Terry Mattingly is a religion columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service — his column “On Religion” appears in about 350 American newpapers. He has also taught journalism at several major Christian colleges and universities. I find that he always has something interesting to say. This week’s column, which is concerned with charitable giving seems particularly appropriate in light of one the Black Dwarf’s recent posts:
http://www.lambofgodnj.org/blogs/black-dwarf/grieving-the-spirit-of-revival-by-gd-watson-1845-1924/
It seems to me that failure to provide adequate financial support falls under at least three of the eight “things that grieve the Holy Spirit and hinder Him in revivals”. Also, it’s clear from our brother Vinny’s recent report on the state of our building that availability of financial resources — ours or those of the Diocese — will play a major role in maintaining St. Marks in a usable state. Thus, I commend to your prayerful consideration this week’s On Relighion column: http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2007/11/21/.
Please understand that I’m not accusing Lamb of God of failure in this area — we probably do better than most congregations. It’s just that we occasionally need a nudge in the right direction…
Posted by Lon on November 26th, 2007 in Church | No Comments »
It’s comparatively easy to take shots at public figures or famous folks from the past. But if we’re going to talk about our day-to-day life, I think we can all agree that the sin that we experience the most in our own. 2 Samuel 11 and 12 is instructive here. Like David, we are seldom aware of our sin until someone else points it out to us, and usually we’re not very interested in hearing the news that there is a lot of darkness yet in our hearts, even though we know that it’s true.
Consider this: the primary means through which God speaks to us are the Bible, the preaching and teaching of the word, and the wise, biblically-informed counsel of our brothers and sisters. Most of us understand how the first two work, but the last of these may be a challenge to us. We have to learn how to give and receive correction from one another. The scriptures are explicit: we are repeatedly instructed to give correction, particularly in cases when we are the offended party. And Proverbs is loaded with stuff on the importance of receiving correction. So if your brother or sister comes up to you and points out to you an area of your life that needs attention and reformation, you are obligated to carefully consider what he or she says, whether or not you think that they’re right, and especially if the person correcting you is an Elder or similarly mature person in the congregation. In closing, remember Proverbs 12:1: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. stupid! STUPID!!
Posted by Lon on November 24th, 2007 in Church | 1 Comment »
