i have a friend
he will share much about his life
stuttering along, another story about
how there is no hope for him
how there is no remembrance for him
how there is no sympathy for him
i tried to help
he said, “i’ve heard it before”
was it up to me to change him?
remind me that there is always hope
remind me that it is always about You alone
remind me that only You can change hearts
no, i don’t think you were right
but i will love you as any brother would
I have my own private opinion, that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism. Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith without works; not unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor, I think, can we preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation, after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. We preach Christ and him crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply, “We have not so learned Christ.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1 Cor 1:23-24
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One thing that I’m trying to do this summer is to get more involved in church life. Often times, I feel as though our church doesn’t care enough about what is happening in the church. I know business meetings are boring, but they are still part of how the church operates and the decisions made there do affect what happens in the future. I want to bridge the gap between the Chinese and English side, that we may be ONE church and not just a church that is schizophrenic, a church with separate English, Chinese, and Mandarin identities. Although we may be in different services, attending different things, we must strive to keep the unity of the Spirit.
Remember to pray for your leaders. I don’t think I have really felt the urge to do this, but I realize (from watching my pastors at church while I work) that they put their lives out for the entire congregation. I wish they had more time to do care for the congregation instead of going to endless meetings and sending out an infinite number of e-mails. My pastor doesn’t complain though. I don’t know if I could handle it if I were ever to be a pastor at church. Maybe it’ll just be something I have to recognize, that it is a part of the job. I just wish it could be different for them. They seem so tired.
In any case, VBS is picking up and it is going pretty good!
