Authentic Christianity in 2022

Covid has forced the church to develop new strategies to stay on board with God’s plans for humanity. And the plans are simple, first, we are called to preach the gospel of peace, we are to spread the fragrance of God and we are to demonstrate the reality of His kingdom wherever we go. Secondly, we are to live as His people in unity and support the Body of Christ until we come to the fullness of the stature of Christ. But for us to do so according to His will, we must first be thoroughly rooted and grounded in His love.

And because COVID closed the doors to the assembling together of the saints, there has been a sifting. Those who relied on weekly church services and gatherings as their only way of expressing some kind of faith had to deal with their position and identity in Christ all on their own. Leaders, especially prophets and preachers, soon learnt the need for effective social media contact, and the Church universally did well in picking up on this cue, even locally.  Our gathering together became more tangible with Zoom or Team meetings, and regular encouraging words and prophetic signposting became part of our WhatsApp communications, more so than before. Speaking of which, WhatsApp calls became the order of the day as people were forced into quarantine.

The irony is that good teaching remained a little behind, not surprising, as we were in “survival mode”. Too many people got caught up in bad end-time teachings, trying to align the global threat with their lives, trying to make Scriptural sense of it all. Sadly that just gave rise to a lot of fear-mongering, especially with the non-scientific vaccination imposed on so many, rightly or wrongly – time alone will eventually tell.

We seem to be coming out of this ongoing issue better and better.  And I have a deep, deep conviction that this year will bring more than usual breakthroughs for the people of God.  

Those who have faithfully stayed in His Presence, living lifestyles of worship, will have come closer to Him because of the season we found ourselves in.  More so than ever before, we need to demonstrate the Father’s love through Christ Jesus. 

James must be our guide here - we have to remain very practical in demonstrating God’s love. During this time, I have met several people who know Jesus generally, but they do not know, discern and love Him intimately.  We must discern Holy Spirit’s active Life from within. This year we must do everything in our power not to quench Him or grieve Him in any way.  Seek authentic encounters with Jesus, and use all the tools at our disposal to do so, but in particular, we must return to soaking in His Presence.  We need to feel and know Father-God’s heartbeat, and know that when we lavish our love on Him, He will consistently pour more of His love into us, which will enable us to follow and obey Him better.  We must stay in step and on track with Him in our inner chamber, and His glory will flood our life and all with whom we come in contact with.  

There is an atmosphere for spiritual breakthroughs all around us, and it is up to us to enter into the fullness of what God has planned for u this year. 2022 promises to be an exceptionally good year for most of us and for the Church as a whole.

Remain in His love, drink in His Presence, seek His truth, gain divine insights and exercise discernment all the time.  But above all, “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing and be thankful in all things.”  God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you all!   

Blessings

Ben