Faithful Witness

This is Easter week, and multitudes of people will fill churches all over America in order to worship the dead and resurrected Christ. It appears that the Christian Church in America is alive and well. It has millions of members, and is well funded and well led. For example, there are hundreds of mega churches that have congregations that number over 2000. There are also tens of thousands of other more typical churches scattered all over the country and well known and faithful colleges and seminaries continue to graduate large numbers of highly qualified and sincere men and women every year to staff all of them.   Different kinds of churches are growing all over the country. Charismatic and Pentecostal churches continue to proliferate at a steady pace leading the way in church growth. There has also been an unexpected and significant revival of Reformed theology in many, many churches. The Christian movement is thriving. Things are good. There have always been co...

I have always known, although with incomplete interpretation and, therefore, inconsistent application, that I must take all of the time necessary to abide in that unique space that is consecrated to my experience of the presence of the Lord. This is not a daily devotion or an organized time of prayer and Bible reading. That supports and empowers the other, but I am referring to something more or beyond that. This space of abiding is mostly of God’s choosing. It is my part to recognize his invitation and meet him. It is a space not a place or a time. It is the space within and around me when I am surrounded by God. The invitation may come on a rainy Saturday morning in my car, sitting in a park. It may come while I walk down a busy city street or a crowded mall. It may come during a worship service. It may come in times of seclusion brought on by sickness or recovery. This holy space is about abiding in Christ; he is in me and I am in him. He speaks to me and convicts me of s...