February 2007

In my recent readings I came upon a statement that caught my attention and I thought it so poignant for the church today even though it was written fifteen centuries ago by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (North Africa). It reads,

Let us now beseech God, with reverent devotion, that He may open our understandings, and remove from us all contentiousness of spirit, so that our mind may contemplate the essence of truth.

We all want to do the right thing and live in the truth that God gives us. I think we can say that as we live in the truth we live in the right. Jesus himself said we can “...know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). But St. Augustine also encourages us to remove our contentious spirit so that we can begin to figure out what the truth is. No person or group of persons can seek God when there is contentiousness of spirit. There is too much baggage to carry when that is the case. But I think St. Augustine also gives us a clue as to “how” we can seek the truth: beseech God with reverent devotion.

There is no more significant time than now for us as a church, and for us who say we follow Jesus, to seek the Lord. The world stage is a mess. Our families in America are in shambles. And we as a church are in need of Revival for the things of God and what God has for us. Our church is fading. Our fire for the Lord is fading. Our need is to ask ourselves what we really want to live for--ourselves, or for Christ who gave his life for us. We are an aging congregation. We need to see that the harvest of souls is plentiful, but the workers are few. Social events and fundraisers will not cause the Church of Christ to grow. Only true soul winning and evangelism will do it. But are we united in this? Are we spiritually ready for this? I wish I could say we are with a confident “yes.” But I cannot. We need to seek the Lord.

Will you beseech the Lord with me in reverent devotion? The Lenten season will soon be here. But our time of repentance and soul-searching is now. Let me ask all of us this question, as the Apostle Paul asked some converts to Christ whom Paul met in Ephesus: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” (Acts 19:2) You see, spiritually we cannot lead anyone where we haven’t been. Our work ahead as a church is to get ourselves turned around so that our church is healthy, healthy with the Spirit’s presence in our personal lives as well as our corporate lives. When this happens, as we humbly submit ourselves to the will of God as individuals and as a church, only then will God begin to move and we’ll sense our hearts transformed for the challenge ahead.

We have a mission station right here in Flagler Beach. Are we up to reaching our community for Christ? We cannot afford to “play church” anymore. Too many souls are going off into eternity without Him. We can make a difference in the lives of people who need to experience the reality of Christ’s love and forgiveness. But we can’t do it if we haven’t experienced it ourselves. “Beseech the Lord in reverent devotion.” St. Augustine makes it plain for us. May we heed his words and put it into practice.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Doug