Playing Church & Playing Games With Christ

"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know who thou oughtest to be have thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." - 1 Timothy 3:15

I just want to share a quick thought with everyone today.  I have been observing the landscape of our churches over the last several months, especially in the last week or so.  I have come to the conclusion that we have a lot of people in "American Christianity" that are simply playing church.  Now, I am sure that to many of you this does not come as any surprise or new revelation.

In light of remarks that were made by our President last week, we have begun to see a separating of true Bible believing Christians and those that profess the name of Christ, yet openly disobey His Word and make no apologies for it.  This division is only going to get clearer as we get closer to Christ coming back for His Church.  The bottom line is that we are going to find who is truly following Christ and who is just playing church and playing games with Christ.  Like I said before, the sad reality is that we have so many people today who are just playing and pretending, not ever taking what Christ has said seriously.

If you are saved, the Bible says that you will stand before Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ and give an account for everything that you have thought, said, done, or things you should have done but didn't.  My question is, do you really believe this?  I am convinced that the majority of those that profess Christ don't really believe this, because if they did it would scare them to death or at least change the way they live.

The world looks at professing Christians and the Church today, and they see something that is not real.  A friend of mine said this the other day, "Sinners and God have something in common, they are looking for something real."  We must show and reflect that Christ and the Church is real to us!

The bottom line is that professing Christians have become good at playing church and playing games with Christ, just as good as a politician is at playing politics.

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me, that when others see my life, they see something real!  By Your grace, help me not to play church or play games with the Christ.  I pray that in every thought, every word, and every action I will be reminded of the fact that I will stand before Christ at the Judgment Seat to give an account.  Give me the strength to stand for you in the days that lie ahead, no matter the cost!  In Jesus name, Amen!

Where Is The Church?

"And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." - Acts 17:6

Over the last several months I have been burdened by a single question, where is the Church?  The Church in the book of Acts is accused of turning the world upside down.  Sadly, the only thing that the Church could be accused of today is selling out.  We are such a far cry from what the Church is supposed to be as read in the book of Acts.

Have you ever heard another church member recalling a story that ended with one of these statements:

"That church split over the color of the carpet!" or "The deacons meeting ended in an actual fight!" or "She walked up and slapped the pastor across the face!" or "She actually flipped the pastor the middle finger in a business meeting!"

You might be thinking that those statements sound extreme and that something like that would never happen.  I can tell you from personal experience that these things do happen.  The last example of someone flipping the pastor the middle finger in a business meeting actually happened to me last year.  Many Christians could share stories with you that defy the imagination.  Let me emphatically say that church is not supposed to be this way!

All you have to do is look around the community that you live in and you will see people that are hurting, people that need someone to love them and care about them, people that need someone to show them Christ.  Where is the Church?  We have gotten so caught up in our theology, our programs, and ourselves that we have quit being the Church!  What will it take to break our hearts for people in our communities?  What happened to  Christians helping their neighbors with a need?  What happened to Christians donating their time to the food bank or homeless shelter?  What happened to Christians just showing a simple act of kindness so that they might show and reflect the love of Christ?  Now please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that we should do all of these things in place of witnessing and sharing the Gospel of Christ with the lost.  We must do all these things in conjunction with witnessing and sharing the Gospel of Christ with the lost.

May God break our hearts for those in our community!  May God so burden our hearts and our souls that we will start being the Church by showing a radical love and compassion for those in our communities.  I am all for having the right theology and doctrine, but those things are worthless if it doesn't radically change our lives and compel us to show unbelievable compassion to those in our community.

‎"The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way." - Oswald Chambers

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, I pray that You would break my heart for those in my community!  Break my heart for their souls, their needs, and their burdens.  Help my to show them Christ's love in every way imaginable!  Give me a radical love and unbelievable compassion for those that are lost, those that are hurting, and those that just need to see that someone cares.  In Jesus name, Amen!