The Attitude of Today's Christian: Where do you stand with GOD?

 I will be very brief in this installation on Attitude and Worship...

   Through much interaction and observation of Christian believers it has become very clear that there is a serious need for us to have a thorough attitude adjustment! Truth Is...

   There are varied attitudes and behaviors among those claiming to serve God and I'd like to address a couple of them now. There are those who have done much in their lives and achieved much, obtained much and retained much as far as possessions. Your hard work is noted and commended. But there is something that you need to know: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God...". Jesus said that, not me. Do you not know that he actually meant it?

This is not to downplay all that you have worked hard to achieve, but rather to enlighten you that God allowed you that measure of success in preparation for the times we are currently in. God uses people to effect the lives of other people. He has a purpose for all that He does. The blessings that He bestowed/bestows upon you are there for the purpose of 1) making it easier for you to do his work, and 2) bless others to his glory. Don't even get it twisted, it's not because you are any more special than anyone else.

   As we press on into the days of Christ's return, things are and will continue to get much worse, both in the behaviors of the world, and it's conditions(economy, etc). We have not begun to see the full extent of this fact as things shall get much worse and folks will have much less...even you! That is why the Lord is presenting and stressing the need for us to have an intense love for one another; it actually says that in the bible: 1Peter 4:7-10:"But the end of all things is at hand: be sober, and watch unto prayer(be vigilant). and above all thingshave fervent charity(love) among yourselves: for charity(love0 shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

   It can't be any clearer than that! What we are told is to have a seriously real and deep  love and compassion for each other, helping one another as needed, not as we see fit and to do so willingly(without grudging). It is SO hard for us to give up what we feel we earned, you haven't "earned" anything! God LET you obtain it so that he can use you to effect the life of someone else(not just "one" either). That's what GRACE means: undeserved, unearned blessings. Truth is...

   Here we see the often used "good stewards" and it clearly tells you this is an individual thing as well as corporate one. It means don't depend on the church to do what YOU are instructed to do all the time. We give a great deal of support to the church only for the church to sit and determine who gets the benefit and what they will give. But God wants You to do your part yourself. Just as preaching and disciple making is not just the job of the pastor and missionary dept, so too christian charity and all other things Jesus instructed. Stop delegating to someone else what God has mandated for you. This tells us to be good stewards of the grace of God, what he does for us that WE didn't earn, so how do you withhold that????

   There is a real need and MUST that we return to the love of the first century congregation. The love they showed for one another caused such a growth among them that it struck FESAR into the roman empire. So too we Christians today should have an AWE INSPIRING LOVE, just as we serve an awe inspiring GOD!

Read Acts 4:34, 35 with me:"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the apostles feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need...".

   Though we know for sure that very few would go so far as to give up everything they have and share with everyone, that IS the magnitude of submission to God's will and love for others we are supposed to have! Put that into your next prayer...

   Then there is another attitude to address: the sheer and utter nastiness of many that actually mirrors that of the world. if we are to set and example and be set apart form the world, why do we copy their behavior? We are easily offended, always ready to be defensive and assertive when we feel someone is trying to take advantage of us. Always ready to "fight back" so folks know we are not pushovers...Hmmm, where is the meekness? The reason people try to run over you is because they expect you to ACT like Jesus, you know: "christian"...

   Let God be God, and you be Christlike for real. yes, we will take a "hit', yes, we will suffer, but Read Acts 14: 22 to see that we should expect much tribulation to enter the kingdom. Just read hebrews 6: 10,11 for consolation and confirmation. Yes, it is a "labour of Love" we must exert...Do you TRUST God?

Faith without works is dead...TRUST is faith working!

   Next is the attitude that disciple making is someone else's "gift" or calling. Don't get it twisted folks, Jesus didn't say that. He said GO! He was speaking to ALL of us. If you feel disciple making is "beneath" you; if you feel you have a "different calling"; you are SO wrong! Singing in the choir and attending/supporting church functions and anniversaries are NOT disciple making tools. They are church activities enjoyed mostly by church folks. Get off your behind and get out there and talk to strangers, neighbors, co-workers, ENEMIES, whoever you don't see sitting in some church every week, that is who you need to be telling about the Lord and how he is working things in YOUR life. That shows He really IS working in your life! Truth is...

*The battlefield is NOT in church!

Stop being like the world. Stop with the road rage, rudeness, defensiveness, vulgarity, and "selective memory" of who and what you are supposed to be once you leave the confines of church...Time for an attitude adjustment!

Truth is...

   *I said I'd be brief, so expect yet another hub soon!

                    B-Blessed!