About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2013)
l-Inct , |p ti l d\i \Am PAGE 6 - THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013 Salt ration Requires More Than Belief 1 1 * VN Church Happenings of aspiring Christians: First, those who harbor serious- but unspoken- doubts about their salvation, and secondly, those who smugly claim the assurance of salvation. The latter is best categorized as “theological” Christians who are overconfident of their salvation. They confess that Jesus is God’s son and accept His atonement for their sins, yet in actuality they boast of a salvation they do not possess. Why? Because, intellectual belief is not enough. Jesus emphasized this, saying: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” I John 2: 4 explains why: “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Belief in God is not enough, for “even the demons believe in God,” “faith (in God) without works is dead.” I John 3:23-24 provides a 4-part test to determine if one is duly saved: (1) Theological test: do you believe in Jesus? (2) Relational test: do you love God and fellowman? (3) Moral test: do you keep God’s commandments? (4) Spiritual test: do you possess the Holy Spirit? Annotated within verses 23-24 are the four tests: “And this is his commandment, that we (Test 1) should believe in the name ofhis Son Jesus Christ and (Test 2) love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who (Test 3) obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit (Test 4) that he has given us.” John concludes: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I How many among us can pass all four tests? No wonder the scripture states, “Wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, but narrow is the road that leads to (eternal) life, and only a few find it.” Jesus once was asked if only a small few would be saved. He cautioned that we must “keep striving to enter through the narrow gate,” because “once the Master shuts the door (of God’s kingdom), it’s too late.” Paul describes man’s internal struggle: “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. In my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law that dwells within me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of sin and death?” Paul then identifies the Deliverer as Billy Powell Columnist www.billypowellbooks.com “Jesus Christ our Lord.” Although Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, the scripture asks, “Shall we go on sinning so that God’s grace may increase?” By no means, if sin continues to dominate our lives, either we do not possess the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or we are tuning Him out. To be saved, the trajectory of their lives must always be trending upward toward godliness. Although we may never achieve Christian perfection and sanctification, Jesus urged us to “keep on striving.” Excuse Me, But I Just Gotta Be Me I refuse to answer for anybody else because it is a full-time job trying to answer for myself. I must confess though, I sometimes cannot give a good answer for myself. I can give an answer, but not a good one, and when it comes to answers, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage demands good ones. How do you explain yourself to someone when you cannot even explain yourself to yourself? I do not pretend to be a mystery man, but many things about Yours Truly I certainly do not understand. For one, I am not an actor. I want to make that very plain to all and sundry. Within the confines of my presence, are absolutely no acting skills. I have some friends who are always acting like a fool. I am assuming they are acting and give them the benefit of the doubt. Another friend of mine at certain times acts dumb. I have known him for a very long time and I can usually tell when he is acting. By the way, he is a very good actor. Many of my friends are excellent actors and if they ever were competing for some Oscar or Emmy award, they would come pretty close to winning. I am another story. It is very difficult for me in the area of acting. With me, what you see is what you get. I suppose when you boil it all down, I am just not smart enough to be a good actor. I am not even smart enough to be a bad actor. Putting all of this in context, I must confess that my wife believes I am a great actor. I have tried to dissuade her from this opinion, but up to this point, I have not been successful. When she thinks of me she always says, “And the Emmy goes to...” How she came to this point, I’m not quite sure. No matter what I do, she still holds to this personal opinion of me. I keep telling her that I am not that good of an actor, which she keeps smiling and nodding her head in my direction. Some examples need to be given here to show my point. Just the other night we were at a restaurant with some friends, having a good time, or so I thought. I must say when I’m on a roll, I’m on a roll. But all during my “roll,” I kept feeling somebody under the table kicking me. I ignored it thinking perhaps our friends did not quite know what they were doing. Never once did I suspicion my companion with this action. I kept rolling on. Finally, both of them excused themselves to take a break and when they were out of listening distance, my wife said to me, “Will you stop acting so foolish?” I looked at her, not quite knowing what she was referring to, and said quite innocently, “But, my Precious, [it’s a name I use when I’m in trouble but don’t know why] I’m not acting.” She gave me one of “those looks” and said, “Stop acting foolish.” This is what I admire about my wife. She has the highest opinion of my abilities particularly in the area of the thespian arts. Our friends were coming to the table when I was about to tell her I was not acting foolish, it just came natural. Another example comes to mind. I remember she was trying to explain something to me one time. I do not know what it was now. It was something to do with something in the garage, a place I have not been for years, and I was not connecting the dots, as they say. She was going into a long dissertation on what needed to be done and I was just standing there staring at her. I was trying to understand what she was saying, but nothing was clicking upstairs, if you know what I mean. In the middle of her dissertation she stopped, looked at me intensely, placed both hands on her hips and said, “Don’t act so dumb.” Smiling broadly I whispered, “My Precious, I’m not acting.” With a glare that could have intimidated good old Goliath, she quipped, “I’m coming Out to Pastor Rev. James L. Snyder jamessnyder2@att.net or whatafellowship.com to believe you’re right. You are not acting. You’re just naturally dumb.” Somebody once sang a song called, “I gotta be me” which has become my theme song. What you see is what you get, when you are dealing with me. I am not smart enough to act and I am too old to play. Therefore, it all boils down to this one thing, I am what I am, like it or lump it. I do not like it when people pretend to be something they are not. I want people to be real with me. This is doubly true with my relationship with God. He is honest with me and I want to be absolutely honest with him. “If a man says, I love God, and hated his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20 KJV). Many people say they love God and yet it is all an act. It is easy to love somebody you cannot see but hard to love a brother right in front of you. #btfuar Louise (Ashley) Gatlyn Reverend Claudine Louise (Ashley) Gatlyn, of Macon, GA, 82; was promoted to Higher Ground on Sunday, March 10, 2013. She was preceded in death by both her father and mother, Columbus H. Ashley, and Maggie Lee (Brown) Ashley. She attended Lanier School in Macon, but graduated from American School, Chicago, IL. Claudine received Ministerial Training from American Bible C ollege, and Berean School of the Bible. In her early years, she was employed by the prominent Macon Physician, Dr Willard Golsan. Married to the career Navyman Daniel W. Gatlyn on August 10, 1954, Claudine became the matriarch of the Gatlyn family and joined her husband in ministry for more than 50 years. She was co-pastor of nine churches (four in Middle Georgia), and served as Evangelist, Counselor, and Missionary to the Far East for eleven years with the Assemblies of God, residing in Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines. In the latter, she became the First National Director of Women’s Aglow Fellowship, originating ministries countrywide. This post would lead her to speaking engagements in prominent churches, and with the Pentagon, and West Wing of the White House. Claudine also served as Co- Director of the Peach Christian Crisis Intervention from 1989- 2010. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Retired Military Full Gospel Fellowship, she received two Senatorial Fetters of Commendation from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Since she served more than 50 years in three separate ministries without compensation, the RMFGF Board elected to establish the Claudine Gatlyn Annual Award for Sacrificial Service to worthy candidates, the first to be given in 2013. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Daniel W. Gatlyn Sr, Macon, Georgia; sons, Daniel W Gatlyn Jr, (Barbara), of Warner Robins, GA; Don Gatlyn (Debbie), Vass NC; grandchildren Tami Goddard (John), Bonaire, GA, Kristi Harrison (Stephen), Bonaire, GA, Samuel Gatlyn (Jessica), Charlotte, NC, and Rebekah Fancher (Brandon), Charlotte, NC; and four great-grandchildren, Taylor Goddard, Kael and Cedar Gatlyn, and Faef Fancher. Funeral services were held on Wednesday, March 13, in the chapel of McCullough Funeral Home, Warner Robins, GA; with interment following in Andersonville national Cemetery. Reverend David Hicks officiated with the aid of RMFGF Ministers and family members. The family will accept flowers o donations may be given to Retired Military Full Gospel Fellowship Ministries, 4343 Chickadee Fane, Macon, GA 31216. Prayer Line, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Christ Abundant Life Ministries, S. Dugger Ave., Roberta. Call 478- 836- 3912. Word of God Tabernacle invites you to join us for the following weekly services: Sunday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., Sunday Service at 11:00 a.m.; Monday Prayer at 9:00 a.m.; Wednesday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.; Friday Prayer at 9:00 a.m. Everyone is invited. Pastor Frank Martin, Sr. Springhill Baptist Church is providing free Tutoring Service every Monday at 5:30- 6:30 p.m. 71, Springhill Church Rd., Roberta. Pop-Tops For Kade: Christopher Smtih a member of the Fellowship Church and Sunday School Teacher wants your pop-tops! For each 1,000 tabs from drink cans St. Jude’s will give a free treatment. Kade Howard, a local little boy who is receiving treatment at St. Jude’s in Tennessee for medulloblastoma will benefit from the tabs being collected. To find out how to help and where to drop off your tabs call Christopher Smith at 478- 365-0441. Covenant Care Services is hosting the 8th annual ’’Ladies’ Night Out,” in Middle Georgia on Thursday, March 21, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Shirley Hills Baptist Church. Dessert will be served before speaker Connie Carey makes her presentation. ’’Your spirit will be encouraged, your soul will be refreshed, and you will laugh until your sides hurt!” remarked Rev. Joe McDaniel of Musella Baptist Church. Proceeds from this event benefit the pro-life, adoption ministries of Covenant Care in Middle Georgia nd throughout the state. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance. Visit www.covenantcareadoptions. com t purchase online or to find out the many locations to get your ticket. Cerese Independent Church will be celebrating their church anniversary the 3rd Sunday in March (3/17/13) at 11:30 a.m. along with the morning services. Orange Grove Baptist Church Spring Revival: March 18-20,7:30p.m. nightly. Theme will be ’’Drinking of the Living Water”- John 4:14b. Guest ministers: Pastor Nancy Dadd and New Life Anointed Ministries, and Minister Cathy Dargon and Saint Phillips AME Church and climaxing on Wednesday night with Minister Lesia Atwater and Tessie Hall Baptist Church. Pleasant Grove Church and Rev. Ricky White invite all area churches and organizations to their annual spring revival Monday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 20. The speaker for the week will be Rev. Weaver Smith, pastor of Pine Chapel Baptist Church and Friendship Baptist Church. For Real Come To Jesus Conference at the Crawford County Senior Center on Saturday, March 23 at Noon. Contact Minister Carolyn Clark at 478-550-8066 or at dramapraise2010@gmail. com. Lighthouse Community Church located on the comer of Boy Scout and Jordan Road will have community Easter Egg hunt Saturday the 23rd of March at 3:00 p.m. All children are invited! Joy Tabernacle will be having a program titled: A Heart to Leam: The Principal Thing on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. Guest speaker will be Holly Defore along with a host of other colleagues from the Crawford County School system. The community is invited to come out and share this event. Youth Day will be the 4th Sunday, March 24th at 2:30 p.m. Guest churches are Ceres, Mount Moriah, and Cathedral of Praise. Marriage Restored weekend is scheduled for April 12-14, 2013 in Macon, GA. Marriage Restored is a weekend program for couples who have experienced marriage- threatening circumstances and it is a weekend of hope for couples in crisis. All faiths are welcome. For more info visit the website at www. marriagerestored.com Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5 p.m. Church of ADdUm. affiL SifligMLDgO^j) 13 1641 Peach Pkwy., Hwyi 49 N. Fort Valley, GA OwT® \os\ks C©*i|<2imce Crawford County Senior Center March 23, 2013 at Noon Contact Minister Carolyn Clark 478-550-8066 or by email at: dramapraise2010@gmail.com McLeighton Funeral Service viewobituanesatWww.mcleightonfuneralservice.com 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna McLeighton - owners ’Our Family Serving Your Family Granite • Marble • Bronze • Coping • Monument Cleaning • Sandblasting ”Serving all Middle Georgia cemeteries 33 Kade E. Rooks P. O. Box 1711, Fort Valley, GA 31030 *478-825-2424 or 478-951-1571 *Fax: 478-825-3794
