The title of my post is taken from a psalm that says
"when the foundations have been destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (paraphrase from memory so forgive any inaccuracies).
I believe this question is pertinant to the situation of the American Church.. probably the Western Church altogether.
We are perishing for lack of knowledge. I believe that the Church has lost touch with the gospel, and with most of God's truth. The result is that some Church leaders are growing in popularity with the world, but only because they comprimise the gospel.
I heard a speaker last night and he said something which I want to quote, because I believe it is true.
"the world admires us (the church)... They do not admire us for our spirituality, but rather for our business model." (again quoted from memory)
-- Michael Boldea
The world admires Christians who know how to extract money from the flock.. and they admire Christians who will comprimise God's truth.
Even in the conservative Churches, the sad truth is that what we call "the Truth" is a shell of the real gospel. The Faith that we stand for is shallow by comparison to the truth and this is witnessed by the fact that we'd rather listen to a preacher that calls for us to donate money, than one that calls for us to fast and pray.
We'd rather listen to a preacher who decries the sins of politicians, than one who urges us to seek the face of God.
We would rather focus on the wickedness of the world, and the steady slide to sodom and gomorrah, than spend one minute on the realization that WE, the Church, are responsible for it.
Judgement begins at the house of God, because judgement ultimately comes when God can not find righteous people to stand in the gap... He does not expect to find righteous people in the world. He expects to find them in his house.
We want to place blame on the world, and we want to decry the problems, but it is WE who are doing nothing, and it is WE who seek answers every place but at the throne of God.
I have been called, and challenged to devote myself to prayer, and seeking God... to knowing God.
I've been having a battle to overcome the flesh and self indulgence. It has been hard and I've failed more than I've succeeded. But God keeps pulling me through, despite myself, and keeps renewing his call.
I say this here because I believe that God is going to move through his Church, calling people to out of lethargy and out of complacency to seek him truly. I wanted to share my challenge with you, and I hope that God will speak it to your heart.
The time has come for action, and the action that is needed is to get on our knees, and our faces before God.
"when the foundations have been destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (paraphrase from memory so forgive any inaccuracies).
I believe this question is pertinant to the situation of the American Church.. probably the Western Church altogether.
We are perishing for lack of knowledge. I believe that the Church has lost touch with the gospel, and with most of God's truth. The result is that some Church leaders are growing in popularity with the world, but only because they comprimise the gospel.
I heard a speaker last night and he said something which I want to quote, because I believe it is true.
"the world admires us (the church)... They do not admire us for our spirituality, but rather for our business model." (again quoted from memory)
-- Michael Boldea
The world admires Christians who know how to extract money from the flock.. and they admire Christians who will comprimise God's truth.
Even in the conservative Churches, the sad truth is that what we call "the Truth" is a shell of the real gospel. The Faith that we stand for is shallow by comparison to the truth and this is witnessed by the fact that we'd rather listen to a preacher that calls for us to donate money, than one that calls for us to fast and pray.
We'd rather listen to a preacher who decries the sins of politicians, than one who urges us to seek the face of God.
We would rather focus on the wickedness of the world, and the steady slide to sodom and gomorrah, than spend one minute on the realization that WE, the Church, are responsible for it.
Judgement begins at the house of God, because judgement ultimately comes when God can not find righteous people to stand in the gap... He does not expect to find righteous people in the world. He expects to find them in his house.
We want to place blame on the world, and we want to decry the problems, but it is WE who are doing nothing, and it is WE who seek answers every place but at the throne of God.
I have been called, and challenged to devote myself to prayer, and seeking God... to knowing God.
I've been having a battle to overcome the flesh and self indulgence. It has been hard and I've failed more than I've succeeded. But God keeps pulling me through, despite myself, and keeps renewing his call.
I say this here because I believe that God is going to move through his Church, calling people to out of lethargy and out of complacency to seek him truly. I wanted to share my challenge with you, and I hope that God will speak it to your heart.
The time has come for action, and the action that is needed is to get on our knees, and our faces before God.
