WORD From The Woods
Revelation 3:1-6
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Church in Sardis had a reputation for being alive but as Christ said, they were dead. This reminds me of a religious person who, on the outside seems to have it all together spiritually, but inside they don’t have any kind of true relationship with God at all. They’re a “phony Christian,” a Christian in name only, just putting on a good show. Sadly, the churches of America are full of people just like this. We’ve all been guilty of it at times ourselves. It’s easy to fall into the temptation of putting on a good show to make people think we are a “good Christian.” But, that kind of behavior is so devastating to the cause of Christ! The world is watching us and people can spot hypocrisy from a mile away. We must be honest and real with people, we must become true devoted disciples of Jesus Christ and demonstrate the reality of Christ in us each and every day. One of the biggest things I’ve seen since starting Fellowship of Christian Loggers, is the power of honesty with the people around us. We can put on a good show and try by our own power to be perfect. But, when we mess up, the world around us will see us for the fraud we really are. We need have a true relationship with Christ and begin being changed from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then when we do mess up, it becomes a testimony to the grace and power of God working in our life! The apostle Paul asked the question, “should we sin more so that grace may abound?” “By no means!” He said. But through our own weakness the power of God is revealed in our life! When I was a kid, I thought that our pastor must be pretty close to perfect. After all, he did work directly for God right? Pastor Del was an old timber cutter and he would come cut oversize for my dad once in a while. One day when I was about 13, Del had been sawing for us all day and it was getting dark, he had an old Ford truck that didn’t run quite right and he was under the hood working on it, more than a little frustrated……Well, I heard a series of words come out of his mouth that I never imagined a pastor of all people even knew, much less say! It might sound crazy, but that moment changed my life. Not because I learned that pastors could swear, but I realized then and there that pastor Del was a real life sinner like me. Until then, I though that all “good Christians” were pretty much perfect and I knew I never would be. When we put on a good show like those people in Sardis we actually just push the world further away, because there is no reality to a dead faith like that. I’m not saying that we need to cuss and sin to attract the world to us, that would just drag the name of Christ though the mud! We don’t want to glorify sin, but we don’t want to pretend that it doesn’t exist either. We need to be real with people. What I learned from pastor Del over the next few years was that, while he was still a sinner, Christ was alive in him and working though him, growing him all the time. I saw the reality of a faith that was alive!
God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Revelation 3:1-6
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Church in Sardis had a reputation for being alive but as Christ said, they were dead. This reminds me of a religious person who, on the outside seems to have it all together spiritually, but inside they don’t have any kind of true relationship with God at all. They’re a “phony Christian,” a Christian in name only, just putting on a good show. Sadly, the churches of America are full of people just like this. We’ve all been guilty of it at times ourselves. It’s easy to fall into the temptation of putting on a good show to make people think we are a “good Christian.” But, that kind of behavior is so devastating to the cause of Christ! The world is watching us and people can spot hypocrisy from a mile away. We must be honest and real with people, we must become true devoted disciples of Jesus Christ and demonstrate the reality of Christ in us each and every day. One of the biggest things I’ve seen since starting Fellowship of Christian Loggers, is the power of honesty with the people around us. We can put on a good show and try by our own power to be perfect. But, when we mess up, the world around us will see us for the fraud we really are. We need have a true relationship with Christ and begin being changed from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then when we do mess up, it becomes a testimony to the grace and power of God working in our life! The apostle Paul asked the question, “should we sin more so that grace may abound?” “By no means!” He said. But through our own weakness the power of God is revealed in our life! When I was a kid, I thought that our pastor must be pretty close to perfect. After all, he did work directly for God right? Pastor Del was an old timber cutter and he would come cut oversize for my dad once in a while. One day when I was about 13, Del had been sawing for us all day and it was getting dark, he had an old Ford truck that didn’t run quite right and he was under the hood working on it, more than a little frustrated……Well, I heard a series of words come out of his mouth that I never imagined a pastor of all people even knew, much less say! It might sound crazy, but that moment changed my life. Not because I learned that pastors could swear, but I realized then and there that pastor Del was a real life sinner like me. Until then, I though that all “good Christians” were pretty much perfect and I knew I never would be. When we put on a good show like those people in Sardis we actually just push the world further away, because there is no reality to a dead faith like that. I’m not saying that we need to cuss and sin to attract the world to us, that would just drag the name of Christ though the mud! We don’t want to glorify sin, but we don’t want to pretend that it doesn’t exist either. We need to be real with people. What I learned from pastor Del over the next few years was that, while he was still a sinner, Christ was alive in him and working though him, growing him all the time. I saw the reality of a faith that was alive!
God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-