‘Praying for you’: Are they just words?
Inside the Church our faith is strengthened. We are fed by the Lord. We are encouraged by fellowship with others. We worship God. The mistake, on the other hand, is made when we make church an item to check off our weekly “to-do” list. Christ never intended our faith to be restrained within the confines of the church walls.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Outside the walls we face the frontlines of the battlefield. Satan certainly dwells and has his minions inside the church. However, when we restrict our faith to inside the church walls then we leave ourselves vulnerable to Satan. We allow ourselves to be defeated because we do not even make it to the front lines with our arsenal supplied by the God of the universe.
When we do not allow our faith to dictate every daily action, we sink farther into the quicksand of sin. Satan doesn’t care what sin he gets you entangled with as long as it destroys your soul. “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8) Satan is waiting for you outside the church walls. If you walk out and gloss over the reality of the war raging, you have no chance of living a life rejecting sin and glorifying God. You will sink into the void of habitual sin and your soul will drift farther from glory.
“So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.” (I Corinthians 10:31-33) We are called by the Lord to seek the salvations of others above and beyond our own personal desires. In order to show the love and grace of the Lord then we must live our lives as billboards of holiness, righteousness, and repentance.
Persecution is spreading rapidly within the United States. An anti-Christian culture is being strengthened by agents of Hell. If we are to survive persecution, then we must live a life set apart from earthly temptations and worldly pleasures. If we are to endure and survive future persecution, we must do it together – outside the church walls.