Hypocrite – This word is not a word that I yell from the rooftop to other people, but one that I whisper to myself when I look in the mirror as I work through the struggles in my own life. I admit that I am far from perfect, I strive to be holy in an unholy world but I still understand that I am a wretched sinner who is only saved by the grace of God. I look within myself regularly and see the faults, character defects, and moral shortcomings that I have. There are different areas of my life that I know that are displeasing to the Lord and feel like a failure more days than not. I pray fervently over what is written in *Matthew 15:8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me…* and really contemplate whether or not these verses refer to me. I am not judging anyone else’s heart before God, only my own. There is a quote by Charles Spurgeon that brings conviction to me and I pray to all who hear these words. “Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin.” For many so-called Christians, they are comfortable in the world all week long, living, talking, walking in the ways of the world, but on Sundays, church day, they change, walking through the door as if they are some great saint. Friends, the line is being drawn and we all need to decide, are we a child of God or a child of the devil? It is easy to get carried away with hypocrisy in today’s society at times, but we cannot live in that hypocrisy. I believe that God is in the process of separating His children from the world and sanctifying them. One of the most important questions is, will the body of Christ faithfully hold on to the truth of God’s word or will they compromise all that they believe with the culture? Will the people of God remember where they have fallen from, repent from their sins, and repeat when needed? For all who are uncertain of where they lie, remember the words written in *1 John 3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.* In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog

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