One of the questions I've had during my whole ministry is, "What can we do to be more relevant?"  In fact, I have a series of messages on that subject.   If we can't get the unsaved to listen, we can't give them the truth.  Many times ministries have made physical changes in order to attract people.  We have a term for that which is “being seeker friendly.”  I believe that is good, but it isn't the answer.

The reason that many Christians aren't fruitful is because we have forgotten what our message is supposed to be.   We tend to major on minors and forget the real message that we have for the people around us.  What is the message?  The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NAS):

 "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." 

The message that we should be giving to those around us is that Jesus has reconciled us to God.

I remember very well the day I found out that Jesus came to make peace between me and God.  Even though I was brought up in a church my whole life, I don't ever remember hearing that fact. but when I did, it wasn't long before I was calling out to God for salvation. 

I've looked back on that day many times in my search for relevance.  Even though there were things that made me feel comfortable with Ron Glass, (he led me to the Lord), it was his message that got to me.  I could hardly believe that God loved me.  What an amazing thing.  If we were to ask our neighbor, or the person at work, what they think God is like, what would they say?  Some would say He is a mystical being off somewhere.  Others would say that God is love, but do they really know that God sent His Son, Jesus … to reconcile us to Himself?

What does reconciliation mean?  In some translations this word is translated atonement.  It means to make an exchange.  Jesus made an exchange for us when He died and rose again.  For us to better understand this exchange, we need an understanding of the blood covenant.  One of the main parts of the blood covenant is when the two parties make an exchange of what they own.  Many times they would exchange weapons, or they would exchange garments.  They would also exchange things that represented their individual families.  In Africa, there were tribes that would exchange walking sticks.  When a man showed up in a town with a walking stick from another tribe in his hand, everyone in that town knew who stood with that man in case there was trouble.

Incredible - Jesus exchanged His righteousness by taking on our unrighteousness!

In our atonement, or reconciliation, Jesus exchanged His righteousness by taking on our unrighteousness.  He took our guilt and gave us His innocence.  He took our helplessness and gave us His strength.   This is the message of reconciliation -- that everything we ever needed to do to appease the wrath of God was done in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

This is the message we need to be giving to those around us.  Not messages that say, "God is a god of love and He overlooks our sin." Or - "You need to be good for God to love you." Or - "God is going to get you!"  Those messages are not good news.  Those messages aren't the message of reconciliation.  People all around us aren't looking for a religion to join or someone to tell them what they already know and sense in their hearts.  They are looking for a message that will change their lives.  That is the message we should be preaching.  Our ministries are to be ministries of reconciliation.  It's that simple and pure.

Editorial Note:  Leon De Haan is an International Bible Teacher, helping equip the Body of Christ to thrive.  To go to his website, click:  www.thriveministries.org  

Dear Reader - are you at peace with God?  If not, you can be.  Do you know what awaits you when you die?  You can have the assurance from the Holy Spirit that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain.  Either Jesus Christ died for yours sins, or He didn't (He did!).  Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to cover your sins?  We plead with you ... please don't make such a tragic mistake.

To be at peace with God; to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity; to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help understand the importance of being reconciled to God.  What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one.  Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life.