Righteous Anger- Is There Such A Thing?

  You hear people tell you this-- be angry and sin not.
  Anger. It is narcissistic. All about your own rights.
   Do we have the right to be angry?
   Looking to the Bible to see what it says about the issue, I can not find a right.
   All I find is that we are to forgive when people wrong us. To forgive we have to give up or forfeit our right to anger-- or even to be offended.
   Talk about offense.. we have offended God who created us to be with Him forever, but Adam, who I believe was our first parent and stood as a representative of all his offspring to come, disobeyed God.
   Talk about offense. If anyone was offended it was God. He created something and gave it the ability to make decisions and it made the wrong choice.
    In anger, God could have wiped out mankind. He, not having sinned, would be the only one who had the right to anger. He would have been righteous. He almost did it during Noah's day. remember?
   The Bible tells us there is none righteous.
    Therefore, we have no rights.
    I submit that we have no right to anger...ever.
    God is allowed anger. When we get angry we stand as guilty as the one we are angry at. God is sinless. He alone is perfect. His character allows for judgement. Anger is judgement.
     Face it, God loves us and thinks we are special. But we are not God,

     Yes, you say, but Jesus got angry. Yes, Jesus also is the God/man. He alone could be angry and sin not. Which is another quote people throw around.


      To read the review click here.

Prayer Is the Church's Furnace

     I am a big fan of prayer. We know that prayer is talking with God as we would talk to our friend. We let our friend know what is going on.
     On the one hand we understand  God knows all things. That would mean we can't tell God anything He doesn't already know. It also means there isn't anything we can tell Him that will shock Him. And maybe there is nothing that we can say that will cause Him to loved us less.
     He has heard it all.
      That being said we have to realize that prayer has power to get things done. Not always when we wish it to be done. There is a saying that God is an on- time God. He may not act when you want Him to but He always answers on time.
       And prayer is the church's furnace. The prayer room is often referred to as the boiler room of the church. When prayer goes up, is a saying, blessings come down.
        Recently I was handed a devotional by a member of my church. I am a deacon and need to be on the team that pushes prayer as our next step to growth. The idea is to get a group together in our zip code and form a prayer unit that will pray for growth and wisdom.
        Every pastor and congregant needs prayer/.
        That being said let me say this- this little devotional called "The Power Of Prayer" can be reviewed by me this way.-
        A devotional made up of a compilation of the works of E.M. Bounds concerning the subject of prayer.

        Set up as a daily reading per month and day it can be read through in a year’s time.

        Short excerpts with a prayer, attached this devotional will introduce you to the thoughts of Bounds without the reader having to buy and use the three booklets used  by Kobus  Sandenbergh, the compiler.

       It may do you some good but I don't care for devotionals as they seem like predigested food to me. They may offer a springboard for further and deeper exploration.and as such are useful.

      That said I still feel prayer is needed. God wants to hear from you. 

       We pray. He answers.
        In fact He has already answered. His answer is in the Bible. That is why I link prayer with Bible study.

A Welcoming Spirit

  More churches would grow and maintain fellowship if we were to greet all the people who come in to the building. Show that we are glad to have them there. Don't just leave the greeting to the man at the door who hands out the daily Sunday program. But each one of us should be aware of who is there and of visitors.
   Say hi. Listen to their needs. Find out something about them. Find out what they expect a church that is meeting their needs to look like. Not that you presently are that church. But you can change.
   Preach the word.
   Don't just hang around in little cliques. Get to know people. Be the type of person you would like to meet if you were a stranger in the midst.
  

`Context Is Everything

      I got to thinking recently about prayer. When I pray is my prayer making a difference? Is God hearing?
      I do accept the Bible as the written communication of God to me and others who are His. I don't hold to God speaking face to face with each one of us today. He has spoken in His Son and He has authored the Bible. That is the extent of His communication with us when it comes to what we need to know about Him.
     Anyway, as I was starting to say about prayer. Does God answer prayer?
     In the Bible we are told that Jesus ( God in the flesh) is the same yesterday, today and forever. In context, what does that mean?
    Now, I am not ordained. I don't belong to any denomination nor can I be the man who stands up and says this is what God says. I am not the under-shepherd. But I am a seeekr.
     When this was penned the time was during the first century.. Jesus--God answered prayer in the Old Testament period of time. That was before God became flesh and dwelt among us. That is the yesterday being spoken about.
    God became flesh and dwelt among us. God heard prayer offered then and answered. That was the now.
    After Jesus ascended and the Bible was closed toward the end of the first century when John finished Revelation, that is the forever.
.   God answered in the days before becoming flesh. He answered when He was in flesh. He answers now based on what He has done in the past. So I could conclude that He hears and answers prayer now in the twenty-first century.

Bible Reading Plan Through The Year

        When ever a person wants to read through the Bible.. and they should.. they can pick up a plan to do so almost anyplace in the church they attend. There is the slower plan put out by some ministers to have you read a portion in the morning and a portion at night.

        The Navigators have a plan to read three chapters in the Old and a three chapter portion from the New each day and to record what you are finding there. You go through the old once in a year and the new twice.
        There is the reading plan found in any Bible that will have you reading the Bible through all the way in a years' time.
          I am all for it--reading through the Bible. And once you do it once, start over. Use a different translation. Take notes. Do word studies. Do biographical studies. Do themes. If you are a Christian you must come to the place where you realize this Book..The Scriptures.. is God speaking. God had people He would depend upon to hear Him and transcribe what HE was saying.
          Ask what is being said? To whom is He speaking? Why is He saying it that way? Does it reveal anything about God that I should know? And once I know why he said that to those people, just what does it have to do with me? Is there an example for me to follow?  Is there an error I am to avoid?  How can I teach this to another?
            Feel free to comment and give me feedback. I will respond if it is possible.
          

Study To Show Yourself Approved

   God has said in the Bible, His word, that you are to study to show yourself approved. This means to really do more with your Bible than just read a daily portion and then walk away.
     No, you should look on the Bible as your instruction book.

    If you are a Christian you were put in a relationship with God in order to grow.
     That would mean that God has spoken and has told us how to live this life He has given us. I belive that the Bible is His word. He has spoken and throughout the years used certain men to write down what He has said.
      In order for us to see and remember what He has said and instrructed us we will need tools.
       A Bible is number one.  Get a good one. I suggest the NIV or the NASB or the ESV.
        You will also need a good notebook to put down what He has said to you. This would mean you will also have pens .
          You can get these at an Office Max. A pen and a blank book. It can be lined or unlined.
           Open your Bible and read and ask what is it saying? When was it said? Who is it speaking to? Is there anything there that tells me about God? About man? About Sin? Is there something there for me to know?
           If possible, form a Bible study group and study in pairs. This will help in Christian Growth. Open with prayer and study together. Share needs for each other and for yourself. There is power in prayer.
         This is what I do.
         I have a time in the morning in which I pick up the Bible and read three chapters from a Bible book. I also read a psalm of the day.
         I would pray before I start that God would help me to see somethinng today that He was saying to me.
         For example on the first day  I may read three chapters in the Gospel of John. And I would also read Psalm One.
          I would take my notebook and a pen. In my notebook I would put down what impressed me that day in my reading. I would add a scripture verse of the day that I had just read. I would note any thing that I could pray about that day.
          I would pray. Thanking Him for what I had observed today.
          Then I go out to faced the world. I am equiped.

Blessings Today

  
Today I want to think about blessings. We all have some.
   God got you up this morning. That is a blessing. There are a few who didn't get up this mornng but went on to their eternity. But you have been blessed with another day.
   Thank God for the blessing.
    You were able to stand up. That is a blessing.
    Thank God for the blessing.
      Even if you can't stand up but you can still breathe the air. that is a blessing.
      Thank God for the blessing.
      You are in your right mind. That is a blessing.
      Thank God for the blessing.
       You are able to do something to provide for your self. That is a blessing.
       You have bills. That is a blessing.
       You can understand words. That is a blessing.
       In other words, all that we do is a blessing. All that we have is a blessing.
        Blessing means favor. The Oxford Dictionary of Current English states for blessing 'something which you are very grateful for.
      Just what are you grateful for?
     I have allowed people to respond. Feel free to do so.
      Bless me by your comments.
     Or if you don't want to do that, you can get a notebook from a stationary store and write down what you are feeling grateful for and then pray back to God your blessings.
      God has blessed you and He knows about the blessings He has bestowed on you. But have your thanked Him? It will be good for you to do so. Just as a parent wants to know that his blessings are appreciated let me inform you that God also wants to know we appreciate His Blessings.
      So what can you do?
     1- Be thankful.
      2-Speak out your thankfulness.

Morning Thoughts

   Am back to doing my morning devotions. I told you about them. I even instructed you how to do one.
    At least I think  I did. It was many months ago and I am sure you can look it up. May take some hunting but I am sure you will find it.
    I am presently in the book of Joshua. I read three chapters a day and a psalm of the day. Then I jot down my observations of the day's reading. I also include a scripture passage from that day's reading. That is just something I do. Add the scripture verse. I like to have something to memortize each day.
  David has said, In Psalm 119:11b, " Your word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against God."
   This week I have been impressed in my reading that God has mapped out areas for each tribe to conquer and possess. But they had to put some effort into it. There was no entitlement mentality allowed. They were to actively take their blessing and possess it.

   So it is with my blessing. I have been given a blessing but I must go and claim it and take possession of the blessing actively. I am not entitled to it. It is all a gift of God not as a result of works that I might not boast.

More On Discipleship

Another way to look at discipleship is to think in the area of being pleasing to God. We all want the creator of the universe to be pleased with us.
   We become very much like then person or thing we spend a great amount of time with. If we work and don't spend time with our family, we become workaholics. We may lose our family.

   That is not good.
    So we need to be spending time if we truely want to be discipled and be like Jesus, we need to spend that time with Jesus.
   Jesus spent a good three eyars and more with his disciples. They heard what he said. They ate what he ate. They slept where he slept. And one day they became disciples and did what he did.

Sheep Know His Voice

  Today being a Sunday I went to services. Todays' sermon concerned the passage in John about the sheep and the shepherd. The shepherd leads the flock. He doesn't push them along. The sheep know and trust the shepherd. that is why they follow. And they only know their shepherd not someone elses.

 And just how do the sheep know who is their shepherd? Glad you asked. It is because the shepherd has been with them since they were lambs. They grew up with him and have learned to trust him.
So it is with us who are called Christians. Jesus is our shepherd. He leads us and we, in trust, follow Him.
  Do you knw Him? Is He your shepherd?

Safe People

        Are you a safe person?  In relationships with others are we safe? Or  is there some resistance to growth?
     We show resistance when we refuse to allow others to get in to our life and interact with us? Pastor Joe calls it his Sybil. Sybil was a woman who had multiple personalities.
    We all have a form or resistance within ourselves. It is something we developed in childhood to protect ourselves. Now it has become a game to deny everything. Every time  we deny we reinforce the resistance.to change and allow the unreal you to show up.
      Now talking about the Christian person within the fellowship who is immoral, I mean, a sexual immoral person who won't change ever though you approach him or her and confront him or her, they just won't change, the best thing you can do, according to what God has said, is to separate yourself from him or her. Sure, it will feel like abandonment, but if they show resistance and it becomes a habit, then the only thing you can do is leave.
   Stop the cycle and become a safe person. Be real. Admit you don't understand all about yourself. Ask for feedback. Ask questions such as what do I do that pushes you away from me? And what do I do that draws you toward me?
   These are two good questions to ask your loved one if married, or to that person you are dating.

Certification of Victory Christian Fellowship

      He is back here now. He has spent four days up in Sacramento looking for the okay to be a new church plant. Never mind that for a year now he has been holding services under the name of Victory Christian Fellowship. Never mind the fact that he is a church plant sent out from ACTS Church. Without  the group approval of  organization he would be unable to get sponsorship money. Never mind that for the past year he has had to do it without any money coming in.
      If  you were to meet Daryl face to faced he would come across as a humble person who has no needs. I am sure of if wasn't for his wife he would be a mystic who denied his needs.
       Not that I am trying to put him down. I admire him. But if he were to look me in the face and say that he lives on faith, I must say, fine, faith is good but it won't pay for lighting, for hymnn books, for upkeep, for.. you name it.
      I realize this posting is way different from the others.
      I guess what I want to say is it isn't easy being called by God to be a church leader. It is a hard road and few there be who can walk it.

Impressions

  Let me take a side road here and talk about impressions one can have of the person carrying the messsage of God's love for mankind.
    Some people can be humble and and aware that they are allowed to be God's spokeman. They will tend to stick to the Bible text and not try to play to the people's itching ear.
   There are others that feel God's word needs for them to,  how shall I say it, stoop over to loading the message they carry with personal references that you, the listener tend to walk away feeling good but not having God speak tro a need you have. Leaving these people you feel like you have heard something of substance but really all you got was a empty message that has been covered with icing. Sweet and as long as you are not looking for an injunction on what to do with what ytou have heard, you walk away satisfied. and feeling fed.

      I probably am not making sense.  If not please comment and set me strraight.

Bible Study

   Let us get back to basics. I have told you time and again that the source of truth and trustworthiness is the Bible.

   Since that is so we need to study it more. I admit I approach the Bible with a big bias. God has spoken and He has caused what He has spoken to be written down. All accounts of historical places, names, and events are assumed to be accurate and true.

    So when we hear it being preached from the pulpit we are hearing God's word being spoken. True, it is being heard by us in the voice of a man but the words he is reading are God's word.

    It is then our job to read it for ourselves and not just by ourselves. We need small groups. We need to discuss what God has said. We must realize that  the words are as important as the thoughts. We can have confidence in its message.

   I do not recommend a paraphrase.  A paraphrase acts as a commentary not a direct word. I recommend the New American Standard or the New King James. Be careful using the New International version. It is good, but in places it leans toward nonliteral in word choice. I will discuss translations later so I will not, in this posting, venture there.

   What translation do you use? Maybe that is soemthing I can post about if there is interest.

  

Obama and the Recovery

    Are we in a recovery? Has Obama done what he promised? I think he promised to get us jobs and  bring us out of what he said was the worst economy since the great depression. And how would he know? He wasn't alive during the 1930's. And he really hasn't brought us a recovery from the 2008 recession. Not really.
    The Obama recovery plan has  produced an average GDP growth of 2.4 percent since the reported recession ended.
    Let us look at the third quarter of 2011. The U.S. economy grew at 2.5 percent.That gives us  nearly a trillion dollars lost to the GDP. It has cost us 10.5 million jobs (So much for putting America back to work to help a  failing economy.) More than 14 million people are unemployed. There are seven people who need a job for each job opening.
    So Obama wants to redistribute the wealth. He will redistribute it not to the middle class nor to the lower class but into the pockets of the financal elite.

     And he has told you what he wants to do.
     He has said "The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we are going to have a government that tells the Amerrican people, "you are on your own. ...If you get sick, you are on your own. If you can't afford college, you're on your own. If you don't like that some corporation is pollutting your air or the air that your child breathes, than you're on your own" that's not the America I believe in. It's not the America you believe in."
    Sounds me me like entitlement. Since when do we have a right to attend College? Since when do we have the right to be waited on as a child, handed everything because we are not capable of earning our own.? When did we come to think that job creation came about by redistributing income?
    That is what the Obama people are trying to tell you.
    Marxist and communistic economies never transfer weath to the poor and middle classes. They tend to transfer it to government officials and their cronies. That is what seems to be happening at the moment under the Obama economy plan. If the economy of the U.S. can be weaken to the point of us being just another player in the new world order controled by the political/ financial elite than it seems Obabma will have been successful at reaching his goal. He will have his grievance against the "imperilist" America completed. He will have increased the financal debt, he will have the unchecked spending, the weaking of the dollar, the class warfare. We have seen it in the Occupy groups that are popping up.
    $4 trillion dollars was added to our national debt by Obama during the first three years of his administration.. Does that sound to you like he is helping our economy by creating jobs and bringing down the debt? He has promised to create three million American jobs. Where are they? And don't say he needs another four years to complete his plan.
    So to answer the question I started thius blog with, has Obama done what he promised? My answer is yes. But his promise to who??

Obama and 2012

 I am not sure that this blog is the correct place to post this, but since I fellowship with a group of black Christians I feel that this is the place where I can put this.
  Obama is up for reelection this year. In lock step, it seems, the blacks have voted for Obama for no other reason  other than he is black.

   True, he is black. He is also not the one we should re-elect as President. His actions over the past years have not been good for America and its' freedom. He has  now made it his right as President to indefinitely detain any US citizen on the grounds that he or she could be a "terrorist". Yes, on the evening of December 31, 2011 he signed a bill that gave him the power as President of the United States to do so.( Michael Savage, Trickle Down Tyranny,) He has deprived U.S. citizens of the freedom for which our men in uniform are fighting.
   And his actions in the past should show us what he feels about America. Have you heard about the utter contempt for America he and his wife, Michelle showed toward the 9/11 observance at the World Trade Center?  I am not sure what year. But it was while the American Flag was being folded in the traditional manner that Michelle leaned over and said to her husband, the President of the United States, "All this over a flag?" to which Obama grinned and nodded his head in agreement.(Ibid)
   I won't say he leans toward the Marxist mind set. But I would expect more respect for the nation served.
   Is Romney any better? I don't know. But can he be worse? I don't know that either.
    Judge a man by his actions, is all I am saying.

Question For Dear Pope

       I noticed reported in the Los Angeles Times this morning that the Pope has said that all the people in Mexico needed to overcome their drug problem was faith. Faith , dear Pope, is not the complete answer to the drug problem. Once a person is coming down from a drug habit maybe then faith to know that there is a better way to live comes into play. But as a primary solution to the large drug problem of the country of Mexico  is not faith. Faith in what? Faith, the way he uses it, comes out an empty word. Faith in what, dear Pope. faith in what? 

    Faith is in a person not in an problem. Maybe this is the understanding he has of the concept of faith. If so, shame on him. People look to him to be a bit more knowledgeable and doctrinally correct. Faith defined by the Bible is not a 'something out there".

   "But withoutt faith it is impossible to please God, for He who come to God must believe that he exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6.

   No where in that line from the Bible (Which by the way is like God speaking to you) does it say anything about faith being a cure all for a drug problem.

need

Forgive? Who Me?

   True forgiveness is hard. Oh, some may say, I forgive.But do they? The forgiver must be fit to forgive. It is not true forgiveness if you are not willing. And I am not talking about group forgiveness.

  By that, I mean, it is not a group of people forgiving another person for an act of mass murder. This brings to mind all the shootings here in the United States where a gunman comes in and empties his gun on a group of students. Then the other students say they forgive him. No, that is false forgiveness. In that case the students who are alive don't have the right to forgive. The deed was not done to them.

   You can only forgive a deed done against you personally. God forgives us because our deed, our sin, is toward Him.

   It is easy for a person to ask for forgiveness and very hard for the other person to forgive. True forgiveness cannot be granted until the perpetrator has earned it.. by that I mean, he must confess, repent and do restitution. Every deed has a effect. Every deed leaves a footprint.

   Forgiveness does not mean to forget what the other has done. You can forgive but not forget. Forgiveness is not based on forgetting. If you forget the same thing  may happen again. Remember the slight so that you can be careful not to do that thing again.

   But do your forgiveness with kindness. Don't seek to pay back in kind. We are not talking a tooth for a tooth here. We are talking allowing God to get into the picture and dispensing what needs to be dispensed.

   More later.

 

Looking For A Good Church

          So you find yourself looking for a good church to go to and hear about God and Christ. You are looking for a place where perhaps you can experience Christian growth. Or where if you are not a Christian you will have a chance to accept Christ and become a person God will spend time with.

     Reasons

       There are many reasons a person seeks out a church. A list of sorts is given below..

              I had a special need.............2%
              I just walked in.................3%
              I liked the Pastor...............6%
              I visited there..................1%
              I liked the Sunday School........1%
              A friend or relative invited me..79%

         It is important also that the preacher be preaching from the Bible.  And not just any Bible but from a version that is sound. There are mnany sound versions. The New king James Bible is a good one, as is the old King James. The New American Standard and the New International are aslo good. This is only a suggestion.

       Dress

         In some churches t-shirts, jeans, and even shorts, are appropriate. In others a suit and tie or dress would be more appropriate. In some churches anything goes. So, ask yourself, "What is right for me--dressy, casual, or both?"   

     Worship

   As for the worship you should be seeking, consider this: worship is the way we express our love and appreciation to God, as well as our awe of his works, and wonder of his ways. Consider what style of worship will allow you to most freely express adoration to God. Some churches have contemporary music, some have traditional. Some sing hymns, others sing choruses. Some have full bands, others have orchestras and choirs. Some sing gospel, rock, hard rock, etc. Since worship is a key part of our church experience, be sure to give the style of worship serious consideration.

      Doctrinal Belief    

     Also as to doctrine,it’s important to understand the doctrinal beliefs of the church before joining. Many people become disillusioned after investing a great deal of time in a church. You can avoid this disappointment by looking closely at the church's statement of faith. Before joining be sure the church effectively teaches the Bible. If you’re not sure, ask to talk with someone about this. Some churches even offer classes or written material to help you understand the church’s doctrine.

      This also is important to consider. You want your church to be a place where you can connect with other believers. Some churches offer a very simple ministry approach and others extend an elaborate system of classes, programs, productions and more. So, for instance, if you’re single and want a church with a single’s ministry, be sure to check into this before joining.

    Hang on. There is a bit more to consider when looking for a chuch.Make sure you make a checklist of the most important things you hope to see or experience. Then rate the church according to your checklist when you leave. But don't look for that perfect church. As the saying goes, any church that accepts me isn't perfect because I am not perfect. I am still growing in Christ likeness and it is a journey.

        If you still don’t know where to begin your search for a church, ask people you know—friends, co-workers, or people you admire, where they go to church. Satisfied customers, thery say, are the best source.

Bible Reading

  I may have expressed this earlier. A person needs to read at least a postion of Scripute each morning. Do a little devotion. Ask what does it say? What did it mean then? How can I use it now?
   Pray over it. Get it into your life. What does this passsage tell me about God? About Jesus? About the Holy Spirit?  About myself?
   I have found a good scripture reading link. It is the Youversion.com link. Once there, you are allowed to read your scripture portion in whatever translation and language you wish. But it will give you a program. The program you also choose. Youversion is like a middle man. It offers so much that is good.