New Melody Church

Outsiders 5/18/17 John 15:19 King James Version (KJV) 19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Many times in life, each individual that makes his own choice, rather than to, "go with the flow", will feel the ostricization of those around him who choose to accept the ideologies and concepts that drive society as that society deviates from what is deeply believed and demands behavior that cannot coincide nor coexist with those beliefs and concepts. These individuals who choose to cling to precepts taught for Milena, that have proven their truth and validity throughout that lengthy time frame, become "outsiders",  facing ridicule and constant rejection by that society that has "moved on" to "better" practices and beliefs that once were held only by "outsiders". The Christian is, has always been, a...

One Day at a Time   5/6/17 Matthew 6:34 King James Version (KJV) 34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Each new day brings with it new hope, new joy, new reason to expect and to receive blessings that may only come that day, each new day also brings new sorrow, new trouble, new consternation and new fear dependent upon the recipient of what is perceived as blessing or curse. Each new day brings opportunity to either change whatever extant condition may be the cause of turmoil and trouble, or to wallow in the condition and its result rather than make the necessary change required in order to vanquish and overcome. Glass half empty, glass half full, both truisms  that depend on perception, the half empty perception constantly negative, constantly unsatisfied, constantly worrying, while the half full gives pause for thankfulness, gratitu...

Needs, Wants, Expectations, Entitlements and Rights 5/2/17 Matthew 6:24-34 King James Version (KJV) 24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ...

    Farther Along 4/20/17 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 King James Version (KJV) 9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Once again I take a title from the songs I have heard and sung and loved throughout a life that has seen musical styles and tastes change rapidly with each new generation, yet somehow, retaining melodies and words from a past longer than my own, with those new generations eventually learning to love many of them as much as I do as well. I do not quite recall when I first heard this particular hymn, but I well remember the little church where It ...

   Substance and Evidence 5/17/17 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith! A small word often used in conjunction with profession of belief in a concept, or action that has not yet occurred. It is a word often heard used by people communicating belief in someone else, “I have faith in you.”, or I have faith you can do it!” It is a word that is evidenced by behavior when preparing for the day, as in getting dressed for the forecast weather, preparing for expected challenges that may be faced during the work day, exhibited by many throughout life in various aspects of that life. A soldier exhibits faith in command when preparing for battle, faith in the leadership to have the correct and adequate intelligence about his enemy, faith in the equipment given to overcome and defeat that enemy, faith in the training that has prepared him to face that enemy, and faith in his own...

The Forgiven 4/23/17 Isaiah 1:18 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Jesus taught that the only unpardonable, unredeemable sin was that of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, all other sin could be forgiven. Today's title is taken in opposition to a movie title that was its exact opposite, an old western that was well received at the time, about an outlaw that sought redemption, but when confronted with hardship rejected that redemption in favor of returning to the self reliance that initially placed him in the state of unforgiveness of those around him. He returned to the PRIDE of what he was capable of doing, without regard of the consequences of what was done. Too often it is that pride that differentiates between the forgiven and the unforgiven, as that pride prevents the requirement of true repentance being given in turn for t...

The Fierce Urgency of Now 2 Corinthians 6:2 King James Version (KJV) 2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) There  appears to be an ever increasing urgency, an ever increasing ferocity of that urgency that bombards us constantly within the relations and relationships of men, of nations, and of an entire planet held in the thrall of that ferocity and urgency of those thinking themselves in control of it, either in portions or in whole. That urgency is magnified by the division of opinion and fierce denial of opinions of all but the select group that consider themselves superior to the masses, whom they attempt to convince of that superiority despite the proof that that superiority  exists only in the past mistakes made by so many others of the same ilk .... and opinions. Reliance on the ferocity of that urgency that wou...