Closer Than the Pew
By Pastor Justin Cooper
I have watched people walk into church, sit through the whole service, shake a few hands on the way out, and drive home no closer to God than when they came. Not because the seat was too far from the pulpit. Because their heart was still too far from Christ.
That is a hard thing to say. But I love you too much to leave it unsaid.
"You'll come to church but not come to Christ."
Pastor Justin Cooper
Gospel Light Baptist Church
Here is the good news that changes everything. When John introduces Jesus, he does not leave us standing outside looking in. He hands us a door.
"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
— John 1:12
Read it slowly. As many as received Him. Not as many as attended. Not as many as behaved. Not as many as grew up in it. As many as received Him. This is a birth, not a membership card. It is not something you sign up for. It is something God does inside of you when you finally stop admiring Jesus from a distance and actually come to Him.
And maybe that is where you get stuck. You start counting your sin — the record, the failures, the things nobody knows. Let me answer that the way I did Sunday. You do not know the degree of your sin, but I promise you, you do not know the depths of His love. His love runs deeper than your worst day.
So here is your next step, and it is not "try harder this week." Carrying a Bible will not do it. Being religious will not do it. You must be born again.
If you have never truly come to Christ, do not wait for a Sunday. Do it today. Right where you are, tell Him you believe, and receive Him. And if He is already your Savior, then be the door for someone else this week — one honest conversation with a person who keeps coming to church but has never come to Christ.
The invitation is still open. Whosoever will may come. That means you.
Gospel Light Baptist Church | Walkertown, NC | unsubscribe
