Hope Church

Hey Hopefulites,

The celebrations for our 22nd Anniversary have started!🥳🥳

Come and join us in the sanctuary for an Evening of Worship under the theme "GOD IS". This awesome experience is today, September 10th, 2023 at 6:30pm.

It will be a night of Worship 🛐 and Exhortation, 📖 as we Give Thanks 🙌 to God for 2️⃣2️⃣ years of ministry.

So gather your friends, family 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🧔‍♂️👩👦👧and say it with me, It ain't missing me".

Testimony Tuesday
Shamar's Testimony

In case you missed Shamar's creative delivery of his testimony this past Sunday, well, here it is!

De man tell me drop a testimony,
Just talk about HOPE church and summarize my journey.
Tear forming, heart warming, classical ending is things I think bout when I hear testimony.
I preferred the word "thankfulness" or "thankimony" since I ain’t have that much of a story.🙏🏾

I literally grew up in Church, every Wednesday and Sunday it was at my house.
It didn’t lead me to Christianity, I was in the back quiet like a mouse.
It did set the foundation for my belief in Christ.
I appreciated there is a God and always gave thanks to Him for life.✝️

Fast forward to teenage years and I still in house church.
Curiosity for what’s out there kicked in, and there I began my search.
Went to a real church close to me, and that service was reallllll long,
After 2 o’clock the pastor still preaching, and my belly "gine" round.
Seems like if church didn’t finish after 2, the old people ain’t satisfied.
Pastor aimed to please the masses while I sat patient, hungryfied.🥴

Couldn’t take no more, so I gave my mum’s church a try.
The amount a people that squeeze my cheek, man, that wasn’t justified.
"I remember you from a lil boy, ya grow up real tall and good!"
Meanwhile, stupes, man dreading my house church in the hood.😓

Fast forward many more years, my friend Kemal invited me to a men’s meeting.
Tell me I can’t read a book a month, "Stupes, this man must be joking!"
I, too, love a challenge and to prove him wrong would be sweet.
Reading for me wasn’t nothing hard, man I could do that in my sleep.
He trick me real good, it ain’t about the reading that was hard,
It’s living out what the books taught, geez, I wish I had stayed in my yard.📖

With coaches to guide and accountability at the forefront,
My thirst for Christ deepened yes, month after month.
Church wasn’t so long, man and that was the topping on my cake,
Everything done in 2 hours BLAM… and some people still coming late.
I got marriage counseling at HOPE Church.Yes, everything is in this place.
Being a Christian is a long-term journey, don’t treat it like a race.🛐

Brought my beautiful wife to this church and the change for her was real.
She come out of one a them after 2 o’clock churches, but for me, that ship done sail.
I still think of my house church and the sweeties ya would get at the end.
Somebody better bring back jolly ranchers.That was a real nice trend.
There is HOPE in tomorrow, the word is spelled out behind me.
If you never experienced HOPE Church, come get a taste and see.⛪

Another year, another anniversary, and yes we’re still here.
To be a VMA is the goal, the vision set by Pastor John is clear.
So, many ways to get plugged in, no person left on the side,
Just commit yourself to continual growth and strap in for the ride.
Got baptized here and have never looked back.
I, too, love my HOPE Church, now you can give a cheer for that.🥳

This Testimony Tuesday, let us reflect on how following Jesus has changed our lives forever! Hallelujah! Let us also thank God for the community of believers, who encourage us as we run this race.

Hebrews 10:25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

GO CO-CREATE SOMETHING
Co-creators with Christ

Have you ever watched a magician at a magic show? Maybe, if you have, you too have wondered how on earth they seem to make things appear (or disappear) from nowhere. It's just fascinating! However, if you have the chance to see behind the scenes and learn how they do it, you'll soon realise that they have no real power. It's just a great skill to sell you a convincing act, that tricks the eyes and fools the senses.

Magic shows remind me of the tales that are spun by the world today. The ones that are seemingly backed by scientific data from millions of years ago, which, of course, can not be fully validated from any credible, present source. It's just great skills, 'highfalutin' big words, and a convincing act, that cause logic to replace the Word and common sense to be second-guessed and silenced for fear of offence, cancellation, and ridicule.

Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.

The proven and true Creator is God. He is the only One Who can create something from nothing. This is clearly shown in the creation story in Genesis. God created the world. He formed it out of nothingness, then on the sixth day, He created man and called His job complete. Since that day, He has used mankind to co-create with Him.

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

God commanded man to continue His good work. His request was for His creation to maintain what He created and increase it. We co-create with God when we use our various gifts and walk in our PURPOSE. Farmers till the ground and co-create a harvest of produce, a union with a husband and wife co-creates off spring and the church (Christ's bride) co-creates new believers. We are co-creators when we align with God.

However, we have seen that just like many other gifts God has given, this one too, has been corrupted by the evil flesh of man. We have used our positions as co-creators outside of the will of God, and today we are reaping the havoc. We see the fruits of misaligned co-creation in a suffering ecosystem, rampant diseases, and confused beings who are destined to barrenness due to their twisted choices.

Today, I urge you to not be like the magician at the magic show, who appears to create for the applause and gifts of a fleshly audience, but to re-align yourself with the PURPOSE, which the true Creator created you. Use your gifts to GO CO-CREATE SOMETHING. Plant a seed, speak encouraging words, share HOPE to a dying world, and watch what the Creator can do once you submit to Him as His purposed co-creator.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

HE'S NO LUCKY CHARM
He's my Saving Grace

Recently, a sister shared Hannah's testimony from 1 Samuel with me. She said timidly that she wasn't sure why she felt led, but she was convinced that she was to send me the video. I received it gratefully 🙏🏾and obediently watched the teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the message and my subsequent reading of the first three chapters in the book. 📖😊

I believe she felt led to share that teaching with me because, like Hannah was, I am childless, and maybe my sister wanted to encourage me to keep fervently praying. 🙏🏾👩🏾‍🍼

I haven't given up. I keep praying, but I pray differently. I pray for the Lord's will to be done and for me to be strengthened to accept whatever His will is for my life. I have, or rather, I am releasing my desires to be aligned with His in all aspects of my life. 🙏🏾

After enjoying Hannah's testimony, I decided to keep reading 1 Samuel. The enjoyment continued. I loved the account of young Samuel’s and old Eli's relationship and Samuel's calling 🗣️ (literally). However, I had to pause and reread chapter four repeatedly to digest all that God was showing me there, especially in verses 1–11, which recounted the great defeat of the Israelites by the Philistines:

1 Samuel 4:4 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

Read these next verses to get the full context: 1 Samuel 4:5-9.

1 Samuel 4:10-11 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

I couldn't quite 🤔 'put my finger on it,' until last night in fellowship, when one of my brothers said, "They (the Israelites) were legalistic in how they used the ark of the covenant." Then another brother said, "They treated God like a lucky charm." That was it! Immediately, I started to feel convicted, as I too, had been guilty of both being legalistic in my faith and treating God like the world treats a four-leaf clover 🍀or a rabbit's 🐰 foot. Then, I quickly remembered our current sermon series in Galatians and stated:

HE'S NO LUCKY CHARM, He's my Saving Grace.

Galatians 2:19-21 "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Saints, as we continue to believe God through the various seasons of our lives, let's remember His gift ✝️ of grace. His life and death were so that we could be freed from the bo***ge ⛓️ of the law and have a grace filled life with Him forever, but only if we believe. 🙏🏾

FIT BY FAITH

Have you found your 'Fit' in God's Kingdom? 🧩Today, I would like to remind us, that we must first have Faith in God before we could truly use our gifts or fit, as intended by Him. ✝️

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

God loves us so much and wants us to be reconciled to Him,❤️ so He left nothing to chance. He provided us with everything needed to activate the gifts,🎁 to be used in the Kingdom. He gave each of us a measure of Faith.🙏🏾

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

God's faith is made perfect in our weakness.😔 It is only when we acknowledge that we are nothing without Him and surrender to Him,🙏🏾 that we begin to exercise the grace and Faith He has given to us. By so doing, we are able to walk in our giftings. ✝️

Romans 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;

On this Thankful Thursday, I encourage us to find our 'Fit',🧩 by exercising our God-given Faith🙏🏾 and allowing God to use us in and for His Kingdom. ✝️

Have a Thankful Thursday, knowing that God has given each of us the Faith needed to develop our gifts for His Kingdom.🙏🏽🤗💖

BY FAITH ALONE

By faith alone, through Christ alone,
And not by my own hand.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.

My earthly works are filthy rags,
On faith alone, I stand.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.

The Lord is my shield, my great reward,
His will is my command.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.

My faith is built on Christ the rock,
And not on shifting sand.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.

The Gospel Truth transformed my life,
A peace few understand.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.

By faith alone, through Christ alone,
And not by my own hand.
Thank God that I'm a sinner saved,
A Child of Abraham.
- Fabian McDowald

SEEK & FIND

One of the first games that parents enjoy with their little ones is peek-a-boo.🫣 This childhood pastime is used to pass the time, or avert a major baby meltdown. In the game, the adult 'hides' their face behind their hands and then quickly separates them to reveal a surprised and exciting expression saying, "peek-a-boo".😆 The child squeals in excitement and anticipates the next round of 'find the face'.☺️

As they grow older, this game evolves into hide-and-seek.🏃🏾‍♀️ In this evolution of the game, additional rooms in the vicinity are incorporated and no 'nook or cranny' is safe from a tiny body trying to partially conceal themselves.🙈 However, it never fails to culminate in, (if the adult plays it right), a child giggling uncontrollably in excitement at the thought of, or actually being found.🤭

I love this psychological explanation of the childish joys of hide-and-seek, as it helps me to understand how it builds our sense of curiosity🔎 and our need to explore with hopes of finding the prize. 'At its most basic level, hide and seek is like an elevated game of peek-a-boo. Babies thrive with that game because it helps teach them about object permanence. They get positively giddy with the feeling of re-finding something they thought was lost, and learning that even something they can't see, still exists.' https://www.childsplayinaction.com

In the Bible, there are numerous references to seeking and finding.🔎 Last night at our women's fellowship, the topic was 'Returning to Our First Love'.❤️ As our sister spoke, the matter of seeking and finding was impressed upon me afresh and immediately, some familiar verses leaped off the pages of the Bible📖 to encourage me.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

What an awesome promise!🙌🏾 Just like our parents safely played peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek with the assurance that they would be found when we sought them, we can expect that if we desire to longingly seek our Lord, we will find Him.✝️

Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

I can personally attest to this one. Just like David, when I consecrated my time to search and commune with the Lord,🛐 His deliverance was quick to come to me. Maybe not in the way I wanted it, but definitely in the way I needed it.🙏🏾

There are many good things that will remain hidden from us if we do not invest the time to seek them out.🔎 Sunday morning's message at my local church reminded us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). When we invest our energy in finding God (Who is not lost, by the way) and placing Him first,✝️ He is faithful to give us what we need (Matthew 7:7) and the aligned desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).❤️

This week, let's return to the innocence of a child and trust in the safety of seeking and finding the Lord,🔎 with the many assurances in the scriptures that He will be found.📖

2 Chronicles 15:2b The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. (The testimony of King Asa's reform)

Following the Spirit
The Eunuch's Testimony

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eu**ch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).

This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.

The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the passage of Scripture the eu**ch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth. In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.”

The eu**ch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eu**ch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot.

Then both Philip and the eu**ch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eu**ch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-39

This Testimony Tuesday, let us be reminded that salvation comes when we receive and believe the Gospel!✝️ Let our obedience flow from a desire to please God and not to add to His finished work.🙏🏾

Galatians 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?

FOLLOW THIS PATTERN
Do not conform...

When I was at school,👧🏾🧒🏿 we used to say, "Follow pattern in nuh good". It was usually said disapprovingly😒 to an embarrassed peer, who just realised that they had openly failed at copying the actions, or following the lead of someone, by doing something that worked for that person, but didn't work for them.😖

The embarrassment and taunting were certainly enough for the humbled one😔 to make better choices in the future. Oh, how I wish that this was not a lost lesson from childhood, but a lesson that would follow us on our journey of life.⏳ It would certainly save us from a lot of ill-thought-out actions and detrimental decisions.🤔

This memory came afresh to me in my study of the book of Galatians, when I read how the churches in Galatia allowed themselves to be led astray from the Gospel,✝️ by the pressure of the Jewish law. I can almost see the disapproval, disbelief and pain on Paul's face.😠 I can hear the pepper in his tone when he said:

Galatians 3:1-3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

Galatians 4:8-20 (further reading)

WOW! "Follow pattern in nuh good!" The Jews were given certain rules and ordinances📜 for a certain time and situation. According to the fulfilled prophecy, Christ came, was crucified, died, was buried, then rose on the third day.✝️ Now, we live in the age of grace, (Romans 6:14) with the promise of eternity with Him for all who believe in Him.🙌🏾 So, what was 'good' for the Jews, wasn't good for the Gentiles!

If you're looking for something to follow, FOLLOW THIS PATTERN:✝️

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award unto me on that day

LAW vs GRACE

Close your eyes. Now imagine yourself driving🚗 down Station Hill while using your phone.📱 Suddenly, the sound of a siren🚓 startles you and you look up to see a Station Sargeant standing next to his cycle asking for details.😕 Sigh... you've been caught breaking the law. You ask him to consider allowing you to go with a only a warning, but he continues to write and a few weeks later, you receive a summons to appear in court.📃

At court you are found guilty and ordered to pay a fine.💰 While waiting in line to pay, that same Sargeant who reported you to be in court comes to you and says, "Go ahead, I took care of it, but don't let it happen again". 😱

Wow! Would you still continue to use your phone while driving, or would you be more conscious about your choices and try to behave in the best interest of other road users and avoid shaming the Sargeant that saved you?🤔

In this instance, the law caught, charged, convicted and then condemned you to pay.😔 However, somebody stepped in at the point of condemnation, paid the price and commissioned a change in your heart.❤️

Your conviction to change your behaviour was not because of the law, but because of the compassion shown by the Sargeant.🙏🏾 The law told you what you did wrong, but the Sargeant showed you grace and gave you an opportunity to pay it forward.🙌🏾

Condemmed by law, saved by grace.✝️

And just in case your are thinking that anyone breaking the rules should be condemned, then I'd have to wonder how you got to this point in the story, since your eyes should still be closed.😉

Galatians 2:16 "Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

Have A Blessed And Beautiful WAR Wednesday!

Testimony Tuesday
A Gentile Woman's Testimony

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Matthew 15:22-28

This Testimony Tuesday, let us take heart in the fact that Jesus came to spread the Gospel to ALL men!👥 We are therefore co-heirs to the Kingdom through Christ!✝️ Hallelujah!🙌🏾

Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

US v LAW
You Just Can't Win

"Shut up in hay or let me give you something to cry for."😠 Was this situation unique to my family, or have I brought back memories from your childhood too?🤔 My mother used that statement when my siblings and I were uncontrollably crying😭 in anticipation of promised punishment, which we knew was certain. Usually, promised lashes is a valid reason to cry, but apparently not a good enough one for my mother.🤷🏾‍♀️ She then vowed to punish tears with additional lashes, in addition to the ones she had already promised. What was a child to do? You just can't win.☹️

This scenario came fresh to mind,💭 as I listened on Sunday in my local church to a message from Galatians 2. It reminded me of our relationship with the law. You just can't win! Regardless of what we do or try not to do, we will always fail.😔 Then, if we break one rule, we've broken all and the full consequence is heaped upon us.😩

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Galatians 2:16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

I don't know about you, but for me and my house, we'll take the option of faith in Jesus Christ.✝️ The law had its purpose for a certain people at a certain time. Since that time, Christ came, died, rose and lives again.🙌🏾 He lives in me and has made provision for me to be saved from my multitude of sins. Hallelujah!💃🏾 The law cannot do that. It is like an authoritarian with a big stick saying, 'Do this and don't do that', without explanation or understanding. Then, just like in that childhood scenario, there is certain punishment for the inability to act correctly.😖

Galatians 2:19-21 "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

I stand with my brother, the apostle Paul and state that, "I too have been crucified with Christ."✝️ Hallelujah! Daily, it is my prayer that I no longer live, but that I allow Christ to live, rule and reign in me. Thank you God for sending your Son to die for me. Thank you for this selfless sacrifice.✝️

Saints, remember that even though, You just can't win with the law, there is always VICTORY in Christ Jesus!🙌🏾

THE GOSPEL

The Gospel aka the “good news” refers to "the announcement that Jesus has brought the reign of God to our world through his life, death, and resurrection from the dead." (Bibleproject.com)

Although the Gospel🎚️has been in existence for years and has proved to be the Truth, it is often questioned, especially when it goes against society norms.🤷🏾‍♀️

My question to you as fellow Believers is, "Should we be concerned with societal norms?"🤔 Of course we should, but not to the point of shifting our focus from God✝️ and conforming to those norms. The Gospel provides us with freedom to love❤️ on people as Christ loves us. This a love that corrects us when going the wrong way; a love that is not judgmental; a love that puts the needs of others above our own; a love that is not self seeking.🥰

Just this week at my local assembly, we were reminded of the things that cause us to be out of sync with the Gospel:
▪︎ The fear of man:😖 Allowing the risk of disappointing men to cause us to disobey God.
▪︎ Hypocrisy:🫣 Professing an action and then behaving in a different manner.
▪︎ Legalism:🧐 Requiring a person to do a particular task to be accepted by God.

God requires us to:
▪︎ Fear Him, not man✝️
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

▪︎ Love as He loves, and in so doing, to speak the Truth and walk in the Truth.❤️
1 John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

▪︎ Allow His grace to be the catalyst for acceptance by Him.🕊️
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

On this Thankful Thursday, be encouraged to focus on Christ and live a life that is pleasing to Him and Him only.✝️ For those who have never experienced His love, I urge you to accept Him today. Please allow God to transform your hearts and minds.🙌🏾

Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Have a Thankful Thursday, knowing that our righteousness is in God by accepting Jesus as our Saviour and Lord.💝🙏🏾✝️

Do As I Say and Not As I Do

"Do as I say and not as I do."
While growing up, whenever I caught adults doing or saying something that stood in stark contradiction to the characteristics they encouraged me to encapsulate, this excuse was always at the tip of their two-sided tongues: "Do as I say and not as I do."

This was still something I struggled to completely categorise as hypocrisy, but I now know it is. However, the thoughts that I had a tough time trying to tackle are: "Isn't it still good to tell others what's right even if I act wrong? Isn't that a form of love and evidence of having an individual's best interests at heart?"

The answer is NO... it is NOT! This is because, while we as human beings are completely capable of following a directive, we are far more likely to model a behaviour.

We see this scenario being played out now within ourselves as adults. We continue the cycle of telling children to do as we say and not as we do, because we are modeling behaviour. This is a practice that has had a far more permanent impact on shaping our personality than anything that was said, but not shown to us as children.

Hypocrisy in all its forms is so destructively powerful, because of its potential to lead others astray.

We see a form of hypocrisy being played out in Galatians 2 with the Apostle Peter's behaviour changing to reflect that of his former self Cephas, when in community with the Gentiles and the Jews.

Galatians 2:11-13 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

Wow... Cephas knew better, but even Barnabas was led astray. Do you see how easily it is for those in authority to have everything they have taught overridden by acting contrary to their professed conviction?

We need to carefully consider our actions and audit our lives so that we do not lead others astray by way of our piousness.

Have a Blessed and a Beautiful WAR Wednesday!