"Alienated"

"I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children." (Psalms 69:8) Being honest about yourself can sometimes make you seem out of place; but isn't that what we are anyways? In the world, but not of the world; pilgrims in a land that is not our own. We have been here before; and no matter how many times we get here, it never gets any easier; there is no easy way to follow the Lord, no matter what the experts might try to tell you. So I heard something interesting the other day, but I really don't know how to prove that it was accurate or not; but the point was, that Paul had to have once been married because he was from the order of the Sanhedrin, which to be of that order one had to be married; but as he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7:8, he was not married. Does this mean that he was divorced? or maybe a widower? Maybe his wife left him when he gave his life to the Lord and stepped down from being a Jewish leader. It is really not that easy to follow Jesus, because you really do need to make hard choices; and I am sure that for most people that might have been in Paul's place, giving up a position that you have worked for your whole life, was a choice that many would not have made so easily. But, Paul was not like many people; Paul was like one in a hundred, or maybe more like one in a thousand, or ten thousand or more. Not every one can do what Paul did; not everyone can just leave it all behind and surrender all for the sake of the cross of Christ. Just because someone is in ministry, does not mean that they have forsaken all else for Christ; there are many people who are in ministry as a job, and nothing else; it is just the way that they make a living, not a way that they live their life. That said, all those that are in ministry need to be prayed for, especially those that are in leadership and those that are pastors. Sometimes there is no one that feels more alienated in his own church than the Senior Pastor. We must pray for our pastors and continually left them up in prayer; because for those that are in it for the ministry of the Gospel, it is hard! It is hard to present the truth, because most people do not want to hear the truth; and most pastors, nowadays, do not want to speak the truth for fear of alienating people in their body...
"Don't trust anyone - not your best friend or even your wife! For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household! As for me, I look to the LORD for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. I will be patient as the LORD punishes me, for I have sinned against Him. But after that, He will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The LORD will bring me into the light, and I will see His righteousness." (Micah 7:5-9) NLT