Chas wanted us to list things we were thankful for this week, didn’t he? It is not our Thanksgiving, but we should always be thankful, so here are a few:
I am thankful the Lord saw fit to place me back with my parents and Second’s family during this long time of testing. Coming back home is not what I and other family members had anticipated, and there has been a times some significant friction over my return from time to time, but it has become clear that it was the way God planned for us to survive together.
I am thankful that my health problem has been identified and that there is a wise plan to deal with it. Once again, I am grateful to be in a place where I will have help before and after the surgery.
I am thankful for the provision of work. I spent many years wondering if I had started down a blind alley in deciding to become a nurse. To finally get employment after so many years of waiting and wondering was wonderful. It is not easy to work where I do, but there is still the joy of knowing this is the work I was intended, for this season, to do.
I was sitting here wondering if I should continue this. i.e. Things for which I am thankful. Nobody else seems to be doing it.
e.g. Phos tells us that she would have stopped in to say hello if it were a quiet evening.
But it wasn’t a quiet evening. That’s all we know.
Anyhow.
My family never went to church when I was growing up. I attended SS & Church at Trinity Methodist with Bobby Murray, a close friend. (Same guy who talked me into joining the AF.) Anyhow”
While I was in basic training, my entire family “got saved” and joined the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn) When I finished basic, I came home before going to Biloxi, Miss, to Radio Operator’s School. While there, I went with my family to a “revival” meeting. During the invitation. (which seemed to go on forever), My sister’s boy friend came and put his hand on my shoulder. I went down and knelled at the “prayer bench” and “prayed through”.
Actually, I had no idea of what I was doing. I thought I was promising God that I would “live right” Which, in fact, never happened.
But God knew what was going on. I did start attending every chapel service on Sundays. But I wass not a “good guy” during that time.
But God was watching over me
I don’t know exactly when, but I likely became a member of the Family of God, if not at that time, at was a time after Al Tolley introduced me to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at Carolina.
Chas, I cannot share many details of my work due to confidentiality, not even with my own family. So, I will always be a bit short on detail about my work.
It’s wonderful to read that about you, Chas.
It’s a reminder that I should give thanks for the asthma that afflicted Wesley at such a young age which kept me home with a sick child. That prompted me to read all the way through the Bible seeking God’s answers to life’s problems. God’s word does not return void. I was saved through the Word. And that meant that Wesley was being brought up with God’s Word, too, although I was a baby Christian. Some people would judge me still to be a baby Christian, but I can see how much I have grown spiritually through Bible study, prayer, church attendance, and fellowship with Christians.
Morning! It is snowing and I smile at the sight of it all…oh so thankful.
Thank you Chas for sharing that this morning. It brings back the memories of my own. We attended church as a family…Mom,Dad and three little girls. But in all those years I have no memory of hearing the Gospel. That doesn’t mean it was never told, I just didn’t hear it. Not until I was dating my husband and we were attending the Sunday evening service did I hear..truly hear. I sat there in the balcony of Erlanger Baptist Church and ask Christ to forgive me and to be Lord of my life. It has been an awesome journey and I am ever so thankful.
It sounds like ya’ll had a sweet time together last night. I didn’t get the invite…and I was going to let you know but I ended up walking with my neighbor last minute…I am thankful for this group of wanderers… ♥️
Yes, that is the deer that made me forget I was still wearing my pajamas a couple days ago. I looked out our door, and across the street were two deer. So I quickly put my coat on (over my pajama top) and grabbed my camera, and went to take a couple pictures from the doorway. Immediately I realized one was a buck (obviously I’d only had a really quick glimpse of the deer the first time), and after taking a couple shots from the doorway, I wandered down the driveway to get a few feet closer. While I was standing there across the street, with the deer just yards from our fairly busy street, they mated. I took a few more photos (I was surprised how quick the mating was, but I supposed it has to be for prey animals). And then I realized I was still in my pajamas and hadn’t put anything over the pants, so I came in to change my pants and then go out and across the street (since the deer had moved back a bit by the time I came back out). One doesn’t want to get too close to wild animals, especially animals with antlers guarding a mate during the rut, but with the zoom I can stay a respectable distance and still get good shots.
And yesterday just as I was ready to prepare the turkey and put it in the oven, I realized we had a heavy fog, a photographer’s dream, so I drove down to the pond (it’s half a mile and I usually walk, but driving is quicker and I wanted to get back and do the turkey), and a different big buck came out of the fog and stood and looked at me for a full minute. He wasn’t far away at all, but I was up on a bridge and I knew he couldn’t get to me. As he wandered away, he took a mouthful or two of food, so he wasn’t afraid of me at all.
Yesterday, I went to the drug store to buy some shaving stuff.
The lady wouldn’t sell it to me because I wasn’t wearing a mask.
So? I went out to the car and got my mask and she sold it to me.
She was just following orders. I understand that.
It’s foggy and chilly and, for the moment, I’m thankful for a warm house. It’s early, I’m tired, I have a hectic work day ahead, it’s the best I can do right now.
Our county health official will be meeting with the board of supes today in a much anticipated public session to explain and outline orders already set to begin later this week and also potential orders to come as our covid numbers continue to surge. A couple of the supervisors have questioned the latest moves, especially in the toll it will take (again) on small businesses.
People are worn out from it all, understandably. Officials believe the latest spread is coming from younger people who again are gathering together in larger numbers. But meanwhile, millions of folks are surging through LAX this week also, not heeding the holiday travel warnings.
My neighbors who are in the desert are also planning to gather with their ‘gold mining’ club for a holiday party out there this week. She has a good friend who has worked in pharmaceuticals telling her it’s all being overblown.
With the new restrictions and orders is coming a wave of resistance and even anger, you can see it being played out on social media. I had a couple folks just fall into nasty and childish name calling with one another on one of the covid stories I posted.
The mood is all quite unpleasant right now in Southern California. People are kind of losing it.
It is impossible to keep young people away from each other.
It is even difficult for older people who understand. It is not natural for people to isolate themselves.
My brother went to a store yesterday, Aldi I think, and forgot to wear his mask. He decided to go back to his car and did not make the effort to put on the mask and go back in.
No it isn’t natural to be isolated. It has led to other problems, like depression and even suicide. I had planned to go to a get together this afternoon with the Top 20 agents. I need to go and I want to go, but I probably won’t. I believe the virus is real, I believe it is a bit overblown, yet I don’t want to take a chance right now of gettig it. It’s hard for anyone to know what to do.
So, I think I will go start prepping for Thanksgiving, which is bringing it’s own issues this year. Accomodating everyone’s schedule in seeing other family reminds me why I chose to go to New Orleans last year. I don’t want to go out of town again for this holiday but I also don’t like juggling everything. Then of course Christmas is coming and I will have to juggle again.
Thankfulness? Really too many to list. BG, Mr. P, Litte Miss, Amos, and even Lulabelle
There is a person stationed at the entrance of all our stores…if you do not have a mask upon your sweet face they banish you! Now we will be standing in lines to enter as we are now on Critical status. We are so divided over this and it is getting nasty. Those shouting at the opposing side of masks are declaring “you do not love your brother”…yet they are the very ones shouting vile comments…..how it that loving your brother? Sad times in which we find ourselves… 😞
I am studying in 1 Corinthians 12 today. I have not checked a commentary, but I need more insight on the meaning of ‘apostle’ in verses 27-29. Also, is the listing in hierarchical order as to importance?
Wow, the thread goes from covid straight to Sodom and Gomorrah. lol
Seriously, social media has become a school yard with people posting snarky comments and GIFS to punch back, everyone’s suddenly so strident.
Just talked to a friend in town whose Thanksgiving event (they’re a huge Italian family) is down to 6 adults and one child. Probably too many according to the health orders, but he said they will be outdoors, setting up some heaters, all wearing masks (cuts down on overeating perhaps). (He was telling me he now has a system set up with his daughter who needs to pick up his meds but has to have his ID — he lowers his ID in a tupperware bowl so she can just take it as she waits on the sidewalk below; he said it’s a common way to pass things back and forth in Ischia, their ‘family roots’ island which they have visited often).
Starting Wednesday, folks must sign self-quarantine orders as they come and go now through LAX. I have no idea how something like that would be enforced.
Masks are accepted and worn for the most part here, I don’t see folks without them when I go to the outdoor shopping center. I used to take mine off once I got outside of the store, but I don’t now as the rules have changed to where you have to wear them at all times. But in the neighborhood, walking the dogs, watering, I don’t wear a mask as no one typically comes that close — and if your paths are going to cross, it’s easy to quickly and temporarily social distance.
I keep extra masks in my car and purse as I often forget to grab one as I head out to the car to hit a grocery store or someplace else where I’ll need one.
Son travels frequently from the US to Bolivia or Chile or whatever, spends two or three weeks there, then heads back to the States for a couple of weeks. I doubt he ever wears a mask or self quarantines. I have never seen him with one but he is kind of banned from here because of his mingling and his dog and his live in girlfriend.
I was thinking this morning of how thankful I am that we have a pleasant home to live out these times of isolation. We have beautiful scenery. We can walk down the road now that deer hunting season is over. I have a treadmill for exercise when it is icy or the weather is bad. We have access to materials for creativity, whether it is music or quilting. We have plenty of food, water and our material gifts are beyond what we really need. We have access to others online, by phone or video. We have entertainment at the tips of our fingers via media. We have more books on devices than we can even read in our life times. We know our children love the Lord, love their families, love others and love us. I am thankful they all still are able to have an income. We have access to prayer warriors, who will talk to the Lord for us. We have the bible both online in many versions and in physical copies. We have our church online for when we cannot go.
I am also thankful that my sister has my mother with her. I am glad my mother is not in a nursing home shut off from all her family. At the same time, I struggle with the relationship with my sister; struggling with anger, bitterness and forgiveness needed over and over. I am grieving for my mother as she goes through this difficult time of her life. She, like Chas, has been blessed to live in a time period that brought her a very good life. She may be here for many more weeks or not. I am thankful for the hospice workers who can help her and my sister.
I am thankful to live in a country that has relative peace (even with all the stuff going on). I am grateful my children and grandchildren do not live in a country where they would not even know what it is to live in peace. I am thankful we can still speak the truth to the extent we can. I am thankful it is a place we can work to get our leaders to go in a better direction (to the extent we can).
I am thankful to have pain relievers and access to medicines and doctors. I am thankful for what I can still do.
Janice, apostle literally means messenger. There are the Apostles, the first 12 messengers who were handpicked to plant Christ, and then apostles who frequently worked alongside the 12, such as Barnabas, who is called an Apostle but not numbered with the 12. As to the second question, the context of the list answers should answer that, as Paul is teaching there that no member of the body is more important than another. As an Apostle, and what is more the Apostle to the Gentiles, he is telling his readers that he is not more important than the weakest and most insignificant member of the Church.
Kathleen has listed a large number of blessings that we can all be thankful for. We , here in USA have been blessed beyond measure when we consider the situation in most of the world.
What I am immensely fearful of is that we are about to lose that. I don’t know that we can survive a Biden administration. As his potential cabinet is listed, I become more fearful.
I have been thankful for masks and screening. Most people graciously comply with the clinic mask and screening requirements. The few who do not are not gracious at the best of times.
Just spent an hour covering, virtually, a video conference on state coronavirus numbers and the urgency to stop the surge; now waiting for LA County #s to add to that story.
Hard to keep up with all the changes and different layers of government.
Michelle, your 11:11, it’s an interesting theory but I think he goes beyond Scripture. For instance, he says, “Societal reprobation describes a town, city, set of cities, or a nation where every man, woman, and child is reprobate. Societal reprobation has always been rare. In fact, from the Days of Pentecost (described in Acts 2, 8, and 10) onward it has been nonexistent.”
Then he goes on to talk about the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling of believers has nothing to do with whether a society with no believers in it would be “totally reprobate.” What about tribal lands where clans would clash, seek retribuution for a killing, and treat their conquered enemies with the ultimate insult of eating them? Is that not pretty far down on “reprobate”? We’re past Pentecost, but these area had no believers and thus no staying hand of the Holy Spirit. Yet the people still had God’s law written on their hearts–they knew what they were doing was wrong–and God sent missionaries to many such tribes instead of wiping them out.
It is God’ prerogative whether to deal with sin immediately, or wait a few years, or let their sin be their undoing, or wait until eternity.
Thank you, Roscuro for your answer to my question. If I may also ask, how does the role of apostle play out in the church today? One thing I read made it seem that the apostles are not just ‘one sent’ but have the role of ‘the one who sends.’ For example, if my small church body decided it was called to be a learning church for church planters, who is in the role of being an apostle or does that term only apply to the times of the Corinthan church?
Janice, the apostles were a limited-time office in Acts. Apostles serve the church today by the writings many of them left behind (the New Testament) and in being foundational to the early church.
I didn’t really agree with the link on Sodom either. I think if we want to know about why God totally destroyed Sodom, we need to ask the question of Scripture, which does very clearly answer it in Ezekiel 16:49, which I find odd that the article never refers to . I do think there is a difference now, under the reign of Christ, in how sin is responded to, but I see that more as being due to the redeeming power of Christ. If Christ’s death is efficacious for sin, then even those who have sunk to the level of the inhabitants of Sodom have an opportunity for redemption through the work of the Spirit in applying the blood of Christ. There were many sins ruled worthy of death in the law of Moses, but Christ made it clear in his teaching that we were all guilty of sin deserving death, as the thought of sin is as deadly as the action. As Paul notes in his letter to the Galatians, the scripture listed everyone as being under sin, so that those who believed in Jesus Christ were saved by faith.
God was perfectly just in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because every human is a sinner, not because he was trying to prevent societal contamination. We humans, even believers, often flinch from the full realization that everything humans create and build is contaminated by sin. Whether it is the ongoing debate over acknowledging the injustices in a country’s past, or the ongoing debate over benefitting from the use in medical research of human cell lines that were originally derived from fetuses, the human desire is to distance oneself from contamination with sin. We cannot do it. We are all unclean, and no amount of buying fair trade or boycotting vaccines will make us clean. None of us can save ourselves from the virus of sin, and yet everyone tries. As Jeremiah said, it is if the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed. Without God’s intervention, we would all be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Janice, essentially what Cheryl said. The 12 were unique in church history, never to be repeated. However, I think that it could be said that any church planter commissioned to go a build a church where there was not one previously could be said to perform the role of apostle with a small ‘a’. Unfortunately, those who use the term Apostle to describe themselves in this day and age are false apostles, looking to borrow power from the original 12 for their own benefit, as Simon the Magician tried to buy power from the Apostles.
I started thinking I was a bit lazy today but, I prepared a full lunch, and dinner….husband and daughter appreciated having their meals prepared today…it will be leftovers tomorrow then I will roast a turkey for them on Thursday along with trimmings and pumpkin pie 😊. Then I cleaned my stitching room and the other guest room. Now I am plum tuckered out and the sinuses are giving me some trouble.
Thanks for your perspectives on the article Cheryl and Roscuro…I was having some difficulty with it and upon researching the author I had even more issues. I appreciate your posts.
Today is granddaughter’s official birthday so mommy is doing a photo shoot. She does one every month and is quite creative. Fun to watch but clearly mommy is having much more fun than baby.
Thanks, Cheryl, and Roscuro, for your explanations. I knew I had heard of some churches that use Apostle as a title for their pastors and that never seemed appropriate to me. I think it may be something seen more in black churches for whatever reason. And I had wondered why that passage used the lower case ‘a’ that made it different than a title. I was trying to determine if the pastor of a church could be the counterpart of an Apostle but without the title because they had not personally been in the physical presence of Jesus.
Janice, Scripture uses several terms for pastors. Pastor, shepherd, bishop, and elder all seem more or less interchangeable terms (correct me if I’ve left any out) for the office and the man that we often call “pastor.” Scripture never calls the pastor a “priest” or an “apostle,” and the role of elder is different from that of deacon.
I never had thought of elder being interchangeable with pastor. My church does not have deacons but may work toward that goal. At one point I think I heard they might be called elders. My father, in his later years, became an elder in their small country Presbyterian church (PUSA).
Bad news out here. Alberta has outlawed in home visits. This means son and DIL are all alone for the last three weeks of their pregnancy. Maybe one of DIL’s sisters will move in temporarily. They’ve been such a help all through the whole pregnancy. I was listening to a talk show where moms who had their babies in Ontario this year told their sad stories of dad being allowed in, but once baby was born, he had to leave. Where is the sense in that? That better not happen to my kids.
Janice, you have to remember that apostle is just a transliteration of a Greek word, like baptism is a transliteration. The term apostle only exists in the English language because of its connection to the Bible, it is a borrowed word from the Greek. I think of it in the way I think of the word deacon, another Greek transliteration. The word deacon means servant. When the translators of the King James Bible translated the Greek diaconos in I Timothy 3 l, they transliterated it to deacon. When they translated the exact same word in Romans 16:1, they translated it to servant. It is the exact same word in both passages, but in the passage speaking of church officers in Timothy, they used deacon, while in Paul’s personal commendation of Phebe, it is translated servant. This is due to cultural mindsets – the English church at the time of translation already had officials of the church called deacons, who were all male, but Phebe was a woman. Even the most traditionalist mindset would say women can be servants of the church, but they often flinch at giving them the formal title of deacon, even though deacon means servant. It is the same with apostle. We think of the twelve Apostles, who carried an authority that was unique, and we flinch when the transliterated Greek word is used outside that context, often for good reason since the title is graciously misused. But, when we speak of sending missionaries as ambassadors for Christ, we are essentially using the translated meaning of apostle – one who is sent as a messenger or emissary. Like using servant in place of deacon when speaking of women who serve in the church, we speak of people who are sent as messengers of the gospel instead of using the term apostle.
I see Paul not so much speaking of hierarchy when he says first apostles, then prophets, then teachers, but rather the succession of the different kinds of gifts that are needed when a church is being built. First are those sent, as Paul was sent, to the unreached people groups as messengers to introduce them to the gospel. Then there are the prophets, who, as I have before stated about my view of the post-Acts gift of prophecy, are not predictors of the future but rather applicators of the Scripture directly to the context into which they are speaking, helping those who heard the gospel from the first messengers to realize how it applies to their own sins and need for salvation. Then there are the teachers, who train the infant believers into maturity. And finally, the whole host of other gifts that serve to strengthen and unify the growing church. It isn’t a hierarchy, but rather a set of stages of church building.
I am thankful for god’s Son Jesus and my salvation.
I am thankful that I am not in prison.
I am thankful for my wife who loves me. She is too good for me.
Wandering Views 
Good morning everyone.
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Good morning Chas.
I could have slept in on my day off, but my internal clock thought different.
Glad the meeting went well. If it had been a quiet evening, I might have tried to say hello briefly, but it wasn’t.
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Chas wanted us to list things we were thankful for this week, didn’t he? It is not our Thanksgiving, but we should always be thankful, so here are a few:
I am thankful the Lord saw fit to place me back with my parents and Second’s family during this long time of testing. Coming back home is not what I and other family members had anticipated, and there has been a times some significant friction over my return from time to time, but it has become clear that it was the way God planned for us to survive together.
I am thankful that my health problem has been identified and that there is a wise plan to deal with it. Once again, I am grateful to be in a place where I will have help before and after the surgery.
I am thankful for the provision of work. I spent many years wondering if I had started down a blind alley in deciding to become a nurse. To finally get employment after so many years of waiting and wondering was wonderful. It is not easy to work where I do, but there is still the joy of knowing this is the work I was intended, for this season, to do.
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I was sitting here wondering if I should continue this. i.e. Things for which I am thankful. Nobody else seems to be doing it.
e.g. Phos tells us that she would have stopped in to say hello if it were a quiet evening.
But it wasn’t a quiet evening. That’s all we know.
Anyhow.
My family never went to church when I was growing up. I attended SS & Church at Trinity Methodist with Bobby Murray, a close friend. (Same guy who talked me into joining the AF.) Anyhow”
While I was in basic training, my entire family “got saved” and joined the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn) When I finished basic, I came home before going to Biloxi, Miss, to Radio Operator’s School. While there, I went with my family to a “revival” meeting. During the invitation. (which seemed to go on forever), My sister’s boy friend came and put his hand on my shoulder. I went down and knelled at the “prayer bench” and “prayed through”.
Actually, I had no idea of what I was doing. I thought I was promising God that I would “live right” Which, in fact, never happened.
But God knew what was going on. I did start attending every chapel service on Sundays. But I wass not a “good guy” during that time.
But God was watching over me
I don’t know exactly when, but I likely became a member of the Family of God, if not at that time, at was a time after Al Tolley introduced me to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at Carolina.
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Thanks Roscuro. That’s what I was looking for.
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Chas, I cannot share many details of my work due to confidentiality, not even with my own family. So, I will always be a bit short on detail about my work.
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It’s wonderful to read that about you, Chas.
It’s a reminder that I should give thanks for the asthma that afflicted Wesley at such a young age which kept me home with a sick child. That prompted me to read all the way through the Bible seeking God’s answers to life’s problems. God’s word does not return void. I was saved through the Word. And that meant that Wesley was being brought up with God’s Word, too, although I was a baby Christian. Some people would judge me still to be a baby Christian, but I can see how much I have grown spiritually through Bible study, prayer, church attendance, and fellowship with Christians.
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Morning! It is snowing and I smile at the sight of it all…oh so thankful.
Thank you Chas for sharing that this morning. It brings back the memories of my own. We attended church as a family…Mom,Dad and three little girls. But in all those years I have no memory of hearing the Gospel. That doesn’t mean it was never told, I just didn’t hear it. Not until I was dating my husband and we were attending the Sunday evening service did I hear..truly hear. I sat there in the balcony of Erlanger Baptist Church and ask Christ to forgive me and to be Lord of my life. It has been an awesome journey and I am ever so thankful.
It sounds like ya’ll had a sweet time together last night. I didn’t get the invite…and I was going to let you know but I ended up walking with my neighbor last minute…I am thankful for this group of wanderers… ♥️
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Good morning. Just me and granddaughter here yet this morning but one of us is sleeping.
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By the way, Cheryl, that is a deer, not a rabbit.
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Yes, that is the deer that made me forget I was still wearing my pajamas a couple days ago. I looked out our door, and across the street were two deer. So I quickly put my coat on (over my pajama top) and grabbed my camera, and went to take a couple pictures from the doorway. Immediately I realized one was a buck (obviously I’d only had a really quick glimpse of the deer the first time), and after taking a couple shots from the doorway, I wandered down the driveway to get a few feet closer. While I was standing there across the street, with the deer just yards from our fairly busy street, they mated. I took a few more photos (I was surprised how quick the mating was, but I supposed it has to be for prey animals). And then I realized I was still in my pajamas and hadn’t put anything over the pants, so I came in to change my pants and then go out and across the street (since the deer had moved back a bit by the time I came back out). One doesn’t want to get too close to wild animals, especially animals with antlers guarding a mate during the rut, but with the zoom I can stay a respectable distance and still get good shots.
And yesterday just as I was ready to prepare the turkey and put it in the oven, I realized we had a heavy fog, a photographer’s dream, so I drove down to the pond (it’s half a mile and I usually walk, but driving is quicker and I wanted to get back and do the turkey), and a different big buck came out of the fog and stood and looked at me for a full minute. He wasn’t far away at all, but I was up on a bridge and I knew he couldn’t get to me. As he wandered away, he took a mouthful or two of food, so he wasn’t afraid of me at all.
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Yesterday, I went to the drug store to buy some shaving stuff.
The lady wouldn’t sell it to me because I wasn’t wearing a mask.
So? I went out to the car and got my mask and she sold it to me.
She was just following orders. I understand that.
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It’s foggy and chilly and, for the moment, I’m thankful for a warm house. It’s early, I’m tired, I have a hectic work day ahead, it’s the best I can do right now.
Our county health official will be meeting with the board of supes today in a much anticipated public session to explain and outline orders already set to begin later this week and also potential orders to come as our covid numbers continue to surge. A couple of the supervisors have questioned the latest moves, especially in the toll it will take (again) on small businesses.
People are worn out from it all, understandably. Officials believe the latest spread is coming from younger people who again are gathering together in larger numbers. But meanwhile, millions of folks are surging through LAX this week also, not heeding the holiday travel warnings.
My neighbors who are in the desert are also planning to gather with their ‘gold mining’ club for a holiday party out there this week. She has a good friend who has worked in pharmaceuticals telling her it’s all being overblown.
With the new restrictions and orders is coming a wave of resistance and even anger, you can see it being played out on social media. I had a couple folks just fall into nasty and childish name calling with one another on one of the covid stories I posted.
The mood is all quite unpleasant right now in Southern California. People are kind of losing it.
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It is impossible to keep young people away from each other.
It is even difficult for older people who understand. It is not natural for people to isolate themselves.
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I wrote an entire blog post today on what I’m thankful for in 2020: https://www.michelleule.com/2020/11/24/thankful/
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I think my friend not being in touch last week was partly due to politics. You can imagine the intensity is so ramped up in Georgia lately.
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My brother went to a store yesterday, Aldi I think, and forgot to wear his mask. He decided to go back to his car and did not make the effort to put on the mask and go back in.
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No it isn’t natural to be isolated. It has led to other problems, like depression and even suicide. I had planned to go to a get together this afternoon with the Top 20 agents. I need to go and I want to go, but I probably won’t. I believe the virus is real, I believe it is a bit overblown, yet I don’t want to take a chance right now of gettig it. It’s hard for anyone to know what to do.
So, I think I will go start prepping for Thanksgiving, which is bringing it’s own issues this year. Accomodating everyone’s schedule in seeing other family reminds me why I chose to go to New Orleans last year. I don’t want to go out of town again for this holiday but I also don’t like juggling everything. Then of course Christmas is coming and I will have to juggle again.
Thankfulness? Really too many to list. BG, Mr. P, Litte Miss, Amos, and even Lulabelle
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There is a person stationed at the entrance of all our stores…if you do not have a mask upon your sweet face they banish you! Now we will be standing in lines to enter as we are now on Critical status. We are so divided over this and it is getting nasty. Those shouting at the opposing side of masks are declaring “you do not love your brother”…yet they are the very ones shouting vile comments…..how it that loving your brother? Sad times in which we find ourselves… 😞
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Here’s an interesting post on why God had to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; I’d not looked at it from at least one of these three points before:
https://reasons.org/explore/publications/questions-from-social-media/read/questions-from-social-media/2020/11/13/why-did-god-kill-everyone-in-sodom-and-gomorrah
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Fun facts. The word prophet appears 319 times in the OT; 172 times in the NT.
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I am studying in 1 Corinthians 12 today. I have not checked a commentary, but I need more insight on the meaning of ‘apostle’ in verses 27-29. Also, is the listing in hierarchical order as to importance?
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Wow, the thread goes from covid straight to Sodom and Gomorrah. lol
Seriously, social media has become a school yard with people posting snarky comments and GIFS to punch back, everyone’s suddenly so strident.
Just talked to a friend in town whose Thanksgiving event (they’re a huge Italian family) is down to 6 adults and one child. Probably too many according to the health orders, but he said they will be outdoors, setting up some heaters, all wearing masks (cuts down on overeating perhaps). (He was telling me he now has a system set up with his daughter who needs to pick up his meds but has to have his ID — he lowers his ID in a tupperware bowl so she can just take it as she waits on the sidewalk below; he said it’s a common way to pass things back and forth in Ischia, their ‘family roots’ island which they have visited often).
Starting Wednesday, folks must sign self-quarantine orders as they come and go now through LAX. I have no idea how something like that would be enforced.
Masks are accepted and worn for the most part here, I don’t see folks without them when I go to the outdoor shopping center. I used to take mine off once I got outside of the store, but I don’t now as the rules have changed to where you have to wear them at all times. But in the neighborhood, walking the dogs, watering, I don’t wear a mask as no one typically comes that close — and if your paths are going to cross, it’s easy to quickly and temporarily social distance.
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I keep extra masks in my car and purse as I often forget to grab one as I head out to the car to hit a grocery store or someplace else where I’ll need one.
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Son travels frequently from the US to Bolivia or Chile or whatever, spends two or three weeks there, then heads back to the States for a couple of weeks. I doubt he ever wears a mask or self quarantines. I have never seen him with one but he is kind of banned from here because of his mingling and his dog and his live in girlfriend.
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I was thinking this morning of how thankful I am that we have a pleasant home to live out these times of isolation. We have beautiful scenery. We can walk down the road now that deer hunting season is over. I have a treadmill for exercise when it is icy or the weather is bad. We have access to materials for creativity, whether it is music or quilting. We have plenty of food, water and our material gifts are beyond what we really need. We have access to others online, by phone or video. We have entertainment at the tips of our fingers via media. We have more books on devices than we can even read in our life times. We know our children love the Lord, love their families, love others and love us. I am thankful they all still are able to have an income. We have access to prayer warriors, who will talk to the Lord for us. We have the bible both online in many versions and in physical copies. We have our church online for when we cannot go.
I am also thankful that my sister has my mother with her. I am glad my mother is not in a nursing home shut off from all her family. At the same time, I struggle with the relationship with my sister; struggling with anger, bitterness and forgiveness needed over and over. I am grieving for my mother as she goes through this difficult time of her life. She, like Chas, has been blessed to live in a time period that brought her a very good life. She may be here for many more weeks or not. I am thankful for the hospice workers who can help her and my sister.
I am thankful to live in a country that has relative peace (even with all the stuff going on). I am grateful my children and grandchildren do not live in a country where they would not even know what it is to live in peace. I am thankful we can still speak the truth to the extent we can. I am thankful it is a place we can work to get our leaders to go in a better direction (to the extent we can).
I am thankful to have pain relievers and access to medicines and doctors. I am thankful for what I can still do.
Yes, so very much for which to be thankful.
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Amen, Kathleena!
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Yes, Amen, Kathaleena!
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What Kathaleena said. We are blessed far beyond what we know.
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Janice, apostle literally means messenger. There are the Apostles, the first 12 messengers who were handpicked to plant Christ, and then apostles who frequently worked alongside the 12, such as Barnabas, who is called an Apostle but not numbered with the 12. As to the second question, the context of the list answers should answer that, as Paul is teaching there that no member of the body is more important than another. As an Apostle, and what is more the Apostle to the Gentiles, he is telling his readers that he is not more important than the weakest and most insignificant member of the Church.
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Kathleen has listed a large number of blessings that we can all be thankful for. We , here in USA have been blessed beyond measure when we consider the situation in most of the world.
What I am immensely fearful of is that we are about to lose that. I don’t know that we can survive a Biden administration. As his potential cabinet is listed, I become more fearful.
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God will do what He does. He will not be thwarted. Either destroy or allowed to linger, we are to serve.
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I do feel badly for the nonbelievers, those whose time on earth is as close as they will ever get to heaven.
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I have been thankful for masks and screening. Most people graciously comply with the clinic mask and screening requirements. The few who do not are not gracious at the best of times.
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This article is an interesting read from many angles, as it deals with the question of personal responsibilty – and it is not about the pandemic: https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/thomas-chan-supreme-court/
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Just spent an hour covering, virtually, a video conference on state coronavirus numbers and the urgency to stop the surge; now waiting for LA County #s to add to that story.
Hard to keep up with all the changes and different layers of government.
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Michelle, your 11:11, it’s an interesting theory but I think he goes beyond Scripture. For instance, he says, “Societal reprobation describes a town, city, set of cities, or a nation where every man, woman, and child is reprobate. Societal reprobation has always been rare. In fact, from the Days of Pentecost (described in Acts 2, 8, and 10) onward it has been nonexistent.”
Then he goes on to talk about the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling of believers has nothing to do with whether a society with no believers in it would be “totally reprobate.” What about tribal lands where clans would clash, seek retribuution for a killing, and treat their conquered enemies with the ultimate insult of eating them? Is that not pretty far down on “reprobate”? We’re past Pentecost, but these area had no believers and thus no staying hand of the Holy Spirit. Yet the people still had God’s law written on their hearts–they knew what they were doing was wrong–and God sent missionaries to many such tribes instead of wiping them out.
It is God’ prerogative whether to deal with sin immediately, or wait a few years, or let their sin be their undoing, or wait until eternity.
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Thank you, Roscuro for your answer to my question. If I may also ask, how does the role of apostle play out in the church today? One thing I read made it seem that the apostles are not just ‘one sent’ but have the role of ‘the one who sends.’ For example, if my small church body decided it was called to be a learning church for church planters, who is in the role of being an apostle or does that term only apply to the times of the Corinthan church?
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Janice, the apostles were a limited-time office in Acts. Apostles serve the church today by the writings many of them left behind (the New Testament) and in being foundational to the early church.
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I didn’t really agree with the link on Sodom either. I think if we want to know about why God totally destroyed Sodom, we need to ask the question of Scripture, which does very clearly answer it in Ezekiel 16:49, which I find odd that the article never refers to . I do think there is a difference now, under the reign of Christ, in how sin is responded to, but I see that more as being due to the redeeming power of Christ. If Christ’s death is efficacious for sin, then even those who have sunk to the level of the inhabitants of Sodom have an opportunity for redemption through the work of the Spirit in applying the blood of Christ. There were many sins ruled worthy of death in the law of Moses, but Christ made it clear in his teaching that we were all guilty of sin deserving death, as the thought of sin is as deadly as the action. As Paul notes in his letter to the Galatians, the scripture listed everyone as being under sin, so that those who believed in Jesus Christ were saved by faith.
God was perfectly just in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because every human is a sinner, not because he was trying to prevent societal contamination. We humans, even believers, often flinch from the full realization that everything humans create and build is contaminated by sin. Whether it is the ongoing debate over acknowledging the injustices in a country’s past, or the ongoing debate over benefitting from the use in medical research of human cell lines that were originally derived from fetuses, the human desire is to distance oneself from contamination with sin. We cannot do it. We are all unclean, and no amount of buying fair trade or boycotting vaccines will make us clean. None of us can save ourselves from the virus of sin, and yet everyone tries. As Jeremiah said, it is if the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed. Without God’s intervention, we would all be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.
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Janice, essentially what Cheryl said. The 12 were unique in church history, never to be repeated. However, I think that it could be said that any church planter commissioned to go a build a church where there was not one previously could be said to perform the role of apostle with a small ‘a’. Unfortunately, those who use the term Apostle to describe themselves in this day and age are false apostles, looking to borrow power from the original 12 for their own benefit, as Simon the Magician tried to buy power from the Apostles.
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I’m writing nothing but bad news (ongoing Covid number spikes) today.
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I started thinking I was a bit lazy today but, I prepared a full lunch, and dinner….husband and daughter appreciated having their meals prepared today…it will be leftovers tomorrow then I will roast a turkey for them on Thursday along with trimmings and pumpkin pie 😊. Then I cleaned my stitching room and the other guest room. Now I am plum tuckered out and the sinuses are giving me some trouble.
Thanks for your perspectives on the article Cheryl and Roscuro…I was having some difficulty with it and upon researching the author I had even more issues. I appreciate your posts.
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Today is granddaughter’s official birthday so mommy is doing a photo shoot. She does one every month and is quite creative. Fun to watch but clearly mommy is having much more fun than baby.
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Thanks, Cheryl, and Roscuro, for your explanations. I knew I had heard of some churches that use Apostle as a title for their pastors and that never seemed appropriate to me. I think it may be something seen more in black churches for whatever reason. And I had wondered why that passage used the lower case ‘a’ that made it different than a title. I was trying to determine if the pastor of a church could be the counterpart of an Apostle but without the title because they had not personally been in the physical presence of Jesus.
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Janice, Scripture uses several terms for pastors. Pastor, shepherd, bishop, and elder all seem more or less interchangeable terms (correct me if I’ve left any out) for the office and the man that we often call “pastor.” Scripture never calls the pastor a “priest” or an “apostle,” and the role of elder is different from that of deacon.
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I never had thought of elder being interchangeable with pastor. My church does not have deacons but may work toward that goal. At one point I think I heard they might be called elders. My father, in his later years, became an elder in their small country Presbyterian church (PUSA).
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Bad news out here. Alberta has outlawed in home visits. This means son and DIL are all alone for the last three weeks of their pregnancy. Maybe one of DIL’s sisters will move in temporarily. They’ve been such a help all through the whole pregnancy. I was listening to a talk show where moms who had their babies in Ontario this year told their sad stories of dad being allowed in, but once baby was born, he had to leave. Where is the sense in that? That better not happen to my kids.
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Janice, you have to remember that apostle is just a transliteration of a Greek word, like baptism is a transliteration. The term apostle only exists in the English language because of its connection to the Bible, it is a borrowed word from the Greek. I think of it in the way I think of the word deacon, another Greek transliteration. The word deacon means servant. When the translators of the King James Bible translated the Greek diaconos in I Timothy 3 l, they transliterated it to deacon. When they translated the exact same word in Romans 16:1, they translated it to servant. It is the exact same word in both passages, but in the passage speaking of church officers in Timothy, they used deacon, while in Paul’s personal commendation of Phebe, it is translated servant. This is due to cultural mindsets – the English church at the time of translation already had officials of the church called deacons, who were all male, but Phebe was a woman. Even the most traditionalist mindset would say women can be servants of the church, but they often flinch at giving them the formal title of deacon, even though deacon means servant. It is the same with apostle. We think of the twelve Apostles, who carried an authority that was unique, and we flinch when the transliterated Greek word is used outside that context, often for good reason since the title is graciously misused. But, when we speak of sending missionaries as ambassadors for Christ, we are essentially using the translated meaning of apostle – one who is sent as a messenger or emissary. Like using servant in place of deacon when speaking of women who serve in the church, we speak of people who are sent as messengers of the gospel instead of using the term apostle.
I see Paul not so much speaking of hierarchy when he says first apostles, then prophets, then teachers, but rather the succession of the different kinds of gifts that are needed when a church is being built. First are those sent, as Paul was sent, to the unreached people groups as messengers to introduce them to the gospel. Then there are the prophets, who, as I have before stated about my view of the post-Acts gift of prophecy, are not predictors of the future but rather applicators of the Scripture directly to the context into which they are speaking, helping those who heard the gospel from the first messengers to realize how it applies to their own sins and need for salvation. Then there are the teachers, who train the infant believers into maturity. And finally, the whole host of other gifts that serve to strengthen and unify the growing church. It isn’t a hierarchy, but rather a set of stages of church building.
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*grievously misused – not graciously. Silly autocorrect.
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By the way, the word prophet is also a transliteration rather than a translation from the Greek.
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I am thankful for god’s Son Jesus and my salvation.
I am thankful that I am not in prison.
I am thankful for my wife who loves me. She is too good for me.
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