APRIL 7 "IS IT REALLY ALL JUST DOOM & GLOOD?"

There's a lot of negativity in today's Old Testament reading. Moses is telling them they need to memorize a song because it will serve as a testimony against them when they enter the land they have been promised. God seems upset with these people, Moses seems upset with these people. The Church of Jesus Christ remains a Paradox. It is both a very pleasant place and a very negative place. I guess it's up to us what aisle ( so to speak ) that we want to serve God in. God has worked with these people knowing the end result, how much more so are we required to work with difficult and ungrateful people, NOT knowing the results. It's a difficult bunch, this group of Israelites seems like they just can't live for God with any measure of long term faithfulness. The Church is in a constant flux. The average Church functions somewhere along these lines.....for every 20 people added to the Church 10-15 leave, net gain, 5! Ministry leaders and laymen are being removed from ministry, other members are having to be removed from Church all together, there are factions in the Church, unfaithfulness, uncommitted, as I said, The Church, The Israelites, we are a difficult and unfaithful bunch. The longer you stay in the Church and The deeper you get involved in the Church the more you see what a mess it really is. As I said earlier, The Church is a Paradox, it is both a very pleasant and helpful place but also a very negative place, but The Church is God's idea and still and will always be, His last great hope for Planet Earth. What we have to decide is what side of the aisle do we want to serve on? The positive, the helpful, the faithful or the negative, unfaithful and backsliding bunch? Joshua remained faithful and his destiny and blessing remained in tact. You don't need to go in search of the perfect bunch, you just need to stay where you are and decide what side of the aisle do you want to serve on?

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