August 28 – Spiritual Sanctuaries Versus Clubs
James 2:4 “Have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Instead of seeking and securing a spiritual revival, we are instead trying to secure our earthly survival. So our problems increase and self-life lives on and the we have lost purpose wandering in a wilderness of barrenness of programs and lists. We were meant to be powerful and victorious in Christ, and the church was mean carry on her wings the winds of powerful spiritual change and revolutions, which touch the spiritual realm and change the very dimensions of the earthly sphere, simply because the Church knows and abides in Christ, listening and obeying.
However, people in churches have become material minded, earth-bound and earth-wound church destroying itself in the gallows of gossiping, position, gain and fame. These are churches of flesh submerged in human self-effort, dozing comfortably like hens warming their little brood, and cackling conversations of worldly content of gossip, bickering and separation. Many church leaders have a shift in priorities, searching for material gain and fame, cool and compromise. They enjoy their positions, offices and “respect.” There was a place in time when the word “church” was uttered, pictures of love, fellowship, spiritual growth and even a mighty spiritual fortress flashed through the mind. The original plan: The church was meant to be the Bride of Christ, powerful and protected by the Christ that even Satan would shiver to tamper and dabble with it, where the gates of hell could never prevail against this powerful Church. This Bride of Christ cum Fortress hides us from an evil world of spiritual arrows that aim to pierce and debilitate our walk with God wanting us to walk crippled and rippled by defeat.
The original mighty fortress has true worshipers of God who live in harmony with one another. Today, many of us sigh sadly and weakly state “No church is perfect” and we all heartily agree with one another relieved to find another fellow believer who thinks the same way. The option of church hopping is lost, because as time goes on, we find out that each church has its own paraphernalia of problems.Due to the internal problems, the walls of some churches are becoming weaker and as delicate as eggs shells, “Step on me and I will crack!” is the cry of the church walls. The walls, like eggshells can be smashed by the fiery darts of the evil one in their fragility. The watchmen are asleep. They do not have the ammunition to fight back because intercessory prayers was lost long ago in the backwoods as present church-going people feel God is already on their side. They did not feel the need to get down to long-winded prayers and bore everyone. There are many organizers in the church but no agonizing intercessors.
We were meant to be living stones of the church, but cold hard separatist walls of concrete now replace the living stones. Within the concrete wall, church meetings draw out their own manifestos, long-drawn out plans and programs with extended board meetings and discussion.
Breakthrough in churches can happen if we learn how to develop a walk in the Spirit and a deep intercessory prayer life. Then love will automatically follow. Oneness was the pulse of the early church. The early church grew beyond proportions though they were not planning programs or counting numbers. It is through deep prayer and communion with God that churches will rise out of their delicate cracking eggshell clubs to become spiritual sanctuaries.
Rita
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