This is today's devotion that I sent out. I wanted to share it with others as a reminder that we are not lone rangers or lone groups in the body of Christ. There is one body of which we are several members.
Acts 14:22 (KJV) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Note the passion, the fervent commitment on the part of the body of Christ that together, we must enter into the kingdom of God. Failure is not an option. Whatever trials or tribulations we must endure are of little cost compared to the objective of entering into the kingdom of God. We leave no one behind that desires to enter. Has this passion dissipated since that first generation of believers? Are we now more committed to superficial things such as denomination or doctrine? Or even more disconcerting, have we become more engrossed in self than in others? Many times, it appears the statement has changed to “I must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” The personal responsibility of helping others enter has been discarded like so many flotsam and jetsam. Bear another’s burden in order to help them enter into the kingdom? I have enough burdens of my own! It is time we begin to strip away those issues of little consequence and begin focusing on the true objective – we must enter into the kingdom of God.
I pray that this will serve as a reminder that we keep our focus on what the true goal is.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A House Divided
It is amazing to me how we, as Christians, have allowed ourselves to become so easily divided over specific areas of Scripture. What's more, we have become so obsessed with being right, we completely neglect that our aim should be to come into the knowledge of the truth, then conform our lives to the truth. There are certainly areas where we can agree to disagree, yet still move forward together to continue to build the body of Christ. Yet, in our selfishness, we prefer that we are right, and we want to prove why the other person is wrong.
We must be extremely diligent to pursue truth. Jesus Himself admonished us when He said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Is there any wonder why the Gospel of the Kingdom has been prohibited from flowing freely in the world? The moment we come across something that sounds good to our ears, we immediately attach ourselves to it. Yet, this is not the truth that Jesus preached. His truth is loving and simple, but it is a hard truth. I find it interesting that He left us with a simple commission - to make disciples of all nations. Many in the body of Christ are doing everything else but that!
The most dangerous threat in the body of Christ is education. Many are willing to give instant credibility to one with a series of letters behind his or her name; yet, we forget that the Gospel was spread through men like Peter, who was described as unlearned and ignorant. This is because more faith is put in the education rather than the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity is not an organization; it is an organism. It is a living, breathing body made up of individual members working together with one head, that being Jesus Christ. Will there be one that reads this that will be provoked to give thought to his or her life in Christ Jesus, and begin to seek out and walk in the truth?
We must be extremely diligent to pursue truth. Jesus Himself admonished us when He said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Is there any wonder why the Gospel of the Kingdom has been prohibited from flowing freely in the world? The moment we come across something that sounds good to our ears, we immediately attach ourselves to it. Yet, this is not the truth that Jesus preached. His truth is loving and simple, but it is a hard truth. I find it interesting that He left us with a simple commission - to make disciples of all nations. Many in the body of Christ are doing everything else but that!
The most dangerous threat in the body of Christ is education. Many are willing to give instant credibility to one with a series of letters behind his or her name; yet, we forget that the Gospel was spread through men like Peter, who was described as unlearned and ignorant. This is because more faith is put in the education rather than the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity is not an organization; it is an organism. It is a living, breathing body made up of individual members working together with one head, that being Jesus Christ. Will there be one that reads this that will be provoked to give thought to his or her life in Christ Jesus, and begin to seek out and walk in the truth?
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