So, this past Saturday , about 30 of us did something most Christians in America will never do...we took the invitation of Jesus out of our front doors and into the neighborhood around us. We weren't being pushy, we weren't banging people over the heads with our Bibles. We were offering a simple invitation to join us on Sunday morning for worship.
Sadly, most Christians in America (and I say this because I don't have any experience being a Christian somewhere else in the world for any length of time) will typically live their entire life without having invited one person to church, at least that's what George Barna said a few years back.
Hopefully that trend will reverse itself, and the Church in America will get off of it's collective couches, turn off their televisions and get out into their communities to share the joy that they know in their hearts through Jesus.
It's high time the Church in America was awakened from it's self-induced slumber and apathy and made an effort to reach out into the world around us... We were told for so long, by the media and then our own trendy leaders, that we shouldn't be pushy...that we shouldn't talk to people for fear of bothering them when it comes to the most important thing in our lives.
And sadly, again, we complied. We decided that, yes it was nicer of us just to live and let live, rather than make someone uncomfortable or put ourselves out there for possible rejection or ridicule.
But, Church, it's high time to disentangle ourselves from the web of complacency and the attitudes of defeatism and fear. We were given a Great Commission to GO, MAKE Disciples, BAPTIZING them &TEACHing them everything Jesus taught and is still teaching us today. It isn't a suggestion. It isn't a request. It is a commission, a mandate and rule to live by...
The sleeping Church in America continues to get a wake up call from the society around it that is screaming for real direction and truth, but it seems we keep on hitting the snooze button and rolling over. When will we finally awake? When will we take those words of hope and liberation form the bondage of sin out into the world that so desperately needs them? When, Church? When?
Time runs thin as each day passes,
our opportunities wane,
people are wandering, lost in darkness,
and we keep the light to ourselves.
When will we rise up,
and share the light
of truth and love
to our waylaid friends,
family and neighbors?
Forgive our silence, Father.
Spirit, give us strength and the words to say,
Jesus, help us to be Your ambassadors to those whose hearts long for healing and restoration that only Your blood can bring.
29"But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30"When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. 31"For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them."
Here we find Moses speaking to the poeple about what will happen to them after they enter the Promised Land. He talks to them about how they will fall away and why and what the results of that failure to follow God will lead to...and it's not cheery. He's letting the know that in no uncertain terms that God s fully aware of what their attitudes are, wht they will become and how their behavior will adversely affect their relationship with Him.
But contrary to their sense of reason, Moses shares what we see here in verses 29-31. That, very simply, if you seek after God with all your heart and soul, that you will find Him. Even after all you have done, after all the false gods you've worshipped and after if it is plainly obvious that the actions of your life deserve punishment, you can still come back to God is your heart is truly chasing after Him.
God isn't asking for a trek to the top of some mountain, or a swim across the ocean or for us to build houses for the poor or for a trip to the deepest parts of the darkest jungle to prove our love first. He says that we must simply come after Him with a sincere heart, desiring to return to Him. If we are striving to listen to His voice, and our heart and mind are in agreement that we want to return to Him, God promises us that He will continue on in HIs compassion with us. He will welcome us back home.
Luke 15:11-32 contains the very familiar parable of the prodigal son. He dismissed his father and family because of his personal pride and greed for money and pleasure. He left it all behind so he could go and make himself happy. But when everything came crashing down, and he realized the mistakes he had made, he decided to swallow his pride and return home, planing to ask if he could just live as a slave or hired hand back at his father's home.
What he didn't expect was that His father would be waiting for him, not brewing in anger, not plotting punishment, but waiting to receieve him back again. The fathers words ring loudly in our ears,
"'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate."
The homecoming was more than the son could expect for or even believe might happen in his wildest dreams. But he had not taken the love of his father into account, and was judging instead on how he would respond if the roles were switched.
Thankfully, we do not have to make the decisions that God does, and that we do not stand in His place.
You will find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart, soul and mind. And you will not find His arms crossed in anger, but open in love waiting to welcome you back home.
If you have any questions about seeking after God, or about the forgiveness He offers us through Jesus, please contact us so we can help you find your way back to Him today.
Taking the time each week for personal Bible study is an absolute must for a follower of Jesus Christ. It is never enough to just come and sit in a seat on Sunday morning, listen to someone else read and never open the Word for yourself. Even sitting in with an ABF or Small Group isn't a substitute for personal quality time with God.
I've heard people say many times that they barely have enough time to attend church on Sunday morning, let alone take time during the week for Bible Study. They are slaves to their schedules, and time rushes away from them at a rapid pace, leaving them high and dry when it comes to their spiritual lives.
But we cannot say this, and leave things as they are. We cannot look at our life, stuffed to the gills with busy-this and busy-that and honestly wonder why God feels distant. We cannot expect God to feel close, unless we make moves toward Him. We cannot keep pushing Him back day after day, expecting Him to understand that our personal agendas weigh more heavily on the scales than our time with Him and his Word. You cannot think for a moment that he will say, "Well, (your name here), I understand that you are busy. Work comes first, right?" or "Keeping on top of the sports schedules, practices and all that must be pretty daunting. Just ignore me for a few months until the season is over, it's okay." Of course not.
If we don't make our time with God a priority in each and every day of our life, then we can never expect anything but a glanced over, shallow relationship to come from it.
What is the solution? What can we do to change things?
#1. Trust me when I say this, if you honor God with your time and talents, He will bless your efforts. That does NOT mean financially, or even physically/materially. Jesus never promised us a life on Easy Street if we followed Him. Quite the opposite, in fact. But in all you do, if you honor God from the heart, God will recognize it.
#2. Take the time to dig into the bible. Seeing that we must spend time with people to get to know them better, it is only reasonable to assume, then, that our relationship with God runs the same way. And, seeing that the Bible is His living and active Word for us today, that we need to meet Him where He speaks to us. In spending time with Him through study, (real legitimate study, not a casual glancing over) and in prayer we can expect that relationship and understanding to flourish and grow by leaps and bounds.
#3. Serve others instead of yourself. Rather than living a shallow, self-seeking existence, spend your resources (time and finances) helping others who may not be able to help themselves. "God helps those who help themselves" is nowhere to be found in Scripture. In fact, that entire line of thought is off-base. Jesus came to serve, not be served. He serves today as our example in how we are to conduct ourselves throughout all aspects of our lives. Not looking to our own interests, but instead to the interests of others.
So, three things. Short, sweet, and simple. Honor God, spend time in His Word and serve others. You have to make the time to take the time. It sounds trite, but it's true. If you don't make time for God, you can't expect to magically know Him better or understand what life is all about.
We'd love to help you get your life on track to Connecting with Jesus, Committing to service each week and Communicating with others about what He has done in your life.
Just shoot us an e-mail, make a phone call or drop by and we'd love to talk with you sometime soon!