Working Together in Unity
The Body can heal. The Body can work in unity. The Body can show love. The Body of Christ, His people, can actually communicate across organizational lines as long as we are willing to make the effort.
I had the privilege to be a part of a Feast site at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky this year where three different groups worked together. They were Church of God International, Christian Educational Ministries, and United Church of God.
WHEN BEING RIGHT BECOMES WRONG
The Feast of Tabernacles is a wonderful time in which we get just a glimpse, a small foretaste as viewed through a dark glass or in a foggy mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12), of the wonderful and amazing 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ. So many good messages, so much uplifting and inspiring music, delicious food, and shared friendship always seem to be the highlight of every Feast.
The Feast is also a time we spend fellowshipping with spiritual brothers and sisters that we have either not seen in a long time, or new people we have never met before.
FEASTING AT THE FEAST
As a child growing up, I remember being excited every year when it came time to go to the Feast of Tabernacles. To be sure, I liked all of the holy days as a youth. But the Feast of Tabernacles was always such an extra special, fun time.
We got to go away from home and visit new places we had not been before, or sometimes go back to a place we had been but loved. We got to see friends from years past and meet new ones.
Won’t it be Wonderful?
Won’t it be wonderful when pain and suffering are no more? When tears of sadness are extinct? When fear ceases and God’s Kingdom rules? Unfortunately, a lot has to happen before this great and glorious time, but we must not give up on hope. Life without hope is meaningless. Without hope we cannot have faith because faith is the “substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1).
A RETURN TO EDEN
The Day of Atonement is rich with symbolism. As we approach that day, my mind turns to one of the more significant meanings it offers. The word atonement has significant meaning in Scripture. In the vast majority of cases, both in the Hebrew and the Greek, the word translated into the English as atonement can be synonymous with the words reconcile or reconciliation. Whether in the singular or the plural, Hebrew or Greek, the vast majority of the time these words are interchangeable in meaning.
Lip Service
The other day I was thinking about what am I doing with my faith? It all started from a scripture in Isaiah. God is speaking to Isaiah in regards to Jerusalem because of all their sins, and He makes a statement in verses 13 that kind of hit home to me (emphasis mine):
Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
Feast of Trumpets
God’s fall Holy Days are nearly upon us. I really love God’s appointed times. They are always the highlights of my year. Each year I try to meditate on what they mean so that I don’t lose sight of their importance.
This week I have been reviewing the Feast of Trumpets, also known in Hebrew as Yom Teruah, meaning day of shouting. This year the Holy Day falls on October 3. The Jewish community likes to call this day Rosh Hashanah, which means New Year’s Day.
FIGHTING DISCOURAGEMENT
Life can be discouraging sometimes. Do you ever feel that way?
As we approach the fall holydays, a lot of strange things can start to happen. It seems that Satan becomes more active, stirring things up, causing problems, and creating difficulties for us; sickness, family problems, financial problems, car problems, and spiritual problems too. I am not just talking about “things” not going well. I am talking about deeply rooted personal problems as well. Maybe we are still struggling with a sin we have had for…well, way too long.
Don’t be a Stumbling Block
Are we showing the world the benefits of being a Christian or are we giving them reasons to dislike us? I have been wondering for a while why it seems that to the outside, Christians aren’t very loving. Isn’t that one of the major requirements of being a Christian? Are we actually our worst enemies when it comes to spreading God’s Word and light to others? What if we are stumbling blocks by our actions, reactions, and condemnations of others? We are told in Leviticus 19:14 not to “curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind.”
TRUSTING GOD’S JUDGMENT
“This is what God is asking of me right now, Babe. He says He will not give us more than we can handle, so I must be able to handle this. I trust His judgment.” As my wife paraphrased 1 Corinthians 10:13 to me, I was stunned, deeply moved, and humbled by her words of surrender, tears streaming down her face.
True Happiness, Priceless
We have all heard the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” I have also heard the statement, “Well, I have heard that theory, but may I have a chance to try it out please?” The temptation to have more is all around us, especially here in the United States. I also think, in large part due to social media, the whole world now sees others that seem to have “more,” thus causing a rise in the temptation of desiring more stuff.
FAREWELL, J.R. — ’TIL WE MEET AGAIN
I would not normally use this space for personal thoughts, but on this occasion I will ask you to indulge me as I honor the passing of a true Christian. Having just performed the memorial service for him this past Sabbath, my thoughts are weighing heavy on my mind. On that day we put to rest one of the truest, most precious Christians I have ever known. His name was Jess Rodney (known to all as just “J.R.”) Hamilton
Climb Every Mountain
I think I listen to music too much, but I was trying to figure out the title for my blog and this title came in my head. Immediately, I had the song from Sound of Music looping in my mind over and over again. I must stop coming up with titles that are also titles of songs. My original title, though, would have been way too long, which was The Mountain May be High but the View is Great Once on Top.
Obviously, I am using the term “mountain” as a metaphor for trials. It seems lately that a lot of people I know and my family are going through a variety of various trials. I find that sometimes an overflow of trials usually seems to happen around God’s Holy Days but maybe that is a coincidence.
RESPECT
Every time I hear the word respect, I hear Aretha Franklin singing her version of the song “Respect.” However, I’m not going to talk about wanting people to respect me. I know everyone wants to be respected, but what I want to talk about is how respectful are we towards others?
There seems to be a lot of disrespect out there in the world, and don’t worry, I’m not saying that I see a lot in the churches. I know there is some between different XYZ COGs, but I do hope that the majority of us have grown to respect each other regardless of what group we go to.
REVIEWING GOD’S MASTER PLAN FOR MANKIND
As we approach the fall holy days our minds turn to the final steps in God’s master plan for mankind. It is hard to believe that in just under six weeks we will kick off the fall holy day season with the Feast of Trumpets. As we look to the future events represented by the fall festivals, it is always good to briefly look back and review where we have been in order to accurately see where we are going.
When we look into the rearview mirror of our own personal life, we should see a time when God started to rescue us as He did the children of Israel while being held captive in the land of Egypt (Exodus 3:6-7).
Which Way Will You Swim?
I was recently listening to a motivational speaker, and she said something that goes with the Christian struggle. The speaker said, “Any dead fish can float down stream with the current, but it takes a live fish to swim upstream against the current!” Where are you in your Christian life? Are you just going along with the crowd doing what’s popular and ignoring what God commands us to do (Proverbs 4:2)? Many times in our nation we see those who claim to be Christian going completely against what the Holy Bible and God have to say regarding what is right and wrong. We can look back in our nation’s history and see the many times Christians should have taken a stand and spoken out against the evils of society, but they didn’t. Instead, they allowed it to happen or even took part in things they knew were wrong (Proverbs 9:6).
Lighthouse
I want to be a lighthouse. I want to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit to dwell in and shine brightly in this dark world. I want God’s Spirit to become a beacon within me that guides others away from the rocky shores of life and into still waters. I want the beacon to be lit all the time. I want to guide people out of “storms.”
This is what I want to be. This is my ultimate professional goal in life. I want my light to shine in such a way that others “may see [my] good works, and glorify [my] Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16).
Trust God not Politicians
I am not going to talk politics. I am not going to take one side or the other either. However, I do want to advise us all as Christians to not stoop to the level of the masses with their fear and hatred for one another because of their political views.
I am not very smart when it comes to prophecy, but I honestly do not think that God needs a certain person in the White House to start Armageddon. In fact, I don’t even know if America will be here when the end of the age happens.
A Crisis in Leadership
In the United States we are facing yet another presidential election year. As I talk with most people about the election, they are of the same opinion that I am…there are no good leadership choices in this race. The statement I hear most is, “I am being forced to pick between the better of two evils, or pick no one at all.” OUCH! What an indictment on what is supposed to be the greatest leadership experiment in the history of mankind—democracy.
Sing Out Loud
Did you know that Judah’s army at one time was led by musicians and singers? I really love this story. It is found in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, gets word that an army from Moab and Ammon are coming to attack Judah. Jehoshapat turns to God for help, and also has all of Judah to seek God’s help.
In verse 17, Jahaziel lets all of Judah know that they need not worry for they “will not need to fight this battle” because God was going to fight it for them.