God's Wake Up Call, Pt.2

Here's Pt.2!

While preparing my clothes for Easter service this past Sunday morning, I had the TV on and I just happened to come across an episode of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. His sermon was on the Glory of God, but what struck me the most was a story that they did on a young Indian man that was following his families Hindu faith and later found Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

What struck me the most is that he basically rebelled harshly against his mom and dad and all that they believed in their (faith) and also how he became such a prosperous man at an early age, but yet had no peace. He finally came across a man that was a believer and he told this young man that he was a heathen and his business would never prosper without Christ as the head. Of course the young man ignored everything that was said until he finally realized that it was true. So he called the man that he had met and set up a one-on-one meeting with him. Finally the man talked to him about Christ and the young Indian man gave his life to Christ


By now you may be wondering what this has to do with God's Wake Up Call.....Well basically once this young Indian man found Christ he began to share his faith with his family and they began to see him act and treat them differently. Eventually even his father gave his life over to Christ and it basically changed his whole family which all became believers just because of his changed heart and ways.

The Bible clearly tells us that we are the supposed to be the "salt of the earth" and be examples to all that are around us. This young man did exactly that, he not only witnessed to them verbally he also witnessed to them with his lifestyle. The Scriptures tell us to "always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have, but do it with gentleness and respect" How many of us yearn for our love ones and co-workers, friends, etc. to see our lives as a reflection of God's love and see them join the family of believers.

I know in own life I yearn to see my unsaved family members, co-workers and friends come to know Christ. I often wonder if my life is truly reflecting Christ. I sometimes get certain comments that lets me know that I'm seen as someone who is different. I mean don't use profanity, I don't drink and I'm forever talking about my family and my wife. To me these are the things that set me apart from most men that I know. Most of my co-workers use excessive amounts of profanity, talk about tying one on for the weekend, talk terribly about there marriages and can't stand their kids, etc. Now don't get me wrong there are plenty of believers at my place of employment and they do a pretty good job of showing their faith but there are also the few who act like they don't know who Christ is in their lives.

There's a scripture that was ringing in my head the other day that says "having a form of godliness but denying its power"........My question is how can we as believers be godly and yet not rely on His power to be godly? Hmmm.....We must all realize that "without Him, we are NOTHING"......Yes we as believers need to "wake up" and quit making excuses on why our families, friends, co-workers are not saved. Is it because we are not really trying hard or is it because we are relying on our power and not His? I would say the latter.......We are allowing to much of us and not enough of Him.

Let's all be like the Indian man and live a life worthy of Christ so all around us will seek the face of God and seek His salvation......

God's Wake Up Call

As I reflect back on today, the one thing that stuck in my mind was what my own Pastor preached on during our Easter service.

The name of the sermon was "God's Wake-Up Call".....He basically talked about how God uses different situations in our lives to "wake us up" and what we need to do to heed them.

Its funny how God uses the simplest of formulas to get our attention, but how many of us recognize that its even God's that's speaking when situations arise in our lives. The Bible tells us that "His ways our higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts".....In other words when God is trying get our attention we will not always understand his motives nor will it always feel good to us. That's where trust comes in.

I have learned that God speaks in many different ways. He speaks through His Word (The Bible), he speaks through his people (Believers), he speaks through the Holy Spirit and finally he speaks through everyday situations. I remember hearing the testimonies of people that were supposed to be in the World Trade Center in NY and for whatever reason didn't make it into the city. There was one in particular where the person's alarm clock didn't go off that day for some reason. There were some that were caught in traffic, late getting out the house, etc.

How was this tragedy a wake up call you ask? Well, look at the increase in church attendance at most churches across America the Sunday after the tragedy. How many people gave there lives to Christ on that day? The Word tells us that "All things work together for the good of those love the Lord and are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28-30)........There were many who cried "Where is God in all this tragedy"? He was right where he always is.....Right by our side, waiting for us to call out to Him. I believe that there were many who received Christ inside and outside those burning buildings on that day and there were many that went home to be with the Lord.

Unfortunately, there were also some who left this earthly existence without knowing the saving grace of Jesus Christ......and that is truly a (or should be) a "wake-up call" to all of us who call him "friend"......

I remember discussing this very issue with my wife. We often talk about how many of our family members and friends, co-workers are unsaved and on their way to damnation. 9/11 was a definite wake up call because one never knows when his/her time on this earth will be over. As much as we think we have forever, no day is PROMISED to us!

There will be a Pt.2 to this blog, but there's one thing that I want the ones who read this to do is look and reflect on their individual lives and see where God may be issuing a "wake-up call" in their lives. After you have done that, would you please respond with a comment. I look forward to seeing how God is using this blog to change the lives of His people. Because ultimately this is all for His glory, I am only His willing vessel..........