Into the Fire

Alright. For the faint-hearted: this is a Rant. So, if you want to skip this entry, be my guest.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NIV) Those were Jesus’ final words before leaving planet earth after His resurrection. Now I don’t know what your theology tells you, but somehow in light of the entire New Testament and Old, for that matter, it would seem this is a message to all of His followers both then and now.

Man keeps trying to improve on the Holy Spirit, you know? He just keeps trying to invent “new” old ideas to give the lost a “much-improved, better, farther reaching, more powerful” approach to finding Jesus Christ and experiencing Christianity. And you know what happens every time he does? He makes it sound so right, so noble, so . . . ecumenical? Which is the equivalent to Compromise with a capital C.

Well . . . you know so-and-so claims to be a Christian but insists his music is designed to reach out to anybody. (That’s why there’s profanity and immorality and cop killing in it.) And the anybodies get that God’s involved how?

And then there’s so-and-so who states that Christian fiction is like force feeding religion, and his writing is geared to reaching the lost by a more real and edgy approach with, oh yeah: profanity and immorality graphically written like it reallllly happens. Oh—and without the conversions and churchy lingo but with characters who infer a belief in a super power—or perhaps a palm reader? So, the average anybody will naturally assume that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven how?

Aaahhh, then we have the “preachers” of the gospel who exhort the lost to come into a relationship with the God of all provision, explaining that to know Jesus Christ is a Starbucks experience, a hiphop time in the ol’ sanctuary, inviting them to join the Community of radical believers who will basically condone any mode of behavior—but be sure to give your tithe and more so the church can build that new wing with the 20 foot high stainless steel cross! (Is that like “It takes a village . . . ?”)

And all these fine sounding words/concepts: Community of believers, ever enlarging and including . . . , Christians who will never admit to being the archaic “born again believers” . . . , who never call sin what it is because it would be Judgmental!! . . . , and the word “Accountable” is just a byword for being Judged by someone who doesn’t understand you and your situation, after all.

Oh please! The most important experience in a person’s entire life: Jesus yes or Jesus no. Eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. And we don’t want to sing about Him why? Or write about Him why? Or preach His Truth why? Give me a break.

The day man can improve upon the Holy Spirit to lead him into all truth, to be able to present an unblemished gospel, to reach the lost with his gut-level experience and testimony of Jesus Christ in his life, is the day man can save himself. And we all know that’s not going to happen.

Oh Lord Jesus, let me never be ashamed of you. You gave everything for me. How can I ever be callous to all you’ve done? So ungrateful or whiny? Please forgive me, God. Please let me proclaim you in every opportunity you give me, Holy Spirit. Let me not shrink back. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.