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Author:
Jeremiah Blackburn
Date:
2003
Last
Modified:
2003
Synopsis:
A
devotion on how to live proactive Christianity instead of being
reactive.
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Reactive verses Proactive
Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine,
and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his
house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for
it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings
of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who
built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.
And great was its fall."
American society today has taken a beaten path away from its
roots of serving God. Christians however are left in a daze and
left dazed and confused. We had a time of "shock and glory" in
Iraq and now the Church has not realized the Satan has done the
same thing in American society and in the Church today. Its
interesting to note the course of American theology in the
church has been based on current events or the latest book that
is out. Christians have been very reactionary when something
threatens their foundational beliefs and they react to the
current situation. For example we are quick to point the finger
and read books and study and make our number one priority
objects such as abortion, homosexuality, evolution, Mormonism,
Jehovah Witnesses, or Islam. Is this really an effective stance
to take and will it actually accomplish any major good?
I would submit to you that God has a better and more effective
plan then that. Those things are not bad to know about but
really I don't think should be our focus. He has given us many
verses on what to do and what to be focused on. Take for example
the great commission found in Matt 28:19-20 "Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." There are many
powerful evangelism techniques that are available to use as an
outline and none are specifically geared toward a particular
crowd or belief.
We need to be rooted in the truth of God. The truth is that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And upon this
truth God will build His church (Matt 16:15-18). Many times Paul
writes about keeping sound doctrine. Holding fast to the truth
and the word of God and in the knowledge of Christ will keep us
from being blown around in the wind from doctrine and trickery
and plotting of men (Eph 4:13-14).
Once we are routed in the word of God and not deny His power, He
will have freedom to move in us and through us. I think their
are three crucial things we as Christians need to be doing and
keep in mind in addition to being grounded to the word. First is
that we need to realize that God has a plan. Anytime that Israel
went into battle God always showed them a plan. In fact only
once can I recall of Israel not having a plan of action and
because of that and sin in the camp, they lost the battle
(Joshua 7). After the cleaned up the sin in the camp and God
gave them a plan they succeeded in battle (Joshua 8). Submit to
God and resist the devil and keep in mind that He has called us
to be overcomers by the power of His Spirit.
The next item I would encourage you to keep in mind is that we
need to have a spirit of unity among the Church body all over
the world. We are ONE body with many members (1 Cor 12:12-31).
In Christ there is no Baptist nor Pentecostal nor Catholic nor
Lutheran. There is no black nor white, male nor female. We are
ONE in Christ - ONE family, ONE body. Keeping this in mind when
we join in unity amongst other believers we learn the value when
the Bible talks about if one can set 1000 to flight, two can set
ten thousand to flight with the Lord as their Rock (Deut
32:30).
The last item that I will mention is the realization that we are
in the midst of battle. We are called to put on the whole armor
of God and stand firm, our heals dug in with prayer. He will win
the battle, but we need to pray without ceasing, for yourself
but more importantly for others. The power of prayer is an
awesome weapon and we have a Father in heaven who loves to hear
the prayer of His saints. Stand firm and take encouragement.
The enemy has taken much ground. Our society has spiritually
decayed around us. But there is always a remnant left ready to
hear from God. With unity, prayer, a plan, and Truth we can take
back this nation for God. Do not think for a moment that the
decay of this nation will not affect you or your family. Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed for lack of righteous people. All
may have not been in sin but there were not any standing in the
gap against the sin that overtook their community either. Now is
the time to call on God and not pray for a revival but instead
pray for a reformation and a reconfiguration into the Church
body that God wants us to be to touch and heal this broken land.
2 Chron 7:14 If My people who are called
by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face,
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
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