Here I go again

Imagine this:Judgement day comes, and your standing before the throne of God. To your surprise, He reminds you of an old friend. THen you see this friend. A grown man with tears rolling down his face crying out, "Why didnt you tell me? Why didnt you tell me that there was a God who loved and cared for me? WHy didnt you tell me that the things I was doing was destroying my whole life and future? Why? Why?" Suddenly this horrible feeling of guilt came over you, and you knew exactly why God was showing this to you. You remember questioning your friends faith. You remember watching the wrong things he was doing. Maybe he was doing drugs, having sex with his girlfriend, stealing, or getting drunk. Yet through it all you remained silent, and now it was too late.
"When I say to a wicked man, 'you will surely die', and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuage him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood." Ezekiel 3:19
When I found this verse it sent chills down my spine. Maybe it was because the words "hold you accountable for his blood" kinda freaked me out a little, or maybe it was because I had no doubt in my mind that God was showing me this verse for a reason. It was really the first time I ever felt God so blatantly speak to me. But when I look around at the world I see so many broken people out there. People searching for something to hold onto, something that makes them feel better about themselves when the rest of the world has ridiculed them, they need something real. Sadly, many of them turn to getting drunk or high to numb the pain they feel instead of seeking the one true God who loves them with a passion that no one can even begin to comphrehend. You and I know this God and(hopefully) have a personal relationship with him, yet why do we sit here silent? Why havnt we told them? So maybe your reading this and you know exactly who this person in your life is. Do something about it! Dont let the ones you love live like this any longer! Trust me, I know that these things are a lot easier said then done, but at some point in every Christians life you are going to be persecuted. But if we are persecuted for righteousness sake then isnt it worth it in the end??!! When I read the verse in Ezekiel I became interested and began to read a little further. In the next verse it tells us that if we warn the sinner then we would have saved ourselves. If you dont have the heart to save someone else, then at least save yourself. I also found in 33:8 it repeats these exact same verses. Why would he tell us this more than once if it wasnt so important? That is why I am sharing this with, because I believe it is important. In the Great Commission Jesus commands us to "Go and make disciples of many nations", but still we sit here and do nothing! We only speak about God within our Christian circle of friends, while the ones who really need it never know. What are we so afraid of??? YOU can make a change in someones life. Sometimes all it takes is inviting someone to church, or just being a friend to them. Never underestimate the power of what Christ can do through your life, and and always keep your eyes and ears open because you never know when he is speaking to you.
The lyrics to this Casting Crowns really reminds me of what we go through. Have you been there before?
Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that he will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurtsTo see my only friend slowly fade away

So maybe this time I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear is tearing at my words
What am I so afraid of?

'Cause here I go again
Talkin 'bout the rain
And mulling over things that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not his friend
This might be my last chance to tell him That You love Him
But here I go again, here I go again

Lord, You love him so,
You gave Your only Son
If he will just believe; he will never die
But how then will he know what he has never heard
Lord he has never seen mirrored in my life
I know this was kinda long, but if you read it all then I really appreciate it!If you want, check out this video. I thought it did a good job of showing the statistics of where our world is today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtEa9Dr22bA

~*Elizabeth
first written: 2/4/08