
A Shaking?
A week or two ago I wrote about what seems like a trend to undermine the church in America. I spoke of the orders in California that, at first, banned singing in churches and other houses of worship. Then, the same governor banned gathering for church services altogether. I also wrote that I am praying this nonsense does not become a trend across our great nation.
Today, I am wondering what the “church” thinks about all of this. And I am also wondering whether or not this might be a warning for us; a warning we might at first see as persecution,
In the Bible we are told that, if we suffer as Christians, we need not be ashamed, but we are to glorify God. The same scripture states that “the time has come for judgement to begin in the house of God …” (1 Peter 4:16-17)
In the book of Hebrews, we read that God said “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” The verse is a reference to Haggai 2:6, where God says he will “shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations …”
It is worth noting that the verses in Hebrews go on to say … “Now this ‘once more’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made; that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
So I ask … What if the shaking that is going on in the church today, both in America and around the globe, is that “once more” shaking that God spoke of? What if the shaking is removing those things in our religious habits, traditions, and institutions which can be shaken? What might we find that has remained after the shaking stops?
In addition, what about the judgement spoken of in 1 Peter? I know the church has been through hard times, but is this that judgement whose time Peter said had arrived?
Anyone who has been involved in the church over the past 50 years or so would be hard pressed to make a case for the purity, sanctity or “rightness” of the church, especially in the west and in America.
As an example, Christianity claims to be the biggest religion in America. Yet, for 50 years our “Christian nation” has allowed millions of babies to be murdered, inside the womb and out.
Today, churches and denominations across the nation are embracing the beliefs and actions of the Black Lives Matter movement. Have they not read the mission statement and beliefs of that organization? Do they not know the group is against the nuclear family (spelled out in their own statements); do these churches and denominations not realize the family as we have known it was, first and foremost, established by God?
I could go on with observations about the way the church in America has apparently “rolled over” and allowed the enemy to gain a foothold in our denominations, non-denominational fellowships, and sanctuaries.
Where is the church in all of this? If we are so strong an influence, why have these things been allowed to go on — even flourish — in our nation? When are we going to stop compromising? Maybe, sadly, it is time for a shaking; time for judgement to begin in the house of God.
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