Are you serious about your christianity?

   In Luke chapter 3, we find John the baptist addressing the crowds coming out to be baptized by him. What he said to them wasn't exactly the welcoming words I would have expected to hear. He says, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."
   John wanted to make sure they understood, that their decision wasn't just to get saved, and then go on with their lives, but that there needed to be a change in their lives reflecting their repentance. We call that "fruit". The evidence of a life given to Jesus.
   He also goes on to say, "And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." That would be like saying, "I have Asbury, or I'm a United Methodist". The only thing that will matter to God is are we bearing fruit? Do we really want God's gift of Jesus Christ? Do we really understand His love for us, that He would give us His Son to pay the price for our sins? Do we really understand that God LOVES HIS OWN SON so much, that God requires us to live differently, bear fruit, after we except Jesus, God's gift of salvation. It's not a game. We can't afford to play "church". It doesn't matter to God if we are Methodists, Traditionalists, Contemporary, and etc. Are our preferences of the music, or the design of the worship space more important than whether we are reaching the lost and the spiritually hungry for Jesus? Are we being relevant to those we claim we want to reach, or just making ourselves comfortable? He's not concerned about the types of instruments we use during worship, nor what the room looks like. What He does want is real worship from our heart. He wants to see that we care more about those who need Him. He wants to see us bear fruit in our lives 7 days a week.
    Do others see Christ in our lives 7 days a week? Is exalting Jesus our motivation in life? Are we looking for those who need Him?
    I find myself being challenged to make a difference for God's Kingdom. How about you?

Mike