Articles
Rejoicing in the Lord in a Fallen World
Rejoicing in the Lord in a Fallen World
By Paul R. Blake
Recently, I was asked a question by someone very troubled by a school official who made a speech promoting and praising an immoral policy in the school system. The hurt soul expressed helplessness and the belief that the whole world was careening toward complete immorality, and she felt like there were no good people left in the world. I empathize with those feelings and beliefs; sometimes it does feel like there are no good folks left in our contemporary world. What follows is my reply to her:
“It is not the whole world; most of the world is relatively good. If you see people as individuals, you discover that most of them, in spite of their personal weaknesses, are often more moral than evil. It is when we see an apparently unopposed travesty that we often allow its stark evil to color our whole world. We tend to generalize such things as a natural defense mechanism, attributing it to everyone instead of just the aberrant few. When I see moral train wrecks in public positions of authority, I have to remind myself that it is the deviant few who only temporarily hold the reins of power in education, politics, or media. Fortunately, their depravity does not characterize the majority they claim to represent. These “agents of change” believe they are so very enlightened that they are entitled by their delusion of enlightenment to force their vision on the rest of us “poor, primitive religious persons.” Their mindset is similar to that of the medieval Spanish Inquisition.
“A few of vulnerable, impressionable, and lost school students will fall into the temptations offered by the immoral change agents, other young people will experiment with it as part of sowing wild oats sowing, but most will grow up and abandon it along with other youthful indiscretions like sagging their pants and purpling their hair.
“Heave a sigh and think about healthy things. Focus on the greater majority of good folks who will respond to the Gospel. God is still in control regardless of who is standing on the podiums of power in our country. His will is done in spite of their rantings.”
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:6-9).
Prayers and Paperclips
By Kenneth J. Fleeman
I recently attended a safety seminar at which John Vasquez from the National Safety Council reminded me of a childhood truth. John stated that “College students drive beater cars held together with prayers and paperclips.” In my experience duct tape and wire clothes hangers were also widely employed. A farm boy would not leave home without a partial roll of binder twine in the bed of his truck just in case of emergency.
Most things on cars become loose or fragile over time despite our best efforts at maintenance. Katrina’s exhaust pipe recently severed at the muffler. The culprit was rust. This tiny separation defeated the function of the muffler which was obvious by the obnoxious sound. Less obvious was that the separation changed the operating conditions in the engine which relies on the continuous backpressure of the entire exhaust system to remain balanced. While perhaps not harmful, the change makes the engine less efficient and the sound disrupts the normal activity of everyone within earshot.
People require maintenance too. Relationships, health, happiness, faith and often our very lives hang by a fragile thread. These threads too often break because they lack the support, love and attention required to maintain them. The family, government and the church were designed by God to provide our maintenance needs. These systems work best when we contribute our efforts to their function. Otherwise, we are less efficient than we should be and many times are just as obnoxious as that broken exhaust!
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16) Don’t forget to pray and keep your pockets full of paperclips, just in case!
A Moments Wisdom
--The only people who are angry with you for speaking the truth are those people who are living a lie. Keep speaking the truth.
--Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything looks different. (C. S. Lewis)
--Some Christians believe they can worship alone in heaven, which is why they are so inclined to forsake the assembly here.
--It is hard to understand the Bible when you have already decided what you want it to mean.
--If it is a priority, you’ll find a way; if it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse. (Jim Rohn)
--Laziness has some people believing they have an unfair life. If you do nothing, you will get nothing.
--Assumption is the lowest level of knowledge.
--Kindness is loaning someone else your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness.
--A church that will not confront sin, will eventually end up conforming to sin.
--The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, and accept you. The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and redirect you.
--If you knew how quickly people would forget you after your death, you would not seek in your life to please anyone but God. (John Chrysostom)
--Be careful not to measure your holiness by other people’s sins. (Martin Luther)
--Jesus did not eat with tax collectors and sinners because He wanted to appear inclusive, tolerant, and accepting. He ate with them to call them to repentance.
--The church cannot be the salt of the earth when it keeps sugar-coating the Gospel.
--Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant; then it tries to silence good. (Charles Chaput)
Upcoming Sermons
3/23/25 AM - Why Did a Loving God Make Me This Way?; PM - Daniel’s Prayer
3/30/25 AM - Guest Speaker: Elijah Dean; PM - Guest Speaker: Doug Sanders: House of the Lord
4/6/25 AM - Guest Speaker: Jared Sink; PM - Themed Worship in Song: “If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments”
4/13/25 AM - Guest Speakers: Titus Davis; PM - Todd Hounchell: Peace
