You Have Forgotten...

Your First Love...

Time for a name change! The thought occurred to me recently that some of my readers might wonder, “Who does she think she is? She's always giving us her opinion on the Church, especially, the Church in America. She's not even a pastor!” Fair enough!  Here's a brief explanation of where I'm coming from that will explain my reason for changing the name of my blog from “A View from the Front Porch” to “A Voice from the Pew”.

Since starting this blog about six months ago, I have discovered that it has practically taken on a life of its own! A blog is, quite frankly, a lot more work than I anticipated when I wrote my first post. I just thought it would be “fun” to write a blog! There are many blogs that are about crafts, household decorating, raising kids, etc. All worth-while pursuits for the bloggers that value them. I enjoy some of these blogs myself, but it is not what I want to devote my time to.

Having discovered that it is a rather demanding past-time, I have concluded, it is not worth doing unless there is a good reason for me to spend the time that is required to produce weekly posts. I have to be motivated!! My blog is a reflection of what matters the most to me in my life and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the depth of my heart, I believe there is nothing that captivates me more than the love of Jesus Christ and how I live that out day to day. Sprouting out from that love of Christ is a deep concern for the Persecuted Church around the world and the Church in America.

I love America. But, I am convinced she is in deep trouble and heading into very difficult times. I believe it is the Church that has been asleep in calling her people to be on fire for Christ. Yes, I believe we, the Church of Jesus Christ, are called to be on fire for Christ, not just a little, now and then, here and there. But, absolutely sold out, no holds barred, passionately on fire for Jesus Christ. I believe anything less is a travesty when we consider what Christ has done for us. I am convinced there is a need for a stirring up of the church to “remember our first love” - Jesus Christ.

My blog is absolutely an outgrowth of this desire in my heart to “stir up the waters” - shake up the house and consider the demands of the Gospel on all of us who call ourselves “Christians”. That's all of us – not just pastors. Too often, I think we are leaving the work of the Gospel to the “educated” and ordained leadership of the Church. But, I believe God calls us – those who are sitting in the pews, Sunday after Sunday, to awaken and respond to the stirring of the Holy Spirit to come alive – catch the fire of the Gospel and run the race until He calls us home.

I don't want to be luke-warm in my response to Christ. I don't want to be on again, off again. I want to be “all in”, sold out, totally in love with Jesus. He deserves nothing less. We should use every voice we have in the church to proclaim the love of Christ and all that He has done for us. I'm adding my little voice through this blog. My voice comes “from the pew”. It's the only voice I have. And, like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, I trust He will take my little and change it into His much.

I hope you will join me on this journey. Add your voice whenever the Lord leads you. We need each other – to encourage, to comfort, to admonish, to witness to the truth of what we believe. I believe it is a great privilege to serve Him “in the pew”. May God, Himself, be your All in All, worthy of whatever it takes to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth...

“Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love...” Revelation 2:4 NKJV