How proactive should we be?

This post is just going to be some random thoughts.

After my dad died a few years ago, the urgency of spending the rest of my days wisely (i.e., for things that have eternal value) really hit me. I am not sure where my dad is today, and I quickly discovered that I cannot dwell on that thought for very long. What I can do, however, is tell others about Jesus, so that they can know how to have eternal life.

Regarding that, I see too many evangelists give messages that make it sound like God is a lonely God that is merely looking for friends. They tell people to simply repeat a simple little prayer. Too often this leads to false converts, because no real effort or sacrifice is required on the part of the person, and they are never told the rest of the gospel. The fact that they are a wicked sinner under God's wrath and deserving only Hell is often not mentioned to them. The necessity of repentance from their sin is never mentioned. If their life is not drastically changed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and if they basically continue living the way they lived before, then I would question whether regeneration has ever taken place. It is true that 'good' works cannot save you. But it is also true that following Christ means obeying Christ. And one necessary key is learning how to die to self. Too much teaching in the Church today focuses on building up self. Instead, we need to focus on forgetting self and bringing glory to Christ Jesus.

I think it was also since my dad died that I decided I was going to stand up for truth, no matter what the consequences, especially in this day when there is so much false doctrine. However, in the past year or so, doing this has caused a lot of conflict. And most of that conflict has been with Christians. I have discovered that most Christians just want to hear things that give them that warm, fuzzy feeling. They don't want to hear negative things. I have also discovered that I tend to focus on negative things, as well as on issues of discerning doctrinal points. So I'm trying to discover how to find a balance.

Now we have a U.S. President who is the farthest left and most liberal President that this country has ever had. I really don't know how far things are going to go. But I think that it is urgent that Christians come together like never before, especially in intercessory prayer. I am tempted to just give up on this country and have the attitude that its useless to try to do anything to turn it around. I suspect that the United States is headed for a level of godlessness and rebellion against God that it has never experienced before. Besides prayer, I think Christians also need to spend more time reading and studying God's Word than ever before, and also spend time memorizing Scripture.


I pulled this image off the Internet. Originally it was in full color, but in Photoshop, I desaturated it, then painted the color back in on the flower area with the History Brush.