I can’t get past the idea that something is very much going on behind the scenes in the world. I know the truth is that stuff is always happening in the spiritual realm… but I’m not always aware of it or give it mind share. It’s so easy to just live in the Matrix and believe that what we see is what we get.
But lately… it’s just been obvious; the enemy’s attacks are out of control. Two people in our church have recently been in serious car accidents; at least three people on campus are battling or recovering from cancer; several parents of people in our small group are facing major health problems; a co-worker’s in-law had a major heart condition come up out of nowhere; a friend’s cousin’s wife–who’s in her 20’s–has serious cancer; and now this morning we just learned that four Taylor University students and a staff member died in a serious van accident and several others are in the hospital.
This is a reminder that there is simply no time for games. There is no time to be wrapped up in Hollywood, primetime TV, the NBA and NHL playoffs or a favorite novel. And there is especially no time to be wrapped up in a life of religion that parades as godliness but offers the world none of God’s power (1 Timothy 3:1-5). These are the perilious times Paul was talking about and going to church, going to youth group, doing five-minute devotions and attending powerless prayer meetings where we ask God to “be with so and so” aren’t going to cut it. They were never meant to cut it. The cookie-cutter, get-the-masses-saved-but-don’t-disciple-them Christianity exported by mainstream American churches may be doing more harm than good.
Do we know what it means to seek first the kingdom? It means to seek first the kingdom. It means that His kingdom work is to be at the front of our minds and our priority at all times. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Do we act like it? Do our lives reflect this?
Are we believers or Christians? Believers became known as Christians because they did what Christ did. They were Christ-like. They didn’t claim the label; they were given it because it was obvious who they represented. We are defaming the name of Jesus when we say we are Christians but then don’t do what he did.
When someone is sick and we don’t offer to lay hands on them and pray for their healing, we are being hypocrites, because Christ was moved with compassion for the masses and healed them all (Matt. 4:24, Matt. 12:15, Luke 4:40, Luke 6:19). When we think we can get through a day, let alone a week, without spending significant time with the Father, we are being hypocrites because Christ habitually went off by himself and prayed (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 22:39). When we think we can minister in the name and power of Jesus without being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are being presumptuous because Christ and the believers needed to be filled with the Spirit before they did (Matt. 3:16, Acts 1:4-5).
There is no time. People are dying. They need Life. They need God. But they aren’t going to get Him from saved-and-going-to-heaven believers operating in the power of themselves. They are going to get it from actual Christ-like Christians (see book of Acts for examples), who walk in the authority and power of Christ, which was granted to us so we could complete the work He started, as His body.
4 replies on “Something is fishy”
“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Phillipians 2:1-2
wow! looks like your awareness of these tragedies is launching you into some intense processing. may GOD direct your journey… your thoughts… your understanding… your emotions… your actions… and further transform you into the joel of GOD you already are.
I have very vivid dreams often. I even keep a dream journal so I do not forget them. Once I had a dream that I was outside my house and someone shot me with a gun, like a drive-by shooting. In my dream I was trying to crawl up the stairs to get back in the house but I was so weak and I just knew I was going to die. Now I know that there were significant things going on in my life at that time and that probably plays a part of this nightmare. But the thing about that dream that I think of often is, when I was trying to crawl up the stairs, all that I could think about was: I DID NOT DO ENOUGH FOR JESUS. I wasted so much precious time on things that are not significant to further the kingdom of my Lord and Savior. I didn’t think about leaving my precious possessions, leaving my great job and money, or even my family. All I could think about was how much time I wasted and how much more I could have done for Jesus.
Suddenly, everything changed and all I wanted was to be given the opportunity to do more for Jesus. Because once we leave this earth, there is no more we can do to further His kingdom here.
It seems I struggle on a daily basis on what is important and what is not. Sometimes I feel like I am not normal b/c I struggle with these issues. I am so far from where I want to be right now. I know the Lord is calling me to give up more than I am willing to give up. But my prayer is that He will continue to mold me, even if it hurts.
[…] Remember a recent post of mine, Something is fishy, where I referenced a serious van accident involving Taylor University students? Well, in a very disturbing turn of events, there was a case of mistaken identity between one of the female students who died and another who was seriously injured and still recovering in the hospital. […]