Facing Challenges in the Church: A Call for Unity and Truth
Jeremiah 26:2b
...And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Isn’t it just absolutely astonishing what all goes down in the house of the LORD? The house of the Lord is supposed to be a place of peace, and yet here we see division; it should be a place of order, and yet we see disorder; a place of unity, and yet disharmony; a place where the man of God should be honored, and yet we see the uprising of rebellion. Perhaps I am being too honest for some, but doesn’t this happen all too often even in our generation as well? Perhaps not at your church; if not, thank God! Nevertheless, it does happen from time to time, and from place to place. The reality is, the first place the devil will fight is at the house of the Lord! We should not be surprised when we see opposition there, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we war a spiritual warfare against the very gates of hell!
And even though we should not be surprised, I think many times we are guilty of being caught off guard. The devil is really good at getting Christians to fight one another; as long as he can keep us doing that, we’ll be too busy to fight the good fight of faith on our knees! It is up to each and every individual child of God to do his or her part to ensure that we give no place to the devil, especially at the house of the Lord where we can hear just one Word from God that could change our lives forever, if we’re able to hear His voice! Can’t you see what’s going on? If there is trouble in your place of worship as described above, then I encourage you to pray, pray, pray! If you have a pastor that is willing to speak the truth in love, no matter how hard it is to swallow, thank God for him, let him know it, and stand with him and not against him!
It looks like the only thing Jeremiah was guilty of was the “crime” of speaking the truth! Why is it that truth is so resisted even in our day? Why can we not, as mature adults, receive not only that truth which ministers grace to the soul, but also that truth which ministers correction to our actions and attitudes? Christ Himself taught that it is truth that makes us free! Why then do we prefer bondage over freedom by not agreeing with God about the truth of our condition? The truth is, we need unity in our churches! However, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Repentance then must first start with each individual, and with each home! Only then can unity be restored at the church house!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
...And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Isn’t it just absolutely astonishing what all goes down in the house of the LORD? The house of the Lord is supposed to be a place of peace, and yet here we see division; it should be a place of order, and yet we see disorder; a place of unity, and yet disharmony; a place where the man of God should be honored, and yet we see the uprising of rebellion. Perhaps I am being too honest for some, but doesn’t this happen all too often even in our generation as well? Perhaps not at your church; if not, thank God! Nevertheless, it does happen from time to time, and from place to place. The reality is, the first place the devil will fight is at the house of the Lord! We should not be surprised when we see opposition there, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we war a spiritual warfare against the very gates of hell!
And even though we should not be surprised, I think many times we are guilty of being caught off guard. The devil is really good at getting Christians to fight one another; as long as he can keep us doing that, we’ll be too busy to fight the good fight of faith on our knees! It is up to each and every individual child of God to do his or her part to ensure that we give no place to the devil, especially at the house of the Lord where we can hear just one Word from God that could change our lives forever, if we’re able to hear His voice! Can’t you see what’s going on? If there is trouble in your place of worship as described above, then I encourage you to pray, pray, pray! If you have a pastor that is willing to speak the truth in love, no matter how hard it is to swallow, thank God for him, let him know it, and stand with him and not against him!
It looks like the only thing Jeremiah was guilty of was the “crime” of speaking the truth! Why is it that truth is so resisted even in our day? Why can we not, as mature adults, receive not only that truth which ministers grace to the soul, but also that truth which ministers correction to our actions and attitudes? Christ Himself taught that it is truth that makes us free! Why then do we prefer bondage over freedom by not agreeing with God about the truth of our condition? The truth is, we need unity in our churches! However, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Repentance then must first start with each individual, and with each home! Only then can unity be restored at the church house!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill