Where is our care?
If you knew some food was tainted, would you stop someone from eating it?
If you knew the bridge was out, would you redirect traffic?
If you knew someone was drowning, would throw a life raft?
And if you knew that a soul was perishing, would you call attention to sin?
“It’s none of my business.” we often hear people say. How come we’re “all about” saving lives (or the environment) but not souls?
Whether you believe that we’re in the “last days” or not, still, you must believe that we’re in perilous times.
Sometimes I feel like Jeremiah. He was called (in the vernacular) “Gloomy Gus”. And I have been told (by clergy as well as lay people) to “lighten up!” But then I think of the words of Paul in Acts 20:31 as he spoke to the folks at Ephesus, “Therefore be always alert and on your guard, being mindful that for three years I never stopped night or day seriously to admonish (or warn) and advise and exhort you one by one with tears.” (Amplified Bible)
Oh pastor! Are you praying and crying for your congregation?
Oh lay person! Are you praying and crying for your pastor and your fellowman?
Our prayers seem to be filled with “Fix it, God. Make my life (my spouse, my children, my job and my health) perfect.” Where is our cry with Moses as he interceded with God, time after time after time, from Exodus to Deuteronomy to spare the children of Israel?
Where is our cry with Paul as he said, (Romans 9:2-3) that if it was possible at all, he would give up his own salvation if that would save his fellow Jews...
Where is our word from the pulpit? Our churches have become more like a playground, less like a hospital, and not at all like a sanctuary or a haven of hope…
And our people are perishing for lack of knowledge…
The closing words to E.M. Bounds’ book, “The Necessity of Prayer” ring in our ears. “Prayer and preaching: preaching and prayer! They cannot be separated. The ancient cry was: ‘To your tents, O Israel!’ The modern cry should be: ‘To your knees, O preachers (and laity) to your knees!”
God help us!
If you knew the bridge was out, would you redirect traffic?
If you knew someone was drowning, would throw a life raft?
And if you knew that a soul was perishing, would you call attention to sin?
“It’s none of my business.” we often hear people say. How come we’re “all about” saving lives (or the environment) but not souls?
Whether you believe that we’re in the “last days” or not, still, you must believe that we’re in perilous times.
Sometimes I feel like Jeremiah. He was called (in the vernacular) “Gloomy Gus”. And I have been told (by clergy as well as lay people) to “lighten up!” But then I think of the words of Paul in Acts 20:31 as he spoke to the folks at Ephesus, “Therefore be always alert and on your guard, being mindful that for three years I never stopped night or day seriously to admonish (or warn) and advise and exhort you one by one with tears.” (Amplified Bible)
Oh pastor! Are you praying and crying for your congregation?
Oh lay person! Are you praying and crying for your pastor and your fellowman?
Our prayers seem to be filled with “Fix it, God. Make my life (my spouse, my children, my job and my health) perfect.” Where is our cry with Moses as he interceded with God, time after time after time, from Exodus to Deuteronomy to spare the children of Israel?
Where is our cry with Paul as he said, (Romans 9:2-3) that if it was possible at all, he would give up his own salvation if that would save his fellow Jews...
Where is our word from the pulpit? Our churches have become more like a playground, less like a hospital, and not at all like a sanctuary or a haven of hope…
And our people are perishing for lack of knowledge…
The closing words to E.M. Bounds’ book, “The Necessity of Prayer” ring in our ears. “Prayer and preaching: preaching and prayer! They cannot be separated. The ancient cry was: ‘To your tents, O Israel!’ The modern cry should be: ‘To your knees, O preachers (and laity) to your knees!”
God help us!
Labels: Personal Beliefs
posted by Betty Newman at 6:22 AM
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