YOU KEEP USING THAT WORD...

I was talking to a teen earlier today who asked me what "matrimony" means.  She thought that it meant "peace," as in a couple marrying into a state of holy peace.

I was surprised because I know that this particular teen is very intelligent and very active in her church.

The conversation reminded me that just because people hear a term all the time doesn't mean that it means to them what it really means.

I get into these debates with people over Christian doctrines and they say, “No.  I’m a Christian.   I believe in Jesus Christ.   I just don’t think that you have to take the whole idea that Jesus was the literal Son of God literally.  I don’t think you have to believe that Jesus really physically rose from the dead for God to accept you into Heaven.”

I hear stuff like that--- ALL THE TIME, and all I can think is:  You use the word “Christian.”  I don’t think it means what you think it means.

You keep using the phrase “believe in Jesus Christ.”  I do not think it means what you think it means.

Cause I read things like 1 Corinthians 15: 13-17:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  (1 Corinthians 15: 13-17)

I read stuff like Mark 14: 61, 62:

Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

 Jesus said, “I am.” (Mark 14: 61, 62)

And that perhaps is the root of our problems.  We’re reading from the same Bible but using different dictionaries to define what we read.

We need to bring all our dictionaries out from our laps and lay them on the public table.  We need to be honest with our congregations about what writings we regard as authoritative.

And if the Bible isn’t at the top of your list of authoritative publications, you need to be honest about that.

If Plato trumps Paul for you, say so.

If you believe Nietzsche over Nahum, admit it.

If you hold Marx in higher esteem than Mark, tell the people.

That way we don’t just know what we say, we actually understand what everybody means.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 30: 5

Proverbs 30:5     Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Proverbs 30: 5.  The word translated “pure” refers to the work of a goldsmith who has heated and refined and cast his precious metal.     This verse is basically saying:

The Word of God has come through the fire.

The Word of God s tried and true.

The Word of God is good as gold.

The Bible has come through the fire of authors and conquerors, languages and  translations, religious realignments and cultural upheavals; and it has come through pure as gold. 

Scholars argue over the original intent of the Bible’s human authors.   God Himself has watched over and preserved His Word so that we have what God originally intended.   Academics debate interpretations for cultural relevance.  The Holy Spirit is present in every believer to deliver accurate interpretations of Divine revelation.  Despite all the grubby fingers that have handled the Bible, the Word of God remains pure, precious, and good as gold.

But the golden Word is not an accessory; it is a necessity.  The Bible is not some extra collection of ornamental ideas to shelve in the corners of your lifestyle.  These are more than pretty words. The Word of God exists and speaks with purpose, great and eternal purpose.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55: 11)

The Word goes forth now as it has gone forth for millennia: to show us how to live, how to love, how to see, how to think, how to perceive so that we experience the Divine purpose.  The purpose of all this living isn’t just to experience this and that; it is to experience a relationship with HIM.

Jesus said: You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  (John 5:39)

The Bible is the written Word of God.  Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1: 14).   The whole purpose of the written Word is to turn us to Jesus.

When Agur scratched out the words of Proverbs chapter 30, the majority of our Bible had not been written.  Most of the Biblical authors hadn’t even been born.  But God is eternal; He transcends time.    And so, 9 or 10 centuries before Jesus was physically born in  Bethlehem, the Holy Spirit inspired the son of a scholar to write about God’s SON (Proverbs 30: 4) and to call the “Word of God” by the pronoun HE. 

Not “it.”  HE.

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Don’t neglect God’s Word.  If you do, you’ll never know Jesus like you could.

Don’t let anyone or any institution diminish the value of God’s Word to you. If you do, you’ll miss the deepest and most powerful principles of life and life abundantly.

Don’t allow any argument or philosophy to make you doubt the integrity of what God Himself has sent forth into the world.  The Word is tried and truth. 

If you trust Jesus, then trust the Bible.

 ---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

Proverbs 30: 5

Proverbs 30:5     Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Proverbs 30: 5.  The word translated “pure” refers to the work of a goldsmith who has heated and refined and cast his precious metal.     This verse is basically saying:

The Word of God has come through the fire.

The Word of God s tried and true.

The Word of God is good as gold.

The Bible has come through the fire of authors and conquerors, languages and  translations, religious realignments and cultural upheavals; and it has come through pure as gold. 

Scholars argue over the original intent of the Bible’s human authors.   God Himself has watched over and preserved His Word so that we have what God originally intended.   Academics debate interpretations for cultural relevance.  The Holy Spirit is present in every believer to deliver accurate interpretations of Divine revelation.  Despite all the grubby fingers that have handled the Bible, the Word of God remains pure, precious, and good as gold.

But the golden Word is not an accessory; it is a necessity.  The Bible is not some extra collection of ornamental ideas to shelve in the corners of your lifestyle.  These are more than pretty words. The Word of God exists and speaks with purpose, great and eternal purpose.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55: 11)

The Word goes forth now as it has gone forth for millennia: to show us how to live, how to love, how to see, how to think, how to perceive so that we experience the Divine purpose.  The purpose of all this living isn’t just to experience this and that; it is to experience a relationship with HIM.

Jesus said: You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  (John 5:39)

The Bible is the written Word of God.  Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1: 14).   The whole purpose of the written Word is to turn us to Jesus.

When Agur scratched out the words of Proverbs chapter 30, the majority of our Bible had not been written.  Most of the Biblical authors hadn’t even been born.  But God is eternal; He transcends time.    And so, 9 or 10 centuries before Jesus was physically born in  Bethlehem, the Holy Spirit inspired the son of a scholar to write about God’s SON (Proverbs 30: 4) and to call the “Word of God” by the pronoun HE. 

Not “it.”  HE.

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Don’t neglect God’s Word.  If you do, you’ll never know Jesus like you could.

Don’t let anyone or any institution diminish the value of God’s Word to you. If you do, you’ll miss the deepest and most powerful principles of life and life abundantly.

Don’t allow any argument or philosophy to make you doubt the integrity of what God Himself has sent forth into the world.  The Word is tried and truth. 

If you trust Jesus, then trust the Bible.

 ---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116