100,000 page views.

Today marks a significant milestone in the history of this blog. It was started originally by a suggestion from my friend Gary when I was discussing with him how to communicate with people during my year old journey around the US following retirement from self employment in June 2009. He said,"Start a blog," to which I responded "What's,a blog? I wrote regular posts until sometime in 2016. Then it lapsed. Finally as I prepared to make my eighth visit to Brazil earlier this year I restarted the blog. Today it passed one hundred thousand page views. Am very appreciative of the many who have perused these posts. I continue to be amazed that the vast majority of views are from other countries where I don't know anyone and where I have never been. Am also thankful for the commenters. A total of 107 comments are recorded. May the Lord Jesus help me to forge on with posts that will glorify God and bless the readers.

A Dying Society

The primary hallmark of a dying society is when a significant number of younger adults decide not to have children taking on a twenty year commitment that involves sacrifice in order to be a good parent. This I see in the US including among my own relatives. Another hallmark is when our words, promises and commitments don't mean anything. When we are governed by our feelings our word is no longer our bond. This results in an erosion of trust. God's Word values personal integrity We are told to let our yes be yes and our no be no. Matthew 5:37 "A man of integrity walks securely. " Proverbs 10:9. If I say I am going to do something and fail to do it, is that not,shameful? Not anymore apparently. If God does not keep His promises, where would we be?

Old Covenant Mentality Part 3

This segment of the Old Covenant Mentality has to do with the hierarchical leadership structure that most churches employ. Typically there is a Senior Pastor, and if the church is large enough an associate pastor and or a youth pastor. After this comes "lay" elders and then deacons. This creates a professional salaried class with certain academic credentials that are separate and above the rest of the congregation. The belief in the necessity of a seminary degree is actually an extra Biblical requirement nowhere mentioned in New Testament ecclesiology. While the school of Tyrannus in Acts 19 is sometimes cited, this one instance is a very small foundation to build such a large edifice. When we place the emphasis on academic education instead of the godly character qualities shown in 1,Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 we have inevitable results. No one supposedly knows anything except those specially trained which leads to spiritual pride. If the Bereans in Acts 17:11 are praised for vetting Paul by studying through Scripture to see if what he taught was true then everyone should be vetted The true New Testament pattern is a plurality of co equal elders who meet the 1 Timothy and Titus qualifications. Church elders or overseers are mentioned 18 times in the NT. The only 2 instances in which it is not plural is when Peter or John are referencing themselves as i dividuals. 1 Peter 5 and 2nd and 3rd John.

Old Covenant Mentality Part 2

Another area where Old Covenant mentality prevails in much of the Church in America is with tithing. The purpose of the tithe was to provide a food allotment for the Levitical priesthood which was necessary in a period where the priesthood was very limited in terms of who was eligible with tribal, appearance, gender and age restrictions. In the New Covenant all genuine believers are priests (1 Peter 2:9 & 3 other references in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Tithing has been superseded by giving in the New Covenant. A person with an income of one million dollars a year who gave 100,000 to God's work could say that they had done what was required under the Old Covenant. In the New there is no limit to our responsibility to give. Jesus gave all for us. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Old Covenant Mentality

As recorded in the Old Testament, the presence of God usually resided in a building called a temple. The believers in Israel needed to go to Jerusalem. In John 4 when Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman seeking water, a conversation ensues in which she says that her people worship on this mountain and you Jews say we should worship in Jerusalem. Jesus responds that a time is coming when people won't be required to worship in either place. John 7:38-39 explains that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus is now glorified with His resurrection, ascension and seating at the right hand of the Father. Yet we still retain this idea of holy buildings. We speak of going to church rather than true believers in Christ are the church. Does the building make us holy or is it the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?

Thoughts and Questioned

Very thankful that this morning the preacher spoke on sin and repentance using Psalm 51 as his text. Seldom do I hear anything on the topic of sin in the Church in America. We have down played it so much that the question "Saved from what?" can legitimately be asked. Another thought impressed upon me as I awoke earlier this week revolves around the theme of personal relationship with God. If personal relationship is built in part on the time and energy that we expend upon it then we have a far deeper relationship with our cell phones than with God. Speaking of time most people have no difficulty in speaking with other people, sometimes for hours but have difficulty speaking to God for a few minutes. I am convicted by these thoughts. A parting thought. Sometime ago I wrote a blog post titled "Island of Sanity." To Date no one has read it although many have read the posts before and after.

Testimony

Last Wednesday I heard a very powerful testimony from a young man, a nee acquaintance of mine. His life prior to salvation was horrific with loneliness, negkect, heavy medication and attempted suicide. The place where,I am currently living and working has kids' camps during the summer. God saved this boy at 13. Seven years later he is one of the most outgoing, friendly serious Christians that I have met. On his days off from his regular work he volunteers here giving unpaid skilled labor. Our personal testimony of what God has done in our life is one of the most important things we can share with either believers or unbelievers. Why? Because we are the expert on our own conversion story. We may not know Greek or Hebrew, be a pastor, elder or deacon but we know more about the work of,God in our life than anyone else. Observe that towards the end of the book of,Acts as Paul is tried before various rulers and officials, he often relates his own conversion experience. May we do the same.

Are we just kidding?

There have been times in the past when I have questioned whether most of the Church in America is just joking? One prominent example is the custom of many congregations of dispensing with most activities, home groups, Bible studies etc. during the summer months and around the end of year holidays. In reality this adds up to almost half the year. This morning I read Luke 18 again, both in Portuguese and then in English. It begins with Jesus saying that the parable in verses 1 thru 8 is to encourage His people to pray and not give up. He then tells a story of an indefatigable woman and an unjust judge who finally gives her what she wants because she keeps asking. Verse 8 concludes the passage with Jesus asking a poignant question. When He returns, will He find faith on the earth. Clearly He is asking whether there will be people praying. I am convicted and challenged by this. I am not always convinced that my prayers are efficacious. Nor do my prayers typically result in closer intimacy with God. Please help me Lord Jesus!