GODISNOWHERE!

GODISNOWHERE!

The billboard caught my attention. "Wow," I thought in the first moment, "are atheists starting to advertise?" My brain decoded the letters as the phrase, "God is no where!" Then I saw the sponsor of the message was a church and my brain re-read, "God is now here!" The context changed the message. When I had the opportunity I googled the phrase and found a website urging followers of Christ to take up His call to "go and teach all nations, making disciples!"

So, where are you today? Are you thinking, "God is no where" because you’re discouraged by what you see happening in our world, or because you have been deceived by what you hear about the absence of Truth? Or are you thanking Him, letting your life make the statement, "God is now here!" as you commit yourself to living in the Spirit?

The world we live in is rapidly changing, values and ideas we hold true and foundational are being challenged. Religions other than Christianity are making their influence felt because the world is so much smaller than it was just a generation ago. Tolerance is in full bloom making it unpopular to hold to a claim of exclusive Truth in Christ.

But, He is here and He does not change! We must choose to "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."
(Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT)

Disciple, I urge you to carefully choose your battles! I am distressed that the Church is too often drawn from her primary mission of proclaiming the Good News about Christ into lesser skirmishes. We cannot expect those who do not know Jesus, who are not alive in the Spirit, to think and act as children of God! To spend great amounts of energy fighting sins is a mistake, in my opinion. Christ’s Kingdom does not advance on words of condemnation. Our ministry is one of reconciliation! "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, NIV)

Our mission is to proclaim in both our words and our actions that "God is now here!" Let’s be so full of the Love of God that the rich abundance Jesus promised makes the Gospel the thing of beauty that it is. I do not want to known as the man who is against this or that, though I have strong and firm convictions. Much more I want to known as a man who belongs to Jesus, who is full of His grace and goodness, who loves God and others deeply. Don’t you?
____________

Click here to listen to a song of reconciliation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4g8_e16dc