Today I am recovering.  Recovering from the flu.  Haha, you say, the flu, everyone gets the flu!  The truth be told, there are many of us out there that have chronic illnesses in which a simple cold or the flu can take us down...permanently!

Today I want to talk about Christians who go to church when they are sick.  The reason?  To be seen?  To be holy?  To be good?  You see, the Lord doesn't look at how many times you dawn the doors of a church, He looks only at your motives and your heart.  He sees if you are being truthful when you come through those doors.  He sees if you come through those doors to show you are a Christian or to show you are holy, that dear folks, is pride and not a true motive to go to church.

You see, being a Christian is surrendering you heart, soul and will to God and following His only Son.  He sent His only Son because He saw that there was no hope for any of us to "earn" or "sacrifice" our way into heaven.  He sent His Son out of mercy as He looked down on our sorry condition and decided He needed to make a simple way for us to come to Him and truly be saved from the wrath that our sin brings on our own heads that will be poured out when His plan is completed on ALL who have not come to Him.

If you want to see what you would be "saved" from, read Revelation.  It won't make much sense to you, but the wrath being poured out is clear.  Is there any gods who are willing to give up their only son to die for you so that you won't have to pay for your sins?  No.  

Anyway, back to my point...the truth is, we are only saved by one thing from the wrath we bestow on ourselves by our own actions and nasty thoughts toward others, and that is through God's only Son Jesus.  Once a person learns this and turns to Him, all truths that matter seem to open up as we read His Word and it makes all things fall into place.  Then impressing others by going to church never crosses our minds because we are running to hear His word through the pastor on Sunday mornings and to Bible studies on another night.  But folks, if you are sick, stay home! There's my point! 

You see there are others among your circles that you may not even know their susceptibility to getting sick and how that cold or flu could send them to the hospital for kidney failure, won't be able to continue chemo because of the illness or who could die because of that illness we all think are JUST a cold or JUST the flu.  So if you think attending church while you're sick means you are a martyr for God and proves something, it doesn't.  It could however, prove you are playing a game of trying to earn your way into heaven and because we serve a Just God who has one set of rules as to how someone gets to heaven and that way is one way, through His Son Jesus Christ and after you say "yes" to Him, you turn from your ways, to His ways.  That's it!  In a nutshell.  No other way!

So next time you are sick with a cold or a touch of the flu, STAY HOME!  Watch services on tv!  

Luckily, my kidneys didn't shut down this time from having the stomach flu! I had loads of people from my church, praying for me!  And not one of them got the flu from me because I went to church with it.  Part of being a Christian is looking out for your fellow man, and if that means I have to miss church or Bible study, then that's what I have to do to serve my fellow man.  Serving the Lord is about thinking of others, not yourself. That is what I try to do, I hope after reading this, you will try to do it too.

With much hope and joy in our Savior Jesus Christ! Have a wonderful day!
LuAnn