As I reflect on the catastrophic events that have and are currently taking place, the earthquake in Nepal, the Baltimore riots in 2015, one thing comes to mind:

StandUp

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  II Chronicles 7:14

~The followers of Christ must stand up. Isaiah 6:8, says, Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Where are the followers of Christ who say Here am I, send me? Who will stand up and allow the One True God of all creation, to utilize one’s voice box, to tingle the throat and force it’s muscles to press and lean, in order for one to speak Truth, Life, and Salvation, in a world full of lies, death, & desolation? Who will go? Oh, but the flesh responds to the discomfort of its potential death, by dismissing the notion that one would choose to die to sin voluntarily. The fact remains, that living for Christ will cost you something.

~Now salvation is free, you get that that through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because His Father, in Heaven, loved us enough to sacrifice His Son. Salvation is free. But to follow Christ, after salvation has been given, is going to cost. In fact, it costs you everything. Most of us Christians, can do much more to serve the Lord a little better, serve Him until it hurts. It is only until you feel the weight of the cross you have to bear will it hurt. It is only until you give everything, that it hurts. But precious children are birthed through pain. Gold cannot be created without heat, and pressure.  And a change, cannot be made in our society, without selflessness.

~Let’s stop gossiping, complaining, fussing without a plan, and wasting energy without a destination.  Let’s work in a strategic manner. Let us humble ourselves, pray to our God in Heaven, and turn from our wicked ways. But let us not stop there, I implore the Christians to remember, who they are in Christ. To remember, that the wages of sin is death. To remember, that even though we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, have is past tense. Shall we continue in sin? Heaven forbid. Perhaps, a fragment of the fault lies on our shoulders for the current dismal position of our society. Perhaps we have gone to the church but failed to venture out into our communities. Perhaps, the sin in our own lives, have muffled our voices. But the question today is, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

by, Clea McLemore