9/2/15 – Mid Week Message from Pastor Hal

Most everyone has a desire to blend in. We like to be part of the things we enjoy with people we think we enjoy. To be left out is an unpleasant experience. When we find ourselves being left behind because of certain aspects in our lives, it makes us want to question those aspects. “Are they THAT vital to us?”…”Could we do without them on occasion?”. In 1 John 3:11-13, John writes:
“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.”. Much of what the culture does is not proper. We see at every moment this “evil” that has plagued the culture. Yet there is a sense that to fit in we must also be involved. But these verses state that we must see the lifestyle for what it is. If we are conducting our lives correctly, there will be a separation. This separation seems like the people of the culture HATE us. A very awkward experience
, but none the less a real one. Next time you allow this contrast to exist and it produces some friction, just recall that John states that it’s natural reaction to a God-preferred lifestyle. Its truly not us…it’s them that are producing the awkwardness. But we return that hate with a favorable attitude (LOVE).