Are we part of the \u201cinn crowd\u201d or part of the \u201cstable crowd.\u201d\u00a0 This of course is a play on the Christmas story.\u00a0 There was no room found in the inn for Mary and Joseph, but the King of kings was worshipped by shepherds in a stable.\u00a0 One of our church members went on a trip, and on the trip picked up a sign that another church used.\u00a0 The sign and my reading in the Gospel of Luke made me think about things that are happening in our country today.\u00a0 It also reminded me of a conversation that I had with another gentleman recently.\u00a0 I recently had a conversation with a gentleman about the truths found in Scripture.\u00a0 He was bothered by some of the statements that Jesus made.\u00a0 I doubt that this man is alone in his feelings about some of Jesus\u2019 sayings.\u00a0 I explained that there are a few things that we need to realize about Jesus and His teachings.\u00a0 First, truth is truth no matter if we like it or accept it or not.\u00a0 Second, Jesus wasn\u2019t worried about making friends and pleasing people.\u00a0 His desire was to do the will of His Father.\u00a0 Finally, Jesus\u2019 words often offend us because He didn\u2019t do things or say things that way that we think He should.\u00a0 In the opening of Luke 17, Jesus tells a story about 10 lepers being healed of their disease.\u00a0 Yet, only one of them came back and praised God for His work in healing them.\u00a0 Jesus says this man was a Samaritan.\u00a0 For most of us, that isn\u2019t a big deal.\u00a0 However, to a Jewish person that was a huge deal.\u00a0In those days, Samaritans were hated by the Jews.\u00a0 A Samaritan was someone who has a Jewish ancestry, but they chose to marry outside of the Jewish race during the Old Testament times.\u00a0 To a Jewish person, a Samaritan was a traitor.\u00a0 Jews actually tolerated Gentiles better than they tolerated a Samaritan.\u00a0 Therefore, when Jesus presented a Samaritan as doing the right thing, this was highly offensive to Jesus\u2019 Jewish audience.\u00a0 For a Jewish person, they believed they would automatically go to heaven because they were Jewish.\u00a0 Yet, Jesus had been teaching that it is faith that saves a person, not your ancestry or your works.\u00a0 I believe we are seeing a lot of this same thinking in America today.\u00a0 We often have a \u201cme vs. them\u201d mentality.\u00a0 I am grateful that God allows me to live in America, \u00a0to have heard the Gospel, as well as, the freedom to be able to go and worship Him anytime and any place that I desire.\u00a0 While I am proud to be an American, my first allegiance and loyalty is to the kingdom of God.\u00a0 I am a disciple of Jesus first, a citizen of America second.\u00a0 However, we as Christians in America must understand that the Gospel is bigger than America.\u00a0 Jesus said that it is meant to go to the ends of the earth.\u00a0 In His sovereignty, God is bringing the nations to us.\u00a0 We must not waste our opportunity in sharing the Gospel with those who are here.\u00a0 Yes, I believe the immigration issue needs to be settled.\u00a0 However, while the government is working through this situation, I as a citizen of the kingdom of God, must evangelize those who are here.\u00a0I need to be more concerned with their salvation than their country of origin.\u00a0 To do anything different than this dishonors my Lord, and misrepresents the truths of Scripture and the kingdom of God.\u00a0 I realize that some may misunderstand what I am saying here.\u00a0 It is not my intention to be offensive or controversial.\u00a0 Rather, I seek to honor my Lord and Savior in presenting the truths of Scripture as they are recorded.\u00a0 May we love the Lord and others as we are commanded, and take the Gospel to those that God sends us to and brings to us.<\/p>\n
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-Pastor Justin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are we part of the \u201cinn crowd\u201d or part of the \u201cstable crowd.\u201d\u00a0 This of course is a play on the Christmas story.\u00a0 There was no room found in the inn for Mary and Joseph, but the King of kings … Read More