STIRRINGS AT BETHESDA
A Monthly Publication of
Bethesda Baptist Church
July 29, 2015
Upcoming Activities
* Roller Skating Fellowship: Let’s meet at Great Skate in St. Peters on Saturday, August 8 for two hours of fellowship! We have the rink from 5:15-7:15 p.m. that evening. Even if you do not intend to skate, come out, watch the others skate, and share some Christian fellowship!
* Business Meeting: Our monthly meeting is on Wednesday, August 12 beginning at 7 p.m.
* Rascals Game: Join your Bethesda family at T. R. Hughes Field as manager Steve Brook leads the River City Rascals against the Lake Erie Crushers on Saturday, August 29 at 6:35 p.m.
HAPPY … !
Here are the celebrations among our membership in August!
Happy Birthday to:
* Lacey Mueller on the 22nd
* Isabel Mueller on the 29th
* Zachary Mueller on the 31st
BUSINESS MEETING: Wednesday, August 12, 7 p.m.
The Luther Monthly
Writing on Muslims (Turks) and Islam, Luther had the following to say:
“The Turk wants to put his Muhammad in the place of thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, for the Turk blasphemes him and asserts that Christ is no true Son of God and that Muhammad is a greater prophet than he. … We are fighting that the Turk may not put his devilish filth and the blasphemous Muhammad in the place of our dear Lord, Jesus Christ. That is the real reason and serious purpose for which we now fight, die, or live. Therefore we are fighting a just war against the Turk and are Christ’s holy saints and will die a blessed death.”
Martin Luther
THANK YOU to Everyone Who Contributed to Our Backpack Collection!
“It is the Word from whence you had your life. That’s the immortal seed of the Word by which you are begotten. If your souls are begotten to God, it was by the Word. I appeal to you, either you are begotten again or not. IF you are begotten, it is the Word that has begotten you, and it is that which is the object of your faith, for your souls, and eternal estate. Surely that must be reverenced by you.”
Jeremiah Burroughs
Pastor’s Postscript
In the July 14th edition of the Pathway, Dennis Fletcher published a cartoon which grabbed my attention. It shows two of the framers of our Constitution discussing a dream Franklin, Washington, and Hamilton each had the evening before. The dream contained 3 individuals apparently screaming their stance on different issues:
* “I will determine if I’m Male or Female!”
* “I will determine if I’m Black or White!” (her shirt reads “NAACP”)
* “I will determine what’s moral and immoral!” (his shirt, with rainbow sleeves and neckline, reads “Marry Whoever You Luv!”)
Humans love to be in control. Many believe they can be or do whatever they choose to be or do. But that philosophy belongs to one living in a Fantasyland. In reality, we don’t have that much control over the affairs of life. For example, consider your birth. You had no say if you would be born. You had no say when you would be born, who would be your parents, the country of your birth, the wealth of your family at your birth. And those are only a few aspects of your birth over which you had no control.
This is true of our gender. You may call yourself a male even if you are a female. But that does not change who you are. You may undergo multiple surgeries, be injected with tons of hormones, and change your name but your internal structure, which comes from God, still reveals your true gender. Gender selection is out of your hands no matter what you think or say or do. God made us male or female.
This is also true concerning your race. A white man can not be changed into a black man or vice versa no matter what one tries to do. It is absolute foolishness to believe one can call themselves a black female when they were born a white male. Common sense tells us so, our genetic structure tells us so, and God tells us so.
Finally, while man, via governments, may determine the laws which govern his behavior living within an earthly nation, the only true morality is that which has been established by the only perfect moral lawgiver in the universe: God. When a nation establishes its moral laws based upon God’s moral law, then society is better off. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Our country has lost its way. If you claim one cannot pick their own gender, then you are considered to be a hater. If you claim one cannot select their own race, then you are considered to be a hater. And if you do not believe men may marry men and women may marry women, you are a hater. That is the nature of our society today. Political correctness says we must understand those seeking their “true” gender or race and accept what they decide. We must permit homosexuals to marry. Those who do not bow are deemed wicked, evil, racist, bigoted, and hateful.
Unless God does a great work of revival throughout our land, the situation will only get worse. And that means each of us who confess the name of Jesus are going to be faced with choices sooner or later. I know of Christian county clerks who have resigned their position because they cannot, in good conscience, grant marriage licenses to homosexuals. This is only the beginning.
The United States is more like Babylon than Jerusalem today and we are Daniel and the Hebrew children in exile. Will you eat the food the pagans provide or only eat the bread of life? Will you bow to their idols or face the fiery furnace? Will you yield to their religious restrictions or will you continue to bow your head in public and pray to the one true God, knowing the den of lions is ready for you?
Now is the time to prepare for the trials to come. Stay in the Word. Draw close to God in prayer. Take advantage of the time and opportunities available to hear God’s Word preached and taught and to share with your brothers and sisters. Memorize His Word. Follow closer to Christ each day. Do so now for when the trial comes it will be too late to prepare.
May Christ be more real to you today than He was yesterday. May His Word be more clear today than it was yesterday.
God bless you and keep you!