Faced up with the envy, strife, attack and slander of the Church today, many believers get confused. Having believed the Lord for a long tine, they do not look up to the Church as they originally did.They find that there are actually not so many differences between the believers and the others. Church, where we talk about "love thy neighbor as thyself ," makes people feel no love.Many of the Pastors are forced to leave the Church for many reasons.Many of the clergies work hard for their bread.Many of the believers leave the Church as a result of the strife.And some believers go out of the Church because there is no spiritual supply.
People begin to say that the Pastors are to blame. There are few people giving the Pastors their understanding and support. People even complain that now that the Church send them to the theological college, they are supposed to devote themselves to the Church and keep away from the idea of making money.People rarely think of their own life.The Pastors are still human beings and have to make a living.I think it is their own intention to have other jobs and earn their bread, which probably results from the Church's behavior which makes them cannot afford their necessities.
The Levites, the Priest mentioned in the Bible, did not have any property, for they lived on the dedication of the believers.However, few of the dedication today is used to support the life of the Pastors.So when they are leaving or having part time jobs, we should care for and understand them rather than misunderstand and complain about them.
Faced up with this common problem in the Church, both the Pastors and the believers get weak and discouraged.But we should get out of the weakness with the help of God.So let's talk about three points of beating the weakness.
1. Never stop meeting.
Since you have believed God, then you should not regret doing it.Jesus never said that the sky would always be blue, instead, he said to his followers that they should do what he had done.Jesus suffered attacks, slanders, and frame of People and ended his life on the Cross.So, we, the followers of Jesus, should experience something like that.If we can't change the environment, we should never stop meeting.We often get upset and even want to stop going to the Church when we are misunderstood in the Church in order to recover from the hurt.
If we really did it, we would be trapped by Satan.Satan wants people to keep away from God and to be weak.So when you are in this kind of environment, it is more important to meet, read the Bible and pray.Stay away from Satan and destroy Satan's trap with the help of God.And God have advised us through his servant: not giving up our meetings, as is the way of some, but keeping one another strong in faith; and all the more because you see the day coming near.(Hebrews 10:25)
2. Find a spiritual companion.
On the spiritual way, no one can be never weak.Those who were recorded in the Bible are no exception.So people should have spiritual companions.When you are weak, the more unwillingness you get for praying, the more urgently your companion will pray for you.When you don't want to go to meetings, your companion will call on you to do it.When you are faced up with difficulty, your companion will help you out.When Nebuchadnezzar wanted to kill all the Philosophers in the town because he had an unsolved dream, Daniel came back to his home and told his companions it and let them pray with him for the Philosophers. When people are in trouble, they often consider the pray weak.Then we need to pray together with our companions.Because we are told that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.Jesus always sent his followers as pairs.You and your spiritual companions work together and help each other.
3. Pray for your enemy.
When you are faced up with those who attack you, your heart is full of hatred, but you are able to prevent yourself from fighting back, which has changed a lot since you came to believe God. You hold your anger in your heart in silence.As long as you don't see the man, your heart can be very calm.But if you see or hear of some information about that man, the heart will once again be filled with hatred. Sometimes for a person or a thing, the hatred in your heart will be held for years or even decades.In the end, it will ruin your health, while that man is still in good condition. As the saying goes, anger is taking the other's mistake to punish oneself. But how should we deal with the unhappiness? Just pray for your enemies. Jesus also told us to love your enemies and to pray for your enemies. Let's pray instead of complaining, and let love take in the place of hatred.Don't leave any ways to Satan.Because Satan lives in the heart of human.
We live in a world full of sins, but don't get stuck in the evil world.We should penetrate Satan's tricks.Do not stop the party when you are in weakness.Pray for those who attack you. On the way of faith, there must be a spiritual companion. Always keep praying and be alert. Jesus said, happy are you when men give you a bad name and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.Be glad and full of joy; for great is your reward in heaven: for so were the prophets attacked who were before you.
(The author is a believer from Weifang,Shandong.)
