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| Sardis Methodist Church ~ the first church I attended as a child |
Recently I read a chapter from
a famous memoir—I won’t mention which one.
The author writes about his childhood experiences as a
church-going. Eventually, he stopped
going completely because he never felt the excitement and peace that others
exhibited. He wrote that he never felt “saved”.
This scenario has stayed on my
mind. I’ve wanted to write something for you about this, but struggled with how
to write it without sounding “preachy” or superficial. I know I’m not a preacher; I just read and study my Bible. But please bear with me because I will not
have peace until I write about this.
This story saddened and
disturbed me because apparently intellectually this person believed in God and
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a silent
observer. Our churches are full of
silent observers. I dare say, countless
people sit silently observing in church services and never feel “saved”, never
quite get what all the excitement is about.
I want to make two crucial
points which I think of as first steps toward God.
#1
Our emotions have no effect on the reality of
God.
Our feelings have no effect on His sovereignty.
Whether I have the faith to move mountains, or I’m
as weak as a newborn,
Whether I’m full of joy, or in the throes of
sorrow,
God is God; He is still the Great I Am.
#2
We cannot let our emotions (our temperaments, our history/baggage)
be a barrier to coming to Christ and accepting Him as our personal Lord and
Savior.
God’s sovereignty requires a personal response from each of
us.
It is our individual responsibility to actively respond to
God’s word and His offer of salvation.
So, I say, grab hold to Christ’s
offer of salvation. If you believe it,
confess it with your mouth. Ask God to
soften your heart and enlighten your mind.
He will and you will be on the way with Him by your side and in your heart. Please
follow the link and read what the Apostle Paul had to say in Romans 10: 8-10.
For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13
I leave you with Jesus’ words
as recorded by Mark:
The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:15
I think you touched on a crucial topic amongst Christians, Rose. I daresay that there are countless individuals who feel or have felt this way at some point. You brought up excellent points. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI pray it helps someone. Thank you for your encouragement. Blessing.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason the fairness concept kept coming up toward the end of the week for me - God doesn't look at how we think of "fair" over how we perform for him; how well, or not, or how we look at each other and our actions. He sees each of us individually through his eyes...
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa for your comment. Some of Jesus' parables really hit on that "fairness" issue don't they. Man just doesn't see as God sees. And Jesus sees each of us individually. Thanks for that. Blessings.
ReplyDelete