November 11. Cilla’s 75th birthday. My, how the years have flown! We are having some colder mornings now and icy winds. Down to 26 this morning with a cold north wind. Pastor covered two churches in his message this morning—Thyatira and Sardis. Revelation 2:18-29, the church at Thyatira—the church with compromise. Brass is a symbol of judgment; God is a God of judgment. The commendation: they loved people; they were faithful in serving; they had faith and patience. The condemnation: they allowed a wicked woman to teach and to seduce others in the church to commit fornication and adultery, even leadership (my servants). She also led people to eat things sacrificed to idols. God was merciful—he gave her space to repent. The correction—unbelievers will reap what they sow; they will be killed. Those who did not follow Jezebel were told to hold fast because judgment would be coming quickly. The church tried to mix the holy and the profane. This is popular in churches today. Be careful that you’re anchored solidly to the truth of God’s word and not to a constantly shifting culture. Church at Sardis, the church with the empty words, Revelation 3:1-6. God is all-knowing. The church had a name that they lived, but God says they are dead. The commendation: practically none; there were a few things that remain and a few people that had not defiled themselves. The condemnation: they were dead; many were defiled; they had no spiritual power. The correction: strengthen the things that remain; remember what you’ve received and heard, and hold fast; repent. All of us have been guilty of going through the motions, doing something just because it was right, but not because we had a passion to do it. What is your normal way of living? Do you serve with joy? Are you excited about your relationship with God? Are you alive? In between meetings, I walked and prayed a little bit and also did some crocheting and listened to hymn music. The text for the second meeting was II Peter 2:1-18, You Might Be a False Prophet If…. You must beware of false teachers and identify some of their characteristics in your own lives. 1) The motives of false teachers: They counterfeit the real thing because they know there is value in the real thing. (From among you will come the false teachers.) They act like the real thing, but they’re not. They are liars. Their ways are destructive. Their motive is money (covetousness) - verse 3. Jesus didn’t even have a place to lay His head. Sometimes error can be followed by someone who knows better. Balaam knew the truth, but he rejected it because he chose to reject it. We must be careful not to swallow something that is not Biblical. 2) The manifestation of judgment: God will judge sin. It may be a long time. He is gracious and merciful. He longs for people to repent. God’s judgment is always complete. He will always accomplish what He wants to accomplish. You cannot be around wicked people and not be affected. Consider Lot—a righteous man who looked like a lost man. 3)Modus operandi: False teachers are polluted—they walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness. They are also presumptuous, arrogant, daring God to do something about them. They are self-willed, stubbornly obstinate. It’s all about me. They take pleasure in sin. They sin and they love it. They love to lead others into sin. They are phoneys—v.13,17. They are prersistent. And they are persuasive. Since we didn’t get settled down for nap until a little after 3:00, it was a little after 4:00 when we got up. I had just a little yogurt snack, wrote an e-mail, cut up the rest of the pumpkin and put it on to cook for my supper (I had put half of it in my soup on Monday), organized some addresses in the address file, and then had supper. After supper, I finished crocheting the baby hat which I started this morning. A little later we listened to Pastor Weiss’s Sunday school lesson on Stewarding Influence, based on the story of Joseph. None of us can realize the influence we have on others. The way to gain influence over people is to pass the tests that God gives. The first test Joseph had was 1) The test of persecution. Joseph resisted the temptation to become bitter. God has a way of turning persecution into an expanded sphere of influence. 2) The test of temptation: Genesis 39:2-4. If we are not 100% submitted to God, we will not be able to resist temptation. Joseph ran from temptation and let Potiphar’s wife know that he belonged to God. 3) The test of problems. Joseph suffered wrongfully. God’s delays are not God’s denials. God makes it look like it’s impossible. Don’t try to make it happen. Influence for God is not won by struggle, but by faithfulness. My next crochet project is a bilum (bag) a bit larger than the small one I had planned to take on the airplane. The small one is just a bit too small to hold all the things that I need to put in it. Got the yarn picked out and got a little start on the new bilum. “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2 Another prayer for revival. How revival is needed for our own country! God’s people need to hear God’s speech and be afraid. There needs to be a fear of God in our lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|
newsletterfebruary2024.pdf | |
File Size: | 1988 kb |
File Type: |
islesaresingingchapters1to15pdf.pdf | |
File Size: | 395 kb |
File Type: |
Archives
May 2024
March 2024
January 2024
December 2023
September 2023
July 2023
June 2023
April 2023
March 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016