Sunday, January 15, 2023
Do you realize that Jesus goes to church right along there with you? After all, the church belongs to Him. It doesn’t matter if there are two people there or thousands. Jesus is there…Rev 1:13 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.[a] He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. Jesus is the one and the lampstands are the church.
That being said, when He shows up what does He look at? Is He looking at the congregation and what does He see? How do people act? Is everyone there made to feel welcome? From the poorest to the richest are the people in church making a difference. Is Jesus the center of the church? Is only the truth being stated or are opinions more important? Is the pastor going along with society and telling people that God is okay with sin now?
Does God see an altar that people can go up to and talk to Him when they need to, or is the church service anything but what makes people feel they can come to the altar, or even that people want to know what you are doing at the altar? Do they talk about you behind your back? Do the people dress like they are going to a club and mess with their phones while the are in service? Don’t you ever wonder what God looks at the people doing in His church?
Is the church open at different times so people can just go in and pray as they need to? (However, in this day and age with all the thefts, violence, etc., churches are not open all the time because someone who have to man them to keep people safe…if that is even possible). Does God see worship and feel that He is the reason that people are in His house, or are they just there to hang out? Is worship important to the people or do they try to look good in worship time so others think they are a good Christian? Believe me, God knows if your intentions are right or wrong.
Jesus looks at our hearts. He looks at how we treat others. He looks at our character and our witness. He looks at what we do, what we think, what we say, and what are morals like. He looks at what we believe. Jesus looks to see how people really think about Him.
Jesus looks at the preacher as well. Is He telling the truth or adding and subtracting from God’s word to make it “more current in society”? Does the preacher want others to think he is more important than they are? Is he a servant or does he actually serve others? Does he keep the confidence that people trust him with or does he also spread gossip and make judgments?
Jesus doesn’t just look at what the pastor preaches, but Jesus is looking to see if the pastor is living what he preaches. Does the pastor keep his word? Lie? Steal? Cheat/ commit adultery? Fraud? Does he preach tough messages that convict people of their sin, or does he tell them what they want to hear?
Preachers are not just to give “feel good” messages but tell the absolute truth so people will understand their sins and deal with them.
Is what a preacher teaches relevant to what God says, or what people want it to say? Is God being exalted, and is the people being equipped? Are people being saved or just taking up pew space so they can say they go to church? Can anyone even remember what the sermon was on when they leave the church? Do people look around to see what people put in the offering box? Why?
When Jesus looks at your church what will he find? Is only the truth of God’s word being preached? Are people encouraged to make sure they are being told the truth and to study? Does the preacher get upset if you question something that doesn’t feel right? What will Jesus see in the church you are going to?
We need to look to Jesus every day of our life. He loves us, and He died the death for us that we deserved so that we could be saved. He is our healer, our strength, our helper, our comforter, our hope, and even our attorney. In fact, no matter what you need in life Jesus is it. He is the answer, the author, and the finisher of our faith. Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved Him. Well, Jesus is asking you the same thing…do you love Jesus? How much? What would you do for Him or what would you not do for Him?
We live in a fallen world with violence getting worse and worse and most of us just want to cross that finish line one day…and be in the presence of God. We have an earthly race to run and the prize is heaven. Are we going to run our race diligently or flake off and think we will get into heaven if we do nothing to get there?
There is a story of a little girl who fell out of bed and her mom asked her why she fell. The little girl said, “I think I stayed too close to the place I got in”. Something to think about here!!! We must grow and get away from the edge of sin so we don’t fall in.
Listen: Jesus didn’t practice what He preached…He preached what he practiced. Do we preach what we ourselves practice?
Let each of us lay aside sin and the weight that so easily besets us. In other words, we all need to get rid of whatever sins are lurking in us. We are so much stronger than we know and especially strong when we give Jesus our day, ask Him to help us not to sin this day, and do what He wants for us more than what we think we want for ourselves.
When someone you know is doing something wrong…pray for them, but don’t gossip about it. Thank God for each of the blessings you do have and you have a lot more than you ever want to admit. Talk to God daily for He is always there waiting to hear from His kids.
Now, may God bless you, keep you, show you the truth, help you grow in Him, and may you do what is right in the sight of God.
God bless you