“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” Revelation 3:2-3 So why “A Sense of Urgency”? It was the first title that came to mind when I created this website. Why is it so important to me? Urgency has two main definitions: (1) something important which requires swift action, and (2) an earnest and persistent quality; insistence. Both apply. In the months leading up to the creation of this website, I had been spending a lot of time reading the Bible. Jesus, Paul, Peter—they say some alarming things in there, especially pertaining to hell. Then I started reading Erasing Hell by Francis Chan. “We have become dangerously comfortable—believers ooze with wealth and let their addictions to comfort and security numb the radical urgency of the gospel.” “Are you sure you’re on the right side? What evidence do you have that you know Jesus? Please understand my heart. I believe I am asking these questions for the same reason that Jesus gives the warning. It’s the most loving thing I can do! ‘Many’ will go to hell even though they thought they’d waltz into paradise. Jesus will say, ‘I never knew you; “Could it be that [Paul’s] drive to reach the lost was directly related to his willingness to ponder their fate if he didn’t reach them at all?…While much of our church culture believes that talk of wrath and judgment is toxic and unloving, Paul didn’t seem to have a problem with these things. In fact, Paul believed that these were essential truths…[There is] an ongoing state of punishment for all who don’t love Jesus.” - Francis Chan, Erasing Hell This was what I had finished reading when I put the book down and wrote my first post. I “woke up.” I was overwhelmed with anxiety, sick to my stomach, distraught, I felt like throwing up. Why? Because for the first time in my life, I deeply pondered the fate of the unbelievers in my life, and even more—the fate I would have had if I had died prior to giving my life to Christ—only months ago. Reader, the gospel is something radically important which requires swift action. The gospel is radically urgent. Do you know Jesus? Are you confident He will not shut the door and say to you, “I don’t know you or where you come from”? Have you listened to Him and read His Word? Even more, once you have become confident of your own salvation through God’s grace and mercy, how does this urgency change how you interact with those around you? I can’t stop talking about God. Sometimes I take it a little too far and I am too harsh. I’m a flawed human being, so my approach might not always be perfect, but all I know is this: I understand where I was headed, and I am eternally grateful to the One who redirected my path, so I have to share Him with others. So a sense of urgency is important in that the gospel is itself a message that requires swift action. Add to that, we as believers should be urgently getting to know God ourselves. Earnestly, we persist in the disciplines of prayer, reading the Bible, self-reflection, etc. Anything we can get our hands on to bring us closer to Him. How often do you eat? How often are you hungry? How often do you drink? How often are you thirsty? How much more should you seek the Bread of Life and Living Water! Perhaps this post doesn’t flow as smoothly as my others. I didn’t think it would. This topic makes me anxious. I can’t seem to think straight or write well. But this topic is what drives my faith—my sense of urgency. God exists and He is clear and He speaks and He lives and He is here. Do we know Him? Are we getting to know Him? Do we spend some time with Him on Sundays and shove Him to the side for the rest of our week? Or is He the air that we breathe? “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
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AuthorFighting complacency and advocating change in myself for the world around me. Posts by Date
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