Some ponderings on what I preach

Already I'm being critisized for not preaching repentance on my Rainbow church site. But if that is not what God is calling me to preach, then how can I preach that? Is repentence necessary? Of course. But, I believe God is calling me to reassure people that He loves them. To spread the word of His love, His comfort, His reassurance, His everlasting presence in our lives.

God is the God of second chances, and 3rd ones and 4th ones and more. As long as there is life and breath God calls us to seek His face. And many people respond better to the love of God than the wrath of God. I know personally I was not saved by a God of wrath, but a God of love.

I'm not so sure anybody becomes saved by being told they're going to hell if they aren't!
People know if they're sinning or not. It's that still, small voice that says what you're doing is wrong. Somehow I don't think people need to have their sins pointed out to them. A liar knows if he's a liar or not.

But when I sit down to work on my sermon, God leads me to verses of love and comfort...maybe because I need them. Maybe God leads us all to exactly what we need to hear, individually. And I need love, comfort, reassurance. Don't we all? And if somebody needs harsher words, then God will lead them to wherever they will hear that message.

I need to be true to the vision He has set before me. If others feel the need to sit in judgement, or to share the message of God's judgement, then that is their business, but God does not seem to have given me that particular message. Is the message of repentance something people need to hear? Sure. But we're all sinners, and I take to heart the verse that says "don't judge." Lord knows I've got enough foibles of my own without pointing fingers at somebody else's. It is not up to me to judge another's walk with God. That's between them and God. I have to speak the words He gives me to speak, and not bow to the pressure to speak differently.

If one week God wants me to speak about sin and repentance, then that is what I will speak. If another week God wants me to speak about a possible message behind a particular Bible story, then I will share the insights He has given me. If He wants me to simply reassure people that He loves them, then that's what I will say. I will not speak hellfire and condemnation simply because somebody thinks I should. Were I to do that, without God's leading, I would be denying the path He has set before me. Does that mean I'll never talk about sin? Of course not. What it does mean is that I need to listen to God and not to man.

I just pray that the good Lord will continue to lead me and guide me, and that I will stay true to His word and His guidance. And as long as He calls me to speak words of love, then that's what I will do. I pray that I will hear His voice as I prepare each week for the sermons I put on my website. I pray that if I am in error, that He will show me. I pray that God alone will be my judge and my guide as I try my best to do His will and carry out His orders. Amen.