Is It Well With Your Soul?

I woke up thinking about a very popular  Christian hymn a few days ago and it has caused me to reflect on areas in my own life and to ask myself the topic of this message. ‘Is it well with my soul?’

 

The first stanza of this hymn is as follows:

 

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Trials and tests are going to come in all of our lives. It is a given that not everything is going to work out the way we hoped or planned. There will be bumps in the road. There will be winds blowing trees down in our yard. There will be circumstances that will get all out of control and will leave us wondering, ‘how can this happen?’ The lightning will crash around us, the rain and hail will pound at our dwelling place; it is a fact, there will be storms.

 

But most of what happens is just wind and noise. It is not meant for our destruction but rather for changing the atmosphere.

 

We can attempt to protect every part of our lives but we cannot control the storms or when they take place. It is simply a part of this journey through life.

 

How Do You See The Battle?

 

The giant had come to terrorize the Children of the Most High.  He led the Philistines against the Israelites  with the intent of causing as much fear and carnage as he could.  And he was succeeding. Not because he had a better army or he was so big that he could not be beaten but because of the fear that gripped the minds of the Israelite army. Even their own leader who was said to stand head and shoulders about everyone else,  was afraid to stand up to the giant.

 

He was too big. He would take everything. He would play games with us and feed us to the dogs. It was too big of  a battle, so instead of taking on the giant, they cowered in fear. The battle was just too big.

 

But then a little shepherd boy enters the scene. He has already fought some other adversaries and won a few battles. When he was out there tending to the sheep, he faced off with a lion and a bear to keep the sheep safe. He knew that most enemies were only as big as their bark. And when he came to visit his brothers in the Israelite camp, he could not comprehend what kind of battle could make the mighty army hide in fear. Instead of running away with them, or hiding because of the situation, he decided it was worth taking on the battle.

 

He grabbed a few rocks, picked up a slingshot, and went to do battle against the giant. He knew that he could succeed because he was not controlled by his circumstance. We all know the story.  He spoke to his battle, aimed a stone, and took out the giant. When the rest of the crowd saw what happened they all of  a sudden became emboldened to fight off the rest of the enemy. The enemy never even knew what hit them. And the battle was won. The difference was not that the battle became easier, but that they saw it through a new vision.

 

 

Who Is In Charge?

 

A lot of people will just go with the flow. Nothing seems to bother them. It looks like they are the smartest ones, because regardless of what happens, they seem unfazed.  Wherever the river takes them is where they are going to end up. Some people will hesitate to step into the water at all because the idea of the waves and the rocks, and the corners seem to be out of control. It is scary and too big of a task to take on. And then there are those who pick up a paddle, chart a direction, and despite the rapids, the rocks, the water coming over the bow, they determine where they are headed.

 

We have a choice. We can either let circumstance dictate how life goes for us and react when we face situations, or we can take charge and be determined and let our lives control the way we react to the battle.  It is not that some have bigger battles, or that others are so much stronger but rather the way we react and the way we adjust to the things that life throws at us.

 

Sure it is easy to go with the flow, but you always have to adapt to where life and circumstance takes you. You can keep from making the hard decisions because it just seems too hard, or you can figure out what you want and plot a course to get you there.  Why settle for something less than what you want, when a little patience and you will get what you desired. 

 

I had a situation like that myself this week. I have been wanting a new couch. I checked sources online and locally. I knew what I wanted.  And then I went into a local store and a big sale sign caught my eye. I checked out the couch that was on sale even though it wasn’t totally what I had in mind.  The salesperson measured it for me, told me they could make me a good deal. I thought about it, walked away, but then came back later that day to get it. I thought  I had found  something I could live with. It wasn’t what I wanted but it was good enough. It had potential.

 

However, when it was delivered and set up, it was too big for the room. I could not maneuver around it. I couldn’t figure out a way to move my other furniture around to make it work.  I had paid cash, so I was stuck with something that didn’t fit my needs, and if I had only waited a few more days, I might have found exactly what was right for me. I let my impatience, and desire for something to fill the void sway me.

 

 

Possibilities, Turns, and Destination

 

If we are afraid to trust it becomes impossible for us to reach our goal.  If we just go along with whatever life throws at us we will come to a destination, but its not likely to be where we expected or wanted.  We need to plan what we want to happen and move toward that goal to end up where we want. We will for sure have twists and turns along the way. We may get knocked down and the waves may crash over us, but we will get there. It will happen. We just have to trust that it is all going to be okay.

 

That is what faith is all about.

 

We cannot let circumstance or trials and test control us. Sure we cannot plan for everything that will come along but we can be prepared to accept what we cannot change and stand  firm in our goal until we reach it. If God has promised, it will come to pass.  He will not hold back  the blessings He has promised. But there are moments we have to shield ourselves or use our own abilities to control the direction we are headed in. Yes, God is in control but he still gives us free will in what we choose to do. ‘He is faithful that has promised.’ Hebrews 10:23

 

But we have to remember if what we want does not seem to be happening when we want, we will have another chance.

In life we get many chances to chart a new course, change direction, and be restored if we have been knocked off our course. Get back up; dust yourself off; try again.  However, when it comes to our soul we only get one chance.

 

 

Is It Well With Your Soul?

 

The bible says, ‘behold I come quickly and my reward is with me.’  While our lives can have many ups and downs and change directions many times, our soul has only one opportunity to reach its destination. There are other final destinations it can reach but wherever it ends up, it stays. There is no other chance to change course. So I ask again, ‘Is it well with your soul?’

 

If you take a look at your life and the things that you hold dear; if you recall the way you have treated others; or those moments in life where we all do not make the right choices or say the right thing; the people we have hurt either intentionally or unintended and never even so much as said sorry? Is it well with your soul?

 

Maybe there are areas in our life we wish we could have a do over, or a mulligan and we have failed to take a moment to talk to those who might have been hurt by our insensitivity  or at least repent. Have we done what we should.  Now I realize not all of us ‘sin’ the big sins, but the one that is most overlooked is self righteousness.  It seems we gloss over the neglecting of the elderly and the infirm, the poor and the lost. We all have areas in our lives where we can do better, change course before it is too late. Make it well with your soul. One chance is all we get.

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Generation: LOST

My heart has been troubled to the point of not sleeping well the last few weeks.  I suppose, one could attribute it to the headlines in the media regarding the coming election,  or perhaps to the stories of missing children who we later hear have been brutally murdered. And yes, that does trouble me.

However, for me, the haunting images that are keeping me awake at night have more to do with the lack of respect for God’s word. It seems as though many have decided that the principles that we were taught to adhere to, and the scriptures that set us toward our eternal destiny only matter if we choose it to.

It seems as if the fear of God is gone and that it was only words our parents and those who have gone before lived by.  In society and in our churches there is a growing lack of concern about the direction those coming behind us are heading. And it just might be too late.

Now, I realize I cannot speak for the church you attend or the places you minister, but nevertheless I am certain the principles I see unraveling in front of my eyes, I am sure you are noticing as well.

Blinded Eyes?

For quite a while now I have burdened with what I have seen in social media. Nearly everyone we know in our personal lives is on Facebook, and we all know people who are on the site several hours per day.  And for many the images and postings tell quite a story.

It amazes me that many of those I went to Bible School with are either no longer living for God, or have ascribed to some watered down version of what Christianity is all about, to say nothing about being Apostolic.  Oh sure, most of them still quote scripture, they still profess their love for God, but when our eyes are privy to some of the words they write, and see photos of the places they go and the way they act, there is something missing there.

Am I judging? I don’t mean to be, but maybe I am. However, I am the first to admit my life is not perfect, but I find myself wondering what happened in their lives to change them as a person?  Was there some huge even that came into their lives and knocked them off the track?

Many of these are people I grew up with; those who were in the altars at church camp, those who even the very idea of activities they partake in now were considered abhorrent and yet somehow all of that hunger for God we once knew seems to have slipped out somehow.

Now I realize some may think some of what we learned when we were younger was too dogmatic,  too harsh, perhaps not even necessary in living for God. But, it kept most of us going to church, doing the right thing when temptations would come, and most importantly, loving and serving God. It couldn’t have been all bad, right?

The Bible says to ‘train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ Not my words, that is scripture and it does more than just affect you and me. Can our kids even quote a memory verse anymore?

From the beginning of time, mothers taught their children the principles of loving and serving God.  Moses is a great example of how because of what he was taught when he was young, when he was older, he was able to continue in his faith and even lead his people toward the promise land. I am sure Joseph’s early childhood teaching  kept him from giving in to temptation, fear, and hatred, even when he had been treated unjustly by his own flesh and blood.

But what about our kids? What did we teach them? Or what are we teaching them now?

Seared Minds?

Just this past week there was a study that came out that stated most of the divorces in America come from those who call themselves Christian and conservative. In fact they said  in ‘Christian’ marriages, two out of five with end in divorce, and also that there are multiple marriages among Christian believers.

Their reasoning behind it was because we are taught not to be involved in sexual encounters outside of marriage and so they claim that many are unprepared when they enter into their first marriage young, rather than disregard their belief system.  Now, to some extent that is good that some are not wanting to go against their beliefs, but to get married essentially just to be legal at being sexually active is no way to start a marriage. And whatever happened to the vows we took to love, honor, and cherish in sickness and in health? Are those just archaic words that don’t mean anything? Whatever happened to working on our marriages?

Now please understand me, I am not attacking those who end up in divorce. But, it seems the way the world is going, so should the church. Lets just take the easy way out.

The divorce rate is not what is bothering me but what are we teaching our children? It has become what are we getting out of this?

In our lives we have become about who has the biggest house, who has the most toys, who lives the best life, even who loves God more. We are consumed with ourselves instead of hungering after God.  Whatever happened to convictions?

Our worship is just enough to get by; our church attendance is only if it doesn’t affect our fishing trip; or perhaps if we don’t have to get home in time to see the ‘reality’ of Honey Boo Boo, hoarders, and the messed up lives of those on television.

It Is Just Too Hard

It may have seemed when we were growing up that our parents didn’t understand or perhaps they were too hard on us. Every generation believes that.  There were times when our parents, and even teachers, said no, and didn’t let us do some things that they knew were bad for us.

Our families had dinner together, some of us even had a family altar, and we even played games and spent time just  being a family.

We wanted to hang out with our friends, to go to a party, even to stay up a little bit later; they were so mean to us. And for some of us the idea of being ‘forced’ to go to church, yes you know that is what you thought at times’ was just a violation of our rights, and we swore we would be better parents.

Yet, most of us who lived that lifestyle are not in prison, we haven’t killed someone driving drunk, we don’t live a life of poverty brought on by drugs and alcohol. We still go to church even if our kids don’t go with us.

Comfort and convenience is what drives our lives.  Hungry? Instead of taking time to make a dinner for our family to sit down, we rush out to grab a couple of hamburgers on their way to somewhere else.

That new iPhone comes out and instead of paying the money on our past due bills, we stand in line for hours, maybe even days to be the first to have the new and ‘best’ toy.

Everything needs to be in a hurry. Kids grow up not knowing how to cook anything that isn’t in the microwave because that is the way their parents lives have become as well. If we see some clothing outfit we want, or want to go see the newest blockbuster, we will break out the credit card to pay for it, because right now we don’t have the money but it is so important for us to possess.

Our lives are driven by the newest thing, the best sports game, where we will shout until we cannot speak, but when it comes time to have a family altar, or even time to sit down with our kids and help them with homework, we are just too busy and do not have time for that.

And Yet We Wonder?

I am troubled because I have seen some kids, who from birth drooled and slept on church pews, who no longer serve God at all, even though their parents still attend the local shouting church, and they have walked away from what they are taught, and it has become cool to have a baby or two and not be married.

I was talking with someone recently, and they asked me what has happened that when a young apostolic couple begin to date, one or both of them think it is okay to be sexually active, while dating?  To them its just another part of trying to find the right one. But then they will come to church, sit on the pews, sing in the choir, maybe even teach Sunday School, and then everyone is shocked that she is pregnant and he is dating someone else, and she is shunned by those around her?

But it is more than just about losing some of our convictions. It is more than just about what the parents teach their kids away from the church.

Generation: LOST

We can rationalize our actions, maybe even our services as we turn a blinded eye to what is happening. And maybe, for most of us, we will still make heaven, and do not do anything that can be construed as sin.  I wonder when we walk through the doors of the sanctuary, whether in our churches or in our personal prayer lives if we have a format we adhere to, or do we come hungry and lose ourselves for a while in the presence of our Creator? 

Do we find time to really worship and not be concerned with what our neighbor is doing, or are we busy making sure that our kids are minding, or noticing the one who comes in late and the new outfit they are wearing.

Or maybe it has just become about preserving our dignity in front of our friends? But what are we teaching those who come after us? I have friends and relatives who profess to love and serve God, but I see the direction their kids lives have taken and I wonder how did it get so far off track?

Sure, we are all responsible for our own salvation, but we must admit that some of the responsibility must fall to the parents, pastors, and others who went before. We might even still invite friends or people we work with to church, but what about the next generation? What about our own kids?

So What Comes Next?

There was a time when pray in schools was just as common as the Pledge of Allegiance, and even that is disappearing. Our own president doesn’t think it necessary to put his hand over his heart when everyone around him is and someone is reciting the pledge or singing ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’  It has been said that our children will pick up our bad habits and bring in some of their own as they become adults. What will they pass down to their children?

Our country is changing rapidly and regardless of your political persuasion, not for good.  Most people live their lives wanting their own way and if they don’t get it, they will do what they can to change everyone’s rights to make sure it happens. Gas prices are  too high and soon going to be out of reach, jobs are scarce, and more people are becoming dependent on someone else giving them a handout.

Our schools teach principles that are opposed to the word of God, and when someone comes along to offer possible solutions, he is called a liar and trying to take away their liberties. And I realize some are active and will get angry when they remove the Ten Commandments from in front of a court house, or try to take Christ out of Christmas, but we don’t have a time to get together with our families unless it is in front of a television? 

What happens when we are gone? What if our kids suddenly had to live in a situation like Joseph, or perhaps Daniel and the Three Hebrew Children? Would they be serving God or bowing down to the gods of this world? Or are they already there? Can you say with assurance that you know if something happened to your children, they would make heaven their home? Or how about your grandchildren?

What are we doing to prepare them for the coming trials and tests of life? Or do we even still tell them about the goodness of God and His mercies? Or do we just accept them as they are because we don’t want to chase them away and accept that they will be Generation: LOST?

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Consider the Source!

I find it amazing some times the comments and thoughts that get back to me based on something that was said by myself, or at times even when I have said nothing at all. How twisted some thoughts become when it does not fit into our own ideas about what a person is saying. At times their own paranoia, for lack of a better word, will drive a person to do or say things that at times will literally shock us. Usually it exudes from insecurities in our own lacking that will make us say something about others. Whether or not what is said or not does not really matter if it is not ours to share then we should keep it to ourselves.

"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:15-17"

Now some would say what was wrong with what this lady said? Nothing. What she had to say was entirely truthful. However, this lady was known for spreading rumors, talking to spirits, backbiting, and in general she was a troubled spirit. She had said so many things that her following the ministry around caused doubt, simply because she had a habit of spreading it thick. It would have been the same in our day as talking to the pyschic hotline.

Most of us have enough common sense to realize that 'psychics' on 900 numbers are for entertainment purposes only, but some get so caught up in 'psychic babbling', horoscopes, or what so and so says, that we would believe anything that proceeds out of their mouth. John 8:44 says, "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." This is talking about Satan, but in fact almost all lies have a grain of truth in them, and at times we overlook or excuse the lie for reasons of our own choosing. Excuses can work the same way.

Years ago, my former pastors wife used to say something like, "an excuse is just the skin of the truth wrapped around a lie from the devil." And she was exactly right. However many times the reason we buy into what is said is because of the individual who said it. We have a common bond with this person and so we automatically assume that because we know them, it must be truth. Unfortunately, all of us from time to time tend to elaborate or embellish and what may have been true, no longer is.

And then there are those who are so hungry for a juicy morsel, that they will believe anything anyone says, and the other side of that issue is that there are some well meaning who are so afraid of controversy that they tell everyone what they think they need to hear. I think in some respects it is to make themselves look good, but generally it is because 'I didn't want you to feel bad.'

One of the biggest issues that drives others away from God is the rumors or accusations they hear from people in the church they attend. It doesn't even matter if what is said is truth or not, people get hurt by it. I was talking with someone just a few days ago who was consoling a wounded soul because another individual was telling her husband that the pastor said not to talk to his wife anymore because they are trouble. First off, the pastor would not have said something like that and expected it to be spread to the husband of the woman who it was supposedly about. Yet, the very source of the comment, who if there was any trouble it was from her, went so far as to tell anothers mate the gossip. Seriously? I have heard people say when this one or that one no longer comes back to church that 'they must not have loved God like I do.' It is incredibly sad when we think it is ok to make judgements on others lives based on what we think our spiritually level is. 99% of the time we are wrong.

Now I realize not everyone spreads gossip. Not everyone is a talebearer. But how often do you hear something about a person and wonder if it is true? Or even if you do not think it is true, you still have doubts in your mind, and it colors your impression of that person. It can directly affect that persons life, and it most certainly will have an effect on that persons ability to grow. Words hurt; even true words hurt. And most usually the hurt extends further than we could even imagine.

What is said may affect many people for eternity. So why do we listen to what is said about others? Aren't we just as guilty for listening as those who spread rumors? Doesn't the bible say 'believe a lie and be damned?' And yet, we base our belief based on relationship with the person without 'trying the spirit' when what we should be doing is stopping the conversation because if it involves anything that may injure or otherwise change our perception of a person then it is wrong. It may cost a soul. More than likely it will cost more than one, and how will it affect you personally?

Mark Twain said, "He gossips habitually; he lacks the common wisdom to keep still that deadly enemy of man, his own tongue.” And sadly, as Will Rogers said, "the only time people dislike gossip, is when the gossip is about them." Gossip is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, but we should always consider the source.

Something to think about, The Beatles rock band George Harrison said, "Gossip is the Devil's radio." So where are you getting your news?

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Do They Know I Am One Of Those?

While browsing the internet today, I came across a story on CNN about people who wear their faith on their sleeve. You can read it here for yourself.

It got me to thinking about my own life, and the lives of those around me.

There was a time when you could go the grocery store and pick out the Pentecostals or Apostolics. Not just because you saw them in church, but everyone knew who they were. We acted different, talked different, would walk away if someone started to tell a dirty joke. Our hair was different. People knew we didn't watch television or movies, and even though they thought we were wierd, they treated us with respect.

Even if we were not over the top witnessing, those around us knew what we believed, and had either visited themselves, or knew someone who did. They had heard the stories of how we did crazy stuff, shouted in church instead of sit there solomnly, and while it was scary it was a bit intriguing. We had them curious.

In church recently, I overheard a couple of pew-raised youth talking about the "awesome special effects" in the movie they just saw. When I go around town, I don't even always recognize those from my own church, because they don't look the same.

I have been told its the change in generation, but we have blended in with the crowd. We don't look different, except at church. I hope we still talk different, but I have my doubts. Our conversation should still be holy, but with television in most of our homes, video rentals (it doesn't appear so much like we are part of the world that way), how can everything that proceeds out of our mouth be something Jesus might say? It used to be popular to wear those WWJD bracelets, but now .. if it doesn't have some garish logo or something that looks grunge, our youth won't wear a shirt that says anything about Christ.

Our older generation for the most part seem complacent with things being as they are, because after all, 'we are praying about it.' Everybody prays, no one does anything.

I have a young friend who is a charismatic preachers daughter. You know the ones. They don't act like we do, they can't possibly have the same holy ghost, and well.. you know. Last fall, she was beaten and nearly raped by the son of preacher. She was missing for two days, and we worried she was dead somewhere. She walked home barefoot, with torn clothing, all battered and bruised, and no one stopped to help her. She walked more than 15 miles like that, and tried to rest on the street when she was too tired.

I talked to her and her sister the other day, and she has forgiven the guy who did it. Not only that, she became friends with him. My first reaction was how could you? Are you crazy? You know he has been abusive to you. But she told me, "that yes he grew up on a pew, but he doesn't know the Jesus I know. Maybe somehow, I can lead him to the truth."

Part of me thinks she is playing with fire, but part of me is ashamed of myself. I am not like that. When I hear what she went through, even I want to get a bat and send the guy straight to hell. But she has completely forgiven him. In her voice, you can hear she is christian. I wonder if my voice says the same thing?

But, I keep thinking to myself, do we still live the life we used to be laughed at for, or have we mutated into something that still looks the part, but only when its convenient. Do they still know we are different?

Just yesterday, someone who I had a lot of trust in, told me about things that have happened at National Youth Congress, and he was bragging about it. I am still in shock about it today. I honestly don't know if I would allow my daughter to go because of what he said to me.

The bible says "by their fruit, ye shall know them." On the CNN article, those men are abused, laughed at, criticized for their faith. Yes, they don't know God like we do, but can we still say the same about us? The bible also says we 'are a peculiar people.' Are we still?

Do they still know we are the ones to run to in a time of misery? Do they see Jesus in us? Are we still the shelter, the hospital, the cleansing station?

I haven't heard the songs that used to bellow out from our pews in years, about the blood, the cross, the sanctity of our worship. The other nite at the end of service, people were in the altar, and I felt the old standby song we used to sing, "Here I am Lord, Here I am." It used to be a call to worship and pour ourselves out before the Lord, but instead it was replaced with something with a beat, and no real submissive spirit to it. The worship lingered for a bit and was gone, and then off to the local eatery.

I feel sad tonight. When I look at the chaos the world, the financial ruin we are headed for, it truly feels like the end to me. We hear the stories of this one or that one takign their lives or the lives of their family, because they don't know how they are going to support them. Our government is taking over everything it seems, and those in real need are left without.
When it gets really bad, who will America's hurting turn to? Who are our children going to turn to? Will they even be able to tell there are some of us who still believe it like we used to? Will they be able to see the Christians who truly wear Jesus on their countenance?

I need to do better and let Jesus be on my sleeve.

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Is This It?

Many nights lately I have woken up in the middle of a fitful sleep with a burden and a lot of questions.


We see changes in the weather that are unprecedented with destruction and grief. Just this morning there was a huge earthquaking shaking Japan; last week a torndao slammed a direct hit on a boy scout camp in Iowa, to say nothing of the rampant water, rain and destruction as homes are swept away in the seemingly unending storms. I cannot recall in my short life when there has been so many wild storms that appear out of nowhere and leave many homeless, tired, and broken in their wake.


In the past few weeks, the courts have approve of gay marriage, shut down the trials of some of those responsible for the devestation on 9/11, and one judge was removed from a case because it was found the evidence in the case he was administering was on his own personal website and it dealt with child pornography. Crazy people shooting up schools, a bottling plant was the last place two women spent time yesterday and last week two little girls out for a walk were gunned down by an unknown assailant.


We have a well known celebrity who has decided she is 'her own personal god' and she has a force life around her drawing the masses into her delusions. She is backing the first african american president our country has seen whose theme has become change is coming, and he has so many skeletons in his closet it seems a new one falls out every day. There is a lack of concern and respect for each other that is unseen in our lives.


My soul is stirred and broken over the mess we have gotten ourselves into, and it appears there is no hope for America, our world, or even our very souls. Someone mentioned the other day that there is a suicide every 15 seconds somewhere; souls going to a devil's hell without the answers they needed.


At times, I wonder where are the preachers, prophets, and those who have been given the keys to winning the battles of life. I stop and look in the mirror because how can I cast stones when I sit idly by as the crushing blows of sin takes its toll and another soul is destined for hell.


Gone are the days when men and women would labor in the altar for souls long after the last amen and people were walking out the doors of our sanctuaries. We talk about soul winning, we raise funds for missions, but in the end we sit on the pew through a few songs, jot down a note or two, maybe clap or even raise our hands and shout with the preacher and walk out into the world dying around us oblivious to the loss and pain others are feeling.


Our songs have become about the beat and the repeated phrases written by many who have yet to know God, and we wonder in our own minds if the 'truth' we have preached for so many years is really that important because the church down the block is filled to capacity and they are building a cathedral to dishonesty and delusions rather than stop people in their tracks with what the Bible really says.


We have become a social place to gather together on Sunday Morning and feel passified in our self righteousness and portions of praise all the while saints, youth, and children on the pews who really need to get the message are going to hell on the pews. Our ministers don't preach the heart-wrenching soul shaking messages that they used to. They preach a sermon they found online or in a book and feel like they have done their duty. It is about grace and mercy and how God can forgive, and he does, but is that enough to make us ready for heaven? I miss the cross and the shame and reproach my master bore for my own personal sins.


I know the messages have to burn with inside us; they do in me, but they don't seem to make it from our hearts to our mouths and we wait on someone else to be stirred with desire for the lost so we don't feel guilty about our dwindling attendance. It isn't really our fault people have little love for the message anymore is it?


Do we even remember? The power packed sermons where saints and sinners alike ran from their pews to the altar shaking under the anointed word of God; the lady in the corner wailing in intercession; those slain in the spirit strewn across the floor of the church, lost in his spirit. And when we left and went home we were tired from the burdens we left at the altar but our spirits were refreshed from the power we felt, and we went to bed knowing we had been with almighty God.



Man, I miss those days. I know many say they have great services, and some I am sure do feel the power of God like they used to. However, there are many churches where if Jesus was to walk into the service he would wonder why we spend so much time on fundraising and decor, and why we are dressed to impress everyone we meet, but our eyes have not seen tears of empathy and worship of the one who really we should worry about impressing.


I know several ministers who have just quit. They don't preach, they don't always even show up to church, and some have backslid forgetting the very messages they used to scream from the pulpit. Can God be happy about what we have become? Should we? We get so caught up in personality and the appearances of holiness, but our hearts our empty and we just stumble through life unaware that the spirit has left.


We do need change. He is coming, and He is coming soon.


The Bible says in the last days men's lives will quake for fear. Our mental hospitals are full of depressed Christians popping pills because the power of God is not enough anymore.


The Bible says there will be signs in the heavens and in the earth. How much more disaster, famine, earth shaking situations can we go through?


The Bible talks about wars and rumors of wars. Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, .... need I say more?


Men have become lovers of self more than lovers of God. We worship things more than the creator. We invest our time, our energy, our money in the next big program, when He is crying out, "Why am I not enough?"


Yes, He is coming. It doesn't matter if our church has one person, or 5 million. He is coming again. The mission is not about how many we have, although we need to take everyone we can. Our duty is to just really do the best we can to reach the lost. One soul won is better than 10,000 you haven't spoken to, one soul going down in his name shakes the very heavens.


He is coming back soon. Are we ready? Or are we going to keep wandering through life and someday find out we never made it either? He that winneth souls is wise. Look to the skys and ask yourself "Is this it, and what do I have to show for it?"


Lord Jesus forgive us and help us to bless you with our compassion and passion.

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