A Sign for the Times ~Chuck Colson

A Sign for the Times
Repent!
November 17, 2010 Chuck Colson

No doubt you've seen cartoons of bearded guys in white robes standing on street corners carrying around a sign that says "Repent!"
Well today, I'm going to be that guy. Except I don't want to be standing on a street corner. I want to be walking up and down the aisles of every American church, carrying a simple message: Repent!
And here's why. So many Christians these days I talk to are positively
wringing their hands over the state of our nation. And they have every
reason to. The economy is in serious trouble, Washington is oblivious
(and don't think the recent election will change that much), our
children are subjected to sleaze every time they turn on a radio or a
TV, and on and on.
Whose fault is that? As I say in my Two-Minute Warning today, which I
want you to go watch at ColsonCenter.org
don't blame the liberals. Don't blame the gay lobby or the media.
Look in the mirror. The Church, the bride of Christ, has been
unfaithful. WE are at fault. We-collectively and individually- have
chased after every idol the world has to offer. We have tried so hard to
be relevant that we've become almost completely irrelevant. We offer no other way, there is nothing distinctive about us.
We have not been what Jesus called us to be: Salt and light. We have
blended in with the world so well that we are practically invisible.
That's why so few nonbelievers can see what Paul wrote about in
Colossians: "the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory."
Has the church in America become the church in Laodicea? Will the Lord say to us, "I know your deeds, you are neither cold nor hot . . . You say, 'I am rich: I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched...poor, blind, and naked."
Hard words. Terryifying words.
What are we to do? Exactly what Jesus told the church of Laodicea: Be earnest and REPENT! Change our minds-which is what the Greek word for repent means, metanoia! Change our way of thinking, our way of living.
Make a u-turn. Abandon our love of self and embrace the love of Christ.
Abandon our ways, the ways of the world, for His ways.
Enough of self-absorption.
Enough of going to church for self-validation- because it makes us feel
good; enough of buying into the "Jesus and me" brand of Christianity
that we evangelicals are especially susceptible to.
Enough of living exactly like our non-believing neighbors, glued to
electronics, engaging in promiscuity and infidelity, spending beyond our means.
Enough of ignoring the suffering of the poor. Enough of being ashamed of the truth claims of the Gospel. It's time to repent.
As I mentioned earlier, I speak more about repentance on today's Two
Minute Warning. Please, go to ColsonCenter.org, watch the Two Minute Warning, and read and digest the excellent articles and materials we have for you on repentance.
http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/the-chuck-colson-center/two-minute-warning/15967-for-gods-sake-repent-chuck-colson
And then get on your knees. Get your Bible study and your church on its knees. Ask God for mercy and ask Him to help us become exactly what he wants us to become, the bride of Christ. Pure. The Church. Folks, politics can't save us. Only God can. He's our only hope.
[For further reading, click here]
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/15804