Wednesday, July 23, 2008

I'm Amazed!!

I have been on this journey for a long time and it seems that I find myself amazed. I am always amazed at God's grace. I am always amazed that no matter how much I know about God, there always seems to be something new about Him that I don't know. I will never know all there is to know about Him.
I am also amazed at the capabilities of God's children. I have met many Godly people in my lifetime. I have had friends that drew me closer in my relationship with God. But I am always taken aback when someone who calls themself a believer sticks a knife in your back. It seems that in our journey through this life we have run across far more knife stickers than knee benders.
I admit that I am not always the most pleasant person to be around. Sometimes I bring shame to the name of Christ. I am not always kind to people in the checkout line at Walmart. I am not always a courteous driver. Sometimes I cut people off just becuase I can. But I do have a moral compass. When I come before God the first thing I do is ask Him to reveal those times when I brought Him shame. There is a lot of confessing in my life. The idea is to confess those things, be cleansed and CHANGE!
It's the people that seem to have no moral compass, no conviction from the Holy Spirit that I have the problem with. The people who are in our churches only to promote themselves. "Networking" is what they call it. I once had a friend whose wife sold cosmetics for a major cosmetic company. She was encouraged to carry around a clear bag with the product in it to church with her. Networking. Is that what church has become. I have been told by people that the reason they decided to go to a certain church is because of the influence of the people there. It could be good for their business or it could get their kid a place on the right team. If Jesus was here today I think there would be a lot of tables being turned over. This is what the Bible is talking about when it says that we have "lost our first love". We have lost sight of the reason behind our holy living. We have forsaken God and chosen to serve the god of this world, self serving.
It seems that my thoughts always come back to worship. This is why we can't find a church where we can be happy. It's not a problem with us, it's a problem with the church. The church has forgotten that worship is designed for God's pleasure and not ours.
I didn't really mean to get on the worship bandwagon.
I have a lady we work with that claims to be a believer but she is the most vindictive, coniving person I have ever met. Her husband is not a believer and probably never will be. She graces the halls of her church every Sunday and most Wednesday nights yet she has done nothing to indicate her status as a believer in the work place. It is very obvious that she despises me and has taken every oppotunity to make me look stupid.
My first reaction is to strike back with my caustic tongue and back her into the corner until she cries. I am very capable of doing so and would if not for the still small voice in my heart that rings in my ears. "I won't step over you to fight your battles", I here him say. I place my sword back in the sheath and wait. I wait and wait. I hate waiting.
So each night I confess that I hate her and ask God to show me something in her to love and to allow me to see the lost lamb that God would look high and low for.
It seems that the deader the old man is, the more frantically I work to give him CPR.

Blessings
Allen