Love me some chicken

I saw the other day where some obscure college in the northeastern part of the United States has decided not to allow Chick-fil-a to put a restaurant on their campus.  It's just another SJW move against the leadership of the company because of their Christian beliefs and values.  So I did my part today by donating to the restaurant at lunchtime....if you know what I mean.  It was tasty!

The Journey Continues to Continue

Can I stay true to God and be in His will, if I live my life according to His Word but my local church is part of a denomination which is heading down the road to apostasy?  It doesn't appear so.  There is a gigantic cancer in the United Methodist Church and the damage, to me, is irreparable.  I had hoped a return to the church of my youth would be a permanent move, but other forces are making this impossible for me.

The denomination is in a much worse state than I previously thought.  There are people in leadership positions who are in open rebellion against the standards and laws of the UMC.  Every four years a general conference is held where rules and laws can be changed.  When this can affect change to adherence to long standing and believed Christian truths, it is a big problem.

I apply the following Scriptures to this situation:  "...don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?  Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."--James 4:4-5.  "...come out from them and be separate says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."-- 2 Corinthians 6:17.....to name a couple.

Although my local UM church, for the most part, appears to be sound and is made up of good Christian people, it looks the next stop in my journey is the Wesleyan Church.

Difficult Times are Upon Us

I am sick and tired of Satan using his minions and lackys  to cripple the Church of  Jesus Christ.  
I am sick that I thought I finally found a church home in the church of my youth, but the more I read of  the happenings within the denomination,  I'm feeling more and more that I must once again pack it up and look elsewhere.  Why is it so difficult to find a good church without much baggage?  Why can't there be a thriving, orthodox church in this area?  There are the blind who don't see or don't want to see the clear teaching of the Word on the issue of homosexuality:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.  Romans 1:18-32

God help me to find a church where the biblical view is one of a Wesleyan perspective and there is no compromising of the Word of God.

Hey Google!

TAKE YOUR "CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH" AND SHOVE IT!!!!!!

Is Apostasy a Real Thing?

There is one section of Scripture that has continually fascinated, frightened and puzzled me over the years, but now, I believe, I'm starting to get a grip on its teaching.  The passage in question is Hebrews 6:4-6:

                        "For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt."

 First, we should take the Scripture for what it says and not try to explain what was "actually meant".  It seems pretty clear to me.  I don't buy into the interpretation that "tasted" and "enlightened" mean "almost tasted" or "almost enlightened".  This is someone who was/is on the inside.

Next let's look at some verses related to the concept of eternal security.  John 10:28-30 says:

^28" I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.^{[c] 30} The Father and I are one.”

I believe this to be true.  The fact is no one outside of myself can separate me from the Father's love....no person, demon, angel or the devil himself.  The difference, and this was the breakthrough for me is that the Lord has given us free will.  Thus, if a person comes to a point in their life that they no longer believe God for Who He is and what He says, they have the ability to turn their back on the Lord and walk away.  If they do, sadly, they may not and cannot return again.  I am not talking about the Christian who continually falls to sin and confesses that sin.  God will forgive a believer a million times if they sincerely go to Him and repent.

God's Still Working on Me

God continues to amaze me as I see Him lead me in ways I can never imagine.  How could I have ever know that returning to the church of my childhood and family would make it possible for me to be offered an employment opportunity that would save me from a very difficult and increasingly miserable situation.  How could my new employer know about my situation?  The Lord must have been working in the background.  I go into this new opportunity with some trepidation as much of what I will deal with will be new to me, but I believe my years of experience in this area of business has prepared me as well.  It appears I will have the opportunity to work with former fellow workers and old friends.  This part I am looking forward to with great anticipation.  I will get to work more realistic hours, attend church on Wednesday evenings, eat dinner at a reasonable time and not spend so much time travelling to the job and back.  The situation should be so much better than what I've experienced the past eight months.  I know it won't be easy and there will be difficult times, but I look forward to my new job with excitement and interest.  Once again I get to learn new things and grow.  This is great for a guy who will turn, Lord willing, 65 years old later this year.  To God be the glory...great things He has done!

Random Thoughts

If I had just "stayed put" in some ways, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble over the years.

What time I have left I must find the way meant for me to take a stand and fight for biblical truth.

Even though I'm not big on denominations, the United Methodist Church is a denomination worth saving from Satan and his minions.  Help me Lord to fight for it.

Christmas Eve 2017

I am very happy to be back at Central Church.  Thrilled with singing in the choir.  My concern for the future is what direction will the denomination take concerning the sexuality question.  If it goes the wrong way, then what will my local church do?  I don't want to change churches again.  May the Lord intervene and there be a revival in the UMC.  The truth in Scripture is crystal clear.  The fact that there is even such a thing as a lesbian bishop, pastor, whatever, proves Satan in behind it all.

Why do I feel like everyone is against me sometimes?  I try to do my best for my family and it seems like I'm continually being shot down.

Overall I like my job, but not the hours, the commute and whatever funky stuff is going on with the money.  Whether it's computer glitches or human ineptitude, I want it fixed!

"I feel deeply sorry for those you who were not around to participate in the music of the 60s. You can listen to the recordings, but there was magic in the air that is lost in the deep mist of time. There was a Golden Decade of priceless music-magic unlike anything else in history. It materialized mysteriously and then de-materialized just as mysteriously. You had to be there. It was like a musical Camelot. We knew it was awesome while it was happening, but we did not know it would end completely, like a dream. It was a religious experience."

--a quote I ran across on YouTube.

So it begins

The first day at the new job is now behind me and it wore me out!  It was a very long 11 hour day (not including the commute) working in and out of air conditioning.  I'm getting my department set up with a LOT of help from co-workers from other departments.  Their efforts are very much appreciated, but  I am looking forward to getting things in the order I want them once the dust, literally and figuratively, settles.  I pray the Lord gives me the strength for this undertaking. 

New/old friends

Met a gentleman at church today who recognized me as the son of my dad.  His name is Ray Hargett and he remembers dad for his dead pan, dry sense of humor.

That's cool.  I hope, when I'm gone, I'll be remembered at all.

So There!

“I’m tired of white supremacy keeping its foot on my neck and the necks of people who look like me,” Thompson said at a news conference. “That statue glorifies the conditions that oppressed people live in, and it had to go.”

Hey Tah-kee-yah!  You've never been oppressed or a slave, so shut your pie hole!

Coming Full Circle

It has taken 50 years and the experience accrued from many different churches during those years, but, (and I really mean it this time😉) I am finally home.  For better or worse, right or wrong....this is where I will finish my race....Central United Methodist Church...the church where I was raised, confirmed, and baptized.
  After years of bible study, sermon listening and prayer, the Christian tradition I believe is true to the Word of God is Wesleyan.  I am talking about the classic, biblical Wesleyanism of John and Charles Wesley.  I am not a great theologian, so, for now, I will move on to my general statement and doctrine and theology can be addressed at a later time.
  God is worshiped in spirit and in truth at this church.  The official stand of the denomination, for now at least, is biblically sound.  The local church is solid.
  There is, however, a cancer in the denomination that totally ignores the truth of the Word of God.  It is a cancer that does not acknowledge passages like Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6.  I believed I have been called to stop sitting on the sidelines, roll up my sleeves, and join to fight the good fight.  It is too easy to sit in our little orthodox, independent groups and judge others.  I'm ready to get my hands dirty.
  The United Methodist Church is a denomination worth fighting for and saving.  No matter what the future holds, I believe this is the way to go for me.
 

Time Passages

Here we go again...as this weekend we said goodbye to another family member.  I lost my cousin Jay to numerous health issues at, what now seems to me, the young age of 71.  It is so weird to realize all of your parents' generation is gone and now you are on the front line with your generation stepping off into eternity.  Believe me, you don't know how it feels until you reach that certain point in your life.
Jay was one of the family's resident humorists.  Just like our cousin Jim who preceded him in death by a couple of years, you could always count on him to provide plenty of smiles and laughs.  For me, the younger cousin who looked up to these guys, they were the life of every family get-together.  As I was sharing with someone at the memorial service, I regret how most of our family is/was far apart geographically and over the years did not spend a lot of time together.

Life is precious...time here is short.

Climate change and all that crap

This has nothing to do with whether you like or dislike the current resident of the White House:

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/11/why-the-paris-climate-deal-is-meaningless-000326se:

Truth for Today

My days as a premillennial, dispensationalist came to an end when I started reading the text of the Scriptures more than Scofield's notes.

God is still on the Throne

 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”^[a]

²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks^[b] foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.--1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Despite all the madness that's happening in this country and the world, be sure of this....God is not mocked, Satan and man will not ultimately triumph.  

To God be the glory.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.

A Good Statement on the Church

The Church is more than any denomination or organization. It overlaps formal institutional entity and exists in fellowship and community groups that meet regularly for worship and biblical edification. It consists of every soul united to Jesus Christ. "Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of they Son Christ our Lord" (The Collect for All Saints' Day). The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same" (Article 19).

The pure word governs the genuine ministration of the sacraments. Authentic Anglicanism with its loving adherence to Scripture and deep devotion to worthy worship of Almighty God is well-suited to a generous ecumenism. While it cherishes its own Reformed Catholic heritage it can rejoice in any people or place where Christ is adored and commended. It maintains its Confessional standpoint faithfully but willingly holds hands with any who truly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. That spiritual oneness does not deny diversity or insist on institutional conformity.--Rev. Roger Salter

What About Mary?

I am one of those people who must continue to study and investigate.  My current area of study is Catholicism.  The one area I have the most problem with is, as one might expect, is the teaching on the virgin Mary.  As an Anglican,  I can accept calling her the Mother of God (Theotokos) and I will even give you that she was ever virgin.  However, when it comes to the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and titles such as Co-Redemptrix and Queen of Heaven.....well I just cannot get past it.
I will continue my search and studies in this area.  I know I may be chastised by friends and family for saying this, but I believe the Catholic Church has a lot going for it.  There are just a few of their teachings I cannot wrap my brain around.  At this time I am leaning toward the idea that the one true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is either the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church.  I continue, sadly, to find more problems with Protestantism as I investigate these subjects.

Early Retirement?

Following up on my last post announcing my entering the ranks of the unemployed, so much has happened over the past month and it's happened quickly.  If all goes according to plan, in less than two weeks we will load a moving truck with all our worldly possessions and begin a new life in the coastal area of our state. There is no full-time job awaiting me.  How is this possible you ask?  You "unload" most of your stuff, including the house,  and have a wonderful son who is willing to take you in to his home.  We are combining forces and assets to acquire a three story house one block from the Atlantic Ocean.  This is like a dream-come-true for me and who would have ever thought it would take dismissal from a job to initiate the entire project.  In the meantime there is much to do and I will probably not post again until after the move, but we will see what the future holds.  These are exciting and anxious times!