Professional Pentecostals...

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes when I look around the sanctuary during a service, I get the feeling that some of the people there are "Professional Pentecostals"!?! What I mean by this is that they have lost all of the true fire and motivation for worshipping and magnifying the King of Kings and they are simply going through the motions of what and who "they think" that God wants them to be rather than actually being who God wants them to be. They dress exactly how they think that God would want them to dress in their suites and ties, dresses and fancy shoes, but they don't REALLY do it to pay honor and tribute to the reverence that they have for their God, but rather, so that the people who happen to sit behind them in the pews can look at them and think, "Boy, they must be spiritual!" They are more concerned with personal recognition than having someone see God in them. They stand to their feet and mouth the words to the choruses as they are sung, never taking the time or the effort to let the words resonate within their minds and allow the expression of their meaning to take hold of them in such a way that it moves them to REAL tears. Worship service, to these people is congregational and not personal! Every week these people have some need for prayer and deliverance from certain doom or a disastrous calamity, as well as, a testimony as to what God has done in their life and the places that He has brought them out of in the past week. Now there is nothing wrong with bringing your needs before the Lord and asking for help or testifying of His goodness, but make sure that, that is what you are doing and not using this portion of the service as your own personal "look at me" session. When you start talking about how bad you have it and seeking sympathy, rather than acknowledging and uplifting Jesus in all things, then it is time for you to simply hold your peace. When the sermon is delivered, these "pros" have their "Amens" and "Hallelujahs" as well rehearsed and scripted as a Shakespearean Masterpiece! And finally, at alter call they "pour their heart out" to God and say that He has touched their life, but the moment that they leave the church and they are out of sight of the members of the congregation, a stranger would not be able to pick them out of a lineup or criminals, drunks, or maybe even strippers! So what were they delivered from? What chains were removed and exactly how were their eyes opened? That touch that they received was so superficial due to their own inability to let down their guard and become emotionally, physically, and spiritually engaged in the service from their place on the awards platform that it simply did not last! So, I would like to encourage you to maintain you "amateur" status! Don't get so caught up in the do's and don'ts that you loose your ability to freely and passionately worship your God with all that YOU are! If you are sincere and your praise comes from your heart then all of heaven will rejoice with you even if no one in the congregation will...

Are You Getting the Better End of the Deal?!?

When we look at our relationship with God and think of the paths that our lives have taken as a result of following Him, do you think that you are getting the better end of the deal? Are you thankful for what He has done for you, or do you feel as though you have had to give up too much or miss out? The thing that you and I miss never loose sight of is the fact that we are never giving God anything REALLY...What do I mean?!? I'll explain...
Any and everything that you and I do for His glory and to propagate His kingdom here on earth is rewarded! Now we may not have a treasure chest or money, or a new car, or even a roof over our head that we are able to call our own, but what we lack here in this minuscule existence that we call life, we gain for all of eternity in heaven.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 tells us For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
This passage was written by a man who had been beaten, thrown in jail, was homeless, was ridiculed and mocked, was thrown out of cities, who didn't have a penny to his name, and who was subjected to all forms of torment for simply preaching the gospel and trying to help people. So as you can see, you may not always be loved for doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord but we can expect this. The bible tells us in John 15:18-20 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Never loose sight of the fact that no matter what it costs you t follow Jesus, whether it be friends, family, money, jobs, possessions, etc., YOU ARE GETTING THE BETTER END OF THE DEAL!