Sunday, January 6, 2013

Raytown Mo

After the snowstorm, Bonnie Cain called me to see how the boys were doing and to say that church would be cancelled today due to bad road conditions.  So I am surfing around facebook this morning and up pops a message from my friend Pastor John Wiley saying that services are about to begin. http://PastorJohnWiley.com  I have become accustomed to worshiping with a group on Sundays so I joined his congregation online.  Mathew 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

1 Chronicles 16: 8-12
8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. 12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done , his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

My take on his message today was about how earthly powers control us through fear - be it government or advertising media.  (note: I specify "advertising media" because government and the news media are the same thing) They both point out problems and claim to have all the answers to the needs they have created in our minds.  I no longer trust them so through faith I am trusting in Christ.

Deuteronomy 28:1-12
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in , and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out . 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow 

22 comments:

Under The SC Sun said...

It is easy to be mislead. Matthew 5:4 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

The true Christ will be obvious to all, there will be no doubt.

Keep up the good works John. Keep speaking the truth.

Rita B. said...

Well, this is gonna be good. Kudos John.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Thanks for keeping the faith.

Jay said...

There is a common theme inside every scripture John quoted.



Mathew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.


1 Chronicles 16: 8-12
8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name,
...
10 Glory ye in his holy name

Deuteronomy 28
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD;




Have you praise your God by his name today? When is the last time you ever uttered his name?

It is sad that many bible translations have edited out the name of God. Do not be misled.


Psalm 83:18
16 Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.

17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish;

18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth..



Gather together in praise of God by name. Praise Jehovah.

pamit said...

That's interesting Jay. Where does the ban against mentioning god's name come from? My guess is it is like the food laws that most religions have - a device to keep the followers separate, secret, and "special".

And John: again with the fear. How about some *new* Testament stuff?

Noble said...

"...earthly powers control us through fear ... They both point out problems and claim to have all the answers to the needs they have created in our minds."

This this exactly what Christianity looks like to me. Fear of eternal torture after death put in your mind by an ancient book which also offers the solution to that made up problem - giving up your life to an invisible man in the sky. It is just stunning to me that you cannot see it. Childhood indoctrination strikes again.

Andy V said...

Noble, once again you come to challenge. All the regulars here already know you're not a believer. So what's the point? I am a Christian who doesn't fear eternal torture after death or believe in an invisible man in the sky. Maybe we all don't fit in your convenient box. Why do you even read Sunday's blog? Seems like a lot of wasted energy.

Beulah Bee said...

I like what Andy said.

remmij said...

OCAD -
Obsessive-compulsive-atheist disorder:
can't tolerate anyone believing what they don't, those people are "stupid, naive & brainwashed", but even if they converted to nihilism, they won't be as brilliant as the original Nobelists - no less of a zealot than the most fire-breathing fundamentalist or Taliban wannabe.
"Stunning" that they can't see that they are personifying exactly what they are decrying... such is the ironic power of a hollow demigod. Irritation is becoming pity.

Noble said...

I don't know what to tell you Andy. I've been following this blog for years and when John started posting these biblical passages I found them a bit offensive and wanted to offer a counter-argument. It's a public blog that allows comments so I'm commenting. He's free to answer me, delete my comments, or whatever. If he wants to simply ask me to refrain from commenting I'll even do that.

I honestly have no ill-will toward John. I am simply pointing out what I see as wrong information. If he were suggesting that everyone should drink a cup of bleach daily for their health I would point that out as wrong also. I am often accused of being arrogant and bullying online so I guess that's how I'm perceived, but it is not my intention. I'm trying to work on that, but it's not easy for me to see it as I'm doing it.

Most Christians do believe in hell, otherwise what was the point of Jesus' "sacrifice"? You are certainly not representative of any mainstream Christian sect. I guess you are an atheist who follows the teachings of Jesus? Or are you just nit-picking my description of god as an invisible man in the sky?

It probably is a waste of energy. I don't know. I have had one person contact me privately and tell me he appreciates my comments.

Andy V said...

OK, Noble. Keyword: "wrong". There is no right and no wrong on this subject. John Wells is not right and not wrong. YOU are not right and not wrong. I am not right or not wrong. Nobody knows. All I am saying is please respect John's right ON HIS BLOG to say what he believes in his path. You can believe or not believe whatever you want - its YOUR path. Believe me when I tell you I am NOT an atheist who believes Jesus' teachings. That guess would be WRONG. BUT, I respect YOUR right to think that. It just seems to me you wait all week for John's Sunday blog to counter-argue his beliefs. (It is the only time you comment here.) I don't understand why it offends you. If I found it offensive I wouldn't come back. Simple solution.

Respect, tolerance and consideration - 3 things we are losing in today's society. Very sad. Hey, that's my opinion....not right and not wrong. Peace.

John Wells said...

there is always a right and a wrong....choose carefully.

Noble said...

Well, I believe that objective truth exists. There either is or isn't a god. The Bible either is or isn't a good guide to living one's life.

I certainly respect John's right to say anything he wants on his blog. My disagreeing with him is in no way infringing on that right. Again, he is free to delete the comments or ask me to stop commenting, or set a blanket policy against comments that disagree with him and I will respect that. As far as I can tell the only ones upset with my comments here are John's fans.

I am reminded of the story of the boy who didn't speak until the age of ten. His parents couldn't figure it out and the doctor said nothing was physically wrong with him. One night, when dinner was served, he took a spoonful of soup and said, "The soup's cold". His parents were amazed and asked him why he'd never spoken before. "Everything was fine up to now", he said. That kid is me. Everything on this blog was fine up to the point the religious stuff started appearing.

John Wells said...

noble...you are anything but. Guided by Satan - you are not welcome here. Spend your time left on earth living your own life keeping in mind that being an internet troll is not a noble cause.

Jay said...

Love Thine Enemies.

I suspect if internet trolls existed in Jesus' day, he would have loved them as well.

Jesus had many hecklers that spoke up during many of his sermons and encounters. Such stories are abundant in the bible. Most prominent were the Pharisees. They may be the closest comparison to today's internet troll.

If one believes that Jesus' life was an example that we should do our best to emulate, it seems reasonable to treat internet trolls the same way Jesus treated his hecklers. If ever there was a master at silencing a heckler, it was Jesus. Sometimes Jesus opened their eyes and converted them to a new righteous path. Other times, he artfully utilized their heckling to make a point and shed light on his teachings for everyone else that wanted to learn.


I won't attempt to quote every encounter Jesus had with a Pharisee, or all hecklers. There are far too many to list here. I will simply quote one of my personal favorites. Feel free to search the bible to find more examples yourself.




Matthew Chapter 9
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”



If Jesus could sit down with sinners and minister to them, why shouldn't we attempt to do the same on the internet?


Zach said...

I think once readers are being pointed out as being "guided by Satan" the blog has probably reached an all time low.

Good luck John. Hope you don't go the full nut.

This isn't a source for information anymore. I'm done here.

pamit said...

I'm also surprised by John's response. John, maybe you should turn off the commenting feature of your blog if you're going to tell responders like Noble that they are "guided by Satan". Sheesh. Or just remove his post if you find it so offensive. I smell a zealot in the making here. That's sad.

Anonymous said...

disgusting John 's biblical stuff and comments (Satan included), will asume i will be deleted as he s been doing , agree with Noble dude xxxxx . Number of VIEWERS HAVE BEEN GOING DOWN man

Rev.jimmyleebob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Compost Bob said...

Howdy! First time visitor. Look'n for The Field Lab blog. Not sure if I found the right place. Would sure like to hear more about the "Off-Grid" way of life. Then again, I guess Jesus was one of the more original "Off-Grid" folks. He probably would have a few interesting comments about The Field Lab project. Ya all seem like a friendly and diverse group ... I guess with the normal amount of misunderstandings as we all plod through life. I'll keep check'n in to see how you're doing. Wish you well.
Bob
Kingsbury, Texas via Kodiak, Alaska

Dusty Sandals said...

It will always be this way... When you start using the name of our savior, friends start to complain and disappear. Y'shua (Jesus) even told us this would happen - we will be hated because of His Name.
I personally was happy to see you growing in faith!

ezrablu said...

Hey John...I've been gone on some mission work so tonight is my first time back on your blog since last spring. And I have to say Amen, John...we're either taking one step toward or one step away.
John 15:18-19
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
You belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.