Responding to God

I am truly thankful for the presence of the Lord that was evident in the service last evening. I rejoice in the knowledge that God desires to draw near to His people and He desires to release His ministering Spirit in our midst. It is always an honor to be able to stand in the presence of people and declare the Word of the Lord. I do not take that privilege for granted no matter how many times that I am afforded the opportunity to share the Gospel, the Good news that Christ is Lord of all the situations of our lives. The "old story" never grows old and it is still relevant to any generation and all that they are facing. I left service last night with some concerns and conflicting thoughts. Why do some people find the strength to respond to God while others sit in the same service and find "reasons" to disregard the call from God? (Note: I notice this struggle in each of the places that I minister.) Have we grown comfortable in justifying our lack of response to God? If this is true, what information are we using to justify our action? How does God react to the "cold shoulder" that we offer to the Spirit as He begins to speak to our lives? Even this morning I still sense the feelings of concern; I know that we are living in challenging times and that we are in need of divine intervention in all of our lives. What will it take for our eyes to be opened, our ears opened and our hearts softened so that we can make the appropriate response to God? I long for the day that we as the people of God will choose to make the correct response to God. Can you imagine the strength and power of God that would be made manifest if ALL of us chose to obey God in any given service? Some may say that I am asking for the impossible and they may be correct; but I refuse to accept anything less that total surrender and obedience to God. Let us remember that a great price was paid for our salvation. Salvation is more than just the initial forgiveness of our sins; salvation includes the strength, courage, faith, and desire that we need to finish our journey with God. Let each of us commit to responding to God in the correct manner when we feel His presence touching our lives. This commitment will include both our public worship time as well as our private time of personal devotion. We will be amazed at the response of God when we fully surrender our lives to Him