Category Church

Aug 28 2007

Running like the wind


Legalists are fond of measuring spiritual things by human means. 5 tidy steps and whamo! A Christian! Attend services on Sunday a.m., Sunday p.m. and Wed p.m. give a little, sing some, listen to the preacher some, listen to someone pray, eat a cracker, drink some juice and you are considered to be “faithful”.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day measured spirituality in much the same way didn’t they? They decided who was in and who was out by human observation. What they could ascertain about an individual by the 5 senses, (or by the “flesh”) was how they measured the relationship of a man with God.

Can we know all about a man by what we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel? No, because man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. That doesn’t stop us from trying though does it? We observe the baptism of someone and then make the statement, “He was immersed for the forgiveness of his sins so that makes him my brother”. Oh does it? Were you able to see faith? Could you know if there was true repentance? Of course not. Never mind that other stuff, I want to believe my eyes and ears and what “they” have always said……

Jesus came to the outsiders, the down and out, the wicked, and He loved them, forgave them, and saved them. He saw their faith, knew their hearts. He taught like no other man ever had. Then He explained the law by saying “The law says….., But I say unto you……” and they were astonished at His statements. You mean to tell me that if I hate my brother I am guilty of murder? Good grief! Are you nuts? If I have a brief fantasy watching the women bathe at the river I have become an adulterer? You must be kidding!

No, God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Those are truths not observable by human means. We can’t place them some where on a “pattern” or a “plan” can we? Remember Nicodemus? Jesus laid some truth on him that caused him to exclaim “How can these things be?” I can just imagine how shocked he must have been when Jesus said to him:

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Unless I missed something, Jesus has just taught one of  the leaders of the Jews a lesson in theology. “Nick my friend, you can’t observe who is in my kingdom and who is not by human observation any more than you can monitor and measure the wind. They have been set free. Free to run like the wind.”

Grace to you
Royce Ogle

Aug 1 2007

Is the “church” in competition with Christ?


Most of us who are not Roman Catholics have criticized Catholics for elevating the authority of the church to a place equal to, or in some cases, greater than the Bible. Our criticism is just in my view. There is one mediator between the sinner and God, the man Christ Jesus, not the church.

I wonder, have some of us in Restoration Movement churches committed the same error? There was a reference in an article in the recent issue of the Christian Chronicle to this very thing. In at least some circles, “the church of Christ” gets much more play than Christ Himself. If anyone doubts this, just “google” a few church of Christ websites and read what they have to say.

I submit that this is a dangerous trend. The marching orders given by Christ were to preach the Gospel, not to preach the church of Christ. Christ can save a sinner, the church can’t. Perhaps if the energy and resources spent on promoting the church had been used to publish the good news about Christ, the church of Christ would have a larger foot print in the world than it does.

Do you suppose there are people are committed to the church of Christ who are unwitting imposters and not true disciples of Jesus? In my view it would be very naive to deny the possibility. Sincerity does not make one right, or righteous for that matter. Only a real faith relationship with Jesus Christ will make one a child of the Heavenly Father.

If all of us, of every stripe, will preach the good news about Christ, men and women and boys and girls will come to know Him and the church will grow without so much promotion. Three thousand in a day isn’t bad for church growth is it?

Grace to you,
Royce Ogle

Jun 6 2007

Bayou La Batre update…


Last Friday Carol and I drove to Bayou La , Alabama to spend the weekend with the believers there and the volunteers who were there to help. It was a blessed weekend of new beginnings.

First, the little congregation met for the first time for services in their soon to be “own” building. Members of the El Campo Church of Christ from El Campo, Texas came to spend a week working in the relief effort and part of that work was to hang dry wall, tape and bed, and expand the kitchen in the fellowship hall. They did marvelous work and we gladly met together in the fellowship hall to worship and enjoy fellowship. The El Campo gang are wonderful people who love Jesus and others with all their hearts. I know that my friend John McCord, the preacher there, is very proud and thankful for such wonderful folks.

People from Hill Top Rescue and Relief and Servants Unite were also in attendence as well. One of our co-ministers at Whites Ferry Road Church in West Monroe, Bro’ Alan Robertson, preached a great message of encouragement. He and his wife Lisa enjoyed meeting the people Carol and I have loved for so long.

At the invitation, a young girl responded, requesting to be baptised. It was my joy to baptise her in the Gulf after the service. Then on Monday, after we were back in Monroe, we received the glad news that two of the girl’s cousins were baptised as well. I had shared the good news with these three young ladies on Saturday and I am delighted to have these children in the faith.

The name of the Bayou La Batre church will soon be changed to Hemley Road Church of Christ. The most obvious reason is the new location and building which is on Hemley Road in Bayou La Batre. Then, there is the chance for a new beginning, leaving the past in the past with all its problems, and looking to the future.

The revovery work of Bayou Recovery Project and of the infant congregation is making great strides. Friends, mostly believers, though some are not, have given and worked very hard to make things better for the people of the Bayou area. What a wonderful opportunity to share Christ when “not-yet-believers” come to help work on houses along side Christians.

Perhaps another $50,000 is urgently needed to complete the purchase of the building and to do the minimum repair work to make it functional. If your congregation has not been involved in missions recently, or if you want to increase your missions effort, there is no more worthwhile place you can put the Lord’s money.

Satan has fought on every front from without and within but Christ is daily giving victory after victory for which we are humbled and thankful. There are some whose only motive appears to be to preserve tradition without regard for others who get damaged in their wake. God will sort them out. We keep sowing the good seed of the good news about Jesus, actively loving the people right where they are in the physical and spiritual debris of live, and God continues to bless beyond our expectations and dreams.

In the small corner of the kingdom of God where we live and work, Carol and I want to make much of Christ and his love for sinners. We have no agenda other than His agenda, to seek and save that which was lost and to bind up the broken hearted along the way with hugs, smiles, encouragement, and hope for today and forever.

When you go to your secret place to talk to God, please mention us to Him and the work we love so much. When the sun sets on our last day on earth my earnest hope is that we have made a difference for time, and for eternity.

Grace to you,
Royce Ogle

May 6 2007

Are you sure you are saved?


Do you know beyond any doubt that you are going to heaven? Are you sure you are saved? If so, why?

Is it because you live a good life? Is it because you are a member of the true church? Is it because you have been baptised?

Perhaps we should ask, “Can we know for sure we are saved?” If so, how can we know it?