weary warrior

We have arrived in Washington and have begun service in the church here. This last Sunday was our first Sunday, and the Lord blessed. The church has been running a steady attendance of 6 regular people for months. We had 14 here Sunday, including my son and I and 6 visitors. and there was an easy liberty to preach. I preached a short, simple message from Luke 8 on the woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment, contrasting her with all of the throng who was jostling Jesus, but never did "touch" Him. I just wanted to update everyone, and ask for continued prayes

Yes, I meant Ruckman. I actually typed Ruckman. But I type all of these posts on a cheap $38.00 Wal-Mart phone, and auto-correct is not my friend. I knew you had read after him some time in your past. It's so obvious.

I'm gonna take a wild guess here. I could be wrong, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that robycop3 has some strong Peter S. Rickman influence in his background.

No longer than I've been back on the forum, it's become very clear to me that no one can show you anything. Even from clear scripture. Your posts are written in such a way that you make a statement, then ask who dares disagree with you. Then refuse to consider the other side of any topic. Its pointless. You teach nothing, encourage no one and refuse to learn. Just always stirring things up.

How many truths, words and phrases that are Biblical and right have Independent Baptists given up or forsaken over the years because someone else uses them incorrectly? How often do you hear a hard hitting sermon on holiness? We gave that one up when the holiness movement arrived. "Abundant life"? Yeah, it's Bible, but we don't dare use it any more. Too Joel Osteen. "In the Spirit"? Biblical but too charismatic. God created man and had a personal relationship with Adam in the very beginning, walking with him in the cool of the day. Enoch went home early with God simply because God was delighted with his personal relationship, he "walked with God". Abraham was God's friend. Moses spoke face to face with God as a man speaketh with a friend. John leaned on Jesus' breast and was the disciple whom the Lord loved. Jesus said henceforth I call you friends. Not servants. A personal relationship with God is sorely missing from the lives of God's people today, and they desperately need to be led back to that wonderful, personal state of daily walking with God by us pastors. And I'll be hung for a sheep thief before I let false teachers, cowards and fools rob me of another beautiful, necessary truth from scripture to give to His people So yes. I myself use the phrase. Heavily.

Well, we are on the road finally. Made it from Ashville to central Kentucky yesterday, where we will be spending Thanksgiving with family today. Then off again early in the morning. Double checked my route again last night, I actually have another 2700 miles to go. In 5 days, or I pay extra daily for the u-haul rental. But I should be there in time for next week's Sunday service, our first service there.

If you still can't see it, there's not much I can do to help. So we'll just move along.

We've been in Ashville, North Carolina for several months spoiling the grandbabies. Not as bad as driving from AK.

Many thanks, Jim. We are actually loading the trailer today, and pulling out in the morning. 2,800 miles. I never do anything easy, I guess.

DaveW, if my tone in my post came off as cheeky or disrespectful, I do want to apologize. That's not how I ment it.

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. note 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." If a man regards Sunday as a special holy day, thats between him and God, he is worshiping God and God accepts it. If a man feels God is the God of all, and all days are equally belonging to God, and worships on Thuresday with the assembly because thats when they are free, theyre worshiping God and God accepts it. That's ok too. The Lord who is Lord of the Sabbath is Lord of Tuesday or Friday as well. We are not actually commanded to worship on any particular day. The early church DID worship on the first day of the week, yes. They also greeted each other with holy kisses and washed each other's feet. Which we don't do. Our own worship and service must follow and adhere to one of two sources. Scriptural command or historical precedent. If we glean through the book of Acts of the Apostles ("acts", actions...the "history" of the Apostles) for our methodology and turn it into mandated doctrine, we are teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. We make traditions into doctrine. And we will be doing silly things like choosing church leadership by rolling the dice (Acts 1:26). Instead, we pick and choose what traditions we make into mandated doctrine. Into dogma. As for my other observation about the calendars, God gave the Hebrew people, who had their own Hebrew calendar, a command to keep a uniquely Hebrew holy day. We don't use that calendar. So an SDA in Cincinnati uses a calendar invented and given them by a Catholic Pope in Europe to observe a Jewish day from a Hebrew calendar, because to observe Sunday worship on that same catholic calender from Europe would be following the leadership and influence of the pope. I just find it humorously ironic the knots we tie ourself up in when we start trying to observe holy days and habits from another time, culture, continent, language and calendar that are not specifically commanded us in scripture, just to be more holy. None of that is what makes us holy.

Does Romans 14 not answer this whole question clearly, completely and simply? I am so confused right now as to why this discussion even took place. If you're going to have an argument regarding which day of the week we "must" meet on for church, we will, if we are both intelligent and honest, have to include a separate argument regarding which calendar God was looking at whenever He set everything up. The SDA's argue against Sunday worship because "it was invented by Rome" while observing the Hebrew "Sabbath" on a Gregorian calendar, given to them by ... Pope Gregory! Humans...they boggle the mind.

Actually, it is that church.

Well, after 10 years since the last one, we've accepted a request to take a pastorate of a little church in Washington State 40 miles south of Spokane. They've been looking for a pastor with "callused hands and muddy boots" who can relate to the farmers, ranchers and working men of the area. When they first contacted me back in June, we turned down the offer, not feeling we were up to it. But they never found a pastor they were looking for, and we never found the ministry we were looking for. So when they came back around again last month, we accepted after much prayer. I'm taking off with a truck and u-haul here in about 3 days for the 2500 mile trip out there. I have no support, no job and no salary waiting. (The church has shrunk to a congregation of...6). We are not worried at all, but are excited to see what God does. Our plan? To simply preach straight truth, pray much prayers and love unlovable people. Beyond that, it's in God's hands.

Psalm 19:1, Psalm 50:6 and Psalm 97:6. Think about it a bit before you just blow it all off. It's a scary thing to take a God that big and put him in a box we can easily wrap our head around, dictating what He can and cannot do. He can reveal himself how He chooses. There were centuries where men lived without scripture, and there are still 1,000's of languages and dialects now with no "scriptura". God has been revealing Himself to those who seek Him since the beginning of time, in any little, dark corner of earth. And since the scripture tells us this, scripture itself seems to contradict "sola scriptura". I always get a little hinky when I hear Latin trotted out and used to draw a big ol' line in the sand that scripture never drew. Sure, Rome is anti-Christ...just don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.