By Jim Torres “Towers”
I suppose some of my readers may think I’m too tough on them. I take no joy in expressing my tough love views; as a matter of fact I wish I could say everything is hunky dory (pardon the old expression). But so often in church settings the last thing we talk about amongst ourselves is spiritual things. It’s all about football, recipes and our children. While there is nothing inherently wrong with such banter, shouldn’t we be more concerned about the state of our nation and the plight of our fellow Christians around the world? Maybe we should even be praying openly about such important things, just as we did in my church last Sunday night. Unfortunately, only about 120 people showed up for that special prayer service out of three thousand members. What a pity.
Having been in Christian circles for over forty years I’ve heard and seen everything you can imagine, some good and some not so good. I can remember a time when other well-meaning Christians would say to me, “I don’t have to say anything, other people can see by the way I live my life that I’m a Christian. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but even Mormons are more straight laced than we are – in public that is. However, I’ve read horror stories about what they do behind closed doors.
Because we didn’t share Christ verbally during the last generation, we missed a great opportunity to reach out to the hurting masses. We were too busy accumulating things and pleasuring ourselves in every way possible. That left things open for the far left to take over, and look where we are today. But here’s the clincher, they only constitute a small fraction of our nation yet they’ve managed to infiltrate our schools, universities and judicial system and our very way of life. That’s the price we paid for being wimpy, politically correct and just plain “religious.”
Jesus Christ often corrected his followers through parables; and it wasn’t always peaches and cream. He didn’t tiptoe around and try to please everyone. More often than not his methodology is what I refer to as “Tough Love”. His sermons weren’t self help speeches, nor were they laced with empty manmade drivel. Even the religious leaders weren’t immune to his correction. Jesus scolded them time and again. He also spoke truth so as to awaken those who were spiritually asleep.
Speaking of sleep, did you ever notice how some people doze off during the Sunday morning service? I know there are many excuses for doing so, and some of them are justifiable. However, it could just as well be Satan making your eyelids heavy with apathy. He used to do this to me in the very early stages of my spiritual growth. But thank God, today I listen very carefully to what a pastor has to say, especially in these perilous times.
Without warning his followers about the dangers of not being awake and alert Jesus would have been doing them a disservice. One of these parables about the bridegroom arriving at an unexpected hour (the rapture) contains just such an admonition in Matthew 25:13, and there are many more such warnings,
At this stage of the game I couldn’t care less about who won the championship or don’t even watch the playoffs. I won’t even listen to the same old words every four years of the inept politician’s speeches anymore either. I can almost recite what they will say verbatim: change now, read my lips, no more taxes and “a chicken in every pot” and oh yes, abortion on demand – phewy! The way things are developing in our country and the world, there’s a good chance there won’t even be another election!! We need a deep repentance and returning to God in our country.
Shouldn’t we also be praying for our nation and our Christian brethren across the world, rather than praying collectively for little Johnny’s grades or traveling mercies to our favorite vacation hide away? Come on, let’s get real, little Johnny needs to spend more time studying, and we shouldn’t be texting while driving. These are common sense things. But common sense isn’t so common anymore – even in the church.
In light of all of that, I hope you aren’t a “Sunday go to meeting” Christian who forgets all he heard the moment he exits the church doors, just to be the first to arrive at the local restaurant to get service. We must learn to put the horse before the cart and take these matters seriously; very seriously, our very lives and the lives of our loved ones depend on it. We must also quit being shallow, petty and apathetic. Hug your pastor and fellow believer, pray for them, and let them know how much you care. Invite them over for dinner. Encourage one another.
It’s the apathetic, wimpy and self-righteous person that I rail against. Narcissistic, arrogant and religious people irk me, but I find myself praying for them like Christ taught us to do in spite of it all…God help us.
As they used to say in the movies, “Times a wasting” and we’d better get our act together.
What about you? Isn’t there something you can do while you wait for the rapture to take you out of this crazy mess we’ve gotten ourselves into by voting so wrongly and then being apathetic about it? Only you know your capabilities, gifts and talents. We must be light and salt in our ever darkening world.
I realize all too well that each and every one of us is saved by grace alone, but remember, “Faith without works is dead.” We should be so grateful for our salvation that we feel the urge to show it through works. God is good and we should try to be too.
Ok…. I’m done. Oh, by the way;
The movie “90 Minutes in Heaven” was pretty well done, but kept you wondering when he was going there. In using this ploy the story teller kept you anticipating until the end. I only wish the pastor had told us more about what he saw. Maybe he didn’t see any more than what he revealed in the movie.
You can contact me for a synopsis of my movie “The Prophecies 2016”.
YBIC
Jim Torres “Towers”
jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com