The Man in the Mirror

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! Both of our Bible classes were very well attended! Worthy is the Lamb!! Our Sunday School lesson for this week is a very challenging lesson for the Body of Christ. It is located in James 1:17-27 and is entitled "Doers of the Word" In our day of tele-evangelism, mega-conferences, you tube,and preaching pod-casts, we hear an abundance of "word" (I like the J-Moss song that says, "everybody ain't gotta word"). Looking at the moral decline of our churches and community, it is abundantly clear that most Christians are hearers of the Word, but not doers of the Word.

The text likens this type of individual to a person that looks at himself in the mirror, sees an imperfection and walks away like it either doesn't exist or it is not significant enough to fix. As crazy as that sounds, it is the same thing when we hear the Word of God preached and don't respond to it by a lifestyle change. The text says when we do this, the only harm that's being done is to ourselves.

I really enjoyed the last part of the lesson, where it says,"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

This is a liberating passage that needs to be posted on the front of our churches, in the barber, beauty, and coffee shops, and wherever church goers dwell. The hallmark of a true child of God is one that has disciplined conversation. I learned a long time ago, that just because you have a right to say it, does not make it right to say!

True religion, that is acceptable to God is far more than having church, being on a board, or working on some "auxiliary". it is meeting people's needs where they are, and not conducting ourselves in ways that ruin our testimony.

I am always amazed that when God has a message for the church, He will confirm it. In our Sunday School lesson as well as in our Bible Study, we saw the admonishment about deceiving ourselves 3 times. I thought that was worthy of expounding upon. Our lesson today was in Galatians 6:2-10, where Paul talked about how as believers, we have obligations to sinning Christians, burdened Christians, the pastor-teachers, and all people.

Many people in our congregation were surprised to discover that the context of 6:7 has to do with giving to the pastor. Tonight was an uplifting and enlightening experience for the Saints at BBC. I am already looking forward to next week!