Welcome to the online appendix to the fourth edition of SALVATIONISM 101. These articles correspond to sessions from that soldier training guide. They were originally compiled in 1998 from THE OFFICER Magazine, The War Cry, other Salvation Army periodicals, and newspaper articles.
RESOURCES TO ACCOMPANY SESSIONAL SUBJECTS
In Genesis 26 God promises to prosper Isaac with the blessing promised to his father Abraham. But before Isaac could receive the blessing, God had to deal with sin in his life. Isaac began to re-dig the wells his father had originally opened. These sources of physical sustenance for Abraham became symbolic sources of spiritual blessing to Isaac. The last one (v22) was named Rehoboth, or ‘broad place’, because, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish.”
There is a primitive Salvationist song which directs us, as Isaac, to, “Go back to the old wells, where the waters are sweet.” The resources which follow are intended to help us return those old sources of blessing to our forbearers.
Let these resources enrich the subject matter of the 12 sessions and be a generator of discussion in your group (unless otherwise stated, the articles are written by Stephen Court).
download the document : http://armybarmy.com/pdf/Salvationism%20101%20-%20appendix%20to%204th%20edition.pdf
more resources : www.armybarmy.com
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www.sheepspeak.com
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Why was Hebrews written?
Why then was this sermon spoken and/or this book written to the Hebrews? The first hearers of this work obviously knew the originator of these words (Hebrews 13:17-23) and they were very likely members of a small group or house church. In this small group, they had a number of problems that they were facing that should be very familiar to Canadian Christians:
* They had some people leaving their group and even turning their backs on their faith (Hebrews 10:25);
* They had other people who were still coming out regularly but who had grown apathetic about their faith. They didn’t act like they even cared about their salvation (Hebrews 2:1-14);[18]
And worse than not getting together regularly like this and worse than stopping to come out altogether to meetings and worse than growing apathetic about their whole faith, some of them stopped listening to God.[19]
* Some who used to come out regularly and meet as part of this congregation of the Hebrews Christian Church, some of this small group have even slid into apostasy (Hebrews 3:12).
These are very real problems not only for the Hebrew Christian Church in Rome but also I think for the Canadian Christian churches all across this country today.
Read more about Hebrews: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/09/whats-point-introduction-to-hebrews.html
Read more writings and sermons by Michael Ramsay: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
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www.sheepspeak.com
* They had some people leaving their group and even turning their backs on their faith (Hebrews 10:25);
* They had other people who were still coming out regularly but who had grown apathetic about their faith. They didn’t act like they even cared about their salvation (Hebrews 2:1-14);[18]
And worse than not getting together regularly like this and worse than stopping to come out altogether to meetings and worse than growing apathetic about their whole faith, some of them stopped listening to God.[19]
* Some who used to come out regularly and meet as part of this congregation of the Hebrews Christian Church, some of this small group have even slid into apostasy (Hebrews 3:12).
These are very real problems not only for the Hebrew Christian Church in Rome but also I think for the Canadian Christian churches all across this country today.
Read more about Hebrews: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/09/whats-point-introduction-to-hebrews.html
Read more writings and sermons by Michael Ramsay: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
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www.sheepspeak.com
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Hebrews: What's the Point?
Click the pict to read the sermon.
more sermons: http://sheepspeak.com/sermons.htm
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www.sheepspeak.com
Friday, September 04, 2009
On Calvin, Hobbes, and rights
Thanks Bram for forwarding this to me.
FAITH AND THEOLOGY
http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-calvin-hobbes-and-rights.html
Early modern politics took up one particular thread from Calvin’s thought – not his overarching vision of a rightly ordered society, but instead his “minor theme” of the subjective rights of citizens. In the history of political thought, this doctrine of subjective rights – rights that I possess, rights that are my entitlement – produces an increasingly individualising understanding of politics. Politics becomes more and more a contest between competing individual freedoms and rights. My relation to society is defined no longer in terms of our mutual responsibilities and obligations, but in terms of what society owes me as a private individual.
I think the extraordinary expansion in recent years of a culture of litigation in western societies is simply a further step in this direction: my place in society is defined by the rights I possess, by what the rest of society owes me. A society of litigation begins to look frighteningly like what Thomas Hobbes called the bellum omnia contra omnes, the war of everyone against everyone else. This was exactly Hobbes’s point: a society in which everyone asserts their own rights will necessarily descend into violence and chaos; what is needed, Hobbes argued, is the relinquishment of such rights for the sake of a good and peaceable common life.
Regarding subjective “human” rights, I myself think Alasdair MacIntyre is entirely correct: “The truth is plain: there are no such rights, and belief in them is one with belief in witches and in unicorns…. Natural or human rights … are fictions.” You are not born with rights; you are born into communities and traditions that make such rights possible. Subjective rights, therefore, cannot be the foundation of politics, since these rights can only be the result of a well ordered common life.
In our time, I think a responsible theological reflection on law and politics might still have a lot to learn from Calvin’s understanding of rights. Calvin poses some uncomfortable critical questions to our liberal individualist assumptions; and he might provide a critical resource towards a contemporary theological reconfiguration of the very nature of politics.
What would a political order look like if we understood rights not as inhering naturally in individuals, but as “that which is right” for the order of a society?
In this perspective, the political order is defined in terms of virtue, duty, obligations to one another and to our collective flourishing as a people. Here, my own identity is defined not in terms of what I am owed, but in terms of my obligations and commitments to the whole social order. What I’m inviting you to do here is to re-imagine politics – not as something that arises from the need to preserve individual rights, but as an order designed to establish the basic conditions within which a community of virtue might flourish. In such a society, the fundamental political question would no longer be what are my rights?, but rather, what is right?
FAITH AND THEOLOGY
http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-calvin-hobbes-and-rights.html
Early modern politics took up one particular thread from Calvin’s thought – not his overarching vision of a rightly ordered society, but instead his “minor theme” of the subjective rights of citizens. In the history of political thought, this doctrine of subjective rights – rights that I possess, rights that are my entitlement – produces an increasingly individualising understanding of politics. Politics becomes more and more a contest between competing individual freedoms and rights. My relation to society is defined no longer in terms of our mutual responsibilities and obligations, but in terms of what society owes me as a private individual.
I think the extraordinary expansion in recent years of a culture of litigation in western societies is simply a further step in this direction: my place in society is defined by the rights I possess, by what the rest of society owes me. A society of litigation begins to look frighteningly like what Thomas Hobbes called the bellum omnia contra omnes, the war of everyone against everyone else. This was exactly Hobbes’s point: a society in which everyone asserts their own rights will necessarily descend into violence and chaos; what is needed, Hobbes argued, is the relinquishment of such rights for the sake of a good and peaceable common life.
Regarding subjective “human” rights, I myself think Alasdair MacIntyre is entirely correct: “The truth is plain: there are no such rights, and belief in them is one with belief in witches and in unicorns…. Natural or human rights … are fictions.” You are not born with rights; you are born into communities and traditions that make such rights possible. Subjective rights, therefore, cannot be the foundation of politics, since these rights can only be the result of a well ordered common life.
In our time, I think a responsible theological reflection on law and politics might still have a lot to learn from Calvin’s understanding of rights. Calvin poses some uncomfortable critical questions to our liberal individualist assumptions; and he might provide a critical resource towards a contemporary theological reconfiguration of the very nature of politics.
What would a political order look like if we understood rights not as inhering naturally in individuals, but as “that which is right” for the order of a society?
In this perspective, the political order is defined in terms of virtue, duty, obligations to one another and to our collective flourishing as a people. Here, my own identity is defined not in terms of what I am owed, but in terms of my obligations and commitments to the whole social order. What I’m inviting you to do here is to re-imagine politics – not as something that arises from the need to preserve individual rights, but as an order designed to establish the basic conditions within which a community of virtue might flourish. In such a society, the fundamental political question would no longer be what are my rights?, but rather, what is right?
What’s the Point? An Introduction to Hebrews (Part 1)
Presented to Swift Current Corps, 05 September 2009
By Captain Michael Ramsay
Sunday's sermon will be a bit of an experiment for me. I was involved in the field of education for quite a while and have taught many different classes, seminars and the like. In my experience the most effective ways of communicating to a class are somewhat different than what appears to be the most effective ways to proclaim the Gospel to a congregation (through a homily). Today I will attempt to combine the two styles somewhat but the first part of this morning’s encounter will be much more of a ‘teach’ than a ‘preach’ – so let me know what you think. If this is effective, we will probably introduce the other books of the Bible in a similar fashion.
Before we even start with any of that, I want to encourage us all to read our Bibles. We will be looking at the book of Hebrews for the next six weeks. Hebrews should take you no more than an hour to read as whole and I really encourage you to do this at least once every week, if you can. We will also be looking at Hebrews in the advanced adult Bible study class on Thursdays at 7PM at the church beginning September 15th. I invite you all to join us for that. If you can’t join us and find it a challenge to set aside time to read all of Hebrews in the week if you could remember to pre-read what we are going to discuss each Sunday that would be wonderful. The following is our preaching schedule for the next month.
Schedule:
Sept 6 – Introduction to Hebrews
Sept 13 – Hebrews 1 and 2
Sept 20 – Hebrews 3 and 4
Sept 27 – Hebrews 5, 6, 7, and 8
October 4 – Hebrews 9, 10, and 11
October 11 – Hebrews 12 and 13
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www.sheepspeak.com
More sermons: www.sheepspeak.com/sermons.htm
More writing: www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
By Captain Michael Ramsay
Sunday's sermon will be a bit of an experiment for me. I was involved in the field of education for quite a while and have taught many different classes, seminars and the like. In my experience the most effective ways of communicating to a class are somewhat different than what appears to be the most effective ways to proclaim the Gospel to a congregation (through a homily). Today I will attempt to combine the two styles somewhat but the first part of this morning’s encounter will be much more of a ‘teach’ than a ‘preach’ – so let me know what you think. If this is effective, we will probably introduce the other books of the Bible in a similar fashion.
Before we even start with any of that, I want to encourage us all to read our Bibles. We will be looking at the book of Hebrews for the next six weeks. Hebrews should take you no more than an hour to read as whole and I really encourage you to do this at least once every week, if you can. We will also be looking at Hebrews in the advanced adult Bible study class on Thursdays at 7PM at the church beginning September 15th. I invite you all to join us for that. If you can’t join us and find it a challenge to set aside time to read all of Hebrews in the week if you could remember to pre-read what we are going to discuss each Sunday that would be wonderful. The following is our preaching schedule for the next month.
Schedule:
Sept 6 – Introduction to Hebrews
Sept 13 – Hebrews 1 and 2
Sept 20 – Hebrews 3 and 4
Sept 27 – Hebrews 5, 6, 7, and 8
October 4 – Hebrews 9, 10, and 11
October 11 – Hebrews 12 and 13
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www.sheepspeak.com
More sermons: www.sheepspeak.com/sermons.htm
More writing: www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Further Revelation
Revelations 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Laodicea was a city of Asia Minor situated in the Lycos valley in the province of Phrygia. It was founded by Antiochus II (261-246 BC) of Syria, who named it for his wife Laodike, and populated it with Syrians and Jews from Babylonia. Though Laodicea stood on the great highway at the junction of several important routes, it was a place of little importance until the Roman province of Asia was formed in 190 BC. It then suddenly became a great and wealthy centre of industry, famous especially for the fine black wool of its sheep and for the Phrygian powder for the eyes that was manufactured there (compare Rev 3:18). In the area was a renowned medical school. In the year 60 AD, the city was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake but as (the Roman senator and historian) Tacitus records, its citizens were so wealthy that they actually rejected the aid offered by Rome and quickly rebuilt at their own expense (compare Rev 3:17).[10] Loadicea was a city of great wealth, with extensive banking operations (compare Rev 3:18).[11] Rich, cultured, pluralistic - this church became so self-satisfied and worldly that it seems to have ostracised Christ completely.[12] It was neither cold nor hot; it was nauseous to God: it was a church which considered itself rich and in need of nothing but that was instead wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.[13]
This was the church to whose angel John wrote the letter (3:14-18):
…These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more sermons and stuff: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
---
www.sheepspeak.com
Laodicea was a city of Asia Minor situated in the Lycos valley in the province of Phrygia. It was founded by Antiochus II (261-246 BC) of Syria, who named it for his wife Laodike, and populated it with Syrians and Jews from Babylonia. Though Laodicea stood on the great highway at the junction of several important routes, it was a place of little importance until the Roman province of Asia was formed in 190 BC. It then suddenly became a great and wealthy centre of industry, famous especially for the fine black wool of its sheep and for the Phrygian powder for the eyes that was manufactured there (compare Rev 3:18). In the area was a renowned medical school. In the year 60 AD, the city was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake but as (the Roman senator and historian) Tacitus records, its citizens were so wealthy that they actually rejected the aid offered by Rome and quickly rebuilt at their own expense (compare Rev 3:17).[10] Loadicea was a city of great wealth, with extensive banking operations (compare Rev 3:18).[11] Rich, cultured, pluralistic - this church became so self-satisfied and worldly that it seems to have ostracised Christ completely.[12] It was neither cold nor hot; it was nauseous to God: it was a church which considered itself rich and in need of nothing but that was instead wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.[13]
This was the church to whose angel John wrote the letter (3:14-18):
…These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more sermons and stuff: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
---
www.sheepspeak.com
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Revelation 3:19-22: I'm still knocking!
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Even in this state of the Laodiceans wallowing in their riches while people in their world starve to death; even in our state of wallowing in our riches while people in our world starve to death; even in this state of not having spiritual strength equivalent to relaxing hot springs of Hieropolis or the religious zeal equivalent to the clear, cold waters of Colossae, God does not give up on them. God does not give up on us. It says that he stands at the door and knocks. This is significant. It isn’t a casual knock at the door and seeing that the people of Laodicea are too busy to hear him, he goes away – this is a persistent knock. The word here in the Greek refers to a continual knocking but the people of Laodicea seem to be hiding.
There are consequences for not opening the door but God doesn’t give up (cf. Romans 3:3,4; Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5). He is more persistent than the babysitter who has been locked outside. He is more persistent than an unwanted salesperson or a family member who you just don’t want to see. He is like the person with a political pamphlet, vacuum, or encyclopaedia set who is pounding on our door and not going away. With Him, He has His Word of Truth and He is calling out. He is crying out. “Hello. Is anybody in there? Hello, is anybody in there?” And the more he yells for us in this country to open the door, the more we seem to turn up our TV sets so we can’t hear him. “Hello, Hello, Hello,” He still yells because he wants our attention, “Is anybody in there?” But we – in this country - seem to duck beneath the window and hide ourselves in our work or our entertainment or even in our sin that we keep deep inside ourselves because we don’t want to see Him. We turn up our radios, we put on our washing machines; we do anything we can to ignore our Lord and Saviour it seems. But He is still calling. He is still calling at the door because He loves us. He knows that we are in here. He knows that the Angel is hiding behind the door of Laodicea. He knows that you and I are tucked away behind the affluence of Canada and He is calling. He is calling us each out by name, ‘Susan’, ‘Michael’, ‘whoever’… He is calling us, begging us to turn down the distractions provided by our wealth and let Him in. Please let us let our dear Saviour in because we know, that just like the six year-old Calvin can’t survive without the protection of his babysitter, mother, or father so also no matter how self-sufficient we think we are, in reality we cannot survive without the protection of our own Heavenly Father.
So let us today, as Jesus is still knocking, let us look out the windows of our own souls, let us see Him and let us invite Jesus into our own lives to eat with us so that indeed we can all dine with him in His Kingdom to come forever and ever. Amen.
Let us pray.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more sermons and stuff: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
www.sheepspeak.com/
Even in this state of the Laodiceans wallowing in their riches while people in their world starve to death; even in our state of wallowing in our riches while people in our world starve to death; even in this state of not having spiritual strength equivalent to relaxing hot springs of Hieropolis or the religious zeal equivalent to the clear, cold waters of Colossae, God does not give up on them. God does not give up on us. It says that he stands at the door and knocks. This is significant. It isn’t a casual knock at the door and seeing that the people of Laodicea are too busy to hear him, he goes away – this is a persistent knock. The word here in the Greek refers to a continual knocking but the people of Laodicea seem to be hiding.
There are consequences for not opening the door but God doesn’t give up (cf. Romans 3:3,4; Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5). He is more persistent than the babysitter who has been locked outside. He is more persistent than an unwanted salesperson or a family member who you just don’t want to see. He is like the person with a political pamphlet, vacuum, or encyclopaedia set who is pounding on our door and not going away. With Him, He has His Word of Truth and He is calling out. He is crying out. “Hello. Is anybody in there? Hello, is anybody in there?” And the more he yells for us in this country to open the door, the more we seem to turn up our TV sets so we can’t hear him. “Hello, Hello, Hello,” He still yells because he wants our attention, “Is anybody in there?” But we – in this country - seem to duck beneath the window and hide ourselves in our work or our entertainment or even in our sin that we keep deep inside ourselves because we don’t want to see Him. We turn up our radios, we put on our washing machines; we do anything we can to ignore our Lord and Saviour it seems. But He is still calling. He is still calling at the door because He loves us. He knows that we are in here. He knows that the Angel is hiding behind the door of Laodicea. He knows that you and I are tucked away behind the affluence of Canada and He is calling. He is calling us each out by name, ‘Susan’, ‘Michael’, ‘whoever’… He is calling us, begging us to turn down the distractions provided by our wealth and let Him in. Please let us let our dear Saviour in because we know, that just like the six year-old Calvin can’t survive without the protection of his babysitter, mother, or father so also no matter how self-sufficient we think we are, in reality we cannot survive without the protection of our own Heavenly Father.
So let us today, as Jesus is still knocking, let us look out the windows of our own souls, let us see Him and let us invite Jesus into our own lives to eat with us so that indeed we can all dine with him in His Kingdom to come forever and ever. Amen.
Let us pray.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more sermons and stuff: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
www.sheepspeak.com/
Self-Exam from Armybarmy
www.armybarmy.com
August 31, 2009.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
How's your soul?
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Are the roots of bitterness gone? (SLB)
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The Salvation Army follows the Weselyan example for tight accountability in discipling relationships. Here is the TEST FOR SELF-EXAMINATION. The following are questions taken from The Salvation ARMY ORDERS AND REGULATIONS FOR SOLDIERS, 1999 (Chapter 4, section 3). They are useful to ask God daily and your accountability partners weekly:
1. Am I habitually guilty of any known sin? Do I practise or allow myself in any thought, word, or deed which I know to be wrong?
2. Am I so the master of my bodily appetites as to have no condemnation? Do I allow myself in any indulgence that is injurious to my holiness, growth inknowledge, obedience, and usefulness?
3. Are my thoughts and feelings such that I should not be ashamed to hear them published before God?
4. Does the influence of the world cause me to act, feel, or say things that are unlike Christ?
5. Do my tempers cause me to act, or feel or say things that I see afterward are contrary to that love which I ought to bear always to those about me?
6. Am I doing all in my power for the salvation of sinners? Do I feel concern about their danger and pray and work for their salvation as if they were my children?
7. Am I fulfilling the vows I have made to God in my acts of consecration or at the Penitent Form?
8. Is my example in harmony with my profession?
9. Am I conscious of any pride or haughtiness in my manner or bearing?
10. Do I conform to the fashions and customs of this world or do I show that I despise them?
11. Am I in danger of being carried away with worldly desires to be rich or admired?
And here are the 22 questions members of John Wesley’s HOLY CLUB asked themselves each day during their private rations over 200 years ago.
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
----
The kingdom of God is at hand.
---
www.sheepspeak.com
August 31, 2009.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
How's your soul?
----
Are the roots of bitterness gone? (SLB)
----
The Salvation Army follows the Weselyan example for tight accountability in discipling relationships. Here is the TEST FOR SELF-EXAMINATION. The following are questions taken from The Salvation ARMY ORDERS AND REGULATIONS FOR SOLDIERS, 1999 (Chapter 4, section 3). They are useful to ask God daily and your accountability partners weekly:
1. Am I habitually guilty of any known sin? Do I practise or allow myself in any thought, word, or deed which I know to be wrong?
2. Am I so the master of my bodily appetites as to have no condemnation? Do I allow myself in any indulgence that is injurious to my holiness, growth inknowledge, obedience, and usefulness?
3. Are my thoughts and feelings such that I should not be ashamed to hear them published before God?
4. Does the influence of the world cause me to act, feel, or say things that are unlike Christ?
5. Do my tempers cause me to act, or feel or say things that I see afterward are contrary to that love which I ought to bear always to those about me?
6. Am I doing all in my power for the salvation of sinners? Do I feel concern about their danger and pray and work for their salvation as if they were my children?
7. Am I fulfilling the vows I have made to God in my acts of consecration or at the Penitent Form?
8. Is my example in harmony with my profession?
9. Am I conscious of any pride or haughtiness in my manner or bearing?
10. Do I conform to the fashions and customs of this world or do I show that I despise them?
11. Am I in danger of being carried away with worldly desires to be rich or admired?
And here are the 22 questions members of John Wesley’s HOLY CLUB asked themselves each day during their private rations over 200 years ago.
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
----
The kingdom of God is at hand.
---
www.sheepspeak.com
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
We're rich but we're poor: Laodicean Christians
Loadicea was a city of great wealth, with extensive banking operations (compare Rev 3:18).[11] Rich, cultured, pluralistic - this church became so self-satisfied and worldly that it seems to have ostracised Christ completely.[12] It was neither cold nor hot; it was nauseous to God: it was a church which considered itself rich and in need of nothing but that was instead wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.[13]
This was the church to whose angel John wrote the letter (3:14-18):
…These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Let me interrupt the letter here. This is significant. What is the sin of the angel of Laodicea? They are rich but they are poor (v. 17, cf.1 Timothy 6:3-10). This is not unlike our own nation today. We know that one cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13; cf. Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 5:2). We know that our country has an economic system (capitalism) that by definition serves money (and we have seen some of the serious temporal consequences of that in the last 100 years: depressions, wars, recessions, crime, unemployment, etc.) We know that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:23, Mark 10:23-24, Luke 18:24-25) – and when was the last time we saw that! We know that even the poorest of Canadians today are amongst the wealthiest people who have ever lived on this earth. King Solomon could never have even dreamed of the luxuries that we have today: cars, microwaves, centralized heating and air-conditioning, TV, food and junk food galore!
Laodicea had become so rich in the things of this earth (Luke 12:21) that they did not realise that they were spiritually ‘wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (V.17; cf. 1 Timothy 6:17, James 2:5).’ In Canada we were founded (arguably) as a direct rebuke of the earlier atheistic/deistic revolutions: we were intentionally founded upon scripture (Psalm 72) but as we have grown richer in this country, complacency, crime, pornography, atheism, and self-reliance have sprung up like so many weeds attempting to choke out the Word of God and in Canada. Like Laodicea, we have become so complacent and so trusting in our earthly riches it seems that we are turning further and further away from God.
Laodicea was rich in material wealth but Laodicea lacked the good water that her neighbouring cities had: Hieropolis had great hot mineral springs and there was also the clear cold waters of Colossae in contrast to the poor water of Laodicea, which was piped to the city through crusty aqueducts. Laodicea was rich in money but poor in the water it needed to survive. [14] Likewise, Laodicea was rich in temporal wealth but was poor in living water, which we all need to survive. If only Laodicea was spiritually as hot as the waters of Hieropolis or as cool and refreshing as the waters of Colossae! (Important: This passage is NOT referring to ‘spiritual hotness’ and ‘spiritual coldness’ as we would think of those terms today. That idea would have been a foreign analogy in the first century!) [15]
This is what John is talking about. Loadicea may have wealth but they lack spiritual wealth. They have both the good hot water and the good cold water being poured into them but when they mix together in their wealthy city this becomes useless lukewarm water.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more articles, sermons, etc.: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
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http://www.sheepspeak.com/
This was the church to whose angel John wrote the letter (3:14-18):
…These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Let me interrupt the letter here. This is significant. What is the sin of the angel of Laodicea? They are rich but they are poor (v. 17, cf.1 Timothy 6:3-10). This is not unlike our own nation today. We know that one cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13; cf. Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 5:2). We know that our country has an economic system (capitalism) that by definition serves money (and we have seen some of the serious temporal consequences of that in the last 100 years: depressions, wars, recessions, crime, unemployment, etc.) We know that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:23, Mark 10:23-24, Luke 18:24-25) – and when was the last time we saw that! We know that even the poorest of Canadians today are amongst the wealthiest people who have ever lived on this earth. King Solomon could never have even dreamed of the luxuries that we have today: cars, microwaves, centralized heating and air-conditioning, TV, food and junk food galore!
Laodicea had become so rich in the things of this earth (Luke 12:21) that they did not realise that they were spiritually ‘wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (V.17; cf. 1 Timothy 6:17, James 2:5).’ In Canada we were founded (arguably) as a direct rebuke of the earlier atheistic/deistic revolutions: we were intentionally founded upon scripture (Psalm 72) but as we have grown richer in this country, complacency, crime, pornography, atheism, and self-reliance have sprung up like so many weeds attempting to choke out the Word of God and in Canada. Like Laodicea, we have become so complacent and so trusting in our earthly riches it seems that we are turning further and further away from God.
Laodicea was rich in material wealth but Laodicea lacked the good water that her neighbouring cities had: Hieropolis had great hot mineral springs and there was also the clear cold waters of Colossae in contrast to the poor water of Laodicea, which was piped to the city through crusty aqueducts. Laodicea was rich in money but poor in the water it needed to survive. [14] Likewise, Laodicea was rich in temporal wealth but was poor in living water, which we all need to survive. If only Laodicea was spiritually as hot as the waters of Hieropolis or as cool and refreshing as the waters of Colossae! (Important: This passage is NOT referring to ‘spiritual hotness’ and ‘spiritual coldness’ as we would think of those terms today. That idea would have been a foreign analogy in the first century!) [15]
This is what John is talking about. Loadicea may have wealth but they lack spiritual wealth. They have both the good hot water and the good cold water being poured into them but when they mix together in their wealthy city this becomes useless lukewarm water.
read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/revelation-320-hello-is-anybody-in.html
more articles, sermons, etc.: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
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http://www.sheepspeak.com/
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