It is said that you can tell a lot about a person by the content of their conversation. I honestly and truly believe this. Sometimes, if you are just quiet and let the person speak, it is like you have a window into their thoughts. Doesn’t it amuse you, when a person will profess one way of thinking and in a blink of an eye profess a complete contrast view? This is one of those messages, if the shoe fits, acknowledge that you are wearing it, and now take it off because it is not a good shoe. Oh yes, I may be talking about one of you, or a few of you. You could be either the ones I have converse with on FaceBook, or on my job, a family member, a member of my own home, email recipients, friends from around the way, members of my current church, members of my old church, former co-workers, former girlfriends, it could be anybody. I will give you this much. I know you and you know me, and it amazes me how people can say in one sentence of how much they love God, and want to do the will of God, and thank Jesus for saving them, and in the next sentence speak of things that are contrary of one who is in the light. On top of that they even feel they are justified by it. Listen; let’s leave Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the sci-fi fans. You are either one way or the other.
People have lost trust in the Church for this very same reason. People honoring Jesus with their lips, but their hearts are far from him (Mark 7:6) People, who call themselves Christians, who have claimed to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, who should have the same drawing power, are not walking in what they should. Instead of drawing people with the love taught by Christ, they are repelling people away. The bible is clear regarding matters of the heart and how Christians should behave. The bible is not some renaissance painting where a bunch of people gather around with the ooooh’s and aaah’s, and hmmm’s trying to figure out the intent of the artist. Jesus was a simple man, preaching a simple doctrine. So what is the challenge? The challenge is they do not want to suppress what they have in them and make way for the spirit to work it out. How can you say I forgive someone but I do not forget what they did? Really, so I wonder how long your “forgiveness” will last while you keep the memory burned in your mind. How long will it take for your forgiving to turn into unforgiving if you chose to relive the offense? Oh I forgot, you are a Christian so therefore it is justifiable. I need to study that new doctrine.
Look what the bible says. Are you ready for this? Brace yourself now, it is deep! It states “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1Jn 1:6) Isn’t that deep? Man in order for you to truly understand that you have to break it down, like to its simplest form. I mean you have to appreciate the significance of the bestowed word so eloquently expressed by the author. LOL!!!!! No family. That is just my foolish display of hyperbole. It is not deep at all. It is simple. You can’t say you are one thing, and do something else. That means you are a liar, or that favorite word that seems to be on everybody’s lips when it pertains to the Church- a hypocrite. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, meaning Jesus, we are saying we desire to have Him in our lives, that we have faith in Him, and who He is, and that we adhere to His teachings. To do contrary is evident that you do not stand on what you say. It is either one way or the other. There is no straddling the fence.
Let’s look at another verse. The bible states “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (1Jn 3:10) When someone does not practice righteousness, it means they are not habitually or repeatedly maintaining moral standards. So someone who is a gossip is not someone who is righteous. Someone who slanders is not someone who is righteous. Someone who is jealous of another is not someone who is righteous. Someone who does wickedness continually is not someone who is righteous. Someone who is a backstabber is not someone who is righteous. We are not talking about someone who was angry and in anger said something wicked or hurtful to get back at someone. We are talking about people who behave in this manner, to where you feel as though they live to be that way. These people are not of God, and have no compassion for the people who they may be hurting by their actions. They do not do the will of God, but the will of their father the devil.
These verses help us differentiate between the character of a real Christian and the fake one. Christians strive, meaning to make strenuous efforts to adhere to the teachings of Jesus. The contrary, are those who give themselves the title of Christian because they believe in God; however demons believe in God and tremble. The contrary of a Christian are the ones who go to church for the social gathering but have no clue to what the Pastor preached. The contrary are the first ones who call Christians hypocrites but turn a blind eye to their own wickedness. It is sad and it is disgusting, but I am here to say, with me, you are either one or the other. Some of you may need to check your thoughts, speech and action; you may be surprised what you see. Amen.
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