We Just Don't Get It...

Week in and week out we gather.

Families pile into cars...in some places people walk when it's good weather...other places we pile the gang onto the bus or subway so we can get there...

And never once have I heard any government official tell us that it was illegal for us to meet, to get together and 'do church', worship, study scripture, pray. Not once that I've heard of on US soil. 

We've even been referred to as a 'Christian nation', with the majority of Americans claiming to believe in God. 

But I have to tell you - we sure don't act like it's as big of a deal as the numbers say. We've got an almost lethargic, complacent attitude toward our religious freedom, to some extent simply taking it for granted.

It seems that we have lost our passion, our 'first love' of the gospel and its truths, and have traded it for what?

As I've had the genuine privilege to go overseas to other countries and see how they respond to the gospel, I'm sad to say that I'm embarrassed. Me, as one who has complete and free access to anything I need or want for my faith to grow, understand, share - I'm embarrassed. I too, like most of us in the states, have become comfortable with my faith and the freedoms I enjoy here. I'm not as passionate...not as vocal when I need to be...not as sharing when I should be. And I can't tell you why, except that it's just too easy.

When I look at how other countries respond, especially the one I just came back from in March, I am broken and humbled.

There is a passionate pursuit of a Holy God that I used to have...there is a genuine desire to know and understand and memorize God's Word that I used to have...there is a drive and determination to share what God has done in their life with others, so much that it takes precedence over success, prestige, and position - kind of like I used to have.

I am learning a lot about not only myself, but about my approach to the gospel and how/what we communicate each week from the stage. But beyond that, I am looking at my daily live and the encounters I have.

What do my words and my actions say about my commitment and devotion to God? What do my words and actions say about what I BELIEVE about God? Am I passionate for the lost? Am I passionate about my walk with God? Am I passionate about leading my family in God's ways? Is that visible? 

I've learned, from my experience overseas with other Christians, that we just don't get it here like they do there. And that has to change. 

My prayer for us, here at FBC Poky, is that we will regain some of that passion, some of that drive and desire. Our lives, our priorities, our purpose will take on new meaning - like it did when we first came to know Christ as Lord in our lives. 

Join my as I pray for the Church in America to get it once again; to be all that God has intended for her to be and to be a light for a lost, dying world.