Tidbits

Today started out as usual, but now I'm just not feeling very well, and I can't really understand it; it kinda feels like you do when you first start getting a really bad headcold.:( Anyway, I was reading my book again this morning, and I just had another aha moment, well, several aha moments, but I will share only one or two. I have a feeling this book is going to be one huge aha moment for me, because I can already feel it stirring up my heart and soul. I'll just type in the parts that got to me; here, he's talking about different ways the church is reacting to the world today and its antagonism to our Christian beliefs.
1. Running away from the world, circling our wagons, and saying, "Isn't it horrible the way people are living out there?"
But here's my aha moment:
2. Making harsh and condemning statements about the world and its people, forgetting that they are not our enemy but rather our mission field...But this is not the task of Christians; as Paul (an apostle no less) clearly wrote, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside" (1Corinthians 5:12-13). Our job is not to castigate unbelievers but rather to humbly look within our own ranks to see if we church people are actually living out the Christian life as God intended.
This really spoke to me because so often I get so frustrated with unbelievers and the way things just seem thrown at us in the world; lots of churches do this too, but in a sense, what are we throwing back? Are we looking at them as our mission field? Are we seeing them in love, through God's eyes, or are we seeing them as our enemies?
He also talks about how in Acts 17, when Paul came to Berea and started teaching, the people there didn't just believe every word he said; they went straight to the plumb line of the eternal Word of God...When we test everything by the Word of God, we are doing nothing more or less than honoring again the Holy Spirit who authored it.
This is something I have failed in; I don't always search out the Bible; sadly, I have listened and taken things in without first measuring it by the Bible.
And then he talks about how we want to be involved in ministry and we want to go now instead of waiting on the Spirit of God; he uses Acts 1 as an example when the apostles were told to wait for the Spirit before going out. Most of the time, I just want to go and go now. But if I don't have the Spirit of God in me, what good is it going to do? It will do more harm than good.
He also mentioned about how Peter had denied Christ even to the point of cursing but how God still used Peter as an apostle and minister of the Word. I mean, look at how much Peter accomplished. It is possible. That, to me, is hope. No matter what I've done, God still wants to use me. That is wonderful, glorious, and so full of hope and power.
Anyway, I know this was a lot, but I just am seeing so many "aha's" in this, that I don't want to keep it to myself. It's exciting, and for the first time in a long while, I can really feel God working.