I wonder sometimes about people who have dropped off the radar screen at church. I wonder why they have fallen away? I wonder what offended them; if they have found another fellowship; if they have given up on the Lord, or if they’ve just given up on church? Why? When? For how long will they be unaffiliated.
I hear people say all the time: The church is us, it’s not a building.
Granted, the church is us, but its US TOGETHER, right? Didn’t Jesus institute the church? Wasn’t it the church that he said would prevail? Wasn’t it the “gathering” that He said would hold us together?
If we do not gather, does the promise of Divine power still hold?
I think about what the Bible has to say about the last days; how easily men will be offended. It talks about how quickly warm hearts will turn cold, especially in relation to our brothers, our fellowship. I think about how many evil notions will rise up and pierce the church…
I shudder to think that many might be found fighting alone, instead of being united through the storm.
I think about how the devil wants to destroy the church, and how Jesus purposefully put us together in community with one another so that Satan’s evil machinations for the flock might go unfulfilled.
When the wolf comes will lone sheep be protected? Who will they call upon? Will pride keep them from calling? Won’t realizing they have walked into lone territory keep them from turning once again to the church, to the fellows they have there, and to safety provided for their souls?
I think about the last days and how dark they will be. How many temptations there will be to listen only to one’s own needs. How isolationist we have already become, because of cell phones and internet connects, and chat rooms, and face book. We talk all the time, but never to anyone who would disagree with us, or bring clarity to our situations. If we keep going back to the well that is our own thinking, time and time again, can we expect to think any differently tomorrow than we have thought today?
I wonder.
When the times grow darker and unity is most needed, will the church be strong enough to defend herself? Will those who have fallen away, likewise, be strong enough to defend themselves? I just don’t know.
Maybe its just me.
Maybe its just summer.
Maybe the faithful are still faithful, but in other corners of the kingdom. I hope so! I dearly do.
A friend of mine lent me a book recently. The Rise of the Nones. I haven’t started the book yet, but I will soon. Maybe there I will find some answers.
If the Word is to be believed, the Anti-Christ will one day arrive on the scene, and I suspect it will be when the church is most vulnerable. Is the rise of the “nones” a sign that the vulnerability has begun? What do you think?
Why do you think people of faith fall away? Is the church getting progressively weaker? When have you seen pull people away from the “gathering” that is church attendance?
Lori's World 
I haven’t been to church for years because of the compromise with false teaching and the apostasy. It is rampant within the visible church in America. The Lord Jesus Christ opened my eyes to this a few years ago. It is really difficult to find a church that isn’t tainted with false teaching! God’s Word is clear, He tells us to avoid false teachers. He also tells us to separate from unbelievers. The church is full of unbelievers. There you go. That is why many believers are not going to church but are still following Jesus Christ. I met those believers years ago when I first became at believer in Christ and was attending church. I tried to admonish them to attend church. Now I agree with them. Praise God He keeps His children as His own. Amen!
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Thank you for your comment, Eliza. I appreciate your sharing your perspective with me. I have had times when I felt like walking away from church–times when I did, but I have never left completely.
I worry sometimes that as the days grow darker, because the church is fractured and fragmented, we won’t have each other to depend upon to get us through. Does that ever worry you?
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I do have the Lord Jesus Christ to rely and depend on. We attended a couple of churches for years in our community and no one has reached out to us whether for correction, if we are erring, or for concern, to learn about our condition. So the supposed fellowship that we had happened only because we met within certain four walls. Once outside of those four walls all fellowship stopped. That isn’t what Jesus had in mind when He commanded us to love one another. Our love for one another must transcend the four walls and be an expression of Christ’s love driven by the Holy Spirit and built upon the truth of the Scriptures. Speaking the truth in love isn’t popular amongst Christians, so exhortation about the heresy extant throughout the church and encouraging glad-hearted adherence to the truth of the Holy Bible isn’t well received. The wolves and merchandisers have driven the wedge between believers whom God has delivered from the deceit and believers who are still deceived by the falsehood. Sorry for the long answer to such a short question. Thank you for replying to my comment. God bless you. Amen!
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I’m thankful for your comments here today, Eliza. I think you’ve made some valid points. I know I have been discouraged with churches in the past. I also know that I have been blessed by them. I think today’s church is in danger of doing church wrong, for sure, but in some corners of the kingdom church is being practiced in all the right ways. We hear about miracles and healings and people anointed with power, using that power to help others, and we rejoice. Praise God, those are encouraging reports to be sure.
I don’t necessary think a church has to have walls and doors and written policies to be used of God. Small group dynamics can get things done that mega churches never could, and the bigger you are, the harder it is to connect in lil and important ways–as you’ve alluded to in your comment here.
I so appreciate folks like you, who although faced with hypocrisy and chilly receptions within the church walls (I have experienced these, too), continue to seek out Jesus wherever He may be found; most importantly within his faithful ones. Blessing to you, too, Eliza. Please keep reading the blog and stop by with a comment, any time!!!
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Thank you for your encouragement and kind response. The greatest danger facing the visible church is its disregard of the Bible and high regard for the words of men. We must always evaluate whether or not a gathering is a biblical church by their stand on the Word of God and not necessarily by what they are doing or what occurs in their midst. The church is called to be the pillar and ground of the truth, and if it isn’t fulfilling that role then it isn’t Christ’s church established by Him.
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:15
And that lying signs and wonders are designed to deceive those who do not love the truth.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11
So my dear sister, we must examine all things through the clear lens of the Holy Word of God and if what is taught doesn’t match God’s excellent Word then we must conclude that it is false, unsafe, and to be avoided. May Christ make us champions for Him! Amen!
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