What do we struggle for
If not to please God?
What do we hope to gain
If not to get closer to Him?
When we think of purpose
We seek wisdom
When we think of meaning
We fight for the truth
Why do we see problems in the world
Before we first see corruption in our own lives?
Why do we want to save the world
When our own souls are in jeopardy?
First we need to look within
And understand who we are
Before we conquer the world
And make our mark on history
As Christians we are ambitious
And rightly so
About our primary mission
But what if we ourselves
Are also far from the Lord?
Sometimes the greatest journey
Is from our bed to our knees
From our house to our church
And from our door to our neighbors
If there is anything holding us back?
Maybe we first need to do a self check
If we cannot reform the actions of others
Maybe we should first reform our own thoughts
In this constant assumption of sinners’ guilt
And being convinced of the duplicity of the unbeliever
We need to route out any hostility to God in our own hearts
We need to conquer our own pride first
If we think we can convince others to make major changes
Should we be not be prepared to change our own lives as well?
If we are going to clean house
We must remember to wash our faces first
It is easy to be convinced of someone else’s sin
Sometimes we think that what others have done
Is more angering to God than what we have done
We should be brave in our swinging of the two edged sword
Just remember it cuts us as bad as it does our external enemies
With each reading of a chapter of the Bible
In the singing of each worship song
In the taking of communion or eucharist
And in each prayer we make to God
We must always consider what God has to say for us and about us
Often our greatest obstacles are in our own heart
If we think we are strong enough to stand against the world
We better have sorted through all the issues in our minds
We think some issues are psychological and others are spiritual
This is like saying Christ and the Holy Spirit are different beings
We are sometimes the answer to our own prayers
And the subject of prayers of others
We cannot escape the reality of sin
In our own lives and minds
If we are to bring everyone to God
We have to be more serious
About breaking down the walls
That separate us from God
Too often we see other Christians
As super apostles who never fail
We need to revise this assumption
And be more realistic about our own weaknesses
It is surprising to see the seemingly minor things that we say
Often mixed in with what we consider serious sins
When the Bible lists
Those thing that hold the Church back
If we want to have genuine conversations with unbelievers
It would be refreshing to start with
Speaking more openly to God and other people
And spending less time trying to defend things foolish Christians say and do
It is easy to find fault in the many things that irritate us
About those not yet among us
But we must realize they have an equally long list of transgressions
That they hold against us
It is always about what is right and true
But perception matters as well
We need to be people that make unbelievers desire to believe
Before we can bring faith to those without hope
We need to remember how hard other Christians and God Himself were knocking on our hearts
Persistence in witnessing is only part of not giving up the faith
Why do we feel the need to condemn the actions of the unsaved
Before they are yet saved
It is one thing to hold Christians accountable
To what they say they believe
But it is counter productive to hold others to our same standards
When they don’t even believe in God yet
We need to look for positive ways
To share God with unbelievers
We need to find similar interests
And a basis for starting the dialogue
But if we are so offended by what they don’t believe
Or by what they do or fail to do
How to we ever get to the point
Where they are accepted as one of us?
There is no rank or seniority in Christianity
Even if we have done much for God
And resolved many of our sinful ways
We are saved by God’s grace mostly
And our faith only just a little bit
If not to please God?
What do we hope to gain
If not to get closer to Him?
When we think of purpose
We seek wisdom
When we think of meaning
We fight for the truth
Why do we see problems in the world
Before we first see corruption in our own lives?
Why do we want to save the world
When our own souls are in jeopardy?
First we need to look within
And understand who we are
Before we conquer the world
And make our mark on history
As Christians we are ambitious
And rightly so
About our primary mission
But what if we ourselves
Are also far from the Lord?
Sometimes the greatest journey
Is from our bed to our knees
From our house to our church
And from our door to our neighbors
If there is anything holding us back?
Maybe we first need to do a self check
If we cannot reform the actions of others
Maybe we should first reform our own thoughts
In this constant assumption of sinners’ guilt
And being convinced of the duplicity of the unbeliever
We need to route out any hostility to God in our own hearts
We need to conquer our own pride first
If we think we can convince others to make major changes
Should we be not be prepared to change our own lives as well?
If we are going to clean house
We must remember to wash our faces first
It is easy to be convinced of someone else’s sin
Sometimes we think that what others have done
Is more angering to God than what we have done
We should be brave in our swinging of the two edged sword
Just remember it cuts us as bad as it does our external enemies
With each reading of a chapter of the Bible
In the singing of each worship song
In the taking of communion or eucharist
And in each prayer we make to God
We must always consider what God has to say for us and about us
Often our greatest obstacles are in our own heart
If we think we are strong enough to stand against the world
We better have sorted through all the issues in our minds
We think some issues are psychological and others are spiritual
This is like saying Christ and the Holy Spirit are different beings
We are sometimes the answer to our own prayers
And the subject of prayers of others
We cannot escape the reality of sin
In our own lives and minds
If we are to bring everyone to God
We have to be more serious
About breaking down the walls
That separate us from God
Too often we see other Christians
As super apostles who never fail
We need to revise this assumption
And be more realistic about our own weaknesses
It is surprising to see the seemingly minor things that we say
Often mixed in with what we consider serious sins
When the Bible lists
Those thing that hold the Church back
If we want to have genuine conversations with unbelievers
It would be refreshing to start with
Speaking more openly to God and other people
And spending less time trying to defend things foolish Christians say and do
It is easy to find fault in the many things that irritate us
About those not yet among us
But we must realize they have an equally long list of transgressions
That they hold against us
It is always about what is right and true
But perception matters as well
We need to be people that make unbelievers desire to believe
Before we can bring faith to those without hope
We need to remember how hard other Christians and God Himself were knocking on our hearts
Persistence in witnessing is only part of not giving up the faith
Why do we feel the need to condemn the actions of the unsaved
Before they are yet saved
It is one thing to hold Christians accountable
To what they say they believe
But it is counter productive to hold others to our same standards
When they don’t even believe in God yet
We need to look for positive ways
To share God with unbelievers
We need to find similar interests
And a basis for starting the dialogue
But if we are so offended by what they don’t believe
Or by what they do or fail to do
How to we ever get to the point
Where they are accepted as one of us?
There is no rank or seniority in Christianity
Even if we have done much for God
And resolved many of our sinful ways
We are saved by God’s grace mostly
And our faith only just a little bit