Well, 2022 beckons us all forward with whatever weather it holds in store for the human race. Judging by the visible horizon drawing us into the cascading days and weeks ahead, it does not pose great wonders of joy and happiness, of sunshine and happier days.
We enter with some trepidation, rather than aspirations of hope and good cheer. That is, all except the televangelists and churches, who are lost in their own dreamland of prosperity, success, and increased-wealth promises. They will all proclaim this to be the year of 'Abundance', 'Blessings', 'Mortgages paid', and bringing in their harvest of increase..... if of course they keep tithing and 'sowing' their seed money into the coffers.
Well, they are all in for a shock. The citadels of prosperity preachers shall come down, light and truth will discover the tricks and lies of the false prophets, and the sheep that graze in their pastures will have to find some other field to munch grass.
The threshold of this new year calls to those who have ears to hear, and cries, 'The Bridegroom cometh! Get ready to meet with God! Get about the business you were called to in bringing in God's harvest of souls lost in the sea of darkness and evil."
2022 shouts to all who will hear, "It is time to wake up! It is time to get real! It is time to put off the pyjamas of laziness and soul-sleep, and put on the armour of God, the uniform of a soldier of Jesus Christ."
It is time to cease from playing 'church', to clear out all the ritualism that has no spirit or substance except to give you some false peace that will get blown away when the storms arise even more. Some pastors are already planning all of the preachers and visitors and programmes for this coming year, stitching everything up nicely into their own little agenda. They have no room left for God to visit the church, nor for a spontaneous move of the Holy Spirit.
Oh yes, they have all the latest choruses and songs birthed in the multimillion dollar Christian Music Industry, and all the musicians on the platforms to get everyone jiving to the chords, but it is all yet another ritual which if you do not agree with you will be told to leave and go elsewhere. The trumpet of God will blast away all of the noise and commotion of what people call 'worship' these days.
A voice rises over the violent seas of 2022, calling out to those whose hearts are true, who are sold out to God, "Go ye now into all the world and preach the gospel! Leave all behind; lay not up treasures on earth where your heart will be deceived and stolen through the sparkles of their deceptions. Time is short and the coming of the Lord draws near. What will you take from this earth into heaven except the souls of men and women, of young people and children to whom you shared the good news of salvation?"
How will you appear before God empty-handed, yet have a nice bank account and savings, and church accounts brimming with the monies dedicated to some fancy new building, rather than the financing of the gospel?
The young evangelists, with all of their zeal, cannot go preach because nobody will send them, nobody will spare a few shekels to fund them. Evangelism and evangelistic materials are bottom of the list when it comes to sharing out the church income or even the members personal income.
Where is the pastor, the man, the woman who has a heart for winning souls and will happily give up all they have for the sake of the gospel?
2022 may be your last chance for you to hear from God and obey his command to go into all the world with the only message of hope to a dying humanity headed for hell's flames for all eternity.
I shall be most surprised if a single soul responds to this; but truth remains truth, and sometimes the word of truth pierces the heart dividing soul and spirit asunder.
