I met a man for the third time yesterday. Some would call it coincidence. I disagree. He says that he is a Christian. The first time I met him, about 3 years ago, he was reading the signs on the window of the Bible School we ran at the time. I went into the street and asked him if he wanted to come in and have some fellowship and a drink. He said no, he was fine. A year or so later, I saw him again, outside a shop. Again, he was fine. I knew he was not, but he refused any help. Yesterday, I saw him again. This time, he is acknowledging that he is not fine.
He has mental issues and now he is homeless. It's heartbreaking to see one of God's own so troubled and oppressed. Why did it have to come to this? God has promised to take care of His own. However, there are conditions.
One of the great blights on humanity is independence. Tony did not want help. Tony does not realise that God places us in His Body, so we can help each other as Christ commanded us to do. Tony lost his home a while ago. If he had been in fellowship, he could have received help with whatever problem caused him to be evicted. He was a bit vague about that.
Have you ever seen a dog with two bones? Some dogs won't give up on both. So it picks up a bone, then tries to grab the other. It cannot. So it drops the bone in its mouth and picks up the other. Sorry, dog, you have to choose or you end up with nothing.
'Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.' 1 Kings 18:21
'And why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do what I say?' Luke 6:46
Every Christian has a choice to make. At some time or other, the sooner the better, his life must pass out of his control and into the hands of the Lord Jesus. There is no place for independence in the Kingdom of God. "Do your own thing" was the catch phrase of the 60's. Look where that has got the Western world.
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21
The Christian life is not measured by what we gain, but by what we lose. If we are willing to give up our all for the sake of the Kingdom of God, we will prosper and succeed according to God's measure. If we go by what we want, doing as we please and adding Christianity as a cloak to hide self will, we will miss out on God's kingdom blessings.
We get one life now that sets us up for eternity. It will be a tragic waste for those who insist on going their own way. Tony is an extreme example. Other Christians seem to get along OK. But what does God say? I suggest we read Matthew 7:21 again.
He has mental issues and now he is homeless. It's heartbreaking to see one of God's own so troubled and oppressed. Why did it have to come to this? God has promised to take care of His own. However, there are conditions.
One of the great blights on humanity is independence. Tony did not want help. Tony does not realise that God places us in His Body, so we can help each other as Christ commanded us to do. Tony lost his home a while ago. If he had been in fellowship, he could have received help with whatever problem caused him to be evicted. He was a bit vague about that.
Have you ever seen a dog with two bones? Some dogs won't give up on both. So it picks up a bone, then tries to grab the other. It cannot. So it drops the bone in its mouth and picks up the other. Sorry, dog, you have to choose or you end up with nothing.
'Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.' 1 Kings 18:21
'And why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do what I say?' Luke 6:46
Every Christian has a choice to make. At some time or other, the sooner the better, his life must pass out of his control and into the hands of the Lord Jesus. There is no place for independence in the Kingdom of God. "Do your own thing" was the catch phrase of the 60's. Look where that has got the Western world.
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21
The Christian life is not measured by what we gain, but by what we lose. If we are willing to give up our all for the sake of the Kingdom of God, we will prosper and succeed according to God's measure. If we go by what we want, doing as we please and adding Christianity as a cloak to hide self will, we will miss out on God's kingdom blessings.
We get one life now that sets us up for eternity. It will be a tragic waste for those who insist on going their own way. Tony is an extreme example. Other Christians seem to get along OK. But what does God say? I suggest we read Matthew 7:21 again.