If the church is the pillar and support of the truth as Paul says it is in his first letter to Timothy chapter 3 vs. 15, then it behooves the leadership of the church to guard this truth as the treasure it is, and to not give unsanctified mercy to those who are intentionally seeking to dilute it.

"From the moment Jesus first laid eyes on Jairus He knew what He was going to do. He knew there would be delays. He knew there would be unbelief and walking by sight all around Jairus. And He knew Jairus must overcome his own unbelief and the unbelief of others around him to be pleasing to God..."

Even though we have multiple Christian churches in every town (compared to other nations), in some places seemingly on every block, there is an alarming lack of theological and experiential knowledge of the risen Lord of lords and King of kings Jesus Christ among most Americans.

In no way am I trying to scare my readers. But I do want to say without reservation that this is not a time to be unclear or fuzzy about where you stand with God. This is not a time to ignore the fact that you could die at any moment and find yourself face to face with your Creator who created you with purpose and with expectations.

As I've studied it over the years, it seems to have the idea of God's covenant, faithful, unconditional, never ending love for His covenant people. Few things have helped my walk with God over the years more than meditating on this concept in the Psalms.

. The wicked are always looking for an excuse to justify their rebellion, and one of their favorite excuses is hypocrites in the church or people in the church who practice lawlessness. Peter says our godly behavior and uprightness in observing the laws of the land actually silences such people.

“The West has lost Christ, and that is why it is dying; that is the only reason.”                        Fyodor Dostoevsky – Russian...

One of the ways we can get to know Him better is by studying and meditating on why He came to this earth. He spoke to this often in different ways.

This we believe is the historical precedent of appointing deacons for the two-fold purpose of meeting real needs and to protect elders, pastors, apostles and prophets from getting diverted or distracted from daily seeking God and His will and way.

Unprincipled men or women under the church umbrella are a great danger to the health and vitality of Christ’s church. And one of the best ways to avoid this danger is to strive by His power and grace to be a principled man or woman like our Savior.