Competition for congregants?

Paul says, " My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church is already been started by someone else." Romans 15:20. This is veeery interesting. In the N.T. there was only one church..no denominations. So, if a church had been started in a town or an area, no other apostle needed to stop there to start another one. Today of course, we have all these splits in the Body because of doctrinal issues, so I guess each denom feels that even though there might be 4 other types of churches spreading the Gospel to a community of people, that the other churches aren't doing it 'right' or well enough and they move in too. I'm not too big on that whole mindset. Then starts the 'hit and run' method. Each church vies for attendees, so they send out tracts and flyers and all sorts of advertisements and set up all kinds of fun and eye catching events. Would it not be better if a church would find out whether their presence in a place is actually needed before they set up shop? Because there are lots of little places that the churches totally miss. Areas where people are not being evangelized for Christ. I just thought this was a really cool passage of Scripture and something to really think about.

Well, amazingly I'm gonna try to start blogging again, and we'll see how it goes. O.k., so I remember hearing a teaching on the radio about how the apostles that started the church were given all the gifts of the Spirit so that they could accomplish the great works of God that were needed to get the Church up and running and be able to succeed against all the opposition and trials they were facing. The teaching said that after the Church was established, the apostle was no longer needed and the giftings were then given out to believers by the Spirit but that noone had all the gifts as the first apostles did. This made sense to me at the time but I see something in the Word that brings about some questioning to this frame of mind. First is Eph. 4:11 and 1 Cor 12:27 which list the gifts God gave to the Church, and the first one listed is 'apostle'. So, already the idea of an apostle only being one of the 12 and Paul seems perhaps not true. However, I wonder, as I have before, if our modern day missionaries are really what we would call an 'apostle' since they are the ones who go to 'all the world' to preach the gospel. Hmmm Then, about the gifts being distributed among believers so that noone has all of the gifts at once: There are many verses that state that different gifts are given to different people and we all work together in these giftings,( as a well oiled maching-or Body has many parts that need to work together). However, then we have 1 Cor. 14: 1 and 12 that seem to be saying that we should desire all gifts that would build the Body. Am I reading more into that than I should? Because most of the other passages about gifts say that 'to one is given the gift of ...' and it seems to be saying only one gift is given to each person. Hmm Does anybody have any more Scripture passages that they know of that will help me understand this all correctly? Do we all start out with one main gift and then we ask God to con't giving us more? I know also that 1 Cor 1:7 says that, " Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord.." So, really not sure, and ultimately God gives gifts as He pleases, but I am just wondering if we are gifted initially with a particular gift and then given other gifts as needed or if we should desire to have all gifts working in us all the time. It's just a curiosity really. :) And does anyone know if missionaries are actually modern day apostles? Again, prob not really a big deal, but just would like to have a more clear understanding.

crude jokes and foul language

The Bible says we aren't to speak with foul speech nor coarse jesting,( joking). I want to look at the foul speech part. Where did our society get the idea that a handful of words are 'curse' words? Some words were names for animals,( ass and bitch) and then became adj's for ppl who have the same behavior as these animals,( stubbornness and viciousness or nastiness). The 's' word is the same as saying poop, or crap...and also has a different meaning now, of simply showing agitation. The famous 'f' word, as far as I know..started out with sexual connotations and now can be used as an adj. or adv. in front of something we mean to portray badly or something that we feel is so good, cool, amazing, sic, rad, etc. that we use the 'f' with 'ing' to give special emphasis. Why do I go through all this? I am trying to show that it's really silly in most cases to even bother saying that these words are so bad. It's only because our society has labeled them that way, that we have to be cautious. However, when these words are used as insult or in a derogatory way....shouldn't we not only ban them but also include in our banning of words, anything else that is insulting, or degrading? God asks our speech to be seasoned with blessings, grace, truth, etc. So, if we call someone an idiot, moron,( my personal fav.) or anything else..shouldn't those words be just as bad as the others? If bonehead, butthead, retard, loser, nerd, jerk, are insults why are they not as bad as calling someone an 'a-hole'? So, what I'm really saying is...it not's the word/s, it's the motivation. And, that means, that not only are some of these words def. still on the 'no-no' list, but many others should be as well. When we are tempted to call out a name to someone who cuts us off, who gets pushy, who starts gossip etc., maybe instead we should remember all the times that we deserve the same treatment and try to see ppl as souls created by God, special to Him and worth our time to be kind and patient and loving. This is an 'ouch' area for me, because I'm not good in this area. But, I want to try to be full of grace in my speech. And, honestly, if you speak to me and use some of the words that are labeled as 'bad', I don't get hung up on that...I am looking to know who you are, and share with you and listen to you and hopefully have a relationship with you instead of getting all judgmental about your word choices. But, I am on a journey to change what is really important to change...not necessarily the word choices but the motivation behind the words. We don't all agree on what words are appropriate, but we can agree that God wants us to speak life and not curses.

Isaiah 28:24-29

This passage caught my eye and my heart today. God knows how hard He needs to be on us in his discipline, and He knows how much is too much. His will and purpose is not to crush us. We've heard this many times before but I love how this passage talks about it with the visual of crushing different kinds of seeds. Read it for yourselves,( it was too much for me to type) and enjoy knowing that God's heart is to lead you out of disobedience and into His perfect ways, because He wants the best for His children and He doesn't want the Enemy to succeed in his plan...which IS to crush us and destroy us. Better a little discipline from our Heavenly Father than to fall away into sin.

Prayer

Do you even wonder why we pray, when it's clear in many places of the Bible that God can and does do what He wants with people to bring about His will? It seems sometimes like there's a contradiction. We are told that if we line up our desires with God's desires then our prayers will be in His will and will be fruitful. But, I think that it's not that we are changing God's mind through our prayers, but I think He changes our minds,( and hearts) by leading us in prayer that's aligned with His will. If we don't pray, does that mean that's God's will is not going to be accomplished? Nope. So, then, why do we pray? Well, I've already mentioned that through prayer we draw closer in our relationship to God. We are having a relationship with Him and conversing/listening. We get direction and clarity by praying. However, we are also told that if we ask not, then we will have not. Does this mean that if it's God's will that someone gets healed and we don't pray for them that they won't get healed? Again, no. The accomplishment of God's will does not hinge on our obedience in prayer. But, in regards to things that God wants to give us,( i.e. patience, guidance, a certain opportunity, help with temptation, a clear mind for studying, a clear voice for presenting a speech, help breaking bondages and so on) I do believe that sometimes we don't receive because we aren't asking. God wants to bless us and meet our needs, give us testimony and faith. But, sometimes we forget that God definitely cares about both the little and the big things. Now, another thing about prayer is the passages that talk about 2 or more believers being gathered together or agreeing on the same thing getting those prayers answered. Could it be that God uses this to draw together in unity His people? He wants us to support each other, care about each other and love each other. We are to help each other carry burdens and celebrate victories. I think that the more prayers there are going up, the more strongholds that come down and the more unified the Church becomes. So, in the end, God will do His sovereign will, period. Sometimes he allows people to NOT follow in His will, and sometimes he uses people to do his will without their knowledge that He's even doing it. He can accomplish His will, with or without us. But I do believe much of His will involves the people He created. He is always working to woo us to Him and to nurture us in our walk. He wants us to pray for His will to be done, and not just vague prayers. He will put specific things on our hearts so that we can see that He was giving us a chance to take part in His doings. He also wants us to constantly ask, seek and knock, because we don't know if He is just waiting for us to come to Him and ask. And through this asking, we are connecting with Him and allowing Him to build our faith. I love that God is in control but that He gives His people opportunities to obey, and be blessed; to see victories and provisions and give praise. And as we pray, we acknowledge the One who is over all. So, yes, we should pray. No, we shouldn't feel condemned if we don't ask for something that we should have. God will use others if we miss an opportunity, but it is we who miss out the most. God will con't to give us chances to be part of His plans. And through this journey, we will constantly see Him working in and through us, to His glory. Amen.

Kings and Chronicles

As you read through the accounts of the different kings of Judah and Israel, you may notice something, which I noticed just today. I've always seen that there are obvious evil kings, and kings who followed God and were blessed. But, I noticed something today that I think applies to our life. I noticed that some kings started out not ruling God's way then God would bring another country to attack their kingdom and then all of sudden everyone would repent, including the king and God would stop the attack or at least minimize the damage done to the people. Other kings, started out serving God but let the power, riches, victories, and foreign wives sway them into living against God's ways. Then, God would remove His blessings. But, there was one that I read about today,( Jehoshaphat) who did it right...period. It says in 2 Chron. 17:3, " The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early years and did not worship the images of Baal...". And it says, " He was [DEEPLY-emphasis mine] committed to the ways of the Lord."- chap. 17, verse 6. In verses 7-9 he went a step further, and I love this. He sent out the officials, Levites and priests to all the land to read/teach the people God's Word. Now that's a king who's doing it right!!! I found that there is a very practical and important symbolism here. Some of us start out our lives hearing the gospel and simply rejecting it until tragedy befalls us and then we seek God and are saved. Others start out claiming to serve God but then don't do what we should to keep ourselves from falling. For instance, some kings married foreign wives even though God had said not to, and because of this, the foreign wives tempted them into idolatry. If the king had obeyed God, he would have kept that temptation out of his life.

Now, there were kings who did was was right and were blessed, but the blessings were different. Why? There were some kings who loved God and tried to rule according to God's ways BUT they didn't go all out. They left all or some of the idols and alters that had been erected to false gods. And even though because their hearts were right God blessed them, the blessing was not given in it's fullness. There were other kings who were sold out. They sought God, worshiped and served Him. They led their people away from false gods and to the One True God. They destroyed every last alter and idol. I love when I read of these very few kings. They kept the temptations and stumbling blocks out of their way,( and of course they weren't perfect, but their hearts were right). And their blessing was far more than others. How about you? You may serve God but have you taken everything out of your life that gives way to temptation, is a distraction, and causes stumbling blocks? It's a question we must all ask ourselves, and often.

Ecclesiastes

I found some beautiful passages in Ecclesiastes. I hadn't read in that book for awhile. I underlined so many things like Eccles. 3:11 which says, " He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." That's so true and so beautiful. Thank you Jesus for planting eternity in my heart. What about chap. 5 verse 7? " Talk is cheap like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. " Something to chew on there, at least for me. Chap. 5:12,13, "People who work hard, sleep well..." and "......Hoarding riches harms the saver." Again, truth in simple and practical terms. Chap. 7, verse 29 says, " ...God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." It's so sad to know that we were meant for such goodness. And here's one that's both encouraging and an admonishment, " Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor in your youth before you grow old and say, 'Life is not pleasant anymore'." Such good and truthful reminders. Let us take each one to heart and read them again and again. I'll end this blog with a beautiful passage from 8:1, " How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening it's harshness." It's great to seek God and all the wisdom and knowledge He's made available to us. But as we know....the foundation of both of those things is to know God, and know Him intimately! Apart from God, these things are empty of worth.