Here we go again! Some people just don’t get it. As I’ve said again and again, Facebook can be used for good or bad. Sadly many people choose the latter. I love it when people share their blessings on Facebook and I like it when they share their burdens–asking for prayer. And it’s interesting to see the pictures and read the stories related to their experiences. But I hate it when people air their dirty laundry–especially when it involves the Lord’s church!

Churches are hurt by members from within far more than from its enemies without. Every time you criticize or attack a member of the church, whether you name them or not, you are harming the reputation of the church and hindering its ministry. When you talk about the sins of others publicly you generally do more damage than that which was done by the person who sinned in the first place. So–whose sin is the greater? If someone has offended you, your obligation is to go to that person alone and deal with it in private, not discuss it with others( Matthew 18:15).

Attacking fellow believers and slandering the Lord’s church is a serious offense– so serious that it could bring God’s wrath down upon the head of the guilty party. As everyone knows, there are those who are looking for any reason to criticize the church and they are quick to tell us that they don’t attend because “there are too many hypocrites in the church”. When you openly attack those in the church you are providing them with more ammunition and helping them feel justified in never attending the church. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes!

A. B. Simpson said:

I would rather play with the forked lightning, or take in my hands living wires, with their fiery current, than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous darts which thousands of Christians are hurling on others, to the hurt of their own souls and bodies.

You may often wonder, perhaps, why your sickness is not healed, your spirit filled with the joy of the Holy Ghost, or your life blessed and prosperous. It may be that some dart which you have flung with angry voice, or in an idle hour of thoughtless gossip, is pursuing you on its way, as it describes the circle which always bring back to the source from which it came every shaft of bitterness, and every idle and evil word.

Let us remember that when we persecute or hurt the children of God, we are but persecuting Him, and hurting ourselves far more.

Lord, make me as sensitive to the feelings and rights of others as I have often been to my own, and let me live and love like Thee.

THINK ABOUT IT!

I recently preached a message from Ecc. 4:9-12, entitled,”A Call for Companionship”. The unusual thing about the message is that it didn’t pertain to friendship or marriage. Instead, I stressed the importance of Christians being connected to a church– having a role in it’s ministry rather than just having their name on the roll. I emphasized the fact that we need others and they need us.

Our attendance was good and the message was well received, but for some reason it seems to have just increased the burden on my heart regarding those who don’t see the need. And, it’s not just the church connection, or lack thereof, that troubles me. Many fail to see the need even in regards to the dearest earthly relations. They are like those described in 2 Timothy 3:3″– without natural affection–“.

This is a strange day in which we live. Most people today don’t even love the members of their own family. They would deny this of course, but the facts speak for themselves. They would argue that they do love their family, but the facts prove otherwise. If you define love as it is depicted in the Bible, which is what we should do, it is obvious that most people lack love for their closest relatives. That’s hard to understand!

How in the world can we expect church members to love and care for one another when they don’t even love their parents, children, siblings, grandparents, etc.? Some of the same people who worry about the attack on the family institution, crusading for laws to protect it, etc., are themselves responsible for its demise. They talk about their concern for the nation and church, but they show no concern for their own family. What’s up with that?

The family is the basic building of society. Failure here leads to failure everywhere. All our efforts to save our nation, improve our communities, and strengthen the churches are futile if families fail. But getting people to see that seems almost impossible. Every piece of evidence submitted for proof is met with an objection. People are hell -bent on trying to defend the indefensible. But their guilt is obvious.

When you ignore the needs of others, show no interest in their special days, refuse to offer a helping hand without remuneration, make no effort to please them, never congratulate them, etc., etc. how can you speak about loving them? That’s not love! If you want to know what love does read 1 Cor. 13. I dare you to read it and then examine yourself.

The failure in families is obvious. And just saying you love someone doesn’t mean you do. The love just isn’t there in most families, and we all pay the price. Just look at the sad condition of our nation– the hand-writing is on the wall. We claim we want the world to be a better place to live, and that we want to see churches on fire for God, and safe communities for our children, but none of this is possible without love.

There was a time (There’s a good theme for a message) when people depended on the family for everything, and folks loved one another, but those days are long gone. Families today are so disconnected that you can hardly recognize it–and it’s getting worse. Even where all are living under one roof, a rarity, there is little love to be found. I realize there are exceptions, but that’s the problem– such is the exception rather than the norm. Every family ought to be baptized in love and operating in grace. My heart hurts for those precious children who know nothing about such an experience.

Here’s something else that needs to be considered. The children raised in this environment today will be our leaders tomorrow. Their ideas and beliefs will be what shapes our future as a nation– a future that looks anything but bright. That’s a pitiful thought. How can those who have no understanding of what a family ought to be rightly govern our nation? What is learned in childhood eventually enters the halls of Congress and dictates what we do as a nation.

We have good reason to expect love to be lacking from the world in general, but Christian homes ought to be different. “Christian” homes will be different! You can’t change the world but you can do something to transform your family. You can brighten the day for your sweet mother, dear old dad, a needy child, or your siblings. Just because you’re not getting help from them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be giving of yourself to help them. If you profess Christ as your Lord and Savior you have an obligation to love others. Unless we do that there is no chance for happy homes, spiritual churches, safer communities, and a better nation. Love has a power unlike anything else on earth. It can bring a little bit of heaven into a home, create compassion in a church, and change to our community. Without it everything falls apart. Without love we don’t stand a chance.

Considering that God loved you so much that He gave His Son to save you, why would you not love others for whom He died? The best evidence that we truly appreciate His love is love for Him and others. Our relationship with others is but a reflection of our relationship with God. So, how are you doing in that regards? Be honest! You can sing your lungs out and shout the rafters down on Sunday at church but it doesn’t mean a thing unless you love your family everyday of the week. We deceive nobody but ourselves. Love always shows itself in undeniable ways– if others don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.

It’s time that we re-connected with our family members! The divide and damage has gone on far too long. But the only way it will happen is if we first repent of our sins. When we get right with God we will make things right with others, and that just might lead to them getting right. Think about it!

Every time I hear someone toot the horn for Rick Warren or quote him in a favorable light, which is often, I cringe! That’s not to say that Mr. Warren never says anything noteworthy—every religious leader has, but that doesn’t mean we should assist in the growth of his popularity. Here’s another example of why we should avoid lending credibility to Rick Warren. He recently posted this on Twitter: “Join me today in fasting and prayer for the 115 Cardinals seeking God’s Will in a new leader”.

What? You’ve got to be kidding! What’s the point? This is terribly confusing and misleading to thousands. Catholicism is rotten to the core. They don’t need a “Pope”–they need a Savior! We need to pray for their salvation, not for the installation of a man to an unscriptural position. We also need to pray for the thousands who blindly follow men like Mr. Warren.

Something has been troubling me for a good while, so it must be time for a rant. I’ll get right to the point. It seems to me that some folks are too good for their own good–or anyone else’s good for that matter. Some time ago I posted a blog entitled “Longing to leave”, in which I quoted Jay Adams who said,”One of the saddest books I have ever read is the biography of A. W. Pink,who, it seems, withdrew more and more from the fellowship of others and eventually ended his life on an isolated island in Scotland, where he fellowshipped only with his wife and by mail with a few other devoted followers in various parts of the world.” I thought of that article when I ran across a message by Pink entitled, “A Call to Separation”, that carried the matter to far. After reading the article my first thought was, it must be terribly difficult to be so good and spiritual that you have to separate yourself from the rest of the world. I can’t help but wonder how that affected his dear wife! My second thought was this– anyone who would do that is not as good as they think they are. And I haven’t changed my mind. What Mr. Pink did and some others do is sheer nonsense. For those who might not know, Arthur Pink was brilliant man, a dedicated preacher, and a prolific writer. Nearly every preacher has read his books. Although I disagree with him on many doctrinal issues, I must confess that I’ve found much in his writings that were very helpful to me. His book “Gleanings in Genesis” was one of the first books I purchased after I surrendered to preach. I still have the copy in my library. So, to me it is a terrible waste that a man so gifted as he would isolate himself to the extent that he had no contact with the world. In his defense I must say that I agree that holiness should be our goal and that we should separate ourselves from evil. And I too get sick of the obvious hypocrisy that is so common among professing Christians. I too believe that we should stick to the standards of God’s Word and stand against the evils of our day. That’s what the Bible teaches. What the Bible does not teach is that we should cut ourselves off from contact with others to the point that we cannot be salt and light to the world. To be totally free from contact with corrupt people, Paul said,”for then must ye needs go out of the world”(1 Cor. 5:10). My dear friend, that’s about as selfish as you can get. Every Spirit-filled believer longs for things to be better, and often feels home sick for heaven, but they also have the attitude of Paul when he said,”Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you”. Indeed, to depart and be with Christ would have been far better for Paul, but he realized that he had a job to do. It is as though he was saying,”Heaven can wait”. It is a shame that some people spend their lives running from one church to another in search for the perfect church, or that some give up the search altogether and drop out of church. If they are so perfect, shouldn’t they be out-front teaching and leading by example, showing the rest of us what to do? I’m afraid these folks are too good, in their own mind, to be of any good. Sadly their self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude is so offensive to others that they ruin any chance to be of good use to the kingdom of God. They are of no good to anyone because they think they are better than everyone! I don’t see much of Paul or anything of Jesus in such people. Paul never considered himself to be better than others and he confessed, “But by the grace of God I am what I am”(1 Cor. 15:10). Jesus was known as the friend of sinners, and was merciful unto them. His most scathing rebukes were reserved for those who thought they were better than others. As my old mother used to say, these folks need to “get down off their high horse”. The only good in any of us is Jesus. Were it not for the grace of God you would be in the same gutter with those you condemn. Standing aloof denouncing them does nobody any good. Rather than thinking more highly of yourself than you should (Rom. 12:3), you ought to humble yourself (Phil. 2:3), and make yourself a servant to all men (1Cor. 9:19), by presenting yourself as a living sacrifice to the body of Christ (Rom. 12:1-10)–the church of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:18). There is nothing spiritual or good about separating yourself from the fellowship of the saints. In fact you are commanded to do just the opposite (read Heb. 10:24-25). How can you provoke your brothers and sisters in Christ unto love and good works if you are isolated from them? How can you be as the Good Samaritan if you avoid the company of those in need. Have you ever thought about the possibility that you’re the one that’s most in need? Could it be? Think about it!

A strange thing happened–just today I posted a quote on Facebook by Charles Spurgeon that said, ” A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats”. You and I have lived to see that come true. Then I happened to stumble onto this message by Mr. Spurgeon that fits like a hand in a glove:
FEEDING SHEEP OR AMUSING GOATS?

An evil is in the ‘professed’ camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted Christian can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years this evil has developed at an alarming rate. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments!

The devil has seldom done a more clever thing, than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out the gospel, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses!

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel’.

No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people, or because they confronted them? The ‘concert’ has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the apostolic Church to the world? “You are the salt of the world”, not the sugar candy; something the world will spit out, not swallow.

Had Jesus introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His teaching, He would have been more popular. When “many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him,” I do not hear Him say, ‘Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow; something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it! Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!’

No! Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them!

In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the ‘gospel of amusement’. Their message is, “Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them… Don’t touch their filthy things…” Anything approaching amusement is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, ‘Lord, grant unto your servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are’.

No! They did not cease from preaching Christ. They had no time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down; that is the only difference from today’s church.

Lastly, amusement fails to effect the end desired. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God’s link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer! The mission of amusement produces no converts!

The need of the hour for today’s ministry is earnest spirituality joined with Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods!