A Living Faith!

A Living Faith!

I am reminded today that God is good!  He is alive and free!  He does not dwell in the faint expressions of the modern day American church.  Modern day faith is caged in, suffocated by the traditions of old.  Many times, the rigid dress codes, suit and tie legalism, Bible translation Nazis and Holy Spirit smugglers all contribute to the modern day snuffing out of the flame of Christ’s church.  Tonight I was reminded that the church is a living, breathing organism which Creator God inhabits and makes alive!  Living faith is the goal, the beat of His heart for His church. The gospel is the message. Christ is the foundation. The Spirit is the architect. Furthermore, the teaching and preaching of the Word of God so often goes in one ear and out the other—a mere after-thought, a distant memory which slips out of the minds and hearts of God’s children every week.  This is a stench in God’s nostrils!  How often have I myself forgotten the life-imparting message of Scripture as soon as I stepped out of the doors of the church!?

There is a disconnect in the church, a broken bridge between hearing the preaching of God’s Word on Sunday and applying it Monday through Saturday.  Help me Lord to break this cycle, in Jesus’s name, Amen!  This should not be!  You have made the experience of church to extend into everyday life!  Going to church in modern day America has become a routine.  Thousands upon thousands of people file into various buildings all over the country every Sunday, sometimes other days of the week.  We hear solid preaching and then leave, walking out the door while letting the life-giving message of Scripture fizzle out and die in the cold, distracted hearts of church-goers.  This has to change!  Lord, help us be lovers of Your Word that readily, actively, joyfully apply it to our daily lives and decisions, words and actions, in your name Lord Jesus, our Savior and King, Amen!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for my apathy!  Forgive your church for her apathetic response to your life-giving words!  Help us to fan into flame the purifying fire of God’s Word; His very words spoken into our lives.  Let us not become cold and calloused, deadened to the vibrant fire of your truth, Lord God, our Father.  Help us not to put it on the shelf, neglect life itself, resist change only brought by the living, breathing Word of God, in Jesus’s name, Amen (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Psalm 19:7)!  Give me a boldness, a burden, a strong desire to obey your holy Word as soon as I step out of the church building and into the path of daily living. Give me a Living Faith, awaken my dead heart and revive me again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.