Choose to Be in or Out

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40, KJV).

Crisis moments require us to be courageous enough to deal with the issues of our day and, more importantly, those that lie within our own hearts. It is time for an appraisal. Not of our assets, not of our property. We need to probe deeper. It is time for us to stop and seriously consider where we are headed. Are you and I prepared for what is coming? Do we have resident within us what we need to face the coming days?

I fear that many Christians are largely unaware of the depth of the great trials that will one day face the church and, sadly, possess little inner resource to meet them.

We profess our devotion to Christ without much difficulty when the sun is out, the paycheck is in the mailbox, and there is still food on the table. Yet it is when we strike the iceberg that, in the same manner as the RMS Titanic, suddenly the flaws in our hearts and motives will be unveiled.

That is when it will become evident if our security is truly rooted in Christ alone. We will discover whether or not our hearts will prove to be steadfast, with the express purpose of living for the glory of God and the souls of men.

If we expect to be found unshakable in the days to come, I can only arrive at this one conclusion: an immediate and deliberate decision must be made in our hearts to go the full journey with Christ. Following Christ in this way was never promised to be an easy path; in fact, I daresay that the half-hearted simply will not make it.

This is precisely why it is imperative that we take the time to search our hearts now. We must face that most critical of choices: are we all in, or are we out?

^{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}