Sometimes we realize a need for change…not a subtle change that would probably go unnoticed, but a really drastic change that makes a statement about who we are and how we feel. I wanted such a change for my living room. For years, we’d had the same old furniture and same old tables and carpet. The only thing that had been updated in years was the TV…it was time for the whole room to change.
For weeks I searched the internet for a room sized rug. I couldn’t afford new carpet and new furniture too, but a large rug that would cover the majority of the floor was what I needed. It had to be bright and it had to have lots of blue in it…and bits of smudgy blue to match the old carpet. After viewing over 800 pages of rugs, I finally settled on the one I wanted. It fit all my requirements and it was beautiful. Then began the search for just the right furniture to go with it…and I finally found it.
As I sat here this morning admiring my new room and thanking God for His help in putting it together, I realize another drastic change that must take place soon, and it involves much more than a living room. Our whole country is in need of change…a drastic change that brings us back to our roots and makes a bold statement about who we are and what we believe.
Not all drastic changes are sudden, like with an unexpected death or loss of a job, some can be planned for and worked on. We have had months now of being shut down, and everything basically put on hold…time to plan for a drastic change when things get back to ‘normal.’ Do we want to return to the same old type of normal we have known for way too long? A normal where our kids can’t go to school or to the mall without fear of being shot? A normal where cuss words flow freely and talk of Jesus and salvation are not always welcome? Where the news outlets give opinions instead of actual news and we are left to discern who is telling the truth or which opinion is closest to our own?
It’s time for a new normal, one where every life matters and opinions are shared without fear because they are given respectfully and listened to equally… so solutions can be found. A normal where God is known to be in charge and honored above everything else. It is time for all things to become new and the old is tossed out like furniture that is no longer needed. A deep cleaning is needed in every heart and every home. The church needs to work on refilling their pews, but mostly, reaching out to those who are lost and need Jesus. The gospel was shared first with the ones nearby before it was sent out to the rest of the world. Let’s make sure that our loved ones, and especially our kids and grand kids, hear the good news of salvation through faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
It’s time to stop skirting around the idea of turning our United States into a socialist country where our freedom to worship as we please would become even more compromised. The devil thrives in countries where God is denied and people are controlled by government rules. Do we really want the people who are in politics right now deciding for us how and when we can worship and where our kids go to school…and more importantly, what they are taught?
Christians have been grouped in with the ones known as the silent majority. We can no longer remain silent on a subject as important as our faith and our rights to practice it freely. So let’s begin a new normal and walk in the newness of life we received when we became Christians. Romans 6: 4 Therefore we are buried with him in baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Next Saturday an event called ‘The Return’ is being conducted in Washington DC when all Christians are being encouraged to join in a march of prayer all the way to the White House. Since all of us can not attend, let us all participate by praying and watching from home. May this be a huge step in our effort to bring our country back to God and in determining the direction we wish to take once this pandemic has ended. It is time for old things to pass away and all things to become new…especially our faith and hope that as He promised in 2 Chronicles 7: 14, if we humble ourselves, pray and repent… turn away from our wicked ways… God will hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land.
