"Understand this, that in the last days there will come
times of difficulty. For people will be loves of self, lovers of money,
proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
heartless...not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of
godliness, but denying the power. Avoid such people" (2 Tim.
3:1-5,).
Hey
Gang: When was the last time you went to bed on Saturday night with the
excitement of knowing you would be going to the Lord's house in the morning and
rubbing elbows with God's family, getting a transfusion of His words and
singing and rejoicing as you worship the Lord with your whole being?
To
some, who read these morning thoughts, the statement I am about to make may
sound bold and even questionable,” Most Christians are powerless’. Hey,
wait a minute, Did Jesus not say "All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and earth, and I will be with you always even to the end of the age and
that we should go out and make disciples". (Matt.
28:18-19)
Pastor Gary Wilkerson, President of World Crusade Ministries
wrote the following message to his sheep: "Consider what 'normal'
Christianity looks like today in the typical believer. This person is a
bit self-seeking, a little materialistic, somewhat consumerist. Most of
his daily choices are about improving his life. That include his
spiritual pursuits, from the church groups to the podcasts he downloads to the
seminars he attends.
There's nothing wrong with any of these
things. Our Lord wants our lives to be blessed. But for some
Christians these are nothing more than worldly pursuits. They're about
self-improvement, not the Kingdom of God. And they can drain a believer
of true gospel power."
He
went on to say: "To me, what passes
for normal Christianity today must be an outrage to God. It's not only
powerless, it is also passionless, lacking self-sacrifice. In other
words. it is cross-less –and, therefore, Christ-less! Don't
misunderstand: I'm all about God's grace, and I wouldn't lay an undue
burden on anyone. But it's time for the church to take a spiritual
inventory to see whether our "spiritual" pursuits are leading us
closer to God's heart or causing us to run in circles."
I
would humbly suggest that the second option might be more dangerous to your
spiritual health. Why? Jesus declares that to whom much is
given, much is required. For someone whose life doesn't match the
biblical truth he's been taught, Judgment Day will be a little scary.
Many
of us have to make a tough admission- That we want to know God's way and
to hear gospel truth - but we can avoid living it. Sadly, church culture
today encourages this kind of life. It's acceptable to enjoy sermons and
enter into worship - yet go home entirely unchanged.
Sooooo,
Whatever happened to a life of total surrender to Jesus? What happened to
being willing to lay down our lives for the Gospel's sake? Paul said of
his own testimony, "My speech and my message were not in plausible words
of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I Corinthians
2:4).
If
we aren't living a life empowered by God, we can't blame the Lord. It
isn't because His grace lacks power. The problem is with us. Question for
you to ponder Are You A Normal or
Abnormal Christian by World Standards?
Blessings
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