Saturday, April 19, 2008

Love is sometimes tough

Todays post should not be taken lightly. I've been thinking alot lately about church discipline and how that should look in the church today. Paul gives us an example in 1 Corinthians 5, where a believer in the Corinthian church was caught in sexual immorality. Pauls instruction to the church was to put him out of the community of believers and turn him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. This passage assumes that an attempt to restore him had already been made in accordance with Matthew 18:15-22. It is very important to read these 2 passages together so you dont get the cart ahead of the horse. The passage in Matthew should be done first and then if the brother/sister is still unrepenent put them out of the community. This is not easy to do but it is necessary.

The Body of Christ

If you believe in Jesus as the Messiah, then know this, you are the embodiment of Christ. So live like it. Life is not about you. It's about Jesus. Jesus is not a fad or a gimmick. He is not like a slot machine. Don't think for one minute that if you place your faith in him then all your problems will be over. What really happens when you place your faith in him is that sometimes life gets harder. You don't always get what you want but you find out that what you wanted is not that important. What is important is that Jesus be glorified in your life.

Please, don't lose focus of what is really important in life. Love your brother and you will be loving Jesus. If I have all things but have not love then I have nothing. If you want to know how to express your love to Jesus. then love you brother, your spouse, your children, your employer, your enemies, your friends, and your family. Jesus said that what you've done to the least of these, my brothers, then you've done it unto him. Let's love one another. That doesn't mean that you will always have some kind of special feelings or emotions for someone, but you make a decision to put their needs above your own. Love is not a feeling. Tell someone you love them today, then actually love them by doing something for them.