The following thoughts were borne out of
love and concern for the Church. In recent years we’ve seen exposures,
political and theological division, churches closing, pastors getting burned
out, and more. I’ve also heard from friends around the country about the difficulty
they’re having to find a healthy, biblically balanced church.
Speaking
about Nehemiah 4:10-23, here is an excerpt from a devotional by FlameTree
Church.
“Finally,
having not succeeded through mockery or intimidation, the enemy attempts to sow
disunity among the people. The people were growing tired and disheartened, and
if some abandoned their posts, the entire wall was at risk of being overrun.
When one is disheartened it’s easy to think, “It won’t matter if I give up. I’m
not that important here. Someone else will step into my place.” Our enemy Satan
is always trying to sow doubt and despair, and when people start to give up,
disunity is not far behind. Disunity in this case is not necessarily a matter
of disagreement, but that which is sometimes behind unspoken disagreement; that
of the sense that the people no longer work ‘shoulder to shoulder’.”
This
resonated with me as I’ve been thinking about the chorus of an old song we used
to sing back in the day called “Family of God.” (Gaither’s)
“I'm
so glad I'm a part of the family of God- I've been washed in the fountain,
cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm
part of the family, the family of God.”
It
appears a lot of churches of lost that “family of God” mindset and simply being
biblically based. I remember such camaraderie,
hunger to really know the scriptures, frequent gathering in fellowships, being
excited to see a fellow church member in public. It seems to have disappeared.
Why? Perhaps because leaders don’t promote it, or people are just too busy, or
people are just doing their own thing – with Jesus of course. (smirk) - I miss
it.
Another
perspective comes from author Natalie Runion in her devotional “Raised to Stay:
Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Leave.”
“Since
the garden, the enemy has been trying to make us question what we know God has
spoken over us. From his infamous question to Eve, “did God really say that?”
to tempting Jesus in the desert, his goal has always been to place doubt toward
our Father in our hearts.
We
have to remember: his entire goal is to get us to question God and quit our
assignment. When he lost the keys to the Kingdom, we became his greatest threat
as he saw for himself what happens when God finishes what he starts through his
people. The result is always resurrection. ...
Reconciliation.
Restoration.
Eternal life.
Every. Single. Time.
I
know there are good reasons why you’ve considered quitting, but hear these
words: when we stay, we find the Jesus we have always wanted to know and a
family worth fighting for with every fiber of our being.”
Thinking
about Hebrews 10:24 – “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love
and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching.”
The
phrase “stir up” in the Greek carries the idea of being so strong in our
encouragement that it's like being irritable. Now that doesn't give you
permission to go irritate people. Just saying how strongly we should be willing
to encourage and strengthen those around us.
I’m
not sure how to briefly close this. I might need to write part two because
there’s so much more that I’d like to say, but this is already longer than
usual. For now, I will close with the following quote as something to ponder on.
By the way, there’s nothing wrong with “critical thinking.” I feel that’s part
of the problem. People have become so “experience oriented” that they’ve forgotten
to think through the things they see, hear and read. OK... enough... Here’s the
quote: from –
Evangelical
Church Challenges by
Matt Friedeman (He is sharing
a few possibilities about why some churches have become weak or not effective.
1.
We are turned inward.
2.
We don’t know our Bible.
3.
We are doctrinally ignorant.
4.
We have a bias for inactivity.
5.
We are too enamored of political power, not enough of Holy Spirit power.
6.
We have yet to find a robust method of effective discipleship.
7.
We think being “surrounded” by the enemy is not in the job description.
8.
We lack hope.
But,
God...
Till next time ... Let’s consider how to help build the church in truth and grace. Know that it’s ok to think through these things.