A GREAT FALLING AWAY - FIRST!

IS THIS THE END OF CHRISTIAN BRITAIN, 

asks the Daily Mail Newspaper?  

The majority of white adults say they have no religion, and the number is set to rise.?  46% of adults have NO religion, while 42% are Christian but generally non religious.  Churches are emptying, and only a small number with a hyped up presentation of the Gospel appear to be filled with young people.   The Roman Catholics and the Church of England are both experiencing a reduction in numbers of worshippers in their churches.    Yet when His Holiness the Pope visited England he was given a rapturous welcome by vast numbers - as was the case here in Kenya last year when he visited us.   WHY should this be so?    There are a number of reasons I believe....

BUT in Kenya ALL churches still seem to be filled, and well patronised, from the Traditional to the freer, and more varied Protestant and Evangelical Churches.   This could be due to the fact that here there is a greater liberty in how Church Worship is organised and expressed.     However I would say that in Kenya people generally accept the existence of God, and feel the need of His help and interest in their lives.   Indeed although the western nations still moan a lot about their hardships socially, it is in Africa and much of the Third World, that people suffer and struggle to live.     Might I put it too bluntly when I suggest that the First World has less to discomfort it than the rest?      On the other hand even the majority of those attending church in Kenya have little real knowledge of the Saviour who came to deliver and save us from sin, and instead of seeking God's forgiveness and then giving back to Him their life in love and service, they run to seek profit and pleasure.    I do a fair amount of interviewing for potential staff and an astonishing few, when questioned about their religion, though accepting they are 'Christian' have hardly any understanding of WHY they are, or WHAT Christ has to do with their life - apart from protecting them from trouble and paying their bills and other financial needs through prayer.    The truly 'spiritual'aspect is missing.    Religious they may be but there is no NEW LIFE about them.       All want a more comfortable life, from the poorest (the majority) to the richest!     Man has travelled far from the Garden in which he first knew happiness with God.
Esther and I travel in Europe and the UK occasionally - say once every ten years.   Each time we go we see diminishing returns in the churches -  smaller congregations, and less interest in the Word of God.
The Christianity of today, compared to the days of our fathers, lacks LIFE!     It lacks the manifestation of Christ's commitment and dedication to God the Father.     And, to an extent, this is the cause of a progressively lost VITALITY in Christians generally.      Not much that would make one AWARE of him; he is is just as others are with hardly any visible difference.     Jesus did not come to Earth with the intention of inventing a new Religion called Christianity.   Jesus came to introduce and GIVE us a NEW life - a WAY of living that would be in startling contrast to the way we were first born into at birth.         When we believe in Jesus, we are told, ALL things become NEW, including ourselves.     Adventure, Challenge, and Power lay before us.     BUT INSTEAD we find ourselves attending Centres hoping for Free Offers; and also Bargain Hunters, and Fund Raisers for those finding themselves in need to build houses, buy cars, or travel abroad.      WHERE is the NEW LIFE focused on giving to and loving those who have nothing; The new SINLESS life that is no longer corrupt?
Again, in England we found churches being built and even renovated to provide the greatest comfort - plush seating, lavish furnishing and decoration,  and it is being introduced here in Kenya as well.

The'atmosphere' is changing within the Church and her places of worship.     In a way this, to me, is not the worst change.     Buildings alone are nothing these days.    A thousand years ago they built the old cathedrals and churches with a regard for the OWNER of the house; with love, care and sacrifice. You can feel it when you walk in - that this house is God's.     But more often today we just throw up a church cheaply without much attention to beauty,,but rather to how many it will hold, or how much of a sensation it will cause.     JESUS said in John 4v20, 23-24  ' Believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain or even in Jerusalem ---- The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the father looks for such to worship him.    God is a Spirit; and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth..,     TRUE worship for God will be in the heart!    

BUT, how many hearts are reaching out to God in fact.    How many even BELIEVE in God?   More and more of our Teachers, Lawmakers, and others live and talk as if He is and always has been a myth.
We could be on the way to a world WITHOUT any Religion,     In fact we are being told that NO RELIGION is the new norm in society as a whole - yes I know we can point out exceptions but even these are feeling the effect of a changing world unaware of God generally.      And this has an effect on our humanity as a whole, for without GOD consciousness where is the CONSCIENCE OF ANY NATION?     If the Christian is leaving the church where is he going to if Christ is not in his life and heart?    He is being sucked out and away into a 'black hole' of unbelief that has no bottom.

St. PAUL says that the END of the world will be be preceded by a 'falling away first - AND then the Man of Sin will be revealed (2. Thessalonians 2v3).    AND Jesus said in Matthew 24v12 - 'Because iniquity / sin / corruption shall abound the love of many shall grow cold.'     These words are a commentary on our world society as it is today.    People do not love God, do not honour, respect, or put him first  BECAUSE of  love of their own way more.     Look at 2. Timothy 3v1-5 as a back up to this.
THINGS ARE CHANGING.     Be sure it is not for the better.     Do not be abandoned by God.   Do not tempt Him to break the thing that He lovingly made and in which He had such good intentions.