One God

"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, "Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." 

                                                                                  (Deut 13:1-4 KJV)

In the 1980's Shoko Asahara founder of “Supreme Truth” released the nerve gas sarin on five crowded subway trains during morning rush hour in Tokyo. Jim Jones founder of "People's Temple" ordered hundreds of his followers to kill themselves. Most of the followers, if not all, of the "Order of the Solar Temple," another doomsday cult, were either killed or committed suicide in the 1990's. Marshall Applewhite the leader of "Heaven's Gate" masterminded a mass suicide in 1997. They believed that a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet would pick them up and take them to a higher plane of existence after they died.

These were only a few of the false and dangerous prophets from the last few decades. There have been false prophets since the beginning of history. They and their followers lived without faith in the one true God. They believed a lie and died at their own and their leaders hands.

There are many false prophets. There are many false gods. But, there is only one God who is the Creator and Redeemer of all things. Only Him shall we worship.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." 

                                                                                      (Eph 4:4-6)

Worship Him alone!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

No Gossiping

The Eighth Commandment.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

"Sticks and stones can break your bones; but, words can never hurt you." Wrong, words can kill! They can destroy life. They can kill a spirit and; yes, they can even lead to death of the body in a whole variety of ways. Think about the one who is on trial and someone would bear false witness against him or her sending them to prison for life or aid in that person receiving a death sentence. Think about the young woman or man who is trying to overcome obstacles and bullies continue to beat them down with words. Not only can this lead to a loss of an abundant and joyful life; it can lead to serious depression and in some cases suicide. Consider the married person falsely accused of adultery, what will their partner, who in their pain and anger, do to the ones he or she feels has betrayed him?

 

Do not deceive yourselves. There are no little white lies when it comes to bearing false witness against your neighbor. Lies will destroy your neighbor. Lies will destroy your family. Lies can divide and destroy whole communities and countries. Lies will destroy you.

 

God does not desire that anyone be harmed in any way. May He help us all to speak with integrity and to help our neighbors when they are down.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Filled With The Holy Spirit; not spirits!

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Eph 5:18-19 NIV

A few members of the congregation that I recently began to serve have been asking to know more about me personally. Here's a "biggy." I use to drink. When I was young, I could party quite heartily. But, things changed. I grew up. I also came to have a personal relationship with God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Spirit. I no longer drink. My partying is pretty much restricted to worshipping God; giving thanks to Him with psalms, hymns, and songs. I have found no greater way to celebrate life than to live my life in Christ and I have indeed sought other ways. They didn't work. They were paths that led to destruction; while the Spirit of Christ leads to life.

I did not get much sleep last night. Today, I have a full schedule ahead of me. There is a Bible Study in just a few hours; then worship; then a Memorial Service and a fellowship this afternoon. I did not get much sleep because I was concerned about the safety of my family. My son and his family have been visiting from Michigan. They have been staying at an RV park near us. Last night some very young adults rented the little cabin behind them. They thought it was a good idea to have a party that included a lot of underage drinkers. They built a bonfire out of pallets under the old Magnolia tree, which just happens to also hang over the camper my family was staying in. They loaded up four and more pallets on the fire. In order to make room for more pallets on the fire they would stand in the middle of the fire and dance on the pallets. The bon-fire was about ten feet from the camper that we own. The flames were coming quite close to the Spanish Moss hanging in the old Magnolia Tree. They decided to cut more wood on the site we had rented. The inebriated teens were asked to please stop and not put any more wood on the fire as there were children in the camper sleeping and it was a concern for the children's safety. They laughed. They were warned that the police would be called. They laughed again. The police came; but, not before the teens were warned that they were coming. Most of the really under-aged drinkers left before the police arrived. The police came. They had them dump out all of the alcohol. The police left. Someone went for more alcohol. They continued to drink and stoked up the fire once again. One young man threw wood and sloshed his alcohol against the camper.  Therefore; I did not get much sleep last night wondering if my family would be burned to death in their sleep because young people chose to get high on alcoholic spirits. Young people (yes, some legal adults; but, not legal drinking age) decided their right to the pursuit of happiness outweighed the well-being and safety of others. 

Over the years, I have come about as close to being a prohibitionist as one can be, without actually being a prohibitionist. I have seen too much depression; suicide; murder; drunk driving deaths; drug and alcohol overdoses leading to comas and deaths; physical and emotional abuse; deaths of very young people due to the toll alcohol and drugs take on body, mind, and spirit; just to name a few of the side affects, to even consider that abuse of drugs, legal or illegal, to be a good thing. A drink or two with friends is one thing; but, to endanger your life and the lives of others just so you can get drunk and act foolish is another. There are better, much better ways to enjoy and live life. And... so there you have it. Not a popular opinion; but, you did want to know a little bit more about me.

Do not be filled with the spirits of alcohol and other drugs. Be filled with the Spirit of Christ. In him, you will know a joy and a peace that cannot be found in chemicals.

May God fill each of you with the Holy Spirit so that you might celebrate life with hymns and songs of thanksgiving for the life that God has given you.

God's Peace - Pr. J