Not an All Inclusive Club

Matt 10:  21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

If the church, meaning we as individuals and we as a combined unit under the name Methodist, cannot stand firmly on God's word, we reduce it to a meaningless and irrelevant document.  Today's politically correct secular society demands inclusion and acceptance of all behaviors or hurls accusations of judgment and failure to love.  In fact, failure to love is exactly acceptance of just any behavior.  I don't love my children properly if I don't demand they respect authority or keep them safe from harm.  That requires that I observe and when necessary correct their behavior.  That isn't judgment, its the ultimate form of love. 
What do you stand for today?  Jesus said we would be hated because of Him in the very next verse.  If we're being effective in our witness, someone should be hating us.  Obviously seeking out hatred isn't our goal, but if we're effectively witnessing, we should be stepping on some toes.  Like parenting, being a functioning Christian means showing love in all its forms including accountability.  Who is alienated by your witness?  Much more importantly, who is in the fold today because you were obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit?  
We spend a lot of time ranking football and other sports.  We should probably spend some time assessing our witness as it has eternal value (or not!).   Do we really have the courage to take a stand for God and His word (Christ!) whether popular or not, or have we bought into the lie that church should only be a place of positive reinforcement? 

Repentance required for Forgiveness

Luke 13: 3  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

I had a brief conversation with Ryan about the work of Christ on the cross and how to receive forgiveness.  Scripture is clear from (at least) Ezekiel 3 on through Revelation that the floodgates of forgiveness are opened through repentance.  Repentance isn't simply acknowledging that you're a sinner, that really takes no rocket scientist to discern.  Repentance is digging deep, confessing specific sins, and literally turning away from that sin.  Yet I find that I am simply not capable of leaving a life of sin.  This is where I truly need God's grace.  Not just forgiveness, but a grace that removes my dependence on sin whatever its form.  Sin means that I have made self-centered decisions and in order to make decisions with the best interests of God and others or perhaps even myself, I need to be a different person.  I cannot make myself new, but God can.  Being made new only begins with forgiveness and is made complete when I truly yield to God's Lordship and begin to follow His lead on a consistent basis. 
Wesley described God's grace as being manifested in three ways: prevenient grace - God calling you into relationship (Rev 3:20), God's justifying grace - that moment when you acknowledge your sin and yield your life to Christ as your Savior and Lord, and Sanctification - that process of being made holy or Christ-like.  These help me understand how God works in us. 
"Christians" living a life of unrepentant sin have closed God off to at least an area of their lives.  I am unworthy and unable to judge whether they have professed true belief and dependence on Christ, or have simply signed up for life assurance without buying into the covenant of making Christ Lord.  What I do know is that the forgiving work of Christ was complete on the cross and is available to all who repent.  The complete work of Christ was His demonstration of power over death which is the source of all hope in this world and the next. 
Repentance means to turn away or around, not keep living life as before.  I know I am unable to truly repent without God's help.  Ezekiel had a stern message of destruction without repentance.  That message, like our God, remains true today.  Unfortunately, the message of repentance has been watered down and is leading many to believe that repentance is a simple thing to simply spew out of ones mouth then get on down to brunch on time.  Repentance means to change, not just keep on living a self-centered life making self-centered decisions.  Repentance changes us literally by the Grace of God. 

If Only

Everyone is always looking for that prize in life.  The prize is different things at different times.  I like to call them “if onlys”.  For instance, my son’s “if onlys” seem to be if only he had that truck, or those tires, or those lights, or that lift.  A young adult might have the “if only” of if only they could date that person or get that job paying that much.  Older people like me might would have the “if only” of if only our kids could make that on their ACT or get a scholarship or make good grades so they can have their best chance for a secure future. 

I think it is hard to live in this world not in a “if only” mind due to the constant pelting of negative influence the world throws at us.  It is incredibly hard for young parents to not wish their kids were more athletic or smarter or more handsome than other kids.  But this type of attitude actually shows us the state of our love condition.  If we love people like God does, we want them to have the best kids and the greatest of families even if we think it is an injustice.  Paul reflects this type of mindset in 1 Corinthians 6 regarding disputes with one another by saying “Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that?  Why not let yourselves be cheated?”.  Jesus said “If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other.  If you are sued in court for your shirt, give your coat.  If a soldier demands you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two.”  Many times, our “if only” is based on what we think we deserve and it is that heart condition that must be our focus for God’s work.

If ever you get the experience, no matter how painful it is to get there or the scar left behind, to get the opportunity to depend upon God to do something and only He can do it, you realize that there is a much higher calling to live in.  This starts with desperate hearts that pray for God because there is no other way.  It has to be God.  Then there is a fullness that develops when such prayers are answered.  The unseen God and His unseen hand become known realities.  The evil one desperately wants no person to come to that realization.  The movie, War Room, reflects such an experience in the lives of a family.

My “if only” is live every day, every moment in the desperation and confident prayer of only God is the answer and it will be God.  Not just live in that in the extreme moments of life.  I see others go through great hardships and run to God in those times, but after some time has passed the urgency of having God in their life diminishes and they begin to walk back to where they were before.  This is a tragedy.  If only I can live every single moment of time praying urgently for God to perform His miracles and ready to praise Him at every opportunity.  I believe this is the way we are supposed to live.

Rest

Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

How does one return to work after a week of work/vacation in Hawaii?  How nice it was to have Reja and Kerianne accompany me on a work trip to Waikiki.  From there we ventured out sightseeing, snorkeling with tropical fish and sea turtles, and walking through a lush tropical rainforest to a waterfall that conjures up my vision of the Garden of Eden.  After a week of relaxed pace and quality time with family, I'm convinced of just how much I needed a break. 
Summers are relentless with so much to do at work, home, and church.  I cherish those activities, but like a learned trying to paddleboard in the surf off of Waikiki, I'm not as young as I picture myself to be and my body simply isn't in the physical shape it once was.  So, I grow weary.  Weary of physical and mental activity as well as weary of trying to do things I once came easily are now difficult or even out of my grasp.  It's tempting to return to work with regrets, yet I cannot.  I choose to focus on the many positives.
It was nice to have quality time with both Reja and Kerianne.  It wasn't clear that either could go with me until about a week before departure.  Even then, Reja wasn't sure it would be worth the investment in dollars and time off from her busy job.  She had a legitimate concern that I would be working all day and not have time to spend with them.  Yet, God saw to it that I had plenty of time to spend with them while getting my responsibilities accomplished for work.  He gave us rest which showed in our attitudes as the week unfolded.  He gave us countless awe inspiring vistas to share in wonderment and numerous meals with vibrant fellowship.  In all, while not perfect, we had an awesome time and returned refreshed as a family. 
It was also incredibly nice to return home to visit with Ryan.  He had come home to fix the front end on his truck.  We're blessed with knowledgeable and selfless friends who surrounded us that weekend and helped Ryan fix his truck, made sure our dogs were cared for, and even filled our fridge with groceries upon our return. 
God takes care of the details in spite of my lack of faith and I return to work full of praise for His works.  He answered my numerous prayers not for fun activities, although we had them, but for quality time in fellowship as a family of three.  He took extra care of Ryan in our absence.  He even saw to the care of our dogs and to our needs upon return home. 
So, I return not full of regret that I have get back to the grind, but full of praise for the work He has done.  The things He gave me were beyond my grasp.  He knew I needed them even when I couldn't quite give them the right words.  He was at work where He knew I most needed Him and so I return to work content.  Content with the life, family, friends, and gifts He has given me.  I'm grateful to Him and to those who He has called to minister to me and my family.  How blessed I am!

Unacceptable

I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you … You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame.  And you should remove this man from your fellowship. (1a-2)

You must call a meeting of the church.  I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus.  Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. (4-5)

Paul condemns the church’s pride over their acceptance of this man who is in obvious sexual sin and continues in it as he participates in the church body.  He says in verse 6 that the church was even boasting in how they had accepted such a person.  Oh my how this pervades our church today with regard to homosexual sin, so much that it allows such as ministers of this very Word which condemns the presence in the church of such a person!  Oh my how this pervades Christian families who boast in their acceptance of one another and do not confront one another who claim to be a believer but who engage in sexual sin actively without repenting in truth and opening discussing such when asked.  We believers should be mourning the loss of such a person and heart-broken that they would choose the ways of the world and themselves over God and even us.

Your boasting about this is terrible.  Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you.  Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are.  Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.  So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. (6-8)

Paul is very clear what to do with someone who claims to be a believer but refuses to remove sexual sin in their life.  You remove them from your church and from being among you.  Why?  So they do not ruin the group.  A little accepted sin, make the whole meal unacceptable to Christ.  We are cleaned completely from sin.  If we accept any sin from an  unapologetic person because they believe they can do what they believe to be right, which makes them God, we all are unacceptable and are ruined as we allow their words to overrule God’s Word.  Therefore, this person must be removed from among us. 

You are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people.  Don’t even eat with such people. (11)

I don’t see how this isn’t crystal clear.

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.  God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” (12-13) – 2 Corinthians 5:(selected)

And yes, if such people claim to be a believer, we are allowed to judge their actions inside the church.  This is quite contrary to what the world would want us to believe.  Yet it is written very clearly.  The only reason us Christians even accept any alternate position is because we do not read the Bible so we do not know it or we select the parts we want to believe and therefore do not have a full faith.  Both are unacceptable.

In Christ Alone

I awoke this morning singing In Christ Alone.  HERE is the song as sung by Travis Cottrel.  The last refrain has the following lyrics:

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

“No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand.”  I might be in conflict with others today and I might have to wade through schemes from people who seek to either lift themselves or push me down, or both, but Jesus is still God and He still holds me.  I do not have to dwell with the pigs in the sty because He has lifted me out of it and cleaned the mud from me.  He has received me with open arms and He holds me.  I can dwell in His presence even as my physical body exists in this world. 

In fact, I believe this is how He intends for us to live daily.  We are not of this world.  Jesus said in John 15:19, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”  It hates you.  Matthew Henry comments, “How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship!”  I continue to be overwhelmed at the constant assurance I get over and over and over from God in this difficult time. 

How does someone oppose the doctrine of Christ?  It’s simple, they do not obey His Words.  He Himself said, “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15), “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.“ (Jn 14:23), and 1 John 5:3 says “In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands”.  Matthew Henry is reflecting upon how little time people spend to comprehend that when they oppose Jesus, by not doing what He says, they make themselves unable to understand God, while professing to worship Him.  While difficult to comprehend, it is true nonetheless.

Someone who actively participates in actions that do not equal what God says in His Word cannot be relied upon.  The cause for their actions, their words, and their wisdoms serve a purpose that is not God’s.  It’s impossible to understand God if you can’t hear Him.  If you can’t hear Him, you are just guessing at what you think is best, or you are just doing what is best for you.  James says that “their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

We are to live as a part of Christ.  Christ commands my destiny.  His Spirit has to dominate.  We have to learn to live every day, every moment in the mind of Christ.  Either He is in that moment or we’re not going to make it.  It is Jesus or nothing.  It is In Christ Alone.

The Lord is My Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd” – Psalm 23:1

“The Lord”.  There is no other.  There is only one true living God. 

Stephen Curtis Chapman sings a great song entitled God is God.  In it he says, “God is God and I am not.”  This is a testimony to the one true God and that He is the only God.  HERE is a video of the song that references the slaying of the five missionaries who were trying to reach the Waodani tribe near the Amazon.  The movie End of the Spear is a great watch that tells this story of forgiveness and changed lives.  God allowed for the son and wife of one of the slayed missionaries to become virtual family members to those who killed their father and husband.  How could that be?  Only because of the Lord.  There is no other way.

“The Lord is”.  He exists.  He is.  I don’t hope He is, I know He is.  I don’t think I understand how His ways are best, I know His ways are best because He is.  I don’t just know about God in my mind and have an understanding of words and how they relate to life, He lives in my heart and His Words are impressed upon it.  They fulfill me and plug all my holes.  God is.

“The Lord is my”.  He, the Lord of the universe, the Creator of all things, is personal to me.  He talks quietly to me.  He waits patiently for me.  He is ready for me anytime I want to step towards Him.  He reaches for me and calls out to me.  I have no other friend like Him.  My Lord He alone is.

“The Lord is my shepherd.”  He alone guides me.  He protects me.  He has my best interest in mind and all things around me work together for my good.  He loves me perfectly.  There is no darkness or ill will towards me.  He seeks for me to be all I was created to be and to know more and more of Him as well as I can.  He leads me. 

It is incredibly important for us to search our hearts and verify if we can indeed say in complete faith and belief: There is no other; He is; My Lord; He leads me.  Is there another god in your life?  Do you know without a single doubt that He is?  Is He your Lord or is something else fighting for all of your attention and worship?  Does He lead you or do you follow advice or worldly wisdoms that contradict His Word? 

There can be only one God in our life and that God is God and I am not.

Be Anointed

Anointing is a curious practice.  It seems to be the physical recognition of a calling from God.  One reference describes the origin as being from shepherds who would pour oil on the head of sheep.  The oil would make their wool slippery and keep lice and other insects from burrowing into the sheep’s ears and killing them.  So the term often means smearing with oil, but its implication is symbolic of blessing, protection, and empowerment.

It became a way for people to signify God’s blessing upon their call in life.  This was usually for a special purpose such as becoming a king or a prophet.  David recognized this and valued it highly as he wouldn’t kill Saul because he was God’s appointed king and had been anointed for it.  This term and thought was also recognized in Luke 4:18 as Jesus says God anointed Him to proclaim Good News and free those held captive by sin. 

Because of Jesus, we are anointed today if we believe in Him as the son of the one true living God.  1 John 2:20 says “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.”  Then in verse 27 he says “the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him.”

Our anointing is the presence of the Spirit of God.  Paul asks in 1 Corinthians, who can know the depths of God but the Spirit of God?  We are taught about God from His Spirit Who dwells within us.  Why do we love others who hurt us – because Christ is in our heart.  Why do we forgive one another – because Christ is in our heart.  How can we teach or preach when we have no training – because Christ is in our heart.  How can we serve others whom we do not know and don’t deserve it – because Christ is in our heart.  We are anointed by His presence in our hearts and it is this presence that blesses, protects, and empowers us to do our calling and have a purpose to live.

It isn’t easy.  Jesus told us that the gate is narrow and the fellow travelers are few.  He told us that the world hated Him so it would also hate us … but we are to be joyful because He has overcome the world.  He said the world cannot take us because we are not of this world. 

Be careful today to be not of this world.  Take time to be sure your thoughts are on the narrow path.  Don’t worry about who is not on the path.  Jesus is there and He is enough.  Remember Who it was Who rescued you when there was no one else.  He has overcome this world and He lives in your heart.  Allow that anointing to rule your heart today.

There He Is

So, today I settle down to see where God will lead me in a devotion time.  He has been pulling me to 1 or 2 Corinthians lately.  I naturally started in 1 Corinthians.  But today, just had a tug that I should be in 2 Corinthians and so I started in chapter 4, but then that wasn’t where I should be so I moved to chapter 2 and that was where I was supposed to be today.  It is a difficult thing to sense where God leads sometimes, but when you get there, you usually know that’s where you were supposed to be going.

¹ So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. ² For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. ³ That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. ⁴ I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you. – 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

This is exactly where I am in my relation to my family today.  This text is worded perfectly to describe how I feel with regards to my own brother.  I wrote to him so he could share my joy in a shared faith in Jesus Christ, especially after great failures.  I wrote from a distressed and anguished heart that did not want to see him pained by walking in ways away from God but in obedience to God’s authority.  It has been grievous to me and my wife for almost a year and soon it will affect my children.  It already affects my mother and sister.  Now, I have made up mind not to visit because it is painful and who should I visit but those who are grieved by my effort to hope for you to seek God with your whole heart.  Should I visit and add to your burden?

I praise God for leading me to a passage this morning that describes such a thing as this.  It is so very comforting to learn how someone else had the same feelings and intentions and people were offended by them also.  I pray that I will follow Him more closely so He doesn’t have to call but once and I will respond immediately.  Please God, help me to be right behind You or even alongside of You and nowhere else.

Our Problems are Jesus' Opportunities

Matt Ayers has this awesome devotional written on August 13, 2015.  It is written HERE.  I have copied it below for convenience.

I love the story of when Jesus heals the paralytic in Mark 2:1–12. In this story, Jesus’ popularity has grown to the point where there are so many people coming to see him that the paralytic and his friends cannot get to him. The crowds are blocking the way!

Jesus’ popularity was soaring because he was meeting their physical needs. This is interesting to me. When Jesus was meeting people’s physical needs, they couldn’t get enough of him; when he was dying on the cross, on the other hand, they were no where to be found. This seems to indicate that people are much more interested in Jesus making them comfortable than dealing with their sin problem.

There were so many people that had come to see Jesus that the paralytic’s friends couldn’t get to Jesus. This, however, didn’t stop them. They decided to take their friend-in-need to the roof and lower him down in front of Jesus.

What an act! Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get your friends to Jesus? Are you willing to innovatively work around the obstacles that stand between your friends and Jesus so that they can meet the Savior?

Once they lowered him down in front of Jesus, Jesus did something surprising. Rather than doing what was expected (heal the man’s legs), he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5, ESV). Everyone was wondering at this moment, “What does religion have to do with this? This man’s problem is physical!”

Did you know that every problem in the world is a sin problem at its root? There is no problem today that did not come from the reality of sin in the world. This is why Jesus and Jesus alone can provide a solution to the brokenness of the human condition—because Jesus alone provides a solution to the problem of sin (God’s forgiveness).

The scribes didn’t like what Jesus said. The text reads, “Now some scribes were sitting there, questioning in their heads, ‘Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?'” (Mark 2:7) The scribes didn’t like what Jesus said because he was making himself equal with God! (cf. John 5:15)

So what’s happening here? I believe that Jesus was looking for an opportunity to teach the people who he was. He couldn’t just show up and say, “Greetings, everyone; I’m God.” If he did it that way, they would have killed him on the spot (and they did kill him for this eventually). This explains why Jesus’ teaching about his own divinity was so subtle—so he had time to teach them before they took his life. This means that Jesus needed an opportunity to teach them that he was God.

Is Christ Divided?

One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” …

Is Christ divided? – 1 Corinthians 1:12-13a

This certainly seems to be the question these days for me.  Certain church sects want preachers who directly and purposefully violate something the Word of God unashamedly says.  Lay persons buy in and call for it, other members from other areas declare for it, and the worldly wisdom says it is right for the church.  Since you love the church and want to support it, you speak firmly in accordance to the Word of God, but rather than listen, many call you names and declare you to be out-of-touch and uncaring.

Family members participate in actions that clearly are not based on the Word of God.  So, because you love them you try to get them to realize where they are and what they are doing.  Rather than listen, you are brutalized for your “judgment” and rather than get support from other family, they too shun you for you love.

In the movie The Green Mile, John Coffey says when he is describing how a violent criminal killed two innocent little girls, “He kill them wi’ their love.  Wi’ their love fo’ each other.  That’s how it is, every day, all over the world.” 

The Thirty Years’ War was a series of wars in Europe between Protestant and Catholic states that were belonging to the Holy Roman Empire.  These wars in the 1600’s are defined by Peter Wilson in his book Europe’s Tragedy: A New History of the Thirty Years War as “one of the longest, most destructive conflicts in European history.”  He wrote this in 2010, some 65 years after WWII.  The war had as a foundation unresolved religious conflict among Lutherans, Calvinism, and Catholicism.  It grew to include many other areas as war is seen as opportunity to neighboring states to gain lands.  Overall, it is estimated that 8 million people died to include civilians.  It is estimated that this was about 14% of the population.  Imagine that if you know 8 people, one of them would have died because of these wars.

A lot of death has been caused by people trying to stand on what they believe God should be to others.  We must learn to see that God presents Himself in a unique way to everyone because everyone is unique.  He meets them where they are, not where He wants them to be.  He saves them in their trouble, not from their trouble.  If someone has not learned to walk, how can we declare they do not know God?  Do we base this by our own walking?  The hardest part of standing on what we have been shown by God is not knowing where others are spiritually.  We want them to know and see and love Who and as we do, but if they are unable to do it, we are simply setting them up for a great fall, or worse, creating contempt and division with them.

This does not apply to those who read and know but reject.  It is these people who divide by interpreting God’s Word in their own light and not the light of Jesus and therefore turn the meanings just as Satan did from the beginning with Eve.  It is these people who justify what they want yet seek for all to know how sanctified they are through exterior work and dress, while inside they are corrupt and self-seeking.  It is these people who turn your love for them against you and who gathers up a crowd to crucify you for it. 

We must know that we are Christ’s.  “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” (1 Cor 3:21b-23)  We are not Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Calvinist, Seventh Day Adventist, or Catholic.  We are not Democrat and we are not Republican.  We are Christ’s and we are one body.  May no one have claim to us except the Son of the one true living God! 

Today, Christians are under attack.  We must pray that we be bound together and be one body lest we be torn limb from limb and fragmented across the world.  Pray today for unity in all parts of the body: the church universal, the local church, families, and marriages.  May there be Christ and may only He rule.

Wasted Effort

“My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” - 2 Corinthians 2:4

I am not good at proclaiming the gospel (or “gosful” as I am inclined to pronounce it).  I never have been very good at it.  I am not a salesman.  If I had to make my living selling anything we’d be real hungry.  If you like it, buy it.  If not, don’t.  The last thing I want to do is have someone spend their money on something they don’t really want or on something they can’t afford.  I have the same internal inclination away from “selling” the Good News.  It is like my entire body is rebelling against me if I have to confront people.  It takes so much emotional energy out of me that I often need a quick sugar drink afterwards because I feel so physically wiped out.

The description above is my experience of witnessing, teaching, or preaching when there was direct confrontation regarding salvation or sin to others.  It is difficult and I am uncomfortable in it.  However, this is usually because of my wrongful perception.  It is extremely hard to be a witness and proclaim salvation through Christ if you are perceiving in your own mind the why and how.  The why and how are from God and must be done because of Him and through Him.

Why do I want anyone to know Christ?  Or, a deeper question is do I really desire for them to know Him?  I can only answer that question truthfully as it should be answered if my heart completely believes that anyone who accepts Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection will be saved.  And anyone who lives their life obeying God’s Word as closely as they can will have a more fulfilled life.  If I don’t know this, I can’t commit myself to answering “Yes” to either question above and if I can’t answer with a convincing “Yes” then I am no witness for Christ.  More importantly, I am not teaching or preaching “in His power”.  I sincerely believe that the number one problem today with the witnessing church in America is they cannot answer the two above questions with conviction and certainty.  Because of this the church is not working in the power of God.

There are times when I am able to witness, teach, or preach and it is exciting.  It actually is so encouraging and fulfilling to know that God is spreading His message of hope and truth to others so they can have the best life, the one God crafted for them, and He is using me – even me!  This is a completely different mind and heart.  The power of God is in it and there is no salesmanship involved.  No one has to be a salesman to help another person to a free gift, a gift that will help them and complete them.  Moreso, the message of God in Christ does not need any effort added to it from me, the message and act of love is complete in itself.  There is such a dominating reward in seeing someone accept Christ or repent and turn away from their sinful way simply because God used you.  It is deeply emotional for me.  That is the power of God working.

The first description is a picture of the church working in their own power and the second is a picture of the church working in the power of God.  Paul came to the Corinthians only preaching salvation through Jesus the Son of God.  We should be less concerned about how we do things and why we do things as churches until we figure out where our hearts truly are so we can do His work in His power.  Anything else is wasted effort and will not last.