Bless my decisions and vision and help me best serve the needs of the folks at St. James.
July 12th
Bless my decisions and vision and help me best serve the needs of the folks at St. James.
July 11th
July 10th
Thanks as well for a good worship time and for having Ian at the drums.
It was a bit of a sad day, too, with Steve Collins there for the last day as he heads off on a new adventure. Bless him in his new job, and bless him and all his family in their new home and country. Watch over Maia and help her adjust to her new environment, and watch over Ian as he sees his parents grow up and move on for a while.
Help me keep up the relationship with Steve somehow, and bless St. James with some folks that can assume the responsibilities and roles the Collins played, but in a way that reflects their own needs and abilities. Help me remember that we're not looking to replace the Collins family, but to grow our current family.
July 10th: Unprofitable Prophets
We all want answers. We are all in search of the meaning of life, how the universe came into being, what the place was like before God got things started and why we drive on parkways and park on driveways. In our quest for solutions to these conundrums we turn to folks with special insight. In the world of faith these people are called prophets. Prophets have a special relationship with the god of their choice; they are in touch with their god and their god with them, so that we mere mortals have a source of guidance and direction that comes straight from our chosen creator’s mouth.
Prophets, however, are not all equally made. Some are the genuine thing. Our Bible records many instances in which God directed certain folks that He had set aside for just that purpose. In tune with God, these Prophets guided the Hebrew people and helped them serve and honour their god. Mind you, it didn’t always work. Like the rest of us, the Hebrews had their own idea of what was right and wrong, and sometimes the hard path God offered them just wasn’t that tempting.
As a result of this selective listening, a whole crop of small ‘p’ prophets arose. These folks worked the crowd and told them what they wanted to hear. Sometimes they did it for profit, guiding folks along paths that would make them rich. Occasionally, the devil got into mix to steer God’s people far, away from their creator. The tradition continues today: small ‘p’ prophets keep spreading their false messages of doom and gloom. What’s worse is that people still listen to them as if they were the second coming.
That’s not a good thing. Prophets should help us hear and understand God. Their voices should speak the word of their creator and ours in a way that leads us along the right path and steers us clear of the dangerous ones. False prophets, as you might expect, do just the opposite. As well intentioned as they might be, they only confuse us and confound God’s truth. Sometimes they cost us money. Sometimes they cost us our souls.
A few of these small ‘p’ prophets gathered together to talk about the end of the world. All of them agreed it was imminent, although none could agree on what exactly how it could come about. All of them had a suggestion or two about how we should prepare physically, if possible, but not one talked about getting ready spiritually. In other words, they were totally unprofitable prophets. Not being connected to God, they have nothing to offer humanity, whether or not you believe.
That’s the power of a capital ‘P’ Prophet. God’s true spokesperson draws people closer to Him, guiding and steering them clear from doom, gloom and despair. The true Prophet points us away from the darkness. The true Prophet’s message is the most profitable thing we could imagine.
Prophets, however, are not all equally made. Some are the genuine thing. Our Bible records many instances in which God directed certain folks that He had set aside for just that purpose. In tune with God, these Prophets guided the Hebrew people and helped them serve and honour their god. Mind you, it didn’t always work. Like the rest of us, the Hebrews had their own idea of what was right and wrong, and sometimes the hard path God offered them just wasn’t that tempting.
As a result of this selective listening, a whole crop of small ‘p’ prophets arose. These folks worked the crowd and told them what they wanted to hear. Sometimes they did it for profit, guiding folks along paths that would make them rich. Occasionally, the devil got into mix to steer God’s people far, away from their creator. The tradition continues today: small ‘p’ prophets keep spreading their false messages of doom and gloom. What’s worse is that people still listen to them as if they were the second coming.
That’s not a good thing. Prophets should help us hear and understand God. Their voices should speak the word of their creator and ours in a way that leads us along the right path and steers us clear of the dangerous ones. False prophets, as you might expect, do just the opposite. As well intentioned as they might be, they only confuse us and confound God’s truth. Sometimes they cost us money. Sometimes they cost us our souls.
A few of these small ‘p’ prophets gathered together to talk about the end of the world. All of them agreed it was imminent, although none could agree on what exactly how it could come about. All of them had a suggestion or two about how we should prepare physically, if possible, but not one talked about getting ready spiritually. In other words, they were totally unprofitable prophets. Not being connected to God, they have nothing to offer humanity, whether or not you believe.
That’s the power of a capital ‘P’ Prophet. God’s true spokesperson draws people closer to Him, guiding and steering them clear from doom, gloom and despair. The true Prophet points us away from the darkness. The true Prophet’s message is the most profitable thing we could imagine.
July 9th
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