Every organization (whether it’s business, government, educational institutions, etc.) can have a tendency to hold on to old forms of doing things long after their effectiveness has diminished or ceased entirely. It seems though, that modern churches have found a whole range of far more advanced strategies to use.

In the world that we now live in, there is an open and unapologetic attack upon the Hope that is set before the Church both corporately and individually. The hope I refer to is the expected, future return of Jesus Christ to the earth as prophesied in scriptures, the catching away of the Bride of Christ, the physical establishment of the Millennial Kingdom and the eventual destruction of evil.

True ministry is encapsulated in what took place at the Last Supper when the Lord knelt down, girded with a towel, and washed the disciple’s feet. He humbled Himself to the lowliest of positions and performed the lowliest of tasks. And here is the amazing thing - He washed all of the disciples feet, even the feet of Judas. He did not wash just the feet of those that would go on to serve him faithfully; He washed the man’s feet that was going to betray him. That is what ministry really is. It is serving the Judas’s in your life. It is serving even those that betray you. It is ministering to those that desert you.

What are we doing when we indulge in sin because we are foreseeing a period of time when we are going to deprive ourselves from those activities? What are we doing when we punish ourselves because of our sins? Are we not making the sacrifice of Christ of no effect? Have we forgotten that it is by grace and grace only that we are saved? We can never earn salvation! It is a gift that has been freely given to us! We should be rejoicing! We should be celebrating! We should be feasting! We should be reveling in the wonderful graciousness of our God!

In reading the parable of the prodigal son, we see that in spite of the fact that the prodigal wasted all of the substance that the father had given him, the father did not require retribution. Only repentance preceded restoration. Too often we are like the elder brother; fretting and fuming over the fact that someone has wasted the substance they have been given. We want our pound of flesh! We want retribution! And we are offended when the father restores the prodigal.

Could it be that Christians would rather look for ways to avoid any confrontation than to stand up for what they know is right. Do we mistakenly believe that if we do not bother the evil in our world that evil will not bother us? The truth is that satan is not going to tame down his attempts to destroy us. he is not going to turn into a docile domesticated housecat that we can just shush away with a broom! he is hungry and on the prowl! he is stalking us to steal, kill and destroy our happiness, our health and our homes!

It doesn’t matter how good we feel we are or that other people may even feel that we are good, there are none of us that will ever be good enough to deserve the goodness that God has bestowed upon us. It is the gift of God’s love and grace that has saved us! He alone paid the ransom! He alone has quickened us and resurrected us from spiritual death. He alone has lifted us up out of the depths of sin and placed us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus!

We must totally depend upon the grace of God to help us overcome dishonesty in our lives. We will make mistakes and even sin. But our greatest defense is to be honest when we do. Be quick to repent and if possible make restitution! It is the only way that we can persuade men of our faith in God. To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.

God's Word will never contradict God’s Will. If we are obedient to the precepts and principles in God’s Word, we won’t have to worry about finding the Will of God, we can have confidence that the Will of God will find us!

People who are involved in gross sin, never started that way! It was just a little theft. Just a little bet. Just a little drink. Just a little hit, a little pill. Just a little affair. Just a little anger. Just a little jealousy. It’s the little foxes that destroy the vines. Sin is like yeast - a little bit permeates the whole lump of dough.