ZEALOUS … or nonchalant!
Which one describes your belief in and your walk with God? These days my
heart has a growing ache and longing for not only an all-encompassing revival
around the world which will bring throngs of sinners to their knees before God
crying out for forgiveness – but also for a revival of massive proportion that
will sweep through the churches of this land who are filled with the
spiritually dead. Too many church-goers
(or not) could accurately be called “The Walking Dead!” (I hear there is a TV series out by that
title, though I have never seen it.) My
heart bleeds and I shake my head in disbelief at what is happening all around
us. There is a line being drawn in the
sand of these times, and you know what?
We will find ourselves solidly on one side of that line – or the
other. These days allow for no
straddling the line – with one foot out in the world and loving it (though we
know we shouldn’t) … and the other foot precariously half-committed in God’s
Kingdom when we feel like it (because we know what is right even if we do not
do it.) Those days have ceased. People are now choosing to step over the line
in a solid commitment to be zealous in their walk with God – or they are
turning and walking the other way, far from the line in the sand and embracing
the ways of the world with a heart bent on fulfilling their own desires and
lusts, deceived into thinking that their jaded dream is all good. Friends, we are now living in the days when
we will desire and act on becoming more zealous in knowing and serving the One
True God, the Lord God of Israel … or we will continue to become more and more
nonchalant in our choices, character, and commitments. JESUS CHRIST IS RETURNING SOON! What is your decision? Will you act on what God’s Word says? Do you care enough about your eternal destiny
and the destiny of others to make a dedicated effort TO DO WHAT GOD IS CALLING
YOU TO DO? I truly believe that
sometimes God allows a shaking of sorts to bring us to full attention, because
the world we live in has become such a huge distraction to our true calling in
Christ. Sometimes it’s just small
distractions – but they all add up to become a major hindrance in how effective
our every-day faith is. What’s sad is
when people just look the other way and pretend that reality does not exist –
just because they do not want to deal with the heaviness and darkness of what
is taking place. Sometimes that is
because what is happening seems far removed from us and we think we can do
nothing about it – so we just remove our hearts from the situation. Other times, situations hit within – or too
close for comfort – so we just place ourselves in denial mode thinking that if
we do not confront it we will not have to deal with it. Both are erroneous and dangerous responses as
children of God. We MUST be engaged in
this world, though we are not of it. We
MUST be aware of all that is happening – even to the point of studying and
researching – and then comparing what we discover against the measure of the
truth in God’s Word. Dear ones, we are
living in exciting times, and I believe God desires a Bride who is zealous in
her love for Him. A nonchalant Bride of
Christ will be totally repulsive to Him.
Today, I encourage all of us at Elevation North, the Bride of Christ, to
stand up boldly in preparation for His coming.
May we prepare our hearts and be ready as we engage life with the
passion and fervency that He so deserves from us! May we be devoted, enthusiastic, and eager in
our pursuit of making ourselves available to His calling in our lives! May He find us energetic, intense, even
fierce – in the good sense of the word … in our commitment to Him! Time is running out! There is no place for lack of concern,
indifference, and apathy when it comes to things that touch the heart of God,
our Bridegroom! May we awaken from
slumber and LIVE AS WE’VE NEVER LIVED BEFORE!!!
And for the skeptics? They should
be asking themselves the pointed question:
“What if this God-stuff is true?
What if these Christians are right?”
This season of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ should become a
daily, joyous, devout part of our lives that we never waver from. He gave His ALL … should we give Him any less
when we say “yes” to Him? Our faith
should only deepen, our love should only increase, our devotion should only
strengthen. We should from this day
forward LOVE what HE LOVES all the more (righteousness)! And we should DESPISE what HE DESPISES all
the more (sin)! We should become more
like Him as our lives reflect Him IN us!
The world is watching you know, so how will you live? With zeal … or with nonchalance? Let’s engage in pursuing our God with zeal in
these times that demand the best we have to offer! We cannot do it in our own strength, but in
the power of Christ within us through the shed blood of Jesus! Onward and forward, church! We have an exciting future awaiting us!
REMEMBER . . .
Our God says
in His Word: “Fear not (there is nothing
to fear), for I am with you;
do not look
around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will
strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you;
yes, I will
hold you up and retain you with My (victorious) right hand of rightness and
justice.”
~ Isaiah
41:10
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
