This is interesting because the word most in the New Testament to define Jesus was compassion or compassionate.

Scripture also says that Jesus went about doing good. It does not say that Jesus only did good to the people with “cash deposited in the religious church bank.”

There are more references in scripture to show love and kindness to others then there is to deny help of those in need. To be honest I do not recall any to deny those in need.

Scripture is so very clear that we are to help others through our love and compassion.

Matthew 5:46 (New International Version) “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” Jesus is telling us to love everyone not just our family, friends and fellow church members. Jesus is saying ALL people.

Matthew 22:37-40 (New International Version) “Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Jesus is telling us that if we love God we must love people. Jesus is also telling us that the way we show that we love God is by the way we love others and not just those we chose. See Matthew 5:46.

John 15:12 (New International Version) “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” The term “Each other” is not a restricted statement to only those we believe to be followers of Jesus.

John 15:17 (New International Version) “This is my command: Love each other.” This is a command to love all people not just those we chose.”

1 Thessalonians 4:9 (New International Version) “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” Paul says here that it is God’s will that we love others and express that love.

1 Peter 4:8-9 (New International Version) “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Peter is saying here to show love to all because it is through love that the way of repentance is found. Peter also says that hospitality is a part of love and hospitality root means to fill needs.

James 2:16 (New International Version) “If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” James is telling us what the love Jesus told us about in Matthew 5 and 22 looks like in and that love is a true expression of practical action. James tells us that real love is action not word.

James 4:17 (New International Version) “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” Showing love, compassion, and help for others is doing good because that is exactly what Jesus went about doing according to Acts 10:38.

Galatians 6:9 (New International Version) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Paul is telling us that when we do the good that James says is the expression of the love Jesus told us to do if we love God that is how we will reap our reward from God.

Galatians 6:10 (New International Version) “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Paul continues to show the context in which he is telling us how to and whom to show good (the expression of love for God show to everyone) when Paul tells us to help everyone (in or out of the church).

1 John 3:10 (New International Version) “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” John is not using the word brother to mean “church member” but in keeping with the context of Jesus, Paul, and James, he is saying everyone. We know that showing love to everyone is good and right.

1 John 3:14 (New International Version) “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” John here tells us that if we have not learned what Jesus was saying in Matthew 22 and we do not help others as James says in 2 and Paul in Galatians 6 we are lost and remain in our sin.

1 John 3:17-18 (New International Version) “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” here John is saying the same thing that was said in James 2:16.

1 John 3:23 (New International Version) “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” Here John reminds us once more of the command of Jesus in Matthew 22.

1 John 4:7 (New International Version) “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” John is telling us here that if we do not love others we are not really a child of God. In other wards we are not really saved because John’s words place love as a sign of a true conversion to Jesus and therefore a true baptism and repentance (Acts 2:38).

1 John 4:20 (New International Version) “If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” John is again making a reference to what love is and how true love is expressed as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 22. A person cannot love God if they do not love the people around them. Who showed love and compassion in the Good Samaritan story: The religious of the day or the worldly sinner?

1 John 4:21 (New International Version) “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” Another reference John is giving to Matthew 22.

3 John 1:11 (New International Version) “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” We already know from all the other scriptures listed here that Jesus, Paul, James and John all tell us that love of others is good and is what God’s will for us is. Therefore, John is telling us here that if we do not express love to ALL PEOPLE we really do not know God and are doing evil and that is sin.

Hugs,
Guy
Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mental illness is a disorder of the mind, why it occurs in people no one knows for sure, and there is no real cure for most forms. There are several different categories of mental illnesses, with several disorders within each category. With these several disorders of mental illness within the various categories still further classed depending on the depth of severity of the particular form of mental illness, from mild to severe, and it is possible for these disorders to interrupt daily activities to the point that life becomes extremely difficult for the sufferer. This past year, starting in March 2009, I personally went back into a deep and severe depression linked to my PTSD issues.

You might be asking yourself what this topic has to do with anything or on a blog of a person who is grateful to God for his sobriety or why the word Christian appears in the title. Well these are very good questions to be asking.

The answer is that the majority of people with mental illness reach for drugs and alcohol to help them cope and change the reality they see their life in whether real or imagined. This was my case for 32 years. I used drugs and alcohol to alter my reality I felt I was living in. It was not until I was, gifted, by God, with 10 years of sobriety that I found the answer to my personal question concerning depression and feeling as if I do not belong in this world. I have severe major clinical depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stemming from the first 17 years of my life and which, amplified by my naval career, and was the major reason behind my 32 years of alcohol and drug addiction.

I recently read an article online, from a lady PhD member of the church in Canada, who wrote that 1 out of 5 members of the church has some form of mental illness and the church leadership as a whole world wide has no skills in offering help, support and aid to these members and fellow Christians.

Even clean and sober for over 19 years, I have had a tough year dealing with my PTSD issues and the depression that brings me. My only real support came from my friends in recovery from drugs and alcohol and three families from the local church here in Payson, Arizona. During this past year, I had people whom I thought were real friends, within the church, withdraw from me by pulling away their friendship, stopping emails, phone calls, or stopping by the little house God has seen fit for me to live in. One of the church leaders here in Payson, Arizona, when I asked them why they withdrew their friendship from me, stated that

“the way your acting, I do not want that impression associated with the church.”

These types of statements are unchristian and just reinforce a person with mental illness distrust of people in leadership or authority positions and it saddens me personally that the church seems so unaware and fearful of people with dual diagnoses such as me.

Paul says that we as Christians are to be ambassadors for God through Jesus in order to bring others into a reconciled relationship with God. How can we, in the church do this, if we do not want to be associated with people (1 in 5) that suffer from one of the many forms of mental illness or suffer from an alcohol addiction or drug addiction to survive the struggle playing war in their minds? Jesus went to all the downtrodden (viewed as less than people) reaching out to them in kindness, compassion, and love and we as Christians are suppose to follow in his footsteps. When are people in the church really going to start acting like Jesus and stop fearing people who are different then they perceive themselves to be? Payson, Arizona, has a very large portion of the total population living in the town, as do a majority of cities, towns, and suburbs of the United States, of who suffer from issues such as mine; i.e. mental illness, addictions of various kinds, etc... Is the church, as a whole, going to side set those people during their outreach evangelism to seek out only the people we think will not look bad in the church membership?

I do pray, and hope that the dark storm clouds of my own personal set back into severe depression is lifting. Therefore, I will once again feel the desire and have the energy to participate more with my life and find away to be active in reaching others, without fear of association, that suffer as I once did and still do at time.

Hugs,
Guy

P.S. By the way, I am thankful that on January 28, 2010, God was kind enough to have blessed me with 20 years clean and sober.

Myths about Mental Illness

People who have a mental illness are just “crazy. – FALSE
Depression and other illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, do not affect children or adolescents. – FALSE
People with a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, are usually dangerous and violent. – FALSE
Addiction is a lifestyle choice and shows a lack of willpower. People with a substance abuse problem are morally weak or “bad”. – FALSE
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as “shock treatment,” is painful and barbaric. – FALSE
People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent. – FALSE
Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness. – FALSE
Mental illness is a single, rare disorder. – FALSE
Mental illness only happens to people with a family history. – FALSE
Mental illness is the same as mental retardation. – FALSE
People with a mental illness are unable to function well. – FALSE
Depression and anxiety disorders are part of growing up. – FALSE
Mentally ill employees tend to be second-rate workers. – FALSE
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) happens only after you fight in a war. That’s why it’s called shell shock. – FALSE
Depression is all in your head. – FALSE
Mental illness is the result of bad parenting. – FALSE
Schizophrenia means “split personality,” and there is no way to control it. – FALSE
Mental illness does not strike the “average person. – FALSE
Mental illness is not a serious health problem today. – FALSE
Most people with a mental illness are receiving treatment. – FALSE
Mental illness is not like other “Physical” diseases. – FALSE
Most people who are mentally ill live in mental hospitals or on the streets. – FALSE

Fact: Don’t be too quick to judge. Someone you know suffers from a mental illness. -TRUE!

http://sparknews.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/demythtifying-mental-illness/#comment-234

The acts or steps or tenets of salvation first appeared during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers' basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone" or "only" in English. The five solas articulated the five fundamental core beliefs of the Protestant Reformation. All five of the "solas" implicitly reject or counter the then prevailing status quo, the Catholic Church, which had, in the various reformers' minds, usurped divine attributes or qualities for the church, its hierarchy, and especially, its head, the Pope.

The first five acts of salvation were as follows:

1. Scripture alone.
2. Faith alone.
3. Grace alone.
4. Through Christ alone.
5. Glory to God alone.

Revision number one:

The first revision to the first five acts or steps to salvation came around 1827, when a preacher named Walter Scott accompanied Alexander Campbell to the annual meeting of the Mahoning Baptist Association. At this meeting, Campbell nominated Scott to be the evangelist for this association for the coming year. Thus at the age of 31 Scott embarked on an adventure that would alter the 20st century Christian religion.

Scott believed that Jesus the Messiah was the Golden Oracle of the Christian faith. Jesus was to be lifted up and people called to respond to him. Jesus the Messiah was the creed of Christianity. Faith in him was the requirement of entrance into the Kingdom and church and fellowship for Christianity. In a nutshell the Ancient Gospel, was according to Scott, arranged into Six Items: (with a division between Baptism and remission of sins)

1. Faith
2. Repentance
3. Baptism
4. Remission of Sins
5. Gift of the Holy Spirit
6. Eternal Life

Scott's new formulation of the Protestant Reformat Act’s of Salvation never loses sight that Christ must be the object of our faith, adoration, and love. Scott's formulation tells what God has done, is doing still, and will do in the future. Scott believed and taught that we respond in Faith to this Golden Oracle. We repent of our sin to God. In our Faith, we are baptized in the name of the Jesus. As a result of our baptism, God Forgives/Remits our sin. Then God grants the gift of himself in the person of the Holy Spirit to those baptize; then God seals the baptized to himself for Eternity.

Revision number two:

Scott’s formation then is changed yet again by the time of the 20th century churches of Christ grew in the US and was sometimes referred to as the “Churches of Christ have a Five Finger Discount! The revised, revision of the origin reformation Acts of Salvation was simplified in the five acts of salvation taught in churches of Christ today. The new revision is as follows:

1. Hear
2. Believe
3. Repent
4. Confess
5. Be Baptized for the Remission of Sins
6. (Sometimes living faithfully is included)

Walter Scott saw the diminishment of his formulation of the Protestant Reformation’s Acts of Salvation and Scott believed the watering down was due to the incipient legalism that was creeping in and clouding the churches of Christ’s primary mission from God and to the vision, he preached. Scott said the church had "watered it" down.

In 1844, Scott wrote to Jacob Creath, in a letter stating:

“Hearing, Believing, Repenting, Confessing, being baptized should not be misconstrued as the Golden Oracle or the gospel. Scott pointed us first to the WHO of our faith and never let his hearers forget what God had done, is doing and will do for us. Remission is the gift of God not some command we can humanly fulfill. The Spirit is essential to our lives and the eternal hope ... how did we lose sight of it all?” (Credit due Bobby Valentine for his research concerning Scott)

So what do we know from all of this?

What can we gleam from the foundation and change of the Acts of Salvation?

1. The Protestant Reformation was from 1517 to 1648 the Bible was written some 1400 years before the first creation of any Acts of Salvation were even thought about by mankind.

2. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever inspire any of His authors to write about any “Acts of Salvation”

3. God’s desires and will never changes. This we know from scripture. However, the acts of salvation have changed twice since they were first thought of by men. Therefore, they are not an inspired teaching that God wanted us to teach others.

4. Does the Bible talk about: faith, hearing, believing, repenting, baptism, etc… Yes it does. However, it never combines these into any required Acts of men in order to obtain salvation from God. The Bible does say that salvation is NOT due to any ACTS of people but ONLY through the GRACE of God. (Eph 1:7) “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” and (Eph 2:8-9) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

So what does the Bible really teach?

1. Our mission, as Christians, is to reconcile a lost world back into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 5:17-21)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has GIVEN US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

2. Who set the standard for admittance into the “New Kingdom” or church? Peter primarily and the apostles. (Matthew 16:13-20)

“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”

3. What did the apostles say were the response (Acts of Salvation) of people in order to enter the Kingdom or church?

a. Peter says to REPENT and BE BAPTIZED. (Acts 2:37-41) “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

b. Paul linked BELIEVING (FAITH) in Jesus to what Peter commanded in order to enter the kingdom. (Acts 19:4-5)

“Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

c. Paul linked BELIEVING in Jesus to what Peter commanded for people to enter the kingdom. (Rom 6:1-11)

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There are other passages, within the New Testament, that bear these three “Acts” out. However, I feel my point’s made in the use of these three.

HEARING is not an “Act of Salvation” established by the apostles. Hearing is the natural act of learning and being taught. If we include hearing in this list of manmade Acts of Salvation then we also must include teaching, washing feet, holy kisses, etc… because they too are written about in the same style (context) as when the eunuch asked his question of Philip. (Acts 8)

CONFESSION is not an “Act of Salvation” established by the apostles. Paul said that confession was an act of BELIEVING. (Rom 10:9) “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

John implies that confession is an act of our obeying Peter when he established the criteria for entering the kingdom in Acts 2:38. (1 John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We know this because peter said that our sins are forgiven in repentance and baptism.

LIVING A FAITHFUL LIFE is not an “Act of Salvation” established by the apostles. Being faithful as in living a Christian life, until death, after baptism, that is what we are supposed to do any way. The name Christian simply means Christ like. In other words, it means to live as Christ lived. A Christian is a person who adheres to the lifestyle of Jesus, based on the life of Jesus, who they believe is the Messiah, prophesied in the Old Testament, and who is the beloved Son of God incarnate. Therefore, what was the life of Jesus like? (Acts 10:38) "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, WHO WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD AND HEALING ALL WHO WERE OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL, for God was with Him.” Do I need to also include that James said “Therefore, TO HIM WHO KNOWS TO DO GOOD AND DOES NOT DO IT, TO HIM IT IS SIN.” (James 4:17)

Paul also implores us to live a life of doing good when he wrote “Therefore, AS WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY, LET US DO GOOD TO ALL, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10)

So basically, Scott had it correct back in 1827. Salvation revolves around Jesus and Jesus alone through the delegated authority He gave the apostles to establish the requirements for admission into the church or Kingdom of God. Maybe, it is high time; Christians returned to the scriptures (alone) and relied not on the teachings of men.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Guy Lewis

Where has the time gone? It does not seem like 20 years have passed since my last drink of alcohol or drug use, but it has. 20 years ago, I never thought that I would see this day. 20 years ago, I never thought I would still be alive to celebrate sobriety with a rib eye and lobster dinner, but that is what I will do tonight.

My first drink of alcohol took place when I was about 10 years old. My last drink was when I was 33 years old. I drank whatever was handy for 23 years. I used whatever was handy for 23 years. My drink or drug of choice was “What do you have” and I was not a specialist by any stretch of the word. Near the end of my drinking career, I did drink more gin than any other type of alcohol but that was only because I thought no one liked the taste and so there would be more for me. I did not know at the time just how many mixed drinks are made with gin in them.

My last drink was on January 27th, 1990. My first 24 hours without alcohol sober was on January 28th, 1990. So I have used the 28th of January as my sobriety date for the last 20 years.

If God allows me to open my eyes in the morning, I will be honored with 20 years sober and clean. A mile stone of gratitude that has been gifted to me solely by the loving grace of a truly loving God one day at a time. To whom all credit is due.

Sincerely,
Guy Lewis

Hypocrisy:

1. Professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not actually hold or possess.
2. A show or expression of feelings or beliefs one does not actually hold or possess by their actions.


Matt 19:19 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Matt 22:37-40 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Mark 12:30-33 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. "And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Luke 10:27 So he answered and said," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"

Rom 13:9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Rom 13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Gal 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith

1Tim 6:18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

Heb 13:16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Jas 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;

Jas 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Jas 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

1Pet 3:11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.

3John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.


The Bible tells us that when we have any opportunity to do good we must do it. The Bible says that if we do not take the opportunity to do good when we know it, then that is sin before God.

A church I know of real well, leadership is considering walking away from a perfect opportunity to do the will of God: An opportunity to do good 365 days a year and follow the commands of the Bible they profess to believe in and obey: Do good.

This one time opportunity will cost the church treasury nothing to speak of financially.

This opportunity will provide substance to so many people who have not.

This opportunity will allow this church to do the command to help others 365 days a year instead of only the two days a year they practice the command at present time.

This church leadership is turning their backs on a wonderful gift placed in their hands, by the will of God, when they themselves had so little faith, trust and belief that God would provide.

This church talks a lot about doing good and puff out their chest while patting themselves on the back as if they really think they have kept God’s command to do good but where is the fruit of this talk?

James said that faith without action is worthless.

By definition, this church is practicing pure hypocrisy and not following God’s commands to do good at every opportunity and to love ones neighbors.

Remember Jesus said: To the angel of the church of Ephesus, you have left your first love.

Remember Jesus said: To the angel of the church in Sardis, I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Remember Jesus said: To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

But Jesus also said: To the angel of the church in Smyrna, I know your works and I will give you the crown of life.

Which church do you want to be a part of?

I do not want to be associated with a church like Ephesus, Sardis or Laodicea.

I want to be a part of a church like Smyrna, that does good to its neighbors, by showing the real love of God outside the doors of a building. I want to be a part of a church whose word’s are backed up by their real actions.

Actions do speak louder than words.