Good Morning,
The theme of today's writing is about people becoming disillusioned by the things they have
seen happening in churches. People decide to abandon church attendance in the light of some
behaviors they have witnessed. Sandy points out that we need our friends. She wrote, |
"Probably the most important one of all is choose to forgive when others offend us (which undoubtedly will happen numerous times) rather than hold unforgiveness toward our brother or sister in Jesus."
Good advice!!
Together With Jesus,
Sandy ..................and Corinne
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Today's Devotional
'Life Is Better Together!"
Written by
Sandy Billingham
I was recently visiting with a friend who was sharing that she was plain "fed up" with attending church. She had been disappointed with different things she had observed in previous churches she had been attending. Because of her past experiences she came to the conclusion that she would quit attending church on Sunday all together.
As my friend was sharing, there were numerous things I wanted to say to her swirling in my head, but I knew she was not at a place she would receive it. I was well aware that she had given this much thought and telling her what she should be doing as a believer was not going to fly at this point.
My friend was disillusioned with the body of Christ, and for her to change her mind was certainly not going to happen over night. Kelly and thousands of others have taken the stance she has because of various reasons; may it be offenses, hypocrisy, betrayal, and the list goes on.
Being a believer we are all familiar with the passage...
"This is not the time to pull away
and neglect meeting together,
as some have formed the habit of doing.
In fact, we should come together even more frequently,
eager to encourage and urge each other onward
as we anticipate that day dawning."
Hebrews 10:25
(The Passion Translation)
(The Passion Translation)
The hard, cold fact is... we desperately need each other!! But let's face it.. growing and maturing in Jesus and doing community together can get pretty messy at times!! Sharing hearts, being real and transparent and reaching out to one another can be a little scary at times as well. Just getting to the point of trusting others is a major break through for many of us.
As we press in and press on and overcome obstacles we will see that it is all worth it. We can choose to love rather than criticize, encourage rather than tear down, pray for each other rather than condemn one another, speak life over each other rather than speaking death.
Probably the most important one of all is choose to forgive when others offend us (which undoubtedly will happen numerous times) rather than hold unforgiveness toward our brother or sister in Jesus. That one as we all know is never easy, but through God's strength we are able to forgive, bless, pray and love our brethren.
Our Pastor has a saying that he says often and that is "Life is better together." No one wants to go through life alone and feel disconnected with the Body of Christ.
Doing Bibles Studies, prayer, life groups, serving in the church and community and fellowshipping together, is a wonderful way to get into one another's hearts.
We need each other always and "LIFE IS ALWAYS BETTER TOGETHER!"
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Prayers are lifted up daily for
you by the Devotional Writers
and the Monthly Writing Staff
of Women's Focus Ministries.
Blog Writers:
Jan Andersen, Sandy Billingham, Carol Steficek,
Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward, Karen Bennett,
Collette Phillips, Cathy Friberg, and Corinne Mustafa
Occasional Contributors:
Kathy Bireley, Lynda Kinnard, Mary M. Wilkins,
Terri Baker, Beverley Napier, Kelly Dobyns
Glenna Williamson, Shelly Keith, Amie Spruiell,
Lisabeth Lipp, and Nandita Bhatnagar
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