Keep on going...

I am in Greenwood, Ark. for a meeting. The church here is very kind and desiring of God's word. Over the last few years, they have undergone a tremendous struggle, leading to a large number of people leaving. For those who have remained, about 100, they continue their faith and love in the Lord. They have a preacher who loves the Lord and has a great trait of humility, something I see missing so much.

What have I learned? First, keep preaching the word. So many have already spoken that the word of the Lord is a breath of fresh air. Secondly, I need to warn others that the church is a strong, powerful body but at the same time, it is extremely fragile. It doesn't take much evil to affect many (I Cor. 5:6-9). We need to keep evil out of the church and when members are acting corruptly, it needs to be dealt with to try to save their soul and keep other souls from stumbling. That's the hard part. Sometimes the very ones we are closest to can be the ones involved in sin and we hesitate to say anything about their sin. That's when the real question arises, do you really care about their soul? The church is not about friendship but 'soulship'! It is about making it to heaven, not making friends on earth. That takes a real, genuine love for the brethren to do that. I know at times I have had to put my head on the chopping block, taking blame and ridicule for the ungodly actions of others, being made out to be the bad guy, when in reality, I was loving the people by trying to correct their ungodliness. They were so steeped in sin they could not see see. Sin blinds people. Sin is darkness and darkness blinds so people cannot see where they are going. Many times, I have had to stand alone as far as people are concerned, but I am never alone standing with my Lord. It's tough dealing with brethren sometimes and I must say, there have been times in the recent past, I have contemplated that I might not want to preach anymore. But then the Lord wakes me up and let's me realize that's not the correct move. My wife does too! I still have the struggle trying to help those, who should know the Lord, attack you and make all sorts of accusations. In all, I never try to defend myself. I just let it go and I am sure to those that attack, they see me as accepting blame. The Lord knows better and so do I.

Well, there you have, the struggles of preaching sometime. As the song I sometime sing, "I know the Lord wll find a way for me." May God grant you all wisdom and strength in your walk and may your heart be humble before the mighty hand of God.