We all need good role models. But when we devote our life to being like somebody else, we risk becoming something GOD doesn't want us to be. We should always remember, our 'heroes' wrestle with blind spots and character flaws too. Paul said, 'I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of GOD' (1 Corinthians 15:9). The same thing with Peter: when Cornelius sent for him, we are told that as he 'entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself"' (Acts 10:25-26). If we are successful in life, we'll adopt that same attitude. The danger in hero worship comes from forfeiting our individuality and missing the path GOD has mapped out for us personally. Some of the lessons GOD teaches us may be similar, but another person's purpose, gifting, journey, and time-frame will be diff
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Before we criticise our church, we shoul remember that, 'CHRIST...loved the church and gave HIMSELF for her' (Ephesians 5:25). HE hasn't given up on HIS church, so we don't have to give up on it! And we must stop talking so much about what we don't like. If our church was perfect, we would be out of place! Noah didn't sail on The Queen Mary; he sailed on a glorified cattle boat. Can we imagine the noise, the confusion, and the violent tossing of a ship in a storm big enough to destroy the world? And how about the smell? All those animals and only one funnel! But here is the thing - everybody inside the ark was saved while everybody outside of it was lost. The story is told of an aristocrat bragging about his lineage and pure-blooded ancestry. Irritated, one of his listeners remarked, 'I suppose your forebears were on board the ark with Noah!' 'No,' he replied, 'my people had their own boat!' We may smile, but there is only one craft th
Every church has problems - and the people who cause them. It has always been so. Let us consider the Corinthian church. Some members got drunk during communion, and others wouldn't attend unless their favourite preacher was speaking. One guy was even having an affair with his stepmother (1 Corinthians 5:1). Sitting beside us on Sunday mornings are some very messed-up and dysfunctional people. But GOD keeps working with us, because HE sees our potential value to HIS KINGDOM. After writing about murmurers, complainers, the lustful and the greedy, Jude ends his short book with these words: 'Now to HIM WHO is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of HIS glory with exceeding joy' (Jude 1:24). Noah didn't jump ship, so for the same reason we shouldn't leave our church - there is no better alternative. Paul and 276 others were in a storm that looked unsurvivable. Nevertheless, he told them, 'Unless you stay on board the ship, you cannot be saved' (Acts 27:31). Does that mean it is always wrong to leave a church? No, but we should be sure our reasons are scriptural and not self-centred. We may say, 'But the pastor's sermons are too long.' Paul once preached so long that a man sitting in a third-storey window fell asleep, fell to the ground, and died. And what did Paul do? He laid hands on him, revived him, set him back in the window and made him listen to the rest of the sermon (Acts 20:9-11)! Seriously, if our church has problems, we don't have to leave; we should stay and pray. That is how things get changed. AMEN
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Every church has problems - and the people who cause them. It has always been so. Let us consider the Corinthian church. Some members got drunk during communion, and others wouldn't attend unless their favourite preacher was speaking. One guy was even having an affair with his stepmother (1 Corinthians 5:1). Sitting beside us on Sunday mornings are some very messed-up and dysfunctional people. But GOD keeps working with us, because HE sees our potential value to HIS KINGDOM. After writing about murmurers, complainers, the lustful and the greedy, Jude ends his short book with these words: 'Now to HIM WHO is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of HIS glory with exceeding joy' (Jude 1:24). Noah didn't jump ship, so for the same reason we shouldn't leave our church - there is no better alternative. Paul and 276 others were in a storm that looked unsurvivable. Nevertheless, he told them, 'Unless you stay on board the sh