your life and you would like to share that with the rest of the body. You could do that here or contact Scott or me about sharing your story in the worship service.
Saturday night's Congregational dinner meeting was a blast. The food was excellent and the company was wonderful. Rhonda and I felt a little guilty winning Mill Mtn. Coffee gift cards largely because we benefited from sharing a table with Earle & Kathy and Mo & Stephanie(But I can honestly say I do know what PIP4E means). Anyway, in an attempt to aleviate some of the guilt we are feeling we want to reach out to the congregation with an offer of free coffee. Simply email us at jcoman1@gmail.com and we will set up at time to sit down and share a cup of coffee at Mill Mtn Coffee. Rhonda and I would love to get to know you better, Man to Man, Woman to Woman or Couple to Couple. Please, Please help us shed our guilt and rid ourselves of these cards! :)
What a great idea Joel. I think everyone at Orchard Hills should show up to help Joel and Rhonda and all the others at their table alleviate their guilt. What a great way to get to know each other. I'M in.
***Ash Wednesday Service***
For me, the small, intimate service was a perfect way to start the Lent season by coming before God to acknowledge my sins and be reminded how truly awesome God is and how I need to reflect on my shortcomings in the midst of his grace and blessings.
The next evening, while traveling to meet Kristy and Matt Clark Rhonda asked me what I had decided to give up for lent. I had come to the decision that I would refrain from eating anything after 8pm. Maybe this was somewhat self-serving as part of my daily prayer is asking God to help me replace my infatuation with food. But at the time my wife asked me this question I was still asking myself if obstaining from food was enough of a sacrifice. I wanted whatever I chose to be significant and at that moment swearing off food in the evening didn't seem like a big deal.
Well...as is the case so often, I was nearly 7pm and in my busy schedule I had yet to consider dinner...No big deal - I wasn't hungry at the time.
We had a great time with Matt and Kristy. At 8pm we rolled on to the grocery store of all places.
But I overcame any temptation, even when my wife absently offered to split a sandwich with me - though I questioned who's team she was on.
Let me tell you, any doubts I had regarding the insignificance of swearing off food after 8pm were left behind by 11pm.
God grant me the wisdom and willpower that in those times I turn my heart and mind to you to seek comfort and sustainence .
While having my devotional this morning a thought came to me from nowhere. "Did I have anything to eat after 8pm last night?" I couldn't honestly answer that question. My next thought was, "If I had eaten something, would I have thought twice about my Lenten resolution?"(see my previous post).
I knew the answer to this one - "No, I wouldn't have given it a second thought."
I was Immediately assaulted with thoughts/feelings of failure and inadequacy. How could I so easily forget about what I had set out to do in observance of my savior - easpecially on a day that myself and my family had felt exceptionally blessed and close to God?
But then another thought came to me..."Of course I failed. I had failed before and would fail again before the season of Lent had passed." I was reminded what Lent is really about.
Lent is not a 40 day long test involving self denial of something near and dear so that we become more Godly. It's about putting God first. It's about going to God when we are in need. It's about seeking God when we are tempted. It's about conditioning our spirit and mind. Lent is about surrending your heart and mind to God.
For a better description of the Lenten season [url=http://www.explorefaith.org/chron_021002.htm]click here[/url]
After reading Mike's entry in the Nov 6, 2008 eNews, I think he is being a little harsh on Obama and his historic victory as the first black man to be elected president of the United State. After all he is a Christian and openly professes his faith in Jesus Christ. See
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/januaryweb-only/104-32.0.html
I want to ask all those that participated in the election to remember that this was a political campaign for who will be running our government for the next four years. This was not an election of morals but of choices between two politicians.
I am asking all those who have strong political views on either side to remember scripture when Jesus was asked if it was right to pay taxes to Cesar. His response was "Give to Cesar what is Cesar's and to God what is God's" Matthew 22:21
Romans 13:1
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." Romans 13 goes on to state in verse 7 "Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes, if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
Even if we disagree with the political views of the President- elect we are still to respect his accomplishments and honor his political position as our President
Paul asks in Romans 14:10-13 "You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God. So then, each of us will give account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another."
We as Christians are called to love the Lord our God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Scott has preached on this very thing just before the election.
How does condemning our fellow Christian voters and elected officials show this love of God to our neighbor. We need to speak the truth in love! And love those even if they disagree with us.
May this issue not be derisive but away that we can come together as a church family in God's Love.
Vaso
Vaso - well put! I know that in heaven church and state will be one, but I think that the current separation is healthy and necessary, or we will simply be dismissed as another bunch of those divisive and judgemental Christians.
Jamie,
My parents came from a country where church and state were not seperate. The hardships my family faced in Turkey from the 1920's through the 1950's are to long to list in this short blog. Mankind can be very cruel to those that have a differing opinion on God.
A little known fact in Hitler's Mein Kemph, he justified the murder of the Jewish people by asking "who remembers the Armenians". The Aremnian people,who are a part of my family history, were slaughtered till dry creek beds ran with their blood.
Hardships faced by my family in a faith based/religious government caused my family to come to the United States where they could freely be who they were, Orthodox Christians.
I am thankful for the blessing of being born in a country where your faith is not an issue that will cause you to be persecuted and your freedoms curtailed because of what you believe.
My prayer is always for those who don't have this blessing of freedom of religion. It is a frightening thing to live in country where church and state are one. As you stated in heaven church and state are one but in heaven God is governing not those that say they are governing for their God!
Vaso
This was sent the morning after the election and is in response to Mike's article in the newsletter concerning the election.
Tuff morning, eh? Always is when God does something outside the box, our
box. You know, floods all over the world, His people wandering all over the
desert, stuff like that. At least, that's the way it is for those of us who believe
our lives are governed by the rules God laid out in Scripture. It does appear that
the Lord God Almighty Sovereign who has privileged us to know and worship
Him has graced us with yet another surprise. News flash: Progressives with a
liberal agenda won big last night. Presidency, governorships, senators,
representatives and fairly soon federal and Supreme Court justices supported by
progressive media will be stacked against us who have largely traditional
conservative values.
Maybe. So what?
Well, think about it beyond these first moments of disappointment. How about
this: Take God's point of view. Huh? Yes! Despite the truly wondrous privilege
of the free vote of Americans, this was God's vote. And He did not wait until
11pm to discover the results. He was not caught by surprise. It's part of a plan
unfolding through the ages -- the plan He lets us in on through inspired
Scripture. The process of history and its conclusion is His alone. Which is to
say, it's NOT President Obama's, his Congress, his Court, or his press.
"How shall we then live? (Schaeffer)" This is the central question. God our
Father wants us to know where we fit in history. "History is His story." That's
not an overused sermon sound bite. It was, is, and evermore shall be. You and I
are obligated to grasp this and live by it.
Let's try thinking about this in stages.
Stage 1: Getting a firm inner sense that the Creator and Sustainer is ruling all of
mankind. It's called by theologians, "Sovereignty"
Stage 2: This may be simply seeing how God has, by His sovereign choice,
placed only one nation as the protagonists of His epochs: Israel. We remember
Babylon, Assyria, and Rome only for their bit roles. What we are left with is that
loyalty to any nation will be, in time, a losing hope. America is not mentioned
in the end-times scriptures; Russia, China, middle east, and, of course, Israel
are. Look at current events. Economically, all four play dramatic and controlling
interests in the world. Four of four are politically significant; militarily, four of
four if you include Persia…Iran. Rome lasted 900 years, making pale our
American sense of ubiquity and tenure. So, to loyal, patriotic Americans, (of
whom I am one of first order), our ultimate loyalty is to God and His Kingdom.
BUT, it is my point that this guides our participation in the "American Kingdom,"
even this new framing of it.
If our country is to, as suspected by traditional Christians, spiral downward
to biblical oblivion, has that painful journey begun...? Is this the moment of
truth for serious Christians? Is this when we live in joy, in humility, in
compassion, in moral certitude, in Hope, and in stewarding of money and His
earth more than ever? Are we now faced more clearly with the distinctions
between our post-Christian "good" nation, more particularly our neighbors, and
us with the message of godly living with joy that still answers the search of
hungry hearts? Barna's research group identifies only 4% of Americans as
having a biblical world view. Will this change upward? Or…?
Our electorate, by however landslide-ish or mandate-ish it may be labeled, has
decreed this as our nation's will. We have to accept it as God's, too. We have
other obligations. As patriots, we accept what is not our will as the will of the
whole. We must be willing to set aside prejudice where it disables us from
serving honorably as citizens. There is hope…and Hope. We are the center of it.
The vote was nothing—whichever way you voted—by comparison to your
careful, intentional actions for the future. Four years? Eight? Of little
importance to the real scheme of things, God's scheme.
Then comes the next Stage, the one special estate of true believers, that may
actually be a painful encounter with one of God's too-oft-forgotten mandates:
WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR PRESIDENT AND THE OTHER GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP
AND THE OTHER GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP WE MAY THINK IS SIMPLY WRONG.
One closing note: Every time you see President (elect) Obama speak, pray for
him. The decisions he faces are more than huge. And, whom he chooses to
assist his presidency is crucial at every level. Invoke God's wisdom for him.
After wrestling with my feeling a bit, I was able to pray sincerely for him this
morning. Also, pray for your fellow Christian citizens that we all will prove to be
lights in darkness and prove gracious and humble, not angry and partisan.
History shows (as does current events in pagan countries) that the church under
pressure grows. May it be so.
NOW, IF THIS ATTEMPT TO ENCOURAGE YOU WAS A BIT TOO HEAVY TO PLOW
THROUGH, HOW ABOUT THIS SENT FROM A FRIEND LAST NIGHT:
TOP TEN PREDICITIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.
People should read this.
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