The Problem with Church (part 2 of 4)

Think about this: God loves you as much today as He ever will! There is nothing you will ever do to get Him to live you more. The more Christ-like you become will not impact how much He loves you. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭6‬ NIV) By being in church today, by reading the Bible daily, by giving to the church, by serving in the nursery, you don't look any better to God. He is no more pleasing to God? So why live a moral life? For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭1-2‬ NIV) We live a godly life because "He first loved us." The natural, normal response to His sacrificial death and free gift of salvation, is to worship, love, and obey Him. He gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ NIV) (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.) (‭2 Samuel‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ NIV) In the following story, David is God and we are Mephibosheth: David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet. (‭2 Samuel‬ ‭9‬:‭1-13‬ NIV) Mephibosheth had nothing to offer the king and neither do we. David had no use for Mephibosheth and neither does god for us. David gives Mephibosheth a full inheritance as if he were his own son, and does God to us. The obvious response of Mephibosheth would be one of eternal thanks and honor to David, and so should we to God. We need an attitude of gratitude! Again: He gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ NIV) Praise be to God! Lord, forgive us for our lack of gratitude and honor to You! Might we serve, honor, love, and worship you faithfully forever! Amen! See our website at www.truthatlife.com