April 18th, 2006
The Tongue – Edition #14: Say and Hear
2nd Corinthians 12:19-21
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
Words can hurt. In many cases, they normally do. I can say something that is “tongue and cheek,” which can lead to an outburst of anger from someone else. From there, jealousy, factions, gossip, and the rest can quickly develop.
1st Corinthians 3:1-4
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
All of a sudden, with an ill-spoken word, people start following people. I follow thee Baptist way… I follow the Pope… I follow the Methodist way… and others, I follow the Church of Christ way. Is it possible to get all these groups to follow Christ? I mean, we all agree that Christ is the way to go, but what would it take to be united in Christ? There isn’t even unity amongst baptism. If there could be unity within the body, then couldn’t there be unity on what goes on with television, words spoken on the radio… God himself created different languages because he knows that we as a people can do anything. A chosen people are what Christians are to God… but we differentiate from direction. The bible isn’t even agreed upon. Simple principles are causing anger, frustration, and tears across this world, and this is within the bible. You step outside the bible, and you have wars, bloodshed, mutiny, and that is just the beginning. The final days may be upon us. The Aztecs predicted the final days to be in 2012. The Bible Code agrees. The Catholic church predicted that this would be the second to last Pope. THE END IS NEAR! But I really don’t know… I went walking and praying last night. I prayed a ton. I got to see my buddy the raccoon and he (for argument sake) wasn’t so much afraid of me, and I of him, but I respected his space all the same. I prayed for unity. I prayed for radical unity amongst the people who have but just a molecule of love for God and Christ. If unity can be attained by the people who really love God, if these people can think of others before they think of themselves, if these people can unite… then the possibilities are endless. I’ve been praying for my son to be a leader of those people. But if the predictions of 2012 are in fact true… which there is a strong area of doubt.
Mark 13:32-37
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.”
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”
Matthew says it quite the same…
Matthew 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
God only knows. The talk of people saying this is the time and date of the end of the world… they cannot be certain. The Greek even say that the season is not even known. It can even be translated to the year. The year isn’t even known… and this is what I have learned: it is easier to spark fear into the hearts of men than hope. I could continue to spout off words of despair and those words would be more effective than the words of encouragement, should words be spoken evenly. It is better to look at the rising sun. It is better to focus on the good things. Because when I focus on the way the world is going, it is easy to become sad and loose hope. A friend had asked about the upcoming movie “The Da Vinci Code,” and I feel it is better to guard one’s heart that to let it become an open battlefield. I know Jesus was a friend to sinful people, but he even told Satan to go away. I think it is not only important to what I say, but to what I allow myself to hear. I know I have jumped all over the place today. The end of the world is coming, whether in 2012 or 2006 or 2086, I don’t know… but something can be done today. I can get up out of my chair and do what 2nd Timothy says: preach the word. There are a number of churches in the Dallas area. There are most likely more churches than McDonalds here. If you don’t like your church, cross the street is another that will satisfy your itching ears. But blessed is the one who hears Gods word and obeys it.
2nd Timothy 4:2-4
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
The Tongue – Edition #14: Say and Hear
2nd Corinthians 12:19-21
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
Words can hurt. In many cases, they normally do. I can say something that is “tongue and cheek,” which can lead to an outburst of anger from someone else. From there, jealousy, factions, gossip, and the rest can quickly develop.
1st Corinthians 3:1-4
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
All of a sudden, with an ill-spoken word, people start following people. I follow thee Baptist way… I follow the Pope… I follow the Methodist way… and others, I follow the Church of Christ way. Is it possible to get all these groups to follow Christ? I mean, we all agree that Christ is the way to go, but what would it take to be united in Christ? There isn’t even unity amongst baptism. If there could be unity within the body, then couldn’t there be unity on what goes on with television, words spoken on the radio… God himself created different languages because he knows that we as a people can do anything. A chosen people are what Christians are to God… but we differentiate from direction. The bible isn’t even agreed upon. Simple principles are causing anger, frustration, and tears across this world, and this is within the bible. You step outside the bible, and you have wars, bloodshed, mutiny, and that is just the beginning. The final days may be upon us. The Aztecs predicted the final days to be in 2012. The Bible Code agrees. The Catholic church predicted that this would be the second to last Pope. THE END IS NEAR! But I really don’t know… I went walking and praying last night. I prayed a ton. I got to see my buddy the raccoon and he (for argument sake) wasn’t so much afraid of me, and I of him, but I respected his space all the same. I prayed for unity. I prayed for radical unity amongst the people who have but just a molecule of love for God and Christ. If unity can be attained by the people who really love God, if these people can think of others before they think of themselves, if these people can unite… then the possibilities are endless. I’ve been praying for my son to be a leader of those people. But if the predictions of 2012 are in fact true… which there is a strong area of doubt.
Mark 13:32-37
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.”
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”
Matthew says it quite the same…
Matthew 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
God only knows. The talk of people saying this is the time and date of the end of the world… they cannot be certain. The Greek even say that the season is not even known. It can even be translated to the year. The year isn’t even known… and this is what I have learned: it is easier to spark fear into the hearts of men than hope. I could continue to spout off words of despair and those words would be more effective than the words of encouragement, should words be spoken evenly. It is better to look at the rising sun. It is better to focus on the good things. Because when I focus on the way the world is going, it is easy to become sad and loose hope. A friend had asked about the upcoming movie “The Da Vinci Code,” and I feel it is better to guard one’s heart that to let it become an open battlefield. I know Jesus was a friend to sinful people, but he even told Satan to go away. I think it is not only important to what I say, but to what I allow myself to hear. I know I have jumped all over the place today. The end of the world is coming, whether in 2012 or 2006 or 2086, I don’t know… but something can be done today. I can get up out of my chair and do what 2nd Timothy says: preach the word. There are a number of churches in the Dallas area. There are most likely more churches than McDonalds here. If you don’t like your church, cross the street is another that will satisfy your itching ears. But blessed is the one who hears Gods word and obeys it.
2nd Timothy 4:2-4
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment