Pray a Blessing?

Christians live in a dream world. They delude themselves. Yesterday in "The Closing Prayer" the fellow told God "we pray a blessing on" someone I forget who. What specifically does it mean "pray a blessing?" No one knows but it sounds good. It helps fill the time allocated for a "Closing Prayer."

Grace 5485

Grace, highest privilege. It means a gift or a favor, an unmerited and undeserved gift or favor.  

 

The favor and blessings of God; the undeserved and unmerited favor and blessings of God; the depth and richness of the heart and mind of God; the kindness and love that dwells within the very nature of God. God's grace covers all of life.

 

Grace: a term employed by the Biblical writers with a considerable variety of meaning:

 

Properly speaking that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, charm, sweetness, loveliness;

Good will, loving kindness, mercy etc;

the kindness of a master toward a slave.

 

Thus by analogy, it has come to signify the kindness of God to man

 

Grace is something that is God-given, made possible only by Jesus Christ and none other. It is God's gift of salvation granted to sinners for their salvation. The Christian teaching is that grace is God sending his son to die on a cross to give us eternal salvation.

Are Slaves a Blessing from God to his Followers?

Those who want the Ten Commandments to be recognized today need to be careful what they wish for. Apparently we are expected to keep slaves.

Leviticus 25:44-46 

    As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly. 

Exodus 21:7-11 

    "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

And realize that no place in the New Testament where Jesus objects to the practice of slavery. But via inspiration he has Paul tell the Christians in Ephesus as well as Timothy how to treat slaves:

Ephesians 6:5 

    Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,  

1 Timothy 6:1-4 

    Let all who are under a yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,  

Either the entire Law or nothing you choose. . .

    

    

Divine Guidance and Morality?

Christians need to explain how a loving God would create humankind from nothing give us, compared with infinity, a very short life span and torture us for all infinity if we do not say and think nice things about him.

 

Jesus told us to treat others as we would that we were treated. But through inspiration he told Paul and John to tell us:

 

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9

    since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 

 

John 15:6

    If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 

 

Reads kind of like the Koran don't you think?

 

The Church Jesus Established on Pentecost Does Not Like Music

Have you ever heard anyone say they loved church services because they loved to sing and that they enjoyed the musical part of the service? I have not, at least from those associated with a Church of Christ. Would there be many Country Western or Gospel entertainers if they had been raised in the Church of Christ?

 

It is easy to see how few songs have been written by those associated with the Church of Christ. The church Jesus established on Pentecost apparently prefers to sit quietly and to listen.

Just Might Be Worth a Thought or Two

According to the Oxford anthropoligist Robin Dunbar, an individual cannot handle more than 150 friends. The human brain was not built to keep track of more people than that. The day Jesus died he had around 120 people who were doing what he told them to do. That should tell the leaders of the mega churches something.

Discern

John Calvin's commentary on 2nd Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 includes:

 

(God) "has enjoined upon us frugality and temperance, and has forbidden that any one should go to excess, taking advantage of his abundance. Let those, then, that have riches...consider that their abundance was not intended to be laid out in intemperance or excess, but in relieving the necessities of the brethren." Calvin said that half the church's funds should be allotted specifically for the poor. He concluded that "no one is to be allowed to starve."

 

Governments and organizations make the same mistake. While in their beginning their motives may have been correct they slowly slip into the attitude that the money they are given to dispense is "their" money to be used as they choose to use it. Our emergency fund contains the contributions of hundreds of people who thought we had a need. We have taken "their" contribution and put it into "our" emergency fund in case we need it. If those contributors had known we did not need their contribution they could have used the money to help someone who needed help.

 

I mentioned this before and was bombarded by some of the recipients when I said that GSMCOC does not need to operate on "faith" because we do not make any plans without knowing the source of the funds.  I was told emphatically that relying on God is testing God and that is sin.  I was equally as emphatically told that not knowing is bad business. Those reactions were spoken by people who never did anything without knowing. They have never experienced the loss of a job without a new job plainly in sight. They have not experienced a natural disaster where you wake up one morning and have: no house, no clothes, no food, no money, no credit cards, no driver's license or other form of identification. Not having experienced something of that order we comfortably and leisurely discuss our possible assistance and who is in charge and do they really need our funds.  

 

There is a distinct difference between giving to God and giving to "the church". The example of the church at Corinth "laying by in store" was to help others. We encourage people to give to us.

 

Giving to God is a scriptural concept (Matt 22:21); Giving to "the church" could just be an emotional response to a well-orchestrated man-made appeal which is out of God's Will and God's Word. So it is important for us to study God's Word so that we are able to discern whether funds being solicited are based on sound New Testament Scriptural principles. 

Suggestion for the Budget Committee

Hi Ray,

 

Have you ever heard folks say when you are working on a budget you should first "purpose in your heart" an amount to be set aside to be given to your church and your retirement or savings and then lay out a budget to pay your bills, pay for vacations, buy clothes, buy a new house, buy a new car, hire a maid or chauffeur and etc? I will presume you have because I have. When you cannot make ends meet, based on discussions when the topic was benevolence, the attitude of the men of our congregation would be you should cut back on expenses, refinance loans, sell off assets such as cars etc stop buying anything not absolutely necessary and get another job or jobs.

 

Here is a suggestion for the Budget Committee. When you are developing the GSMCOC budget for 2012 first of all set aside money to do what the church is supposed to do. Not for ourselves but for others: taking the gospel to Pigeon Forge; setting aside funds for benevolence and projects such as those that the women have going and etc then layout the budget to pay the bills.  If we cannot make ends meet we should cut back. If we cannot cut back due to commitments we have to figure out something such as looking into refinancing the building, reduction of staff salaries or reduction of staff etc. Instead of another job or jobs an organization such as GSMCOC has to seek additional contributions etc  

 

This might be a reasonable time for us to practice what we tell others to do. 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/ 
          http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

No amount of observations of white swans can allow the conclusion that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion.

Karl Popper

Not Me, I'm Not Called

Jesus told his apostles "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

But we often hear "I am not called to foreign missions." By foreign missions we mean an optional program for a dedicated few who apparently are called. The rest of us are willing to watch the presentations of those few when they report what they have been doing hoping we will provide the funds for them to continue.

Where does the bible suggest missions are optional? That Jesus' instructions to his apostles were optional and not required. We have taken this command and made it something only a few "have to" do.

On the other hand we take Jesus instructions to the crowds "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" as meaning me.

We take Jesus' statement to his apostles: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" and say it refers to some people and Jesus' promise "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" means me.

As David Platt says, we have taken the obligations of Christianity to mean a few others and the privileges of Christianity to mean me. We send others who we say "are called" while the rest stay behind with the others because we "are not called."

Message of Christianity

Christians enjoy what they call "rightly dividing the Word." God told Jeremiah "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Christians take the first part to mean that God knows each of us before we are born. They do not believe God appointed them a prophet to the nations.

If you ask a group of Christians to summarize the message of Christianity you will probably hear "God loves me" or "God loves me so much he sent his Son to die for me." If the message of Christianity is "God loves me" then who is Jesus?

If the object of Christianity is "me" then when we look for a congregation we look for music that fits me, programs that cater to me, and my family. When I am making plans for my life and my career it is all about what is best for me and my family. When I decide where I will live, the car I will drive, the clothes I will wear, the way I will live, it is all what is best for me.

This is not the Christianity we find in the bible.

Jesus said:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'"

Most Christians will find they are among the many Jesus was thinking of when he said:

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Example or No Example

I cannot find an example in the Bible where the men of the congregation conducted the business of the congregation. For a group proud of its reliance on examples this is curious to say the least.

 

Paul appeared to consider congregations being lead by elders a necessity. He left Titus in Crete, so that he might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town.

 

Today congregations may exist for 10, 20 or more years without elders. Lead by men who do not meet Paul's requirements to be elders qualified nor are they interested in becoming qualified. But they do feel qualified to lead the activities of the congregation. In these situations preachers become defacto pastors while criticizing churches not organized as the Bible says they should be.   

 

Tired Leaders

Our congregation's leaders are tired. Our congregation's leaders are satisfied with the status quo. Our congregation's leaders are satisfied with the congregation swelling instead of growing. When was the last time you were excited about inviting others to attend the adult bible class?

 

Sunday school growth requires effective leaders who plan thoroughly and keep people informed.

 

When a church is committed to reach new people and its members are excited about inviting others, everywhere members go they talk positively about their congregation, their Bible study program, and their fellow members and leaders.

 

Our adult bible classes are more like Town Meetings than learning situations. Because no serious attention was afforded acoustics, before one can comment or ask a question a microphone needs to be brought to them, thus quenching the enthusiasm and discussion. Sunday school classes need to be "open" groups where newcomers are genuinely welcomed, made to feel wanted, and assimilated into the group.  

 

Growing Sunday Schools are alert to opportunities to create new units, both inside the church building and in locations across the community.  Nor is time of day or day of week a limiting factor.  While Sunday morning may continue to be the primary Bible study time in many churches, new Bible study groups can be started any day of the week to meet at any time of day or night, to meet in various places such as private homes, apartment club rooms, or restaurants. This requires additional teachers which in turn requires teacher training which requires qualified trainers.

 

Our leaders are tired. Our congregation is in trouble.  

On the Subject of God and Athletics

If you believe God is interested in what happens on a daily basis please explain why he lets 2-year-old girls get raped and murdered; why does he let teenage boys use kittens as baseballs; why does he allow his followers to starve to death; why does he only heal cancer for example that is known to respond to chemotherapy; why doesn't he ever regrow an amputated limb. God is not active in the physical world today. As a Christian Tim Tebow is violating one of Jesus' instructions by praying in front of thousands and millions instead of going into a closet or small room and praying in secret. Jesus said God answers in secret. Then ask Tim Tebow why he doesn't attend church services. Tebow is finding he could do and say things while in college because of a limited audience. The NFL is worldwide. Thanking his teammates for victories suggests he believes they are doing it all for him. But just leave him alone. He is not the NFL.

Retirement, Not Intended for Christians

Retirement is for the middle-class. Poor people need to work or they do not eat. Rich people don't retire. Look at Warren Buffet. He has so much money he gives most of it away. Of course, he probably sets his own hours.

Retirement is a new idea. 150 years ago, almost no one thought of retiring. The idea of retirement has only been around for about 60 years.

For most of its history, retirement wasn't popular with older people. Retirement was never intended to help older people; it was intended to get rid of them.

Throughout most of history there was birth, a very brief childhood, work, and death. In other words: no retirement. Work was inseparable from life. If you lived, you worked. People worked as long as they could because not working was viewed as unseemly. If you stopped working, you were probably dead or broken beyond repair.

Today Christians hoard money for that time when they will not work. Today Christians look around they see a world of need surrounding them and say: "what you would have gained from me is reserved for the time when I will not have to work." Today Christians sound very much like the Pharisees Matthew tells us about and we can read in chapter 15.

Today, Christians believe God blesses them so they can buy oversize houses, drive expensive cars, enjoy lavish vacations, and not work.

Praying with a Smart Phone

I have several versions of the bible from Laridian on my iPod Touch so I get emails trying to sell new products. There is an "app" that helps one organize their prayers and it costs less than $2. 

Matthew 6:6   

    But when you pray, take your iPod or smart phone and go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Here is help to follow through on your promises to pray for people and be more consistent in your prayer life. Laridian's PrayerPartner App keeps track of your prayer requests and God's answers. Download today on the App Store for only $1.99.

What can PrayerPartner do for you?

• Maintain your list of prayer requests
• Keep track of answered prayer
• Organize the items you are praying for by day and category. You can schedule items to be prayed for daily, on certain days of the week, or certain days of the month.
• Mark when an item has already been prayed for that day
• Associate a prayer request with a contact from your Contacts Address Book. You can view all requests for a contact and even email a note of encouragement.

PrayerPartner makes it all so convenient!

As a new year begins, now is a great time to focus on this important aspect of our spiritual life: prayer. PrayerPartner can help you do just that!


Craig Rairdin
President
Laridian, Inc.

P.S. Download PrayerPartner on the App Store today—only $1.99.

Prayer?

When we talk about limitations of prayer we use Paul's request for removal of "the thorn" and God's negative response with an explanation. Not available to us today. When we talk about God answering prayer we use Elijah increasing the oil of the widow, raising the dead son, causing rain, and fire where God communicates directly to him also not available to us today. To support our contention that God answers prayer we use Jesus' telling his disciples that anything they asked according to his will he would do. None are applicable to us today.

Apparently I have never met a righteous man because I have never observed nor experienced a prayer that did anything not to mention "availeth much." I wonder what "prayer is powerful means?