Religion and Spirituality

Worship Wednesday

A Warning Against Hypocrisy

Then Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. Instead, they tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Matthew 23:1-12–NIV

Do Christians, especially the right, fear the LBGTQ community?

It seems to me it is appropriate to ask whether Christians, in general, fear the LBGTQ community. So many of us who stand behind pulpits and sit in pews often leave no stone unturned when it comes to spitting ridicules and innuendos at a society that embraces different sexual preferences than ours. Don’t judge me. I am not an advocate for this group, but all of them are human beings like any one of us, who is free to do whatever they see fit.

We spend far too much time condemning sinners when we should spend more time winning souls for Jesus. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, you should do as He had done when He walked the earth. He said He came to call sinners. Not the other way around. Jesus was not confrontational, except when He called out the Pharisee. Other than that, He was largely welcoming.

For example, when a group of lawmen brought a woman to Him whom they claim they caught committing adultery and insisted that the law said she should get pommel with stones until she was dead. Jesus did not side with the men and condemned the woman. Instead, He said. Let him cast the first stone if there is one, among you without sin. And to the woman, He said, go your way and sin no more. Essentially, Jesus calmly told both parties to go and clean up their lives.

We should control our emotions and allow the Word of God to do the condemning. After all, the Bible says all of us sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Therefore, there is no reason to be fearful because God is in control. He has given us choices-the wide and narrow paths. Each man’s reward will get calculated based on the course he took. That is the reason Jesus asked us to allow the wheat and the tare to remain together until the harvest. Furthermore, our sacred duty is to preach the gospel to all people.

Too Good To Not Believe

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve (Matthew 10:1-8)

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Where does Faith come from?

How can Faith be increased?

The Word say, “Faith comes by hearing , and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Since this is true, Faith increased as believers filled their lives with the Word. Hence, believers have so little Faith to exercise because of the lack of the Word of God filling their lives. So, the more Christians exercise themselves in Scripture; the more their Faith will grow.

There is one disclaimer to this rule, some believers make it a ritual to read the Bible, some even memorize it, but their Faith doesn’t seem to grow. Does this nullify the truth that the Word of God brings Faith? No. The Bible says, “it is not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). 

It also adds, “It is the spirit that quickened; the flesh profited nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63)

Exercising oneself in the Scripture without the illumination of the Spirit is less effective or, like the Bible say, ineffective to increase Faith.