Following MAN leads to YOUR fall...

How often do we see this? Man's eyes are on man - not God. When that man/leader falls, people fall away as well.

When man disappoints, people are devestated. This ought not be.

There is freedom in Christ. Why do we find ourelves in bondage to man? Serving God is good, refreshing, an honor. Serving man is exhausting and leads to burnout & bad attitudes.

Which brings me to a question -

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BURN-OUT IN OUR CHURCHES?

I'm sure it's a combination of different things. One thing I've seen is people signing up because of who the leader is asking them. They feel obligated by their relationship to the leader(s). God gives you strength to do what HE calls you to. Another reason may be that people who are called to serve ARE NOT answering the call...and so, so many other feel the pressure to pick up the slack and take on too many commitments.

Which brings me to the next questions -

WHY AREN'T PEOPLE ANSWERING THE CALL TO SERVE?

Could it be that they are either NOT putting themselves in a place to hear God's call? Or they hear Him, but they're just disobedient?

Which leads me to ask:

WHY ARE SO MANY DISOBEDIENT TO THE WORD OF GOD,

THE CALL OF GOD, GOD'S VOICE?

Could it me they have no idea how good God's love is? They don't know of the rewards and blessings that await them. Maybe they don't really pursue a relationship with their Creator, their Master, because they're unknowingly judging God by the judgmentalness of His followers.

Which leads me to ask -

WHY ARE SO MANY BELIEVERS JUDGMENTAL?

God is the Judge, the righteous Judge. Our job as believers/followers of Jesus are to love people and accept them so that they are interested in who Jesus is. If you are the billboard of Christ, are you attracting people to God or repelling them with your unloving, judgmental attitude? God is love, so we should be people of love, right?

Lessons to take away:

• Never put man in the place of God.
• Live to love and please God - only!
• Serve God when & where He calls you and needs you!
• Don't be a judgmental Christian - that's an oximoron!

We are all at different places in our maturity in God. And sometimes the drug addiction has to go before we can get down to the layer of judgmentalness. But stay alert on how you treat the lost and unsaved. Don't judge them for their lifestyles, they just haven't experienced God's forgiveness and goodness to want to change yet. And you repel them with your critical words - don't let them misjudge God by your lack of acceptance. Jesus wants us to come to Him as we are. So accept people for who they are and then, spend time praying for them, encouraging them, and speaking life over them. This is what will attract them to our Lord & Savior!

What does this have to do with serving man vs. serving God? When we serve God, we are living to please Him, we repeat what we hear HIM say. When we serve man, we adopt that fallen man's opinions and attitudes which are usually not as life-giving, promising, and loving as God's Word. So - do as God calls you to.

And if man disagrees w/ you, hand him over to God to deal with. When your heart's aspirations are to live for God, seek His face daily and you are filled up with the joy of the Lord, the Spirit of God...you can't really God wrong. God does not change and shift like man. What God says is the standards for life. His Words are life! So follow God with all your heart and never waver in pleasing Him. You will lead many more to Christ by doing this, than by following man and trying to please man.

And keep in mind, man is sinful. He's not perfect. When you get stuck in the trap of pleasing him, you will hurt others in the process. And when man falls, disappoints, breaks agreement with you...you will be left plumeting down a well with confusion, unknowing to how to restart your service to God. You will feel as though you are in the wilderness. And you are. You got off the right path for your life when you followed man down the trail and took your eyes off the One who knows the way.

Final Words:

Follow Christ. Love Christ. Aim to be like Christ - you can't go wrong there!

Amen? Amen.

I warned them: "Don't get me preachin'....."

I really have come a long way than where I was when I first got saved. I'm still on fire - just not burnin' up everyone around me....intentionally. ;)

However...I think my favorite thing about the reading the Bible is sharing what it ACTUALLY says. I love the rebuttal: 'Well, that's your opinion'. Really, it's not. I don't have an opinion anymore. I only believe and repeat what the Word of God says.

The interesting quandry they find themselves in is that when they disagree with me (even 'believers'/religious people) they are really disagreeing w/ God. What's great is that I don't have to take their words personal. They aren't offending me at all because my source of belief is the Word of God - The Holy Bible. So see, they're disagreeing w/ HIM.

What is sad is that so many claim to be believers...but have no idea what the Bible even says about a variety of things that affect their walks/salvation. I could spout out some topics that would make anyone squirm...but it's not my place to judge - it's God... and that's why He sent Jesus Christ. And that's why He gave us the Word...to see what He says!


Now, while I'm not yet equipped to give the "theological" break down...but in a nutshell:
"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." - Romans 10:9,10

You can't do anything else but believe & confess. Works is not the saving factor. Our outward action will change because the Word says you will know them by their fruit. But is the work of the Holy Spirit working through us. We can't boast in what He does. We can only be grateful & thankful...and show up the next day for Him to use us and love others through us.

The sad thing is that so many don't go directly to the Word to get fed. They depend on the guy on Sundays to give it to them...and while there are wonderful Bible-teaching, truth-sharing, Jesus-loving, humble churches out there...there are those who have mixed in so much personal opinion that people are judging others based on the judgment from the pulpit. These will never last.

The truth is what sets people free...and the truth is what feeds people...anything less than this is unnecessary & ineffective.

----These thoughts were inspired thru some conversations I had tonight at a birthday get together. And I promise, I forewarned others (who brought up this topic) - Don't get me preachin'! Needless to say, I got to preachin'...and I preached to the Lord on the way home, I was preachin' while I brushed my teeth...and so here I am unloading on you. But isn't it the truth?

Now, for the record, I am not perfect, but I am a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ & study the Word. It is so wonderful to know what that Book says. It is the truth - it says so! :)

You read things in it like: 'God does not change His mind'...and so I don't serve a wishy-washy, indecisive God.  What it really is...people missing God & not being be humble enough to say so. Personally, I don't think that God expects me to hear Him 100% of the time on 100% of everything. I wish that I could. Man, I'd be set wouldn't I? But I miss Him too...and if you ever have (once, twice, over and over) - it's okay. People don't expect you to be God. Take that pressure off yourself. You can miss Him...just chalk it up and start from where you are & go for it again.

You read things like 'Don't look at a woman with lust'...but many believing Christian men do. Heck, many believing Christian women are looking at men w/ lust. We just got to recognize it in time before we let that thought life carry us away into adultress relationships...and we do that by going straight to the ONE who can help you, Jesus Christ. The true Mediator who put His life on the line for you personally! He can help you in every temptation and through the Holy Spirit, give you the strength to press on through the temptation. He really can!

I know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, my sins are paid in full, however to hear Him clearly and be led by the Spirit....I have to walk by the Spirit & not by my flesh. I'm really not making this stuff up on my own...it's what the Book says.

All this to say - "if you see me somewhere and you don't want to hear the 'truth'...please don't begin the conversation". The only thing you will get out of me is what I've read in the Bible...and for me, that is the ultimate authority. The beauty of it is that it takes so much pressure off me...I don't have to have all the answers...but I know the One who does!

Got inspired tonight & thought I'd share! God bless & have a great Sunday!