Unmovable

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, Ephesian 6:14....

"When we base our faith on moods and situations rather than on facts, we are blown by every changing wind....If we are rooted in the Gospel, we will not be moved."  Chris Tiegreen

I'm both burdened and encouraged today, and it concerns the same topic; the knowledge and living out of His Word. On the one hand, the number of professing believers who have at best, a rudimentary understanding and personal experience of His Word is appalling. Ignorance of His Word, and application of His Word into our lives may be the lowest we have ever seen in the western church. As a result, we have believers aplenty who are doing exactly what Tiegreen speaks of. Their faith and trust in Him is dependent upon their mood and circumstances. They are not grounded in His truth that is revealed in His Word. As a result their lives are literally blown all over the place depending upon how they feel and what they see. For not only pastors, but for all who are grounded in Him, that is a grievous and costly reality. It is a burden upon the heart.

At the same time, I'm encouraged. Encouraged because I see a growing number of people in the church, both young and old, who are asking, often with a sense of urgency, to be discipled, mentored, and encouraged to grow in Him. Just a few weeks ago, a person in our fellowship approached me and admitted that they were spending almost no time in either prayer or the reading of His Word. They were feeling great conviction on that truth. They asked me if I would be willing to hold them accountable to begin doing both? I agreed, and now each time I see them, I ask them how it is going in their desire to grow in the knowledge and experience not only of His Word, but of and in Him? It blessed me to hear them say each time that they are holding to it. There are bumps in the journey to be sure, but they are pressing on, having it become a part of their life, a part of who they are. They are growing in Christ.

We are living in tumultuous times. Times that will assault us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If we are unaware of all He has provided in His Word and in Himself to counter all that is happening and all that can happen, we will be at the mercy of those assaults. Paul exhorted the Ephesian church as it walked through persecution, to stand firm. Not in their own strength, but in His. They could do so because they were established upon the foundation of Christ and His truth. With all that was going on around them, and there was danger and even death everywhere, they could be unmoved in their faith and trust. They could be so because they were living out what Paul had also written in one of his letters to the church. They were persuaded that He was and is able to keep all, including their very souls and lives, that they had committed to Him. They could and would stand firm in Him. They knew Who it was they had believed in. Put their trust in. We can as well. The question we must answer is, will we? In these days, and in all days, will we stand firm in His truth? Unmovable. Unshakeable....in Him.

Blessings,
Pastor O