Today I was leafing through the newspaper when a thick pink piece of cardboard fell out. It was covered with dark pink words and pictures of girls. DEFEND GIRLS were the bold words in the top left corner of one side with more information on the back. Oh, I thought, that's nice that people are bringing awareness to the genocide of unborn girls. I already believe that's wrong. I was about to throw the paper in the garbage when I read these words on the back "what can you do?"
I stopped.
What could I do? I don't know any abortionists and I'm not facebook friends with the Prime Minister. It's not like I normally interact with powerful people who make laws or with people who would want to kill their baby before he/she is born. I was going to throw out the paper again when I saw some websites on the bottom of the flier. I should at least look them up.
I did.
The fact that I was going to just throw the flier out because I already disagree with all abortion, not just gender based abortion, shows a underlying thought among Christians. We seem to be very good at complaining about the wrongs and injustices in our society but have little else to do with them. Yes, we hold up signs against abortion once a year in a nation-wide protest and some of us join committees but by and large Christians seem to have taken the sideline on social injustices and simply said "well, it doesn't really effect me."
We already believe that our country is going to pot since prostitution and homosexuality are legal and now we're thinking about euthanasia too. I mean, it really couldn't get much worse. And the world is going to be full of persecution before Christ returns anyway. Nothing we can do about it.
We've trained ourselves to be a pessimistic, disparaging (may I add selfish) bunch of people who are just hanging out, making money and traveling our crumbling world while we wait for Jesus to return. We no longer pray for revival and then expect it to happen, possibly because we don't dare believe that God could save a great number of souls at once or because we just don't want to do the work of preaching and praying which cause revival.
What if Christ comes back tomorrow and finds the church of North America like this? Will we receive great places in heaven because we were busy fighting about denominational differences and building bigger sanctuaries and entertaining ourselves with movies and music and trivial fun?
Perhaps it's time to start reading our confessions and figure out that we actually believe a lot of the same things. Perhaps it's time not only to send money to foreign missions but also to invite our neighbours into our homes and lives. Perhaps it's time to put away the movie and start reading the things of God. Perhaps it's time to see the issues that have caused our country, the people inside the church and outside the church, to fall away from God and become a stench in His nostrils (from taking our own pleasure on the Sabbath and removing it from God's binding law to killing our neighbours and shoving their tiny bodies under the carpet--or burning them for fuel) and start to stand for the things of the Lord.
Gideon had 300 men. Jeremiah was a lonely youth against a nation. Josiah was eight. The apostles were fishermen and tax collectors. You have a complete Bible, a church family, beautiful confessions, and the Spirit of courage and peace dwelling inside you. (1 Timothy 1:7)
It is time the church stepped out of their selfish mindset and took responsibility for the sins of OUR nation. Some still believe in revival (Romans 11) and some still believe in miracles (John 6) and some still believe that God's word is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16) and some still believe in conversion (Acts 9). The question is not when will Christ return? but rather will He find faith faith on the earth when He returns? (Luke 18:8)
"Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him." 2 Samuel 10:12
Do something.
to start out with, check out this website; defendgirls.ca I don't know what ministry God is calling you to but I know He wants you to do something. It may not be an astoundingly popular ministry, it could be baking cookies for homeless people. Find it, do it, and pray for revival in the church, in Canada, and in the whole world.
I stopped.
What could I do? I don't know any abortionists and I'm not facebook friends with the Prime Minister. It's not like I normally interact with powerful people who make laws or with people who would want to kill their baby before he/she is born. I was going to throw out the paper again when I saw some websites on the bottom of the flier. I should at least look them up.
I did.
The fact that I was going to just throw the flier out because I already disagree with all abortion, not just gender based abortion, shows a underlying thought among Christians. We seem to be very good at complaining about the wrongs and injustices in our society but have little else to do with them. Yes, we hold up signs against abortion once a year in a nation-wide protest and some of us join committees but by and large Christians seem to have taken the sideline on social injustices and simply said "well, it doesn't really effect me."
We already believe that our country is going to pot since prostitution and homosexuality are legal and now we're thinking about euthanasia too. I mean, it really couldn't get much worse. And the world is going to be full of persecution before Christ returns anyway. Nothing we can do about it.
We've trained ourselves to be a pessimistic, disparaging (may I add selfish) bunch of people who are just hanging out, making money and traveling our crumbling world while we wait for Jesus to return. We no longer pray for revival and then expect it to happen, possibly because we don't dare believe that God could save a great number of souls at once or because we just don't want to do the work of preaching and praying which cause revival.
What if Christ comes back tomorrow and finds the church of North America like this? Will we receive great places in heaven because we were busy fighting about denominational differences and building bigger sanctuaries and entertaining ourselves with movies and music and trivial fun?
Perhaps it's time to start reading our confessions and figure out that we actually believe a lot of the same things. Perhaps it's time not only to send money to foreign missions but also to invite our neighbours into our homes and lives. Perhaps it's time to put away the movie and start reading the things of God. Perhaps it's time to see the issues that have caused our country, the people inside the church and outside the church, to fall away from God and become a stench in His nostrils (from taking our own pleasure on the Sabbath and removing it from God's binding law to killing our neighbours and shoving their tiny bodies under the carpet--or burning them for fuel) and start to stand for the things of the Lord.
Gideon had 300 men. Jeremiah was a lonely youth against a nation. Josiah was eight. The apostles were fishermen and tax collectors. You have a complete Bible, a church family, beautiful confessions, and the Spirit of courage and peace dwelling inside you. (1 Timothy 1:7)
It is time the church stepped out of their selfish mindset and took responsibility for the sins of OUR nation. Some still believe in revival (Romans 11) and some still believe in miracles (John 6) and some still believe that God's word is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16) and some still believe in conversion (Acts 9). The question is not when will Christ return? but rather will He find faith faith on the earth when He returns? (Luke 18:8)
"Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him." 2 Samuel 10:12
Do something.
to start out with, check out this website; defendgirls.ca I don't know what ministry God is calling you to but I know He wants you to do something. It may not be an astoundingly popular ministry, it could be baking cookies for homeless people. Find it, do it, and pray for revival in the church, in Canada, and in the whole world.
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