The world is a moral wilderness today and the churches of Christ are a valley of very dry bones. The way of the Lord must be prepared in the desert. A straight highway must be built in the wilderness.

If the Lord were to come today, what would He find? The Lord's churches are a moral desert, a doctrinal wilderness. The people are wounded, sick, ignorant of the riches of God. The model of biblical interpretation that divides God's elect into a Gentile church and a Jewish kingdom has robbed the new-covenant saints of the spiritual riches to be found in the Old Testament.

The Spirit of revelation has been replaced by traditional religious fables. Attempts to manipulate the spirit realm by various formulas are employed instead of genuine faith. Music has taken the place of the manifestation of the Spirit. Ministers "book" concert tours and entertain the believers. "Rock" groups amuse the young people. Clowns, ventriloquists, and magicians are brought to the platform to make sure people keep coming to church. Pianists who make no attempt to lead a holy life embellish hymns so the "saints" will not be bored. The husbands need to watch carefully their wives, and the fathers their daughters (and young boys), while such "ministers" are in town.

It is time for the churches to repent!

Many of God's people have never met the Lord. They have heard about God and perhaps have learned to use a spiritual gift or two. But they have never met the God of Abraham. They have never been confronted by the God of the old-time Methodists or Baptists. The holy ways of the Lord are not known to them. They have not been spiritually circumcised.

The Pentecostal movement at one time was of the Lord. The people prayed, read their Bibles, trusted God for healing. The ladies attempted to be holy by wearing their hair in a bun and by not using cosmetics. There was much stress on modest clothing. The believers did not attend the theater or play cards.

Then the Charismatic movement arose and spread across the earth. The practices of outward holiness were rejected. People began to learn to operate the gifts of the Spirit. But there was little prayer. The preaching of cross-carrying obedience disappeared. In its place came errors such as the "faith" and "prosperity" errors, positive thinking and speaking, imaging, and other unscriptural practices.

The Lord left because of the lack of prayer and consecration.

So it was in the days of John the Baptist. The Pharisees loved to sit in the seat of Moses, a special chair of honor. But they did not know the God of Moses. They memorized the Law and spoke of it constantly. But they did not know the God who gave the Law. They robbed widows while making long public prayers.

They were not prepared for God when He came.

To be continued.