// A W A K E N I N G

"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of 'accepting' Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him."

[A.W. Tozer]

The more and more I travel, studying and digging deeper into God's word while meeting believers from foreign countries, the more I realize what a bubble of "Christianity" my home country of America has become. Especially since I've grown up in Southern California, the home of "Calvary Chapel" as well as so many other churches, there is this incredible blanket of "moral good" and good principles. America is a first world country, so the majority of people find themselves living comfortable lives without thinking twice of the niceties and accessibility - and this unfortunately overflows into people's religion. There's no persecution that makes going to church on Sunday anything but tradition and "autopilot" actions. And while that may sound so nice and pleasant to those who don't live in those conditions, I can tell you it has a HUGE drawback.

[ lazy, lukewarm, apathetic people ]

I'm sure most of you know who Pastor Saeed is, but if not, he is an American who is currently serving an 8 year prison sentence in one of Iran's toughest prisons simply for sharing the gospel. His persecution in this prison has been so incredibly intense and physically, spiritually, and mentally painful. But yet, he hasn't stopped sharing his faith! He takes each day as an opportunity to share the hope he has with all those in prison with him. He hardly ever gets to see his precious family and is treated as trash. But today, I saw his wife post this on Facebook:

"Saeed has been praying that each day that he is in prison, the Lord would continue to use it for the furtherance of the Gospel and for revival. His heart has been specially drawn to to pray for revival in the USA. When Saeed first entered the USA almost 10 years ago, he said that he saw that the church was sleeping. Prayer for revival has always been a big part of Saeed's prayer life."

Holy cow...this man who is experiencing a type of persecution that most Americans don't even think about or realize is praying for us. He's praying for the people who are living so much more comfortable, pleasant lives than he is. He's not bitter or angry. He's praying for us when we should be on our faces pleading in prayer for him.

The churches in America are sleeping. They've drifted ever so slowly under the deception of Satan. The culture is so obsessed with portraying a perfect, happy life through social media (and other areas) and has been given so much comfort and ease that we've become lazy. We've been handed so much on a platter, that we don't even get up to do anything anymore.

Now please don't get me wrong - I know all churches in America are not like that. I know all believers don't live in this mindset. But correct me if I'm wrong, but this drifter-mindset has become more prevalent than rare - maybe not in a church, but so often in individuals. Isn't it individuals that make up the church body anyways?

Each new season the Lord graciously brings me through, I see more and more how saturated I've been with this mindset. Born and raised in a Christian home. Raised in a place filled with Bible-teaching churches. Freedom to worship wherever. Bibles always in the home. Study tools at my fingertips.

But you know what else it has brought me? Fatness. Bloating fatness.

At the end of Moses' life, the children of Israel are finally about to enter the long-awaited Promise Land. What's crazy is that God actually predicts Israel's rebellion long beforehand:

"When I [God] have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant."
[Deuteronomy 31:20]

You see, Israel began taking all of God's blessings for granted, becoming prideful and thinking they deserved this great lifestyle. And all that brought them was a downhill path that dropped them into the abyss of rebellion in the end. 

I've lived my whole life in the comfortable lane of life - never being a rebellious kid and always walking in the way of how God says in His word. But God isn't calling me to live comfortably. He's calling me to live RADICALLY. He's calling me to have a passion for people. All people. 

God is calling all of us to awaken from our sleep and resume running the race.

America does need revival. It needs it so desperately. It's not an easy task - usually those who believe they are "good people" will be the ones who reject the idea of living a life that denies self to be a disciple of Christ. When you live in comfort, who wants to leave that? I'll admit it - I don't want to. But what's worth it more? A nice little life here on earth for the next 50 or so years? Or riches in the kingdom of God that will last for eternity?

"Where there is true, strong love to Jesus, it will cost us something. Love is the costliest of all undertakings... But what shall we mind if we gain Christ? You cannot give up for Him without regaining everything you have renounced, but purified and transfigured." 

[F.B. Meyer]

When Jesus called the fishermen to become His disciples, He showed them His power and glory through the miracle of the great catch of fish. They had caught nothing all night, toiling and working in their own strength. Jesus tells them to go cast their nets into the deep, where any fisherman would know is not the ideal place to catch anything. But they caught so many fish that they filled two boats and they even started sinking from all the weight! These extra ordinary men are then given the extraordinary calling by Jesus Himself - "follow Me." How I desire to have their same response:

"And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him."

[Luke 5:10b-11, emphasis added]

The cost of discipleship is high - it costs your entire being, soul and all. Living a radical life for Christ may seem to cost you everything, but in essence, you gain it all and MORE. There is such a need for a passion for Christ and a passion for people in the church today. Passion awakens the sleeping. Passion moves us into action. But this passion only comes through the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This passion is motivated by the love of Christ for us, touching us in a deeper way than we could ever explain. A passion like this can't be created or stirred in and of myself, but must be a natural outflow of a deepening relationship with my Maker and my Savior. I so desire to be a true disciple of Christ, and Lord-willing be able to disciple and encourage others into a passionate, radical walk with the Lord. 

Walking with Jesus is a daily adventure. Passionately running towards Him just makes it that much better. Yes, the more you run, the more tired you may become. Trials will come flying at you even harder (I mean, Satan can't throw a cottonball at a running you and expect you to be knocked over - he's not that stupid). But I can tell you that you will never find more joy and fulfillment in any other calling. Whether your "adventure" is traveling to other countries or just going to your 9-5 job every day, God calls upon us all to live with the same passion. He gives us all opportunities to pour into other people and proclaim His name. 

Oh family and friends, let us get out of the comfy "spiritual bed" of laziness. ARISE! Grab those running shoes and get ready. Once you step out that door and get on that "runner's high", God will supernaturally empower you to keep pressing on. All it takes is that first step. 

"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels."

[Luke 9:23-26]