I once attended a church where it appeared that I made two of the clergy angry. One was older. He never smiled at me or ever gave any indication of welcome, let alone kindness. Once or twice he reached around behind me to smile and welcome another. If I had committed some great offense I was never shown what it was. The other was younger and phoned me up to ask why I had not provided an “Exit Interview”. He seemed quite put out about it. I neither executed any “Membership Document” nor verbally expressed an interest in becoming a “Member”. I thought being a member of the Body of Christ was enough. If there was a contract written, stated or implied I was ignorant of it.
Perhaps I was wrong by being a regular participant in the worship and providing them with a portion of my tithe.
If someone is angry at you, and you both are going to continue in contact, he should tell you what it is you do or say bothers him. And you should do the same. No one can improve from a wrong if they don't know what the wrong is. Things like that can bother a person for a lifetime.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
CHANGING JUDGMENTS
2 Cor 1 (paraphrased): "When we purpose things within ourselves it is 'yes' or 'no'. But the purposes (or promises) of God are 'yes' "(v20). We make up our minds according to an occasion and decide “yes” or “no” about the occasion. It may be “yes” today, buy tomorrow the situation may change and then become “no”.
The promises of God are not made up to fit the situation but are decided beforehand. What is “yes” today will be “yes” and not “no” tomorrow. When we can, we should make up our minds using God’s everlasting principals as our base, and not with facts that change from day to day or minute to minute.
A man kills another man with a brick. Today we say he should be hanged (“yes”). Tomorrow we look at his background: the brick thrower is disadvantaged, he was beaten and abused all his life, he was half crazed with drugs, the dead man was an undercover police officer who was wanting to entrap the brick thrower. Tomorrow we reconsider and say he should not be hanged (“no”).
God’s law does not change. If a man sheds a man’s blood, by the hand of other men must his blood be shed. We say, “unless there is a situation such as war, self defense, or by accident (no malice of forethought)”. Have we instituted mercy into a Biblical concept where there seems to be none? Yet we notice men of the Bible were not put to death because they killed others in battle, cities of refuge were set aside for people who killed another accidentally.
The promises of God are not made up to fit the situation but are decided beforehand. What is “yes” today will be “yes” and not “no” tomorrow. When we can, we should make up our minds using God’s everlasting principals as our base, and not with facts that change from day to day or minute to minute.
A man kills another man with a brick. Today we say he should be hanged (“yes”). Tomorrow we look at his background: the brick thrower is disadvantaged, he was beaten and abused all his life, he was half crazed with drugs, the dead man was an undercover police officer who was wanting to entrap the brick thrower. Tomorrow we reconsider and say he should not be hanged (“no”).
God’s law does not change. If a man sheds a man’s blood, by the hand of other men must his blood be shed. We say, “unless there is a situation such as war, self defense, or by accident (no malice of forethought)”. Have we instituted mercy into a Biblical concept where there seems to be none? Yet we notice men of the Bible were not put to death because they killed others in battle, cities of refuge were set aside for people who killed another accidentally.
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