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Post Info TOPIC: Cassettes and Conventions (Hosea 4:8-9)


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Cassettes and Conventions (Hosea 4:8-9)
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You encourage others to sin, so you can stuff yourselves on their sin offerings. That's why I will punish the people for their deeds, just as I will punish you priests.

(Hosea 4:8-9 CEV)

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Conventions and cassettes. They can be soooooooo fun. Every year right around Easter, New York will have its district youth convention in Syracuse. Every year, on the first night as part of the altar call they would have this big bucket that people could drop in things they were giving up to God. Afterwards I'd sneak over and dip in. There would be lots of paper, pictures, pot, and cassette tapes. I'd smash open those tapes and take the spools. Have you ever seen someone wrapped up like a mummy in thin brown cassette tape? Don't worry, we didn't just leave him all wrapped up like that. We threw him in the elevator and pushed every button.

The fact is, I was glad when people would come and bring their sin to the altar. I rejoiced when they would decide it was time to give up their Snoop Doggy Dog and Metallica tapes. But I was rejoicing for the wrong reasons. Their getting right with God meant good times for me. I never actually encouraged people to buy those tapes beforehand, but that's only because I didn't have the foresight to do so. If the thought occurred to me, I probably would have.

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When an Israelite would sin, they would have to bring an animal offering to the Temple. It would be burned on the altar and the priest would get a choice portion of the meat. This was the priest's salary. They literally lived off the sacrifices of the people. On the one hand, it was a necessary provision. I mean a man's gotta eat, right? But can you see where this could go wrong. The more people sin the more I get fed.

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I remember I used to keep count of the number of people I'd led to the Lord. After all, my nickname in high school was Bible Boy and I needed to live up to the reputation right? There was a guy where I worked when I was a freshman at Zion Bible Institute. I was working hard on him. We'd get together every break and after work. One by one the roadblocks were coming down and he was close. Oh so close. Then one day he walks into a car shop and the auto mechanic asks him, "Brother are you saved?" Right then and there he does it.

The audacity of that mechanic. Didn't he know how much time I'd put in planting seeds? How dare he steal my sheep. When I found out, my initial reaction was disappointment. My chance for bragging rights was stolen from me. I could just picture myself standing in front of a crowd of fellow Bible college students during a chapel sharing how "God worked through me". And now it's gone.

Yes, its good to be out there sharing my faith. Yes, its good when the people would bring in their sin offerings. Yes, its good when people would give up their bad music and the other things at Convention. But why? I need to keep the focus off me and on the bigger picture.

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-- Edited by Beejai at 05:58, 2008-10-20

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Marie Elena Boyer

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Often times when we witness and are blessed enough to see the fruits of our labor, with each acknowledgment others may try to bestow on us is like we are recieving a rose. We go through life collecting these roses and as Christ stated that the glory and honor should be given to the Father, we too should hold fast that any complements or ...  thankfulness others offer us is for the Father as well by handing over these bouquets. I know I don't want to stand before Christ with his petals in my pockets.


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