Reverence. It’s a big word, and one not to be used lightly. It is a deep respect and awe for something or someone. Lately, I’ve been asking myself: do I have reverence for the Lord in my every day life? I think between social media blurbs, quick and snappy sermon titles, and TikTok devotions, the American church has lost what was once its highest priority: to revere and regard the Lord with deep love and trembling.

A pitfall of the American church is that it relies on carnal means to try and entice lost and worldly people into saving grace. The issue is, when we know real grace ourselves, we understand that there is nothing a person can say or do that can convince someone to sacrifice their worldly comforts to live a God-honoring life. Instead, we have to rely on God’s revealing Himself to someone in order to draw the lost to Him. And because we minimize that fact into a minor detail of church culture, Christians tend to strive in certain things in order to try and get imperfect people to see Jesus using imperfect means and methods.

Last week, we discussed the prosperity gospel– what it entails and why it isn’t gospel. Primarily, we focused on the financial side of the movement and how teachers of prosperity gospel twist the Bible to claim that God is the way to health, wealth, and material success. In my personal life as someone who wants to make freelance writing into a career, I follow a lot of freelancers or writing coaches to study their business models and tips. The weird thing is, without fail when talking about the “spirituality” or “mindset” of the lifestyle, they tend to mention that they subscribe to people that are known teachers of prosperity gospel: Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, and the list goes on.

Sometimes, when I read scripture, I am so blown away by the deep and burning desires of people to praise God and glorify Him with all their being. That’s something that I know I grow complacent in at times, but I think with the way the world is in 2021, those deeper burnings to honor God become less and less genuine.

It’s so important to read our Bibles and know scripture. We all know this, and I know I’ve spent so many weeks and months saying this statement in a multitude of ways, from countless different verses and passages. Yet somehow, it always begs repeating. We need to know God’s word. Yet, we don’t make time. We’re too busy, too inundated, or we don’t even want to try to understand it. What it comes down to is if you’re looking for an excuse to not read it, you will easily find one, and most Christians will give you a pass for it.

This weekend, I ran across a video from Jackie Hill Perry, an author, poet, and awesome teacher of the Word. She posted a live video in her car talking about the dangers of how we, as Christians, crave the power of God. Now it’s important to preface this whole devotion with this: asking God for His power is not bad in the slightest– something Jackie made overly clear as she was speaking. There is nothing wrong in asking God for the power to confront something, to overcome something, or so that He can receive the glory and honor from it. I guarantee, that’s something we’ve all done.

As I said last week, I am deeply convicted that although we are certainly not persecuted to the degree of the early Church or even many parts of the world today, the American Church would be greatly transformed and invigorated if it were eventually to see this type of affliction. I believe it could be a great blessing to this country, and very well could be God’s grace towards His Church in many ways. Before you think I’m crazy, let’s take a look at how scripture shows how persecution, and times of affliction could very well be the greatest thing for the Church, and how it could be the very means of the Lord bringing about great revival amongst His people.

Last week, we began discussing the problem of taking our civil liberties for granted and how we have become privileged– expecting to have things that scripture never promises us, the idolatry and dormant faith that occurs when we try to live the Christian life dependent on our government, and constitutional freedoms. And though what we see today in America is not at all what the rest of the globe sees and cannot be compared to the sufferings of the early Church of Acts, the question we must ask ourselves is: what if it DID get to that point? What would that mean for the Church, and how would I pursue Christ through that?

After seeing what comes out of people via social media and personal conversations over the last several weeks and months, it’s no question that there is a great deal of fear in the Church. Fear of the future– specifically brought on by the current polarized political climate of the United States. I’ve had countless conversations with fellow believers discussing what we see unfolding before our very eyes. Regardless of where on the political spectrum you fall, it is very plain to see that we as a country are moving in a direction where we may begin to see the Church slowly stripped of its rights and freedoms.

For church this week, Sam and I decided to go to an in-person service. During the sermon, the pastor started talking about Paul. Specifically, how Paul and some of the people that traveled with him went through some pretty severe persecution for being preachers and teachers for Christ. And while I can agree with what he was trying to say, which was that Paul and his friends counted their suffering as joy for the cause of Christ and that suffering was the worldly price for Godly obedience; I didn’t agree with his delivery of the point.

2020 has been a year of hard knocks. I don’t care who you are, but I don’t think anyone had an easy year. Some are jobless, some are mourning the loss of loved ones, and some are living in day-to-day fear, loneliness, and frustration. It was a year of missed plans, disappointment, and cancelled travels. It might seem, as we approach Thanksgiving, that there is not much to be thankful for. Instead, we may want to hide in our homes, order in, and shake our fists at God for all the things that aren’t going for us.

I don’t like really talking politics on Soul Deep. I never want to use this site as a manipulation tool or a soapbox. From its founding, I wanted to build a site and a ministry that pushed people towards Jesus and revealed deep truths about Him. I pray that I have used my very small platform to help you see more of God’s character and His love for you. I pray that I’ve never come across as a teacher that pushes her own agenda over the God-breathed word. I would never want my own political ideology to come through stronger than the standard of God’s heart.

I think it's safe to say through observation and conversation, that due to the coronavirus and quarantines, there has been a huge spike in feelings of depression, loneliness, and directionlessness more than ever for many people. A lot of us may be without jobs, without income, and without a plan. So many people left without an idea of what they're going to do.

False teaching. False Gospel. Counterfeit Jesus. This week, I was reminded big time of just how much we need to be on guard against these things. I’m sure that by now, you’ve all seen the Plandemic video that’s gone viral. If you haven’t, it’s basically a documentary that’s been put out to spin a conspiracy that questions the government’s intentions behind the COVID-19. Whether or not the video is based in fact isn’t what I want to jump into today, but I will admit, the video caused me to anxiety spiral for a few hours.

I struggled over whether or not I would speak on this. Between the memes, the news, the hysteria, and the somehow innate feeling that all people have to comment on current events– as if it changes much of anything– I feel that what I have to say is of little to no consequence compared to the ocean of content concerning COVID-19. Nevertheless, I am hearing some things from my fellow Christians that just don’t sit right with me, and although I know my thoughts are just a drop in the bucket, I do have to stand against the strange and unbiblical ideas that I see with a simple scroll through any of my social media outlets.

Last week, I went to speak at the local university where I live. In the weeks leading up to that night, I was praying over what the Lord wanted me to say. These people attend a college chock-full of calculating minds and scientific brains, all ready to disprove God, faith, and the Bible. Some of them are exchange students, young adults that left their countries to experience America and are testing Christianity after childhoods spent in different religions. Some grew up across America, church kids through-and-through. They grew up in Sunday school and knew the Bible. Some were most likely skeptical and questioning. Even more were probably just going through the motions and trying to check a “God-box” to satisfy some idea of an obligation.