I never in a million years thought that it would happen to me! Someone that I loved and I thought loved the Lord would walk away from it all. Yet that is exactly what happened in the summer of 2011. This was the beginning of a whole new outlook for me. I realize now that at that time, I was asleep myself. I went to Bible Study and church and fellow-shipped with others. I worked and did the normal "life stuff". Then all at once the rug was pulled away. I am not complaining. Actually, I have grow much closer to the Lord and have learned a TON. But along the way I realized that the body of Christ is ASLEEP!!! Or at least, a good portion of it. Maybe they are continuing to hit the snooze button and are half asleep but still they are not all that useful to the Lord in their current state. In some cases, even damaging to the Lord's name.
What happened to me is not all that uncommon. In fact, there are a number of people who have shared their stories about people they would "swear" were Christians, who have "fallen" away from the faith. Can this happen? Can people who are saved really walk away? I believe: Yes. Now, this is not going to be a topic of "once saved always saved", although I do have some thoughts on that and some Scripture to share sometime, but mostly I want to talk about this to stir hearts and open minds. Do you know someone who is making conscience decisions that are against God's Word and they don't seem to care?
Now, there are question that arise like, "Why" and "What can we do to help". Honestly I think that the answers are pretty simply put, but not so simply done. In regards to the "Why?", I believe that people are just not in the Word enough. I can go to church and pray over my food and maybe before I go to bed, but if that is all I do then the world has a greater hold on me than the conviction of the Holy Spirit does. Also when my flesh wants something it is much easier to give in. Some of us are living with one foot in the world and one foot in the heavenly kingdom. In some cases not even a whole foot is in the Kingdom. But they don't seem to care because life is OK.
God tells us in His Word that there will be an "apostasy" or a falling away as we get closer to His coming. There are varying views on what exactly God means with this section of Scripture, and I am not a scholar so I won't get into theology here, but He IS talking to the church and warning us of this time in history. I think this time is upon us. If we continue to do our normal thing and ignore the state of our brothers and sisters in Christ, ignore the state of our nation and ignore God's commands to "eat-drink-and-sleep" His Word then we will be abruptly awakened when it is too late!
So, the "What can we do to help"? answer: First of all, BE IN GOD'S WORD ... DAILY! Now I know some people who are in God's Word, but just plain don't apply it. This is a personal thing between each person and the Lord. There are limited things we can do for another persons' relationship with the Lord. Of course we can pray for them in whatever ways we are lead to pray, but ultimately each is their own and sometimes we have to just stand by and watch them sink or swim. BUT, each of us has our own relationship with the Lord and we need to be working on that every day. We need to be APPLYING God's word to our lives and setting godly examples in the things we do. We need to hold people accountable for their sinful behavior if they are "Christians" and we need to gently share Truth of God's Word with those who are not. We are too worried about "judging" others these days. And yes WE shouldn't judge others, but God's Word does and that is the plumb-line we use. If God's Word says it is wrong, then it is wrong and we need to stand up for that!
So many times God tells us to be alert and be watching, that wisdom is knowing what is going on around us (I am paraphrasing here) and being prepared for anything is important. Are we? Are YOU? The more I study Scripture the more I see God telling us that as time gets closer to His return, the weeding-out will become evident. I believe I am seeing that all around me and all around our nation. There are many people out there who think they are Christians and honestly probably are not. It is our job to help educate and to lead. In order for us to do that and to be effective we need to know what God says and live it ourselves. That is how we can help. We need to be a nation of God-fearing, Jesus loving, Holy-Spirit led people. Currently we really are not. If we were, we wouldn't have to fight against same-sex marriages, abortion or rampant pornography or ... the list goes on. It is time that we stand up and do what is right. And not just do what feels good or what we have time for. I haven't blogged for almost 2 years. My excuse; no time. Well, I feel that the Lord has been prompting me to get back at it regardless of my time or lack thereof. So here I go.
In summary, get in the Word, pray for His wisdom, guidance and opportunities to lead, teach and share the Truth and get involved! Somewhere, somehow, do SOMETHING to help people and this nation get back on track. If we wait much longer it will be too late. We can only hit the snooze button for so long.
(I will provide some Scripture verses to back up my views in a bit, I just was anxious to get this posted and start myself, getting back on track with the work God has for me.)
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