At the dawning of a New Year, it’s time for us to reflect on the past year and evaluate our relationship with Christ. The year 2000 brings with it many opportunities as we move into a new millennium. What is God’s Church to do in the coming millennium? Are we doing all we can for His Kingdom?
        As we move into the 21st Century, we see prophecies being fulfilled all around us. I would like to quote a passage of scripture about the days that we live in now. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Folks, those times are upon us today. We can’t fill a church on Sunday, but the football stadiums and racetracks all across this nation are sold out each and every Sunday. People live for the almighty dollar, rather than working to help someone else that may be less fortunate. God tells us that He will judge an evil nation.
        As Christians, Christ’s Second Coming is something that we should long for, not dread. Think of it. Heaven will be ours. We are joint heirs with Christ to the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ’s Second Coming is a wondrous event to anticipate and is a wonderful reason for sharing the Gospel with those who don’t yet understand the hope of eternity. Jesus said "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:37-38) We are His workers!
        We have been given the Great Commission from the Holy One to spread the "Good News" with everyone. I ask you, are we doing all that we can? Will Jesus welcome us with "Well done my good and faithful servant?" There are many in our community who are hurting and don’t know the love and joy of Jesus Christ. We, as a church, need to step out of our comfort zone and invite people to our church. We need to visit people and let them know that we care about them. We need to pray and ask God to show us what more we can do to promote His Kingdom and share the Gospel with others. We need to get more comfortable with witnessing to people. We should not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to talk about what Jesus has done in our lives. After all, He died on a cross for us. What can we do for Him?
        As we move into the new year, the vision for 2000 should be to pray earnestly for God to show us what our church can do to reach those that are lost. Each day that passes is a day closer to His return. There is no time like the present. Once today is gone, there is no turning back. Let’s not look back and regret that we didn’t do more. It is time for our church to have a revival! Jesus is coming again! This should be a strong motivator for us to declare the Gospel to those who don’t yet know Him. It should also be a source of hope for the here and now – and a future peace and joy that we can only imagine. Darrell Day