ZEAL OR NO ZEAL?

14 May 2010

Have you ever felt a burning desire to witness to others? Have you ever had an insatiable hunger for the Word of God? Have you ever discovered what it means to “pray unceasingly”? Have you ever suffered for doing good and accepted your trial with joy? Have you ever poured yourself out for the benefit of another? If you have ever been at a place where you were zealous in your love for Jesus Christ, then you know that it is the best place in the world to be. But who among us has not at some point in our lives entered into a place where we found our zeal for the Lord to be lacking? On Sunday we will allow the Scriptures to teach us about zeal and ask the Lord to increase our spiritual fervor. I know I want that and I trust you do too.

If you would like to read ahead in preparation, the Scriptures for Sunday are as follows:

Haggai 1:1-11 and Revelation 2:1-7

Jeff Kliewer

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Questions and Answers from our Bible readings

7 May 2010

So, today we read (we are reading through the Bible chronologically), in I Kings 2:5-11, where David is giving final instructions to Solomon from his death bed, that Solomon should take the lives of 2 people who had done David wrong. David had sworn not to kill them after the incident. But, David, in many Psalms we’ve read, such as Psalm 11, writes about God raining down His justice “like blazing coal and burning sulfur on the wicked”. hummmm – does anyone have some thoughts on this for further consideration? Why did David take justice into his own hands at his death – AND give the job to his son, because he, himself, swore he wouldn’t do it to them….

Bill’s Answer
Vows in biblical days were extraordinarily important: witness the vow taken by Jephthah, which resulted in him killing his own innocent daughter as a sacrifice. In our day, we have very little regard for vows. We break them all the time. But biblical oaths were extremely solemn. That is why David didn’t kill the persons whom he had promised to spare from death. But (and this sounds like a loophole to me), nothing kept Solomon from carrying out David’s anger. I have wondered what was in David’s mind. Did he think this was sleight of hand? Was he okay with it? Did he feel like a hypocrite, saying one thing but in effect doing another? I have no clue.

Remember, and this is important, acts of man, though the Bible records them, do not necessarily reflect the ways of God. I seriously doubt whether Jephthah rash promise would have had the blessing of God.

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Cornerstone Connection

7 May 2010

The image above is the largest jigsaw puzzle ever made. Previously, the largest was a mere 18,000 pieces. But this one has exactly 24,000 pieces! How long do you guess it would take to put together that one?

Puzzles are fun to do. But it’s not fun at all when there’s a piece missing. TIP: Never buy a jigsaw puzzle in a garage sale!)

Anyway, whether Job liked puzzles or not, he was right in the thick of one. It may be the most difficult puzzle ever put together, because there was a key piece missing. Job had three pretty smart pals who thought they could figure it out.

They couldn’t and they didn’t.

You and I have taken a crack at figuring it out, too. Virtually every human being has. But none of us has done it. We still pull our hair out over it.

I think it’s time to call the Puzzle Manufacturer for the solution.

Want to know what it is? Join us Sunday for worship and you’ll know. Read ahead a little with these passages and you’ll be more likely to “get” it.

Ezekiel 18:30-32; 2 Peter 3:8-13 and Job 42:1-6.

See ya then. Bill

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Seeing Eye to Eye

30 April 2010

Regardless of who we are we all want to be “heard” and basically have people agree with us. We can respect different opinions as long as eventually people come around and see it our way. Most of us realize this will never happen but at least having people who are willing to listen to us and consider out thoughts and feelings is a cherished treasure of life. Just to know that we are heard is a crying need in all of us.

On Sunday we begin a two month study of considering passages of Scripture taken from our weekly readings of through the Bible in a year. Each week we will look at a portion of the Bible that was read the previous week for our study and its practical application. Also like we have done in the past we will have a discussion time after the service to further interact with the passage and one another. These have been special times of reflection as well as addressing questions that have arisen. I hope you will stay and join us.

This week we have been reading through the book of Job and encountering its intensity as well as wrestling with its application for us. Job was certainly a Godly man with lots of questions regarding suffering and God’s sovereignty while getting little if any support from his friends. For Sunday make sure you read Job 21 with the perspective of what Job is trying to convey to his friends about the righteous and the wicked. (Read Romans 11:33-36 as well for a New Testament insight.)

SEE you on Sunday;
Bruce

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A Day at the Beach

23 April 2010

Spending a day at the beach is not so unusual for us here in Florida. Saying that does not mean everyone likes going to the beach; with the intense sun, hot and sticky sand, the immense amount of traffic both on and off the beach, possible sunburn well you get the idea. But when you mention a day at the beach pretty much everyone has a picture in their mind of what a typical day looks like regardless of their feelings.

On Sunday we will wrap up our month long study looking at post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the impact He had on those whom He appeared. This last situation occurs on a beach and it is definitely not your typical day at the beach for any who were there that morning with Jesus. It is a relatively familiar passage but I believe God has some new insights for all of us as we again encounter His word. To prepare you for this encounter I would encourage you to read two New Testament passages and note the differences between one of Jesus’ first encounters with some of His disciples to one of His last times with them both at the “beach”. (See Luke 5:1-11 and John 21: 1-14). After the service we will gather to talk about our observations regarding these passages as well as how they specifically apply to our lives today.

See you on Sunday;
Bruce
Don’t worry about bringing any lotion because in worship you can never get too much SON!

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