Church Signs

I love Church Signs, you know, the ones that are by the street and either give information or maybe a funny quip or two.  I REALLY like the ones that have funny quotes.  You know ones that say things like, "If your life stinks, we have a pew for you." or "Stop...Drop...Roll, does not work in Hell."  The list could go on and on.

Today, though, I saw a Church sign asking, "Holy Spirit, revive this land."  I will be the first one to agree that we need to revive this land. With political correctness run amok, offensive flags, gender issues, our land is amongst the most confused I have ever seen. One of my favorite quotes is, "If we do not teach our children to love God, the world will teach them not to" and I think if we depend on the trends that are overtaking our world, we are well on our way to making that statement true.

I guess my biggest issue with the comment asking the Holy Spirit to revive this land is, I believe they have it wrong.  What the sign should say is, "Invite the Holy Spirit into your life, and help change this land."  I appreciate the thought behind the original quote, but, it is my understanding that the Holy Spirit is already here.  The Holy Spirit is right next to you, me, and everyone, but in order for It to work, and "revive this land," we first have to accept that the Holy Spirit is here, by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior.  The Holy Spirit cannot work for us if we do not believe It exist. 

The Holy Spirit works for me, because I believe.  I really think there are many times I have looked up at the right time, and avoided a car accident, or some potential tragedy, because the Holy Spirit is with me, watching me and giving me that feeling of safety and security.  The Holy Spirit helped me when I was in between jobs, and feared for providing for my family.

The Holy Spirit also convicts me when I do something wrong.  You ever get that feeling, the instant you say something or do something that would upset God or a parent or a boss.  When I get that feeling, I immediately say, "Ohhhhhh, wish I would not have done that, or said that."  That is the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and as Thomas Carlyle said, "Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct."  Conviction is important, even though it feels crummy, because the Holy Spirit is using this opportunity to convert us or get us back on the correct path. 

So, while I appreciate the idea behind the sign, I think we are putting to much on the Holy Spirit to do the things that we would be doing, already, if everyone believed.