“Some people are saying” isn’t something a Christian should ever say. If there’s something wrong at your church, then it needs to be exposed in the light. You’re not acting faithfully if you hold back and don’t expose something that is wrong. You’re also acting wickedly if you’re talking about things that you think are wrong, but only with a select group of people, causing factions and divisions. If it’s bad, expose it publicly, if your complaint won’t hold up to public scrutiny, then you need to let it go. Harboring secret dissatisfaction, feeding it within wicked clicks of subversive minority power groups seeking to get their own way, is nothing but evil. God will not bless this kind of wickedness. Examine your own life. Do you support your church, it’s leaders, your pastor? If you don’t, why not? Have you brought your dissatisfaction to the church? If not, why not? Is it because you’d look ridiculous and petty to say it publicly? Then you have some repenting to do. It is never a brave thing to withhold the light. Godly leaders never run from the light. Our goal is the gospel, there is no other reason for being here. We are called, even as Paul was, by God for his kingdom work. Nobody is perfect, when we see a brother or sister going the wrong way, we need to expose it to the light. If their goal is the gospel, they will thank you for it. If their goal is to look good, then they will reveal themselves as not only your enemy, but an enemy of the gospel. We are not saved by being good enough, we are saved by faith. That means when we mess up, we admit it and embrace God’s grace all the more. We are not slaves expected to live perfectly, we’re sons who are seeking to please their father who loves them simply because we are sons. We need to follow Jesus, there is no other way. We are free in Christ, even though it seems like freedom to do whatever we want, genuine freedom comes by following Jesus. The Holy Spirit is always with us to empower us. We need to be there for one another, lifting fellow believers up. Quick to forgive and slow to hold a grudge, understanding that we all make mistakes. We are so blessed, shouldn’t we be a blessing to others? Have we been saved by what we’ve done, or by grace through faith in Jesus Christ? If we’ve been saved by grace, shouldn’t we extend that grace to others? We are one in Christ, Christians are in this together. It’s an amazing thing, not only are we saved individually, but we are a people. This is our new life. Individually faithful and part of a community of believers. Trust in Jesus and help one another. The Lord will bless your efforts.
Day 24: Ephesians 5 – Colossians 4
Day 25: 1Thessalonians 1 – 1Timothy 6
Day 26: 2Timothy 1 – Hebrews 6
Day 27: Hebrews 7 – James 2
Day 28: James 3 – 1John 1
Day 29: 1John 2 – Revelation 4
Day 30: Revelation 5 – 22
Day 31: Pray and prepare for 2018!!!
