Hello Folks,
This past Saturday we had a very cold and snowy day. Ruth and I did not leave the house at all other than to go to the mailbox. It carried over to the Sunday morning and here in East Tennessee it meant that 89 congregations did not have services. If you were to see some of the roads around here you would understand a little bit better about the reluctance to get out. We went ahead and had worship both in the a.m. and p.m. While our attendance in the a.m. was drastically effected we still spent our time in worship and celebration and I was thankful that I could be here. It is a real joy for me to be able to worship our Savior with those who were able to make it here. I pray that regardless of the weather where you are at that you were able to lift your voices in praise to our Savior. There is no one else like Him and he deserves all the praise we can give Him.
Yesterday I went to the VA for my regular check up and the doctors say that I am doing just fine! It was a 5 hour event for me as I drove to Johnson City, about 35 miles, to see the doctors. At 62 years of age I must give thanks to God for allowing me to have the health that I am blessed with. There are times when I see people who are much younger than I am and observe that they have very poor health. I am not sure why God has allowed me so much good in my life but I certainly thank Him for what He has given to me.
I guess I feel that today I must thank Him for all that He has made possible for me. The Psalmist said PSA 66:16b I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I must agree with the writer! While I have good health, a wonderful family, great joy as a pastor, the greatest thing He has done for me is what he has done for my soul. It seems to me that all those who have been forgiven and made whole by the Savior should say to those around them "let me tell you what God has done for me." Praise Him!
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Hello Folks,
All around us are people who live with a false sense of what it means to be a Christian. There is so much "grace lite" going around that many think that God is agreeable with individuals living a sinful life. The struggle that I have is to declare the biblical idea of Holiness without making it sound as if God does not want anyone to have fun in life. But it also is difficult because if you are not careful people seem to think that as a Christian they can commit sin because God's grace has paid for all their future sins already. The only think I know to do is to continue to preach the Word of God which has been given to us that we may become mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Along with this false understanding of grace there is also a viewpoint that declares if you do not accept a person's actions that you are rejecting them. It is as if the younger generations cannot conceive that you can disagree with a certain lifestyle and still love the person. Once again all we can do is to present the biblical truth that has been given to us and pray that people will have ears to hear what God has to say.
I am thankful that He has called me to preach the gospel because the truth of God is amazing! When I finally heard the message of Christ and my own sinfulness I was gloriously made into a child of God through a new birth. That story never grows old to me and I pray that I will be able to proclaim it as long as I have breath in my body. May He be praised in my life.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
All around us are people who live with a false sense of what it means to be a Christian. There is so much "grace lite" going around that many think that God is agreeable with individuals living a sinful life. The struggle that I have is to declare the biblical idea of Holiness without making it sound as if God does not want anyone to have fun in life. But it also is difficult because if you are not careful people seem to think that as a Christian they can commit sin because God's grace has paid for all their future sins already. The only think I know to do is to continue to preach the Word of God which has been given to us that we may become mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Along with this false understanding of grace there is also a viewpoint that declares if you do not accept a person's actions that you are rejecting them. It is as if the younger generations cannot conceive that you can disagree with a certain lifestyle and still love the person. Once again all we can do is to present the biblical truth that has been given to us and pray that people will have ears to hear what God has to say.
I am thankful that He has called me to preach the gospel because the truth of God is amazing! When I finally heard the message of Christ and my own sinfulness I was gloriously made into a child of God through a new birth. That story never grows old to me and I pray that I will be able to proclaim it as long as I have breath in my body. May He be praised in my life.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Hello Folks,
I am not sure how every pastor feels but there are times when I feel that the issues that I am confronted with are just overwhelming. It is not unusual for me to have people come to me about he problems that they have in their lives. If it were just things like making choices about jobs or colleges that would not be so bad. But it is usually things like family issues that are devastating to the marriage and the entire family unit. Then the fact that so many young people seem to think that just because you do not accept the lifestyles of everyone you are narrow and bigoted. It is as if there can be no objections to lifestyles (sinfulness). They appear to think that there should be no standards, or at least no standards that does not fit their thinking.
As a pastor I have found that everyone will not agree with your thinking or your reasoning and that they will disagree very strongly at times. I am not sure that is the issue for me or whether it is that people just do not appear to want to live according to all the biblical directives that we have. I must admit that when these things take place especially with people you have loved and cared for, in some cases for years, that it does hurt. God never promised that we would not have problems and hurts as His followers and sometimes the rejection of people to truth of the gospel must hurt Him more than it does me.
This is probably nothing more than a preacher feeling the pressure of being a pastor. I am thankful though that more often than not being a pastor is filled with great joy. What a wonderful group of people I pastor and what a pleasure it is to be here!
Have a great day,
HGRudd
I am not sure how every pastor feels but there are times when I feel that the issues that I am confronted with are just overwhelming. It is not unusual for me to have people come to me about he problems that they have in their lives. If it were just things like making choices about jobs or colleges that would not be so bad. But it is usually things like family issues that are devastating to the marriage and the entire family unit. Then the fact that so many young people seem to think that just because you do not accept the lifestyles of everyone you are narrow and bigoted. It is as if there can be no objections to lifestyles (sinfulness). They appear to think that there should be no standards, or at least no standards that does not fit their thinking.
As a pastor I have found that everyone will not agree with your thinking or your reasoning and that they will disagree very strongly at times. I am not sure that is the issue for me or whether it is that people just do not appear to want to live according to all the biblical directives that we have. I must admit that when these things take place especially with people you have loved and cared for, in some cases for years, that it does hurt. God never promised that we would not have problems and hurts as His followers and sometimes the rejection of people to truth of the gospel must hurt Him more than it does me.
This is probably nothing more than a preacher feeling the pressure of being a pastor. I am thankful though that more often than not being a pastor is filled with great joy. What a wonderful group of people I pastor and what a pleasure it is to be here!
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Hello Folks,
It is good to be back in my office and writing this blog after being off for a couple of weeks. Ruth and I spent time with the kids and grandchildren and it was a wonderful time. I was able to preach on Dec. 29, 2013 in both of the a.m. services at Pekin First Church of God and I must say it was good to be able to be back with some of the people that I served for over 21 years. When we left Indianapolis there was 5 inches of snow and I was happy to leave that kind of weather yet today here in Greeneville, Tn it was -1 this morning as I went to the hospital to visit someone who was having surgery.
Here is a question for all of you. Have you come to the place that you think that the truth of God can be changed, understood differently (compromised) to suit those around us? I have recently heard of what is called the Chrislam movement. It is a group of people, some "evangelical" who think that they can have services with the Islamic leaders and allow them to read from the Koran side-by-side with the Bible. How can this be? Do we honestly believe that God is pleased with people who relegate His Word to be something that is nothing more than literature or that it can be "adjusted" to allow the Koran to be on equal footing with God's Word? I realize that there are many who hold the Koran to be from "Allah" who is their god. But that does not mean Christians can accept their perception of "truth." When do you stop being Christian? Is it when you make Jehovah God to be the equivalent to the false gods of other religions? It would seem to me that Christians ought to be very careful to what they accept in our time. The old falsehoods of the past are being recycled for this generation and it appears that many who claim to be Christian leaders are bowing to the "baal's" of the past.
I pray that God's people will be careful about how they handle God's truth and what they are willing to reduce it to--we will answer for what we do with it.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
It is good to be back in my office and writing this blog after being off for a couple of weeks. Ruth and I spent time with the kids and grandchildren and it was a wonderful time. I was able to preach on Dec. 29, 2013 in both of the a.m. services at Pekin First Church of God and I must say it was good to be able to be back with some of the people that I served for over 21 years. When we left Indianapolis there was 5 inches of snow and I was happy to leave that kind of weather yet today here in Greeneville, Tn it was -1 this morning as I went to the hospital to visit someone who was having surgery.
Here is a question for all of you. Have you come to the place that you think that the truth of God can be changed, understood differently (compromised) to suit those around us? I have recently heard of what is called the Chrislam movement. It is a group of people, some "evangelical" who think that they can have services with the Islamic leaders and allow them to read from the Koran side-by-side with the Bible. How can this be? Do we honestly believe that God is pleased with people who relegate His Word to be something that is nothing more than literature or that it can be "adjusted" to allow the Koran to be on equal footing with God's Word? I realize that there are many who hold the Koran to be from "Allah" who is their god. But that does not mean Christians can accept their perception of "truth." When do you stop being Christian? Is it when you make Jehovah God to be the equivalent to the false gods of other religions? It would seem to me that Christians ought to be very careful to what they accept in our time. The old falsehoods of the past are being recycled for this generation and it appears that many who claim to be Christian leaders are bowing to the "baal's" of the past.
I pray that God's people will be careful about how they handle God's truth and what they are willing to reduce it to--we will answer for what we do with it.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Hello Folks,
I have a had a pretty rough week. I am asking you folks to be praying for me for physical healing for my body. A couple weeks back I fell and it has generated a lot of pain from my neck and through my shoulder to my arm. This pain has almost incapacitated me for the past few days. I did not preach this past Sunday and have not been able to get anything done for about 5 days now. So I ask you to pray that the Lord would give physical healing to my body.
Every year at Christmas my wife and I are privileged to visit with our children up north. This year is no different. Our plans are to go and celebrate the Lord's earthly birth together. We plan on sitting in the living room of my daughter and son-in-law's home with our other children and all of our grandchildren opening gifts and expressing our love to each other. God is very good to me. Here I am 62 years of age and I am allowed to worship the marvelous Savior Jesus and celebrate with my family. There is nothing better than that.
I pray that you will be able to have the same kind of celebration this year. May His grace be on you and may His love be poured into you as you go through this season. I will not be writing anything for a couple of seeks but after the first of the year I plan on being back and getting this blog going again. Our Savior is wonderful and we all should sing praises to Him.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
I have a had a pretty rough week. I am asking you folks to be praying for me for physical healing for my body. A couple weeks back I fell and it has generated a lot of pain from my neck and through my shoulder to my arm. This pain has almost incapacitated me for the past few days. I did not preach this past Sunday and have not been able to get anything done for about 5 days now. So I ask you to pray that the Lord would give physical healing to my body.
Every year at Christmas my wife and I are privileged to visit with our children up north. This year is no different. Our plans are to go and celebrate the Lord's earthly birth together. We plan on sitting in the living room of my daughter and son-in-law's home with our other children and all of our grandchildren opening gifts and expressing our love to each other. God is very good to me. Here I am 62 years of age and I am allowed to worship the marvelous Savior Jesus and celebrate with my family. There is nothing better than that.
I pray that you will be able to have the same kind of celebration this year. May His grace be on you and may His love be poured into you as you go through this season. I will not be writing anything for a couple of seeks but after the first of the year I plan on being back and getting this blog going again. Our Savior is wonderful and we all should sing praises to Him.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Hello Folks,
Our world is in a time of turmoil and tension. In my lifetime it seems that there has never been a time when someone is not declaring doom and destruction for the United States or other parts of the world. While I personally have a tendency to agree that the future is not very rosy for our world I must also remind us that we are not to live life for this world. This world should not bin dour hearts to its dismal outlook because we are children of the King of Kings. He has promised us that while this world will be destroyed, even though no man knows when, His people will have an eternal home that will not be moved by this worlds condition. You and I, if we are followers of Jesus, washed by His blood, made part of His glorious Church, we have a hope that sees beyond the concerns and problems of this world. No matter who the political leaders are, no matter who has great armies and powerful weapons, no matter our country that we live in, God is still our King and we can depend on Him. If we die we go to our eternal home with Him but if we live we serve the Savior who died for us! With that kind of our outlook we can live in a world of tension and turmoil but have peace in our hearts and know that all is well with our King!
May this month of December be filled with Christmas joy for you and your family.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Our world is in a time of turmoil and tension. In my lifetime it seems that there has never been a time when someone is not declaring doom and destruction for the United States or other parts of the world. While I personally have a tendency to agree that the future is not very rosy for our world I must also remind us that we are not to live life for this world. This world should not bin dour hearts to its dismal outlook because we are children of the King of Kings. He has promised us that while this world will be destroyed, even though no man knows when, His people will have an eternal home that will not be moved by this worlds condition. You and I, if we are followers of Jesus, washed by His blood, made part of His glorious Church, we have a hope that sees beyond the concerns and problems of this world. No matter who the political leaders are, no matter who has great armies and powerful weapons, no matter our country that we live in, God is still our King and we can depend on Him. If we die we go to our eternal home with Him but if we live we serve the Savior who died for us! With that kind of our outlook we can live in a world of tension and turmoil but have peace in our hearts and know that all is well with our King!
May this month of December be filled with Christmas joy for you and your family.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Hello Folks,
This past Sunday we had Jon and Karen Lambert, our missionaries from Ecuador, in our services with us. They both shared in our worship and Jon preached a sermon--you can listen to it on our website. It was a very powerful sermon and God spoke to our congregation. I pray that all of us opened our ears to hear what the Spirit had to say to the Church. I wonder if Christian people really want to be used of God or whether we merely want to feel good on Sunday. Is that not the real question all of us have to answer in our own lives? Is this Christian life something that transform us in how we live or is it just one of the things that we do in our lives and of equal importance with all the other things? It would seem to me that those who love Jesus must decide if we are impacted by Him to such an extent that we just cannot sit by idly while the world around us goes to hell.
This morning I received a text message from a brother here in the Church of God at Greeneville. He related to me that he had been able to witness to a man and give him a tract on salvation. This same brother picked up a man who has come to our congregation for help to meet physical needs but had never been in a worship. Well, this brother somehow managed to get him to church this past Sunday. I wonder how that happened? But I wonder even more what would happen if we all attempted to get someone into worship who merely sees the church as a building where they can get their physical needs met but never consider their spiritual needs. Is this at least part of what is meant by seeing our world as being lost and doing all we can to reach them for the Savior.
I pray that your December, the month we celebrate the birth of Christ, will take on a deeper meaning for all of us. This is about far more than merely gifts and dinners. Will we help others to realize it?
Have a great day,
HGRudd
This past Sunday we had Jon and Karen Lambert, our missionaries from Ecuador, in our services with us. They both shared in our worship and Jon preached a sermon--you can listen to it on our website. It was a very powerful sermon and God spoke to our congregation. I pray that all of us opened our ears to hear what the Spirit had to say to the Church. I wonder if Christian people really want to be used of God or whether we merely want to feel good on Sunday. Is that not the real question all of us have to answer in our own lives? Is this Christian life something that transform us in how we live or is it just one of the things that we do in our lives and of equal importance with all the other things? It would seem to me that those who love Jesus must decide if we are impacted by Him to such an extent that we just cannot sit by idly while the world around us goes to hell.
This morning I received a text message from a brother here in the Church of God at Greeneville. He related to me that he had been able to witness to a man and give him a tract on salvation. This same brother picked up a man who has come to our congregation for help to meet physical needs but had never been in a worship. Well, this brother somehow managed to get him to church this past Sunday. I wonder how that happened? But I wonder even more what would happen if we all attempted to get someone into worship who merely sees the church as a building where they can get their physical needs met but never consider their spiritual needs. Is this at least part of what is meant by seeing our world as being lost and doing all we can to reach them for the Savior.
I pray that your December, the month we celebrate the birth of Christ, will take on a deeper meaning for all of us. This is about far more than merely gifts and dinners. Will we help others to realize it?
Have a great day,
HGRudd
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