Faith Wide Awake

How would you describe the church of today?  Growing and passionate or compromising and falling asleep?  Depending where you are, it could be either.  My missionary-granddaughter tells me she has experienced the most life and excitement in churches of the Third World.  It’s easy to believe.

If we’re honest, here in America, we may be trying to shake a drowsy giant from falling into a deep sleep of drool.  A.W. Tozer said that if the Holy Spirit were completely taken from the church today it would continue on as if nothing happened and no one would know the difference.  Sad but true.

Ever nod off in church?  Probably, unless you don’t go.  And have you ever nodded off while driving and drift into another lane?  You don’t know you’re asleep until you wake up.  It’s a slow fade.

But He will never fade away . . .

And yet you can’t make this up – the church has been napping while the world walked straight over its sacred back. Meanwhile, the church is walking over cultural, racial and moral eggshells. If the house of God slips into a coma, we lose all awareness and we’ll drift right into the dangerous lane of oncoming opposition.

Mercy shouts a wakeup call and we need eyes-wide-open faith in a snoozing world.

In Romans 13:11 Paul charged the slumbering church to realize what time it is and get up!  And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

Maybe we need to toss a splash of Living Water on the Bride’s face and bring back the passion to overcome the urgent times we’re facing.  My prayer and hope.  And may it be like opening our eyes for a split moment to separate a prayer from sleep . . .