“There’s no love in my Church” yelled Chris
as he threw himself on the couch, "I am seriously thinking about not attending
the Church again” he added. Tony, his friend was surprised at Chris’ outburst
as he had always heard Chris enthuse about how wonderful his Church was and how
great the Pastors and congregants were. On several occasions Chris had tried
talking him out of leaving his Church to join his. Surprised, “Why” Tony
blurted out. “They hate me” Chris
retorted! Several sons and daughters of God have gone or are going through this
situation and quite a number have decided to stay away from the fold because of
these hurts. In these last days as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, the enemy has increased his activities within the fold in order
to scatter the sheep. The enemy understands the strength in unity and the weakness
in division. When a sheep leaves the fold or is a straggler, it becomes an easy
prey for the wild animals. A typical example is the account of Cain and Abel
and that of Joseph. As long as Abel was in the house under the covering of his
parents, his brother could not kill him. Same with Joseph, as long as he was
with his father he could not be touched. The only way Cain could carry out his
dastardly act was to lure Abel out from under the covering. Friend, before
destruction can come isolation has to first take place. This is the reason
God’s word encourages us not to leave His covering by “staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging
each other, all the more as you see the
day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). It is important for us to stay and
encourage ourselves to remain within the fold of God’s people. This makes it
very difficult for the enemy to poach or steal anyone away. Picture this: a
hungry lion is no match for a flock of sheep. If it decides to go into their
midst, it will be crushed. But when one of the sheep breaks ranks, it is a sure
prey for the lion. Friend, as the day draws near, offenses will increase (Luke
17:1), but we are encouraged to “hold
fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our
acknowledgment of it, for He Who promised is reliable and faithful to His Word”
(Hebrews 10: 23 AMP). The essence of these offenses is to make us lose our
foothold and stray away from the Presence of God Who is our covering: “Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that
knowing these things before hand, you should be on your guard, lest you be
carried away by the error of lawless and wicked (persons and) fall from your
own (present) firm condition [your own steadfastness of mind]” (2Peter 3:17,
AMP). Friend, don’t allow offenses draw you from your sure footing in Christ
Jesus to be destroyed. Remain in His Presence by taking the offenses to Him,
after all judgment awaits the instrument by whom the offense(s) came (Luke
17:1-2). May the grace of God guard your heart to seek to continually remain in
His Presence no matter what the enemy throws at you in Jesus Christ name. God
bless you.
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
Comments
Post a Comment