God, Awaken Your Church

If you are in the body of Christ and you can't see what's going on in the church today, then you either choose not to, or your heart and your eyes are only centered on your local body.

Jesus Causes Division
Luke 12:49-56 I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against�"or two in favor and three against. Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-lawand daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

Not long ago I wrote a story called A House Divided... What if the division you are facing now or have faced in the past was a direct act of God? Do you not know that the Lord will cause division within His own Church? Why? To possibly reveal who is His and expose those who are not? To ultimately bring about a healthier church in order to share His word to the unsaved? To awaken us to the things going on within ourselves and the body that brought Him to dishonor? I can name many reasons, or maybe He's not causing it, but He's definitely allowing it for our own good and His Glory.

It's always easier looking in from the outside. In other words, we see much division in the world. People attacking one another, killing one another, deceiving their own friends and family. That kind of sin is easy to detect, but what happens when it's happening in the church and no one's calling it out or addressing it? We as the church just turn a cheek and say we'll pray.

As I've shared many times over the last several months that about a year ago or so ago, I started studying doctrine. The different beliefs within the body of Christ. As I have educated myself through many avenues (Mostly across the internet) I have become increasingly aware of the division amongst His Church. The sin of attacking one another for their choice of denomination. Publicly humiliating another believer because their actions or opinion of scripture is different than their own. It's ALL SIN and it's ugly. As I researched this topic over and over I came across dozens of internet memes of just about every denomination attacking or bullying a different denomination. Do you realize what this looks like to the ones searching for truth? Do you understand how underhanded and back stabbing the church looks to the lost?

Do you not know that it has long been the behavior of those in the church that keep others out? When will we begin to look like Christ? As I was in church Sunday the Pastor spoke on Ephesians chapter 1 and He talked about what the love of God should look like within the Body of Christ.. He spoke on In Christ we have Redemption.. Meaning that Christ paid for our redemption. In Christ we have all been Redeemed. So, what does that redeeming love look like?

Let's look at Ephesians 1:15-23 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

It looks like being thankful for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Lovingly praying for them for wisdom, revelation and hearts enlightened so that God is most Glorified. That is what the building up of one another looks like!

Are we not able to reveal the truth of scripture and do it with honor and respect for the Glory of God! I myself have grown in a different direction than just about everyone around me. A 100% turn around from the doctrine I grew up under, but just because I now see and believe differently doesn't mean that I don't still love and respect the people I've loved and called friends and family all these years.

Believe me when I say that I say this all in love, as I myself have been learning to walk out this very subject in a manner that brings all Glory to God and sometimes I fail. So, I hope that as you've read this, that you'll go beyond your own church doors. That you'll research the thing's I've seen and I pray that when you do that you weep as I did. That your hearts will break with sadness to see that there's more hate being displayed in the body than there is in the world. Awaken church and be drawn to His Glory!

Ephesians 5:14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."