Pastor’s Corner: “Drifting Away”
Psalm 51:12 (NIV) – 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
5 Dangers of Drifting:
-We begin to pull away from Godly influences. Marriages suffer. Trust gets broken. We lose our heart for others. We fall away from close fellowship with other believers. We neglect accountability and connection with those who would encourage our walk in Christ.
– We stop praying. We’re too busy. We’re weary or simply overwhelmed. We shoot a few prayers up His way, like, “Lord, bless our day,” but we’re unaffected by the lack of closeness we have with our Savior. Constantly wired to electronic devices, we’re more in tune to what others are saying and doing, the constant media chatter, than we are to what is on God’s heart for the day.
– We lose focus, or desire, for His Words. We’re no longer reading or hearing it. We’re distracted by all that calls our name through the day. To-do lists beckon us from the moment we wake up, crazy schedules leave no room for moments with Him. Or maybe we find ourselves just disconnected completely. Distant, withdrawn, His words of life and truth fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts.
– We lose our heart for worship. We stop going to church and fill our minds with excuses of why we can’t. Or why it’s not that important. Or maybe we still go so we can check the church box. We sing words, hear words, then we go home. Yet not really singing and not really hearing. Unaffected. Distant. All the while, our hearts feel a million miles away.
– The spiritual things that once concerned us, no longer concern us. We’re more easily influenced by the opinions of the world instead of the truth of God’s Word. Compassion for people wanes. His Spirit within us is stifled. Our heart for God is dulled. The pull towards sin increases. We begin to see life through selfish motives, blurred by pride, and our quest to live happy, on our terms. We find ourselves twisting truth to meet our own needs. We become numb to the danger that surrounds us.
Part-time Christianity is characterized by withdrawing from the fellowship of other Christians. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) – 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. One of the ways we know we are on the road to luke-warm Christianity is when we feel that church doesn’t matter much anymore. While we don’t have to go to church to become Christians, attending church is necessary for us to grow spiritually. Attending a Bible-believing/teaching, Jesus/people loving fellowship will inspire and motivate us in this direction. Mature Christians not only want to be blessed, but they want to be a blessing to others. “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (v. 24).
God saved us to be part of His body. Our fingers couldn’t work without our hands, and our hands couldn’t work without our wrists. Our wrists couldn’t work without our arms, and our arms wouldn’t work without our shoulders. God has designed us to need each other and to care for each other. When someone begins down the luke-warm road, we find that they don’t attend church as often as they used to. As a result, no one is around to hold them accountable and encourage them to be responsible. One log in the fireplace does not burn very well. Logs need to be piled together for there to be a flame. The flame lasts longer when there are several logs burning together. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton