by Angela Wittman
...Nehemiah cared nothing for the applause of men and was totally unwilling to compromise the mission he had undertaken for God.
The paganism Nehemiah feared was not the paganism of the pagans; it was the paganism of his own people.
(Confronting Paganism, In The Presence of God by R.C. Sproul)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
Dear Friends,
Since becoming a Christian twelve years ago, I have been aware of a serious illness plaguing the Church. At first I did not know what to do about it or if I should even say anything, as I was such an ignorant new convert. Who was I to question the church leaders and/or their wives? You can imagine my feelings of intimidation, as they would recite Scripture from memory and sing hymns without even looking at their hymnals.
On the other hand, I could not recite the books of the Old or New Testament, much less entire passages of Scripture.
I remember thinking that there surely must be something wrong with me... Why could I not just settle down into a comfortable church pattern? Why wasn't I satisfied with serving in the church nursery, the well-meaning women's group or teaching other peoples children in Sunday school? Why was I concerned about the babies being murdered in their mother's wombs instead? More importantly, why weren't some of the other women concerned?
You can imagine my shock and dismay when I found out that some of the leading men and women at church were "pro-choice." It never occurred to me as a new believer, that Christians could be anything other than pro-life.
What is this illness I perceive to be plaguing the church? Me-ology. We love our temporary comfort, reputations and lives more than we love Jesus Christ.
We have compromised the faith by our indifference to the clear commands of Scripture. We no longer seek to be obedient; we seek to be comfortable in the world.
Do we join the Psalmist in prayer for the meditation of our hearts to be acceptable in the Lord's sight? Or do we spend our time thinking about the latest pleasure we can indulge in? Do we speak words that God finds
acceptable or do we speak words the world finds acceptable?
We have left our First Love and as a consequence, we have compromised the Great Commission God has given to each of us:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20 KJV)
In conclusion, let me leave you with these words Amy Carmichael, the faithful missionary to India wrote in regard to reaching the lost for Christ:
"How can the Heathen know that He is the Lord when God is not sanctified in these people called by His name? For sanctified they cannot be when the Word is held in such small account..."
May we, His Church, turn in true repentance to Him. Amen.
...Nehemiah cared nothing for the applause of men and was totally unwilling to compromise the mission he had undertaken for God.
The paganism Nehemiah feared was not the paganism of the pagans; it was the paganism of his own people.
(Confronting Paganism, In The Presence of God by R.C. Sproul)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
Dear Friends,
Since becoming a Christian twelve years ago, I have been aware of a serious illness plaguing the Church. At first I did not know what to do about it or if I should even say anything, as I was such an ignorant new convert. Who was I to question the church leaders and/or their wives? You can imagine my feelings of intimidation, as they would recite Scripture from memory and sing hymns without even looking at their hymnals.
On the other hand, I could not recite the books of the Old or New Testament, much less entire passages of Scripture.
I remember thinking that there surely must be something wrong with me... Why could I not just settle down into a comfortable church pattern? Why wasn't I satisfied with serving in the church nursery, the well-meaning women's group or teaching other peoples children in Sunday school? Why was I concerned about the babies being murdered in their mother's wombs instead? More importantly, why weren't some of the other women concerned?
You can imagine my shock and dismay when I found out that some of the leading men and women at church were "pro-choice." It never occurred to me as a new believer, that Christians could be anything other than pro-life.
What is this illness I perceive to be plaguing the church? Me-ology. We love our temporary comfort, reputations and lives more than we love Jesus Christ.
We have compromised the faith by our indifference to the clear commands of Scripture. We no longer seek to be obedient; we seek to be comfortable in the world.
Do we join the Psalmist in prayer for the meditation of our hearts to be acceptable in the Lord's sight? Or do we spend our time thinking about the latest pleasure we can indulge in? Do we speak words that God finds
acceptable or do we speak words the world finds acceptable?
We have left our First Love and as a consequence, we have compromised the Great Commission God has given to each of us:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20 KJV)
In conclusion, let me leave you with these words Amy Carmichael, the faithful missionary to India wrote in regard to reaching the lost for Christ:
"How can the Heathen know that He is the Lord when God is not sanctified in these people called by His name? For sanctified they cannot be when the Word is held in such small account..."
May we, His Church, turn in true repentance to Him. Amen.
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