Hopewit

  In Covid Times: If a pin should drop and no one to hear it, would it still make a sound? I serendipitously hit upon a sermon by the pastor (Tim Conway. No, not the one who did all those hilarious sketches on Carol Burnett) of a fellowship church in Manchester, England, and although I am seldom attracted to such YouTube videos, I decided to hear what he had to say. And although he made constant reference to “the devil” as the generator of whatever is foul among us and his repeated references to “knowing the truth” seemed a contradiction to his main point, he did make a point that rang true for me.                 It had to do with balance . He began with passages that seem to contradict each other and suggested that we tend to pick one and ignore the other, resulting in a “this and not that” preoccupation. He used baptism—child, youth or adult—as a relevant example. Believer’s baptism, child baptism, baptism at the age of accountability or baptism after strenuous instruction in chu

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21, NIV) The collection of aphorisms (sayings) that make up the Old Testament book of Proverbs are seldom used as bases for sermons. Perhaps it’s because the conventions of these aphorisms—how they were used to teach and learn—are not as authoritative in our eyes as are direct admonitions, like Micah 6:8, “…and what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Righteousness and love are the prerequisites for life, prosperity and honour in Proverbs 21:21. It’s more than an admonition here; it’s phrased as a promise … but life has told us that nothing is that certain in reality. Our world has a tendency to distribute prosperity and honour to even the unrighteous and the misanthrope. In fact, in our time the proverb might well read, “Deceitfulness and insensitivity toward others are necessary if you’re to achieve prosperity and respect.”