God’s plan for this time is the local church. It’s purpose? To glorify God, see souls saved and added, and to edify the saints. Spurgeon wrote to this effect…”we ought to regard the Christian church, not as a luxurious hostelry where Christian gentlemen may each one dwell at his ease in his own inn, but as barracks in which soldiers are drilled and trained for war.”

     A lukewarm church is not very pleasing in the sight of the Lord. A complacent and comfortable Christian is no good to the local church. Just as a soldier must participate, so must we be active in our personal ministries to others. Sadly, life is so busy and our concerns are about our circumstances that we never do anything for the Lord. So much of what we think is important really isn’t. The most important work is bringing someone to Jesus Christ. Everything else pales in comparison. I believe it was Bob Jones (one of them) that said, “Only one life will soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

     Save the earth. Go green. Use these lightbulbs, not those. Plastic bags for groceries? Forget about it! If we don’t control our emissions, global warming will destroy the human race. At least that’s what the extreme environmentalist view says. But if you repeat a message loud enough and often enough, it becomes believed. And people are believing that the human race is in danger. It is in danger! But not from global warming. There is coming a day of global and universal inferno. 2Pet 3:10 says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” It is not just global warming but a new creation.

     The Lord will bring His Word to pass. The earth is not going anywhere. The human race will not go extinct. Since the topic of global warming is oft repeated in our daily lives, it makes a good transitional conversation to the gospel. You can show someone there is a God that is in control. There is a God who loves them.

     Gas is heading for $4.00 a gallon. Oil broke a new record. Inflation is on the rise. The housing market is crashing. The dollar is losing value daily. There’s corruption all around. Society’s lost it’s bearings. The kids are out of control. The world hates America.

     If I were not a Christian, I would have a sense of dread. There are some very real and serious problems out there today. I’d probably head for the woods and build a cabin and forget about society. As my high school economics teacher always said, “It’s a jungle out there!” There’s not a lot of hope out there for people.

     So how should a Christian live in times like this?  I like Proverbs 3:5-6…”Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We have never been closer to the Lord’s return to gather His saints together. It could be today. It might not be for years. But the signs sure get stronger each day. That prospect should make us very excited. But it should also add a sense of urgency to share the gospel with those around us. There is coming a day when it will be too late.

     Keeping a focus on the Lord in times like this can help put things in proper perspective. This life is so short compared with eternity. We can’t fathom how long that is. Someone said it is like one drop of water in all the world’s oceans. And then some. What we do while we’re here is very important however. And people are watching our reactions. A Christian should have a peace about them through situations that make other people take notice. Does yours show? Philippians 4:7…”And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Soul Wagon     I wrote in the last blog that about 95% of born-again Christians do not witness or share the gospel with anyone, ever. I was part of that number once but have since vowed to be part of the 5%. Without a doubt you cannot effectively share the gospel if you are not right with the Lord. I can remember years ago going with my Pastor and just counting the seconds to when it would be over. I was completely backslidden. I may have cared for souls a little, but was happy to let the more “spiritual people” handle it. It was only when I was right with the Lord that I began to truly understand the burden and command of soulwinning. I have now come to realize that it is truly the most important work in the entire world. The kind of work that pays eternal dividends. We can live life one of two ways. Spend it, or invest it. Spend it on yourself and you have your reward in this life only. Or you can invest it for eternity. Take someone to Heaven with you. It’s the only thing you can take. For me personally I spent and spent over the years.  Now I have decided to become an investor.

     Last weekend we did a Mother’s Day outreach where we gave away potted flowers that had a couple of nice tracts and information about our church. We loaded the flowers into wagons ( click on the “soul wagon” link above) and set out in our Jerusalem. Some people wanted nothing to do with it, some were curious, some took a flower and said thank you. And some wanted to hear the gospel. All in all about 80 flowers were distributed around our local area. And the best part about it…2 people prayed for salvation! I went home rejoicing. It was a good day.

Take a nice deep breath. Now exhale. 10 people just died in the world.

Most of them entered into hell. Forever.

95% of born-again believers never share the gospel.

     We just finished up our annual Missions Conference at church and what a blessing! To meet and talk with your missionaries one on one and hear about their mission field efforts will truly encourage your prayers for them. One thing I realized from the conference was that I personally do not have it very difficult as a Christian in America. As I watched the slides and heard the testimonies of persecution I felt guilty for having just mild opposition to my beliefs at times.              2Timothy 3:12 says “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”.  In general we do not suffer persecution as Christians do in other parts of the world. We are enjoying the freedom that others have provided for us. That will change someday I believe. The path America is going down is a dark one. Unless there is genuine old fashioned revival, the day of increased persecution is on the horizon.

     Why are we not persecuted? For one thing, you have to let people know that you are a Christian! So many in the faith today straddle the fence of worldliness that it’s impossible to tell that that they are Christians. So many want the approval of the world that they dress like the world, talk like the world, listen to the world’s music, and then come to church on Sunday and give a hearty “Amen!” during the preaching. It’s hypocrisy and the world sees it clearly.

     I believe it is high time to awake from our slumber as sleeping Christians. There is a lost and dying world out there on it’s way to hell. What is more important than a soul saved? Be willing to share your faith more. Be willing to suffer persecution. God’s grace is sufficient.