Many of us have heard the phrase "preaching to the choir." What that phrase often means is, trying to teach those that already know. But, what does the Bible say about a choir? If you search for the word "choir" you will find absolutely nothing. It isn't there.
The New Testiment, however, does have some things to say about music in the church.
Ephesians 5:19 says "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" Colossians 3:16 says "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" And Matthew 26:30 says "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."
Notice that at no point does it say anything indicating the appointing of a group of people to do the singing for them. It tells us, not only what they did, but why they did it, and who they did it for. They sang. They sang to teach and to admonish each other. And they sang making melody in their hearts to the Lord, also with grace in their hearts to the Lord.
The Bible also says in Revelation 22:18-19 "(18)For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
So I conclude that the choir might well need preaching to.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Spare the rod, spoil the child
There are two things I want to touch on here. The first is actually a side point that I may expound upon later. The title phrase "Spare the rod, spoil the child" is one that many people "know" is in the Bible. When in fact, it is not. It is actually first found in a poem written by Samual Butler in 1664 entitled “Hudibras.”
However, with this phrase, the poet mirrors what is actually said in Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." This is in direct contradiction to what many believe today. Many believe that if you love your child, you will not punish them. And spanking a child is almost a criminal act. Proverbs goes on to say in Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Death here can of course be both physical and spiritual. Spiritual death (eternal damnation) of course being the most important. Proverbs 22:15 says "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Proverbs 23:13 "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die." Two notes I want to make here. One) This is not condoning child abuse. The words here are punish and discipline. Two) The word "rod" is also translated loosely as "palm frond" What we would call a "switch" not a steel rod. Proverbs 29:15-17 says "(15) The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother. (16) When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall. (17) Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul."
It doesn't take a very wise man to see what the lack of care and discipline in the home has done to our society today. Love and discipline are both necessary. One without the other will ruin the child, and be the downfall of the parent.
Also many people today try to substitute something else for "the rod" or spanking. It is human nature that we learn quickly from pain. Many of us have seen an incident where a child is told something many, many times. For example a parent repeatedly tells their child "Don't touch that. It's hot." Only to later hear the child screaming in pain because they touched it. In most cases, the child will not ever again purposefully touch the object. This is obviously not because he or she was told repeatedly not to do so, but rather because it hurt when they did it. Furthermore the child learns to listen more to the adult about things being hot. This is because they learned from the pain. And when our discipline is painful it is much less likely that we will ever have to be punished for it again. An example from my own life; Once when I was young, my sister and I used crayons and scribbled all over the walls at my Grand-Mothers house. As punishment, she made us scrub those walls for what seemed an eternity, and we thought she was the meanest woman in the world. But a while later, we did the same thing at our own house. My father gave us three swats each with a belt. We never did it again. In fact we rarely gave our parents occasion to punish us at all.
I can also tell you about a friend. She had two boys, and she believed in spankings. The oldest was among the most well behaved children I have ever met. He was very nice to be around, and very polite. He was rarely punished, because he was such a good boy.
Tragically the youngest died in an accident. This, of course, traumatised the mother. As a result, she would never again punish her children beyond "yelling at them."
A few years later she had another son. Her first son was still a "little angel" all this time. It wasn't until the new child was about three or four years old that the oldest realised that his mother would not actually physically punish them anymore. In his mind, this seemed to free the child to do what he wanted.
Both have grown up now, and are in and out of jail.
Hebrews 12:6 "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." If God punishes those he loves, how can we call it wrong? Hebrews 12:11 says "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." The point of punishment should be two-fold. One is to teach the child not to do wrong, and the other is to not need to punish them in the future. And it benefits the one being punished perhaps even more than the one punishing.
However, with this phrase, the poet mirrors what is actually said in Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." This is in direct contradiction to what many believe today. Many believe that if you love your child, you will not punish them. And spanking a child is almost a criminal act. Proverbs goes on to say in Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Death here can of course be both physical and spiritual. Spiritual death (eternal damnation) of course being the most important. Proverbs 22:15 says "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Proverbs 23:13 "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die." Two notes I want to make here. One) This is not condoning child abuse. The words here are punish and discipline. Two) The word "rod" is also translated loosely as "palm frond" What we would call a "switch" not a steel rod. Proverbs 29:15-17 says "(15) The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother. (16) When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall. (17) Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul."
It doesn't take a very wise man to see what the lack of care and discipline in the home has done to our society today. Love and discipline are both necessary. One without the other will ruin the child, and be the downfall of the parent.
Also many people today try to substitute something else for "the rod" or spanking. It is human nature that we learn quickly from pain. Many of us have seen an incident where a child is told something many, many times. For example a parent repeatedly tells their child "Don't touch that. It's hot." Only to later hear the child screaming in pain because they touched it. In most cases, the child will not ever again purposefully touch the object. This is obviously not because he or she was told repeatedly not to do so, but rather because it hurt when they did it. Furthermore the child learns to listen more to the adult about things being hot. This is because they learned from the pain. And when our discipline is painful it is much less likely that we will ever have to be punished for it again. An example from my own life; Once when I was young, my sister and I used crayons and scribbled all over the walls at my Grand-Mothers house. As punishment, she made us scrub those walls for what seemed an eternity, and we thought she was the meanest woman in the world. But a while later, we did the same thing at our own house. My father gave us three swats each with a belt. We never did it again. In fact we rarely gave our parents occasion to punish us at all.
I can also tell you about a friend. She had two boys, and she believed in spankings. The oldest was among the most well behaved children I have ever met. He was very nice to be around, and very polite. He was rarely punished, because he was such a good boy.
Tragically the youngest died in an accident. This, of course, traumatised the mother. As a result, she would never again punish her children beyond "yelling at them."
A few years later she had another son. Her first son was still a "little angel" all this time. It wasn't until the new child was about three or four years old that the oldest realised that his mother would not actually physically punish them anymore. In his mind, this seemed to free the child to do what he wanted.
Both have grown up now, and are in and out of jail.
Hebrews 12:6 "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." If God punishes those he loves, how can we call it wrong? Hebrews 12:11 says "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." The point of punishment should be two-fold. One is to teach the child not to do wrong, and the other is to not need to punish them in the future. And it benefits the one being punished perhaps even more than the one punishing.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
On Divorce
One thing we tend to learn when we are growing up is; Good medicine often tastes bad, horrible in fact. Similarly much of what the Bible tells us, we simply do not want to hear. And too often the human response is to ignore or deny it. And of course ignoring the truth, or denying it altogether does NOT change the truth. The truth about divorce is rather simple. Our entertainment industrie have glamorized it, and then we have made it mundane. Many people that we know have been divorced and re-married several times. It is possible that some of you may be among the large number of divorced.
What does the Bible say about divorce? Here are two passages (there are more) that pretty much sum it up.
Malachi 2:16 "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away". (same terminolgy is found in Mathew 19)
Mathew 19:9 (Jesus speaking) And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." This does not leave room for anything else. He does not give a grocery list of causes for divorce.
Many people may find that they have already gotten themselves into unscriptural marriages, and many of these decide that their momentary happiness is more important than their immortal soul. James 4:14 ..."For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Obviously where you spend eternity is much more important than the momentary happiness you may or may not derive from an unscriptural marriage. If you are thinking that God won't punish you, then remember that the one thing God cannot do is Lie Titus 1:2.
I know that some people find themselves a part of unscriptural divorces, through no fault of their own. In this case abstinence is definitely the best way to go.
Remember that if you are in doubt of your ability to marry or your chosen mates ability to marry, your immortal soul is much too important to gamble. This applies in any case where you are in doubt.
I hope this has been educational
What does the Bible say about divorce? Here are two passages (there are more) that pretty much sum it up.
Malachi 2:16 "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away". (same terminolgy is found in Mathew 19)
Mathew 19:9 (Jesus speaking) And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." This does not leave room for anything else. He does not give a grocery list of causes for divorce.
Many people may find that they have already gotten themselves into unscriptural marriages, and many of these decide that their momentary happiness is more important than their immortal soul. James 4:14 ..."For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Obviously where you spend eternity is much more important than the momentary happiness you may or may not derive from an unscriptural marriage. If you are thinking that God won't punish you, then remember that the one thing God cannot do is Lie Titus 1:2.
I know that some people find themselves a part of unscriptural divorces, through no fault of their own. In this case abstinence is definitely the best way to go.
Remember that if you are in doubt of your ability to marry or your chosen mates ability to marry, your immortal soul is much too important to gamble. This applies in any case where you are in doubt.
I hope this has been educational
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A Little Story about me
I want to tell you a little story about myself. I was raised in the Lords church, and I was baptised in my late teens, but that did not mean I lived my life as a Christian. I drank, and I partied. I even went to jail a few times. I thought, as a youth that these things were expected of me. And, As many did, and do, I thought I was bulletproof, and nothing would hurt me. I was wrong.
On December 31 1987 I went to a New Years Party with my sister and Brother-in-law, at his bosses house in town. My sister was pregnant, so she didn't drink. But my brother-in-law, and I did. We got "falling down drunk" and while we were doing this, it sleeted. Not much, but enough. And, my sister at the time could not drive a standard. So, when we climbed into the car to drive the 10 miles out to the house, on icey roads, while drunk with a pregnant woman and an infant in the car (could we have been any more stupid?) we decided that Billy was "less drunk" so he should drive. It turns out that he was in fact, slightly less intoxicated than I was, but of course still had no business driving.
My nephew, who was normally a very quiet child, threw a fit when i tried to put him in his car seat, and I absolutely could not get him fastened in. So we decided that I should just hold him in my lap. We left, and before the car was even on the road I passed out.
When we came to our turn, onto the farm to market road that would take us home, Billy took the turn too fast and the car went into a skid we slid off into the ditch on the left. Billy corrected, but he over-corrected, and we went into the other ditch, still traveling too fast. Somewhere in the midst of this, my sister sees headlights coming and screams "Billy!" But before that car got to us, we came back up on the road sideways, slammed into an unknown object, and spun over a narrow little bridge, and past the oncoming car. I felt and heard all this happening, but i didn't wake up until it was all over. I woke to see my screaming nephew sitting in the floor. and hear my sister frantically asking "Where's John?".
My sister and Billy were standing outside of the car. My nephew was sitting between my feet screaming as loud as he could. Scared, but unhurt. My sisters leg and Billy's chest were hurting, and my head was bleeding from the glass that got trapped between my head and the back of the seat in front of me. But we were alive.
The oncoming car, seemingly gone, was forgotten, and having no phone available at the time (no houses anywhere near, and no cell phones of course, as it was 1988) we decided to drive the rest of the way home, and have my grandmother take us to the hospital. So they climbed back in and we limped what was left of the car to the house.
It turned out that (as best we can tell) The oncoming car was Billy's best friend going in to work, and what we hit was a car that had broken down, and was left on the road. It also seems that Billy and Mike hit the parked car almost simultaniously. When we looked at the broken car that we had driven Ten miles to the house, we found that it was a good thing that I was the only one buckled in. My nephews car seat was only about 4 inches wide, and my sisters seat was only about 8. So, them not wearing theirs kept them from being cut in two, and me wearing mine, kept me from crushing my nephew. I also want to note that as we were driving that car home, the right rear quarter panel was eating away at the tire, and we had a ruptured gas tank (on the right side). If the tire had blown while we were driving, the impact from the rim hitting the pavement would have caused sparks, and for those that don't know what happens when gasoline fumes meet sparks, we would have very likely been a fireball.
I tell you this true story because the most terrifying thing about that incident to me now is the thought; "What if I had died then?" Not from fear of death, but from knowing that I was in a condemned state. I knew what was right, but didn't act on it. I knew what was right, but I didn't know why. I knew that if it weren't for the will of God Almighty, none of us would have lived through that night. But it wasn't for many years that I decided to devote my life more fully to the Lord.
Never take tomorrow for granted. And never take what you are being tought for granted. Do as the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, who "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so", "study to shew thyself approved" (II Timothy 2:15). Make sure that you are following the Lords will, and not the commandments of men. "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mathew 15:9) and similarly stated, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7) I was told all my life that what I was being taught was the truth, and that 'this' was right and 'that' was wrong. But, it wasn't until I started reading the Bible for myself, that I found why 'this' was right and 'that' was wrong. I learned that many things I held for truth were not true. These things were not taught to me from the Lords church, just misconceptions I had picked up throughout my life, and personal beliefs I had based on what I thought I knew.
I am very thankful that the Lord saw fit to allow me to live long enough to come to these realizations. And, to start to live my life the way he wants me to live. If you aren't ready for the Lord, If you don't know how to be saved, or if you are still thinking "tomorrow I will seek out the lords will." You cannot count on having a tomorrow, or even another breath. If you don't know what you need to do, I will give you a quick list.
1) Hear the Gospel - Romans 10:17
2) Believe - Hebrews 11:6
3) Repent - Luke 13:3,5
4) Confess Christ - Romans 10:9,10
5) Be Baptised unto the remission of sins - Acts 2:38
6) Be faithful - Revelations 2:10
I would be more than happy to assist anyone to the best of my ability in finding a scripturally sound congregation in their area. And who judges, what is scriptural? The scriptures.
On December 31 1987 I went to a New Years Party with my sister and Brother-in-law, at his bosses house in town. My sister was pregnant, so she didn't drink. But my brother-in-law, and I did. We got "falling down drunk" and while we were doing this, it sleeted. Not much, but enough. And, my sister at the time could not drive a standard. So, when we climbed into the car to drive the 10 miles out to the house, on icey roads, while drunk with a pregnant woman and an infant in the car (could we have been any more stupid?) we decided that Billy was "less drunk" so he should drive. It turns out that he was in fact, slightly less intoxicated than I was, but of course still had no business driving.
My nephew, who was normally a very quiet child, threw a fit when i tried to put him in his car seat, and I absolutely could not get him fastened in. So we decided that I should just hold him in my lap. We left, and before the car was even on the road I passed out.
When we came to our turn, onto the farm to market road that would take us home, Billy took the turn too fast and the car went into a skid we slid off into the ditch on the left. Billy corrected, but he over-corrected, and we went into the other ditch, still traveling too fast. Somewhere in the midst of this, my sister sees headlights coming and screams "Billy!" But before that car got to us, we came back up on the road sideways, slammed into an unknown object, and spun over a narrow little bridge, and past the oncoming car. I felt and heard all this happening, but i didn't wake up until it was all over. I woke to see my screaming nephew sitting in the floor. and hear my sister frantically asking "Where's John?".
My sister and Billy were standing outside of the car. My nephew was sitting between my feet screaming as loud as he could. Scared, but unhurt. My sisters leg and Billy's chest were hurting, and my head was bleeding from the glass that got trapped between my head and the back of the seat in front of me. But we were alive.
The oncoming car, seemingly gone, was forgotten, and having no phone available at the time (no houses anywhere near, and no cell phones of course, as it was 1988) we decided to drive the rest of the way home, and have my grandmother take us to the hospital. So they climbed back in and we limped what was left of the car to the house.
It turned out that (as best we can tell) The oncoming car was Billy's best friend going in to work, and what we hit was a car that had broken down, and was left on the road. It also seems that Billy and Mike hit the parked car almost simultaniously. When we looked at the broken car that we had driven Ten miles to the house, we found that it was a good thing that I was the only one buckled in. My nephews car seat was only about 4 inches wide, and my sisters seat was only about 8. So, them not wearing theirs kept them from being cut in two, and me wearing mine, kept me from crushing my nephew. I also want to note that as we were driving that car home, the right rear quarter panel was eating away at the tire, and we had a ruptured gas tank (on the right side). If the tire had blown while we were driving, the impact from the rim hitting the pavement would have caused sparks, and for those that don't know what happens when gasoline fumes meet sparks, we would have very likely been a fireball.
I tell you this true story because the most terrifying thing about that incident to me now is the thought; "What if I had died then?" Not from fear of death, but from knowing that I was in a condemned state. I knew what was right, but didn't act on it. I knew what was right, but I didn't know why. I knew that if it weren't for the will of God Almighty, none of us would have lived through that night. But it wasn't for many years that I decided to devote my life more fully to the Lord.
Never take tomorrow for granted. And never take what you are being tought for granted. Do as the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, who "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so", "study to shew thyself approved" (II Timothy 2:15). Make sure that you are following the Lords will, and not the commandments of men. "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mathew 15:9) and similarly stated, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7) I was told all my life that what I was being taught was the truth, and that 'this' was right and 'that' was wrong. But, it wasn't until I started reading the Bible for myself, that I found why 'this' was right and 'that' was wrong. I learned that many things I held for truth were not true. These things were not taught to me from the Lords church, just misconceptions I had picked up throughout my life, and personal beliefs I had based on what I thought I knew.
I am very thankful that the Lord saw fit to allow me to live long enough to come to these realizations. And, to start to live my life the way he wants me to live. If you aren't ready for the Lord, If you don't know how to be saved, or if you are still thinking "tomorrow I will seek out the lords will." You cannot count on having a tomorrow, or even another breath. If you don't know what you need to do, I will give you a quick list.
1) Hear the Gospel - Romans 10:17
2) Believe - Hebrews 11:6
3) Repent - Luke 13:3,5
4) Confess Christ - Romans 10:9,10
5) Be Baptised unto the remission of sins - Acts 2:38
6) Be faithful - Revelations 2:10
I would be more than happy to assist anyone to the best of my ability in finding a scripturally sound congregation in their area. And who judges, what is scriptural? The scriptures.
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