Hey,
I'm back again, feeling from the Lord to share some inspired scriptural
insights with the church, and with any others of you who will receive the Word
with gladness. I do have some really
good things to share, but before I get into those, let me tell you why I
stopped blogging in the first place.
In
2015, after 3 years of occasional blogging, I let the hecklers shut me up. A few people, or possibly even just one
person with a very nasty spirit (I do not know the number, as they chose to
remain anonymous), felt it was their job to become my opposition, and in the
end I let the discouragement of that situation silence me. I will not make that mistake again.
As
a flooring installer, I enjoy listening to the audio Bible on my phone as I
work. Lately, I am really relating to
the Apostle Paul, and how he wrote of preaching the gospel though constantly
bombarded with opposition. As he wrote
of "Christ in you, the hope of glory", he said this:
Colossians 1:28-29
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all
wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according
to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
I
can very much relate to how Paul felt. I
know what it is like to have God's spirit working in me mightily, bringing
revelation and inspiration to my mind, giving me spiritual things to feed his
sheep. When this happens, I could
exclaim as Paul did, "Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel!" I think every preacher called of God knows
this compelling feeling, this driving Heavenly force.
And
so, I'm back to blog again. And as the
Apostle John wrote in 3 John 1:13, "I had many things to write, but I
will not with ink and pen write unto thee." Ha ha!
I'm going to use a computer instead.
The
more I grow in God, the more I understand that preaching is to be public. God never meant his word to be sequestered
behind closed doors, "preaching to the choir", so to speak. And so, preaching by nature is irritating and
obnoxious to those who don't want to hear it, or in this case, read it.
This
also makes the preacher a target of hatred and ridicule for those who don't
want to hear it.
Years
ago, I felt the Lord tell me that he did not call me to be popular, but to be a
polarizing figure. I don't like
this. I don't like to cause waves. I like to be pleasant and amiable, and I do
try to be. I want to be everybody's
friend, and I really do have a love for every person. But being unpopular is a hazard of the
business to which I'm called. Jesus told
his disciples to steel themselves, because they would be "hated of all
men for my name's sake" (Matthew 10:22).
Paul
nailed it when he spoke of the nature of preaching the Word of God, and the two
different kinds of hearers:
2 Corinthians 2:16
To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the
savour of life unto life.
I
appreciate those of you who will consider my words with a right spirit. I thank you for the encouraging feedback that
you have left in the past. I can’t tell
you how much it means to me to know that you have been touched, and that my
labor is not in vain in the Lord.
But
to those who get upset by my writing, please let me tell you now, up
front. Please stop reading! You are reading somebody else's mail and
getting upset. I am not writing to you
or about you. I am writing to many
others who agree and accept what I say, and even rejoice in it. You are not obligated to read my blog any
more than you are obligated to attend the church I pastor.
And
I bless you on your way. You have every
right to your opinions and values. If
you wrote a blog about your passionate beliefs, I would not be there to act as
an agitator. And you can still be my
friend, even if I don't agree. But
please, with the same respect, allow me to have my own convictions without
feeling the need to destroy what I feel from the Lord to preach.
Starting
up this blog again, I may choose to utilize the options of screening comments
before posting them or even blocking a person if needed. Because I don't want the focus to be on
contention, but on edification.
I
feel a maturity and a strength in my soul that I didn't have before, and I will
not again allow opposition from the few to keep me from working in my calling
and from feeding God's sheep.
And
so here I go again. I will post when I
feel the Lord would have me to.
Saying
this, I want to begin on a theme: the theme of what the King James Bible calls
"PERFECTION". Let's explore
what perfection is over the next couple days.
I'll try to publish 3 or 4 blog posts about some beautiful insights the
Lord has been letting me see on this subject.
Feel
free to follow me if you would like to be notified when I post something new,
and please feel free to comment or question.
Wow! You read all the way to the end!
Galatians 6:11
Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
LOL!
