Rebecca

I thought it might be interesting to see what everyone did in church. Was it an average, interesting, funny, or momentous day? Is it missions conference time? Special services or special guest preacher? Picnic on the grounds after services? You can talk about anything, share pictures, videos, etc, just keep it focused on what happened at your church (or a church you visited) recently. No controversy, please, I'd like this to be a positive thread. If you're worried about sharing too much personal things online, you can keep it simple, just post what scripture was preached from, the title of the sermon (if any), subject of the sermon, an interesting tidbit from the sermon, or a blessing you think we might all enjoy. It can be as short or as detailed as you'd like. I'll start. My church recently had combined services with a sister church in the area which was celebrating their 32nd anniversary. The guest pastor preached on the topic of "Following Jesus". Afterward we had lunch and a good time of fellowship together.

James 1 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ---- 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

I've seen double yolk eggs before, but not when boiling the eggs, yet.

Paul didn't simply quote a philosopher or poet and leave it at that (which is what is common to do on fb), he used those quotes to gain the attention of the audience who would be familiar with the source material, then used that to show them the error of worldly wisdom and the truth of God's wisdom. They were basically sermon illustrations which he used in such a way that the listeners would understand the gospel. He did not use the quotes in support of the author or the original intent, he always turned them around and pointed towards Christ. So in this sense, it would be misleading to say something like "Paul quoted pagan poets" and not mention why he did so. Otherwise it would make it seem like Paul quoted them in support of their philosophical outlook on life, which is clearly not the case. When specifically speaking of sharing quote memes on fb, it's very common for people to just slap a nice sounding quote on a pretty background and share it, which is then shared by many others, without thinking/caring about who said it or what it might really mean.

I've noticed the same. Just today there is an on going discussion concerning a similar problem. A pastor friend stated that he would not be reading or sharing articles written by Christians who look and act like the world. Most in the discussion are in agreement. One said they read the article in question and found it good and felt torn. I think many people just see the nice quote or article that they agree with or may be doctrinally correct in this one area and so feel it's okay to share, or may not know the person who the quote or article came from and so they share it. Sometimes it's hard to look past the good to see the bad lurking behind it. I've also noticed that many times someone will share an article based solely on the article title and hadn't actually read the article itself, or looked to see who the author was. This is very easy to do on facebook. I've found facebook to be a very useful tool, which is why I continue to stay on. However, like anything on the internet, it can be and is abused by those who want to take advantage of others. Just like anything in life, we need to be careful with it, including sharing or reading memes or articles by other Christians.

My phone camera didn't do justice to the beautiful sunset last night! I turned to the left to get a view of the fading light in the clouds, and now you can see the pineapple field. There are pineapples in the top photo as well, but the lighting is too dark over the fields.

It looks like a nice relaxing spot! Are there any wild critters around?

The beautiful east coast of Taiwan! Photo by Alan A view a little higher up and facing the ocean. Photo by Rebecca

I have never had any issues with posting Bible verses or such on facebook. I even have a page for my ministry, which I am keeping as "closed/private". But I also don't post highly controversial things either, which I've noticed most people put in "facebook jail" are doing. Facebook as a whole is beginning to regulate words and phrases more often, they are cracking down on what they consider to be "hate" speech (and controversial Christian activity). But thus far I haven't had any issues.

What a beautiful field of flowers! I have had a few cactus plants for about six-ish years now, usually they have a few blooms on them once in awhile. However, this month one of them has the most blooms I've ever seen! Eight flowers, one is smaller and beneath the larger ones. Interestingly, the blooms close up at night and open during the day.

For a Christian, the phrase, "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" is a simple answer: the chicken of course! Genesis 1:21 - "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." For an evolutionist, the answer is .... complicated. I saw this video on youtube and thought they did a good job describing how a chick can breathe inside it's egg. The entire process of a chick forming is very intricate, but looking at just the shell of the egg and how it was created to protect the forming chick inside as well as provide it oxygen is so complex, that it couldn't have come about by happy coincidence. Everything about it points to a designer and creator. *note: I do not know the man (probably not Christian, I don't know) presenting the information in the video, but it's in an easy to understand format and interesting to watch and as far as I could tell, presented only facts and not theory* https://www.icr.org/article/3

Those objects weren't the Holy Word of God. God never promised to preserve cars or washing machines. The KJV is in "our" English, just because some words aren't used much anymore doesn't mean we don't/can't understand them. I learned Shakespeare in school. My ESL learners read unedited versions of Shakespeare in their English classes, he is not gospel so why do we not just learn only the versions edited into modern English?

I'm not going to get involved in the debate, I just wanted to say a couple of things: 1. I read the KJV as a child, yes I asked questions - but those questions were answered and my vocabulary and understanding of scripture grew. 2. I teach bilingual Bible classes to ESL learners and when reading English scripture we use the KJV. My ESL learners are not only learning the Bible, they are also broadening their vocabulary, so using the KJV isn't a deterrent, it's an asset.

I was speaking broadly concerning movies/books only. Excessive worrying is another topic. I'm not a medical doctor or a psychologist, so I'm not even going to try to touch on the OCD side of things. I'm just an average Christian answering questions and giving opinions on how the average Christian should approach things -in this case fictional stories- they come across in the light of the Bible. 2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Even Paul struggled with his flesh, knowing what was right but not doing it or knowing something was wrong and doing it anyway. Everyone has these struggles. Romans 7:19-25 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." If you are struggling to know whether something is wrong or not, you're going to get all sorts of answers from people. Some answers are very simple but others, such as this topic, can be complicated or controversial. You need to pray and ask God to guide you and show you what you should/should not read or watch. James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." If you're struggling with whether or not something is sinful, stop doing it until you have peace about continuing or stopping for good. There are some people that are convicted to never watch any TV of any kind . There are some people who are convicted just about certain types of shows or books and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to know if the movie/tv show/book/magazine is sinful and should be avoided. Neither viewpoint is wrong, both have convictions about not setting sinful sights in front of their eyes, they just have gone about this in different ways. I Corinthians 2:12-14 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."