The Choice Is Yours

I greet you the name of our Lord and Savior,  Jesus the Christ.  It has been quite a while since I have posted to this blog, but my education in the things of God have continued on.  The lessons I have learned are best summed up in Romans 12.  Within this chapter of Scripture lies the keys to a more fulfilling Christian life inside and outside of the church.
  In the time since my last post, I have gone from being a member of a vibrant, effective, and living ministry to being a member of my home ministry due to the absence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in certain religious houses.  Now, I am serving in a greater capacity in a Ministry lead by God and directed by the Holy Spirit, and can truly say that I know what true ministry is supposed to feel like.
  I have learned that being obedient to God is more important than staying in the good graces of man.  God is constant, consistent, and cares for you.  The religious Man can be inconsistent, envious, and concerned about his own welfare and status within the social structure of the church.  I denote this person as "religious" because they are more loyal to traditions than doing the will of God.  They find comfort in the traditions because these things are setup to be comfortable for them, even if uncomfortable for others or totally contradictory to the will of God.  I have learned this person to have a religious spirit which actually can kill the church.

The religious spirit sets up a roadblock that :
1) will not let the Holy Spirit have its way during Praise and Worship.

2) tries to imprison or cage the God-given talents, creativity, and expressions of worship of the congregation and even ministers.

3) tries to make God fit inside man's outlined and timed program.

4) turns away those in need of love and acceptance because they do not agree with or subscribe to man-made customs.

This spirit is pompous and extremely haughty, which is contrary to the word of God!! For the word of God states, "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to.." for we all have been saved by His grace, and not by our own doing.  This spirit is the reason I chose to keep my family at home for a season, and began to build up our home ministry until such time as we were led by the Holy Spirit to join another church.  Now, we still visited churches in the interim, and not every church was the same.  We visited some churches that were Holy Spirit-filled but I was not led to join.  I am thankful to God for a patient family.  They were eager to join a church, but understood that I was waiting to be released by God.  I had to remain prayerful, patient, and obedient during this time of home ministry.  In God's timing, my family was led to the ministry we are a part of now, and is active instead of just present.

The lesson learned is this :

Don't confuse being a part of a ministry with just being present or being around familiar people.  As a part of a ministry, you have an obligation to God to be working with the ministry to spread the Good News!!  If your attempts to work with the ministry as God leads you (with confirmation) are blocked by man, you have to do what is best for your soul NOT your social network or family allegiances.

I pray God blesses you and that this is received in Love until next I post,

Deacon Sanders