I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
Is this your image of what a church is? Well, honestly, it shouldn’t be. We are the church!
In the Old Testament, God dwelled AMONG the people, with them as they traveled and went about their daily lives. He often spoke to the people through the prophets. That changed in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit dwells inside each of us. We are His temple.
“Creator God, keep me mindful that those of us who love You are the church. The building is a bonus. —Gail Thorell Schilling”
Less than a decade ago, I shared my thoughts about everything that matters to me: life, death, politics, abortion, etc. I spread my thoughts everywhere, thinking perhaps that I was giving others the benefits of my vast knowledge and experience. No, what I was actually doing was being shortsighted and setting myself up for failure when I tried to share the Gospel with others.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I was not trying to start a quarrel, but that is usually how things went. My liberal family members had met their match in having the last word with me since I was determined to have it. Fast forward a decade or so and I have learned the hard lesson to just be quiet. Yes, the other person may think that I know that my point of view is wrong so I’m not defending it. Or, they may be thinking that they have won an argument that never got started because I refused to participate. What really happened is I got wiser with age and just don’t want the drama of arguing just to win a point. In gaining that point, I may be destroying my witness to that person, and it’s not really wroth it. Thus when friends or family pontificate about how wrong I am about current issues, I just listen. I don’t nod in agreement or smile or anything. I just listen. Did you know that after only a few minutes, they cease to lecture me on their worldview, seeing as I am not being at all argumentative and thus cutting off the water supply to the dam of their outrage that is about to break?
We would all do well to remember this adage from Abraham Lincoln. I have sat in the company of what I would call many foolish people determined to prove that their point of view is the right one, in fact, the only one. I figure that eventually, either on this side of Heaven or the other one, they will be proven wrong by the One who is greater than they. Jesus never argued His points; He should stated them and people could accept them or not. Then He moved on. That’s a good example to follow, don’t you think?
There are so many people who need to know the Lord. As we tell them about our testimony, many scoff and mock us. Nevertheless, we are called to testify and then just trust God to help the seed to grow. We may only have a small part in someone’s hearing the Word of God and believing, but we need to play our part, no matter how small we think it is.
Here is an article from Dr. Denison today about Christianity being on trial. It truly is. I encourage you to watch the accompanying videos that elaborate on the subject, especially the one about the Equality Act, a direct attack on Christianity. Don’t be surprised when the world is turning against God and all that He stands for. Prophecy said that these days would come.
