Finding God Through His Word: February 2011

How many times have you seen someone on the street and instantly thought they were a homeless person, drug dealer, prostitute, gang member, ect? How many times have you thought about the life they "look like" they are living, and then frowned upon it? What goes through your mind when you are watching the local and/or national news and see the stories about murders, rapes, thefts, violent protest, deaths and disease? How about when a friend or someone you know does something wrong or upsetting? When you attend church each week who do you see? The same people from last week that are smiling and dressed nice? Would those negative thoughts come up again and cause you to sin more if the people you saw on the street or the news walked in on Sunday morning? What are you offended by and why?

I'm sure most of us know about leprosy. There are many accounts of leprosy in the bible and people around the world still have this disease. Some cultures banish men and women from there villages and towns if they have it. In Mark chapter 1 we see a man begging Jesus to cleanse him of leprosy. Most of us would have been disgusted and fear the man due to his condition. But Jesus was filled with compassion (vs. 41) and healed the man. He wasn't showing off. He didn't do it to prove who he was. In verse 43 Jesus tells him to be quiet about it and go show himself to the priest and make a sacrifice. This was not an act of self proclamation but an act of love! If you continue reading through the book of Mark you will find Jesus' personality through his actions more than his teachings. I think this book reveals the fact that Jesus was here to love the people that the church wouldn't. How different are we from the church back then? Our churches should be packed with new faces every Sunday.Rich or poor, strong or weak, sick or healthy. I see Sunday morning church as a place to be encouraged from the week past and to proceed into the coming week with a stronger fire for God. Fellowship with other Christians, like Sunday morning services, is a way to stay accountable and to be renewed.

It seems that we, as the church, have grown up in this moralistic society that praises good and condemns bad. This is not to say that sin is not bad. The tragedies of sin and the consequences are bad but I think that we need to learn to not be offended by them. We should approach those that have fallen with love and raise them back up again. As the body of Christ we need to learn to forgive. Things change, people change and laws change. We need to never condemn those that are lost. Never push them away because of who they have become or what they are doing.

In Mark 2:13-17 we see the call of Levi. Levi was a tax collector and was most likely hated by other Jews because of it. Jesus was having dinner with Levi and other tax collectors. Some Pharisees saw this and asked why Jesus was eating with these people. Verse 17, "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"

So many times we miss opportunities to tell others about Christ because we are offended by other people's sin. We may invite people to church but do we invite believers more than nonbelievers? Should we not encourage those that mess up or are living a life of sin and don't know God to come to church? A growing church, as in the membership of a single church, is an awesome thing, but, unless we are growing the kingdom of God we are failing to do what God is calling us to do.

Lets say you get some new neighbors. Whether they are homosexuals or a dating couple living together we shouldn't cut them off from your life because of it. Love them more! Pray for them more! These are the people that need to know what Christ did for them! Showing anger and disgust will turn them away from you and from God. Accept them for who they are and love them for who they can become in Christ. Jesus died on the cross for everyone of us. Not a certain group of people. This isn't a invite only religious club. Jesus was beaten, bruised, stabbed, nailed, mocked, bleeding, dead and risen for those we sometimes shun away too.

Though there are different punishments that governments have establish for laws we must keep in mind that "the wages of sin is death." Sin is sin. I would encourage you to go through the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7, and really see the perspective Jesus puts on things. Anger = murder. Lust = adultery. Those that do these "lesser" sins are still judged by God as if they did the "greater" sins. We all deserve death for our sins. It doesn't matter if you have sinned less than someone else, you deserve the same fate as everyone else. But God is a merciful and saving God.

Learn to love and have compassion on others. We can not judge others because we were once lost. If those influential people in your life that helped you along the way to coming to Christ had judged you and decided not to talk to you because of your life, where would you be? Denying ourselves is so much more than we sometimes think. Lift up your brothers and sisters in Christ when you are together and love those you come in contact with. Remember that you are still a sinner even if you are saved.

Get excited! Share with those that need God. Invite someone to church this week that you know isn't saved. Pray for them continuously. Pray that God would change their heart so that they will have a yearning to know God. Also pray that God will change your heart and the heart of all believers to love people first. Show compassion, understanding and humbleness to those that need God in their lives.

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.'" -Matthew 9:37

Finding God Through His Word

Offended By Sin: Turning Souls Away From God

Taking Steps to Help Expand the Kingdom of God