It is written that judgment would begin in the house of the Lord.
If so, then I don't know quite what to make of a story I heard during our men's Bible study this weekend.
Our pastor as well as a couple of elders heard this story from persons who attended a recent national meeting of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). Our church isn't Presbyterian, but our guys have close friends there.
For generations, the Presbyterian Church has been famous for it's rigid compliance to scripture & morality.
A small group of men usually gather prior to the annual PCUSA meeting to pray for the sessions. That's all the small group does and they do it in a separate nearby location.
The large meeting room has a huge electronic board which is used to tally and display the vote, kind of like the type you see in State legislatures. The annual sessions usually deal with boring matters, but the recent meeting had a radical agenda. The last item on the agenda was an amendment to the church interpretation of scripture. The item asked for a vote to change the view of the Bible from THE word of God to A word of God. When passed it would effectively dilute the substance of the entire book to the level of a secular work. Rumors anticipated that the vote would accept the change by a dramatic margin.
The convention was held for a full week and the weather had been beautiful; warm, clear and sunny. Just before the vote was to be taken the sky suddenly became dark cloudy and ominous. Lightning flashed and a loud clap of thunder shook the entire building. The power went out and the electronic tally board went dark. When power was restored the vote was taken. The item to change the status of the Bible was accepted.
At the same time over in the prayer room, every member suddenly received the impression that they were released from prayer for the PCUSA; permanently.
The persons who told me this story are reliable honest men.
They are not taken to flights of fancy or conspiracy theories.
I believe that what they told me is true.
The meaning of it, in terms of the tide of future events, eludes me.
If so, then I don't know quite what to make of a story I heard during our men's Bible study this weekend.
Our pastor as well as a couple of elders heard this story from persons who attended a recent national meeting of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). Our church isn't Presbyterian, but our guys have close friends there.
For generations, the Presbyterian Church has been famous for it's rigid compliance to scripture & morality.
A small group of men usually gather prior to the annual PCUSA meeting to pray for the sessions. That's all the small group does and they do it in a separate nearby location.
The large meeting room has a huge electronic board which is used to tally and display the vote, kind of like the type you see in State legislatures. The annual sessions usually deal with boring matters, but the recent meeting had a radical agenda. The last item on the agenda was an amendment to the church interpretation of scripture. The item asked for a vote to change the view of the Bible from THE word of God to A word of God. When passed it would effectively dilute the substance of the entire book to the level of a secular work. Rumors anticipated that the vote would accept the change by a dramatic margin.
The convention was held for a full week and the weather had been beautiful; warm, clear and sunny. Just before the vote was to be taken the sky suddenly became dark cloudy and ominous. Lightning flashed and a loud clap of thunder shook the entire building. The power went out and the electronic tally board went dark. When power was restored the vote was taken. The item to change the status of the Bible was accepted.
At the same time over in the prayer room, every member suddenly received the impression that they were released from prayer for the PCUSA; permanently.
The persons who told me this story are reliable honest men.
They are not taken to flights of fancy or conspiracy theories.
I believe that what they told me is true.
The meaning of it, in terms of the tide of future events, eludes me.