About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2013)
PAGE 5-THURSDAY, JULY 25,2013 Prayingfor the Dead Biblically Grounded Some say that it’s too late to pray for someone after they are gone, but sometimes to ward the end of my prayers, I pray for my deceased mother, father, and grandparents. Al though I feel they are already in heaven, I know that God always listens to my pleas, and after all, it makes me feel closer to them. Prayer for the dead is well documented within early Christianity, both among prominent Church Fathers and the Christian community in general. The most famous prayer for the dead was Saint Augustine’s entreaty for his mother, Monica, published in his “Confessions.” It is also Biblically grounded; in Timothy I: 16-18, Paul prayed for his deceased friend One- siphorus, saying, “May the Lord grant him mercy from the Lord on the Day of Judg ment.” Supplication for the dead is practiced today by Orthodox Jews, who recite a prayer called the “Mourner’s Kaddish” for eleven months after the death of a loved one. Another incident of praying for the dead is found in the Catholic Bible. In this pas sage, Judas Maccabeus, the commander of Jewish forces lighting against Syria in 165 B.C., offered intercessory atonement for his fallen sol diers. Under the tunics of his slain men were found sacred tokens of pagan gods. Us ing these tokens as good luck charms represented a griev ous sin according to Jewish law, thus Judas opted to make atonement on behalf of his fallen comrades. He not only prayed for his fallen soldiers but collected two thousand drachmas of silver as a sin of fering for them. II Maccabees 12: 43-45 reads: “In doing this he (Judas Maccabeus) acted very well and honorably, tak ing into account the resurrec tion of the dead. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superflu ous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” The Catholic Church be lieves in the doctrine of Pur gatory, which is an “interme diate state” for the dead where souls are purged of their re maining imperfections before entering heaven. Prayers of the faithful are said to shorten one’s time in purgatory. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is a gradual process of sanctification over time, that few people are accepted into heaven at death, and that Purgatory cleanses them from the temporal consequences of sins they have collected dur ing their lifetime on earth. Pope John Paul II affirmed this view, saying: “Before we enter God’s kingdom, every trace of sin must be eliminat- Billy Powell Columnist www.billypowellbooks.com Weekly Devotion By Angie Carr Columnist ed, every imperfection in our soul must be corrected. That’s exactly what takes place in Purgatory.” World renowned Christian writer C. S. Lewis empha sized the naturalness of pray ing for the dead, saying: “Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbid den. The majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of communication with God could I have if those I love were unmentionable to him?” Never Compare The Age Long Query: Who Am I? Last week I was tootling along without a care in the world. Actually, I did have several cares but I was ignor ing them as much as pos sible. My basic philosophy is this, the more you ignore something the less you have to deal with it. This, how ever, does not apply to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Experience has taught me one lesson concerning women, especially wives. They will not stand to be ignored, particularly by their husbands. I have learned the less attention I pay to my wife the more I pay in other areas of life, if you know what I mean. So, ignoring the cares I had last week, I was caught off guard when I received a letter from my credit card company. This was no friendly, ”how are you,” kind of a letter. Nor was it a cheery birthday greeting. I cannot tell you how many times I have reminded them of my birthday but to date they have not picked up on my hint. The ominous letter I did re ceive informed me that along with millions of other cus tomers my identity had been stolen. The letter went on to assure me I had nothing to worry about and they had the situation well in hand. That is easy for them to say. They know who they are but what about me? When I got the letter I ran to my bathroom and looking into my mirror — nothing! My identity was indeed gone. I assure you I will worry until I get to the bottom of this. I will not rest until I know exactly who I am and my identity is fully restored. Of course, there is one prob lem here. What if when I do recover my identity I don’t like myself? Can I exchange it or get my money back? For some reason the per sonal information of millions of people had been lost or stolen from the security of my credit card company, which begs the question, how secured is my personal information? While I am in the beg ging mood, another question comes to mind. If someone has stolen my identity, who in the world am I? And, how do I reclaim my identity? As a young person when ever my mother was upset with me about something I had done or did not do, she would always look at me and ask, ’’Who do you think you are?” If anybody in the world should know who I am it would be my mother. And if she was wrestling with the same question I was wres tling with, how in the world could I ever come to grips with my personal identity? It is hard enough discov ering who you are without somebody casting disper sions upon that very thing. Perhaps my mother and I could work together in solv ing this problem. After all, two heads are better than one, unless one does not know who he is. I have spent years trying to find myself. Once I thought I found myself but it turned out to be an old pair of socks I lost three years prior. My problem is compound ed by this one thing, I did not really know who I was before my identity was sto len. I had my suspicions, of course. However, somewhere in the back of my mind, I re ally could not come to grips with who I really was in this world. In the course of time, (actually it was a four-course lunch) I have come to several conclusions. First, I am a man. What kind of a man, is anyone’s guess at this point. The truth is that at the root of every thing I am, I am a man. Second, I am a husband. This, of course, is the most baffling of my identity. What it means to be a husband dif fers from wife to wife. For tunately, for me, I have only one wife, but even her idea God never asks us to compare ourselves with any other person, in fact, God doesn’t like it when we say things like “I wish I were more like her.” Why? Because God designed you just the way He wanted you to be. He made you for Himself. He made you in a way that can never be duplicated. I’m quite sure there is something we would like to change about ourselves. The Bible tells us in (Psalms 139:14) that we are fearfully and wonder fully made. He uniquely made you and I just right. Tell yourself. “I’m created in the image of God.” He loves and approves of me. No matter whether I’m big, small, short or tall. He cares for me. When you begin to com pare yourself with another person, you are saying, “God, you made a mis take.” Telling Him that He could have done a better job creating you. He looks at us and says “It is good.” God made you exactly the way you are. You are one-of-a-kind, creation for which there is no com parison. It’s important that you come to appreciate the way God created you because other people are going to treat you the way you treat yourself. God doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t err. He created only what He wanted to create. No matter what we are, how we look, what we did or what we didn’t do,we are valuable in His sight. Never compare yourself with anyone else. Thank God for who you are. He wants you to be you, nobody else but YOU! Out to Pastor Rev. James L. Snyder jamessnyder2@att.net or whatafellowship.com , them. Go ye f Worship Opportunities — of a husband changes from one moment to the next. I am never sure what she expects of me as a husband. Once I thought I had it all figured out but someone, I am not mentioning any names, changed the rules. Third, I am a father. As a father, my role consists of bankrolling the childhood adventures of my children; financing their higher educa tion career, hoping they get married before my money runs out. To this day, I am not sure if I made it or not. Fourth, I am a grandfather. This is the most well defined role I have. The great thing about being a grandfather is, nobody expects much from us. Our role is covertly to help our grandchildren make the lives of their parents as tempestuous as possible. Revenge is sweet when laced with jellybeans. Sugar highs are a grandfather’s best retaliation. The most important thing about my identity quest is, I am a Christian. This under girds everything else I may or may not be. My Christian ity is the foundation upon which everything else is built. I take comfort in the Bible; ’’These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13 KJV). When my identity is rooted in believing in Jesus Christ, everything else in my life falls into place. Prayer Line, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Christ Abundant Life Ministries, S. Dugger Ave., Roberta. Call 478- 836-3912. Gary Berrier preaching with special singing by Zach Ware Jordan Temple AME of Sparta, Georgia. Word of God Tabernacle invites you to join them 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. Tuesday August 6th-Rev Monty February preaching with special singing by Becky Hattaway and the Pine Ridge Boys Wednesday August 7th- Rev Myron Parkerson preaching with special singing by Becky Hattaway and the Pine Ridge Boys Community Prayer Group forming. Will meet Wednesdays at 9:15 a.m., at 58 S. Dugger Ave., Georgia Post office to pray for needs in the community. If interested in joining or for more information call 478- 836-3195. Lizella Baptist Church Special Needs Ministry will have a monthly event the 2 nd Friday of every month, 7-9 p.m. They also have a Parent/Family/ Caregiver Support Group for those who love someone with special needs. It is always the 1 st Tuesday of the month, 6-8 p.m. They have guest speakers and then a time of sharing. Pleasant Grove Church family will celebrate its annual Summer Revival, July 29th - 31, 2013, 7:30 p.m. nightly. All area churches and organizations are invited to come and and help celebrate this joyous occasion. Speakers for the week will be: Monday - Rev. Morris Hillman - Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church; Tuesday, Rev. Corey Stubbs - Pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church - Yatesville, Ga; Wednesday - Rev. Dexter Jordan - Pastor of Stone Creek Baptist - Dry Branch, GA. Mt. Zion C.M.E. Church will be celebrating our annual homecoming on Sunday, August 4th at 11 a.m. Our revival begins Wednesday, August 7th thru Friday, August 9th at 7:30 p.m. nightly. The guest ministers will be: Wednesday - Rev. Samuel Chester, Pastorof Cerease Independent Church, Thursday - Rev. Charles French, Pastor of St. James Baptist Church, Friday - Rev. Benjamin Tolbert, Pastor of Little Roger C.M.E. Church. Everyone is invited to attend. Lighthouse Community Church Homecoming and Revival - Location 4301 Jordan Rd., Byron, Ga. Sunday August 4th- Homecoming 10:30 A.M. - Rev Joe Butterworth preaching with special singing by One Voice Sunday Evening August 4th- 7:00 P.M. Rev Rodney Hortman preaching with special singing by Francis Wilder The Zion Hill Baptist Church invites everyone to their regular services on 2nd Sundays at 11 a.m., 4th Sundays at 10 a.m. and 5th Sundays at 8 a.m. They have Bible Study every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Monday August 5th- Rev St. James Baptist Church will hold Homecoming the second Sunday in August, August 11th beginning at 11:30 a.m. Revival will be held Monday through Thursday, August 12-15 at 7:30 p.m. Guest speaker will be Rev. Dickey of Greater Joy Tabernacle Learn ing Church will be hosting Brother 2 Brother on Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Guest speakers are : Pastor Richard Miller of Marshallville Ga. and Pastor Tolbert of Ft. Valley, Ga. Our focus is on Men but we welcome women as well. Melinda Traylor-contact person 478-973-4211 Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5p.m. McLeighton Funeral Service View Obituaries at www.mcleightonfuneralservice.com Granite • Marble • Bronze • Coping • Monument Cleaning • Sandblasting 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna McLeighton - owners Serving all Middle Georgia cemeteries Kade E. Rooks >> ’Our Family Serving Your Family’ P. O. Box 1711, Fort Valley, GA 31030 *478-825-2424 or 478-951-1571 *Fax: 478-825-3794
