Why don’t people like the Church? Hebrews 13:1-21

Hebrews 13:1-21

To be quite frank, a lot of people who don’t like Christians, (some, not all), have come into contact with Christians that they felt gave them reason to. Some people are just ignorant. The stereotype of the judgemental Christian, the Hypocrite, the Haranguer aren’t fables, but pretty visible and all too detrimental to the image of the body of Christ. Jesus spoke to immoral and moral men alike, gave and received from prostitutes, criminals and self-righteous and proud men. At times he did this with righteous indignation, but at others Jesus acted with great humility and compassion. As Christians we have the responsibility to reflect these characteristics with people that we come into contact with. If we’re realistic, this is not a side of Christianity that enough people, believers and non-believers, speak of. We are intended to be the light and salt of the earth (Matt 5:13-16), so clearly we have some work to do.

So, if we aren’t already, what is it that we should be doing?

“Keep on loving each others as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realising it! Remember those who are in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies” (Hebrews 13:1-3).

I don’t treat everyone like they’re my younger brother. I’m not protective, loving and playful to everyone that I come into contact with. Yet this is what we are called to do. The second part of the verse is asking us to truly empathise, not ignore, not patronise, not pity but really put ourselves in their shoes. Why? Firstly, the supreme authority Jesus said so, so you know…

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! … Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:32-36).

Christians and non-believers are not the same. Surprise ! If someone reaches those pearly gates, is judged for their actions and didn’t know Jesus you’d better believe that they’ll be in a better position than the person who knew better but let sin and immorality control their motivations. The motivation of the soft heart is a valuable gift to those to whom it comes naturally, and an important prayer request for the rest of us. Don’t be able to repeat these things, or adages to the same value, but not practise them, what good is that to anyone?

We are all God’s creation and even those who don’t believe, were created by Him. The Living God made man to be stewards of His creation, to look after, lead, protect and care for it. As stewards we should strive to love and take care of others with the same intensity and depth that we would our physical siblings.

Unsurprisingly opportunities for resentment can appear from time to time. We can see others with wealth but think it’s unfair because they’re not righteous. We may see a person even in a position in our church or life groups and feel envious of them. The Bible says “be satisfied with what you have” (13:5). At the end of the day God is in control of your life, resenting your situation equates to resenting what God is doing with it, instead of noting the gifts and opportunities He may be making way for.

“For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (13:5-6)

He will NEVER fail you, God has you 100% covered. Every Christian lives in the blessed position of being reliant on the Eternal Father, whose very nature is loyalty and love. The Father who listens to your prayers, who seeks out a relationship with you, who gifted you with ETERNAL salvation. We have a lot to be happy about, even when things appear to be unappealing, we must never allow a chasm for the Enemy to sow seeds of anger and resentment. As the verse says, our Father, our dad, is the Living, intervening, caring, just God – WHAT is there to fear? The position of the Christian is like no other, there is no better place than it.

I see an awful lot of complaining coming from Christians, about other Christians, on social media. Firstly, I find it inappropriate, Paul labours the point of not arguing and belittling Christianity in front of non-believers so no Christian should be doing so. Simple. There is a key difference between trying to address issues in the hopes of building up the Church and prattling on about what you don’t like about Christians, undermining the unified body that you belong to. Secondly, I think a lot of it is short-sighted. A lot of people speak out pride and self-righteousness, vilifying those doing positive things and usefully forgetting John 8 (the story of the woman caught in adultery). For those with the aforementioned selective amnesia let me paraphrase the story: woman gets caught in the act of adultery, crowd want to stone her, Jesus says whoever is without sin let them throw the first stone, and off everyone disappears. Don’t like that bit of scripture, cool, let’s try Matthew 7:1-6, headed DON’T JUDGE OTHERS.

Your intentions will colour the words that you say, if not dictate them. “But the words you speak come from the heart – that’s what defiles you” (Matt 5:18). When you desire what God desires, when your motivations are goodness and love, your advice or constructive criticism for the church body and others will be healthy and beneficial. I don’t think the alternative needs further going into. Our lives on this earth are going to be judged one day, and even without that hanging over your head, when you came to God you received plentiful gifts, shouldn’t you get to sharing some of that with other people?

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Therefore, let us offer Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” (13:14-16)

God bless and keep you always x

The Word, 2Timothy 2:9

“And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.” (2Tim 2:9)

The second epistle to Timothy is thought to be the last one ever written by Paul as he faced execution. Written to a dear follower with whom he held a close father-son relationship, it is full of tenderness and the wisdom of someone who had lived a long and purposeful life.

Paul was not being melodramatic, he had experienced multiple arrests, persecution and criticism for his teaching of the Good News. Having gone from a position of power, preaching had signed the certificate of execution that was to see Paul beheaded under Emperor Nero. Think about the prison system today, not a pleasant place but they have access to running water, toilets and food, do you think this is how a thorn in the side of the Jewish leaders and Roman Emperor was going to be treated? But look at that second sentence!

No matter what they were going to do to Paul, or Philemon, to John, James, Stephen “the word of God CANNOT be chained”! God is the Truth, the Almighty, the Creator. The history of Christianity is littered with men persecuted for their faith, but it is a continued history; men experiencing revelations of God’s grace, mercy, love were, and are, compelled to spread His teachings regardless of what they may face. “He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News” (1:10). In Turkey, in China, in Vietnam, the Middle East, you have people lovingly distributing bibles, putting on bible study classes for anyone who wants to know who Jesus is. They could suffer like Paul, who knew he was suffering like Jesus, because death no longer contained any power. If you know that persecution or threats on your life for truthfully preaching the Gospel will only take you to live in the Father and Son’s glory, it’s hardly something that would put you off of evangelising.

The Word compels us to go that extra mile for others because that is exactly what Jesus did for us. Our futures contained only death but in His perfect sacrifice we are given a completely new, joyful, holy life after physical death! The Word of God cannot and should not be chained because of all that it contains. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (3:16-17).

Three closing points:

Firstly, your actions can lead people to know the Word of God. People are sceptical, but when you reflect God’s mercy, peace and joy, it opens up channels for people to get to know how the Good News has changed your life. No one’s expecting you to recite the Word of God in its entirety.

Second, scripture is about and inspired by God! It’s not homework, it’s an opportunity for us to know God better and help others to do the same, our home is with Him, our spirits feel at rest in His presence, and getting to grips with the Bible is a great way to come into that. As Christians we recognise God as this awesome being, but can then be picky with following particular teachings. Cut it out. Look at everything in its proper context, that you may understand it better, not because of the warning that Paul gives two chapters later. “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (4:3). Sound familiar?

Thirdly, God does not need you to do an ad campaign for the Word or for His Son. Now I don’t mean this literally, things like Alpha are changing people’s lives because they catch their attention on trains and buses. What I mean is that you don’t have to tell people the nice bits of the Bible, or butter them up so people will like what they’re hearing. It’s the Truth not the Pep Talk. “God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone” (2:19). The Word of God is that, it is God’s guidance to His chosen, not there to be adapted or watered down but to be understood and instructive.

God bless and keep you always x

Living The Gospel

So usually I send these morning messages off of something I’ve recently read and then scribbled notes to. But yesterday, my sisters made the important point of not just memerising but living out the gospel, so I thought today I’d share something a bit more personal.

For those who don’t know I’ve been praying for a while about ministering full time. Now when I’d go to pray, it kept feeling that God would reroute the conversation to reconciliation or love for my dad, who I haven’t spoken to in two going three years. No one appreciates someone EVADING their question, but this life calls for obedience so – eventually – I called my dad. We laughed and agreed to meet up and apparently it made his day. We previously stopped talking because of his actions, stubbornness, misdirected anger and a whole loada mess. You can imagine this was not a conversation I was too fond of God for making me have. But, rightfully so, I take the concept of expectancy and faith seriously.

A popular verse from scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” This is scribbled down in countless notebooks and always dropped to me by lovely people. So I took God at His word, I psyched myself up and told myself that should I freeze up, the Holy Spirit that lives inside me, the Father that knew and set me apart “before I was born” (jer 1:5), that said not to be afraid because the words coming out of my mouth were His (jer 1:9), THAT God, would get me through a difficult reconciliation process, one that no one BUT Him could have set up. And He didn’t let me down. Not one bit.

So that evening as I thanked God for a reconciliation between the two of us, something my family have actively prayed for for years, God reminded me of my chapter. I say “my” because during a service where I felt quite guilty for a lack of action and outward showing of His light, He quite literally GAVE it to me. And somehow whenever I’m studying the Bible for any time I always end up drawn back to it. I know God has a sense of humour because through Jeremiah 1, which He’s given me time and time again, He gave me the all clear to go ahead with looking into the seminary (minister school) once I’ve finished my degree. Oh that eternal, omniscient being – what a joker (!)

“For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim 3:5)

Take God at His word, 1) He does not play, “We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.” (Proverbs 16:33 NLT). I asked God continually is the vocation of ministry YOUR will or mine? Did I get an answer? From the living God, who I’m in communion with at least half of the day!?! He pretty much aired me until I did things His way.

But so much more importantly 2) trust Him. Have faith in Him. The God we belong to is accountable, He is constant, He isn’t someone who says something one day and changes His mind the next. When we do things in faith often we find that not only does God facilitate them, but he gives us the grace to get through every step of that process. In essence, don’t just highlight and annotate in your Bible, live it out and see the amazing consequences.

God bless and keep you always x