MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR Have you ever been so sick you thought you were going to die? Not a very exciting thought is it, but yet it is an experience that is real. Every one of us has a time appointed to meet with God for our judgment. (Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment") This is a far more nerve racking thought than wondering if the sickness that I am going through is the one He will use to take me to meet Him. Being sick is a time of reflection, it is a time we look at the accomplishments we have made in this life and measuring them up to God's expectations for us. I know in my life I fall short, very, very, short. A review of our own life is not a bad thing, as a matter of fact God tells us to do so in the Book of Corinthians; (2Co 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?") What might we find out about ourselves? Hard to think on these grounds in our society, after all we are taught to; accept ourselves for who we are; make a better person of ourselves; and grab all the gusto you can; stop and smell the roses; plan our destinies; have high self esteem; remember to be strong because only the strong survive; all kinds of self gratifying things which just confuse us and cause guilt to come into play when it should not be there. How can we examine ourselves, as God tells us to, when we don't have enough time to be what everyone expects us to be? One of the most outstanding things I find when being sick is no one really cares about what my accomplishments are, as a matter of reality not many even care about how I feel. Maybe they are to busy trying to complete the aforementioned articles. Getting sick should be a time of rest and recuperation. we need to make sure we are well rested to start our busy schedule again when we regain our health. However, what if we do not regain our health, and our self examination has shown us we fall short of what it is God has planned for our lives, What are we to do? Here is a list for those of you who may have ventured into this area and are now concerned about your standing with God. 1. Make sure you are saved 2. Make sure you are serving 3. Make sure you are walking in His steps 4. Make sure you are not using God for your own benefit 5. Make sure you are dead while you are alive so Christ can live through you 6. Make sure you memorize scripture 7. Make sure you go to church every time the doors are opened 8. Make sure you do all your homework for Sunday School 9. Make sure you offer to do all the jobs no one else is willing to do in the church 10. Make sure you wear the proper clothing, whatever that may be, (it seems to change from church to church, even the very churches that measure you up by your clothing) 11. Make sure you apply all these things to your life and when you are confused with begin again at #1 All these things are well intentioned. However, they are useless unless our hearts are right with Christ first. We as Christians put the same wild expectations upon ourselves as well as other Christians. This is what the world does to themselves. We get the same results: tired, frustrated, rebellious, burned out people. There is no list of things that make us a better Christian, it is what we allow Christ to do in our lives that makes us a better Christian. (Php 2:13 "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure") The most important thing you can do is allow Christ, not others, guide you through this life. It does come through the scriptures and there is absolutely no substitute for them, not even your religion. Your relationship with Christ should be a guarded one, that you do not allow anyone to persuade you away from, unless they can prove to you that you are in scriptural error. God does use others to encourage us. So with all this said, I really do hope you are feeling well, because there is coming a day when we all will meet the Master, and we shall see the shortcomings we have before Him. Let Him have the reigns!
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