Daily Devotional: Thursday, Nov 12

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: A Dangerous Church

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Majestic by Lincoln Brewster; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; The Stand by Hillsong; Desert Song by Hillsong.

Read: Micah 6: 8; Acts 15:10-11

Think: While looking at a Pastor Ben shared the four things that make a church a ‘dangerous church' and today we look at we must remove obstacles that keep people from turning to God.

There are many things that the church has said or done since Jesus was here that make it harder for people to come to Him or to follow Him. In today's passage from the Book of Acts we see that the church decided men should be required to be circumcised in order to follow Christ and that there was great debate about it. God had previously told Peter to go and visit with a Gentile and eat with him something no Jew found acceptable. Yet God thankfully works beyond the rules. We now live under His grace and have only to turn to Jesus to be saved... there is no fine print.

It may be traditional in some churches to do things in a way that has become routine or familiar such as the way we do communion, the manner of worship, personal bible reading, prayer, service, appearance and so many other areas. Sometimes though we forget that all we have to do to follow Christ is believe and turn to God. That does not mean that we should choose not to improve ourselves in our walk with God but how often do we pass these on as necessary if you have faith? I remember as an early Christian feeling tremendous guilt because I failed to have daily times of Bible reading which then made it harder to open my Bible. Now I know this said more about the people telling me it's what was required of me than it did of God's heart. I also know that it is good for me to read God's Word but if I don't for whatever reason I am not condemned.

As I write this I think about those cars with Icthus fish on the rear bumper and how frustrated I get when one of the drivers does something I think is dumb. Perhaps expecting all Christians to be perfect drivers is unreasonable! God loves us so deeply that for Him it is not about us meeting criteria but about being with Him. Something we need to make sure we remember ourselves and show to others.

Do: Take time to think about what you expect from other followers of Christ and then what has been expected of you. What requirements of your making or your tradition do you want to remove from hanging over the heads of others? Choose to free them - and yourself - to ‘be' with God and enjoy the gift of His salvation and love!

Pray: Thank you, Father that we are loved despite falling short of each other's expectations and that you love us despite our failings. Please help us remove any obstacles we present that hinder others reaching out to you. Allow us to show Your love and acceptance rather than setting roadblocks to faith. Amen!

Timberlake Church | 4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, Washington 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@tlcf.org