Where are we going?

Where are we going as the body of Christ? Sometimes I feel that the body of Christ (the church) is too distracted with things going on inside the church, that we tend to lose focus of what is going on around us in the world. I feel we have too many people acting on belief of what man has said is true, and not finding out, camping on and protecting what actually is the truth. This seems to me where a lot of the confusion in the church is, and taking away of what our focus should be on. "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." 1Corinthians 14:33.

So I want to take a little time and camp on this subject. The Bible is the truth and before you take what someone says is the truth, I challenge you to discover what God says the truth is before you take a position on that particular issue. Now I am not just talking about politics, I am also talking about what is important to God. You see brethren, too many people inside the body of Christ are believing different parts of the Bible, then turn around and say that such and such part of the Bible doesn't exist anymore. This is not true. To be more specific I am talking about the New Testament. I spoke to the leader of my Life Group last night and we got to talking about why or how we arrived to this point as a church. The truth is that the church has been asleep and has let things go on too long, waiting for God to step in and do something. There are too many people in the body teaching man's truth and not God's truth. Let me give you an example. God's truth: Mark 11:24, "whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." Man's truth: "whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe nothing is too hard for God and if it be His will then you'll receive." Now this is only one example, but religion has messed it up over the years and now millions of people believe man's truth over God's. Then some will say the Lord's prayer said to pray if it be thy will! But it is also written: "...do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:17. The Lord's prayer that they are referring to states clear as day that God's will for us is the same on earth as in heaven. Yet how many just stop at "Your will be done..."? Most people that grew up in church were preached that man's truth was God's truth and this is what Satan wanted. Last night God spoke to me through my Life Group leader and I began to see why people don't actually believe God's truth. It is because they were taught that man's truth was God's truth for so long and now to change that would mean they would have to admit that they were wrong their whole life. Now it becomes an issue of pride. If they would let go of their pride, then God would pour out the grace on them, but their hearts have been hardened. Now they have become what the Bible says are fools - knowing the difference between right and wrong, but choosing to do wrong because they don't care. Therefore, now that their harts have been hardened, they receive resistance from God because hardening of your heart displeases the Lord. The scriptures show us when Jesus healed the man's withered hand, the religious Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if He would heal this man's hand on the Sabbath. Right here is where you would think they would say, "Wait a minute. This man named Jesus is walking around healing people by faith and fulfilling what the Prophet Isaiah prophesied. Which we believe will happen someday and so this must be the Christ." But they didn't. Nope, and in Mark 3:4-5, Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other." Folks, if you are believing one thing, and the Lord shows you differently, do not harden your heart. Be quick to repent, humble yourself. James 4:6 says, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

If you are struggling with this, you are not the first and you are not alone. Don't get so caught up in trying to prove someone wrong that you miss out on what God is showing you. Saints, we need to understand that God's children are being attacked by the world and it's time that we strap on the breastplate of righteousness, put on the helmet of salvation, pick up the sword which is the word of God, gird up our loins and push the enemy back and make our stand. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, "Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge." So get that Bible out and determined what God's truth is, be led by the Holy Spirit, and if you miss it, be quick to repent. Don't be what the Bible calls a fool.

In Christ,

Eric R. Cox

Scripture to meditate on: Titus 3:9-11 NKJV

9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. 10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned