Dear Friends;
It has been said, “Before you can have a clear picture of where you are headed, you must be certain from that which you have come.” I think many times we as Christians are guilty of forgetting what we were before Jesus came into our lives and how EVEN WHEN HE IS in our lives, we can forget how we still have the propensity to bring shame and reproach upon the name of Christ due to our poor behavior. This is compounded when we do so in front of young Christians or those who may not even know Christ! No Christian is perfect, but a true believer IS forgiven! Many point to various churches and say, “I won’t darken THAT door because _ (you fill in the name!)_ goes to church there!” We should not be going to a church based upon who does or does not go there! Our purpose should be to go where we see God moving and where we can become more useful to Him in growing his Kingdom! C.S. Lewis told of a parable by George MacDonald in his book entitled, “Mere Christianity,” which compared a born-again-believer to a ‘living house.’ God comes in to rebuild that house. You can understand the general repairs He is doing–you know, like fixing leaking roofs and painting where it is needed, etc. You knew these were all things that needed fixing, so you aren’t surprised. Then God begins knocking down walls and this hurts tremendously and makes no sense to us! You ask what on earth He is up to. The explanation is He is building quite a different house from the one you were before---throwing out a new wing here, putting in an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a brand new palace. Remember who it is that comes to live in it! As Christians, we must NEVER look down our noses at anyone who is ‘under construction’ that might come through the doors of our church! We must ALSO remember God produces a NEW heart in us when we accept Jesus, not just an old ‘rebuilt’ one! As the Scripture points in Ezekiel, He is after ‘TRANSFORMATION’ not just ‘ACCOMMODATION!’
Come, Meet Jesus with US!
Pastor Tim