WHY ATTEND CHURCH?

A man sent a letter to a newspaper, complaining that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

 

“I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I’ve heard something like 3,000 sermons. For the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them, so, I think I'm wasting my time, and pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons.”

 

That caused controversy, and the editor printed pro-and-con letters until someone wrote this:

 

“I've been married for 30 years. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.

 

“But I do know this…They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

 

I worked four years as a part-time religion reporter for The Pilot, a newspaper in Southern Pines, NC, where my late wife, Carol, and I lived for about 28 years. While on that job, I visited some houses of worship.

 

In one church I visited, a pastor preached on Sunday morning and served communion. After the pastor said the last amen, an elderly man standing near me smiled at a lady and said, “Right on time – 12 o’clock.”

 

The Rev. Bailey Smith, former Southern Baptist Convention president, said, “Many churches are just country clubs with steeples on top.”

 

Select a church that preaches the Gospel and commit to that church if you feel you fit there. A person can live a Christian life in isolation, but that’s not normal. “You can cross the ocean in a rowboat, but it’s a lot easier to cross on a big ship with a bunch of people,” someone said.

 

Someone else said, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your brothers and sisters.”

 

“Any idea of enjoying salvation or being a Christian in isolation is foreign to New Testament writings,” someone stated.

 

St. Paul pictures the church as a body (I Corinthians 12). There is a universal Church made up of all believers, but we’re asked to belong to a local church and build up (edify) one another in that group. We are urged to confess our sins and pray for each other when we meet.

At church meetings, we should hear the Word of God preached, experience the friendship of Christians, and foster some accountability to brothers and sisters.

 

Believers should speak the truth in love and exhort each other to uphold Scriptural standards. Peer influence in church should be positive and seasoned with grace, someone said.

 

Church can be a gathering of thousands or a few people helping each other grow in Christ. Jesus says, “For where two or three gather together in my name, there am I in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).

 

We should not forsake assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another; “and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).

 

Someone said the Bible records no examples of anyone who was right with God but also stood alone and did not spend time with other believers.

 

When I wrote years ago on this subject, the late Father Tom Parsons, a former helicopter pilot in Vietnam but then pastor of Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines, NC, wrote, “Steve, I believe the problem you discuss is due to an incomplete understanding of what the Church is. Paul, for one, believed it to be the Body of Christ on earth, and the Church, East and West, confessed this for over fifteen hundred years. … Only God knows what He will do in His prevenient grace, but Scripture, two thousand years of tradition, and our God-given reason should lead us to the covenanted way of salvation in Christ through the authority and office of His Church. To go it alone is a risky business!”

Steven Riley Sturm: A Good Friend Passes On

A good buddy left this old world. Barbara and I attended a memorial service at Hampton Park Baptist Church, Greenville, SC, on Wed., June 9, 2021, for the Rev. Steven Riley Sturm (pictured here), a friend of mine since at least 1969.  

Steve, born in 1943, “passed from life to Life” on June 5. A quote from Steve’s obituary reads, “The only thing he wanted said about him was that he was ‘rotten to the core.’ A sinner saved by grace [in his late teen years] in the back of Riley’s Paint Store in Shinnston, West Virginia, who continued to be overwhelmed by the love and mercy of God for nearly sixty years following.”  

Steve and Sherry were married for 58 years. Sherry’s maiden name was Riley, the same as Steve’s middle name, and she was his high school sweetheart. He called her his “front street girl” because she lived in town on the second floor of her late father’s funeral home and he lived on a dairy farm. Sherry’s father died when she was young. Her widowed mother taught music in the local high school Steve and Sherry attended. Sherry has an older brother and sister. Steve’s two brothers have passed on.

Steve served in the Army under two Presidents in White House Communications before becoming a “Bible major” at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC, and working part-time as a wallpaper hanger.

Here’s how we met: Carol, my late wife, and I were dating and working as first-year public school teachers for Greenville County, SC. Carol met Sherry — both worked as elementary school teachers —  and introduced me to her and Steve and their little daughter, Kelly. Carol and I often broke up, and she’d go to the Sturm’s house to talk about our troubles. One time, Steve, in his West Virginia farm-boy way, said to Carol, “Why don’t y’all just get married and annihilate each other.”    

The Sturms attended our wedding the next year (August 1970) at Bethany Baptist Church, Travelers Rest, SC, after I’d completed Army basic training.

We visited the Sturms when Steve pastored Shinns Run Baptist Church, Shinnston, West Virginia. Carol and Sherry often corresponded. Years later the Sturms moved back to Greenville, SC, and stayed in our home for several weeks (until their house was ready). They have four children: Kelly, John Michael, Steven, and Karla. 

In Greenville, Sherry worked as a teacher; Steve worked at delivering parts for a company and served as one of the leaders at Hampton Park Baptist Church. In 1988, my family located in NC as I followed the “textile trail” by working in carpet manufacturing. 

Once, Sherry came with their youngest, Karla, to stay overnight with us in Southern Pines, NC, That night, Carol, groaned with nausea. “You better get her to the hospital,” Sherry told me, as she recognized gall bladder trouble. She visited Carol in the hospital after surgery.   

Steve and Sherry visited us several times in NC. John Fawcett wrote this song, published in 1782, “Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.”

Before Carol and I moved back to Greenville County, SC, on Jan. 10, 2018, Steve visited Steven, his son, in Raleigh. After their visit, Steven drove Steve to our house, and Steve drove my extra car to Greenville. Steve and his daughter, Karla (a nurse), painted about half the interior of the Taylors, SC, house we purchased. Steve hooked up our washer.

He and Sherry, who have four grandchildren, visited us as Carol suffered from pulmonary hypertension. They served their church by visiting the elderly, and Steve played his guitar at prayer meetings. They spoke at Carol’s funeral (Jan. 15, 2019) and visited me at my home after Carol passed. Steve would bring his guitar when he came by himself to my Taylors home, and we’d play together, sing hymns, and talk about the Lord.

One day, I called Steve, and he told me about his sudden cancer diagnosis. “I’m at the front of the line for the Glory Train,” he said. About two weeks later, he called and asked to borrow the music stand we’d shared when we sang together at my house before COVID-19 stopped our visits. He wanted to sing as long as he could and thought the stand might help. Barbara (my wife as of June 14, 2020) and I took the stand to his house and sat with Steve and Sherry on their patio for Barbara’s first and our last precious visit with him. In the printed program for Steve’s memorial service, his children wrote, “Dad continued to lead us in worship over the five weeks of his illness … All the hymns about Grace have brought us comfort.”   

Steve’s obituary said about him: “Mountaineer, and recipient of the West Virginia Golden Horseshoe award. Dairy farmer who hated getting up early. Loved and was loved by many good ‘hound dogs.’ Veteran of the US Army. Graduated with honors from Bob Jones University, undergraduate and Master’s Degree. Hunter, fisherman, photographer, map collector, expert wallpaper hanger. Musician and vocalist until his final breath. Dedicated scholar. Avid reader. Voracious Learner. Great pontificator. Lifelong student and teacher of the Scriptures. ‘Pastor Sturm.’ Counselor, encourager, and friend to many.”

LAY ASIDE HATRED AND SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

  Pastor Raymond D. Burrows hosted a recent Tuesday 10 a.m. Bible study at Faith Temple Church, Taylors, SC, on a rain-soaked day.

He said that if all the rain in a cloud fell at one time, the landscape below that cloud would be devastated.  

“But God sends down the rain in drops,” Pastor said.
  “Have you heard of a Judas tree?” Ms. Linda Trammell asked. “It’s supposed to be the tree that Judas hung himself on.”

The Judas tree (“cercis siliquastrum”) blooms with purple flowers. Its common name comes from a legend that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from this type tree after he betrayed Jesus. 

Pastor read 1 Peter 1:25: “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 

The Apostle Peter addressed his letter to “the strangers scattered” in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia (all three locations are in Turkey), Asia, and and Bithynia (northwest of Asia Minor).  

Pastor noted that books of the Bible were written without chapter or verse references.  

Chapter divisions of the Bible were developed around 1227 by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi named Nathan in 1448. Robert Estienne, also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into numbered verses, in 1555. 

Pastor read 1 Peter 2:1-2: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.” 

“He’s talking about Christ-followers,” Pastor said. “‘Malice’ means ‘hatred of any description.’”  

He referred to the word “guile” in that verse. “Guile” means “craft; cunning; deceit; usually in a bad sense.” 

Jesus saw Nathanael and said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). 

“God, by inspiration, would never instruct us on doing something that’s impossible,” Pastor said, indicating that, with God’s help, we can purge malice (hatred) and guile (deceit) from our hearts. 

Pastor recalled that when he lived in Joanna, SC, a man told him, “I’m never going to church because there are too many hypocrites there.”  

“As far as I know, he never did go,” Pastor said.

Pastor told of a woman who always said nice things about people. A friend asked if she could say anything nice about a man they knew who was a scoundrel. The lady replied, “Well, he’s got a nice whistle.” 

Pastor said he admires the scholarship and brilliance of the Rev. Pat Hayes, who sometimes preaches at Faith Temple Church.  

“His family was educated,” Pastor said. “He went to a Roman Catholic school. My dad was a farmer … Be glad about the person God made you [to be].” 

He read 1 Peter 2:3: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” 

“Explore the Scriptures,” Pastor said. “Growth is produced by Scripture. Take on the person of Christ. St. Paul chastised the Corinthians because they had not been growing.”  

We need interactions with God through the Word and through prayer, Pastor said.   

“The other day, I fired up my chainsaw and was thinking as I was out there, cutting, ‘Lord, I love you,’” he said. 

He addressed attendees: “You are among God’s finest people. And the Lord put me here with you. The Lord is gracious, my friends.” 

He read 1 Peter 2:6: “ … Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” 

“Christ is the foundational stone,” Pastor said. “The bricks became part of the structure. The strength of one brick is tied to the other bricks. …They are resting on that foundational stone.”  

Pastor told of a man who came to Faith Temple and asked, “Am I welcome here?” The fellow told Pastor Burrows that he had visited a church where a church leader took him aside and said, “Your kind is not welcome here.” Pastor said he assured the man he was welcome at Faith Temple.  

He referred to the Pharisee and the publican. 

Jesus told this parable (Luke 18:9-14) to some folk who boasted about their own goodness and despised others:  

A Pharisee (a strict keeper of Jewish laws) and a publican (a despised tax collector) prayed in the temple. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not a sinner, especially like the tax collector he saw standing there. He said he never cheated, did not commit adultery, and he fasted twice a week and gave God a tenth of all he possessed.

The corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and was ashamed to lift his eyes toward heaven. In sorrow, he beat on his chest and prayed, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.”   

Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [forgiven] rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

SLAVERY HURT BLACKS and POOR WHITES

  Discrimination against black people because of the color of their skin is wrong. Slavery hurt Americans from Africa, and that damage is still far-reaching.

 

“A poor black family is much more likely than a poor white one to live in a neighborhood where many other families are poor, too, creating what sociologists call the ‘double burden’ of poverty,” writer Emily Badger says.

America slavery also hurt “poor whites.”

 

“The institution of slavery deprived the majority of poor whites of wealth, culture, and political power,” William M. Brewer said.

 

“Slavery imposed upon this class nearly three hundred years of ignorance, inertia, and peculiar prejudice.”

 

Ms. Keri Leigh Merritt, a historian and writer in Atlanta, GA., is the author of "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South." Writing about years leading to America’s Civil War, Merritt says, “The enslavement of millions of Africans warped the South’s economy, politics, and culture — including in ways that often hurt poor white Southerners. Poor whites were seen as a threat to the ruling planter class in the South.”

 

Merritt estimates poor whites made up about one-third of the white population in the cotton South states. She says they lived hard material lives, “enduring cyclical poverty, hunger, and want, primarily because they were surplus workers competing in a labor market with brutalized, unpaid enslaved people.”

 

After the forced migration of around 800,000 enslaved laborers from the Upper South to the Deep South in the 1830s and 1840s, job opportunities for poor whites were scarce, Merritt says.

 

“By the 1850s, poor white men had either dropped out of the workforce altogether, cobbling together a meager existence by hunting, fishing, and trading with the enslaved in the underground economy, or by trying to work in non-agricultural jobs,” she says. “These ‘mechanics,’ as they called themselves, began forming labor unions, or ‘associations,’ and by the late 1850s many of them were openly threatening to withdraw their support for slavery if something was not done to protect their jobs and their wages.”

 

Merritt argues that the push from poor and working-class whites essentially created a 3-front battle for slave owners, who had to defend slavery against Northern abolitionists, the enslaved themselves, and lower-class Southern whites.

 

“Slaveholders had little chance but to secede to preserve slavery,” Merritt says.

 

She adds that no system of universal or public education existed in the Deep South prior to the Civil War because slave-owners did not want poor whites teaching blacks how to read in the growing underground economy the two groups operated.

 

“Poor whites’ illiteracy also meant that they remained ignorant about nearly everything going on at the national level,” Merritt says.

 

This fact, along with their often being left out of politics, meant that poor whites were completely distrustful of government in general and were politically apathetic, Merritt says, adding, “It was an incredibly unequal society at every level, and whether through incentives or threats or outright terrorism, slaveholders controlled every aspect of politics and suffrage.”

 

Many 1850s church leaders justified slavery.

 

In an article called “Why Non-Slaveholding Southerners Fought,” Gordon Rhea writes that some church leaders argued that because Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, and Job owned slaves, slavery was OK.

 

“While slavery was not expressly sanctioned in the New Testament, Southern clergymen argued that the absence of condemnation signified approval,” Rhea says. “They cited Paul’s return of a runaway slave to his master as Biblical authority for the Fugitive Slave Act, which required the return of runaway slaves.”

 

Some leaders promoted “race superiority” appeals.

 

Rhea writes that in the fall of 1860, John Townsend, owner of a cotton plantation on Edisto Island, authored a pamphlet saying that if Lincoln were elected President, the abolition of slavery would be inevitable and that people who did not own slaves would also be in danger.

 

“It will be to the non-slaveholder, equally with the largest slaveholder, the obliteration of caste and the deprivation of important privileges,” Townsend wrote. “The color of the white man is now, in the South, a title of nobility … . The poorest non-slaveholder may rejoice with the richest of his brethren of the white race, in the distinction of his color. He may be poor, it is true; but there is no point upon which he is so justly proud and sensitive as his privilege of caste; and there is nothing which he would resent with more fierce indignation than the attempt of the Abolitionist to emancipate the slaves and elevate the Negroes to an equality with himself and his family.”

 

Slavery hurt black people (and poor white people) and warred against these words written by Clare Herbert Woolston: “Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in His Sight.”

LIKE SHIPS PASSING IN A CORONAVIRUS NIGHT?

 

Pictured are Mrs. Frances Hawkins Crain and Mr. Fred E. Crain, my aunt and uncle.

 

Janelle, my daughter, spends much time at home, virtual-teaching by computer to second-graders. She gets out of her house during some afternoons in order to visit a few shops. Cabin-fever probably forces her to mask-up and venture forth. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives.

Barbara and I saw Janelle during her Christmas two-week break. We met outside for lunch at Greer’s Panera Bread. The wind was cold and strong, and after eating our meals at two different outside tables (so we could social-distance), we retreated to our cars and parked behind Panera. I backed into a space; we left a parking space between us; and Janelle drove straight into the space on the other side of the empty parking space between us. We sat with car windows rolled down and talked — I from my window and she from hers, parked as if our cars were meeting in opposite directions. The expression “like ships passing in the night” came to mind.

Internet sources define “ships that pass in the night” to mean “two or more people who encounter one another in a transitory, incidental manner and whose relationship is without lasting significance.”

“Ships that pass in the night” originates from the poem “The Theologian’s Tale” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem reads, “Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, / Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; / So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, / Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.”

“Ships that pass in the night” is a metaphor referring to “people who meet, share a few words, and separate to continue their way and never see each other again.”

Of course, I plan to see Janelle again, and our relationship is not “without lasting significance,” but the present pandemic seems to have put us into “ships that pass in the night” situations. I phone Janelle about every other day in an effort to maintain our relationship.

On a recent Sunday, George Hembree, a Vietnam veteran and member of Faith Temple Church, brought his daughter, Angela, to Faith Temple. After church, she approached me about the name “Frances Crain” printed in the church bulletin. Frances’ name is listed there in the prayer concerns. Ms. Angela is a nursing supervisor at Spring Park, a Travelers Rest, SC, nursing home where my Aunt Frances, age 93, lives.

“She’s a sweet person,” Angela said about Aunt Frances.

“We recently visited her,” I said.

Barbara and I had not seen Aunt Frances since March 2020; we made an appointment to meet with her at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Wearing masks that day, we found the facility’s front door locked. A supervisor sent us to the outside entrance of the memory-care wing.

An aide seated us in the lobby. Two folding tables had been placed side-to-side to maintain a 6-foot space between Aunt Frances and us. An attendant escorted in my tiny aunt, who used a walker and wore a mask.

“Hi, Aunt Frances,” I said. “Do you recognize me.”

“Well, I’m not sure … ,” she said, as she took a seat opposite us.

I lowered my mask to let her see my whole face.

“Oh, it’s Steve,” she said.

I re-positioned my mask.

“How’s Carol?” She asked.

“She’s fine,” I said. Carol passed on in Jan. 2019, and I believe she is in heaven and is fine. Aunt soon asked again about Carol. I figured I better tell her that Carol died, because Aunt might wonder about why I was sitting there with Barbara (my wife since June 2020). I told her that Carol passed.

“Well, did I know about it?” she asked.

I told her she had known and introduced Barbara, whom she met in early 2020. We chatted for a while.

“Has Fred passed on?” Aunt Frances asked.

I explained that Fred, her late husband, died in Feb. 2018. She asked if she lived at Spring Park and, if so, how long had she lived there. She and Uncle Fred lived at Spring Park for a while before he passed.

“You mean I’ve lived here all by myself? she said. “I mean … with no relatives here?”

I told her that she was cared for and loved. I prayed for her before and Barbara and I left.

I often think of this verse, in regard to older people:

After Jesus was resurrected, he showed himself to several disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He asked Peter about his love for him, then Jesus said to him: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not” (John 21:18).

Whether we’re trying to maintain relationships during the coronavirus pandemic or dealing with other challenges, we can always cast our care upon him (Jesus), for he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

FRIENDS: CAN YOU KEEP FRIENDS DURING POLITICAL TIMES?

 The U.S. has become more politically polarized (divided) in the last 20 years, the Pew Research Center says.  

As I watched the Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, I thought of Paul’s instruction to Christians in 1 Timothy 2:1-2:   

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” 

Early Christians were often accused of undermining the state because they claimed a higher Lord other than Caesar. Paul encouraged Christians to be good citizens by praying for their government.  

Pray for rulers that they would simply leave us alone and let us live as Christians, enduringword.com advises. “Christians are to look for no special favors from the government,” that site says, adding, “Our goal is a level playing field, unrestricted by state intervention.” 

A Focus on the Family writer says, “As long as we can do so without denying Christ or compromising our faith, we must always strive to cooperate with the ruling powers.  

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that we will endorse all of their policies or approve of every specific action they take. This is especially true in a democratic society, where it is the duty of responsible citizens to examine public servants with a discerning and critical eye.  

“Nevertheless, Christians are responsible to uphold biblical righteousness in a hostile culture while also expressing respect for its leadership.” 

Most of us agree that we should pray for our U.S. government, but what happens when Christian friends disagree over ways our country should be run? Can we disagree and still be respectful.

My mother used to say, “Little Smarty had a party, and nobody came but Little Smarty.” If you’re a smart alec, you probably won’t have a lot of friends. A “smart alec” is defined as “a person who is irritating because they behave as if they know everything.” On Facebook, I read witty, smart alec-ky remarks about politicians. Those remarks could hurt or end friendships.

In a letter to the Ashburn Psychological & Psychiatric Services, a lady wrote:  

“Dr. Mike,

“My husband and I have watched politics ruin many of our closest friends’ relationships and now it’s happening to us. I’m wanting to unfriend certain friends on-line because of what I see them posting, and I also don’t even want to have some people in my life anymore at all because their views are so different from ours.  

“My husband and I are Christians, and we’ve always tried to be non-critical and patient in God’s light, but it’s getting harder to do with everything that’s happening in the U.S. right now.   

“This has also been very painful for me since some of the friends I no longer wish to have in my life are lifelong friends from college or high school. Your advice is appreciated.

“Upset in Loudoun”

Dr. Mike replied:

“Dear Upset in Loudoun, 

“You’ve probably heard the saying that you should never discuss politics, religion and money with people, but those topics (and several other sensitive ones) are being discussed publicly now more than ever on social media and in our lives.  Sure, openly sharing your views on a personally charged topic with friends – on or off line – can be productive, but the risk for upset and hurt can also be great. But these are the times we live in, and avoiding social media or public opinion isn’t always realistic or possible.”

Dr. Mike advises that lady to assess each friendship rather than lumping all of her friends into a group to break up with.   

“If you’re a Republican is it really the case that you can’t have any friends who are Democrats or vice versa?” Dr. Mike asks. “In assessing each friendship, I think you should carefully think through the things that drew you to that person to begin with; shared values, common interests, etc.  … You can always openly discuss your concerns and differences with that friend, and even agree to disagree when it comes to politics, without having to part ways. Just like you might have long time friends with different cultural backgrounds and/or religious beliefs, why can’t you maintain friendships with others who hold different political views?”

We sometimes have to avoid some subjects with certain friends. 

Dr. Mike admits, however, “If your friends’ views are too off-putting for you to tolerate and accept in the friendship, then perhaps it’s time to move on."

But Thomas Jefferson said, “I never consider a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy as a cause for withdrawing from a friend.” 

Paul said, “ If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).

Rejoice Despite Circumstances

“Cheer up. Things could be worse,” someone said. 

So, I cheered up, and, sure enough, things got worse. 

That old joke has a Murphy’s Law flavor.

Murphy's Law is the name given to an adage (a short saying about general truth) that sounds similar to the original Murphy’s Law: “If something can go wrong, it will.” 

Edward Murphy, an engineer working on a project at Edwards Air Force Base, found a technician’s error and said, “If there's any way to do it wrong, he will find it.” That kind of statement became known as “Murphy’s Law.”  

Here is another Murphy’s Law proverb: “You never find a lost article until you replace it.” 

Remember the old “Hee-Haw” TV show (1969-1992). A segment showed a quartet of “po folks” singing this ditty written by Buck Owens and Roy Clark: 

   “Gloom, despair, and agony on me. 

   “Deep, dark depression, excessive misery. 

   “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

   “Gloom, despair, and agony on me.” 

That expresses how some people feel about life. Though Christians should not feel that way, some may.  

“Discipline is important,” Pastor Raymond D. Burrows said during a recent Bible study, as he talked about trusting God and rejoicing “in” God when things seem to be going wrong. “‘Disciple’ means ‘learner.’”

He talked about Paul and Silas and their run-in with a strange woman (Acts 16) in Philippi, a then-big city in Macedonia (northwest of Greece). 

“They had been directed by God to go into Macedonia but were beaten,” Pastor said. “We’re to rejoice whether things go well or not.”

Why did Paul and Silas get beatings and land in jail?

We’re told that a woman, a “damsel possessed with a spirit of divination,” followed Paul and Silas, crying out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” 

“Divination” involves fortune-telling and trying to find out the future by supernatural means. Some call such people soothsayers.

That woman continued often hollering and directing attention to herself for many days. Paul became fed up — well, the Bible says he was “grieved” — and he turned and said to the spirit inside her, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And the spirit came out, then! 

Things went downhill fast!  

She’d been making lots of money for her masters by her soothsaying. 

Once the evil spirit left the woman, her masters saw their profits from her soothsaying were going bye-bye. They blew their tops, grabbed Paul and Silas, and dragged them before the judges at the marketplace.  

“These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans,” the merchants said as a crowd grew angry.   

The judges ordered Paul and Silas beaten. 

They ended up in pain, in stocks, in an inner dungeon. But at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God, and the prisoners heard them. 

If most of us were in their place, we might be moaning, groaning, and wondering if God cared about us. Paul said he’d been directed by God to visit Macedonia and did not seem discouraged by a severe beating and being thrown in jail.    

“Rejoicing is ‘in the Lord,’ not in our life’s circumstances,” Pastor said. Rejoicing in the Lord enables us to have a focus on and trust in the Lord.” 

No negative factors seem to take Paul and Silas’ minds away from God.

“We usually think our rejoicing is associated with life’s blessings,” Pastor said. “But our rejoicing must be in God, not in life’s blessings. Too much depends on life situations — gloom, despair, agony, etc. We need to say, ‘Lord, I’m rejoicing in YOU. I think that’s a discipline we can develop and maintain this year.”

As Paul and Silas sang and worshiped, a miracle happened.   

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”

“There is a powerful effect from God’s people when they’re rejoicing,” Pastor said. “I think the Lord has put this in my heart — for me, maybe for all of us. Rejoice ‘in the Lord.’ I do think we can develop this discipline of rejoicing in the Lord.”