While reading today came across this interesting piece. Take time to read it please in light of scriptural authority and make sure to watch the video and listen to the sound bytes. I'll post later.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pastor-rick-henderson/osteen-meyer-prosperity-gospel_b_3790384.html
God bless you all!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
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Monday, August 19, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
A question to think about
Church: A Place or a
People
Many will
attribute the word church to a building.
It might be a pristine building, a house of Worship on the court square,
or it might be an old, broad boarded house in the woods, at the end of a
country road. Whatever the building is
or design that it follows, it is not a church.
I have seen
and been in some magnificent buildings were people gather Sunday after
Sunday. I think of Howards’ Chapel,
located on the north side of DeSoto State Park in northeast Alabama. No other place of worship can compare. The old stone building, built into a huge
boulder at one end, with stain hardwoods floors and high vaulted ceiling, with
exposed beams is nothing less than worshipful.
But it was not a church.
In Roswell,
Georgia I sat in the sanctuary of the Roswell Street Baptist Church during a
conference for pastors from around the southeast. It was such a foreboding facility. A balcony encircled the main floor, with a
pulpit, choir loft and orchestra pit at the front of the ornate sanctuary. But it was not a church.
No, no
matter where the building is or how well kept or beautiful the building is, it
is not the church. For the church is not
cold stone, stained glass windows, and studio production lighting. Mortar and wood, marble and hard clay a
church does not make.
A church is
a living, breathing organism. A church
is something that can speak, touch, smell, weep, laugh, and breathe. The church is not the building; the church is
the people that make up the family of God.
We are the
church! Those of us who have received
Christ as Savior. Those who have been
baptized into the body of Christ. The
ones who have joined themselves to the local body of believers. Yes, that is the church in the world
today! We are the visible, change
agents of Christ in the world.
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous
of good works.
Titus
2:13-14 (KJV)
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Tooting Your Own Horn...
Tooting
Your Own Will Get You in Trouble
By:
Dr. Jeff Fuller
People
go around bragging and boasting about what they have done, tooting their horn
for all to hear those amazing things they have accomplished. There once was a preacher who was fond of
saying, “He who tooteth not his own horn; his horn getteth rusty.” That might be fine if you are a trumpet
player, but…
Is
it right to brag and boast about the wonderful things you have done? You take a meal to a shut in, put a tank of
gas in the neighbors car, buy groceries for a family who is experiencing a
difficult time, and go around telling everyone what you have done; is this the
way we are to do ministry?
Jesus
said in Matthew 6, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be
noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in
heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored
by men…they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not
let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will
be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:1-4)
My
attempt in assisting others in their spiritual walk is to encourage and teach
them that they do what God leads them to do, not saying anything about it. I remind them is best to do the good deed and
leave it there. Keep it quiet; let God reward
you for your acts of kindness.
The
woman with the two mites in the Temple comes to mind. The scripture says:
“[Jesus] watched how the crowd dropped money into the
treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow…dropped in two tiny coins
worth very little. He said to them, ‘I
assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple
treasury…they gave out of their surplus…she out…poverty has put in everything
she possessed; all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:41-44 HCSB)
The religious leaders and the elite
were known to take their money, toss it into the jar, making a huge show as
they gave their offering. People turned
their heads in the direction of the sound and the giving attention to the rich. Not so with the little widow woman.
This poor little widow did not have
much and not desirous of attention. As a
matter of fact no one gave her much notice as she eased through the complex, hiding
waiting for that moment when no one was watching. She eased through the crowd keeping away from
the eyes of others. Quietly placing her
last two coins, worth not much more than a penny today, in the jar she eased
back into the shadows.
While the elite rulers and teachers
gave great deal, making a show of their giving; the little widow was quietly
giving all she had without pretense. Jesus
was able to reward her by saying, “she [gave more] out of her poverty.”
We have more than this widow woman,
with the ability to help in many ways, the question to answer is who are we
trying to impress? Do we give so others
might see and praise us or is it because we love Jesus and want Him to be
pleased with us? The Bible clearly says
that we will be rewarded; our reward will either be temporary or eternal.
As we aid and assist others in this
life, receiving praise, pats on the back, and impressive plaques, we are receiving
temporal rewards. When we perform quiet
acts of kindness; we give and no one knows who acted in a tangible way we are
building up those eternal rewards. It is
more important to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35) It is more vital to us that God praise us
than have our name written in the papers.
It is more satisfying to know we are seen by God and praised by Him!
Let me encourage you to give. Give so others might know the love and
goodness of God, and let your rewards come from the hand of God. He will remember. He will reward.
Until next time…
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Listen...
Do you hear what I hear?
Rhetoric!
That is all we hear. Constantly,
over and over again, attempting to drown out the voices of reason and
wisdom. On the one side there is
rhetoric which is an “effective expression in writing or speech,” on the other
hand there are those who speak or write with “language which is not
sincere.”
While I pray that each time I speak it is rhetoric
which is effective and sincere; I know that at times I may be flapping my gums
for the sake of being heard. We had a
word in high school for that. I am
afraid this is a lot of what is going on around us in our world today,
particularly in relation to the government.
We hear speeches; speeches that stir the heart and
soul. These are speeches which could be
published and handed down from generation to generation. These are so good that “sound bytes” are
created from speeches and heard over and over again through the news outlets,
on the Internet, and even on Facebook and printed in the newspapers and
magazines.
Yet, these are void of action, void of purpose, void
of any worthwhile exercise to carry them out, and to see the intent of the
speech to the end result-change. Yes, we
have heard it before, and we will hear it again, but there will be no
effect. It is a speech that sounds good,
makes people feel good, but there will be no action. Rhetoric!
Also, there are those who write or speak with no
thought to answering the questions. It
is not because those who are asking the questions, “can’t handle the answer”, but
it is because the speaker does not have an answer. He or she will make sure that their potential
answer to the question makes them look good, that they love the country, and
have the best interest of society at heart, but they ramble with no
answer. Non-whatsoever! Rhetoric!
For every speech or writing there are two very clear
rules that everyone must abide by. One
is, “Remember the Three S’s.” These are
important principles to live by: “Stand Up, Speak Up, and Shut Up.” The other is as important and it is the
acrostic for the word KISS: Keep It Simple Silly. (I actually changed the last
word in that principle, in honor of my wife)
Another is honesty.
The Bible says, “Let
your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’ Anything more than this is
from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 HCSB)
If you know the truth; speak the truth and write the truth. If you do not know the truth or the answer,
then just admit you do not have any knowledge of the issue and leave it
alone. Afterwards the question can be
researched out, and then you can speak wisely and intelligently.
Lastly, be
humble. It is easy to be full of ourselves
and attempt to show how we can lord over others, but humility will go a great deal
farther. Jesus, the greatest example of
humility I have ever known, said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 HCSB) Those who desire the high places of
leadership for gain will ultimately fail and fall; those whose trust is in the
Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6), God places in high places of leadership and these
individuals will be there because God put them there and whatever befalls them
they will stand. (Matthew 7:24) If all
of us will trust God and place our lives in His hands, He will do as He pleases
with us and we will find favor with God and with man. (James 4:4:6-10 and 1
Peter 5:6)
My desire
is to be heard, to know the subject for which I am to speak about and have a
relationship with God that others will see and glorify God, not me. I want to be that light and salt Jesus spoke
of in the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt
should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for
anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. “You are the light of the
world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and
puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all
who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew
5:13-16 HCSB)
Will you join
me in being “effective…sincere?” Will
you pray with me that God will raise up godly leaders who will bring us back to
God and His love and His favor? Will
you?
Until next
time…
Monday, July 8, 2013
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