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From time to time, pastors have something called an “anointing service” primarily using olive oil.  While there are examples in the Old Testament where oil was used to anoint Kings and Priests, is there evidence of its use in the New Testament?  What is the purpose of an anointing service anyway?  Is it for healing as discussed in James 5 or for some other reason?  According to my research, theologians seem to have varied opinions on the application of James 5:14-15.  Some reject it as a practice for today. Some try to obey it exactly as detailed in James and do it only when someone specifically calls for the elders of the church.  Others go much further than James and make the use of oil a regular part of an anointing service.

James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.“

Could it be that some pastors’ actions become a mockery by setting up healing lines at anointing services and use James 5 to support their actions even though this passage does not support healing services?  I can find no reference that the New Testament church was ever commanded to have anointing services.  However, there does not appear to be any serious opposition to those who practice anointing of the sick when they call for the elders of the church according to the instructions in James.

Anointing with oil was a Jewish practice and apparently never mentioned among the Gentiles. I can only find references to anointing with oil for the purpose of healing only two times in the New Testament—James 5:14 and Mark 6:13.  Mark 6:13 states, “And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”  This scripture seems to refer to the time Jesus sent His disciples out two by two (v7)–“And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.”  One of His commands was that they go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6).  Obviously, it was a Jewish practice.  Although James has practical instruction for all of us, it was written to Jewish believers. For example, James 1.2 states, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” The “twelve tribes” refer to the Jewish people. Anointing with oil for healing is never mentioned in any other context in the New Testament.

Anointing with oil was an early practice that was never mentioned during the age of grace.  Even speaking in tongues was mentioned much later than anointing with oil and there were different practices for the sick in later times.  For example, Paul prayed for the removal of the thorn in the flesh (2Corinthians 12:7-9).  He gave a medical prescription to Timothy (1Timothy 5:23).  He often kept Luke the physician close to him (2Timothy 4:11); and he had to leave Trophimus at Miletum sick (2Timothy 4:20).  If Paul had to ability to heal by anointing with oil, why didn’t he use that ability?

The early healings were confirmations that the spoken words of Christ and His apostles were truly from God.  Mark 16:20 says, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”  The signs (miracles) referred to were for the purpose of confirming the word and they provided absolute deliverance from physical illness.

James states that, “the prayer of faith shall save the sick.”  This is a promise of healing and means that all who sought the elders and received the prayer of faith would be healed.  Jesus went about “healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:3-5).  Jesus sent out His apostles with power “to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease” (Matthew 10:1).  Even after His resurrection, the apostles received sick folks and “healed every one” (Acts 5:16).  It was only later that Paul prayed for deliverance and was refused (2Corinthians 12:7-9) or had to leave a co-worker behind because he was sick (2Timothy 4:20).  When they first started, all who came to be healed were healed. Now, God shows us that He sometimes fulfills His will through sickness.

What is the purpose of an oil anointing service today?  Oil was considered very valuable during biblical times. It was so valuable that God required a tithe of it to be given (Deuteronomy 12:17, 14:22-23) (Nehemiah 13:12).  In the Bible, oil is generally considered to be a symbol for the Holy Spirit.  As such, it could not be used when making an offering for sin (Leviticus 5:11; Numbers 5:15).  People were anointed with oil to set them apart for service to the Lord.  Mainly this was done for priests and for kings.  The Tabernacle and all of the items associated with it were also anointed with oil (Exodus 30:22-29, 40:9-11).  This was done with a special kind of oil that was mixed with different spices and ingredients, and it was not to be used for any other purpose (Exodus 30:22-23).

Why, then, are a few pastors today anxious to implement the anointing of oil into modern church practice? It could be that some are very sincere, wanting to do God’s will, yet misunderstanding the nature of the passage in James.  On the other hand, it may be the case that a few in the church today are simply looking for a new experience of some sort.

Anointing people to set them apart for God’s service appears to have ended in the Old Testament.  I could find no example of any person who was anointed with oil in the New Testament to set them apart for service to the Lord.  While there does not appear to be any evidence that we should be anointing people today, I don’t believe there is any harm in doing so.  However, we should keep in mind the reason why oil was used in the Bible. In the end, anointing with oil is never simply about healing the sick. It is chiefly about God getting the glory for being God, but that’s just my take.

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According to recent polls, Newt Gingrich has become the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President.  If Gingrich becomes the nominee, he will never become President since he lacks credibility, has no honor, establishment Republicans don’t like him, some Republicans would rather vote for Obama and he has more baggage than any other candidate.  However, the Democratic Party would be ecstatic if Gingrich is the nominee.

Gingrich was elected to the House of Representatives in 1978 and he quickly moved up the ranks within the House GOP caucus.  Democrats accused him of practicing “skinhead politics” and a 1989 Washington Post profile declared him “notorious” and “defiant.”  Gingrich’s political tactics worked as he led the Republican Party in their remarkable retaking of the House and became the speaker.  Gingrich did not last long in the post and his demise was marked by a government shutdown, the Republican Party’s “sex-and-lies” impeachment campaign against President Clinton, and several ethics controversies involving Gingrich; therefore, the GOP lost seats and their majority in the 1998 election.  Gingrich later resigned as speaker and left the House basically in disgrace.  He may have gotten distracted during this time as Speaker since he was having an extramarital affair with a congressional aide who eventually became his third wife.

Just prior to his election to the House in 1978, in an address to College Republicans, Gingrich said, “I think one of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty. We encourage you to be neat, obedient, and loyal and faithful and all those Boy Scout words.” He added, “Richard Nixon…Gerald Ford…They have done a terrible job, a pathetic job. In my lifetime, in my lifetime—I was born in 1943—we have not had a competent national Republican leader. Not ever.”  Gingrich became a “nasty” politician.

Republican candidates and other Republicans have already began launching attack ads against Gingrich showing how he worked with Hillary Clinton on health care issues and how he sat on a couch with Nancy Pelosi to highlight their joint support for climate change action.  After the 2008 election, Gingrich called for policymaking to unite Democrats, Republicans, and independents and he even blasted a candidate for GOP chairman who circulated a distortion song called “Barack the Magic Negro.” Still, Newt wasn’t able to escape the alarm bell of impassioned rhetoric. He repeatedly bashed the “secular left” for attempting to destroy the country and returned to his pathetic tactics of his past.

When Gingrich was far behind in the polls, the other Republican candidates basically ignored him.  That has changed and his liabilities are catching up with him.  We all know that Gingrich is best known for serving his wife with divorce papers while she was recovering from cancer surgery so he could marry his mistress whom he later divorced to marry a staffer.  Gingrich is the only House Speaker in American history to be disciplined by Congress for ethics violations.  In 1998, he paid a $300,000 fine after he was found to have been misusing his tax-exempt foundations for political gain.  Can you imagine having a President who committed ethics violations?

Gingrich was also responsible for shutting down the government in 1995 partly because President Clinton allegedly snubbed him by seating him in the rear of Air Force One on a flight home from Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral.  Gingrich also advocated that the children of welfare recipients should be taken away from their parents and raised in orphanages, he led the charge to impeach President  Clinton while lying about an adulterous affair with a staffer whom he eventually married, he insists that President Obama suffers from “a Kenyan anti-colonial mindset” like his Kenyan father even though Obama barely knew his father, he denounced Paul Ryan’s radical budget as “right-wing social engineering,” then flip-flopped and warned that “any ad which quotes what I said Sunday is a falsehood,” and he rallied against President Obama’s alleged “class warfare” as he ran up a $500,000 jewelry tab at Tiffany’s.

One of Gingrich’s most egregious statements was when he blamed the Susan Smith case (the South Carolina mother who murdered her young sons in 1994) on Democrats.  Prior to the 1994 election, Gingrich said: “I think that the mother killing the two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick the society is getting and how much we need to change things.  The only way you get change is to vote Republican.”   Gingrich defended his comments by stating that Democratic rule had frayed the moral fabric of the country: “We need very deep change if we’re going to turn this country around.” Asked directly if he was saying electing Republicans could stop killings like Smith’s, he said flatly: “Yes. In my judgment, there’s no question.”

Gingrich recently said that poor kids should work as janitors, commenting that they have “no habits of working” nor getting paid for their endeavors “unless it’s illegal.”  “Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits for working and have nobody around them who works. So they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday,” Gingrich told more than 500 employees inside the Nationwide Insurance lunchroom as reported by NBC News. Adding that he thought child labor laws to be “truly stupid,” he continued: “And let me get into the janitor thing. What if they became assistant janitors and their job was to mop the floor and clean the bathroom?”

Most Americans are a caring and compassionate people and would never elect anyone as President with the baggage that Gingrich carries.  He left Congress in disgrace after misusing foundation funds, he denies being a lobbyist after receiving at least 1.3 million dollars from Freddie Mac and Frannie Mae, he wants to get rid of US child labor laws, and he cheated on both of his wives.  Gingrich is unfit to serve in the highest office in the land, but that’s just my take.

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At your job, one of the most important things will be that you understand how to do the things you need to do in order to score high praise; of course, one reason why you want to do this is because high praise from those above you is a great indication that you are doing the job you are supposed to be doing, but the other reason why scoring high praise is an important part of your job is that this can give you the energy and the drive you need in order to keep doing great work!

Being willing to take on challenging assignments is one of the first things you need to do in order to score high praise at work; many people try to avoid the assignments that will be more difficult, but your higher-ups at work know which are the more difficult projects and assignments, and they will certainly notice if you are always the person volunteering to tackle these projects as others shy away from them.

You should also be willing to work harder than what is expected of you when you are looking to score high praise at work, as going over and above expectations will catch the eye of those above you – and even if you do not do a perfect job on a project or assignment, you will be given a bit more room for error if they see that you are always working as hard as you can to go over and above

And as you wait for your hard work to pay off, it will be important that you have a bit of patience; you will not always see the fruits of your labors right away, but as you continue plugging away and working hard, this will certainly be noticed in time, and you will be rewarded accordingly – with high praise, and with all the other things that come with this.

Of course, in the end, you should truly be working as hard as you can at work simply for yourself, always knowing that you are doing the best job possible – but scoring high praise at work is certainly an added benefit of this hard work, and in taking this approach, you will reach this desired end result.

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