From Pastor Jymme

 

 

Letters, thoughts and teachings from the desk of Pastor Jymme

For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 2:7

   Dear Friends and Saints,

    I write my salutations knowing that not all of you are friends, but I invite you to be, and not all of you are saints, but I pray you will be.  Come a little closer if you would; I have something for you to hear.  It’s sobering.

    We’ve approached a tipping point.  That is, our nation and the world we know has gone too far and God is chastening us.  There are some immutable laws that He has established and some things He hates, and we’ve continued in our transgressions too long without repentance.  God is our holy and omniscient Father, but we’ve treated Him like a good-natured but forgetful uncle who would accept our winks and nudges and prefabricated novenas.  And yeah, He’s talking about the Church.

    We’ve neglected the pursuit of righteousness, procrastinated with our disciplines, our fastings and prayers, and we’ve turned our worship into entertainment.  Our churches are comfortable edifices filled with music and colors and people we like.  God asks, “But do you love Me?”

    Besides writing these weekly e-letters as I call them, I preach to people each week.  That requires some study and research of course, but it mainly involves prayer.  And though you might find me on my knees asking, seeking and knocking, sometimes God speaks without my invitation just because He wants to say something.  He may say it to me or through me, an unexpected, and often surprising word.  For instance, our church was about 7 weeks old and still meeting in our backyard when I stood up at the beginning of my sermon and said, “The economy is going to change.  We are about to enter a difficult financial season.”  I certainly didn’t plan to say that.  A few months later, our economy nose-dived into the recession we find ourselves in today.

    No sugar coating in this missive.  Get right with the Lord who loves you so much that He gave you His Son, Jesus Christ.  Get right with Him before it’s too late.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:29
(From February 19, 2010)

 

Dear Friends and Saints,
    I wonder if you know that today, September 25, thousands of Muslims are assembling in Washington D.C?  In an event called ‘Islam at Capital Hill’, organizers are invoking their god, Allah, with recitations from the Quran and the chanting of the Athan.  They have called 50,000 people to come forth for a day “to inspire a new generation of Muslim to work for the greater good of all people.”  (See www.islamoncapitolhill.com)

   OK, no political ranting or an anti-government tirades.  Just a couple of question:  Who owns America?  Are we a Christian nation?  

    One day Jesus asked His followers, “Who do people say I am?”  The disciples gave various answers – Elijah, John the Baptizer, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.  But when Jesus asked, “Who do you guys say I am?”  Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  Here is the Lord’s answer, one of the definitive statements of Christendom. Blessed are you, Simon Son-of-John, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this bedrock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  

    In Fresno county where I live, less than 14% of the population goes to any Christian or Catholic church every week.   One third of Californians claim a church or synagogue affiliation, and throughout the United States, some 40% (a highly disputed number - it could be far less) worship in a Christian church on a regular basis.  Though polls say up to 63% or more Americans identify themselves as born again Christians, those who regularly attend or are engaged in church activities is far less.  The truth is, these numbers only tell part of the story.  The real indicators are in the moral choices we make as a society, e.g., what we watch, engage in, how we treat the poor, the aged and the preborn, and what we spend our money on.  You can discern those issues yourself.

    Back to my two questions.  Who owns America?  We, the people.  Are we a Christian nation?  If we are, the hordes of hell can posture and swell all they want, but they’ll never prevail against God’s people.

    But if we’re not, you might as well kiss America goodbye, because the barbarians are at the gates.
(From September 25, 2009)

Breaking Free in 100 Years
Dear Friends and Saints,
    This is one of the reasons Hollywood ticks me off sometimes.  I happened to catch one of the newer shows in which the characters were sending a time capsule out into space.  They were instructed to put a personal item into it that would show future generations who they were and what they thought was important.  Someone put in a photograph, another a combat medal, and one character put in a baseball.  Each souvenir had a back story that kept the
show moving.   

   It didn¹t really offend me when someone put a tarot card in the capsule. I know what it is and what it¹s for, but it made sense in the story.  What bothered me was what was not put in.  No Bible.  No mention of a Creator. Heck, not even a string of rosary beads.

    Now this is an ensemble cast with lots of characters in complex relationships.  It has its merits and its sleaze, just like real life.  I guess I¹m amazed that these studios keep omitting God, when just the acknowledgment of His existence could add depth, credibility and philosophical weight to their stories.  It¹s what makes TV dumb.

      Time capsules are meant to hold artifacts and information that people would find useful and enlightening when unearthed.  One of the first modern day time capsules was actually called a ³time bomb² by its creators, but they had the good sense to change the name before they buried it at the site of the 1939 World¹s Fair in New York City.  When it¹s opened in the year 6939 (yep, that¹s in 50 centuries), the discoverers will find a microscope, a vial of seeds, a spool of thread, a doll, an old-fashioned newsreel, poker chips, various texts on microfilm like a Sears Roebuck catalogue, a dictionary, and an almanac, and ­Hallelujah! - a leather-bound copy of the Holy Bible. (For the complete list see http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine3/items.html)   

    Which brings us to the question:  If someone unearthed your time capsule
in, say 100 years ­ August 28, 2109 ­ what would they find?
(From August 28, 2009)