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When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.
(Psalm 61:2)
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Sometimes I write what others are afraid to admit or say... You can agree to disagree with me, still in my transparent, raw, ex-prodigal, honest fashion - I say what I mean and mean what I say all the while trying not to say it mean... Still it has to be said...
I simply abhor and will continue to pray for/about:
Christians who show a pseudo-fake love who condescendingly, ungenuinely, judgmentally look down their noses at you, pat you on the back, purse their lips together and say, "I'm praying for you." When actually if you could see a little cartoon bubble above their head which would translate what they are really thinking it would show that what they are doing is judging you and relishing what situations you are going through so they can "feel better" about themselves or where they are in their own walk (i.e. looking past the plank in their own eye while trying to remove the sty from yours...) There is a difference between genuine Christ-like compassion and the "well bless your heart" (cartoon bubble translation: "what-I-really-mean-is-I-think-you-are-a-stupid-ass-but-I'm-not-going-to-come-straight-out-and-say-it") non-Christ-like love mentality. The church has become a social club similar to that of a "yacht club," it has become a popularity contest where you are part of the "in crowd" or you're not and if you are not, you get ostracized... I don't believe that is how God intended the church to be. It does not glorify Him or represent how the body of Christ is suppose to be...and the Bible says:
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." (Mark 3:25)
When I say I'm praying for you, I mean I'm crying out to the Lord alongside you, squeezing your hand, feeling your pain as if it was my own, walking along side you, you can depend on me to BE there for you. I'm not giving you some "pat" answer. Those are the type of Christians God meant the church to be. Those are the people I want in my inner circle - the ones that even in their imperfect mess will REALLY be there for each other, down and dirty - realizing that it is ONLY the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous. HIS grace, HIS forgiveness, HIS love. Not a social organization that professes to be for Christ but does not love in the manner Christ showed love even to the point of dying for us.
I believe the reason why Christ has not returned yet is because His bride is NOT ready. Shame on us!!! (Help us Lord - we call ourselves Christians but the definition of "Christian" is to be "Christ-like" and MANY of us fail You and do You a disservice by the way we treat others, the way we live, the things we say and do are NOT a true representation of how You would have us be - and before anyone goes thumbing their nose at me, I include myself amongst the many) forgive me Lord, help me to honor You and not cause You shame...
1 Corinthians 12:12 says: "Even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."
And continues in 1 Corinthians 12:14-24 to say:
"For the body does not consist of only one part, but of many members. If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. But now there are many members but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other."
Now here is the part where the church is lacking:
1 Corinthians 12:26
"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it."
An example would be - If you stub your toe, does not your whole body feel the pain? Such is how it should be with the whole Body of Christ. But with the majority of members, its not. The scriptures in 1 Timothy 3:2-5 indicate:
"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power."
If you look around and are honest, you will see that we live in a time such as this and it affects BOTH Christians as well as those that are not. We are not to be as such. We need to pray for the church to TRULY be like the church described in the book of Acts where all the needs were met within the body because everyone used their gifts to help one another. We need to be a church that stands out amongst the world and makes a difference - first within its own doors and then within the community and world. We need to be a PRAYING church, not forsaking the importance of prayer Because when you really think about it - the church is WHO WE ARE *not* where we go. We need to remember that Jesus is to be our example and constantly allow Him to renew our minds and to look at how and what Jesus did to draw people unto God. We need to pray in these last days for a bride that Christ will be glad to come receive.
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