Daily Reflections, Thursday, February 7, 2008

Today's Scripture: Hebrews 4:11-13

Many people refuse church attendance with the excuse, "I’d go to church if there weren’t hypocrites there." I heard a pastor explain how he responds: "If you come, you’ll sit in church with a hypocrite on each side of you. But we have room for you, because you’re a hypocrite, too. You can come on and join them. I’d rather sit in church with two hypocrites than sit in Hell with all of them."

We cannot excuse not attending church just because of the sins of those in the church. Both the church and its people have problems—we all have our own baggage to sort through. The Bible says that all are sinners. We’re equally unworthy of God’s favor. It is our responsibility to find a church that teaches the fundamental truths of Scripture, but we cannot change church people—leave the Word of God to do that. In time, the truth of Scripture will bring conviction, both to others and to us.

The Word of God is a double-edged sword, which means that it cuts both ways. You cannot use it to expose the shortcomings of your neighbor with out seeing it come back and reveal your own weaknesses. Instead of standing outside and condemning those within the church, we need to get inside and pray for each other, that our lives would be able to reach those outside church walls.

Today's Quote:  Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. —Thomas à Kempis