Yes. There is risk.

For some, there is risk that the newness that God is bringing will also bring an ending to their way of doing things, an ending to the security of the past.

For others there is risk that they will be the ones called to forge into new territory in the power of the Spirit, to announce and help build and steward the newness that God is bringing.

I often ponder (at times I stew and pace) about where the Church is in this post-modern culture and where it desperately needs to be heading.

I feel a change in the air.

I sense a new freshness and direction being orchestrated by the LORD in His Church.

I’m sure not smart enough to know what all that means nor am I able to predict the future, but the signs are there.

My spiritual discernment tells me that a change in the spiritual climate is coming.

I’m not yet sure whether this is a storm or the just the rains after a drought.

But I have an inkling that it may be the wind of opportunity that promises a new beginning that I hear blowing.

It may just be the fresh winds of the Spirit that will bring the “showers of spiritual blessings” that people used to sing about.

Our world and our culture are changing rapidly all around us.

With new communication technology and increasing global interaction, we face a world that will be absolutely different from the one which we have lived in for so long.

And, our own society is changing. There are new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things. (Think self driving cars and drones delivering pizzas!)

The year we just sped through was just a date on a calendar, but that date caused us to take a long look at where we have been and where we are going.

And, when we looked closely, the changes unfolding all around us have surprised us.

Of course, some want to see the changes, ANY changes, as threatening. And so they move into a doomsday mode and adopt a negative view (Think the Jonah Syndrome).

They fight most any kind of change as a change for the worse.

There ARE things to be concerned about WITH some changes. But where some people see only problems, others see opportunities.

Change can be threatening, scary and hard, HARD…. H A R D….. work!

However, the people who study these things say that times of change are the best opportunities for people to respond to God.

The uncertainty and discomfort that any major change brings, opens the door to reevaluate your life and ask questions about your purpose and what in your life has meaning.

If that’s true in individuals, I am pretty sure that it’s also true of society. And it’s true of the church.

Studies and Stats show that there is more interest in religion and spirituality in the world at large now than there has been in the last half-century.

Of course, some of that spirituality is of the weird and twisted kind, and certainly not Christian. But, that also tells us that there are opportunities to proclaim the Gospel.

Honestly speaking, I’m not sure what all that means for the church.

The message hasn’t changed, and the truth hasn’t changed. But the world has, and how we speak and express the truth will need to change in order to speak to that world.

New winds are blowing. The spiritual climate is changing. The smell of fresh breezes and fresh showers are in the air.

But one thing is certain. There will be no status quo. There will be no “going on as usual”.

The changes that are already in process in our culture and in the church won’t allow it.

We can’t change things just because we decide it should be done friends! That’s presumption!

If we say we want GOD’S plan(s) for change, we have to give the blueprints from Him.

But, we CAN do it as God calls out to us and reveals to us where HE is working in the world. And then, we can do it!

We can RISK, as we listen, hear, and respond to that call, as God enables and graces us either courage it will take to “adjust the rudder” of our ship.

I don’t know about you. But I’m going to be watching closely for the changes in the spiritual weather.

And I’ll be listening carefully so I don’t miss the voice of God in the darkness.

If someone asks me about a voice that they may have heard calling their name in the night, I’ll be ready to tell them to say these words: “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.”

“The LORD came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak, LORD.
I am your servant
and
I am listening,” Samuel 3:10.

 

In His Shadow,
~ Mary Lindow ^©

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” THE MESSENGER ” ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
Global Prayer Rooms

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Mary Lindow has a passion for encouraging others – all generations, careers or vocations to live expressing excellence through personal integrity, healthy accountability, and wise management of talents and skills. She’s a sought after keynote, inspirational, humorous speaker and teacher across the USA and internationally in Ministers & Spiritual leaders Conferences, and training seminars for various organizations.

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