God Is Not Impressed By Your Church Attendance

Strong title, I know. Some of you may have been offended by it and that's why you followed the link to see exactly what it is I meant by that crazy statement. Well, I definitely didn't want to offend you, but I do want to share with you some jewels that I found in the treasure chest more frequently referred to as the bible.
First off let me say that it is an honorable thing to attend church and praise GOD among other believers and be taught the word so that it may be applied to your everyday life. I believe that the seed of honoring GOD with your time will produce a harvest of honor from GOD. He says "Them that honor ME will I honor" (1Sam 2:30 KJV). That being said, I often wonder why I see so many people that faithfully attend church find themselves subjected to conditions that are contrary to what the word says that their lives should be like.
I was reading one morning and it hit me like a ton of bricks; GOD showed me why many of His people don't experience the fullness of His blessing here on the earth. The answer was right there in the book of Hebrews, chapter 4. In this letter to the Hebrews, the apostle Paul was revealing to them the benefit of GOD's rest (peace) which has been made available through Christ, while explaining the dangers of not believing Him, and the consequences that came upon the Israelites (His beloved people) for their unbelief. Paul gave a warning in the first verse saying "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."; but the answer is in verse 2 "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
WOW! In other words, the word was of no benefit to many that heard it because they didn't believe.
This just leads me back to my original statement; GOD is not impressed by your church attendance. Wait before you scoff, I have a scriptural reference to back it up. My reference is found in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6. It reads: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to GOD must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." There it is. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Faith requires action. James 2:20 states "...faith without works is dead". Of course it is. How will you prove that you have faith without taking some sort of action? (Don't answer that.)
So in order to please GOD, according to the bible, we must have faith and in order to prove our faith and acquire results from the word we must take action. Let's simplify this. We must do what GOD says in order to please Him and experience the fullness of the blessing. Many are offended at faith teaching because they haven't experienced the fullness of the blessing, but I guarantee that when you peel back the layers you will find that there was a principle of GOD that was not applied correctly that kept them from seeing the full glory of GOD. Let GOD be true and every man be a liar (Rom 3:4). GOD is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that he should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? (Numbers 23:19) So GOD has never lied and promised anything without making good on his promise, but He has always given a requirement to receive something that He's promised. The only thing that doesn't have a requirement attached is His love, but His love does you no good by itself. Millions of people that GOD loves live in poverty, die of diseases, sit in jail, and subject themselves to horrible conditions, but that doesn't mean that GOD doesn't love them. Many are born into horrible conditions, which is why it is so important that we grow in faith so that we can apply it towards reaching others, because this word of faith is the way out of destruction, not just for some, but for everyone.
Balance
Now for balance: Church attendance is necessary. What a blessing it is to have pastor or teacher willing to teach us the word of GOD. A great example is given in Acts 8:26-40. An Ethiopian eunuch is found by Phillip reading the book of Isaiah when Phillip asks him if he understands what he's reading. The eunuch's response was full of humility "How can I, except some man should guide me" (verse 31). We must remain teachable so that we can grow in the faith, but our showing up isn't enough to get the job done. Let's not just show up to church on Sunday, but let's put into action what we learn through the word, and by faith we will please GOD.

What's Real To You?

In all of my years on earth I have come to the realization that everyone has their own opinions. Not everyone believes the same thing and different people live by different standards. Well, among other things, what stands out as real to me is that God is real, Jesus has made HIM accessible, and the bible is HIS fail-proof way to communicate HIS agenda.
This has been the foundation of many an argument in my lifetime, especially when I was young in the faith, and has cost me a few relationships, but for the few friends that I've lost, I've gained many more.
One could conclude that the bible is the word of GOD from the standpoint alone that no mere man would say "whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." That's definitely a much higher standard to be held to than any man would set for himself. As a matter of fact, in my experience, most of what the bible teaches men to do is in direct opposition to what he would if it was left up to himself. What man do you know that would give ten percent of all of his earnings to a charitable cause? Or what man do you know whose first instinct is to forgive and wish well upon people that have taken advantage of them. I know some nice people, but none that nice!
The bible teaches us what religion cannot. It teaches us how to love, and it does so apart from our basic, carnal logic. All of the laws that govern the earth, life, death, success, and failure are covered within the bible. The bible is the original how-to guide.
Embedded in the bible are gems that will make a poor person become rich, make a fearful person become bold and transform a depressed person into a joyful extrovert.
There are many treasures and secrets to be discovered in the bible, but the best part to me is that its filled with guarantees. It has definitive answers to some of the most mind-boggling questions, and will literally walk you through to success. What other book gives a clear cut picture of how the next life will be after this life on earth and how to get to heaven ? None that I've come across.
I'm persuaded that the bible is the roadmap to all that we desire on earth and beyond. It is our guide, given to us so that we don't have to stumble around making mistake after mistake and creating regretful memories and sorrows unnecessarily. It is the standard, set high by GOD, rich with information, answers, examples, choices, and rewards. It is the way.....and I see it. Do you?

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