A Spiritual Dullness
Some surveys show only about 40% of us attend church regularly. What’s everybody else doing?
So. . .why haven’t we won them over?
And actually the news is much worse. The survey I quoted is based on surveys of people who say they go to church.
But if you add up the actual attendance across America, it’s considerably less than 40%.
What’s going on?
There’s a spiritual dullness in our culture that concerns me.
And it should concern you.
The fact is—that spiritual dullness is an inability to connect the dots between faithful, worship attendance, and building strong families and communities.
You can’t separate the impact of one on the other!
The demise of our families and communities, and our moral fiber, is directly related to our failure to understand the importance of worshipping and studying God’s Word in a local congregation!
The Baronelle Stutzman Story: Facing a hostile culture
In a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity in this country, we’re being attacked—simply for living out our faith!
. . .and here’s a story that could be easily be your story!
Baronelle Stutzman owns a Washington state florist.
She prayerfully made the difficult decision to turn down a request from a long-time customer to do the florals for his same-sex wedding ceremony in 2012. She could not, in clear conscience, use her talent to celebrate the event—because of her biblical belief that marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman.
Baronelle now faces two separate lawsuits.
I urge you to see her dramatic and touching story.
Fortunately, Baronelle has an expert ally in Alliance Defending Freedom.
Take hope that a ministry like ADF exists to defend the faith—and the faithful!
Pick Your Battles
At what point do you stand up and fight for what you believe?
There’s no question—you have to pick your battles.
Some things aren’t worth defending. You have to know the difference.
Your faith, your family, your freedoms—are!
You stand up when you’re being diminished or others are being diminished in their value.
You stand up when what God has ordained in His Word is being diminished in its truth and value.
When you’re forced to compromise or made complicit in the compromise.
That’s when you stand up!
Government-funded abortions; untruth lifted up as the truth.
Stand up!
When injustice is committed. Stand up!
. . .and by the way. When we speak of truth and justice—it’s not based on your definition or mine.
It’s the definition of truth and justice based on God’s Word.
Universities unnecessarily cave to atheist group’s threats over Gideon Bibles
Just because an atheist group complains—it doesn’t mean we have to cave in to those complaints!
Here’s a perfect example!
The University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University needlessly removed Bibles from their university guest rooms after complaints to university officials from an atheist group. The group said it violated the First Amendment.
Not true!
The First Amendment does not require them to remove something from campus just because it happens to be religious.
In fact, the Constitution requires them to accommodate religion.
Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom sent letters to both universities this past February encouraging them to restore the Bibles to the guest rooms—and not to surrender to the atheist groups’ unfounded legal threats and inaccurate demands!
Universities—or anyone else for that matter—shouldn’t be browbeaten into taking unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional actions!
Go Into ALL the World
The question is. . .”How are we as Christians to interact with those whose values are opposite ours, even opposed to ours?
That’s a highly relevant question, isn’t it?
. . .and Jesus used strong words to answer it. In Mark 2:16, When the Pharisees asked the disciples why Jesus was eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, Jesus heard them and said, “I haven’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
He valued relationships with people that one translation calls “the scum of the earth.”
It’s the essence of the Great Commission to go into ALL the world—not just all the locations of the world, but to all the people of the world.
Not all the world except the political world, not all the world except the entertainment industry.
Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!
It’s pretty clear.
Go for it!
Who Do You Say I Am?
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
In this culture of moral and spiritual decline—it’s the right question to ask!
. . .and what is your answer to that question?
Jesus put His disciples on the spot.
The right answer is: “He is God.”
That means He is God over you, your finances, your relationships, your community, your home, your church. And in a nation that appears to be falling apart, He is still God.
When as Christians, we’re unable to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?”—we’re tempted to compromise our values and principles.
The result is compromise.
Our “salt of the earth” loses its savor and we’re ineffective.
Be relevant to the culture—yes! But don’t compromise who Jesus is in the process!
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