FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO?

Unless you haven’t looked out your window lately, you know the weather has been crazy! We went from high 80’s to snow in a matter of days. What also has been downright crazy are things happening in our nation. First, we have the 5-year-old boy getting ready for a heart transplant being kidnapped to a young mother being shot to death outside the pediatrician’s office because someone else wanted her 3-day old baby to horses being savagely abused. What is the world coming to?

While the world may not have a clue, Christians do! The Bible is very clear that Jesus is coming again and His coming will be in the midst of difficult times. If you haven’t read Matthew chapter 24 in awhile, I suggest you do. Jesus utters a very serious warning to all of us in that passage. In verse 12 Jesus says, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”

How tragic that someone who has had a relationship with Jesus Christ should abandon their faith just when it is needed the most. During our workshop on Safe Sanctuary (a program aimed at keeping our children safe on church property), we all lamented that times have gotten so evil we now are confronted with the potential for child abuse within the very walls that aims to provide peace, love and security.

So with so much evil in America, what does God want us to do? While the answer is found in the Bible, I was reminded of it while waiting for the Board of Election folks to wind down their activity in our Fellowship Hall last evening. While waiting in the hallway so as not to be obtrusive, I started glancing through the Christian Yellow Pages. And there before my very eyes was the answer! “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin AND will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7: 14.

Did you catch that last part about healing our land? What a promise! But we need to understand the promise does not stand alone. There are some things we need to do first.

First, we need to humble ourselves. What exactly does that mean? I think in short it means we need to stop thinking so highly of ourselves and start thinking about how we really compare standing next to God. When we see God’s unbelievable love for us despite all we have done to mar His name, his reputation, His gifts, and His patience with us, it is indeed a humbling moment. As much as we like to think we act like Jesus, most of us fail miserably (me included!) at this love business the minute someone steps on our toes! It’s also very humbling when we think how forgiving God is compared to the degree of forgiveness we give to those who have hurt us deeply.

The second thing we need to do is to pray and seek His face! I think we have all had the experience of having friends move away. We pledge to keep in touch but as time goes on the phone calls become less frequent and the cards become almost nonexistent. What happened? Life gets busy and we soon become consumed with the day-to-day activities. When we fail to stay in touch, our long distance friends may be remembered warmly but the relationship has little affect on our lives. If we don’t stay in touch with God, He too will soon be delegated to that warm and fuzzy place in our mind but have no real impact on our daily lives.

Thirdly, we need to turn from our wicked ways. Have you ever jotted down all the things in the Bible that God doesn’t like? Try it sometime. It can be a rude awakening that we are not as holy as we think we are. Terry and I are struggling to lose weight after his heart attack in February. We both know the Bible but the verse about gluttony…..hmmm…well…..we haven’t preached on that in a long while and yet all of Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3: 16); not just the ones we like!

Perhaps, we need to take II Chronicles 7: 14 to heart. It may not only help us, but our actions may also be helpful to someone else who is struggling with the evils of this world!

See you Sunday and remember, bring a friend!

Blessings,

Pastor Marlene