What I wish more church people knew


What I wish more church people knew and believed.

1.  God saved you by grace.  It's a done deal.  Nothing you do, good or bad, made that happen or changes anything going forward.  He loves you as much right now as he will 10,000 years from now.  Your behavior doesn't change his heart for you or your place with him.

2.  Your feelings are easily manipulated and sometimes you'll "feel saved" or "feel close to God" or vice versa.  Feelings do not change how God sees you.  That kind of language is from religious environments and isn't something from God.  We walk by faith, not by feelings because feelings can lie to us.

3.  God is with you each and every moment of life and there's nothing more special about Sunday in terms of his being close to you, walking with you, or anything like that.  His Spirit lives within you and, since sin is no longer counted against us anymore, his Spirit never leaves you.

4.  "Worship services" or church gatherings are supposed to be times for being encouraged, learning, encouraging others, sharing, and other things that build up you and the other believers that are present.  That's it.  There are many gifts that can and should be used whenever those happen, Sunday or otherwise. 

5.  God isn't keeping tabs on who "goes to church" or gives money or service hours or things like that to decide who "gets blessed" or not.  That's more of a superstition/karma kind of thing and not at all anything from the New Covenant that we're under after the resurrection of Jesus.

6.  We now live as "the priesthood of all believers". No one is above anyone inside the body of Christ. No one is assigned the role of speaking to God on your behalf.  We can learn about walking with God together, but you have to and get to walk with God personally - no one can do it for you.

7.  God has already equipped you with all you need to live life with him and his people. You already have all you need right now and, if you need something else for your walk with him, he will provide it.  If you don't have something, you don't likely need it for your walk with God. 

8.  God isn't unaware of anything. Your bills, family, who is in some political office, the interest rate for mortgages, that mole you're worried about...you name it, he knows about it.  He's not worried about any of that at all and doesn't want you to be either.  He knows you have to learn contentment and it takes time.

9.  It's okay to focus on your work, taking care of your family, and other normal things in life. God doesn't expect or hope to get more and more of your time and attention for "church things" as time goes by.  His highest goal isn't for you to be more involved "in church", but to walk with him in trust and dependence.

10.  God isn't mad at you or disappointed in you like some people suggest.  People often repeat things they've heard that aren't true or attempt to project their ideas about life onto God, but they don't actually speak for him.  He is not ashamed of you at all and loves you more than you can possibly know.

__________

Obviously there are more things, but those would be the most basic things.

None of the above items are neutral in the least bit.  There are massive implications with each.

Think about it a little.  Just pick any one of them and work it around in your heart for a week.

It will likely change a lot of things or at least give you some really good food for thought.

You'll be fine.

Grace and peace.

17/25

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