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? (Matthew 6:25 KJV)
My heart is heavy because I lost a friend this week, but I don't regret it. At some point you have stand up for what it is that you believe in, and although it may seem strange every now and then you just have to let God have your back. As there is a thin line between love and hate, there is also a thin line between acts of kindness and acts with a hidden agenda. It's not about who's right or wrong, there are no good guys and bad guys in this situation, it just means that God has called us to go separate ways, therefore I must comply.
The church as we know it is in a state of emergency simply because some are more committed to widely accepted traditional rules rather than accepting the word of God as is; in its totality. Some say that women are not called to preach, others say it doesn't matter. Some say that praise dancing should not be welcomed into the worship service, others say that youth should be allowed to use their gifts in any way they see fit as long as it's for God's glory. Some say that women should not wear pants in worship, others say just let them come. They also say that young people cannot experience the presence of the Holy Spirit freely and openly in worship, while others encourage youth to seek God at an early age. It has also been said that Christians should not strive to be music entertainers, actors, tax collectors, comedians, or active members of Greek organizations, while there are impactful clergy members around the world who have brought souls to Christ by giving God glory every step of the way all throughout their success. So who's right and who's wrong?
How can we expect those who are not saved to come to Christ when we show the world nothing, but a divided church? The real issue is the fact that too many Christians have given themselves the right to police others with more of their opinion, and less of God's word. We like to think that we know what's best for everyone around us. If people don't see things our way, we then believe that those who don't agree with us are not about God's business. We've qualified ourselves and extended to self, the right and ability to chastise those who we feel live in conflict with what we think is right and what we think is wrong. We disrespect others, and paste God's name misconstruing the context and content of scripture to make our point, because we don't understand that everyone's walk with Christ is different, and that we must allow others to live according to their own conviction and truth. We spend too much time over thinking things and making them more complicated than they should be. We're more fascinated with the theatrics and the production of ministry than we are the meat and matter of what it is that God is trying to do. Therefore, we judge things based off of how they looked, and what we think we saw. And how bad it looks in our opinion, or how we feel others who are affiliated with us may feel about what it is that we feel a certain way about. All the while, God is saying....ye must be born again.
Who are we trying to please, what have we become? Have we given ourselves a promotion, that God has not ordained? Have we forgotten that we ourselves are not without spot or wrinkle, and that without the blood of Jesus we are nothing, or have we arrived? God did not call us to speak on his behalf or in his stead, he called us to be his vessel. We've allowed ourselves to conform to the ideals of the old school four walls, that we despised as children. The one who said that we must act a certain way, look a certain way, and live our lives according to the rules set by those in the pew to the left and right of us. Jesus built his church on a rock, not in a box. God is not soliciting the help of great pretenders. Saved doesn't look a certain way, and Christians are not limited to a select few of occupations. At what point will we begin to understand that the dress, pants, praise dances, or Greek affiliations do not speak to the maturity of the spirit. There are plenty of people who look nice who will not make it into heaven. This is why the Apostle Paul told us to take no thought to those things but be concerned about the condition of the spirit. Which is why scripture all the more goes on to tell us that we are justified by our faith. God looks not at our outward appearance, he looks on the inside to judge a man, because that's the only thing that clothes can not cover up. Our goal as children of the king should always be to uplift one another, and set the example that we look to see in others. It's never ok to jump to conclusions, neither is it ok to look down upon our fellow brother or sister in Christ because they're not where we feel they should be in their walk with Christ. Let us always through love, communicate with one another with the spirit of God, for we will only be able to work together diligently when we humble ourselves and do God's thing.
Let us bow:
Heavenly Father,
Please help me to forgive those who have hurt me, disrespected me, talked about me, and made me feel a way that was not pleasing to your spirit within me. Help me to keep my mind stayed on you regardless of the opinions of those around me. Lord, I ask that you remove those who do not need to be in my life that I may continue to grow in you. Give me the courage to stand on your word in its totality that I may continue to be who it is that you've called me to be. Bless me and keep me in your will, in your name I pray, Amen!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment