{"id":1011,"date":"2018-01-27T11:05:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-27T17:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flcssc.org\/wordpress\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2018-01-27T11:05:05","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T17:05:05","slug":"wake-up-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flcssc.org\/wordpress\/2018\/01\/27\/wake-up-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake up, church…"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Sioux City Journal<\/a>
\nPublished 1\/26\/2018
\nBy: Kathy Yoder<\/p>\n

Wake up, church; it takes everyone’s help<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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It was an ordinary day like so many others. Nothing stood out as different, even though we know that each day is unique unto itself. Each day contains blessings and challenges. The possibilities for the routine and for the surprising. Opportunities for good and also for the opposite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In my dream I\u2019m walking along a road. It\u2019s a bright day outside. The air smells fresh. There are postcard-perfect clouds hanging in the crayon-blue sky. All seems right with the world. But as I approach a long and wide bridge, I know that something is wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s a feeling that\u2019s marrow-deep and does not come from me. A knowing that\u2019s revealed before I see what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

People are walking on the bridge, but they\u2019re slipping and sliding. Some are perilously close to the edge. It\u2019s a long way down to the water below. No one wants to make that journey. A few have fallen and are holding onto the floor of the bridge, feet dangling in midair.<\/span><\/div>\n
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No one is helping anyone else because they\u2019re not able to. Each person on that bridge is in danger of falling into the water. Each one is struggling alone. I walk onto the bridge, but for me there is no ice. My feet are on solid, slip-free ground. There are so many people. I hadn\u2019t noticed from afar. Even though it\u2019s a wide path, I have to maneuver around people to make my way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I don\u2019t have time to wonder why all these people are here. I rush to a person hanging off the bridge. I try pulling him back onto the bridge floor. He\u2019s struggling and won\u2019t let me help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cStop kicking your legs. Just relax and let me pull you in,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s hard to give up control, especially when you\u2019re frightened. But this man stops struggling and allows me to help. Not everyone does. But I continue going from person to person trying to do what I can. Soon I realize that I can\u2019t do this alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ll be back,\u201d I say to the strugglers. \u201cI\u2019ll get help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I leave the bridge, walking quickly to a nearby church. Inside, the narthex is filled with lovely, happy people greeting one another. They\u2019re hugging, smiling, laughing. It\u2019s Sunday morning and they\u2019re getting ready for weekly worship services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m so glad to see you,\u201d I say to a couple people. \u201cI need your help!\u201d But they continue talking and ignore me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0I approach others. \u201cI need your help! There are people on the bridge. They\u2019re going to fall into the water unless we help them! I can\u2019t do it alone. They are so many.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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No one listens. I don\u2019t know what to do. I realize there\u2019s no help here so I go back to the bridge. This is where my dream ends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This dream came back to me recently when I was sitting in church waiting for the service to begin. The following words popped into my mind: \u201cChurch, wake up!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
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Church, wake up! There are so many people sliding into sin and it\u2019s our job to help them. To reach out to them with the Gospel. To tell them of God\u2019s love for them. To encourage them to stop going their own way, which leads to perilous waters, and to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Church, wake up! It\u2019s not about simply enjoying each other\u2019s company and filling ourselves with Bible knowledge. It\u2019s about walking onto those bridges where others are flailing and offering a lifesaving helping hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Apostle Paul writes to Timothy saying that the Lord \u201cdesires that all men be saved\u201d (1 Timothy 2:4). Not just some. Not just the ones we think are worthy. All. If we\u2019re not walking with the Lord, meaning completely surrendering our lives to him, then we\u2019re walking on that broad bridge, slipping and sliding through life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We need to walk on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for each one of us so that we could be saved. Each of us must make the decision to follow him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s not popular to speak of Hell, but it exists. In Luke 12:4-5 Jesus says, \u201c\u2026 My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do\u2026 Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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God alone determines our eternal destiny. Not all roads lead to Heaven. Just because you\u2019re a good person doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re saved. \u201cWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God\u2019s one and only son\u201d (John 3:18).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Church, wake up! Reach out to those who don\u2019t know Jesus before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at\u00a0kathyyoder4@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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