A Lesson From Kate Spade. 3 Things You Should Expect From Your Church. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

A Lesson From Kate Spade

“Recent news of Kate Spade’s death showed that the perception and reality of her life were quite different. How might her death help us evaluate our own lives?

“I own a Kate Spade watch. It is a simple, elegant gold watch—an iconic representation of the brand.

I received the watch as a gift several months ago. But this watch is no longer just a fashionable, functional accessory. It now symbolizes a vivid, constant reminder of a critical understanding.

A tragic death

Designer Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on June 5, 2018, at the age of 55. She left behind her husband and a teenage daughter, as well as numerous friends and family. Soon after she was discovered, her death was confirmed to be a suicide. Her death at her own hand left her loved ones and her fans reeling, while social activist groups responded with campaigns addressing suicide risk awareness.

Kate Spade’s death matters. It especially matters because of the impact that remains forever on her husband, daughter, family, friends and fans. However, consider another reason why her death matters.

Perception and reality

In the letters to the seven churches, Christ, through John, said to Laodicea: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17, English Standard Version).

Kate Spade seemed to have it all—a fashion empire, a successful spouse, a beautiful daughter. But she was also ill. Friends and family have told the media that she suffered with depression and mental illness. Kate Spade, as perceived by everyone around her, was rich. But, deep inside, she was actually wrestling with depression.

The story of Kate Spade’s life and death shows just how vastly different perception and reality can be, similar to how Laodicea’s perception and reality were so vastly different.

Let’s use the wake of her death as a reminder of the need to ask ourselves, and to ask God in prayer, whether our perception individually and as a body is indeed reality and whether we are overdue for a serious shift in our physical and spiritual lives.”    For insight into the issue of suicide, read "When Depression Turns Deadly: Understanding Suicide." 

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3 Things You Should Expect From Your Church

“The Feast of Pentecost marks the founding of the one New Testament Church. With so many different churches today, what should you expect from your church? 

In A.D. 31, the Church of God started with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2). The people behind Life, Hope & Truth commemorate that day.

But today, some estimate there are around 30,000 different Christian denominations. It is quite a different situation from the one church started almost 2000 years ago.

With 30,000 different churches come 30,000 different choices. If you’re a person looking for a church home, how can you choose from so many options? How does the Bible suggest you choose? The criteria for determining which church to attend should not be based on internal feelings or comfort zones. Though you should feel comfortable and welcome at church, there are other important criteria to consider when trying to find a spiritual home.

It is important to go back to the early New Testament Church and use its example as your criteria for finding a church. Here are three basic expectations to consider based on the example of the early Church—and these items should be big red flags if they are absent from the church you attend.

You should expect your church to …

1. Encourage you to live by every word of God.

Well, they all do that, don’t they?

Not exactly.

While many denominations speak positively about the Bible and claim their worship and doctrines are based on it, close inspection reveals something quite different. Whether using the “Christ did away with that stuff” catchall or simply putting a different slant on clear biblical instruction, most Christian churches ignore or reject much of the Bible.

• How many Christian churches encourage their members to keep the annual feasts of God (like Pentecost) and the seventh-day Sabbath created by God (Genesis 2:3; Leviticus 23; Matthew 12:8)? Instead, thousands of churches go to church on Sunday and keep holidays foreign to the Bible.

• How many Christian churches encourage their members to eat clean meats (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14), instead of meats that are described as “unclean,” “detestable” and “abominations” in the Bible?

• How many Christian churches encourage their members to pray to the Father in Christ’s name (Matthew 6:6; John 16:23), instead of praying directly to Jesus or even encouraging their members to pray through Mary or saints?

There are many more examples, but hopefully the point is made. Just because a church says it follows biblical instruction doesn’t mean it truly does. It is essential that people search for a church that teaches “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

2. Encourage you to continually change your life for the better—even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Of course they all do that, right?

Not exactly.

When we understand that there is a standard called “the truth,” we discover that 30,000 different churches and denominations can’t all be right.Many denominations focus more on a “feel good” message than a message of real change. The ideas of “well, Jesus already paid for my sins” or “you can’t earn salvation” lead to churches in which members are not growing and changing the things they need to change. It’s true that Jesus’ sacrifice paid for our sins and that we can’t earn salvation, but the Bible does show us that God holds us accountable for our thoughts, words and actions, and He expects us to change and grow (Romans 12:2; 14:10-12).

• Is your church teaching you how to overcome sin in your life (Galatians 5:19-21)?

• Does your church discourage members from engaging in destructive sin in their lives or does it enable poor behavior (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)?

• Does your church spend more time on music, testimonials and other activities than giving deep, meaty messages expounding the depth of the Word of God (Hebrews 5:12-14)?

You have the right to expect more of your church. It shouldn’t just be a social club, but rather a place where you really learn to change and grow.”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/3-things-you-should-expect-from-your-church/

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^Update:

A little bit has been accomplished this week.   Zack and I got all the old torn roof down from the 10 x 20’ canvas garage/storage shed.  We cut it up and packed parts of it up in different trash bags, which are feed bags from my friends ranch, and then we will put trash on top.   Just in case the trashman is a stickler about it only being household trash, but I don’t think he is.

At my doctor’s appointment she said that I am doing good, but my cholesterol still isn’t quite down where it should be.  But it is down, so at least that’s good.  I don’t eat fat, and I am very careful what I eat, except when I cheat and eat a couple of chocolate grahams last thing at night. 

The old bungees were all stretched out, so I bought new bungees at Northern Tool, (half the price, same brand) so we installed the new canvas roof, and it was easier than we had anticipated.

My friend Chris, who has the ranch, and I went down to Spring, TX and we ate a really good meal at Katz with the gift certificate that I won for naming a special cage “Kitty Kondo” for the SPCA.

Lauri had said that she wasn’t going to church, then Friday she said that she would.  She still doesn’t have all the papers she needs to get her TX license, so I picked her up. The new TX Driver’s Handbook has to be printed off their site and it took ages for my printer to spit out all 92 pages for her! 

As I didn’t know that Lauri was going to be at the church potluck, I didn’t prepare any special organic food for her.  She says she gets migraines if she doesn’t eat organic, so she ate some freeze dried green hockey pucks that she says are healthy. 

I sliced the pastor’s wife’s turkey breast that I had stored in my deep freeze, then I added a few cooked cranberries and layered it in a oval crockpot. The turkey was served with some of the pastor’s wife’s turkey gravy over it and heated in the crockpot. I made Yukon Gold Smashed potatoes, with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, etc, two big baking sheets of them, and they disappeared as if by magic. 

I hadn’t understood that the pastor’s wife wanted me to cook cornbread stuffing, too.  I thought she was going to do that, because she knows that I don’t do cornbread, and only eat corn if it is non-GMO.  There was quite a bit of turkey left, so she is going to serve it in a Turkey Cornbread Casserole next Sabbath. 

I won’t be there to eat any, as I had made up my mind that I want to drive a little further to a bigger church in Conroe that I used to go to many years ago and see some old friends.  People have a habit of disappearing if you don’t keep track of them, unfortunately some to ‘under the grass’!  I had been pretty shocked to find out how many old faces were missing when I went to that other church on FM 830 in Willis a couple of weeks ago.

The Bible readings were Num. 13:1-15:41, Josh. 2:1-2:24 and Heb.3:7-4:1 and the teaching was about ‘Recognize and Listen to His Voice’.  It’s too cold for me in the church, some people must like it because they keep the AC so cold you could hang meat in there on these really hot days.