When to Ask for Forgiveness

Jesus told the people:

Matthew 5:23-24

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

On the other hand have you noticed that most of the time our public prayers end with our asking for our sins to be forgiven?

If we really believed we had sins that required forgiveness wouldn't that be the first thing for which we would ask? We have several phrases we use to signal we are approaching the end of this prayer. Our public prayers are to fill the time allocated for a prayer not for communicating with God.

Not Apples and Oranges

 

1 Corinthians 16:1-4  

    Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.  [2] On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.  [3] And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.  [4] If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

 

The expression Now concerning identifies these instructions as a reply to a question Paul had been asked earlier.

 

The collection to which Paul refers is for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Sunday was convenient. The amount was to be as they had prospered. The purpose served for the instructions was so the contribution would be available when Paul arrived. Christians were to store up money, supplies, produce, animals etc for Paul and local representatives, if they so chose, to take to Jerusalem for Christians in need. This collection had nothing to do with the support of the activities and comfort of the local congregation.

 

The bible does not support our contention this storing up was an "act of worship."

The example was directed outward. We have changed that to inward. We use the funds mostly for our own benefit. The example, helping the poor appears is not optional. Preachers, buildings, secretaries, church supplies, pews etc are not addressed in the bible making them non biblical and optional.

Members of any organization should be willing to support the activities of that organization. This is reason enough to keep the membership informed and involved.  

We have taken a convenience and made it law does anyone see Pharisee?

 

Why is the GSMCOC?

If you ask typical church members why their church exists, you'll get a wide variety of answers. A survey of members of nearly a thousand churches asked the question "Why does the church exist?"

 

89 percent said "The church's purpose is to take care of my family's and my needs." For many, the role of the (preacher) is simply to keep the sheep who are already in the "pen" happy and not lose too many of them. 11 percent said, "The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ."

 

The leaders of the same churches answered exactly opposite. 90 percent said the purpose of the church was to win the world and 10 percent said it was to care for the needs of the members.

 

Is it any wonder why we have conflict, confusion, and stagnation in many churches today? If the leaders and congregation can't agree on why the church exists, conflict and disagreement on everything else is inevitable.

 

Unless the driving force behind a church is biblical, the health and growth of the church will never be what God intended.

 

Why does Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ exist? No where does the bible suggest allowing others to assemble with us is a goal of the New Testament church.

 

Are we relevant? Are we having an impact? Is the church Jesus established on Pentecost better because we exist?

 

What is Wrong?

We do not pray as Paul prayed. Our prayers are not concerned with the same issues that concerned Paul. We want health and wealth and success and miracles and church growth and prayer in schools and a conservative president and a job and a good life for our children and…and…

James tells us we do not receive what we ask for because "you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." We ignore that and pray mostly for ourselves to use it on our passions. Jesus said where your treasure is is where your heart will be. Our treasure is us.

All religions that believe in God, a god or higher being of some sort pray to that entity. None receive answers, all our comfortable. In Old Testament times Cyrus permitted the people he conquered to keep their religion. The religion made no difference. Religion keeps a people docile. Allowing that Christians follow Jesus and Jesus is God one would think the prayers of Christians would make a difference but they do not. What is wrong?

God Does Not Cause Bad Things to Happen

God permits the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

John 9:1-3

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The disciples' initial question is not logical. How or when could the man have sinned to cause blindness at his birth? Can we sin before we are born?

God did not cause or permit this man to be born blind to give Jesus an opportunity to heal him. The weaknesses and illnesses of the parents or the surroundings of the persons had been such the result was the baby was blind at birth. This man having been born blind provided Jesus an opportunity to give him sight, demonstrate Jesus' power and kindness, and make known the power of God to the world. This does not suggest all suffering and disorder does not come as the result of sin and violation of God's law. The blindness was not the direct result of sins of his parents or in fact the baby.

John 11:1-4

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Lazarus was sick. Jesus could have prohibited his death but did not. Death was not the object. Jesus had another reason to delay to permit Lazarus to die. Jesus was honored through the exhibition of miraculous power in raising Lazarus from the dead.

The Auditorium is NOT a Holy Place

We stress the church is people not buildings; then we sing

"The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before him"

to remind folks they are in a holy place. Church auditoriums are places you whisper, dress up, and do not dare carry a cup of coffee into. Listen to the reasons given to small children concerning why they should not run in the auditorium after the assembly.

Unconditional Love vs Moral Guardians

 

The story of the  Samaritan woman at the well provides an example to us how to react to sin. Jesus did not mention the fact she had had five husbands and that the man she was living with was not her husband to confront or to judge or to "fix" her. He offered no commentary and dismissed it as not relevant to his primary concern. He mentioned it only to convince her that he was the Messiah. Jesus let her know he knew everything about her past and that his offer of "life" was still available to her, no questions asked. Knowing this the woman ran back into town and happily proclaimed  she had met a man who knew every thing about her, including her sin. If she felt Jesus shamed her or was judging her it would have hardly been a happy occasion.

 

The point of the story is not how Jesus fixes people's moral lives but how he loves people and how he offers everlasting life regardless of their moral lives. We are to: "walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." We are to see a need and meet it. . .no questions asked. We must not do what Jesus did not do: position ourselves as wiser, morally superior guardians and "fixers" of others. Moral guardianship was what the Pharisees did . . .not Jesus.

 

   

 

Gospel Preacher or Keynote Speaker

Matthew wrote that Jesus told the disciples to

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

One can preach about Jesus to the unsaved. According to a dictionary preaching is to speak, plead or argue in favor of. But you have to teach people to observe all that Jesus taught. According to the same dictionary teach means impart skills or knowledge to; accustom gradually to some action or attitude.

Our formal service permits only preaching. A preacher should be out preaching while back at the home front elders should be teaching. We have neither. We have a key note speaker.

Freedom of Religion Unless the State Does Not Like Your Religion

The media and the courts continue to beat-up the Mormons. As Christians applaud the life sentence given to Warren Jeffs we would be wise to remember that the majority and laws have never been and never will be the correct measure of what is right. Relying on government to enforce our morality is dangerous. What the government gives the government can take away.

Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna, Austria, November 02, 1755, child number 15 out of 16 born to the Empress Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis I. To preserve the alliance between Austria and France, Marie was married to the future king of France, Louis the 16th, when she was 14 years old. The world has changed. Today we would most probably have Marie's parents arrested.

Most states set the minimum age to marry between and including 14-18 with New Hampshire setting the minimum age for girls at 13. In Utah for those 15 years old, parental consent must be obtained, approval from Juvenile Court is necessary with the court concluding the marriage is voluntary and in the best interests of the minor.

Throughout most of the 19th century, the minimum age of consent for sexual intercourse in many of the states was 10 years old. In Delaware it was seven; as late as 1930 twelve states allowed boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 to marry with parental consent.

If the state can decide what is best for the FLDS when do you suppose they will decide what is best for the Church of Christ and what do you suppose that might be?

Based on tradition we would probably have Jesus' grandparents on his mother's side arrested for letting their daughter marry at such a young age especially to an older man like Joseph. Do you suppose Joseph was a pedophile?

As I have often said most Christians operate on automatic. They have no idea what they believe or why they believe it but they are sure they are right because someone such as a preacher told them so. What is the real reason we do not like the Warren Jeffs of the world? Are the men envious wishing they were Jeffs? Are the women jealous that young girls are so much in demand?

Oh, another thing. Marie Antoinette is one of the most famously misquoted people in history. It was actually an earlier princess, Maria Theresa of Spain, who said, "If there is no bread, let them cake."

Praying for Marriage in America?

In the September 2011 issue of Christian Chronicle the Editor Emeritus wrote in his Opinion article Praying for marriage in America that he is praying for marriage as an institution in the life of the United States. He also mentioned he is praying for marriage as a meaningful, godly union where people develop rich, full lives blended by the Holy Spirit. Sounds nice but what does it mean?

 

What specifically does "pray for marriage" mean? What specifically won't God already be doing, if he was going to do anything, or want to do without such a prayer? Until we get specific and have Bible support for our prayers we are no different than the Pharisee thumping his chest and thanking God he was not like the sinner. Most prayers are a waste of time and breath.

Prayer Either "Works" or it Does Not 'Work"

Look at the following story with special attention to the 5th paragraph from the end.

http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2159422~At_church,_recovering_addicts_must_come_out_of_hiding

If prayer "works" how could anything take more than an "I'm praying for you?"

Looking to Government to Enforce Morality

Christians err when they look to government to enforce morality. What government gives government can take away.

What Can I Spare? vs What Will It Take?

In times of need whether the need is to spread the news about Jesus or help in times of physical needs too many Christians ask "What can I spare?" when they should be asking "What will it take?"

Here and Now

Jesus told Pilot: ""My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."  The result of that position Jesus died as did most of the apostles and many of his followers. How should that affect about the "here and now"?

 

Now I realize Jesus wanted to die. But how should his statement guide us as to our physical protection? Paul ran rather than fight.  Today, Christians are looking to the "now" and live too much for the "now." Listen to the public prayers. We are focused on the world not on heaven: on the physical not the spiritual: on the flesh not the spirit.

 

 

 

Was Not and Is Not

The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an oath of loyalty to the federal flag and the Republic of the United States of America composed in 1892. Adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942 it has been modified four times with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954.

Prior to 1942 the United States did not have a "pledge."pledge did not exist. Before 1954 the United States was not considered a nation  "under God." It was not and is not.

In 1956 "in God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States. The phrase first appeared on coinage on the 1864 on the two-cent coin. ince 1938, all coins have borne the motto.

In July 1954, just one month after the phrase "under God" was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress required the motto on all coins and currency. The motto was added to paper money during 1957 to 1966.

The point is the United States was not and is not a country under God and has not and does not trust in God. Christians are in the world but not of the world and should act like it.