God despises half-heartedness, yet that’s all the effort most people ever put into their service for the Lord. And, that is a dangerous thing to do. I recently read the following article by Tim Challies that prompted me to think about it:

“I don’t know how much I’ve driven in the twenty years since I got my license, but I do know it’s a lot, what with all those drives down to the South to visit my family. Here is one thing that has never varied across the hundreds of thousands of miles: When I take my foot off the pedal, the car does not speed up. It doesn’t even maintain the same speed. Instead, from the very moment I take my foot off the accelerator, the car begins to slow. Allowing the car to coast is inviting the car to stop. It may take some time, but left on its own, it will stop eventually. It is inevitable.

I’ve been thinking about this lately because I see in my own life a tendency to coast—to coast in my relationships, to coast in my pursuit of godliness, to coast in my pursuit of God himself. And here are some things I’ve observed:

I do not coast toward godliness, but selfishness.

I do not coast toward self-control, but rashness.

I do not coast toward a love for others, but agitation.

I do not coast toward patience, but irritability.

I do not coast toward purity, but lust.

I do not coast toward self-denial, but self-obsession.

I do not coast toward the gospel, but self-sufficiency.

In short, I do not coast toward Christ, but toward self. When I stop caring, when I stop expending effort, when I allow myself to coast, I inevitably coast away from God and godliness. And this is exactly why I am so deeply dependent upon those ordinary means of grace, those oh-so-ordinary ways of growing in godliness—Scripture and prayer, preaching and fellowship, worship —-. The moment those sweet means no longer appeal is the moment I begin to slow.”

It’s time we put the petal to the metal and got back in the race! There is no cruise control in a race car. Think about it!

I can’t read minds, but I’ve got a pretty good idea as to what some folks, even relatives, think about me. If they were so bold, and perfectly honest to put it into words, they might say something like this:

You are too old-fashion and out of touch with the times. You are narrow minded and unwilling to compromise. You refuse to consider that there is some good in everyone and all religions. Don’t you know one religion is as good as another if you are sincere? After all, we all worship the same God. You won’t even allow non-baptist to preach in your church. What’s up with that? And while I’m talking about it, why do you insist on using the name “Baptist”? Don’t you realize that you would attract more people if you used a generic name? And, talk about offending people, you keep insisting that people be immersed for baptism. I’ll have you to know my grandpa was sprinkled and he was the best Christian I ever knew. But I’m not through. I’ve got plenty more to say.

You refuse to use any of the modern translations of the Bible.That’s silly. That old King James version is out of date. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you keep singing those old hymns. They are so boring! But that’s not the worst thing. I’ve got a problem with your preaching as well. You preach about God’s law and man’s sinfulness—even calling the names of sin, and the blood of Jesus. Then you try to tell us how we ought to live. Butt out preacher– how I live isn’t any of your business.  I was really offended when you said it was wrong to get a divorce and that people shouldn’t remarry as long as they have a living spouse. Are you crazy? It also makes me angry when you talk about the husband being the head of the house and that wives should be in submission to their husbands. That is so stupid—almost as bad as you telling us we ought to spank our children. Don’t you know that will hurt their self-esteem? And before I forget it– I have a lot of gay friends who are wonderful Christians–who are you to judge them. And don’t even get me started about your preaching against abortion–I might lose my temper like I did that day when you criticized President Obama. I’ll never forgive you for that!

I wish you would resign. You don’t even dress like a preacher. Those silly suits and ties are out of style. Why don’t you dress casual? I never even see you wearing shorts in public. My last preacher wore them to church– he was really cool and the teens loved him. You ought to try it. Well I guess that’s enough for now, but there is plenty more where that came from. O yeah, I almost forgot— I hate the way you comb your hair! Now what do you have to say for yourself?
PS– You are too judgmental!

My response—- “THANKS!” Guilty as charged!

Strange, I just wrote the following article yesterday and then noticed this a few minutes ago —“Obama Signs Executive Order to Detain Americans With “Respiratory Illnesses”. Now, here is what I wrote earlier:

The anger is building, the gap is widening, and the discontent is growing. I’m talking about the great divide in America — the right and left in our population. We are sitting on a powder keg and it’s only a matter of time until some fool lights the fuse. I’m convinced that’s exactly what some on one side wants to see— a crisis that will enable them to gain greater control and take us further down the road of their ideology— away from what is commonly called “The American way of life”. So don’t be surprised when they light the fuse— although they will try do it in a way where there isn’t any evidence that they are the cause.

While the thought of this grieves the flag-waving, red-blooded, God-fearing American, little is actually being done about it. A great many don’t even care enough to vote. Part of the problem is that too many folks don’t see “the” problem. They see “a” problem and they know the country is divided, but as to the nature of “the” problem they don’t have a clue. And if you tell them they won’t believe you. So, what do we do?

Some would say, “It is what it is and there’s nothing we can do about it. Others say, “We must fight on”, but what they really mean is “keep complaining”. Hey, I’m just  telling you what I see, because nothing constructive is happening. So the future doesn’t look too bright. Let’s face it, the kind of man we need at the helm is not the people’s choice. In fact that’s the last thing most people want. That’s why we keep hearing this statement–“Well at least he is better than—“. As though the lesser of two evils will make everything alright. With an attitude like that I have reason to believe that although we install new leaders we will basically get more of the same. But, that won’t / can’t  go on for ever. There will come a time when someone pushes the envelope too far and we will reap what we have sown.

By their own admission, the Obama administration loves a crisis, and they are looking for one. After all, “global warming”, “the carbon footprint”, “gun control”, “fatty foods”,etc. will take you only so far. Even the “border crisis” isn’t big enough for them to complete their mission. There is evidence that they knew about the recent influx of children crossing the border months before it happened– proving it was intentional. But they need something bigger—remember Obama’s glee when speaking of “executive orders”? He loves it when he can cram something down our throat. Now we are hearing about the threat of Ebola. What would happen if it came to America on a large scale? Or even if we just perceived it to be on a large scale? Could it be that someone wanting a crisis would actually manufacture one by introducing that dreadful disease to our people. We all know that is possible, but is it plausible? You can already guess what I think. Think about it–if the crisis were large enough Obama would drain his pen of ink signing executive orders so as to impose his will on the people. By the way, I’m still not convinced that there won’t be some sort of crisis before 2016 that will cause him to declare a state of emergency, take control, and do away with term limits. Crazier things have happened and we are ripe for the picking. I can’t prove I’m right and I hope I’m wrong, but assuming it can’t happen puts us in grave danger.

Every true student of the Bible knows what America’s problem is, and every student of history can see where we are headed. But none of us know what exactly will happen. One thing is for sure, if we don’t see the possibility of such dangers and prepare for them we are doomed. We keep wondering about the government stockpiling ammunition, building detention centers across the country, and invading our privacy, but when are we going to put two and two together and see what awful things could happen. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg. If we could be a fly on the wall eves-dropping on those who are charting a course for the destruction of America we would be shocked and more than a little bit frightened. What the crisis, that creates the chaos for them to complete their plan, will be is unknown to me. However, unless God intervenes, it is coming. If it isn’t one thing it will be another. Don’t expect them to give up anytime soon. Neither should we!

Listen. I’m as tired of writing and speaking about this as you are of hearing about it, but ignoring it isn’t the answer. That’s one of the things that got us where we are. Just believing everything will turn out okay doesn’t mean it will. As Pearl Buck said, “When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail”. As we’ve all heard–“The price of liberty is everlasting vigilance”. Wake up America!