“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are ONE body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST. For by ONE spirit are we ALL baptized into ONE BODY, Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have ALL been made to drink into ONE spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were  (where would be) the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were (where would be) the smelling (sense of smell)?

But NOW GOD hath set the members every one in the body, AS IT HATH PLEASED HIM. And if they were all one member, where were (where would be) the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble (weak), are necessary.

And those members of the body, WE THINK to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely ( unpresentable) have more abundant comeliness (modesty). For our comely (presentable) parts have no need: but God hath tempered (composed) the body together, having given more abundant honour that part which lacked: that there SHOULD BE NO schism (DIVISION) in the body: BUT THAT THE MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE THE SAME CARE ONE FOR ANOTHER.  And WHEN ONE MEMBER SUFFER, ALL THE MEMBERS SUFFER WITH IT: OR ONE MEMBER BE HONOURED, ALL THE MEMBERS REJOICE WITH IT. Now YE ARE the BODY OF CHRIST, and members in particular (individually).” 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27

Not too terribly hard to figure out that he is referring to the body of believers, the followers of Christ. You know the ones he told us to not forsake the assembling together with. But this body is having health issues, and bad. I heard a sermon the other night, that I loved, I enjoy hearing this particular person and have complete trust in them and usually go away feeling refreshed, revived, and ready to take on the rest of the week. 

But this night I was troubled. I was troubled because I knew everything he said was perfectly right. I know you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. And I really don’t know what is wrong with us, any of us.

We are the body but there is so much broken in the body because, one as Paul pointed out we tend to believe that we just don’t need each other. And when one “part” of the body is wounded ALL the body suffers whether they know it or not.

No matter what great vision that the eyes see or what a wonderful word the ears hear if the feet are maimed and crippled it is hard to run with those messages. Once we are adopted into Christ whether we know or even like it, we are still one and we need to care about each other and help the eyes when they become irritated, check the ears when they become muffled and care for, and strengthened the hands and feet and all the other parts that are unseen.

We become crippled, deaf, and maimed and no one sees, no one notices, because no one wants responsibility for body.

I had a friend from another church years ago, and hadn’t talked with them in a very long time, but a few years back I started just keeping them on my heart and I prayed and I prayed, their number had been changed and I would ask other people when I got a chance, how they were and no one knew, no one had talked to them. So a few weeks ago, I though AHA, social media, I’ll check Facebook and I found a page, and it was disturbing because the last post was from 2014 and the content of the page gave no hint at Christianity, actually quite the opposite. So I checked obituaries for their area, and sure enough, the obituary was there. I do not know what happened, they died at a medical center, it mentioned nothing about church or their faith only the duel ministers that was to perform the service. I pray to God that in whatever happened that there was enough time to get their heart and soul back to God, but I know God is merciful and I do believe in death-bed repentance. I would not bet my soul on living life ignoring God’s voice with the thought of repenting in the nick of time because that is dangerous and has prior thought, but I do believe if we have messed up or just never got saved that it can be done. But still I wonder what happened? How did it happen? Not the death but the backsliding, There had to be people who saw, who knew and knew what was happening to this person. Maybe they tried, maybe they couldn’t get through. But the biggest question I have is did anyone try?

Remember the observations in these posts are multi-church examples noticed over a period of years and comments people have made to me personally about the subject of “Why?” concerning all the problems listed. So it does not mean I am talking about a specific place, but there have been so many hurting people and hospitalized people, and people with dying loved ones that have questioned why they were NEVER visited by anyone from their church family or in some cases their pastors. And not even phone calls, and no one is too busy to pick up a phone and check on another person that you know is sick or struggling.

It means something to people when others take time to visit them, ckeck on them, or just listen and when it is not there, they lose faith, they lose faith in church, and their church families and we never want them to lose faith in God, but it is in these times of sickness and weakness that the enemy attacks and it does effect the entire body of Christ, even though we may not feel the pain at first, it will be like an infection left untreated it will spread to the rest of the body.

 It is up to us, ALL of us to share the job of taking care of the body of Christ. you don’t even have to attend the same church with a person to help them in these needs because churches have nothing to do with it, still ONE body.

Such an indifference has taken over and along with it, the other “watch for” problem is three-ring circuses, attitudes, and things being allowed to come in and go on that should never be allowed in the House of God. The refusal to acknowledge and deal with these problems for fear of losing members is another big, big hindrance to the worship of God and the work of God, and the furthering of His Kingdom.

The Holy spirit is precious, we need Him but He will not be part of strife, anger, and gossip. There is an ample supply of that some places to at the point and knowing that God wants to move but it is like when He “could not” do miracles with His own people, and when He put out all the naysayers when he resurrected Jarius’ daughter.

He CAN DO whatever He wants, He just WILL NOT work in gossip, back-biting, and naysaying, and he detests division in the family. This is why we are to not grieve the Holy Spirit, but to be in one mind, and one accord, one purpose and one thought which is on Him.

Satan loves the game of divide and conquer, he tried in out in heaven and he successfully tore apart the family in heaven taking a third of his angelic brethren with him and  he has nearly perfected it on earth and he still plays the same old game with the church family.

There has to be order and problems need addressed correctly openly and honestly with all parties involved present and not with this one said, that one said and this one thought,  there is no healing in that.

We need each other and we need to be there for each other: ECCLESIASTES 4:9,10, & 12:” Two ARE BETTER than one: because they have a good reward for their labour. For IF THEY FALL, THE ONE WILL LIFT UP HIS FELLOW (COMPANION):

BUT WOE TO HIM THAT IS ALONE WHEN HE FALLETH; FOR HE HATH NOT ANOTHER TO HELP HIM UP. AND IF ONE PREVAIL AGAINST HIM, TWO SHALL WITHSTAND HIM; AND A THREEFOLD CORD IS NOT QUICKLY BROKEN.”

One can’t fight off much alone, but two have double the shot, and better yet three, makes a much more secure line that the enemy will have to try to get through.

As Jesus said we are to love our neighbors AS ourselves and that means doing for others as we would want done for us. We are commanded to do good to ALL men but especially those of the household of the Lord and to prefer others over ourselves, knowing that  it is God who will lift us up in our time of need.

So please don’t be so sure the person sitting there crying through a service will be just fine, don’t ever make the mistake of convincing yourself that God will send someone to help them ( your already there) never be so convinced of what you see is really what you think it is, no one knows the life, heart and mind of another except God and they could be struggling with things that you can not even fathom. Don’t think the body will heal itself from the inside out, it needs the Great Physician, it needs the Balm of Gilead, and most of all it needs someone, all of us, to admit that it needs help.

Φλογίζω-Σαλπιζω  NB 2016