INTO THE GLORIOUS

I'm a church girl. Pretty much love the church. I'm a sermon junkie, worship music addict. I love the wonderful memories singing 18 verses of "Just As I Am", juice and goldfish with twenty toddlers in VBS and eating chicken pie and cherry yum yum at a pot luck lunch, but it is so much more. It is the mission of the church that God invites us into that fascinates me, gives me goose bumps and makes me dream of the extraordinary. Christ died for the church and He appointed the church to carry the good news of His life, death and rising again so that we might have life and live in the power of His resurrection! The church is the bride of Christ and even with all the idols, complacency and pursuit of comfort, the church can be beautiful and is God's plan to carry out His mission of redemptive work in the earth.
Jesus commissioned His followers in Matthew 28:19-20 to "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." but look what He said before that command, "ALL authority has been given to me in heaven and earth". (v.18)  Acts 1:8 says, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you". The Holy Spirit did incredible things through ordinary people in the early days of the church. The apostles and disciples didn't just memorize the Great Commission, they acted on it with all boldness. The early disciples weren't comfort driven but Spirit driven. It didn't matter if beaten or imprisoned, they trusted God and "stood firm in one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the Gospel without being frightened". (Phil. 1:27)  In the middle of great persecution the "disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit". (Acts 13:52) God asks us to do our part in obedience and He will be faithful to do His.
Most people seem unaware there is an invisible battle raging. A full out violent war between light and darkness with the number of dead growing everyday. We now have statistics to prove what was already evident-America is now in a post-Christian era. A time when good is called evil and evil is called good. Many churches no longer provide a moral compass or biblical worldview.
I am not ready to give up on the church in America. I talk to  many young people who look at religion and are so disinterested in what they see. They see plenty of religious activity but don't see "Christians" encounter God in such a way that they are changed and don't look like the world. They want to see the Holy Spirit do supernatural things in them and the lives of the people around them. They want to experience the God of the bible and live out the command to "come and die" and "take up your cross and follow me". They want to be bold and experience the floor shaking around them like the Apostles did in Acts 2. They want to see God glorified. They want something real.
The bible appoints Christians to not walk alone, but in a community and fellowship with other believers. I don't mean a hot dog supper and playing church ball and participating in great church programs. It's gathering in simplicity to praise God, pray to God and call on the Holy Spirit. It's encouraging one another to keep Jesus at the center and glorifying in Him in all that we do. It's saying to one another, "Hey, let's go share our faith in an amazing King.  Let's pray God gives us opportunities this week to make Jesus famous. Let's pray for courage and that the Holy Spirit fills you with all boldness. If we don't encourage each other to make disciples of Jesus Christ,  love mercy, seek justice and walk humbly with our God, we will probably just play video games and watch TV all week. Let's push each other to stir up our affections for Jesus and live by faith.  Let's care more about the church of Jesus Christ and growing His Kingdom than whatever we are into.  Let's share how we can love the least of these and leverage everything we have for the Kingdom of God."
I am praying boldly for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit in The Church of Jesus Christ.  Will you join me and take the call to follow Him into the glorious?