Calling upon the Lord with a pure heart.
It is good to consider what the Lord teaches in scripture in comparison to our priorities in church life. Paul wrote to young Timothy:
2 Tim 2:22-26
22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (NIV)
There have been times in our life that church as we knew it became a distraction from the Lord Himself. It has been helpful to us to know that we can always seek out others who "call upon the Lord out of a pure heart." Guess what? We have never been denied that kind of fellowship! It might never lead to a "church meeting" as such, but there is much comfort and joy in finding others who also want to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace while calling on the Lord.
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Hey Dan. Every day is a good day to check our priorities. And try to discern if the main thing (Christ Himself) is the main thing. Our hearts can be very deceptive in this matter, no?
Calling on the Lord is easy. The part about "from a pure heart" - not so much.
Satan is a roaring lion, destroying everything and everyone that he can. We are unable to fight him in our own strength.
2020 was a cruel year. Many Christian leaders and Christian celebrities experienced moral failures and made the news.
So let us follow the Lamb or we might be next to embarrass ourselves and hurt others, too. And waste precious time which cannot be recovered.
Spiritual warfare - it's all around us. Casualties are mounting. People are changing sides. Still, Christ the King is building his church and the powers of Hades will not slow this process down one little bit.
Glory to his Almighty Name.
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Yes David, many will agree that 2020 was a challenging year. Sadly, instead of drawing closer to the Lord, some are becoming apathetic. In my opinion, far too many have swallowed the man-centered teachings designed to make us feel good and the teachers wealthy. Jesus does bless us in this life, but His Kingdom must come first.
When people become even more self-centered, they break away from fellowship for the pettiest of reasons. Let us consider one another to provoke one another to love and to good works! We will get through this and whatever comes afterwards!