Truth even when spoken in Love is not always well received. People are fickle and unstable for the most part. Even the Word says, let God be true and every man be a liar! I have found that more true than one would like to know especially among the so called righteous. Devout men in the eyes of a blinded sheeple thinking these lying wolves to be great men when in fact they are verbal murderers and blatant liars to others. Do we toss them aside? Do we isolate ourselves from these type? No! I tried to do both and it all back fired on me. Till this day I know I stood my ground on Gods Righteousness in the things I did, but the methods were somewhat shaky! We definitely have to pick our battles quite carefully if we are going to insist on picking them! Look at what Jesus said to His students. Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake. Imagine walking in to your home church to be greeted with hatred from people you thought were there to help you and encourage you. Imagine you not being able to ever find a place to fellowship with others of precious like faith without incident or some sort of issue. I remember one night listening to two church elders bashing a group of men in ways I never imagined two men of God would ever do. I watched these same two men earlier at a preachers conference we all attended acting like great buddies to their faces. I kept my mouth shut and watched this man whom I thought was a great guy at one point very carefully from this pint on after that night. That night was the beginnings of great revelations for me about this man, and his organization and those connected to it. God began drawing me away and out of this group and blessed our ministry many times over for obeying His voice above the voice of man. Needless to say the hateful actions and gossip would only be the beginnings and easiest part of the battles ahead! I would find myself fighting for my name the ministry God had set me in as well as work in order to feed and clothe my family. Needless to say, God always came through above all those who labeled, condemned and divided. He has never failed me and my family, nor has He ever stopped providing for me and those I have been a pastor mentor and friend to for all these years. I look in the mirror each day with the realization I am that man who lied, cheated and condemned me and others! I am those people who spread the discord and yes lied for it is the inherent nature that is in me through the fall of man. Each day I wake up realizing my position quite clearly and also realize I have no strength to do anything outside of God and Him alone. I am sitting here at my desk writing as usual and as I have for many years now at the end of the day thankful and grateful for His unchanging mercy for me and even those who havent yet figured out... I am that man standing in the mirror.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 05:21:07 +0000