73. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. For him, there is no nice church, people should instead seek to bless the church.
8 December 2020
1 Corinthians 4
10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
This is what I wrote 9 September 2017.
“Nice church. People looking for one; there is no such church.
Apostle Paul must have been really disgusted.
1 Corinthians 4:21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?
It may be said that some people might be in search for a church led by someone like the Lord Jesus and whose members are like the apostles, and then such people will feel holy and feel like in heaven. They could think of the transfiguration, Matthew 17:4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters —one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
If there is such a church, then people won't mind Standing Room Only. No need to invite people to church because they will come on their own, the malls will go out of business.
The truth is, it was the religious leaders who antagonized the Lord Jesus. They cannot stand His laments. The same people looking for a nice church will surely get an earful from Him; God has set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiates 3:11).
In the long run, people should seek to bless the church, rather than the other way around. After all, it is more blessed to give than to receive (as Apostle Paul said, Acts 20:35).
People going from one church to another looking for a nice one will never be a blessing to the church. Instead being a blessing is blessing; being used by God to bless others is blessing no doubt.
“Lord, bless me that I will be a blessing to the church. Yet, I know blessing comes with obedience, obedience of the heart. Lord, I need not look for a nice church to feel holy and feel like in heaven, all I need is to rend my heart (Joel 2:13), and be in tune with Your heartbeat. Lord, take hold of my heart, this I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.””
“If you are familiar at all with the New Testament, you’ve likely heard of the church in Corinth. The book of 1 Corinthians is well known, especially for chapter 13, the famous “love chapter” of the Bible.
But in reality, this group of believers was far from loving. They were pretty far from a lot of godly things, actually. While the content of 1 Corinthians is encouraging and highly applicable to believers today, the members of the church in Corinth weren’t exactly people you’d want your friends and family hanging around.
In our eyes, Paul would have had every reason to be angry with the Corinthian believers. He had presented the gospel to them, discipled them, taught them, and poured his life into them, and this is how they were choosing to act? This is how they chose to respond to the Lord, Paul, and the free gift of salvation – by acting worse than unbelievers?”
There is no nice church; people should instead seek to bless the church.
“Wala ka sa Lolo ko; for him, there is no nice church, people should instead seek to bless the church”, this is what my children's children will say someday.
Let's seek to be a blessing to the church.
Maraming salamat.
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