I am so blessed to be able to sit in church on Sunday and worship the Lord with some beautifully composed music and be fed by pastors who love the Lord greatly and study hard to bring us Bible-based sound teaching. During the week there’s a Bible study and home groups. My social media page is full of pastors and messages that remind me about God’s truths. I have at least 15 Bibles in several translations, and more faith-based books than I will probably ever be able to finish. On the internet I have access to teachings from some of the most gifted pastors and teachers from all over the world, countless commentaries, uplifting Christian music…
And I wonder how many other people are doing the very same thing Sunday after Sunday, week after week.
We are deluged with messages from and for believers of every type, for every situation, every level of faith, and every age.
So why does the church, at least here in America, seem more anemic and ineffective than ever?
Why do we live our lives largely indistinguishable from the world?
Why do we get up in the morning and still feel like we’re being sucked under the trials of life, wondering where the joy is we’re supposed to be experiencing? Why we’re not feeling like an overcomer? Why we aren’t living that life Jesus talked about when He said:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10)
That question has a lot of answers, but I want to tackle just one right now. Could it be the thief is still working hard to steal, kill, and destroy as much of that abundant life as he can, and maybe he’s using busyness, even “Christian” busyness, to do it?
Could it be that we have so much all around us that we are kidding ourselves into thinking we’re living a Christian life that would lead to abundance without really living it?
Maybe all the doing – sitting in a seat on Sundays, singing along, having a Bible (and maybe even opening up from time to time), maybe listening to a Christian song every now and then or even reading a faith-based book, is causing us to think we’re accomplishing something.
But maybe all it’s become, if done in the flesh, in our own strength, is nothing more than a rote religion, or just another sort of self-help.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
(Galatians 5:22)
Jesus came to give us life, and when He went back to the Father He gave us His Holy Spirit to bring about the abundant life we desire and Christ died to give us.
All those things – the teachings, the worship (the music is not a warm-up concert for the pastor!), the studies, the reading, are all meant to draw us closer to Jesus as we walk through them with the Holy Spirit. He is the power in our lives. He will bring about the abundant life we all so desperately want.
We’re on a journey with Him to know God and love Him more, to grow in faith, not to just put in our time on Sunday morning. Walking with Him is not just part of our life, it IS our life.
God desires to do so much in our hearts, our minds, and in and through our lives, and He wants us to partner with Him – to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him – as we do those things.
Do we pray before going to church, asking and fully expecting to hear from God, to receive from Him what He wants to say to us? Do we use the time we sing together to truly worship the Lord, to enter into the throne room of God and praise and exalt Him and let Him prepare our hearts for His message? Do we pray for our pastors during the week, that He will speak to them as they prepare the teaching, and that He will speak through them on Sunday morning? Do we pray before reading God’s Word or other books, or before listening to teachings online?
Do we pray without ceasing, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us and change us through those things?
Are we, the branches, clinging to the Vine, allowing Him to use all those things as nourishment for our souls, bringing its fruit in His time?
What all those things are meant to do, what they should do, is draw us closer to Jesus, reminding us of His love and grace and mercy so that we will continue reaching out to Him, reading and studying His Word and praying, inviting Him into every aspect of our lives. Inviting Him to leave no sin-stone unturned in the sanctifying of our souls. Inviting Him into every bit of suffering, every attitude, every decision, every joy.
Oh Church, we must leave the dead religion behind and get back to a living, breathing relationship with the One who died to bring us abundant life – to mold us into His image, to bring about the godly treasures we could never find in the world if we looked forever, and to be a light to the world.
Can you imagine if we invited the power of God into our lives every single day? If we let the Holy Spirit continually have His way in and through us?
If He changed the world with 12 men, what could He do with a nation full of Spirit-filled, God-fearing, mercy-loving believers?
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
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Heavenly Father, thank you for not only giving us your Holy Spirit to be with us, but to indwell us. He is an amazing gift and we are so grateful. Help us to always walk in the Spirit, to breathe and live and grow and speak in the Spirit. Help us to cling to you through Him so that He might produce the fruit and gifts in our hearts and lives that you desire so that we, as your church, your kingdom, can be effective witnesses and bright lights to the world around us that’s so dark and seems to get darker every day. Help us to have wisdom and discernment to know how to live in this world, but not to be of it. Help us to glorify and magnify the name of Jesus. It’s in His precious name we pray, amen.
