Covenant Church

A thief that quietly and subtly has been stealing our minds.

We believed in being born again, saved by faith, by the Word of God and by the blood of Jesus.

The thief stole from us with cute songs about butterflies and cocoons and being “born again.” It was too trite, too silly. We abandoned terminology of “born again.”

We talked about divine healing as a gift from Jesus who bore stripes upon his back. But charlatans faked, magicians waved magic wands, trick photography and intellectual atheists pressed us to a corner. The thief stole again.

We declared that the Holy Spirit is alive, well and still baptizing people with a heavenly anointing, enduing power and giving the gift of tongues. We cut our teeth on Pentecostal pews. We linked holiness and the Holy Spirit in symbiotic relationship, inseparable and fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy which came to pass in Acts 2. All was well and good until brothers and sisters of Simon the Sorcerer rented out the Holy Spirit for profit, taught speaking in tongues as an academic class, and confined their meetings to photo-opts in television studios. Compounding these errors, folks calling themselves Christians and living carnal lifestyles sold for profit the Holy Spirit by insisting on making Sundays more entertainment than ministry. The thief made off again with precious treasure.

Like the Methodists of John Wesley’s day we went to church, prayed, worked, made all the money we could and bought the town. We moved up to bigger cars, houses and jewelry that would have bought grandpa’s farm. “Triumphant theology” became spiritual talk. We obligated God to provide all the toys we had every dreamed of. We forgot our sinful past. We reveled in cheap talk of loving Jesus, but felt to free to cruise the boulevards and walk the malls on Sundays, lay on beaches and check out the high places—mountains  (little pun to the high places…need to read the Old Testament). The thief did it again.

Things called sin in the Bible became alternative lifestyles and personal choices. We neutered God’s Word. We neatly used a pen knife like the king in the Old Testament to cut out of the Bible anything that took away our right to earthly pleasure.  Abortion became the RIGHT of a woman. Our minds were so numbed we followed along like sheep in a chute heading to slaughter. The thief laughed.

We encountered problems along the way. But we could afford doctors and counselors. We paid. We felt good that we could pay our way. Didn’t have to ask. Beg. Plead. If we wanted it we just rolled out the cash. Cash was our statement of God’s favor. Cash was a sign of angels watching over us. We did not read Psalm 73 and realize that sinners also prosper. The thief was really slick. He took from us…right under our nose…we did not see him…smell him…or know when he came or left.

Oh that we, like Manasseh of the Old Testament, would awaken as a nation. Would someone in high office call us to prayer? Would someone remind us that our roots are Christian? Would someone lead us in bringing our churches back to places of reverence, prayer and with the Bible being read as true, holy, eternal?

May revival begin in our hearts. May we lift up clean hands to a holy God. May we know the power of walking in holiness. May we take back what has been stolen from us. 

Pastor Bare