Most people are aware that at a certain time of each year, salmon swim upstream.\u00a0 Can you imagine spending all that effort to fight against the current?\u00a0 What if I told you, many people are doing just that with God?<\/p>\n
During Jesus’ earthly ministry many people came up to Him.\u00a0 They asked Him many questions and many asked Jesus to do something for them.\u00a0 While it seemed that Jesus was very popular in His day, the problem was many of those coming up to Him were not coming out of love or curiosity but rather to find fault with Him.\u00a0 The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were not tolerant of Jesus.\u00a0 In fact, they tried to trap Him so they could kill Him.\u00a0 In Matthew 12 we see Jesus do something that absolutely enraged the religious leaders, He healed a man on the Sabbath.\u00a0 I won’t go into Sabbath-day laws here, but suffice to say the religious leaders were dead set against doing anything on the Sabbath (even though themselves violated their own traditions).\u00a0 The religious leaders were all about following the law, but many times they missed the aspect of loving people.\u00a0 I saw a quote late last night that said, “too many people love the way they do church more than the people God wants in their church.” I want you to take a moment and let that sink in.\u00a0 If we are more concerned about keeping things as status quo in church than reaching out for those God desires to save, we have a major problem.\u00a0 (It would be at this point if I was preaching this I would ask the church to say “Christians have a major problem.”)\u00a0 Continuing in Matthew 12 the Pharisees then accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Beelzebub).\u00a0 Then we come to the verse that caught my attention.\u00a0 Matthew 12:30 says, “He that is not with Me is against me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.”\u00a0 This goes to our works.\u00a0 More than us saying “I love Jesus”, what does our life show?\u00a0 Are we working in harmony with God’s plan or are we working against it?\u00a0 This isn’t just talking about the atheist who wants Christ removed from the public square.\u00a0 This is talking about those who come into God’s house with their own agenda or like the Pharisees they desire traditions over genuine love for God and others.\u00a0 I pray we will all take a long look inside of ourselves and ask God to examine us to make sure that our hearts, motives, and actions are right.<\/p>\n
Don’t be that salmon fighting the current.\u00a0 The power will either be in you and working through you or working around you, but God will always be working!<\/p>\n
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most people are aware that at a certain time of each year, salmon swim upstream.\u00a0 Can you imagine spending all that effort to fight against the current?\u00a0 What if I told you, many people are doing just that with God? … Read More