The last couple of days have been rather busy. My sister, Wilna, had a heart attack Saturday evening and was taken by ambulance to Baylor in Dallas. The introduced her heart to a stint and the heart seems pleased and we are grateful for the blessing. In the process they did discover a slight blood problem that will require more testing to determine the seriousness of that issue, hopefully it is just the body's response to the heart attack.
I appreciate the prayers of those who read this blog. The number has doubled from 2 to 4. Please understand that qualifications for readers are quite strict.
Sunday I departed from my sermon series on the 10 commandments to discuss our financial crisis in America. The theme of my sermon concerned the basis of our security. 9-11 and the recent financial crunch have revealed that many of our assumptions about American security are false and even idolatrous. Neither Obama or McCain can guarantee Americans that all will be o.k. after the election. We Americans have a tendency to trust our institutions as though they were gods.
So far, we hear amens, right? Then I discussed the Christian's basis of security. We are believers in the one true God, we've been baptized and partake each week of the Lord's Supper;We sing acapella(at least some of us do) if we sing at all, and we pray each first day of the week. In our prayers, we applaud the fact that God is with us.
Read Jeremiah chapter seven, especially verses 1-15. Also check out Amos 5:14ff. and Micah 3:9ff., as well as Isaiah chapter 1. I know these, are the old guys from that Old Testament, they hadn't heard of grace or a personal relationship with God. We know God. Check out Hosea chapers 4 and 6. However, if you insist as I know some of my large body of readers will, see if you can locate John 14:15 and James 2, as well as Rom1:5 and Gal.5:6.
Bonhoffer warned us about cheap grace, but I'm concerned that we happy, happy Christians have found great joy in just that. I am eternally grateful for the grace of God. Only through the death and resurrection of Jesus will a single soul enter eternal fellowship with God. However, grace places under the lorship of Jesus, and we evidence his lordship in our lives by the way we live.
Isaiah, Micah, Amos, and Jeremiah tell their readers that their worship makes God want to vomit. Jesus said the same thing in a letter to Asia, "I will spew you from my mouth".
If only Americans know what we know? If only we lived what we know
Of course that sermon just appliied to those present Sunday not to me and my readers. The goal of my blog is that we might be happy, happy, happy. Put on a happy face. I actually have a bit of a temperature today, and don't feel so good, but I'm gonna be a happy warrior wearing a happy face because that's my goal in life.
Bottom line: Be faithful and have fun , these two aren't polar opposites, although the latter does need to take a back seat to the former.
I hope after this blog I still have my faithful four.
rd
3 comments:
Hey, Ronnie. I'm not one of your faithful four, but maybe can be number 5.
As one who heard your sermon preached on Sunday, I must say that your synopsis is right on. I've been thinking since Sunday that this is one of those messages that it's easy to see the idolatry in everyone else, and miss it in me. I'm glad it doesn't apply to me now that I'm one of your readers :)
I hope you get to feeling better.
ronnie, i am writing prior to my reading of the scriptures suggested. The sort message here is very powerful and i can only imagine the powerfullness of the message which rlw (who is this new rdwiggins groupie?) heard in the pew. i will look up the scriptures to see if what you say is true. :-) Leroy Brownlow always told us to do that.
I have already and will continue to have your sister, Wilna, in my prayers. I ask God to be merciful to her and to heal her and to give her a confidence of His presence. I pray for you too, dear friend, for your dear, dear heart and earthly body to be renewed every morning and that you will continue to be used as a vessel by our Lord for me, the rest of the other 4 groupies as well as for rlw and whomever else is blessed enough to find this blog. jk
I have a feeling that this sermon may have been one of those toe stomping, tough love lessons. Unfortunately, I feel like there are alot of tough lessons coming our way. If only we were good at looking to past history for our future. I will be looking at all the scriptures you've given and hope you will be putting forth more of these lessons. I am also passing on this blog site to all my friends and family. Keep up the good work. Who knows, fan number 6 may be just around the corner. Love ya, Linda
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