I can hardly believe this is the last Sunday of August and Labor Day will soon be here, but I do look forward to some cooler weather. This summer has been too hot. It has been very humid too, so I always feel sticky in the apartment which has no air conditioning. But I would rather just allow myself to sweat naturally and use a fan then to be in air conditioning all of the time. Anytime I am out, I am in it and it is often too cold.
I did get a journal entry written this morning before Sunday school and church, but I did not look up the Bible verses I have been reading from Romans and a devotional booklet called Today. Often those readings give me some new thoughts about God. Sometimes a verse that I have heard all my life and thought I understood perfectly will mean something different to me when I find one word that I had not paid attention to and realize that word has more than one meaning. That is how God speaks to each of us personally if we will be aware of it.
Pastors know this and pray that the message they give will meet the needs of the people who are listening. Even though those needs are not identical and they are hearing the same words God will put an emphasis on just what each person needs at that time. But, sometimes it will be a song or a prayer that will reach the heart of someone.
Our Sunday was about being ready for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It did not attempt to say that the theories of various dispensationalists were right or wrong, or that there will be a great world war and persecution before He returns. It only said what He did that He will come without warning when we aren’t expecting Him, so we need to be sure our relationship with Him is secure.
The pastor preached about that too, "Are You in the Book?" He began by describing a book that everyone all over the world is reading now and is very popular with all kinds of people. I thought of The Secret, some thought of the Bible, but he was talking about Facebook. He went on to warn about the dangers of Facebook and saying that there is a book we need to be sure that we are in and that is God’s book. He use Revelations 20:11-15 as his main point of reference.
At the second service we have on the second and last of the months, he used I John 2:19 and title his message "You Can Let it Go." He encouraged us to get rid of anything, or person, in our life that was keeping us from growing in the knowledge of Christ As this verse referred to people who were claiming to be sent out by the apostles and were not really of them were let go, so we should let go of anyone who claims to be a Christian, but does not live the life of one, because they are not really part of Christ’s body.
We did have a meal today, but will not have during September. The kitchen staff needs a break and the kitchen needs to be cleaned out, leftover food thrown away, refrigerator cleaned, cabinets organized and items labeled Also, the second services on the second and last Sunday of the month will be at 7:00 pm rather than 3:30 or 400 pm. Pastor feels that may encourage people who are on the street and having problems to come in for protection Churches used to be open all the time and were called "sanctuaries" because they served that purpose and we need to get back to it as much as is possible in our times..
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE! 