Are you talking to me?!

I spend a lot of time looking at the world, watching the news and wondering about how it can be that we are so quickly sliding into depravity. The world is sinful and wicked. There have been periods throughout history where society has seemed to loose all of its moral fiber. There are numerous examples of God's wrath poured out on the Hebrew people for their disobedience. So what is the problem with those wretched people in the world who are too thick headed to know when God says to be obedient he means it? And when they are not obedient, He loves them too much to not punish them.

Romans 6:12, Therefore do not let sin reign in you mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (NKJV) That is crystal clear, don't ya think? The big glaring problem here is that YOU is ME! We have become a generation of Christians who leave church on Sunday/Wednesday thinking to ourselves " Boy, I hope Patty was paying attention this morning," or "what is this world coming to, "I don't know how Charlie sleeps at night, his wife must know he's messing around," those people need Jesus." We are these people and the degradation of society rests squarely on the shoulders of the body of Christ.

Let me be clear. God does not expect people who do not know Him to live godly lives.  His audience in the 6th chapter of Romans are the Children of God who were both Jews and Gentiles and had been baptized into the faith of followers of Christ. That's right, He is not talking to "those people," He is talking to us.  ^"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4 (NKJV)

Call it whatever you want, society, humanity, culture, civilization is not the problem. Apathetic, impassive Christians are the problem. When God addresses the issue of sinful lives He is talking to His children. "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"  Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV)

The result of living a life which is "holy and without blame" we will change the world. As the body of Christ and as individuals, our power is our position in Christ which changes lives and purifies hearts. But we cannot be an impact by holding hands with the world as lukewarm Christians. We must be wholly devoted to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. So yes, He most definitely talking to me.

What does our love look like?

I am studying Malachi right now with some dear sisters. (There will be more about him in later posts) I was relatively unfamiliar with that book and am learning that it is a wealth of information of how to draw closer to Christ. It helps bring into focus where our relationship with Him really stands. Let's look at it like this. Have you ever had a friend and thought you were really close then through a series of occurrences come to the realization that person doesn't care about you as much as you thought. Maybe they posted pictures of themselves with other mutual friends at a fun ladies night out and you weren't invited. Or maybe you find out about a major event in her life like a wedding or pregnancy from someone else. How do we really know how others feel about us? And more importantly how do we determine how much we care about Christ.

I had a dear friend tell me recently that at one point during her Christian walk she came to realize that she did not love God. She shared with me the shock she experienced when she realized that. Her faith is deep and I often talk to her when wrestling with deep spiritual topics I have a hard time resolving in my head. She often gives wonderful perspective and I see things better and many times we just wonder together.

How can a Christian not love God? We have accepted Him as our Savior and know the sacrifice He made for us. Surely this would be a rare occurrence, right?  Those words kept rolling around in my head over and over again. Then I realized not only is it not rare but the typical state of the heart of today's Christian. Just like the evidence we use to determine how solid our relationships are with our friends or loved ones, we can do a similar inventory of how much we love God or not. We are all familiar with the verse when Pharisees asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:36-37 (NKJV) What does that really mean!?!?

My friends, hear me say, with anyone we love there will be evidence of that love. We think about that person, we want to spend time with them, learn about them, do for them, make sacrifices for them. I challenge you to take inventory of your life with Christ and evidence of your love for Him. I have been doing the same and was not pleased with what I found. I spent too much time on Facebook, Pinterest, and watching TV, and to much energy on hobbies, among many other things I am still working through.

Do we love Christ, and if we do, is it with all our hearts, and all our souls, and all our minds? What are we sacrificing for Him? Do we have a desire to read His word, spend lengthy amounts of time talking to Him and listening to what He has to say? Are we eagerly looking for opportunities to carve out blocks of time to spend with Him? Our lives should be consumed with thoughts of Him even when we are being productive at work, or school, or caring for a sick loved one.

Ponder the possibility that maybe you don't love God, and as uncomfortable as that my be to face and as prickly it is to deal with it doesn't have to stay that way, AND passing through that door will bring you to a place that is much closer to Christ.


  

We have neuropathy

I have been thinking about the state of the God's church and the apathy that has consumed His children. It is apparent the children of God are sleeping and at such a crucial time in our world. We are sitting quietly by while Christians all over the world are being persecuted and killed, ignoring the instructions given in Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

We are one body all a part of each other. We each have a task and if working properly there should be pain when our fellow believers are bruised, burned, or severed from that body. We are suffering from severe neuropathy. Romans 12:15 "so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."

Our children, here in the state of Tennessee, will be studying Islam for 7 weeks as part of their Social Studies curriculum in the sixth grade. This has been determined by the state school board. I am burdened for all the kids in the state of Tennessee. Even though my kids are schooled at home that does not change the fact that the fabric of our country is unraveling.  We can not pray, read the Bible, or have formal teaching of Christianity in public schools but other religions are tolerated. God instructed His people more than once to rid themselves of all references to false Gods and false religions in sometimes what seem to be harsh means. This was because He knew that if there was any corruption in there presence they would be tempted to be led away, and they were, over and over again.

The children of God have sat by and allowed these changes as well as joined in. You may think, What can we do to change it? First, we must become awake and alert. Listen for the call of the shofar to assemble as one body. Then, from the head of that one mighty body with one voice turn and come away from this world and it's ways. Our tarrying here is toxic. These are the types of small compromises with the world that have caused the extreme neuropathy. We are living and fraternizing with the enemy by not condemning him.

So, what do we do now?

I am so glad you have joined me on this journey. To tell you the truth it is quite intimidating. As I have wondered where to begin since I have so much to share I keep coming back to the heart. As Christians we have gone to sleep on the watch. We are wanting and pleading with God to please come and save this broken society as it is crumbling around us. We pray and ask God for His intervention and yet He often remains eerily silent. Why!?! Have we ever needed Him more than now? The answer lies in the hearts of His children. We are asleep, spiritually. We go to church (most of us) listen to the sermons, pray for our country, our families, the church, and the world that is torturing and killing innocent people for sport on television.

Then we go home. . .

Then what?

We fill our lives with necessary things like work, school, caring for ailing family members, and on and on.
We fill our minds with reality TV, the latest blow up in our family, the worries of the day, the stress of getting it all in, and wondering how our kids are measuring up in school, sports, social life, or their level happiness.

God's word is very clear on how to abide in Him, have Him hear and answer our prayers,  be the most effective in touching the lives of those around us in an eternal way, and have true peace in our hearts.

We must live our lives in every way in submission to Him. He bought us with a price that is higher than we could ever comprehend and our lives do not belong to us anymore. Our thoughts must continually be on Him and honoring Him.  His word says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded." James 4:8 (NKJV) That is a promise my friend!

My daughter Sarah Grace, 12, just last night drove this point home to me. We were trying to decide what to watch on television and when we considered watching a moderately violent action movie with minimal profanity she got up to leave the room. I wanted our family to be together so I asked where she was going. She humbly said, "Mom, I don't think God wants those images in my head."  Enough said.

If only we could be more diligent in guarding our minds and concentrate on pleasing God in everything we do, He promises us that He will draw near to us.