One of the things I have noticed over the last few decades is that many who profess Christ do not want to speak about Jesus, not only have I seen this in the individuals I meet, but it is prevalent in many of the churches of our day. The majority of the conversations and messages are focused on the world, the current events, the paths that their lives are on in it. When the initial greetings are over, very rarely does the talk turn to our Savior, but instead towards the materialistic, not the eternal, the world and not the Lord, themselves, and others around them, but not towards Christ.
To a degree this is expected, for we live in this world, we are to a degree bound by the physical laws of it, the rules and regulations that have been imposed upon us by those in authority over us, the topics are expected. What I have noticed though is that this is as far as many are willing to go, they will not move their conversations towards Christ, and vary rarely do they care to continue conversing when the spiritual is brought to the forefront of the encounter. The same is true of many of those buildings with either a cross inside or outside of them, the ones we continue to call houses of worship, the world has found the doors wide open, and has walked right in without even an argument. The Word of God has been so watered down in some of them that it is no wonder those in attendance look forward to next weeks entertainment offerings, why cell phones are put on mute, but are still watched, why Bibles are rarely remembered, much less opened.
Entire sermons revolve around what the world is up to, what we should be concerned with this week, while too many stand behind the pulpit on Sunday spend the rest of the week scouring the internet instead of the Scriptures for next Sunday’s message. It really is no wonder why our Lord is no longer the focal point of our conversations, we do not hear of Him in the morning message, we do not seek out the Scriptures to learn of Him, many spend the entirety of what they call their “Christian walk” only in and for the world. If they will not speak at any length to those they consider their brothers and sisters in Christ about Jesus, what makes us think they will speak to the lost about Him. Excuses abound, they are too busy, they cannot find time in their schedule to open His Word, church on Sunday morning is the fulfilment of that requirement, they just did not feel led to speak at that moment, which generally means at any moment.
I do not think that many that I am commanded to write these letters to read many of them for very long, the word “Conviction” begins to enter their minds, and they must put a stop to it before it can reach their hearts, they continue to believe themselves to be saved, but they do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, there are no fruits being produced in their lives, (Matt. 7:20) they see only what they desire to see, even when no one else can. They are looking through a glass darkly, (1 Cor. 13:12) and will continue to do so, for they fear to see who they truly are, deep inside many of them know the truth of who they are, and so it is no amazing thing that they find no joy in speaking of Christ hour after hour, they do not even speak to Him in their hearts.
Memorizing Scripture verses is a wonderful thing, but if you are not going to apply them or share them with others, you might as well memorize the dictionary, those verses will avail you nothing, attending church regularly can be a great blessing, but if Jesus Christ is not the main topic of not only every message but of those in attendance, you might as well stay home and watch the game on the television. This game that many are playing, this pretending to be a follower of Jesus Christ will soon be shown for what it is, a charade, a life lived under false pretenses, nothing more than a storefront mannequin with the garb of a Christian on.
I am not worthy to pen these letters, I have been this person, knowing full well that I was an errant servant, a follower of Christ in name only, seeking continually only the pleasures of the world, caring only about myself and my own desires, I was a most excellent prodigal son. Our Lord goes out looking for His lost sheep, but that does not always mean that when He finds them they are happy about it, that they will immediately jump into His arms and return to Him, many times they want to stay where they are at. They enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, (2 Tim. 3:4) not just those that entered into your mind right now, lust, pornography, drugs, but most possibly one of the worst sins a Christian can commit, disobedience to the will and Word of their Master.
Those who do return are both heartbroken and on fire for Him at the same time, they see the years they have wasted on self and the pleasures of the world, years they could have been in profitable service to Him, years they will not get back. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” (Jer. 17:7) The man who can look in the mirror and call himself a fool for wasting such a short life on worldly pleasures is blessed. Not all, but many of the letters I am commanded to write are addressed to the man or woman who cannot show any proof of their salvation, who knows Jesus as Lord only in their mind, not in their heart, to those who are deceiving themselves. If this unworthy messenger has shown this truth to you about yourself, feel free to take it out on me, its one of the reasons the comments sections are in the website, but remember before you do, these same reasonings, these same rationalizations are the ones that you are preparing to tell to Christ, and you might want to practice them on Him first.
Far too many are assuming their salvation in Christ because they feel saved, at least some days, because they got baptized, because they repeated the words someone told them to say, but there are no fruits in their lives, there are no works worthy of righteousness, (James 2:14) there is church attendance for an hour or so, and there is the world. My responsibility is to stand on the wall and in love warn all who will listen, their response to those warnings is their responsibility, it is Jesus Christ alone who will judge all, He looks on the heart, (1 Sam. 16:7) you are the one that needs to determine just where your heart truly is, and your time is running out to do so.
