I am convinced that exciting church meetings do not make better Christians. It may make church meetings less boring, more populated, and create a greater cash flow, and build immaculate buildings, but Christianity is not made more effective. Haven\u2019t we learned by observing secular music concerts that nothing beyond fleshy satisfaction is accomplished by fleshy excitement? After the concert is finished, much trash is left behind as people head home gratified but empty.<\/p>\n
The only time I served on a pastoral staff, the pastor assigned as one of my duties for me to clean the large church building twice each week. He was an exciting preacher and the church services were exciting. I was humbled and humiliated as I cleaned two large restrooms that were very filthy and some smaller ones that were no less filthy. I wonder how people can arrive with seemingly empty hands and pockets and yet leave behind so much debris. Everywhere I cleaned and vacuumed, people had left their trash. However, I seldom picked up Kleenex tissues in the altars.<\/p>\n
I am convinced that what churches need they are fearful of. They need to hear preaching and teaching that informs them about genuine Christianity, their fidelity to God\u2019s will and responsibility to reach lost people with truth. Instead, we organize church meetings that placate casual professing Christians and pander to sinners. They come and leave in the exact same condition. There are few tears in the altars and fewer fiery coals in the hearts of millions of Laodicean Christians.<\/p>\n
They are happy, excited, warmed by fellowship, and comforted by conviction-less preaching, but the harvest that rots in the fields is also rotting in the pews.<\/p>\n
So don\u2019t brag about how big your barn is, and how exciting it is to visit during a church service. I am not impressed. Tell me that you spend more money on boxes of Kleenex than on pastries and coffee for tiki bars in the foyer, and I want to visit your meeting.<\/p>\n
Has the night arrived when no one can work (John 9:4)? Has the summer ended, the harvest over, and people are not saved (Jeremiah 8:20)?<\/p>\n
It is past time to break up our fallow ground!<\/p>\n
\u201cSow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.\u201d (Hosea 10:12)<\/p>\n
Fallow: \u201cUsually cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season.\u201d (Merriam -Webster)<\/p>\n
Plow your hearts and the hearts of fellow Believers with truth! Let the plow run deep! Suffer your hearts to become tender with compassion for the lost and impassioned for the reality of God\u2019s Divine Presence! Empty yourselves of the dregs of the world system and be filled with with a Holy hunger and thirst for righteousness\u2014the substance in godliness!<\/p>\n
One\u2019s heart will never be filled with more than his or her knees (figuratively speaking) will endure.<\/p>\n
I never apologize for conviction, especially when it has convicted me before it convicts others. I am convicted to pray more. I want to be prepared for the plow lest I squirm out of its path.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am convinced that exciting church meetings do not make better Christians. It may make church meetings less boring, more populated, and create a greater cash flow, and build immaculate buildings, but Christianity is not made more effective. Haven\u2019t we learned by observing secular music concerts that nothing beyond fleshy satisfaction is accomplished by fleshy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paIm2N-rp","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1700,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}