If We've Ever Needed You, Lord, It's Now...

"If we've ever needed You, Lord, it's now; Lord, it's now. We are desperate for Your hand..."


The lyrics to that song so perfectly describe the burden of my heart for the last year. I look around at what's going on in our nation and our world and my heart is troubled. When I look at the condition of my community, our churches and especially Christians, my heart is grieved.


I went to walk this morning and when I arrived back at my house, I noticed a few weeds continuing to pop up in my yard...even though I have spent several hours of manual physical labor stooping over and bending down to purge them from my yard, as well as several rounds of weed and feed (which apparently is feeding the weeds as much as the grass!). I have even been wounded in this battle to keep my yard free of unwanted residents. Poison ivy is now plaguing me with itching and ugly large red welts, and for over a week I could not walk or move without pain from the hamstring I pulled in both legs! One last glance over the yard this morning, and I noticed another small weed (do I dare bend over for fear of pulling the hamstring again??). I did bend over to pull it and discovered a large area of stickers in the midst of my lucious, green St. Augustine grass. I couldn't see them when I was standing up...only when I got down to get a closer look. As I began to try to find where the root was, the stickers were so intermingled in with my good grass that I was having to pull up the good stuff to get rid of the bad.

This made me think about Christianity in the world and in our society today. We as Christians have allowed the weeds of the world to gradually take up residence in our yards. At a casual glance over my yard, everything looked OK. It was only when I examined it closely that I discovered unwanted stickers were residing with my good grass.



Christians go to church on Sunday morning, some even teaching or using their musical talents, yet on Friday night after the work week, they unwind just like the world, or celebrate, talk and do just like the world. Churches teach the youth about resisting peer pressure, yet adults are giving in to it left and right. Christian parents have given up on holding their teenagers accountable to God's ways. Mature single adults are leaving the values and beliefs they once held to for the world's version of how single adults should live.



Yes, God is loving and forgiving, but He calls us to obey. Do we really understand that all powerful God, Creator of all this world and universe that we live in desires to have a relationship with each one of us...so much so that He gave His only Son to die in our place? That ought to change how we live, where we go, what we do and how we do it.

This "Christian" nation we live in has elected a president and his wife who do not acknowledge God. We as a nation have adopted the lifestyle of homosexuality as acceptable. Many Christians look, act, talk and play just like non-Christians. Loving people unconditionally as Christ does is not the same thing as condoning their sin. Sin is what put Jesus on the cross...He takes it pretty seriously. These things ought to break our hearts. When was the last time we wept over the sin in our nation, our community, our own family....ourself???


We like to dwell on God's love, forgiveness and longsuffering, but He is also holy, just and righteous. It's time, Christian, to wake up and stop playing games. Many are saying with their lips that Jesus is Lord, yet their hearts are far from Him. A line in the sand has been drawn...which side are you on? How long will you decide between the world and God by sitting on the fence with one foot in each? Choose you this day Who you will serve.

If you are saved, God has a purpose and a plan for you in your sphere of influence. We are here at this time for such a time as this. Are we accomplishing what God put us here for by pointing people to Jesus, or are we leading them far away from Him?

May we daily stoop down on our knees (even at the risk of a little pain and discomfort) and weed out the stickers that are trying to root themselves in our good green grass.