A part of my life testimony tells of the excuse of not wanting to be Christian because of my claim that most Christians were hypocrites.
I was listening to a message that touched on the topic of hypocrisy. Too many people to often use the excuse of hypocrisy to justify their life choices.
There was a point in my life I had to make a decision on whether I was going to let the hypocrisy excuse determine my eternal future. It is not their behavior and decisions that determine my eternity, it is mine. Though I had done wrong, the way the local church handled a situation, I felt wronged and held it against them. Worse, I held it against God. Not only did I push away people of faith, I believe I was pushing God away (always keeping Him at a straight-arm distance).
I really had not thought about the early church and the situation of the disciples. The reality is churches always had a hypocrite and will always have a hypocrite. Thank goodness the disciples did not look at Jesus ministry based on the behavior of a few disciples. Imagine if the disciples looked at Jesus ministry and said, we are not going to follow this Jesus ministry anymore. The disciple Thomas didn't believe Jesus was alive without proof (John 20:25). Simon Peter put a self-curse on himself (Mark 17:41), and the treasurer ran with the money and then committed suicide (Matt 27:5). Imagine those seeing these things happen and asking, what kind of organization is this? Thank goodness they didn't look at those 3 disciples and determine...just a bunch of hypocrites. We are just going to get up and leave.
What is the point of this thought? I believe too many use excuses to stay away from church. Hypocrisy is only one of many excuses. I say, no more excuses. May God break excuses off of us in Jesus name! Hebrews 10:24-25 says "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
The isolation of Covid really hurt the church body. When we were isolated at home, we became comfortable being alone. We neglected meeting together. Many would prefer attending church through a virtual meeting. I think there is a place for virtual meetings but nothing can replace a real hug. Nothing can replace the laying on of hands. There are so many reasons we need to meet together. Meeting together in God's house reinforces love for God because it is His house. A building is just a building made by man. What makes it God's house is when we bring our temple into His temple (we bring His spirit that is in us into the gather place). When meeting together we are honoring our Father. It reinforces love for His people. You are meeting with God's family. Meeting together allows for meaningful fellowship and to be in His divine presence. We need to break out of isolation and return to the local church body. We meet together to build one another up, to encourage one another. We need to go and be equipped and refreshed.
I was listening to a message that touched on the topic of hypocrisy. Too many people to often use the excuse of hypocrisy to justify their life choices.
There was a point in my life I had to make a decision on whether I was going to let the hypocrisy excuse determine my eternal future. It is not their behavior and decisions that determine my eternity, it is mine. Though I had done wrong, the way the local church handled a situation, I felt wronged and held it against them. Worse, I held it against God. Not only did I push away people of faith, I believe I was pushing God away (always keeping Him at a straight-arm distance).
I really had not thought about the early church and the situation of the disciples. The reality is churches always had a hypocrite and will always have a hypocrite. Thank goodness the disciples did not look at Jesus ministry based on the behavior of a few disciples. Imagine if the disciples looked at Jesus ministry and said, we are not going to follow this Jesus ministry anymore. The disciple Thomas didn't believe Jesus was alive without proof (John 20:25). Simon Peter put a self-curse on himself (Mark 17:41), and the treasurer ran with the money and then committed suicide (Matt 27:5). Imagine those seeing these things happen and asking, what kind of organization is this? Thank goodness they didn't look at those 3 disciples and determine...just a bunch of hypocrites. We are just going to get up and leave.
What is the point of this thought? I believe too many use excuses to stay away from church. Hypocrisy is only one of many excuses. I say, no more excuses. May God break excuses off of us in Jesus name! Hebrews 10:24-25 says "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
The isolation of Covid really hurt the church body. When we were isolated at home, we became comfortable being alone. We neglected meeting together. Many would prefer attending church through a virtual meeting. I think there is a place for virtual meetings but nothing can replace a real hug. Nothing can replace the laying on of hands. There are so many reasons we need to meet together. Meeting together in God's house reinforces love for God because it is His house. A building is just a building made by man. What makes it God's house is when we bring our temple into His temple (we bring His spirit that is in us into the gather place). When meeting together we are honoring our Father. It reinforces love for His people. You are meeting with God's family. Meeting together allows for meaningful fellowship and to be in His divine presence. We need to break out of isolation and return to the local church body. We meet together to build one another up, to encourage one another. We need to go and be equipped and refreshed.
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