The light from "The City set on a hill" cannot penetrate the darkness because The City too often has become an anemic, self-indulgent, impotent place--flirting with priorities, forms, and dogma that have no genesis in God's Word.
The Church embraced popular culture absorbed by the pursuit of a reworked, dumbed-down version of the "abundant" life, by a quest for "relevance" in the name of Christ, but on terms dictated by the World. She has a vital role in culture: being the watcher on the wall, the harbinger of Good News, and a conduit for God's love without regard for conditions. Instead, she slumbers, points her finger at others, and cries "foul." The Church need not quest for relevance; she is relevant when she behaves as The Church.
The Church embraced popular culture absorbed by the pursuit of a reworked, dumbed-down version of the "abundant" life, by a quest for "relevance" in the name of Christ, but on terms dictated by the World. She has a vital role in culture: being the watcher on the wall, the harbinger of Good News, and a conduit for God's love without regard for conditions. Instead, she slumbers, points her finger at others, and cries "foul." The Church need not quest for relevance; she is relevant when she behaves as The Church.
Instead...
Apathy, division, and moral compromise have ravaged the fruit of the Spirit.
Reaching out with the Good News has become an unfunded mandate.
Codependence has swallowed up courageous leadership.
Sound teaching has been replaced by pop psychology.
Relevance has pushed reality to the back of the bus.
Sacrifice is considered a synonym for weakness.
Integrity is open to interpretation.
God just isn't hip.
This isn't the first time the people of God have lost their moral and spiritual compass. We are confronted with what we must do in 2 Chronicles 7.14...
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."
Apathy, division, and moral compromise have ravaged the fruit of the Spirit.
Reaching out with the Good News has become an unfunded mandate.
Codependence has swallowed up courageous leadership.
Sound teaching has been replaced by pop psychology.
Relevance has pushed reality to the back of the bus.
Sacrifice is considered a synonym for weakness.
Integrity is open to interpretation.
God just isn't hip.
This isn't the first time the people of God have lost their moral and spiritual compass. We are confronted with what we must do in 2 Chronicles 7.14...
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."
It ended badly for Israel. But, it need not end badly for this Nation; there is hope.
Hope springs from humility.
Humility leads to repentance.
Repentance produces healing.
Humility, repentance, and healing are steps Christ's Church must embrace.
Empowered by the Spirit, it all begins IN His Church.
One life.
Burn bright...
Liveitwell!
Liveitwell!
