This morning Ive been thinking a lot about people I know who are believers… who have let Satan take the victory recently… Im not writing this to point fingers! This does not apply to one given person... but I felt led to share my burden with this…
From things like believers putting sports… hanging out at the pool… coming before Christ & the church.
How are we suppose to raise our children according to the Word… and to see how important Christ really is in our lives… when we’d rather skip church and hang out at a pool or sleep in?
I understand we sometimes need a vacation.. thats understandable… but I honestly dont know how someone can profess to be a believer… yet not desire this… and skip sunday… after sunday… after sunday. If they did this and had no conviction Id really begin to question their salvation… because as a believer, Christ is the CENTER of my life… not the caboose.
Ive also seen Satan reigning over so many marriages these days…
Where spouses put themselves at #1… forgetting what their choices may do to those in their family… having unforgiveness in their hearts… Things may not always go “our way”… but that is no reason to throw in the towel and want out.
Marriage IS NOT EASY.. and I will be the 1st to admit we have our problems… but to think divorce is the answer for being unhappy… or a way out because you don’t “feel” the same… is foolish!
Seek counsel no matter what!!! Don’t just give up and harden your heart to your spouse thinking theres no way to save things… Through Christ there is always a way!! and I have seen situations where pornography infested marriages have been saved through counsel and LOTS OF PRAYER!
When we marry we do not make a covenant with just our husband… BUT WITH GOD! Christ HATES divorce… and theres good reason.
I had a friend share with me this afternoon this song… and It was so strong!! I had to share it. Really listen to the words.
*The wedding photo I took at my friend Aliesha’s wedding… I just love that picture of them and thought it go well with the post.. they are still newly weds but you can totally see how important their commitment was on their wedding day.*
Update to post:
Since writing this post…
I have since gotten email… after email.. from people thinking I AM JUDGMENTAL because of the above post.
& leaving a few other choice statements to me as well.
I want to clarify ONE thing.
I DO NOT THINK YOU ARE LOST IF YOU DO NOT ATTEND CHURCH.
BUT…
I am not going to sit here and say I think Christians shouldn’t be involved in a church body.
As one of my husbands fav. pastors John MacArthur wrote:
“Active local church membership is imperative to living a life without compromise. It is only through the ministry of the local church that a believer can receive the kind of teaching, accountability, and encouragement that is necessary for him to stand firm in his convictions. God has ordained that the church provide the kind of environment where an uncompromising life can thrive.”
Since becoming a believer back when I was 15… I honestly could not imagine my life not in fellowship with a church.
Now maybe thats just me.
Maybe CHURCH isnt your thing…
But I am not going to numb down what I believe to be TRUTH according to Gods word…
My heart aches for those who do not know the Lord…
I have family members and close friends who are lost! I pray for them constantly and just wish they could come to know Christ as I have. I feel so incredibly unworthy to be chosen and saved… out of so many, why did Christ save me?!
I pray that the Lord would reveal to those in our church body the importance of worship… the importance of accountability and discipleship in the church. Sure the church is full of hypocrites, and sinners (Im one of them!)… and lost people… but that should only push us more as believers to speak truth and serve in a local church!
I am going to CLOSE the comments on this post.
I dont write my blog to keep me up at night and affect my ability to rest.
I write it to speak my heart… and to share my convictions and my family.
But I will end with this scripture:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit” (vv. 15-17).
All Christians bear fruit. Many may produce only a small yield, but there’s no such thing as a Christian with no fruit.
Then Jesus said, “A corrupt tree brings forth bad fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them” (vv. 17-20).
If you dont attend church, fine.
That DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE LOST.
But that scripture right there does a lot better job at summing up what I wanted to say.
- Scripture taken from a sermon by John MacArthur called: Living in the Light
Can I just say ‘Amen’. :)
What a beautiful post Drea!!! and that song is so beautiful! I was thinking yesterday about a few of my university classmate that got married and now are divorce, how selfishness, adultery, pornography, alcohol have destroyed those covenant, it make my heart so sad!
I know that all of them did not have Christ as a Savior and I pray that they may know Him, but my heart is so heavy.
They tell me they envy me, my husband, our children, happiness, they think that we do not have problem, I keep telling them that No, we are sinners and we do sin and sin separate us from one another and God, but trough Christ we have forgiveness and because we have been forgiven we know how to forgive etc… Our marriage is not perfect but we are growing closer together with each trial that come our way because God is the center of our life not “us” not “our self”
thanks for sharing your taught
Blessing
Renee
So very true. And that song is amazing…music is so powerful, and the words in this song are no exception!!!
Great great GREAT post. You put into words what I have been thinking lately… and it applies to more people than I think too! Some people are also trying to argue that you don’t NEED to go to church to be a Christian. Sorry but it’s all part of the package!
When life and it’s happenings seem impossible we have to remember who makes it ALL possible!
While I wouldn’t say I disagree with the sentiment behind this post, I think it’s a pretty dangerous line to tow in saying ‘If they did this and had no conviction Id really began to question their salvation… ‘ YIKES. Scary stuff to take be taking upon ourselves to be judge of.
Hi Sarah,
I am not judging them. Christ will be their judge in the end. I was just stating that there is question in my mind when people “say” they are believers.. yet do not show evidence of it in the way they live.
The bible alone states it pretty clearly:
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16
I understand we all go through valleys… and there are times in each of our lives that we may not live the way Christ would want us… Ive been there!
But there are many ive seen that put so many things over Christ, that it really does bring up that question. But I am not the one to point fingers or tell them they are lost. I wouldnt do that.
So I do not have any fear here that I was wrong in stating what was said above.
What a powerful post and song, thank you so much for sharing!
I wasn’t going to say anything but I think I have to.
I have to disagree with the thought that someone’s salvation is in question if they do not attend a church service on Sunday. I work EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND as a hospice nurse. Some may say that it is my choice and that a church service should come first. But do I really have a choice? If I did not work weekends then I would not be able to assist in supporting my family. I have been a pastor’s wife for 12 years and we have NEVER been able to support our family on my husband’s income. Could I work during the week? Sure…at the sacrifice of my children’s education. We could not afford to put them in childcare if I worked full time during the week and if I worked full time then we would not be able to homeschool them. (Which I believe would be disobedience to God because I fully believe that He has called us to choose this path for our children).
I think that the distinction needs to be made between “going to church” and being a part of the Church. We do not attend Sunday morning services because it is impossible to do so with my work schedule. However, we are part of a network of believers and we meet on a regular basis (every Monday evening) to pray for one another, encourage one another and support one another. And we have non-believers that are starting to see that we are “different” and they are actually joining us now as well. In addition to our weekly meeting with this group of people, we also have multiple Christian friends in the area that we are constantly in contact with. So we are not just out here “doing life alone”. We have a community of believers that we are part of even if we do not attend a service on Sundays.
My husband and I made the decision to be a part of a house church movement rather than be a part of a traditional church that offers Sunday morning services. I don’t question my salvation one bit. I know who my Savior is. I know that I am serving Him in every aspect of my life whether it is in a church building on a Sunday morning or comforting a family at the home of a dying patient. There have been times (Resurrection Sunday for one) when I have found myself taking care of a demented patient and I have felt closer to God then I ever have while sitting in a church pew.
I am seriously not trying to start anything. And I understand your frustration. Trust me…I spent the first 10 years of my married life being a pastor’s wife in a “traditional” church community and it used to aggravate me as well that people did “other things” on Sundays. I just think like Sara that it is dangerous to equate someone’s salvation with whether they attend a service on Sundays where the professionals “serve” and the great majority (I know…not ALL!) of the body just…sits.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)
::sigh:: I will put A disclaimer next time so ppl don’t think I’m calling ppl who aren’t in church Sunday lost… I’m on the road right now so I can’t til tonight… but what fruatrates me is that You can’t tell from this post that I’m not saying that at all.
I don’t think it came across the way that you meant for it to. And I really didn’t think that you thought that way about people like me! :) We just get a LOT of flack from people (including my in-laws) because we don’t “attend” church and I sometimes get defensive about it. We are very much involved with our little community of believers and we are trying very hard to expand our community to non-believers as well. As long as we all have the same goal (which is bringing Christ to the lost) then it doesn’t really matter what the method.
Have a great rest of your vacation! :)
I think had I wrote “if you dont go to church your lost” that be different… I was referring to those who skip out weeks at a time to “hang out and enjoy a pool” or just skip because they dont FEEL like going…
You obviously have good reason for adjusting your schedule and I think its awesome you all are able to still fellowship with believers and meet at other times. That is wonderful.
I honestly wouldnt mind if we could meet on other days besides sunday/wednesday… I also wish we didnt have sun night worship so that we would have more time to go OUT into our community and BE the church, rather than BE AT church.
My post was not at all to say you are lost if you dont do things “according to a certain schedule” And I think if you read it people would understand the difference in what I was saying.
I dont go around saying “they are lost!” but I believe we know who believers are according to their fruits… and that the bible will reveal those who are serious about their faith.. and those who just play church.