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The Best Laid Schemes o' Mice and Men
"Gang aft a-gley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy." -- Robert Burns, Scots Poet.
For non-Scots speakers out there, "Gang aft a-gley" is reasonably translated as "Often end up in a mess". And that's just the way things looked to be heading last weekend. A hallelujah mess! Our Majors are still away on their anniversary-celebration-vacation-cruise and they had tied up all the loose ends to ensure that their congregation would be properly shepherded in their absence. Jim was assigned to preach on the doctrine of justification by grace through faith, a subject he loves to talk about. And he was ready to go - except for the small detail that he ended up the emergency room for most of Saturday with a very inconvenient pain, and could not physically fulfill his assignment on Sunday.
In the non-Christian worship world this might be a drama of the first order, but to quote Charles Wesley: "Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries it shall be done!" God still had plans to bless us on Sunday morning, He just had to change His mouthpiece!
Craig Arnold is a young man who is enthusiastic and articulate about the God-inspiration of our doctrines and is not afraid to let God use him on a moment's notice!
Those who were in attendance were abundantly blessed - in spite of our plans!
The doctrine speaks of "justification by grace", which is not something our "I-am-powerful-and-can-do-it-all-by-myself" generation likes to explore. Our court systems are set up so that you will launch a vigorous defence of your actions even although the facts tell a different story! Hmmm, let's just try and have those inconvenient facts labeled as "inadmissable"! Were you read your rights by God before this trial? Flimsy, but it's about the best hope we have! This kind of defense is called "justification by law", and the Scripture goes to great lengths to point out that it will always be a losing battle. After all, The Judge in this case already has all the facts at His disposal! Sorry folks! Legal Justification is going to lead to a death sentence, and you know it!
The Scripture says the only way to be declared "justified" (note - it doesn't say "not guilty" because you already know you are!) is to use the alternative path of grace. Throw yourself on the mercy of the court! A great portion of the New Testament is devoted to providing evidence that this technique works, every time! Enter the star witness for the accused - The Holy Spirit! This is the great "Justification by Grace through Faith" which leads to a full and complete pardon, the assumption of all the rights, privileges and appurtenances due to a child of God! It just gets better and better! And it's simple and easy to understand!
But wait, there's more!
We've laid plans and dreamt up schemes to have a great time worshipping God next week. Why not join us. Be assured that God will be glorified even if our plans end up in a mess!
Webmaster
PS. Our sound engineers were also indisposed so we don't have any recordings from this weekend. Make sure you don't miss a word! Show up in person!
