pastorrudytlc

Speaking In The Light with Pastor Rudy

A Denver magazine reports a disastrous fire in that city during which a large warehouse, containing thousands of tons of ice, was destroyed. The editor points out that the building actually contained thousands of gallons of a potent extinguisher, but it was frozen. What an eerie picture of the apathetic condition of many of our local churches today. While sin runs rampant throughout the country, fiery faith has become ice cold!

There is a biblical word that describes the rebellion to the truth happening even in places of worship today. First, God has been banished from society and social life and now there is a movement to even have Him evicted from churches. Our English word “apostasy” describes the widespread departure from the faith that will occur in the days leading up to the return of Jesus. Congregants will desire only positive upbeat messages coming from their pulpits. Topics like sin, hell, salvation, and judgment will be deemed as “hate speech” and prohibited from being preached to the masses. Any mention of the blood of Jesus will be outlawed as offensive. Only State approved sermons will be given the go ahead for presentation. If you think that this philosophy is far-fetched, one only needs to study the history of what happened to the German Evangelical Church in the midst of Hitler’s reign.

We are living in an age where a sense of doom is looming. We feel the threat of terrorism now invading even our local neighborhoods. We have all experienced the effects of diseases like Covid and the pandemic that has stolen any normalcy of life in 2020. Politics has become volatile as hatred is spewed between the different parties. There is the ever present insecurity of the economy. We hear of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis, and overhead, even the climate is threatening our existence. Add to these things the ever quickening pace of the moral decline of our nation, the defunding of law and order and it all begins to feel like the prelude to something big, dare I say something even worse is on the horizon. It’s almost like one big shoe is about to drop and indeed it is!

We have all heard the saying, “Waiting for the other shoe to drop.” This modern idiom traces its origins back to the way that tenements in larger cities were designed and built back in the late 1800s, often with bedrooms stacked atop one another. It was common to hear the neighbor above you take of his or her shoes at night and drop them to the floor; first one, then the other. “Waiting for the other shoe to drop” is to “await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable.” The Bible says that at a time of great turmoil, while the world is groping for peace and security, “destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The Bible also says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News to those who need it!”  I’m not ready to take my shoes off yet! It’s time to live like we are Citizens of Heaven! This world is not our real home, we are only passing through. For too long, God’s people have tried to play both sides of the fence by attempting to serve two masters when only one can be placated. As Joshua proclaimed years ago, “Choose this day whom you will serve!” Yes, following Jesus may cost you popularity and position but the alternative will never satisfy the yearning for eternal love and belonging that is in every one’s soul. Maybe we need to learn how to wait for the best so we don’t sell out for the temporary quick fix. As long as I have life and breath, I want to lace up my Nikes, which by the way, means “victory” in the original Greek language; and run the pace of the race in introducing the love of Jesus to every face that I see until I finally gaze upon my Lord in person!

The enemy loves to get us to doubt the fact that the One who is the Truth will set us free! The enemy loves to get us to live in an alternative universe where we think that we know better than God in deciding what way we should go. The enemy also wants us to forfeit forever for some immediate thrills right now. Jesus said clearly that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Maybe rather than settling for a religion, we should seek a real relationship with the One who created us in the first place. You got to know the One who made you because He certainly knows you and is inviting you to find your forever in Him.

I am startled by the fact that we haven’t acted like we have learned anything from history. When I see mob mentality, it only causes my soul to grieve. God is calling us to experience His perfect love which casts out fear. Intimidation, manipulation, bullying and name calling, labeling and lying can’t lead to paradise. It never has and it never will. So I refuse to wait for that other shoe to drop. Keep those who claim to know Jesus with their running shoes on. God has called us to a race that is not so much about finishing first as much as it is about finishing well. Some people want to live in a place of perfect peace. God is preparing that place for us but it is not here. So while I am here, I want to bring Him honor and glory by showing others Jesus. He is the true treasure. He is the Lord we all need to follow. This shoe is not dropping until I am done breathing. How about you?