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Greetings to the elect of God, chosen to shine like stars in the darkness of this world. If there was ever a generation that needed a Christian friend this is it. Your worth as a Saint of God has never been worth more than right now. The Prayed up Church is certainly standing firm in spite of the many attacks and troubles.
Please allow me to speak frankly with you during these e-mail addresses and also ask for your forgiveness and limited criticism over any grammar or textual mistakes as I do not wish to burden my long time editor and wife until she gets to feeling better.
My wife and I have spoken recently and often about a troubling trend we see among so many Christians, a trend that will cost more in the end than ever expected. It reminds me a story from Scripture that some of you may know, the main point is from this verse.
Judges 2:10 ‘And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.’
This was speaking of the generation that after leaving Egypt had gone on and conquered the land that was promised to them by the Lord. They had fought the battles, seen the miracles of God and had long since settled down to occupy the Land. As conquerors they had done well, as keepers of the covenant, not so well. They were blessed of God in so many ways yet they had failed to produce in their children any respect or desire to Love and Serve the Lord. As a result of this failure, there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Our generation has been blessed like no other generation before us. What it took our grandparents and parents years of hard work to achieve, many of their children and grandchild acquire in a fraction of the time. Please look at the parallels of the days of Joshua and the promise Land generation and our current dilemma.
Many of our Grandparents worked hard, had little, saved all, and held tightly to the dream that their children would have a better life than they had. History proves and is statistically supported that they also attended Church regularly as a family and had a strong belief in God and His provisions. There children for the most part followed in their footsteps with many of the same values and beliefs and enjoyed a greater prosperity than ever seen before. There was, however, one distinct change beginning to happen, the world was busier, richer, and offering more entertainment so Sundays and weekly church nights were being challenged by other events of the need to work another day.
This brings us to our present problem. 35 years ago many Churches had services or activities at least five nights a week. The Church I grew up in had something every night. In today’s Churches economy we struggle to get members to faithfully attend one service a week.
15 years ago when a revival was schedule it was not uncommon to go every night for as many as four weeks, when I was a teenager they often went eight to ten with no off nights.
These days we have one day Revivals, and even if we attempt to Schedule three nights of services one of those nights will be poorly attended as if three nights is just too much Church.
Furthermore, as little as five years ago we could have three hours of Sunday morning Church and think nothing of it. Today I see people start leaving after an hour and a half. We just do not give God any time anymore. You can certainly see where this is taking the next generation, the children and teenagers of our communities and families.
To add to my concern is the fact that there are more Prophetic convergences coming together than we have ever seen before. There is an all out war on Christianity, Churches are working to get the Gospel out with less resources and people than I have seen in my entire life, and parents have lost the passion to get their children into the church and to the altar.
I have already begun to see the fallout. Parents are weeping at home over the condition of their children and their families and wondering if it’s too late to get back into the Church. They are seeing the fallout of double standards, they are experiencing the regret of years of having the wrong priorities. In the years following the time line of our Scripture, the Bible teaches that the people had no king, meaning they did not recognize God as their King, furthermore, Scripture says that everyman did that which was right in their own sight. The results were catastrophic with the nation of Israel riding a roller coaster of destruction for years to come.
Let me close with a heart felt appeal to each of you receiving this e-mail to stop and consider what is going on in the world. Look at the changes that have taken place and see that God is slowly being removed from the family, the government, the school, and even in some extreme cases the Church. It is called Gradualism, the slow erosion of a way of life that takes place over time without anyone crying out an alarm and it could not be happening at worst time.
Let me remind you that Jesus was the answer 100 years ago and He is still the answer today. You need Him in your marriage, your family and your life. Please make a positive decision that will establish you and your family in Christ.
Always loving you
Pastor & Sis Johnson |
