THIS WEEK'S DEVOTIONAL
Posted 12 November 2004
Isaiah 2:1-5
Many people complain about how the age of the average person is growing in our churches.
All too often, we are the ones who hear those complaints first
Yes, the church is aging. Many people have noted of this fact, but
not too many have stood up to take a stand. That is our challenge.
Isaiah writes that people will "go up to the mountain of the Lord".
Once there, God will "turn their swords into plough-blades" and
"their spears into vine-knives".
Now, I'm not a farmer, and I doubt that many reading this are. However,
this can also be viewed as how we can fix the problem. We cannot bring
fellow Young Adults to church through quick and easy processes. It is not
a battle that can be won that way. Instead, we must till the seeds of love
into others' hearts. We need to show them that we truly care.
People often view Christians as judgmental, self-righteous, and simply
arrogant. They do not look beyond the stereotype to see the true joy
that comes through having a close personal relationship with God. Anyone who
has ever tried asking a friend to church probably knows what I'm talking
about. It takes a lot of time and often for something fairly radical to happen
in that person's life to make him or her realize that something is missing.
That something is God.
This brings me to my point: we MUST learn to make friends first, converts
later. We see many people preaching the Gospel on the streets to perfect
strangers, and this isn't an effective method for welcoming people. They
just view the "crazy", maybe complain about there being a law against that
sort of thing, and go on their way. This is needed, I'm not denying that.
However, witnessing can be more effective if on a personal level.
Witnessing can happen while at a movie, snowboarding or skiing, or just
hanging out, and it can show a person that you do truly care about them. And
it can't stop there. By staying friends, it will help for you to be there
when that person realizes that he or she really needs God in life. Just
pray and wait, the Lord has a schedule.
As we go out and try to make our faith community stronger, I would like to
remind all of you that you can't be 100% effective. We all strive to be,
but it can be impossible. No matter how dreary it may seem, though, just
let God be both your rear guard and your guide, and you will truly be able
to make a difference.
Blessings and Peace to all of you.
-- Chris Phillips
Want to write a devotional for fellow young adults? Send it to
Chris