About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2013)
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2013 THE GEORGIA POST 5 One man dared to ask God His name Before the beginning of time, there existed a tran scendental, eternal, spiritual Being who was not bounded by space or time or dimen sion. Known in scientific circles as the “Uncaused Cause,” this incorporeal Being existed simul taneously in the past, the present, and the future. At some point in unrecorded histo ry, this preexistent Being became the Divine Creator when He “created the heav ens and the earth” (Genesis i:i). All the matter that com prised the conjoined macro- cosmic world of the cosmos with the unseen world of the atom—its planets, stars, galaxies, and atomic parti cles—were made “ex nihilo”- -from nothingness. Hebrews 11:3 confirms that “what is seen was made of things that did not exist.” Only one man has dared to ask the Supreme Being his name, and that was Moses. At the burning bush, Moses asked, “What is your name?”(Ex- odus 3:13). The Supreme Being replied, “I am that I am.” In Revelation 1:8, the Almighty declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” The English language term for the Supreme Being is “God.” Webster’s dictionary defines God as “The creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-know ing.” The two most promi nent Hebrew words for God in the Old Testament are “Eliohim” and “Jehovah.” Other well-known Hebrew terms for God are “Adonai” and “El-Shaddai.” The Jewish name of God is considered sacred. Jews do not say the name of God aloud and do not erase it once written. Since vow els were not used in an cient Hebrew writings, the tetragrammaton “YHWH” represents the four Hebrew letters which represent the proper name of God in Ju daism. YHWH occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew Bible. The prohibition to never speak God’s name resulted in the claim that the origi nal pronunciation had been lost; however, most author ities say it is pronounced “Yahweh” (Yah-way). Instead of pronounc ing YHWH aloud during prayer, Jews say “Adonai” meaning Lord. Some rabbis as sert that a person who pronounces YHWH aloud instead of using a substitute name such as “Adonai” has no place in the World to Come, and should be put to death. Most religious Jews forbid discarding holy objects, in cluding any document with a name of God transcribed thereon. Once written, the name must be preserved indefinitely. This leads to several noteworthy practic es in which commonplace materials are written with an intentionally abbreviated form of the name. For in stance, a Jewish letter-writer may substitute “G-d” for the name God. Copies of the Torah, like most scriptures, are heavily used during worship services, and will eventually become worn out. Since they may not be disposed of in any way, in cluding by burning, they are removed, traditionally to the synagogue attic. There they remain until they are buried. And finally, the Son of God is Jesus. Philippians 2: 9-11 declares that the name of Jesus is sacred: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and ev ery tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” BILLY POWELL is a contribut ing columnist and has au thored many books, www. billypowellbooks.com But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right handfi'om their left— and also many animals?” - Jonah 4:10-11 (NIV) The MUSEUM FOR AUGUSTA’S AFRICAN-AMERICAN PIONEERS ZJke cJ-iicij C^rafit rJlc 1ST •cu : BL -aney MUSEUM OF BLACK HISTORY And Conference Center LucyCraftLaneyMuseum.com Js AugustaGa.org fAUCnONl 8 Bank Owned Properties Throughout Georgia November 20th, 21st & 22nd - Online Bidding Available Equestrian Farm, Mountain View Lot, Pasture Land, Homes, Commercial Building & Acreage Tracts For Complete Property Listing & Details Visit RowellAuctions.com Rowell Auctions, Inc. 1800-323-8388 A MarkNet Alliance Member • AU-C002594 • 10% Buyer’s Premium AUCTIONS RowellAuctions.com CHURCH EVENTS 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 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. 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. 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. Come and visit Community Fellowship Church, 9 Winston Street, Reynolds, GA Ever felt like God was taking a chisel to your life? Come find out the beautiful truth of why God chinks away at us... Good folks, good music, and incredible Savior! CF- 10:30 a.m. every Sunday and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. New East Star Baptist Church Outreach Center, at the corner of Hwy. 42 and 80, Courthouse Lane, Knoxville, GA adjacent to old Knoxville Courthouse will have their services beginning every Wednesday, 7-8 p.m.; weekly prayer meeting is held 6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.; Sunday service 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.; Praise and Worship service every Sunday at 11 a.m. Open Bible Tabernacle Baptist Church, 6490 Sandy Point Road in Lizella will have a gospel sing November 10, 2013 at 11 a.m. Charles Surrall from North Carolina will be singing. For more information call 478- 935-8163. Zion Hill Baptist Church will he having their Emergency Personnel Day, Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 6 p.m. Rev. Maurice raines will be the speaker. The program will climax on Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 11 a.m. along with regular morning services. This day is set aside to honor all men and women that work hard and dedicate their time to help in the community. Come out to let these men and women know how much they’re appreciated. Lighthouse Community Church, located on the cor ner of Boy Scout and Jordan Roads will be showing the movie “Daniel’s Lot” at 5 p.m. Sunday the 10th of November. All are invited. New East Star Baptist Church Ourtreach Center will have a Thanksgiving Worship Service November 27, 2013, 7-8 p.m. on Hwy. 42/80 Courthouse Lane, Knoxville, GA. Please come and give thanks to God for all he has done and is doing in our lives. Pastor is James A Manning. For more informa tion call 478-391-4195. St. James Baptist Church will celebrate its 142nd church anniversary on Sunday, November 10th at 11:30 a.m. Guest speaker will be Rev. Jessica Johnson of Cool Springs Baptist Church. Rev. Charles French is the pastor. Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5 p.m. Does God expect me to pray for broccoli? For some inexplicable reason, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is under the impres sion that my favorite hobby is flying kites. I have no idea where she got that notion. Last Thursday, for example, she said to me in one of her sterner voices, “Why don’t you just go and fly a kite?” The joke, of course, is on her. Ha! That is not my hobby and I have not flown a kite since I was nine years old when my mother made the same request. Who does she think I am? Benjamin Franklin? If she actually knew what my hobby was, I wonder if she would be so anxious for me to indulge. Some secrets are worth keeping. Two things guide me in my pursuit of life. I never fool around with fate and I never second-guess the Gracious Mistress of the Par sonage. She suggested on Friday eve ning that we go out for supper. When younger I would have tried to figure out if she was up to something or if I was in some trouble, but not anymore. One of the great advantages of growing older is shedding the necessity of trying to figure everything out. Life has been much easier since I have started to live in the moment. So much in life is unexplainable that I have stopped wasting my time trying to explain it. Moreover, die greatest thing is, I am not under any pressure to understand ev erything or figure anything out, especially when it comes to the female side of die matrimonial equation. Let die mystery of romance do its thing. Just one thing, in spite of everything, still bothers me. I know it may be a minor matter to most people, but for me it is important. Do I have to pray for everything? On Friday, my wife and I made our way to our favorite restaurant and to our great delight, our fa vorite waitress was on duty and we requested her table. Stay with a sure thing, I always say. After our first cup of coffee, we were ready to contemplate our order. It is not good to order your meal right away; get settled in your seat, have a good cup of coffee and then decide on the meal for the evening. I chose the delicious meatioaf dinner while my “better half’ ordered the pot roast. Both came with what our waitress called a vegetable medley. Let it be known that a “vegeta ble medley’ was not harmoni ous with my primeval appe tite. With an air of masculine sophistication, I ordered the vegetable of the day. It was too lovely of an evening to get hung up on such small matters. After all, I was unwinding and did not need to put my little gray cells in high gear. Taking our order, our waitress disappeared into the kitchen while we sat back to enjoy each other’s so ciety while our meal was being prepared. Luxury, in my book, is where you find it. After a busy week in the church, it is always beneficial to settle back and relax. Nothing is more important than getting balance in life and keeping it. Before we knew it, the waitress brought our meals and set them before us. Much to my surprise, the vegetable of the day was brocco li. The waitress quickly disappeared amidst some unsuccessful muffled giggling from across the table. Gaining some measure of composure, my wife requested I offer the prayer for the meal. My question: does God really expect me to pray for broccoli? I was reminded of an incident with my good friend and spir itual mentor, the Rev. Frank Simmons. After a Sunday morning service, a woman ap proached Frank with a simple request. “Oh, Brother Simmons,” she said in a dramatic fashion that always irritated Frank, “would you pray that my daughter gets married?” Without giving her request any thought, he replied in the negative. The thing I always liked about good ole Brother Simmons was that he was always Frank. “Why won’t you pray for my daughter,” demanded the woman. “Well,” Frank said, “tell me something. Does she have any special friend? Is she dating?” Frank later told me that many people want God to do every thing for them. “There is plenty for us to do,” he said with a mischievous grin. Of course, Frank firmly believed in prayer but he also believed people have personal responsibility in their lives. So many blame God for the bad in their life. Then when they get in trouble, they want God to bail them out. One of Frank’s favorite sayings was, “Many folk sow their wild oats Sat urday night and then Sunday morning pray for crop failure.” Some tilings should not be a matter of prayer but of simple obedience. Prayer is no substi tute for action. In fact, in some cases it is not in order to pray. For example, it is wrong to pray about anything clearly forbid den in the Bible. I do not have to pray about hating somebody. It is always wrong to hate and no amount of prayer could ever change that fact. The apostle James set this forth rather clearly in his epistle. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16 KJV). No prayer is worth praying if it is prayed outside of that righteous zone. REV. JAMES L. SNYDER is a pastor of Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Florida. E-mail him at jamessnyder2@ att.net. Out to Pastor Rev. James L. Snyder Having the right relationships Perhaps you have not yet taken the first step of journey of faith because you’re never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Maybe you’ve heard about Him, and you believe the things you’ve heard are true. You believe He is the Son of God, that He lived a perfect life and died on the cross to pay the price for the sin of all mankind. You believe, He rose again and lives today. You believe what He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Perhaps you believe all those things, but you’ve never opened the door of your own heart to Him. You’ve never said, “Jesus, I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. I give you my life today.” If so, you’re not alone. Many people (even good church going folks) are in that condition right now. They know about Jesus, but they do not have a living relation ship with Him. Despite their church attendance and even the fact that they know the Bible says, they con tinue to sin without repenting. They have not put their trust in the One who can help them. The more we know God’s goodness, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the easier it is for us to put our lives into His hands. I can only think of one reason why someone would be hesitant to make Jesus their Lord, why would they be afraid to give their life to him? They don’t know how good he is. They are afraid that if they give themselves to Him, He may not give them the good things that they want and need. Fear makes them draw back because they are not really sure God has their best interest at heart. They do not understand the simple fact that God is a good God. If that is your situation, God will give you the courage and confidence to step out on faith and surrender your life to Him. Be Blessed ANGIE CARR is a contributing columnist, motivational spaker and writer. Contact her acarr@windstream.net. Weekly Devotion Angie Carr McLeighton Funeral Service vkwobituarksatWww.mcleightonfuneralseryice.com 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna Mc Leighton - 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
