I do not want to go to church because they are hypocrites. I hear that a lot. What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. A person who says one thing and then does something different on purpose. The key is on purpose.

Should people at church actually do what Jesus says? Yes.

Should they do it all the time? Yes

Will they? No, because we are all human. We make mistakes.

I 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.

This verse is written to believers, because they will make mistakes and will need to be forgiven again and again.  Then you have this famous verse often quoted.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Once again this is written to people who are with the Lord, and says they too will make mistakes.

What makes a hypocrite a hypocrite? It is not making a mistake but doing it on purpose. An example is a person who calls themselves a Christian and says you need to stop lying, but at the same time lies in their business to get ahead. That person is a hypocrite. They are doing the opposite of what they say they believe.

It is true that many Christians in churches make the mistake of doing something they say they should not do. The true believer then will repent of that and work to change.

Another reason people think churches are full of hypocrites is because they preach against this but allow the same thing to happen. A church that does that is a Hypocrite. But there is also a right and a wrong way to do that. To just point that person out and tell them how bad they are is also being a hypocrite because Jesus is about love, and love works to help the person change to be something amazing.

Churches should preach the Bible, stand on the Bible, do as the Bible says, and when some fall, do not crush them but help them get right with the Lord, and at the same time not accept the sin as OK.

This takes guts on the people in the church to really look to help one another no matter what, and it takes great humility on the part of those in the church to accept this, knowing it is for their own good that the issue came up.

Yes, the church is full of people who still make mistakes. It does not mean they are all hypocrites. It just means they are all still learning. That is what Jesus asks for. When you go to a church look and see if this is actually what is happening. If you see something amiss bring it to the attention of the Pastor and see what happens. Sometimes things slip through the cracks that need to be addressed. We are all human. If nothing is done, call the church hypocritical, but if something is happening or something does happen, then they are following the teachings of Jesus.

One last thing about people who say the church is full of hypocrites and that is why I will not go. Doesn’t that by definition make you a hypocrite? You know God wants us to go to church. God asks if we will. The concept of church in almost everyone’s minds is that this is a good idea. Yes, there are churches out there that do not do the right thing (Just because a church says it is a church does not mean it actually is) God gave you a brain to figure that out. God also needs you there to help others grow close to God, sometimes by pointing out their mistakes and then helping them, and then lastly, you too make mistakes like all of us, and yet God still wants you to come. If God does not expect perfection, why should you?

Seeing that we all still makes mistakes actually shows us how much God loves all of us, and that truly no one is better than anyone else. We are all equal, all sinners, and all saved by grace (God’s love is a gift and you do not deserve it, but Jesus gives it to you just because you ask, wow!).

If you are looking for a perfect church, you will never find one on this planet. If you are looking for a church filled with people just like you, that is what the church is. And we all need one another to help us along this journey so we can please Jesus and be blessed and then be rewarded in heaven by the One who has it all, and can’t wait to share it all with you, yes you, even though you messed up on earth over and over again, but you were humble enough to try and do better every time He forgave you. 

What a deal!

Remember Jesus loves you all, I love you all, and you are all Awesome!

Who does not want to be great? We all do, even those who say they don’t want to be the best at something. However, most fail to ever become the best at something. God has an amazing verse in the Bible, Matthew 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

This sounds great, but people will say there can only be one who is the greatest at any one time. So how can Jesus say anyone could be at the same time. Is there competition in Christianity then? That is a good point, so we need to see how this can actually be.

God made everyone of us unique. God also says we all have spiritual gifts. In the Bible there are 21 unique Spiritual gifts. It is also possible for someone to have more than one gift. The parable of the talents explains this in Matthew 25:14-30. One man received 5 talents, one 2, and one received just one. What is not mentioned is what the talents were made of. Talents were forms of money. Most commonly they would be made of gold, silver, or bronze. So, let us bring it to a modern-day equivalent using cash. Imagine the first one was given 5 $2 bills, the second 2 $5 bills, and the third a $10 bill. How much did they all receive? $10  

Let us relate this to spiritual gifts. The one with one gift was really good with that one gift from the Lord, an expert so to speak. The one with 5 would be someone God blessed with more gifts to use in different areas, but not focused on just one.

Both people are needed in the world to reach people for Jesus.

Since God gave out His gifts in any combination He likes, there are 1.7 trillion possible combinations. Until the world reaches 1.7 trillion in population every single person has a unique gift combination.

This means that everyone can become the greatest in what God has called them to do. We are not in a competition. We do not need to look at another Christian and go I wish I had that. God has something absolutely special for you. Since no one else will have the same gift combo you have the ability to become the greatest at what God has given you. It is up to you.

To be the greatest, however, you must do something with what you have. If you are football fan, you may remember Johnny Manziel. He was called Johnny football when he was at Texas A and M. Everyone thought he would be the greatest ever. When he got to the pros, he failed. Not because he did not have the talent to be the greatest ever, but because he wasted his talent. He did not practice hard, did not study hard, he did not stay in shape, and he did not listen to his coaches or those who cared for him. He decided to party and do whatever he wanted and then just expected to be great on the field.

We must realize that God has given you something very special. The question is will you use it? When you do amazing things will happen because did not give it to you to be average, but to be the greatest. He wants to show you off so others can say wow and come to Jesus. The best part is God has something amazing for them too.

God wants you to be the greatest and is highly motivated to help you achieve that. When you do, then His greatest desire is fulfilled, for people to hear about Jesus!

Go for it. Find out what God has made you to do. Some people will say that gift is not important. Do not listen to them. If God gave it to you, it is incredibly important. I am always amazed how people say something is not important, until they need it.

Yes, some people will not appreciate your gift, but in the end their vote does not matter. What will God think of you and your gift. And when God goes “Well done, great is your reward” you will have the feeling of being the greatest for of all eternity. Cannot wait for that!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome! (and meant to be more awesome than you can imagine).

In Star Wars the return of the Jedi, there is a line I love. “The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.”  As Christians we should be on the offensive, not to destroy anyone, but to save them so they can live forever in heaven. An opportunity has arisen!

The devil has made critical error, and we need to take advantage of this. The error is in how we now date things. The world is changing from BC and AD to BCE and CE. This is especially happening at the college level and is not trickling down increasingly to the high school level.

Most people know BC means before Christ. Most do not really know what AD means. AD represents the Latin words Anno Domini meaning “in the year of our Lord.”  Many scholars want to get rid of AD because they do not believe in Jesus in the first place, and they are concerned about offending what others believe among other things.

Now they want to use BCE and CE. BCE means before the common era, and CE means the common era. By using these abbreviations, they attempt to take Jesus out of time. To make Jesus’ life and ministry less important. However, they have done the opposite.

Those in college and in High School are asking lots of questions. They question everything. They do want to know the truth. With BC and AD, they did not ask questions, because well that was the way it always was, but the change to BCE and CE gives rise to a critical question. Every time there is a change, people will wonder why. We can exploit this with one amazing question that will bring Jesus into the conversation.

What is that question that is a game changer? What started the common era? This is amazing question.  Something had to. There is no astrological event, or natural event, or political event where suddenly there was a change from before the common era to the common era. The only significant event that changed the world’s thinking was the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

This then leads to other obvious questions. Why did everything change because of Jesus. Is that important? Is there something more to Jesus than they previous thought? Most scholars do their best to undermine Jesus, yet Jesus’ life is the fulcrum where time changes and now they have inadvertently highlighted it like never before.

This is now a legitimate question, what started the common era, which can even be posed in schools. What a way to get Jesus into the classroom where the devil has tried hard to remove Him. There is no other answer than Jesus to this question. No matter who the teacher is, the answer that must be given is Jesus. They can make fun of that answer and try to belittle Jesus answering it, but still all time revolves around Jesus is something this will make young minds think.

As Christians when we heart BCE and CE being used, we need to pay attention and take full advantage and use this question to introduce Jesus into our conversations without being pushy. This is amazing game changer. A huge one, that is easy to exploit. When people talk about it, ask what makes this the common era. And there is only one answer. When Jesus is the only answer, you are not pushing your faith into the conversation, just answering the question. Then allow that to sink into people and see what happens.

We live in extremely exciting times. The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.”  As BCE and CE becomes more and more common, which is academia’s goal, it should open the door for a simple question that allows Jesus to be in the conversation.

Let us find ways to allow Jesus to be in our conversations in unique ways so all the world can hear!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!