Monday's Message: Assembled, for better or worse?

Going to Church is a good and holy thing to do, but one can go for the wrong reasons rendering the action virtually ineffective!  You must go prepared to focus on hearing the Word and acting on what you have heard.  There seems to be a growing belief that going to church on Sunday is the majority of what Christ expects of us.  I have seen folks come with the attitude, “Well, I am here, what more do you want?”  How sad!  When I am invited to a family meal at my parent’s home, I generally bring something with me and go prepared to engage in conversation.  When we go to the Father’s house, why would our actions, intentions, or expectations be any different?  Both the individual believer and the church must operate on the same philosophy, Jesus is the head and His Word dictates our direction and actions.  When opinions are allowed to dictate the direction of the church or the believer, heresy will always be the result.  This situation reminds me of a quote by Dr. Tony Hudson, “To stop short of a Bible principle is compromise, and to go beyond a Bible principle is cultish.”  We can cause spiritual harm to our brothers and sisters in Christ if we elevate our preferences over HIS principles. We all need to worship, fellowship, and aid in discipleship inside the confines provided for us by the Word of God.

 I Corinthians 11:17-19:

17  Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 

18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 

19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

 

Family Friday: The Bible is Not Trail Mix!

The Bible is not trail mix!

WOW! How can anyone read these statements and not feel a twinge of guilt?  I seem to live there. I absolutely love the parts in Psalms where God is right there for you when you need Him, but tend to forget the parts like “judge not, lest ye be judged.”  It was rather apparent about a month ago…I am so judgmental.  I form an opinion by a look someone gives me, or silence perceived as anger.  I think I have a superhero power to assume the worst about people.  And it’s not good. About a month ago, my husband was sitting listening to a preaching cd in our office.  I heard the special before the preaching started, and started having horrible thoughts like, “Wow, that person is way off key.  That was rough. I wonder who is singing that badly.”  I walk in the office to ask my husband who that horrible singer is, only to realize midsentence, that it sounds an awful lot like me. I ask him, “Is that me?”  He looks at me, totally bewildered, and said, “Yes.”  I told him what I was thinking and he starts to smirk.  (Totally deserved)  I realized then, I wanted to make excuses for why I may have sounded so badly.  I am an emotional singer, everyone sounds different when they’re recorded, I was nervous. Yet, when you really come down to it, I just sounded plain bad, no matter the reason.  It was a good lesson to learn.  I had formed an opinion about that terrible singer, only to realize it was me.  If I had given that terrible singer the benefit of the doubt beforehand like I wanted to give myself once I realized it was me,  that would have been far better.  But we are so quick to see what everyone else should fix, and we rarely give anyone the benefit of the doubt.  I am so thankful for a God that is patient and never judges the book by the cover. Each day, I should be striving to become more like my Heavenly Father—full of patience and not judging by the exterior.(Frankly, since then, I have become way more lenient with the judgments of my fellow performers.)

Thoughtful Thursday: My Jesus Loves Me!

Ever have one of the moments where a small, seemingly insignificant moment to most, makes you feel Jesus’ love for you greatly?  I call those “My Jesus Loves Me” moments!

Knowing my Jesus loves me makes me happy.

How do I know He loves me?

Well, it clearly states it in the Bible.  John 3:16 says:  "For God so loved the world...".

On the cross, Jesus proclaimed the greatest act of love ever.

 

There are many other verses that proclaim the love of Jesus towards us also.

One of my favorites is Psalms 103:2 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

On a daily basis, I think there are many ways that Jesus shows His love for us.  I encourage you to stop and notice the smaller, (unintentionally) over-looked ways.  Just look for anything that makes you feel like Jesus just gave you a hug and whispered "I love you!".

It could be:

• Something nice someone did for you.
• Kind words that made you smile.
• Your boss letting you leave a few minutes early.
• Turning on the car to find your favorite song on the radio.
•  A "for no reason" hug from someone you love.
• A beautiful flower growing in an odd place.
• A few quiet moments to yourself.
• A nice person letting you merge in traffic.

  I’d love for you to share your “My Jesus Loves Me” moments from this week.

Teen Tuesday: Insecurity - Part Two

 Written by Dave McCroskey

PART TWO: A FEELING OF FAILURE

I have a fairly extensive medical history. 30 surgeries, an innumerable number of

hospital visits, multiple medications, and an endless list of medical procedures have

combined to make me fairly resilient while facing anything unknown. I do have one

fairly significant fear though failure. I’ll admit that it’s my weakness. I hate the

thought of not being good enough...letting myself or other down...failing.

So many young people live trapped by a feeling of failure. “I’m not good enough.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done.” “I’ve already blown it.” Too many people can’t move

forward because they’re stuck in the past.

In the first six verses of Psalms 139, we discover a potentially life-changing truth: God

knows everything about us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows us

better than anyone ever has or ever could. God is the expert on your life. God is the

Authority on your life.

God’s opinion of you trumps even your opinion of you! “O Lord, thou hast searched me,

and known me...and art acquainted with all my ways...” (Psalms 139) God knows

everything about you and whatever He says about you matters much more than the way

you may feel about yourself.

Many people feel like they are a failure. They feel like they have messed up their life

beyond restoration. From God’s perspective, however, nothing could be further from

the truth. In I Peter 2:9 the Bible says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal

priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises

of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” God says, “You

are a redeemed, reclaimed, chosen, child of God! You are a saint!”

God knows everything about you and yet He thought you were important enough to die

for, and that is nothing to be insecure about!

Monday's Message: Custom or Command?

Paul addresses several customs and procedures for the church in this passage.  Just as meat offered unto idols is an uncommon issue for us today, veils on ladies is not as prevalent today, because our culture and manner of dress is much different.  The veil covering a woman’s head was a symbol of her submission to her God given authority.  If she was a married woman then this was referencing her proper relationship to her husband, and if she was unmarried this was a reference to her submission to her father.  We are speaking of a time when women were not allowed to own property, vote, or hold public office.  They were required to be under the authority and protection of a man. We must also realize that is was the custom of pagan priestesses in that region to wear their hair unveiled during prayer to their false god and to dance and fling their hair around in worship to false gods. It was also common for them to shave their heads and sacrifice the hair to their god, often using it to decorate idols and symbols of the false religion. Most Jewish women customarily remained covered in the market and in the church.  They really were not permitted to leave their homes without a covering on their head. 

The underlying issue that I believe is being exposed here is they had a desire to be perceived as more spiritual by following and strictly keeping and enforcing certain rules.  Our relationship with God is not kept or improved by completing a list of obligations on a repeated basis, but rather by coming to know Him in an intimate manner.  Yes, there are some definite expectations placed on believers, but it is not the keeping of those rules that makes a person a good Christian, it is a surrendered heart and a Christ-like spirit.  Our concern should always be, “How well do I resemble Christ?” We are not called to be like other believers; we are commanded to be like Christ.  Believer, avoid the desire and the atmosphere of comparison.  Honor God, and He will take care of the rest.

I Corinthians 11:2-16:

2  Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 

3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 

4  Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 

5  But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 

6  For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 

7  For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 

8  For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 

9  Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 

10  For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. 

11  Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 

12  For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. 

13  Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? 

14  Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 

15  But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. 

16  But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.