Church Arise!

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.  John 5:1 – 15 [KJV]

You may look at my title and wonder “how on earth did Steve come up with this title, from this passage?”

Let’s look at verses 2 &3: There is a pool called Bethesda which has developed a reputation for being a place of healing; Verse 4: in the original this verse is reflected as a “footnote”, an explanation of a custom or tradition, that had formed this reputation of the pool. Verse 5: this certain man had been there a long time (38 years) trying to get his miracle the same way for a long time, without success because he was not first into the pool.

We’ll stop here for a moment and set the stage; In life, we all have traditions of one type or another, and some of those are also present in our churches. Now traditions can be based on what is tried and true; based on fantasy and wishful thinking; or formed to establish control in an environment.

Not all traditions are bad, some are very good; the ones based on the “tried and truth”. But traditions based on superstition, fantasy, and wishful thinking are deceptive and ultimately yield defeat and discouragement. A tradition formed to establish control, usually limits the expectations and the outcome of what may be actually possible, to achieve the institutors desired result.

The man at the pool, was depending on a tradition that was based on superstition, fantasy, and wishful thinking, because in truth, the pool healed no one! All healing comes ultimately from the Creator Himself! Nevertheless, for a “long time” he repeated the same method top try and achieve his healing, never making it to the pool. His faith was in the wrong thing!

In the same way, many churches have placed their faith in their methods rather than in the person of the Holy Spirit, who will “teach us all things”. He is the one who speaks to our heart, in harmony with God’s Word to pursue the course that God desires us to operate in. Traditions have their place, but moment by moment direction comes from God in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must yield to His leading and not depend on “the way we have always done things”.

If the lame man at the pool had not followed the “non-traditional” command from Jesus, he would not have been healed. From the command from Jesus, he took action (in the manner of faith) in Jesus statement, got up, took up his bed, and walked. It took action, and faith to believe it was ok to try something different, because God said so.

We need to understand the parameters of scripture, while allowing ourselves to think outside the confined box we built for ourselves….

Something to ponder on….

Have a blessed day!

Ministry & Motives

When a person sets out to examine motive in their own life, it begins with an exhaustive inventory of everything.

Do I sing to entertain and be noticed, or am I singing because I worship and adore the Savior?

Do I preach or speak because I want to be affirmed, admired, heard, or am I delivering the message given to me by the ministry of the Holy Spirit?

Do I do things for other people, give of my resources to appear benevolent, purge my conscience, redeem myself, or are my actions out of a love for others and a conviction to do what is right?

Do I write these devotionals to appear smart, educated, establish a mark in history, or am I writing out my experience and God’s work in my heart?

These are questions I must ask myself regularly, not to thwart how God may use me, but to be better used by God, so that “I must decrease and He must increase”, be in obedience, not become a “clanging bell or crashing cymbal”, “lift up His name throughout all the earth”, “sing of the mercies of Lord forever”, and “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”.

When Christ gave Himself for us, He made it all about us; As we live and minister, it must be all about Christ.

Something to ponder….

Have a blessed day!

Don't Discourage the New Believer!

When it comes to evangelism, the church can be the biggest obstacle! I believe that while ironing out the  finer points of doctrine are essential to discipleship, and occasionally some methods can be helpful, nothing is quite as infectious as newness, exuberance, sincerity and a changed life.

If the woman at the well had been at one of our churches, she may have been disqualified for the following reasons:

[1] She’d been married 5 times (too many past skeletons in the closet)

[2] She was the wrong ethnicity (or too much of a street person)

[3] Her encounter with Christ was too fresh (didn’t understand everything yet)

[4] She was a woman [yep, that’s still a problem today in some churches!]

[5] She didn’t look the part [didn’t have her “holier than thou duds” on]

Yet despite all these obstacles, John 4:39 tells us: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.””

The witness of a changed life, cannot be replaced by all the methods and instruction in the world, and we must not ever forget that.

Methods and instruction are essential at some point of growth, but new believers should not be discouraged from sharing a changed life, the power of God in them and the new creation it has wrought.

Encourage a new believer to let their light shine! For if it has truly happened, you’ll be hard pressed to keep them quiet!

Something to ponder…..

Have a blessed day!

(John 4 text below)

John 4 New King James Version (NKJV)

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³ He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴ But He needed to go through Samaria.

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.

42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ,[a] the Savior of the world.”

Everything in context...

If I were to say to you, “you have a great thumb”, and never ever said anything else positive, or even descriptive about you, others as well as yourself could assume either I only liked your thumb, or perhaps, a thumb was all that existed. Sounds pretty silly doesn’t it?

But to the husbands I would say, try only exalting one aspect about your wife, and discover how unappreciated she feels in the other areas! (Obviously not a wise thing to practice) If you do this there is a gross distortion of the person you should care the most about! (very, very unwise!)

The same is true about scripture, because according to the gospel of John, chapter 1, Jesus, the Christ, is the living manifestation of all of God’s Word.

For this reason, an extraction of scripture, apart from the context from which it is placed, is completely invalid, unless you have read and considered the accompanying text, in context. A single extraction of scripture without this consideration cannot stand on its own.

In the same way, no portion of scripture stands on its own, without the consideration of its context of the entire Word of God, because since Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever, all scripture must fall in line with who He is, ultimately. This is the basis of the inerrancy of the Bible, because Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6 KJV)

For this reason, we must examine a good portion of the doctrines that are out there, that are based on extractions of scripture, completely out of context, and realize these unfounded teachings are a deception, and intended by Satan to destroy the church, destroy lives and ultimately turn people from Christ rather than draw them to Him.

To withdraw scripture from its context to support an otherwise unfounded doctrine, is to falsely portray Christ, the Living Word. Let us be diligent, and “study to show ourselves approved, workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Don't play "Bible roulette", randomly opening the scripture picking a verse, and building a doctrine from that lone verse; ....plan your reading , and read it in context.

Something to consider…..

Have a Blessed day…..

Going the Wrong Way…

This morning I stepped outside my job trailer to check the temperature, a brisk 37 degrees Fahrenheit, looked up in the sky, and noticed a flock of Canadian Geese flying north. Off to the side of the flock was a single frantic goose wildly flapping and squawking unusually loud.

The flock continued to fly north, but after many attempts to alert them, the single goose, turned around and began flying south, by itself, with more of a mournful honk. I went back inside my trailer, but couldn’t shake that episode from my mind. It was then I realized, here is a spiritual picture.

We as believers are “in the world” but we are not to be “of the world”. The masses in this world are headed in the wrong direction, in their sin, headed for Hell, and a Godless eternity, and it is our vocation to alert and warn them of what fate awaits them if they continue in their direction. But we must be careful to warn and not follow them. We can be the witness to them, but there are places and situations we need to avoid, that could cause us to stumble. Paul warns us: “Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV)

The Word instructs us to follow “The Narrow Way”

[13] “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. [14] Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)

Have a Blessed Day

Speaking Right…Rightly Speaking

Have you ever said something, and then later or maybe even as you were speaking, you wish you weren’t saying it, or hadn’t said it?

Heard this saying: “Words are like nails, you can pull them out of the wood, but the holes are still there”. Whatever we speak, has the ability to permanently effect those who hear it, especially if it is directed at them.

Heard a preacher give this acronym about our speech: THINK

T: Is it True? H: Is it Helpful? I: Is it Inspiring? N: Is it Necessary? K: Is it Kind?

Everything we speak must be truthful if we are to pleasing to God, but also if we are to be trusted to those to whom we are speaking.

Our speech should be “helpful”, not “hindering” or destructive.

Our speech should “inspire” not “degrade” or “suppress”.

We should determine if our speech has purpose; Is it necessary or empty?

Is our speech “kind” or “mean spirited”?

Paul lays out the template for our speech and other communication in Ephesians

Ephesians 4:29 – 32 (KJV)

[29] Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. [30] And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: [32] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

When I measure my speech by the Word of God, I found myself in grave deficiency; I’ve missed the mark, offended the innocent, hurt the ones I love, and completely put my foot in my mouth, not to mention, compromised my witness for Christ.

May this be my prayer, not just daily, but moment by moment:

Psalm 19:14 (KJV) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength, and my Redeemer”

Something to ponder…..

Contend for the Faith… the Jude Challenge

I’ve been making a list, and yes checking it twice…..but this list is a bit different; this list is comprised of Ministers I either have watched on TV or heard on the radio. The list features their name, the topic of their message, the passages they preach or teach from.

Truly, for the most part, the Prophetic books of the Old Testament are widely ignored, especially the “minor prophets”, but there are New Testament Books that are often ignored also; One of those would be the Epistle of Jude.

Well I began to read Epistle of Jude, and today got as far as verse 4. Here’s verses 3 & 4:

[3] Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. [4] For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4 King James Version  - KJV)

Well, it isn’t rocket science, and doesn’t take a college degree to see why so many people avoid the book of Jude, it simply is not politically correct at any point! But it is the Word of God, and we need to allow the complete council of the Word to penetrate our hearts, and change our lives, and in turn, change the lives of those around us.

So here’s the deal, I’m asking you to consider committing to what we will call “The Jude Challenge”. There are 3 basic levels of participation I would ask you to consider:

1 – Read the entire book (it’s only 25 verses long), at least once every week for the next month.

2 - Read the entire book (it’s only 25 verses long), at least once every day for the next month.

3 – Do one of the above, and see if God will move you to preach, teach or share it with someone else.

I guarantee that if you commit to one of these levels, and act on that commitment, your life and possibly those around you, will be forever changed.

So prayerfully consider this, and with each reading, ask the Spirit of God to teach you; I’m in, are you?

Something to consider…..

If……..

It has been, and continues to be of great interest to me, to study the “if’s” of the scriptures, for the basis of an “if” is a hypothesis, almost algebraic in structure, where there are at least one constant and one variable. Depending on the variable will affect the solution or answer to the equation. This is equally true with scripture, because our God, the creator, is an entity of order, and not confusion.

In the study of the first chapter of 1 John, there are 5 hypothesis or “if’s” that have to be answered by every person. Let’s look at them.

It is established in verse 5, that there is no darkness in God because He is the author of light, so when in verse 6 it says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and we walk in darkness, (Then) we lie, and do not the truth.” Please note there is light and darkness, no shadows or “grey” area here.

Verse 7: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, (Then) we have fellowship one with another, and blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Please note here, that it is predetermined by “we walk in the light”, that if fellow believers are not “in fellowship” with each other, or are at odds with each other, one or both are not walking in the light. Fellowship in this equation requires both to be walking in the light.

Verse 8: This verse negates the doctrine of “sinless perfection”: “If we say we have no sin, (Then) we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We know the doctrine of sinless perfection is negated here, because the Apostle John addressed this letter to believers, concerning their conduct.

Verse 9: “If we confess our sins, (then) He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This hypothesis, is about holiness, sanctification, being conformed to His image. We can assume this because again, John is addressing believers not those outside of Christ. The caveat to this is, if we are not continually being transformed, if we are not being sanctified or set apart (part of daily confessing our sin and shortcomings), the initial act of salvation probably never happened. The true mark of a believer is the desire to grow in Christ, not acquire a “Holy Fire Insurance Policy”. The further proof of this is in verse 10: “If we say that we have not sinned, (then) we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” Simply stated, if His Word is not in us, we have not experienced His Salvation.

We must be aware of the if’s and then’s in scripture, Practice the “if” where it leads to a “then” that invokes transformation and blessing in our life and the lives of other, honors Christ, and brings glory to Him; and avoid the “if” that can bring shame to the name of Christ, and damnation upon our own lives.

Something to meditate on…..

All biblical text from KJV. Items in parenthesis do not appear in the text, but are implied textually. 

Setting Priorities & Establishing Boundaries

Originally posted July 19, 2011 at 11:29 AM 

I like to be comfortable; I like nice things – really nice things; I like conveniences; I like prosperity; I like good health; I could be more specific, I could, without difficulty, fill a couple of pages with my likes as well as my dislikes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking and desiring good things – but good things must have their rightful place, which is to say, they must not have our hearts.

You see to have the right attitude towards “good things”, we must first realize they are temporary, on loan to us; then we need to be willing to lose or give them up. For if those “things” are so a part of us that we cannot relinquish them, then they have become our object of worship rather than God.

Speaking to the rich young man: “21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:21-23

The reason an individual consumed by their possessions will not enter heaven, is because they are so consumed by their treasures, so self sufficient, they have great difficulty in turning their back on self sufficiency and depending on God.

When the stock market crashes again, when our nations’ financial structure is broke and belly-up, all that treasure and self sufficiency will be of no use.

19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

We are headed for difficult times, more than most of us have ever imagined, and if our faith is in our self sufficiency and treasures, which can be taken from us, then we will be completely hopeless. This is where the “prosperity gospel” (which by the way is “another gospel”) fails ultimately. Our only true provision is in the Lord, He and He alone is our sufficiency.

“24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:24

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12

I reality, most of us live completely beyond our needs, and some completely beyond their means. So where are our priorities? Something to ponder, for sure.

“We should be continually laboring to cut off all the useless things that surround us; and God usually retrenches the superfluities of our souls in the same proportion as we do those of our bodies.” – John Wesley

Has the Salt lost its Savor?

Regardless of your political preference, some things took place on November 4, 2014, at the polls, which have the ability to hinder the direction the USA has been headed down (hinder in a good way!). The question is, will we the church “redeem” this time, and be the salt and light Christ called us to be, or will we continue to operate in the apathetic style we have become so accustomed to?

The church that presents a “politically correct” message, will most likely never suffer any persecution, because they are not salt and light to begin with; those churches will continue to tickle their parishioners’ ears so they don’t financially destroy the “perfect” little country clubs they have built.

However, the REAL church, the true bride of Christ, will as never before, proclaim the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, un-edited, and stand behind it as inerrant, and will eventually suffer for the name of Christ.

And he said to them all, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. Luke 9:23 (KJV)

“

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (KJV)

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men”. Matthew 5:13 (KJV)

Let the true Church of the redeemed, the Christ followers, the “people of the Way, “redeem the time, because the days are evil”.  (Ephesians 5:16)

Let's Roll!!!!!

Occupy Till He Comes

If I am honest, I must admit, there are times I am so homesick for heaven, that I just want to go “home”. The problem with this mindset is, even though heaven is where I ultimately want to be, taking that stance of resigning myself means one of the following:

(1)    I have a better concept of when my work on earth is finished than God.

(2)    I’m confident that no one else will respond to the Gospel of Grace and therefore assume that God is done offering Salvation to the lost.

(3)    From the eye of prophecy, I somehow can interpret God’s intent and time-table better than He can.

One can easily see that the previous assumptions are pretentious, prideful, and self-centered, however when we say to ourselves, “what’s taking so long for the ‘catching away?’ (rapture), why’s God taking so long?”, we assume of those 3 positions.

God’s prolonged age of Grace should be a great comfort to us, it should be an absolute witness of His great Love, the love we are supposed to be reflecting.

[Luke 19: 12& 13] Jesus relates this parable concerning His return: “12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”

Christ left us here when He ascended into heaven, each with a portion of “all we needed” (The indwelling Holy Spirit). He promised to return in the same manner he left, in the air.

 “Occupy till I come” does not mean to sit around and worry, pine, fret, or feel sorry for ourselves. Neither does it license us to resign ourselves as “citizens of the world”, and live as though this is all there is.

Occupy till I come, does mean to Live and work each day, but do so mindful that Christ’s appearing is eminent (could happen anytime), and we must remain “in the Way” and be vigilant in reaching the lost with the message of Salvation in Christ. To “occupy” is to inhabit a place, with a purpose, a goal in mind, and our goal should be to be about the Lord’s work in our daily lives.

God has His hand in how we provide for our families, but that is our provision; our vocation is to “be His witnesses” where He has placed us at any given time. That’s what it means to “occupy till He comes”.

Have a Blessed Day

Where We Went Wrong

It has become increasingly more frustrating to me as time goes on, just how gullible the world’s population have become. It is more and more evident that “they will exchange truth for a lie”, and I know that is because of the delusion that the same people will fall into because of their rebellion towards God almighty.

Sadly it seems as though many not only individualistically, but collectively as a nation and in a larger sense, the world are operating as if they have been “turned over to a reprobate mind”; One can only deduct with these conditions, and the continual fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy, that the chapter of the church age is rapid approaching the end.

One of the saddest things I’ve witnessed is the departure from the faith by children who were raised in the influence of the church, and I must ask myself where was the failure? I won’t get into worship styles or preferences, but I will get specific about the real issues.

1. From the earliest age our children must be taught that there is absolute truth, and that it is based on God’s Word, alone.

2. For the Christian, Holiness is not an option, but a result of the genuine experience of salvation, which will produce good fruit, not the “holy fire insurance”, that is so commonly preached in one fashion or another. (Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV) The children will only be convinced of true faith, when they see it lived out in their parents and other influential adults’ lives. Example is the best teacher.

3. We must either deliver the strong message to the public school institutions, that “Secular humanism” is a religion, and must not be taught in our schools, because is reflects a mandate of the state, which is an endorsement. We must educate all on what the foundations of secular humanism are, so they have the boundaries by what cannot be taught. Private or parochial educations are the only other solutions.

4. We must learn to elect officials purely on Biblical Moral Principles. For too long, the public has fallen for the “dangled carrot” of government provision, and abandoned moral code to get “the biggest carrot”.  We can measure our own lives and our society based on Proverbs 6:16 (below).

 16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.  Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV)

5. We must be informed of what God says about everything, and give God’s Word more credence than man’s word. (Hosea 4:6 below)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:6 (KJV)

None of this is new revelation or information; we as the church simply have not embraced God’s Word as completely as we should.

Something to think about…..