The Consequences of Sin
By Charles Eickenberg
Found in the July 1919 issue of "The Christian Workers Magazine."
"But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23
The speaker produced a stick with a lot of nails driven into it and said that it was meant to represent a life full of sin. Each nail represented a sin, and there were so many nails that not very much of the stick was to be seen.
This illustration was suggested to the speaker by the story of the boy who was so accustomed to telling lies that his father, wishing to call his attention to the great number of lies which he was in the habit of telling, told him to drive a nail into a post every time he told a lie. The boy did this and soon found that the post was full of nails. When he saw how the post looked it made him feel very badly. He had no idea that he had been telling so many lies. He came to his father and sorrowfully confessed his condition, and said that he wished to do better. Then his father told him that every time in the future when he told the truth, instead of telling a lie, he should pull out one of the nails. This the boy did, and soon returned to his father with the good news that the nails were all out again. "But," said he, "the holes are all left." His father told him that that was part of the price he had to pay for the sins he had committed.
The nails were then pulled out of the stick which the speaker had brought, and the holes were shown to the boys and girls who were present. The following lessons were then drawn from this story by the speaker: No matter how sorry we may feel for the wrong we have done, and no matter how much we may try to do better and make it right, there are certain consequences that a bad life will leave behind it.
If a man has been a thief, and makes up his mind that he will stop stealing in the future, and does really begin to live an holiest life, yet he will never be able to forget that he was once a thief. Many of the things which he did when he was a thief will come up before him at times and make him feel ashamed of himself. Many people who were injured by his wrongdoing may be suffering even then on account of his sin, and if he is really sorry for his past life it will make him feel very badly at times.
A boy was standing in front of a school house, during recess, when another boy threw something at him. It struck him in the eye and the boy who was struck lost the sight of that eye. That boy has lost the use of one of his eyes through the carelessness of the other boy, and thus has been injured for life. The boy who threw the stone may have been very sorry for what he did but that will never restore the eye to the boy who lost it. Even if the author of the accident should be able to offer the other boy millions of dollars that would not restore the eye.
Even the great Apostle Paul reproaches himself for the life he lived before he became a Christian, when he remembered how he held the clothes of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He says in I Corinthians 15:9: "For I am the least of the apostles that am not worthy to be called an apostle became I persecuted the church of God." Again in Acts 26: 9 he says: "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth which thing I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death gave my voice against them, and I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them I persecuted them even unto strange cities."
Paul could not forget the things he did against God's people although he had repented of them and became a sincere Christian himself. Do you think that the Apostle Peter could ever forget that he had denied his Lord and Master with oaths and curses and said that he never knew Him? The memory of that act never left him as long as he lived. They say that when Peter was condemned to be crucified he asked to be crucified with his head down because he did not consider himself worthy to die as Jesus did, because he had denied Him.
We see from this that while we, may have our sins forgiven, yet what we have done, cannot be erased from our memories. It is a great deal better not to do the wrong than to do it even though we may be forgiven for it, because while we may be able to pull all the nails out of the post of our wicked lives, all the holes will be left.
Churches in USA more diverse, informal than a decade ago
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
The National Congregations Study says 14% of primarily white congregations reported no minorities in their midst last year, compared with 20% in 1998.
Such steep change in a short period is noteworthy because "religious traditions and organizations are widely considered to be remarkably resistant to change," says sociology professor Mark Chaves of Duke University School of Divinity, the lead researcher. "There's movement in the right direction."
The study, in the journal Sociology of Religion, compared 1,505 congregations in 2006-07 with 1,234 in 1998. It was based on surveys by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the 2006-07 data and 3 percentage points for 1998 data.
The increase in diversity is only among primarily white churches; majority black churches are as segregated as ever, Chaves says. Among primarily white congregations, the number reporting at least some blacks rose from 27% in 1998 to 36% in 2006-07; those reporting at least some Hispanics rose from 24% to 32%.
Worship is not only more diverse, it's also "more informal and more enthusiastic by every measure," Chaves says, with more shouting, clapping and hands raised overhead in praise. Use of drums in worship jumped 70% in eight years, from 20% in 1998 to 34% in 2006-07. "We find drums almost everywhere, even in Catholic and Jewish services," he says.
These trends come to life in places such as Crossover Community Church in Tampa, where Sunday's rap Christmas pageant drew "everyone from grandparents to little kids," says pastor Tommy Kyllonen, who also goes by his hip-hop performing name, Urban D.
Since he took over Crossover seven years ago, Kyllonen, a pastor's son whose own heritage is a European mix from Greek to Finnish, has built a diverse congregation — he estimates that the high-energy worship services attract a congregation that is about 50% Hispanic, 30% black and 20% non-Hispanic white.
"It's still cutting-edge to have our kind of mix, but our society is becoming more and more culturally and racially mixed, and as time progresses, more churches will look like ours," says Kyllonen, author of Un.orthodox: Church. Hip-hop. Culture.
Another multi-racial, multi-ethnic congregation is Sanctuary Covenant Church, founded by Efram Smith in 2003 in North Minneapolis. It uses every musical style from traditional hymns to hip-hop.
"Our idea is to engage everyone in prayer and service, and we found that if people know they'll have music that is familiar to them, they're willing to try other styles," Smith says.
The study also found that both clergy and their congregations are substantially grayer now than in 1998. The average age of the lead clergy person in congregations has risen from 48 to 53, and one in three members are over age 60, up from one in four. This is partly the result of people living longer and fewer young families joining congregations.
"The two-parent family with kids is still the main basis of American religious congregational life, but that kind of household is somewhat less common than it used to be," Chaves says.
"And each generation, as it reaches that stage of life, seems to be joining or returning to (a religious congregation) at a slightly lower rate than the one before it."
Gallup: Americans see religious influence waning
Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, according to a new Gallup Poll.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans think religious influence is waning while just 27% say it is increasing. That perspective demonstrates a continuing downward trend, Gallup said.
But the 27% figure is still higher than the record low, set in a 1970 poll, when just 14% of Americans thought religion was increasing in influence.
Those who regularly attend worship services are more likely to say religion is losing its influence; three out of four weekly attenders (74 percent) said religious influence is falling, compared to 24% who thought its influence is on the rise.
At other times in American history, religion has been perceived by more Americans as having increasing significance. In 1957, 69% thought its influence was increasing, compared to 14% who thought it was declining. Likewise, in 2001, three months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 71% saw an increasing religious influence, compared to 24% who said it was decreasing.
The latest poll also finds that the percentage of Americans believing that religion "can answer all or most of today's problems" has reached an all-time low. Slightly more than half of those surveyed — 53% — held that view, while 28% say it is "largely old-fashioned and out of date."
The poll results are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 4-7 with 1,009 adults; the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-12-26-faith-influence_N.htm
Mormons prepared for hard times They may be among the best able to weather an economic downturn.
SALT LAKE CITY - Bishop's Storehouse looks like any other grocery store at first glance: The shelves are neatly lined with canned goods and the smell of fresh bread wafts through the aisles.
But there are no cash registers. The fruits and vegetables, just-made cheeses and milk are free — a safety net for those in need provided by the 13 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We like to call it the best food money can't buy," said Jim Goodrich, who oversees the storehouse and other facilities on the church's 13-plus-acre Welfare Square.
Mormons may be among the country's best prepared to weather the current economic hard times. Since the Great Depression, church leaders have preached a doctrine of self-reliance and selflessness, calling on members to plan for their own future while tending to the needs of others."It's a critical component of our theology," said Bishop David Burton, a senior church administrator who oversees the faith's worldwide welfare and humanitarian services programs.
Year's supply of emergency food
Members are encouraged to squirrel away a few months' worth of living expenses and stock a one-year supply of emergency food. Church handouts, classes and a Web site describe how to prepare, store and cook with emergency food supplies so nothing goes to waste.
Each month, members skip two meals and give the money they would have spent on food to church welfare programs, paying for the commodities, clothing, job training and other services made available to the needy.
The church also works in partnership with other faith traditions and local social service agencies to share surplus commodities and support services.
Goodrich's Welfare Square is the heart of the program. Founded in the 1930s, the square is home to a cannery and milk- and cheese-processing facility; a 16 million-pound grain elevator; and a bakery, storehouse, thrift store and employment center, all of which are run mostly by volunteers serving church missions.
Over the years, the safety net has extended worldwide to include farms, orchards, dairies and cattle ranches that provide the raw material for the commodities harvested, processed and packaged at church facilities.
Each product carries the "Deseret" label — a Book of Mormon word that is a synonym for honeybee and a metaphor for the industriousness of church members.
"What we see today is the product of 60 years of inspired leadership and a lot of hard work," Burton said. "I can't tell you the cumulative investment, but it's minor in terms of the cumulative effort on the part of thousands and thousands."
Commodities first
Church members seek out their local congregation leader, called a bishop, to access the system. Bishops — there are 27,000 worldwide — also have a pool of cash to pay for housing, medical needs or keep the utilities on, although the church prefers to provide commodities first, Burton said.
Assistance comes with the expectation of reciprocal service, whether it's a few hours of volunteer work on the square stocking shelves or some other form of service.
Jennifer Williams was hesitant to accept help. Fresh out of college and in the middle of a difficult divorce, she was struggling to find a career that matched her skills — fluency in Russian and a political science education.
"One of the things that makes it so hard is that you think it's just for people who don't have a job, not for someone like me, working, middle-class and educated," said Williams, 29, now of Washington, D.C. "But, you know, needing help is OK."
Without money to buy a gallon of milk, she temporarily stocked her pantry with church commodities and used the training she got in an executive job search program to land a job with a defense contractor.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28392743/
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