Many of us who live in the Western world have become very
complacent in our Christianity and walk with Christ. We live in a world with numerous
distractions, which over the years have invaded our private time with the Lord.
We think 15 minutes in the morning using a devotional guide or watching a
couple of Christian programs on TV or the internet are enough, apart from a
weekly church service.
Well, we have been deceived and a bit on the lazy side
and now we are frightened by what’s coming into play.
Last week I saw something on the internet and Facebook about
county officials in a particular state wanting to read over Pastors sermons before
hand to see if they are using what they deem as “hate speech” against gays or homosexuality. Reactions in the
Christian community ranged from outrage to “This is scary!”
On the bright side, this seems like a great opportunity to
get back into having the Word deep inside of us. I have never seen anywhere in
the Bible that says sermons must be written down? We are instructed to study
the Word and rely on the Holy Spirit to bring it back to our remembrance, so
there really shouldn’t be a problem. It might also mean, no more taped sermons,
but I remember those days and people in third world and Muslim countries don’t
have that luxury anyhow, yet it has not stopped them from learning what the
Bible has to say. Truth is…no one can snatch the Word of God from our hearts.
I have heard some preachers and TV evangelist speak on
homosexuality where it does sound more like hate speech than anything else.
They are screaming and shouting—but I don’t see that so much in reference to
all the other sins out there. It does seem as if we pick and choose what sins
we think are greater than others. But God has deemed sin as sin—period! So, I
can see where in some cases we have brought this on ourselves and why many do
not want to receive Christ, because we are not proclaiming and preaching the
Kingdom of God as we have been commanded.
Here’s an example for you…Preachers all over have been
denouncing homosexuality (even the more since many states in the US are making
same sex marriages legal), and now we have this huge scandal about a pastor who
is HIV positive, knew he was and yet was sleeping around with women in the
congregation. And because he refuses to step down and leave the church, they
are now in a world’s court system. Are you kidding me! First off, folks knew
what he was doing (they just didn’t know he was HIV positive), and their excuse
was that they were praying for him. Well, the Bible tells us what should have
happened and how things should have been handled, but they chose not to do it
God’s way. Second, why are we depending on the world’s judicial systems to work
this out? All the people have to do is get up and leave that congregation! How
long would it stand with no one there? How long would they be able to pay their
bills? But here is the real kicker—the world is watching this public display!
We can’t expect the lost to want our Jesus when we are so
messy in the handling of His business.
Another Facebook post revealed that leaders in a Midwestern
state are trying to pass a law to arrest ministers who refuse to perform same
sex marriages. Well! Get ready to go to jail—it really is that simple. Yet,
some of the responses on the post were, “Scary!” Why scary? We should have seen
this coming.
Our enemy is a master at distraction, and we have been so
distracted by Obama as President, our government politics and same sex
marriages, that we have missed a whole slew of things we should have been
paying attention too.
If we spent more time praying for the President of the
United States and all other leaders who have rule over us (as we are commanded
to do) we would not be wasting precious time and distracted by the negative.
We judge the homosexuality in the world; yet it is still
rampant in our congregations and the lives of those who are standing in the
pulpits. They are the ones we should be talking too.
The distractions of this world have slowly but consistently
stolen the Word of God from us. But we have no one to blame but ourselves. We have been so busy with things that are of
no benefit, and have been remised in praying the way we should or reading,
studying and meditating on the Word as we have been instructed. And most of
all—we have not been watching.
God’s instructions to Joshua were, “Keep this Book of the
Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may
be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8
Meditate,
(v) to think quietly, engage in deep and serious though, and reflect.
Some may shy away from the word, “meditate” because it is
used so much in new age stuff, and cults—but it is God’s word and instruction
to us. We need to read our bibles and keep thinking about what it says until it
is written in our hearts and we are prone to do exactly what it says, and we ‘Fear
not’!
Question…“If the day were to come and all Bibles were
confiscated in the Western World and burned, would you have enough of it in
your heart to continue on?” Do you spend time each week discussing the Bible
with other Believers? Would you be able to share with the lost what is written in
the Bible if you no longer had one to read from? If you answered, “No!” to
anyone of these questions then you are not prepared.
Sisters, make sure you're ready?
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