My views on the current situation of the church:

Now this is not to pick on any one church, denomination, or anything like that. The purpose of this viewpoint is to maybe bring some interesting angles into play. I think that if Jesus were to return right now, as in the book of Revelation, he would have something to say about today's church. I think we as a whole have declined in our views and have become desensitized to sin and the problems that come from them. I think, like in Ephesus, we have done great things, but have lost our first love. We have turned or focus from Jesus to the world. We will more than like conform to something a friend is doing, rather than conforming to the commandments and charges of Christ.

We often feel ashamed when it comes to witnessing about our Lord or we coward behind our pastors and elders, expecting them to do the work for us. If we do go out and witness about our Lord, who is rich in love, grace, and mercy, we often are labeled as "Fanatics." If we go out and speak with love, honesty, and sincerity, as Christ did, would they be able to label us as such. Besides if we are living life in submission to the Father and are led by the Holy Spirit as Jesus was, wouldn't it be safe to say that they would be calling Jesus a fanatic. The one very person who was undeserving of death, but took our sickness and infirmities and put it on himself. If any of you have any idea what Jesus went through for you and me, here is a little insight. First he was arrested and wrongly accused. What happened next, the few hours leading up to the death of Jesus is almost too much for me to write. He was stretched out before the whipping post, where he was to beat thirty-nine times. Not with a mere whip, but a whip that had nine leather strips on the end. That is not all, there was a jagged glass and metal embedded into the leather. When Jesus was whipped and they pulled the whip from His back, it ripped the flesh right off! Then after that, the guards poured salt on His wounds and this was not the end either. They brought him out to meet His cross and when they did, they spat on him and kicked Him. Then when they nailed Him to the cross and dropped the cross in the ground, both of His arms were dislocated. When Jesus had to take a breath, He had to push down on the nail that was in His feet.

This is the very man who in spite of all of this asked His Father to forgive them, with His dying breath. That is love, that is the love we are supposed to be radiating from our bodies. When we ask Jesus into our lives, He and the empowering settle within us and this is what we are suppose to be a vessel of. We are suppose to be vessels that God can work through to spread His love throughout the world. We as a church are failing to show this love to those who are searching for it. When God created us, He left a spot for Him that can only be filled by Him, but people are filling this spot reserved for Christ with unsatisfying thoughts, ideas, and material things. We have failed them in showing them the truth that is found in Christ, the Rock of our salvation. We tend to take on the "Holier than thou attitude." You know this one, it is where we as Christians thing we are better than every body else and put others on a level that to most would seem worthless. It is no wonder that people look at the church and say the things they say. Now you may not be to blame directly, but we need to do our part to rid Christianity of such filth and sin. This is not the way Christ walked upon this earth. He washed the feet of his own disciples, and He said that He came to serve, not to be served! Is this the mentality we have, is this how we view the world and our purpose in it. I think the church as a whole has fell far from where we are intended to be. Until we regain this distance that we put between us and God, we will continue to live in a way that is not only detrimental to Christianity, but a catalyst to those things that are in opposition to Christianity.

Well it all starts with the individual, we need to make the sacrifice on a personal level and then allow this to escalate into bigger and better levels. Well once again this is my personal view and opinion on the present situation of the church. You comments are appreciated and can be sent to me via the email address on the homepage, or left of the bulletin board. Thanks you for you time and consideration, know that God loves you and will never leave you or forsake you.