Wake Up

God is calling us, inviting us to awaken to His love and to walk in the manner to which He has empowered us. Romans 13 gives us this bold call:
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

That is very direct, isn't it?  It starts with experiencing His love and being renewed in His love each day. We are called to exhibit His love and to show the world that we believe in Christ and we are convinced of His truth.  We know that Christ has the power to change lives, and our world needs to experience that touch from the Lord.  In the midst of a sense of hopelessness that many have been walking through, we can certainly be empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit, exhibited through in His Church.

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We are called and empowered to walk in the light of Christ - His love will illuminate our hearts and His wisdom provides us with the direction we need. 1st Thessalonians 5 reminds us:
5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron believes that God is moving in our country, but that He is shaking us.  Kirk was part of an event this past weekend called, Non-Essential, that highlighted the role of the Church in these challenging days, including the responsibility to vote. The Christian Post had interviewed Cameron regarding a special two-part series he hosted earlier this month called, Think. Pray. Vote., and he offered these comments:

"I find this time really interesting. I think we have to remember that God is still on His throne and all throughout time, He's used everything from the weather, to enemy nations, to the sin of His own people, and the prayers of the people of God to work together to accomplish His purposes,” Cameron told CP. “No doubt, that's what's happening right now. I think God is on the move. He's shaking America and the world right now, and I think there's important things for us to learn.”

Cameron also said, "When God's people are asleep, they're unaware, they're unconcerned and uninvolved in something as important as the future of our country. I think God needs to wake us up. And certainly, this has been a huge wake-up call in so many ways."

Tony Evans, Franklin Graham, and Eric Metaxas were part of the lineup for that series.  Franklin Graham's daughter, Cissie Graham Lynch, was part of Non-Essential.  Prior to its airing, she told CBN.com:

"I've seen so many concerns," she explained. "I'm a mom of young children and I see it very essential to speak on these issues that we're facing right now.

"The time has passed," Graham Lynch continued. "We can no longer sit on the sideline and let these issues keep coming up and we're not having a voice in it."

She added: "As Christians, we need to be fearing in this country the idea of socialism and the attack of our religious liberties...These are some of the things that our religious liberties, our forefathers fought for free exercise of religion. Some evangelicals and those on the left have adopted this idea that our religion should just be kept inside the four walls of our home and inside our places of worship. That's not what our forefathers intended. They intended our faith be very involved in jobs, our businesses, and our schools. And we're being very quiet."

The event took place at Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, CA.  The Ventura County Citizens-Journal reported that five thousand people attended and "millions more" joined via livestream.  Kirk Cameron, in his presentation, referred to the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, MA, stating, “Our founders wanted to go to a place where they could raise their children freely. Today, those principles are largely forgotten in our country. Our founders left us the secret sauce on how to build and sustain a free and just society—it is called the National Monument to the Forefathers which is calling out the nation to come back to its principles." The story notes that, according to Cameron, "The National Monument to the Forefathers, formerly known as the Pilgrim monument, commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims and honors their ideals of Morality, Law, Education, and Liberty all under Faith."

The article goes on to say:

Under Morality stand “Prophet” and “Evangelist.” Under Law stand “Justice” and “Mercy.” Under Education are “Youth” and “Wisdom.” Under Liberty are “Tyranny Overthrown” and “Peace.”

“Every one of these figures is under attack in the United States. Good is being called evil; and evil is good. Our children are being indoctrinated with ideologies in reverse of what our forefathers and churches taught us.

In a panel discussion led by the church pastor, Jack Hibbs, who has defied orders by the state of California to severely limit meeting sizes, Cameron related: "The Judeo-Christian worldview is essential to the nation—that is how our country flourishes. I am thankful for pastors that are fearless preaching the word of God, the authority of scripture, the need for salvation and the application of God’s word in all areas of life. Pastors and shepherds need to lead us with the Word of God.”

In that same discussion, Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA stated, “The Church is essential. The Church founded this country. Activist Christians (knew) our rights came from God and not from the government. They founded the greatest country to exist around two words: freedom and equality. The founders make it their duty and responsibility to make the world better. We are so blessed to live in the greatest country to ever exist. We still have the power to express our voice." 

Simple takeaways for us here: The Church is essential.  And, don't sit out this election.  In a nation founded on principles consistent with the Scriptures, we as Christians have to recognize the role that the Lord has given to us.  We cannot allow ourselves to become marginalized; instead, we can rise up bold and strong, walk by faith, and declare, "thus saith the Lord."  The system is designed to be run according to Biblical faith - if that faith is extracted, the whole thing is in danger of collapse.  That is where we are today; but I agree with Kirk Cameron, we are being shaken, but we can trust that God is moving.

Again, we can make the inspired choice to not sit this one out, regarding the election.  As Cissie Graham Lynch said in the Non-Essential event, after lamenting what she says were 40 million evangelicals who did not vote in 2016:

“We are at a crossroads. Who governs us, has never mattered more. It is essential. We can’t afford to sit out (this election). The time for Christians on the sidelines has passed.

“We need to stand boldly for the gospel. ‘I love God; not politicians.’ My family has the right to worship freely. Religious freedom is not to be silenced, not to be bullied. Religious liberty is essential.

“We have been given freedom; but it is a choice to be part of the solution. To whom much is given, much is expected. What are you going to do? Are we going to be part of the solution?”

God is all about solutions - it's a human tendency, unfortunately, to complain about our leaders; now, we have a chance to do something about it. With God's power and direction, we can help to set the stage for a tremendous move of God in our country.