Preaching the Truth

Since I'm not a constant blogger let me say blessed Thanksgiving, meaningful Christmas and Happy New Year.  How's that for efficiency?  I know how busy most of you are.  Let me get to the point.  The Bethel Methodist Church has chosen the "one thing needful"(Luke 10:38-42).  Because of that we stand ready to preach.  If we sit at His feet and hear His word, we are indeed ready!  Like Jeremiah, it burns in our bones!  But wait a minute.  God gives us one very important guiding principle when it comes to proclaiming the good news.  That good counsel can be found in Ephesians 4:15, "speaking the truth in love".  We do not speak all the truth and stand back with a "take it or leave it" attitude.  Yes, we understand that God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge(Hosea 4:6).  We also know that "through (our) knowledge a weak brother (can) perish"(I Corinthians 8:11).  The way we present the truth is critical.  Without the proper foundation of genuine human compassion and real love we will fail.  We must learn to speak the truth in love!  We must learn to provide plenty of milk for babies to grow and we must carefully introduce meat to those who are ready.  Jesus was the master at putting this into practice.  Look to Him.  Learn how he operated.  They will know we are Christians by our love!