“ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray , and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land..” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Adrian Rogers said, “I am believing God for a national revival. You know, sometimes we think that it’s just too late and we need to hunker down. That’s what the devil wants us to do.

It’s always too soon to quit. God has sent revival in the darkest days before, and there’s not one shred of Scripture that says we cannot have revival in dark days.

It is not too late for America. And I don’t want you to say, “My country, right or wrong.” No, I want you to get right. One by one, let’s get right with God and then we can say it, sing it, pray it and mean it, “God bless America.” But there’s something more important than America, and it’s the kingdom of God. I’m not interested in making America a better place to go to hell from. People need to be saved. 

The best thing you could do would be to lead another person to Jesus Christ. Then you will not just have a better citizen—you’ll have a new creation and a citizen of God’s kingdom! If someone asked you today how to be saved, are you prepared to lead them to Jesus Christ?”

I’m all for doing everything we should to save America, but never at the expense of ignoring the needs of lost souls. I wish Christians were as zealous to spread the gospel as the politicians and their supporters are to get their party in office. The greatest contribution we can make to America is to win a soul to Christ. God brought America to prominence and protected her all these years for this very purpose. If we fail God’s purpose we are no better than Sodom and Gomorrah and can expect a similar fate.

“…… I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”–1 Cor. 9:22

Sometimes we forget how important simple things can be– a smile, a handshake, a hug, an encouraging word, or how about this — an invitation to church. Inviting someone to church takes very little time and effort, but it can pay great dividends. It is a “little” thing of huge importance. No one can be saved without hearing the gospel and a simple invitation to Sunday School or church can cause that to happen. It happened to me. I doubt that I would have ever attended church had it not been for a friend encouraging me to do so. I had never read the Bible, nor had any desire to do so, and I had no idea that I would find exactly what I needed, what my soul longed for, at church. All of that changed when a friend invited me to church. Within a few weeks of attending church I was saved. Two months later God called me to preach, and that’s what I’ve been doing the last 48 years. That friend is now in heaven. The preacher who told me about Christ is in heaven. But, by the grace of God, I am still here telling others about Christ. And it started with a simple invitation.

I’m sure there are many folks reading this who also could say they were saved as a result of someone merely inviting them to church. Even so God wants to use you to reach others through this simple service. Without preaching a sermon, teaching a class, or ever opening your Bible you can make it possible for others to hear the glorious gospel of Christ and be saved. It doesn’t take much time, effort, or knowledge, but it can lead to the the most wonderful thing possible—a sinners salvation. What could you do in life that is more important or fulfilling than that? There is, however, one thing that absolutely essential— concern for others. Do you care enough about others to bring them under the sound of the Gospel through the simple service of inviting them to church?

When the Salvation Army started it was a much different organization than it is today. It’s primary interest was to win souls. When William Booth started the organization few churches had an interest in reaching the outcasts of society who lived in poverty or on the streets. Paul Chappell wrote, “After the Salvation Army was founded and began to see many saved and lives transformed, Booth became a well-known figure in both England and America. At one point he was invited to meet with Queen Victoria. As they talked she asked him what the secret of his success was. Booth replied, “Your Majesty, some men have a passion for money. Some people have a passion for things. I have a passion for people.”

That, my dear friend, is what it takes for any church to succeed— “a passion for people”. If we don’t care enough about people to do what is necessary to help them hear the gospel there is no reason for our existence. While our efforts shouldn’t stop with or consist only of inviting people to church that ought to be included in all we do and it should never stop. It could make the difference between heaven and hell for some poor lost soul. It did for me!

“ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”–Gen. 18:25

Life is filled with many questions. And here is the question that answers all the questions–“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Although it was spoken to God and about God it was not to inform or remind Him– He knows all. It was spoken as an expression of Abraham’s faith. But it also was “written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.“(Rom. 15:4). It is a question we need to think about, and the answer is easy—“Yes.” He will do right. He cannot do otherwise—-“there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Ps. 92:15). “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works“( Ps. 145:17). And He is “the Judge“– the only Judge. He is “the Judge of all the earth”. He is a just Judge– He will “do right”. But, “..how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out”( Rom. 11:33).

There are mysteries in life far too deep for us to fathom, questions we can’t answer, and circumstances we cannot comprehend. And we repeatedly ask “Why?” We wonder about the age of accountability in children, the plight of the heathen who never heard the gospel, election and predestination, what seems to be the premature death of godly people, etc. The list goes on and on. And, although we don’t come right out and say it, we often all but accuse God of wrongdoing with comments such as “It isn’t fair”. We have questions. We want answers. But God isn’t talking. So we wonder. We live with mysteries we can’t unravel, and there is only one hope for resolution. Our only possibility for peace is to trust God—lean upon the knowledge that He will “do right”, believe the promises of the One who “cannot lie”(Tit. 1:2).

Why do you feel the need to know? What good would it do if you did? What would you do about it? Does God not know best? The fact is, God knows you don’t need to know. And those who trust Him don’t need an answer–they know He will “do right“. When things happen they don’t need to know the reason. They are content in just knowing there is a reason— a good reason. They bank everything on the fact that “the Judge of all the earth” will “do right“. They “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”(Rom. 8:28). And knowing God is trustworthy keeps them going (2 Cor. 4:16-18) through the toughest times. If you won’t accept that explanation nothing else would help. If you believe this you always have reason to hope. As John Oxenham wrote:

“God writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,—
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.”

“ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God , and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together .“–Rom. 8:17
“…we are the Lord’s.“- Rom. 14:8
“The LORD is my portion…“- Lam.3:24
“…For all things are your’s.”- 1 Cor. 3:21

Here is a marvelous truth, a miracle of the highest sort, and a mystery of unequaled importance—born of God we become the children of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. And, as strange as it sounds, we become God’s and God becomes ours. We are both possession and possessor! We are His and He is ours. That is a position beyond compare or comprehension.

As we gaze upon the universe and behold it’s wonders we can say “it is mine”. And if we gather all the diamonds and pearls, and extract all the silver and gold from the earth we can say “I have more”. But it gets even better. We can say of a truth, “we have more and better–we have God“! Think about that. More than His creation and His blessings, we have God Himself. Dare we then ever complain that we are deprived? No Christian is poor, nor helpless or hopeless. In Christ we have all and the Creator of all! That gives us reason to rejoice. And it is of great importance that we remember this.

Once we discover who we are and what we have in Christ our attitude about everything changes. We never view our past, present, or prospect the same again. As an old song says, “It’s different now!” It really is! We are different and we view everything differently. Suddenly, regardless of our circumstances, we have blessings unknown to the world— things hoped for but unavailable and unattainable without Christ. The split second that we place our faith in the atonement provided by Christ shed blood we have acceptance with God, access to God, aid from God, and the attention of God. What could be more amazing than that?

Today I might have to endure a serious problem, engage a strong enemy, encounter a sinful temptation, or experience a sad loss, but, with God, I cannot have a bad day. Because of my position in Christ I can “Rejoice in the Lord alway..”(Phil. 4:4). Regardless of how fierce the storm, or how high the waves, or how strong the wind, or how dark the night, or how severe the pain, this is a good day. And I live everyday with the assurance that the best is yet to come. At a time of God’s own choosing, I will leave this troubled old world and enter into the fulness of my inheritance as a joint heir with Christ. Until then I’ll keep rejoicing.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free ….. If the Son therefore shall make you free , ye shall be free indeed.”–John 8:32, 36

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”— John 14:6

It is a sad fact that far too many important decisions are based on tradition or taste, personal preference, than on the truth. We have a bad habit of throwing commonsense out the window when we try to defend our desires or prove our prejudices. We base our conclusions and pin our hopes on what we want to believe rather than the truth. We go with our feelings rather than the facts. The examples are many.

I was born and raised in Springfield, Mo. (“the Queen City of the Ozarks”), attended Central High School, rooted for the St. Louis Cardinals, and idolized Stan “the man” Musial. I’ve often, tongue-in-cheek, referred to Springfield as “the Holy Land”, but that doesn’t make it so. I simply wanted to express my fondness for the city in a way that would get attention– and when you live in Texas it does! The fact is Springfield had/has a lot of room for improvement, the Central High Bulldogs were not always the best team in town, the Cards didn’t always win the World Series, and Stan the man didn’t have the best stats in baseball. Saying they are my favorites is one thing, proving they are the best is another. The team or town you root for and support might be your favorite, but that doesn’t make them best. The record speaks for itself.

Now, none of this stuff really matters–but some things do! Here’s the problem. Some people choose their religion like they choose their favorite ball team, etc. Rather than making sure they are right they support whatever appeals to them. Their belief system and/or choice of a church isn’t based on the truth, but rather on taste—personal preference. They base their eternal destiny on their feelings rather than the facts. And that doesn’t end well.

Several years ago I made one of the most stupid statements anyone could make. Before I became a Christian, and totally ignorant of the Bible, someone ask me about my beliefs about God. It was obvious that I wasn’t a Christian and this person was trying to witness to me. My response was, “I’m satisfied with what I believe about God”. There were a couple of problems with that. First, I didn’t know what I believed about God. I was simply trying to avoid the subject. Second, and more to the point, me being satisfied with my beliefs didn’t make them right, nor did it make me safe. And the same is true of you. What God thinks is all that matters. He alone is the Judge.

When we are talking about heaven and hell we better make certain that what we believe is true. Being sincere about or satisfied with your beliefs isn’t good enough. Even if all roads led to Rome, all religions do not lead to heaven. It does make a difference what you believe. It is not a matter of you being satisfied, but whether or not God is satisfied. Salvation is not in religion, but in the Redeemed. Christ alone is the way to eternal life!