Micah 3:1
Last night, Jan and I were watching Andy Stanley on the tube
and he was asking the question, what is your definition of a Christian? Mine would have been a person who is a
follower of Christ. I would also have
declared that the person would have by God’s grace and faith, given them by God
entered into a personal relationship with the risen Christ. But that is not how many in and outside of
the Church define a Christian. Barna
polls conducted between 2004 and this year, sampling 440 non-Christians (and a
similar number of Christians) aged 16 to 29, found that 38% had a "bad
impression" of present-day Christianity.
Many see the word Christian and associate it with judgmental
people who are non-loving and just hateful to both each other and outsiders. But anyone who reads the teachings of Jesus
and the apostles knows that is not what they taught. So what is happening, where have we run amuck
and is someone to blame?
Maybe we need to remove the word Christian, if we are not
going to be a follower of Christ, and I found this of interest, who gave us
that title? They were first called
Christian in Antioch, but up to then they were called “Disciples of Christ,”
and in some circles they were called, “The Way.” The name Christian came from people who had
distain for Christ Jesus.
I believe I’m in agreement with Andy, we have forgotten how
to let Jesus do the loving through us.
The apostle John tells us the following: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is
from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
because love is from God.” If
you will keep reading you may find the answer to many of your problems, for me
loving and receiving love was a big problem for years, praise God it is not so
at this time. John states; “There is no fear
in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been
perfected in love. (1John 4:18) But please listen you who teach and
preach for this is the prayer of our Lord; “O righteous Father, even though the world does
not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them
your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which
you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Could it be that these words of
Micah to the priests, prophets, and rulers need to ring into the ears of our
priests, pastors, teachers and leaders. “And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the
house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? (Micah 3:1 ESV) We must come to this understanding that many
of the leaders of Israel and that includes prophets and priests were corrupt. They had long ago quit listing to the true
prophets like Isaiah and Micah. The true
prophets were not into saying what the people wanted to hear, nor the leaders
of those people, and it seems we are experiencing that in 2016.
And if they will
not hear, does that excuse you and me? Fortunately
no, God is not going to change because so-called spiritual leaders have
compromised God’s message for profit and to fit into the worldly crowd. So be known as one who loves the ones God
loves and you are going to be very surprised it includes those who hate you,
those who hate God, and yet the hope of the world is Christ in you.
From the Back
Porch,
Bob Rice
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