In our town of plenty, we have faith in the bank, and money in our hearts.

You need church, and you need God.  In our world of distractions and commitments, church or youth group attendance takes a distant back seat well, to everything else sometimes. Church and God become just another commodity on the shelf that I can purchase when it's convenient.  When I have time.

Sure, many of these commitments can be valid: homework, out of town, family time etc.  These things happen occasionally, and it's perfectly understandable.

But when we don't attend church for months (or ever), don't read the Bible (and despise reading in general), or even think about praying, what does that say? All of the excuses add up to a deeper problem:  we do what's important to us.  And maybe for some of us, God just isn't that important.  If God was more important, we would make different choices accordingly.

Being consistently absent from having anything to do with God says that we are straying from God.  We do this because the Bible says that we are lost before God.  Left to ourselves, we will stray.  We are like sheep.  We will go our own way. Our straying and our constant distractions for everything but church or God prove the Bible right.

Wake up!  The time of salvation is here, now.  Embrace it while you have the chance.

Sure, many commitments are necessary, but also Jesus said that if you walking with Him you will "bear fruit".  The spirit of God will be doing so much in your life that your life can't contain it all. Where is the fruit in your life?  Do you see it?  Do you know it's there?  When it happens, you'll know it, trust me!

How can God be doing anything in our lives if we don't welcome it in?  Seek it?  Want it, passionately?

In our time of plenty, I see spiritual laziness.  I see apathy.  And with the more distrations we get toward the "important" things, I see more bored, angry, confused, and dispassionate young people (and adults).  And I see these same symptoms in my own life sometimes, too.

God laid this on my heart tonight, so hear it's truth:

Jesus wants you to return to him, as your first and truest love.

We can seem to be working hard, but toward all the wrong goals.  Our wheels are spinning, but we aren't getting anyone, and we know it.

But there is hope!  If you seek Jesus with all your heart, God will give you the true, deep desires of your heart (Matt. 6:33).  But lately modern society has it all wrong.  We seek what we want first, then God might, maybe, come later.  When we have time.  If it's convenient. When I'm done being busy.

But it doesn't work that way.  True life is found in Christ first, not the other way around.  If we wait for perfect conditions, it'll never get done!

If you're passionate about seeing a spiritual awakening in our generation, here and now, let me know and join us on Wednesday nights as we pray and try and do things God's way, not our own. Anyone is invited.

I realize a passionate blog post isn't going to change anything overnight.  But this blog post points to Wednesday nights.  That's why Wednesday nights are going to become a time where we seek God, pray, and worship and try to live the life that Christ wants us to live.  It's called The Core.

Because enough is enough.  Discipleship is about commitment to Christ first, above all else.  Today is the day that God wants to do something miraculous in your life.  If you'll let Him.

Clark