For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26 The term “Back to the Basics” is the cry so often heard in the world today. Whether it be in reference to school, family values, or business practices, there is definitely a move in some circles away from the liberal, nauseating practices of recent history back to a more civilized BASIC way of doing things. In the church, it is no different. We need to get “Back to the Basics” in so many areas. For far too long Christians have been satisfied with the simplicity and stagnation that arises out of a complacent following of programs that died long ago, but the sad reality is that no one has the intestinal fortitude to bury this complacency. I don’t know about you but I’m coming to realize that there is more to being a church than having people who merely attend church services. There is more to being a church than blindly following a program because that’s the way it has always been done. There is more to being a church than giving money. There is more to being a church than placing a sign out on the street that says, “Ya’ll come!” You wanna know the sad reality, most churches and church members trudge along week after week, year after year, stuck in a rut, all the time wondering, why don’t people want what we have and more importantly, why isn’t God moving in our midst? The answer is simple: WE are the reason why the people around us don’t want what we have! Christ and the Church have made such little difference in our lives that those around us don’t see any point in trying it out, and WE are so stuck in our own “concept” of doing things that we leave no place for the Spirit of God to move in our midst like He desires. I’m convinced that if we, by our daily lives, would allow the light of Christ to shine to others, people would beat the doors of the Church down trying to get what we have, and if we would just simply move our agendas out of the way, then God would be released to flow in our midst. So, what is it that we need to do? I’m so glad you asked. Number one and probably most important, we need to make sure we are really saved. Watch this, there are countless millions that are part of church memberships around the world who are professing but not possessing Christians. They walked down an aisle, prayed a prayer, got wet, and presto-chango, they were proclaimed a Christian. Many of these folks try Christianity for a while, but soon drop out because it is too narrow or too hard or it cramps their lifestyle. However, if you ask them if they are going to go to Heaven when they die, they will answer emphatically, “YES!” Not so. James, the brother of our Lord, said that although we are not saved by faith PLUS works, we ARE saved by a faith THAT WORKS. My friend, if you have a faith that does not cause you to work for Jesus Christ, you have a dead faith, and a dead faith can’t save anybody. In essence, - YOU’RE LOST! Harsh reality, I know Word For Today If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. – 1st Corinthians 15:32 – That, my friend, is a deep overwhelming revelation of our current status as the people of God. Prophetic Word “Length of days is before you, but time is of the essence” says the Lord “for I have prepared everything for you. Have I not been there for you since you were a child? Did I not comfort you when no one else was there? I Am He who was and who is to come, hearken unto My voice today. Length of days is before you,” says the Lord.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 03:49:08 +0000
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