Public Domain

My mother in law is upset that her town is widening the street and putting a sidewalk in front of her house. To do that, they have cut down two of her 50 year old trees. She cries daily unable to get passed the idea that the right of way is not hers.

She cannot make this transition. She is stuck and she is deeply offended.

When I first got the Holy Ghost I used to sit with elder Sis. Wallingsford and read to her. Her eyesight had deteriorated to the point she couldn't make out any print. She enjoyed hearing the writings of Nona Freeman. I will always cherish my memories of learning from this wise woman of God.

One day I arrived at her apartment and she was crying. I asked what was wrong and she cried out, "Carolyn, did you hear what they did with the song 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'?" I had. She couldn't believe they would take such beloved lyrics and sing them to a beat she couldn't relate.

If the Lord tarries, soon I will become emotional about shifts in the focus of the church. I imagine that there will be tears that I will not be able to stop. But I have determined with the Lord's help, to not hold on to my tried and true traditions at the expense of reaching the lost.

The thing is - I will stop going with the flow when the Truth of Jesus is morphed into marketing. He is a holy God and He gave Himself for our redemption. He didn't send anyone else. It was Him alone, reaching. It was Jesus - fully man, fully God so He could show us an overcoming life. It wasn't a matter of a vessel determining to live right. He was a vessel dependent on His divine portion.

To reach the lost we cannot sell them short by denying them the full Truth of an overcoming life. Each of us must be regenerated and dependent on daily regeneration. We will never have enough power or determination to live an overcoming life without the infilling of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This Truth of our relationship with Jesus is not Public Domain which can be repackaged for aesthetics or easier access.

To let anyone leave a house of worship without that good news is nothing more than marketing a lifestyle.