The Answer To Leaving My Family

1. Work it out: (Matthew 18:15-20 NCV) ""If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. {16} But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. 'Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.' {17} If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector. {18} "I tell you the truth, the things you don't allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows. {19} "Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. {20} This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.""

2. Love God first: (Mark 12:33 NCV) "One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength."

3. Love others more than self: (Mark 12:33 NCV) "...And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself."

4. Understand that relationships are more important than worship: (Mark 12:33) "These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.""

These verses are words from God. All of faith that exists is a reaction to a word from God. We either believe it or not. Maybe you can think of other scriptures that show why I am so concerned for the hearts of my family who treat the family as if it were unimportant.

Jesus said (John 17:21 NCV) "Father, I pray that they can be one. As you are in me and I am in you, I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me." Before you beat me up over the fact that Christians can be one and still be in different buildings, I understand that statement, but consider in your area why those people meet in different places. I wonder how happy God is with our division.

I think it's time that Christ-followers everywhere unite. No, not necessarily in buildings, but in spirit. Will we ever be "The church at Florence" or "the church in Nashville" or fill in the blank with your city's name. That's how it existed in the New Testament. They were united in Jesus while meeting in all kinds of venues: homes, synagogues, marketplace, etc.

May God help us to be the "ONE" that Jesus prayed in some of His last utterances on this earth.

I Think I'll Leave My Family

From the outset of the Bible God has deemed it so that "it is not good that man should be alone." Over and over again in scripture, we see God placing an emphasis on us being together both with Him and with fellow humans.

Marriages, friendships, church families, earthly families, work companions, recreational companionships, and I could probably think of more if I continued to try.

Even when Jesus left this world after His resurrection, he said the following to His disciples (of whom we are), (John 14:16-18 NCV) "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever-- {17} the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he lives with you and he will be in you. {18} "I will not leave you all alone like orphans; I will come back to you." INCREDIBLE!! Jesus knew that we cannot stand to be alone.

Did you know that one of the greatest struggles in our world right now is loneliness? People all around us are lonely--even in God's family. How sad that is. There could be volumes of blogs written on the causes, but that's not why I make this point.

I make this point because I'm just a little upset--NO A LOT UPSET! Now before I go any further, realize that I am not lashing out at any one person or even a set of people, but a mindset that exists in our area of this planet. I am talking about people who would give up their church family to run across town to another one that "fits my need!"

This is such a problem in our area and the problem exists across denominational lines. Brother A gets angry at sister B and decides that "God has called him" to another place to be--or brother A doesn't like preacher B's sermon illustrations so he decides to leave. Maybe the church isn't singing the kind of songs that I like or had the kind of chairs I like or maybe something more serious than that like the color carpet or the way we pass the Lord's supper trays around.

It is such a problem in our area because of many reasons. 1. There are too many choices for "church." We believe more in division that multiplication or addition. 2. The leadership never challenges the "why" of someone arriving in their churches. I believe very strongly that we need more often to make sure that people have left a family taking care of business rather than just jumping ship. 3. People have lost the real reason we are here. We are to glorify God and save souls through Jesus--NOT GET MY NEEDS MET.

The real sadness is that we are so willing to leave our family. That's what church is--FAMILY. If one of my children came home one night and said, "Dad, I just don't think my needs are being met, I'm gonna go over to Johnny's house and try living with them for a while." I would be crazy to say, "well, just don't let the door hit you in the but on the way out." We would want to stay together and try and work things out. My family is too important to me! Church family ought to be just as important.

With all the loneliness in the world, it's so sad to me that people want to leave their church families over such small things.

Maybe in the next blog I can deal with the answer to this problem. Just let me vent here and maybe you guys and gals can help with some answers.