The Dumbing Down of America's Churches

I ran across this newsweek article and after some head shaking, I broken heartedly have to agree with the author. Although I am not a Catholic (I am a non denominational Christian), I have seen this trend throughout evangelical churches as well. We have opted for the feel-good social justice approach while ignoring the root principles of Christianity. Namely that our job here on earth is to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel, call people to repentance, and put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Obama's pragmatic approach to divisive policy (his notion that we should acknowledge the good faith underlying opposing viewpoints) and his social-justice agenda reflect the views of American Catholic laity much more closely than those vocal bishops and pro-life activists. When Obama meets the pope tomorrow, they'll politely disagree about reproductive freedoms and homosexuality, but Catholics back home won't care, because they know Obama's on their side. In fact, Obama's agenda is closer to their views than even the pope's.

Extra Grace People

We all have those people in our lives who require extra grace in our every day dealings. Maybe it's someone who seems to ask the same questions all the time. It may be someone that you just can't seem to get to no matter how hard you try. Maybe it's the argumentative person who always tries to trip you. Whoever it is, there are those people who will test the limits of our patience. What's important is how we respond to these people.

When I think about all I have done in my life, I'm happy that God didn't run out of patience with me. Surely my stubbornness, pride, and disobedience over years of my life would have caused anyone to classify me as an extra grace person. However, God didn't give up. Instead of giving up on me, He sent His son to take the punishment I deserve for all of my disobedience. Seeing this sacrifice, puts the difficult I have to deal with into a new light. God loves them just as much as He loves me.

The next time you have to deal with a person that tests your limits, remember that God didn't give up on you. As a Christian, we need to take the time to make sure that people can see the Holy Spirit working through us. Especially when it comes to the people who require us to dig deep for that last bit of strength. We all know who those people are.

If you don't, you're it.

Enduring with Christ

2 Timothy 2:11-14
¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹²if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

God is faithful in His children. Although we will go through trials, God has promised us that if we remain faithful in Him, we will live eternally with Him. He knows that we may endure so much that we seem faithless but if we are living in Him, He will remain faithful to us.

The Greatest Commandment

Mark 12:28 - 31
²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

²⁹"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

What have you done to show your love for God today? Have you taken time to thank Him for all you have been given? We eat His food, drink His water, breathe His air, yet we have a tendency to take it all for granted.

Have you taken time to show love for your fellow man today? How about the person in line at the store in front of you, the person making your coffee, the person asking for change on the sidewalk? What if that person asking for change was an angel? Did you pass that test this morning?

Our eternal hope

Revelation 21:3-4
³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Read that passage, drink it in. This is what we as Christians have to look forward to. Living and dwelling with God. No more tears, no more pain, no more disease, no more remnants of the fallen world in which we live.

Repentence and faith

Acts2:^38:
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Most of the people here in the northeast were baptized as infants. While a noble act on the part of the parents, it is clear that baptism is performed as a result of 1) Hearing the word. 2) Repenting of sin. 3) Being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Pray for our nation

God has put governments in place to direct us. Looking at the current administration, we need to look at what God is trying to tell us. Is God angry at us for becoming complacent? We have a president who claims to know the Lord yet his actions seem to speak otherwise. While we do not know of a person's salvation, we can judge a man's fruit.

Please keep our leaders in prayer. Pray they will come to know the Lord and align their goals with His. Pray for our nation to elect Godly leaders, leaders who will seek His wisdom and guidance. Pray that our nation will again be a nation "under God."

Pray for Haiti

A devastating earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti yesterday. Please pray for comfort and healing for the residents. By all accounts, there is widespread devastation across a very poor country just miles off our southern coast.

Second chances

Looking back at your life, do you see things that you think God may have a hard time forgiving? Our God is a God of second chances. When Jesus was hung on the cross, it was for all of our sins. Past, present, and future. There is nothing you have done that a God rich in mercy cannot forgive. The offer of salvation, forgiveness, and everlasting life is a gift that is offered to you. Like any gift, you need to reach out and take it.

Repent of your sins. Admit to God that He is right and you are a sinner. Thank Him for sending His son to take the punishment you deserve. Ask God to change your heart, to make His desires your desires. Do it today. You are not guaranteed another day.

Belief is irrelevant

Belief is irrelevant in light of the truth.

With the rise of "Ophranity" and all of the other false religions, there is a movement afoot that tells us that all belief systems are equal and as long as one believes in their own beliefs they will find God. This is not new. It has happened from the beginning of time when Satan asked Eve, "Did God really say..."Since that point, humankind has been in search of a god to shape in his own image. A god that will allow them to live as they see fit, certainly not a god that will judge them for their sin. And of course the god who will simply love, love, love them as they are and allow them to continue in their sin.

Just believing that something is true does not make it so. Truth is not subjective. If my truth and your truth disagree, one of them is wrong. If you believe that God will overlook your sin because you are a generally good person, or because you go to church on Sunday, or because you do good deeds in the community, you have created an idol and inserted it in place of God. The God who has revealed Himself to us in the Bible tells us that we cannot do anything to earn our way to Him. The only way is through Jesus Christ.

We need to turn from our sin and trust that Jesus has taken our punishment for us, not try to earn our way. When Jesus was whipped, beaten, spat upon, had his beard pulled out, and finally nailed to the cross, he bore the punishment for all of us. Through His sacrifice we can approach God and be seen as sinless. We are to repent, that is turn from our sin, and ask for forgiveness. When we do that, God will give us a new heart. His desires will be ours. The old creature will die, and a new one will take its place. We will be born again.

This is the truth. This is what has been revealed to us in the Bible. Any other belief will end in destruction. No matter how fervently someone believes it.

Brit Hume was right

In case you missed it, Fox News man Brit Hume made some comments about Tiger Woods and his current mess. He said that Tiger needs to turn to Jesus for forgiveness and redemption. Woods is a Buddhist. Brit is absolutely correct. However, he was a little narrow in his scope. Everyone needs to turn to Jesus for forgiveness of sin. We are told in Acts 4:12: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

While the PC crowd will get all upset at Brit for saying this, we as Christians know the truth. There is no forgiveness of sin without Jesus. If you die without your sins being forgiven, you are destined for eternal punishment in hell. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus took the sins of all who would repent and put their trust in Him.

While there are lots of belief systems in the world, you only need to ask yourself one question. Is what you believe the truth? If it's not, it makes no difference how strongly you believe it.

God can forgive all sin

1 Timothy 1:15-17

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

A lot of people are afraid to come to God because of something they have done in their life. There may be some overriding guilt that because of past actions God will be so angry that He could not possibly forgive them. Well, there is really good news. There is nothing you have done that Jesus did not take the punishment for on the cross. Every sin you have committed was paid for in the life blood of Jesus. Look at the passage above written by the Apostle Paul. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus as he was previously known, was a persecutor of Christians in the early church. He oversaw the stoning of Stephen and was responsible for having Christians rounded up, jailed, and executed for their faith. Now, look back on your life. What do you think you have done that God could not forgive you? The answer is nothing.

Repent and ask God for forgiveness. He is rich in mercy. Put your trust in Jesus as the one who bore the punishment you deserve and God will reach into your life and give you a new heart. You will feel a great relief of the burden you have carried and will be born again. Do it today. You are not guaranteed another breath on earth.

Evangelism in a Fallen World

2 Timothy 4:1 - 5 (NIV)

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

How do you prefer to evangelize? Are you a street preacher, someone who hands out tracts, one who talks to strangers, or how about one of the new trends lifestyle or friendship evangelism? It is difficult to reach out and talk to people in the current climate. In the age of "tolerance", the intolerance toward Christians is astounding. We are constantly being told that we should not be forcing our views on others. But the question needs to be asked; "Is preaching the word the same as forcing our views?"

We need look no farther than the Middle East and the Islamic world to see a true example of forcing a belief on someone. It is illegal to convert to another religion in most Islamic countries and the penalty is death. In India, radical Hindus in Orissa state are rounding up Christian missionaries, beating, raping, and killing them for the crime of evangelism. How does this compare to handing out a tract or street preaching?

It is our duty to preach the word. If there was a blind man heading toward a cliff, would you tell him? Even if the man didn't think there was a cliff on the horizon, you know there is one and he is heading for certain destruction. Do you not tell him because you are afraid of what he might say to you? Remember what Paul said above "correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." Be gentle but do not waver.

From Romans 10:14 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

More corruption of the church

The Rev. Carlton Veazey, the president of Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, gave the closing speech at a Capitol Hill rally. In the speech, he said that not only is abortion a constitutional right, it is a "God given right."

While it would be nice to think of his group as a simple fringe group, a perusal of the member organizations page shows ever more evidence of the corruption coming from within the church. All the usual suspects are there. Episcopal, Presbyterian, and all the Uni-churches are represented.

While it's sad, it's not surprising. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

People will seek out people like Carlton Veazey because he will tell them what they want to hear. In the true style of "cafeteria Christian", those parts of the Bible that can be mangled and word twisted to get at his point will be consumed by those who are looking to have their ears tickled. However, Rev. Veazey will have a much higher standard to answer to. James 3:1 says. "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." This is a strict warning to those who would lead us down the wrong path.

I would be trembling in fear knowing what is in store for me if I was Rev. Veazey. I will continue to pray for him that he will come to know the true God who made himself known to us through His word.