Firefighter

When you think of a firefighter, you don't imagine someone fleeing from the danger, seeking comfort and safety far from the flames, correct? More likely people imagine a firefighter running head on into the danger ready to risk life and limb to put out that fire.

The Church should be like firefighters. The darkness in the world is the fire and the light of God in us and His Word is the water (He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38). Too often Christians seem to not only retreat at the first hint of discomfort, but many flee from it. What happens to a fire that the firefighter refuses to fight? Does it just go away? Not until it consumes everything in its path. So why does the Church think that ignoring the darkness in the world is the right course of action? This attitude is the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. It is also the exact opposite of the actions of the Apostles. When we look at them we see an unstoppable force changing the world. Today we are so concerned with blending in with the world there remains little hope to be able to affect any kind of real change.

If we are going to call ourselves Christians should we not then take the words of Christ seriously? He was serious when He gave us the great commission. He was serious when He told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and even when He said to love our enemy. He was serious when He said that if we loved Him we would follow His commandments. When you look at history and consider the Christians that have had the biggest impact for good in this world, you will see they are the one’s who took the words of Jesus to heart.

So let me ask you, what are we waiting for? We are to be the salt of the earth and light in the world. If the salt looses its flavor, what good is it? If the light is hidden, what effect could it hope to have in the dark? There is a saying, “As goes the Church, so goes the world.” We can’t expect anything to improve if we are unwilling to act.

15 Things God WON'T Ask You

Before I share this list I would first like to say I did not come up with it. A girl on my Facebook page shared the message her Pastor spoke of in church. I do not know his name or I would share it here to give him credit. I fully agree with his message so I wanted to share it here with you guys. I found it to be incredibly thought-provoking. With that being said, here are the fifteen things God won't be asking you.

1. God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.

2. God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3. God won’t ask about the fancy clothes you had in your closet, but will ask how many of those clothes helped the needy.

4. God won’t ask... about your social status, but will ask what kind of class you displayed.

5. God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.

6. God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.

7. God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.

8. God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but will ask how you promoted others.

9. God won’t ask what your job title was, but will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

10. God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.

11. God won’t ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.

12. God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

13. God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you treated your neighbors.

14. God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but will ask about the content of your character.

15. God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but will ask how many times they didn’t.
 

The Darkness Comes

Ever since I was a child God has given me dreams of the future of America. The earliest I can remember occurred when I was in first grade. These dreams always involve war on American soil, troops on our streets, and the persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom of American Christians.

We keep talking about and waiting for revival. Revival is coming. I believe it, but I feel in my gut that this will not come until after the trouble falls. I feel like it will require dark times to really wake the Western church from it's slumber. Revival can not come if we are sleeping. The Western church has had great comfort, and it is this comfort that has lulled us to sleep.

All the nations where the church is fully awake are the nations where taking a stand for your faith has a price. When people find themselves willing to pay this price they then recognize it's value. People have to decide how much Jesus is worth to them. They need to know what their faith really means.

Soon we in the Western world will also find ourselves having to make this same decision. When we decide for Him, no matter the cost, the Holy Spirit will raise up in God's remnant and spread like a wildfire. He will move like He did in the book of Acts! There will be great moves of God and also great persecution. It will be the best of times and it will be the worst of times. The light always shines brightest when it is the darkest.