Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2005 10:26:27 GMT
I find it difficult to understand people who claim to be Christians who are bored with worship and bored with the Church
and absent themselves from opportunities to praise and give thanks with fellow Christians, or from gathering together to pray, or to evangelise. Or to serve together, or to work the LORD’s works. We are all partners and players in a team
Jesus said in his parable “I am the vine”, that those who cut themselves of will wither and die and become unfruitful.
As Christians we need fellowship with other Christians and we need the challenge of Christians who think differently from how we think.
I was brought up from a small child in a Baptist church, but later discovered amongst my relatives and ancestors, some were French Protestants persecuted in the 16th and 17th centuries, some were Irish Roman Catholics, some were Church of England, others were Methodists and Salvation Army folk
50 years down the line I have had many friends, and have many friends, from different streams of Christianity and I recognise Jesus Christ at work in all of them, Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Free Church, Evangelicals, Pentecostalist. Charismatics, We all share one Faith, one Word, one Baptism, one LORD and we all need each other
One of the heartening things theses days are the Evangelical Roman Catholics, and their love of the WORD, and their part in spreading it.
I remind you of
HEBREWS chapter 10 NIV v 19-39
19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him." 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved
The Day of the LORD, of His second Coming, is closer than it was when these words were written . But He delays that we may use up more opportunities to introduce Him to more people who still await to hear of Him
He is not slow Remember 2nd Peter chapter 3 from verse 8
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”
Both the letters of Peter are full of teaching we all need to heed and assimilate.
So i do not see how you can waste time being bored, with life, the Church, worship, since we are all supposed to be working together to spread th Kingdom of God amongst our fellow humans that those may learn who are to believe , be saved, be converted and transformed to become the Elect, a Holy People, God’s chosen ones, The New Nation of the Kingdom of God.
We, who believe and obey him, world wide, are His Church, His bride,. His wife
His body on earth to serve him and do what he asks of us.
Just as a man takes a woman to be his partner and together to couple up and by the act of sexual co-operation and union, produce babies in the physical sense, so Jesus and us are to get as intimate as possible with each other, so we can talk to him and listen to him as if we were lying beside each other and work with Him to do what He wants done, to produce spiritual babies, new converts, new disciples, . new citizens of Heaven new colonies of Heaven on Earth, churches.
That is exciting. Never boring.
If we are bored then we are out of step with Jesus,
Focus always on Jesus, what he did, and said, and what Jesus has done since and is doing now in present days, and what he will do in the future.
JEM
and absent themselves from opportunities to praise and give thanks with fellow Christians, or from gathering together to pray, or to evangelise. Or to serve together, or to work the LORD’s works. We are all partners and players in a team
Jesus said in his parable “I am the vine”, that those who cut themselves of will wither and die and become unfruitful.
As Christians we need fellowship with other Christians and we need the challenge of Christians who think differently from how we think.
I was brought up from a small child in a Baptist church, but later discovered amongst my relatives and ancestors, some were French Protestants persecuted in the 16th and 17th centuries, some were Irish Roman Catholics, some were Church of England, others were Methodists and Salvation Army folk
50 years down the line I have had many friends, and have many friends, from different streams of Christianity and I recognise Jesus Christ at work in all of them, Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Free Church, Evangelicals, Pentecostalist. Charismatics, We all share one Faith, one Word, one Baptism, one LORD and we all need each other
One of the heartening things theses days are the Evangelical Roman Catholics, and their love of the WORD, and their part in spreading it.
I remind you of
HEBREWS chapter 10 NIV v 19-39
19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him." 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved
The Day of the LORD, of His second Coming, is closer than it was when these words were written . But He delays that we may use up more opportunities to introduce Him to more people who still await to hear of Him
He is not slow Remember 2nd Peter chapter 3 from verse 8
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”
Both the letters of Peter are full of teaching we all need to heed and assimilate.
So i do not see how you can waste time being bored, with life, the Church, worship, since we are all supposed to be working together to spread th Kingdom of God amongst our fellow humans that those may learn who are to believe , be saved, be converted and transformed to become the Elect, a Holy People, God’s chosen ones, The New Nation of the Kingdom of God.
We, who believe and obey him, world wide, are His Church, His bride,. His wife
His body on earth to serve him and do what he asks of us.
Just as a man takes a woman to be his partner and together to couple up and by the act of sexual co-operation and union, produce babies in the physical sense, so Jesus and us are to get as intimate as possible with each other, so we can talk to him and listen to him as if we were lying beside each other and work with Him to do what He wants done, to produce spiritual babies, new converts, new disciples, . new citizens of Heaven new colonies of Heaven on Earth, churches.
That is exciting. Never boring.
If we are bored then we are out of step with Jesus,
Focus always on Jesus, what he did, and said, and what Jesus has done since and is doing now in present days, and what he will do in the future.
JEM