Showing posts with label barna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barna. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

COLLEGIATE DAY OF PRAYER: THIS THURSDAY

This Thursday February 28 is the Annual Collegiate Day of Prayer across America. Many of us have signed up to pray for more than one college. As men and women of prayer, we encourage every praying Christian to take this challenge up to really pray hard for our young people in college.
  
If there ever was a time to pray for our kids in college and high school it is now. Everything ungodly and unwholesome is aligned against them. From indoctrination into the denying the existence of Creator God through Evolution, to deny the Commands of God for specific roles and functions of the human body in holiness, sexuality, daily and contented living, our next generation are being confused on purpose, while being taught that there is no such thing as absolute truth or one true God.
Facts:

  • 70% of college age kids who grew up in church, and/or Christian homes lose their faith in college (Campus Renewal 2017)
  • 47% of young people/millennials and college kids, think that sharing their faith is wrong! (Barna February 2019)
  • Only 33% of so-called “evangelical” young people (high school and college)  believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven! (Christian Post 2013)

What to pray for on the Collegiate Day of Prayer:
  • The salvation of the souls of these young people in our college. The majority are oblivious to the facts of the brevity of life or heaven and a literal hell, which will be overpopulated if they ignore the facts.
  • That campus ministries be allowed to flourish, even in some of the Midwest and friendly western states which still believed in the US Constitution of freedom of Assembly and Religious Liberty.
  • That churches around our campuses will invest time and effort and outreach to college age young people as is done in North West Arkansas.  Cross Church, formerly First Baptist Church of Springdale, invested in a campus pastor – Brian Mills – who has devoted his  home and his life to the current and next generations of college kids, not just from America but from ALL nations, at the University of Arkansas. Pray for more men like Pastor Mills.
  • Pray for mentors to step up and reach out to these young people - men and women, mentoring young men and young women respectively.
  • Pray for a renewed love of the Savior by those who grew up in church but walked away, as well as those who are yet to encounter Christ.
  • Pray for the Word of God - the Bible - to be distributed into the hands of every college student in America, and that they will read, comprehend and find comfort and salvation in God's Word

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

SEVEN FAMOUS BIBLE VERSES #4: "FLY LIKE AN EAGLE"


Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31)
What an amazingly powerful, hopeful and encouraging collection of words and sentiments....from the very heart of God!

Recent in-depth surveys of the beliefs of many people of different ages reveal stunning news, which should shock and dismay any right thinking person. It should also make any Christian cringe. The sheer volume of “Nones” (those who believe in nothing or have no faith system) is increasing by leaps and bounds. It is no more so than in Millennials, who learned their “believe-in-nothing-and-everything” from the Generation X-ers, who got their selfishness and “all about me” attitudes from one of the worse generations ever: we Baby Boomers. To be fair, the Baby Boomers came by it honestly. These were children of the so-called “Greatest Generation” who not only survived the Great Depression but won World War II and created the greatest and most prosperous nation in the world.

Therein lies the problem. The adversity of the 1930’s and 1940’s built perseverance and character. The prosperity of the victorious post-World War II boom led to a level of spiritual depravity and moral chaos which will only get worse, with each passing generation. All we need to do is look at the parallel universes of the brave military of the 1960’s and 1970’s against the sex and drug sub-culture, of that same era.

When you combine a western society of practical atheists, where God and His Laws have become ritual for one hour a week (for a declining minority of churchgoers), and a Christian church which does not follow the Compass of Christ, we have hopelessness. We see the fruits of a people with no hope in the increased use of Opioids and the resulting vortex downloads into hades. Suicide among young people has gone through the roof. Social media has coarsened relationships and true fellowship by the share nature of its into hades. Suicide among young people has gone through the roof. Social media has coarsened relationships and true fellowship by the share nature of its free-flowing accessibility and “anonymity”. With Christianity, the Bible and any mention of Jesus kept out of public schools and out of most of the public square in the west, it is no wonder people have no fixed point of reference on which to base their self-worth and eternal future.

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Still, amidst all of this, comes one of the most famous and inspiring Bible verses of all time (Isaiah 40:31). But God, He gives us a reason why He can be counted on to make such as statement we find in verse 31. Here is what He says:
Verse 28: Because He is the Everlasting - meaning He has been there from Time past, to now to Eternity and was never created but did the creating Himself, He knows all and sees all. He never gets tired or grows weary in all these six thousands years of Creation and attending to the needs and souls of billions of people in all those years. Not just that, but God knows every single detail about us- our thoughts, our hopes, plans, dreams and fears. Because of this incomprehensible superior knowledge of His Creation, His "inscrutable understanding" leads Him to do what is best for each of us, if we would just trust and listen for and obey His direction.

Verse 29a: He does give strength to the weary in our rest - physical and spiritual. We all need food, sleep, exercise and relaxation so we can perform the work which the Lord has given our hands to do. Emotional rest comes when are our hearts are at peace and full of grace and love in the Lord. This encompasses those around us in our families, friends and community. If done right, Emotional well-being leads to this community focusing on the Word of God, its study and application to transform us into the Image of Christ.

Verses 29b-30: There is a barrel of Truth to the statement that God gives power to those who lack. John 1:12 says "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name". That same power is translated from the original Greek in John 1:12 as "dunamis" where we get the word "dynamite" from. Think of the explosive nature of dynamite and this is how God empowers the weak - if we ONLY TRUST IN HIM!

From there, the Lord, through His Holy Word now goes on to say that ANYONE - from young to old, who wait for Him....will then receive the promise of Isaiah 40:31. This "wait for the Lord" or as the King James Versions says so beautifully "they that wait upon the Lord" is crucial. It is an active present tense exhortation as in "those who are actively waiting until they hear from Me or get a clear direction" will.....

So the key is this, for the benefit of you and I - do not get in front or ahead of God, in our haste to make things better for us, because as humans, we are guaranteed to mess it up. But, just a little while longer and we "....
will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary!"

Is there anything more amazing than this truth?! God is good - all the time!

Friday, October 21, 2016

ROCK SOLID FAITH FOR TROUBLED TIMES - PART 3

BEWARE OF THE FALSE THEOLOGY OF THE DAY
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ (Colossians 2:8)
Most folks alive today have an absolute wrong notion of heaven, hell and how a person gets to either future permanent residence. The ignorance concerning these two critical life matters is astounding.   People will pay more attention to what they wear, eat, drive and watch on TV than the condition of their eternal soul…that is, until they wake up on the wrong side of this life. They do not comprehend that God is serious about His Word, His Truth and just about who He lets into His Heavenly Kingdom.  For over a decade of street and other evangelism and speaking in depth with lost souls, I do not need George Barna or Pew Research to tell me that only about 12-15% of people calling themselves Christians are actually born again, or heaven-bound Christians.

This is such an important paradigm for the people of God that Jesus Himself used His own chosen vessel – the Apostle Paul – to warn all Christians for all time, via his (Paul’s) instructions to the Colossians.  Jesus loves His followers and disciples so much that He sent these warnings, for all time, which we will do well to heed, until He returns!

In part 1 of this short series, we looked at two of the most dangerous cultural fads, which are attracting a certain amount of younger Christians for many reasons. First, who is against stress relief, fitness and good health….while dressing cool and listening to mysterious sounds, so you can sound spiritual? Except that these now acceptable western habits are completely anti-Biblical and their adherents will be held to account for them.

Today, we look at the application  to 21st century meaning for verse 8, next, of Colossians 2. Today, we look at the application  to 21st century meaning of this verse. Moving on from the mystic (Contemplative “prayer” and “Mindfulness”, we take a glance at two major strains in the Christian world about which we need to be on guard.

SOCIAL GOSPEL:

Many recent in-depth surveys of millennials who call themselves Christians care more about “social gospel”….than the actual real gospel itself. This is more of a testimony to the socialist and godless indoctrination they received in public schools and colleges than anything else.  While they are correct to care about what happens to the less fortunate and those who need a helping hand, they learned to do it from the viewpoint of a system which is anti-God and anti-Biblical worldviews. Again, to emphasize, there is absolutely nothing wrong with medical missions, caring for the hungry and thirsty and cold. This is Christian Compassion. When it is mandated by a central authority AND when there is NO sharing of the Love of God in Christ, it is just that - good works and nothing else.

James tells us that Faith without Works is dead (James 2:17).  But the so-called “Social Gospel” is a whole other creation, where certain quotations from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount  are not only taken out of context but are the only portions of God’s Word, which the leftists use from the Bible. It would be amusing to see and hear people who do not believe in God, the Bible and Jesus as Lord and Savior.  
WATCH THIS TWO MINUTE VIDEO ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL "GOSPEL" AND WHO JESUS REALLY IS:


PROSPERITY GOSPEL:
"Name It And Claim It"
Along with the godless “Social Gospel”, comes another corruption of the Truth of Christ, which the Lord is warning about in the Scriptures. The Bible is the living Word of God, sharper than any two edged sword and for all time, until He returns.  Some practitioners  of the equally as ungodly Prosperity Gospel are so worldly, devoid of any Godly wisdom that they are just as dangerous to the eternal souls of their followers as the social gospel people.

The faulty Prosperity Gospel Theology used to be also called the “Health and Wealth” Theology, until people realized that you can’t “sow a seed” to some flim-flam crooked TV preacher wearing a $5000 suit and your terminal disease, from 40 years of smoking would go away. The Word Faith movement, led by some of the most popular people you will see on Christian Television, survives but they have mastered the art of making some of it sound Biblical.

Let’s say up front that it is easy to fall prey, via sheer human emotions, to the claims of the health and wealth charlatans when a person is down and out for a long period of time, and it seems like everything is falling apart.  Not- withstanding the plight of our persecuted brothers and sisters in other lands, comfort and life at the ready are staples of the Western Christian. When finances, fortune and fine health go south, who would not be concerned, even to the extreme,  about making the next payment or providing meals next week for the family.

Here is where Trust in the Goodness, Grace and Provision of God comes in. When the Prosperity Proponents proclaim potential wealth if we do “x, y and/or z”, and sometimes appropriate the Name of God or Jesus onto it, people in despair ears may perk on…that is, people who are not FIRMLY grounded in Biblical Truth.  In good times and in bad, the only way to stay in the Will and Wonder of God is to be fully aware of His manifest presence in our lives, through the Holy Spirit embedded in the believer, and then His Word. We MUST know the Bible and how it applies to our lives, if we are to stay true to Him and remain faithful at all times.

Remember just Who the Savior was, in His brief 33 years on earth and remember the fact that we are supposed to model Him. The Creator and Sustainer of ALL things – Jesus, Yahweh, the Alpha and Omega…the Beginning and the End, lived as an ordinary man on earth. He had no palace, no 40 bedroom house with gold fittings, private jet and BMW’s or Mercedes Benz chariots like Copeland, Creflo Dollar or Benny Hinn. The Lord Jesus had no home of His own, no place to sleep on a regular basis and depended on His best friends in Bethany (Mary, Martha and Lazarus) for their kindness and welcoming hospitality.

This is the Jesus we should follow, not the fiction of the prosperity gospel charlatans which will eventually land them and all their followers in hot water one day, before God. This is one of the warnings the Apostle Paul gives us, in Colossians 2:8.
WATCH THIS BRIEF VIDEO FOR MORE ON THIS UNBIBLICAL THEOLOGY:


Sunday, October 2, 2016

ROCK SOLID FAITH FOR TROUBLED TIMES - PART 1

THE CONDITION WHICH COMMANDS CONTRITION
The parallels of Scripture with corrupt Modern American cultural Christianity are stunning.  You can find those in the debased Corinthian church; the legalistic Galatian church or the easily swayed Colossian church, just to name a few.  As King Solomon once said “there is nothing new under the sun”. Indeed, the calendar year changes but people remain the same. This is true in 21st century America as it was in Colosse.

In this New Testament Epistle, the Apostle Paul shows the obstacles facing the pure teaching of the Gospel by the various and sundry corruptions of it, then as they are now. Paul, under the Power of the Holy Spirit, gives three warnings in Colossians Chapter 2 which are worth looking into, in light of what we face today in Modern Christianity. There is a serious reason for a very much needed look at these warnings, because the direct fruit of deviation from the Word of God is with us now. We see it in the rise of the “None’s” – most of whom are increasingly people in their teens, 20’s and early 30’s who have not just walked away from our churches but believe in absolutely nothing. The Pew Research Center and Christian Pollster George Barna have both confirmed that over 1/3 of people under the age of 35 believe in nothing, and that means nothing higher than themselves. As for any "religious" affiliation, they have "none". Hence the name.

In a sense, some of them have a point if their only encounter with Christianity are dead or judgmental churches or those who sing and shout on Sunday and then sin every which way to Saturday. Those are called “hypocrites”.  However, while none of this will protect the “None’s” on Judgment Day from the Wrath of God, we must never stop warning them and all our Christian sisters and brothers out there, who can be blinded by this stuff in Colossians chapter 2, because it is so slippery and devious.

What we are attempting here in this short series on “The Indescribable Christ”, from the Book of Colossians is to point out the pitfalls, stumbling blocks and bear traps out there for the unsuspecting Christian who may not pay attention to this stuff.  The smart folk in theological seminary call this “Christology”!  

In the next few posts, we look at the warnings from the Apostle and Emissary from Christ, and take his words seriously. The reason is that Paul was specifically chosen by Jesus to warn all people of all time, through his teaching, to point everyone, even church going people, away from even their own churches and to Christ alone.

Here is what the initial warning is, before we look at the three main ones in Chapter 2. In Chapter 1:21-22 "21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister".

Christ is pleading with us, as He did through Paul in these two verses, to NEVER forget from whence we came and secondly just WHO He - Jesus Christ - really is. Look at the darkness and death from which Christ redeemed us....from Colossians 1:21-22...(see below):
 1. We were alienated (as far from God in body, mind and soul as possible).
 2. We were enemies - in thought and in our wicked works.
 3. But, in spite of that, God (through Christ) reconciled us fully to Himself.
 4. He not only did that, but cleaned us up so on that Day, we will be blameless.
 5. CAVEAT - our sanctification will only be complete if we stay close to Him.
 6. Our maturity in Him depends on standing FIRM on the Gospel in this life.
 7. This same Gospel will be the plumbline against which we will be judged.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

2000 YEARS LATER - WHERE IS THE PANIC?

Oh that some of our modern day appointed ‘shepherds of the flock’ would be troubled and panicked, for the right reasons rather that sit and waste the Good News or even worse, treat the church of Christ like some small business to be managed, with these men as their  “CEO’s”.  In Matthew 2, we saw that Herod and all Jerusalem (meaning his “co-conspirators”) – the religious leaders – were in a panic (or troubled) when they discovered the prophesies had come through after hundreds of years and the Promised One was here.  I am sure if you asked any of those religious leaders – the Pharisees (priests); theologians and others – they would all claim they were eagerly awaiting for the Messiah.  Yet, when it finally happened,  we know from history they did not want to give up their power, prestige and possessions.

Well, the Messiah is getting set to return again, and we have almost the same principles of turf-protection, instead of proclamation of the Wrath which is to come, and therefore, the Wonder and Willingness of the Wonderful Savior to forgive all who seek after Him!  We know not the hour or the day or year, but each day is one day closer and Jesus DID give us a command for such a time as this. We are “go and make disciples”.  A disciple is first someone who is saved and born-again into the family of Christ. You know the saying: “born once, die twice but born twice, die once”. This is the main and only qualifying entry point to becoming a disciple.   You are either born again and know it, or you ain’t.  You and I, in our mortal state, cannot just “trust” or convince ourselves that we are saved into eternal life. We have to KNOW that we know that we know and lately, that is not going too well.

Barna Research just released (in early December 2014), some staggering figures as to the state of the unchurched in America and it is worse than ever. Who is to blame? Well – who else? The church and its leaders are to blamed first of all, and then those in America who call themselves Christians, due to the fact that they were born here.

The Ten Facts about America's Churchless - courtesy the George Barna Research company can be viewed and studied HERE.  Just briefly, here are the 10 main headings:

 1. The number of unchurched people in America would make the 8th most populous country in the world.
2. In the past decade, more people in the U.S. have become churchless than live in Australia or Canada.
3. The vast majority of America’s churchless have attended a church.
4. While the churchless are primarily men, the percentage of women in their ranks is on the rise.
5. The unchurched in America tend to be less educated than the churched.
6. The Pacific Coast is home to the largest percentage of churchless per capita.
7. The unchurched are more likely to be unmarried.
8. The younger a person is, the less likely he or she is to attend church.
9. Unchurched adults are more likely to be white.
10. The majority of the churchless in America claim Christianity as their faith.

While the numbers are obviously important in this new paradigm as we see them steadily declining, what should concern us is the reason behind the decline. Just looking at these major headings, which Barna's people went deeper into (click the links above and read), we can note some really troubling things.

Brief Analysis of the Barna Survey Results:
-  Re: Item #3: many of the churchless (or "nones") used to go to church.

-  Item #4: men, especially mostly married men, walked away and left their wives to take care of the spiritual "needs" of their children. We know from multiple surveys, studies and just plain facts, that if the father in the nuclear family leads mom and the kids to church (a real bible-teaching church, that is), the chances of the children being saved and living a life of faith is still currently over 60%. If it is only a single mom, with the father of those children just walking away from her, in spiritual cowardice, that percentage drops down dramatically to below 15%!!! This is where the western hemisphere is caught in a slide towards a bottomless pit of despair.

-  Item #5 of Barna's findings of this intensive multi-pronged survey found that the least educated a person is, the more likely they are to be unchurched! This flies in the face of the liberal charge that a Christian is an ignoramus to "believe all the stuff in that 'old book'"!!! First of all, this finding proves that Christianity is the only religion which is transparent, can be debated without violence and the only belief system where the Spirit of the Living God indwells a true believer to confirm this Testimony! Are there uneducated who are being saved? YES - by the droves! What I suspect is driving this discovery is the decline of the urban church due to crime, hopelessness and politically motivated preachers, combined with the rise of the suburban church - where the majority of the Christian population resides. This has been so for over 50 years and just stayed that way.

- Finding #6 which discovered that the left (or Pacific) Coast of the USA is the most unchurched area in America does not surprise anyone. The land mass from Oregon to Orange County is home to the New Age movement, the amoral high tech and basically anti-Bible Silicon Valley region, the Hollywood elite and the cultural extreme left as well as the horrible pornography capitol of the world, in the San Fernando valley.  There is not just ignoring of Christianity here, but outright hostility against the people of Christ. As always - there is a huge remnant due to the sheer size of this population, yet these churches stand out as they are so few: Shadow Mountain (David Jeremiah) and Grace Community (John MacArthur) Churches come to mind. 

- Findings #7 and #8 are so sad and troubling, each one of us who are committed to Christ for eternity should first weep, then pray for these people. Because the society has devalued the nuclear family (mom, dad, kids) and holy biblical marriage, with the help of married and divorced people, the percentage of young unmarried people is climbing to staggering numbers. They are not only not getting married,  they live in sin (shacking up) and if they do go to church, they hear nothing from these modern preachers, which convict them of their positional transgression against Holy God.  An education pastor of an area mega-church told me that was their biggest problem in their church, yet nothing is done to address it. Compounding this is the lack of parental leadership in training up a child in the way he/she should go so he/she would not depart from it when they grow older.

-  Number 10 has to be the funniest thing ever....if it were not so sad! Previous Barna (and the secular Pew Center Research poll) confirmed that only between 9%-11% of so-called evangelicals have a Biblical World view. Then over 57% of young evangelicals, showing the shame of political correctness), have said publicly that "there is more than way to heaven, than Jesus Christ". Yet, in any national survey, these same people will describe themselves as "Christians" when asked.  To these folks, Christianity is a label which applies only to those who are native born Americans, and therefore, since their grand parents were saved and/or went to church and were therefore, Christians, these people consider themselves "Christians" by extrapolation. One thing they are not aware of - God does NOT have any grand-children. We are either sons and daughters of the King or not.

These terrible facts are heart-wrenching about the present state of "Jerusalem" which is troubled about wrong things, just like its predecessor as recorded in Matthew 2:3 ("When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."). These are the results of the modern day equivalent of the religious leaders who are more in line with the times and its culture, than the Christ and His pending Return. Can this be turned around? With God, anything is possible, but the scale of revival needed to turn this titanic of a spiritual destruction around requires leadership. Where would the leadership come from if not the under-shepherds of Christ - American pastors? Is this really going to happen? Time will tell, because as long as there is life, there is hope.  However, it can actually come from the prayer warriors of America and evangelists who study the Scriptures and weep for the lost souls, (as we just saw represented in this new shocking Barna survey). So, let's get to work - now!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

PRACTICAL ATHEISM - BURGOO THEOLOGY?

"So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father....Philippians 2:10-11

Astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Hawking has again stated what everyone knows about him - he is an unrepentant atheist.  He is again making news for the same tired old argument that "there is no God". Anyone who has seen God's Not Dead, (thereby seeing the best movie of 2014) knows how to deconstruct all those "learned" arguments. But there is no debating people like Hawking, or Richard Dawkins or...name your favorite atheist. Even Bill Maher, America's top celebrity atheist, while he still hates God (thereby proving a contradiction in terms: i.e. "how can you hate someone who does not exist?") is more logical in his rants than these so-called brilliant scientists. It is not worthwhile to explain here what Hawking said again, as it is the same old song, with a different beat. It can be read here.

This purpose of this is not to discuss the current abode of people like Charles Darwin, Einstein, Marx, Lenin and other famous atheists. We know those people now believe there is a God and His Son is Jesus, because they can see across the Great Divide which Jesus discussed in Like 16:19-31. The purpose is to send out an urgent appeal to those who are "practical atheists" and whose souls are in mortal danger like the men just named here.

A practical atheist is basically what we have in the western churches today, where people call themselves "Christians" or "Evangelicals" but whose lifestyles do not match up with what they say they believe. They live just like the unsaved (which most of them are anyway) and while they be huge church members, one cannot tell the difference between them and the average elitist, whose god is himself.

A practical atheist is one whose core belief system is drawn from the culture of the day - music, movies, books, motivational speakers and the multi-media brainwashing that comes from man-made theologies like "prosperity gospel' and "name and claim" Word Faith. They are adherents of any new fad which is not convicting as the Bible is. In fact, they will own the best Bible app on their iPad or a copy of the Message, and read neither of them. However they will chase after drivel like books by Deepak Chopra and Oprah while indulging in pornography like the Fifty Shades series of books. In fact one of the big controversies in the Christian world in 2012-3 was the revelation that a large portion of those buying those filthy sex-laden bondage fiction books were Christian women! Are all of these women lost and unsaved? No - they're just not mentored properly by our easy believism in the western church, so they see no problem ready what the woman in the other cubicle is ranting and raving about. This is dangerously close to practical atheism, though. Where is our discernment?!

CLICK HERE FOR CREDIT AND BURGOO RECIPE/HISTORY ETC
Still, it is even worse that just incorrect and mixed-up theology as to the nature of the Blessings of God. It is mixing secular humanism and/or thinking that "this religion or that" each has something that the practical atheist can mix with the "Word of God". This Heinz 57 thought process is more like the local "burgoo" than the Saving Faith of Biblical Christianity! 

In case you're wondering, it is now "Burgoo" season in the Midwest. Burgoos are usually held in small downs and are basically a community cook-out in a giant cast iron caldron. All and various types of meat (from venison and possum to chicken, beef and mutton) are mixed in with all available types of veggies. The "anything-goes-in" recipe is then simmered over an open fire in the small town square; while being constantly stirred with a canoe oar or something similar! While many attest to its wonderful "outdoors cooking" flavor, it is a giant turn-off to most women and men who like to know what they are eating. Also, most cannot vouch for the freshness of the meat and/or vegetables!

So it is with practical atheism. Jesus told the church at Laodecia (Revelation 3:14-22) that He wishes they were either hot (on fire for the Lord) or cold (atheist) but since they were lukewarm (practical atheist), He was about to literally spew them out of not just His Mouth but His Presence and the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as some would rather not put some of that hot burgoo over white rice in their mouth and stomachs, so is the kind of faith which says "anything goes", as long as I say I believe in God, displeasing to Him.

We have gone through Barna surveys of the state of the church and true Biblical Christianity, ad infinitum in this blog. What we really need to start doing now is calling this confirmed and increasingly troubling decline in Biblical worldviews, by its true name - Practical Atheism.  This way, we can start by addressing those almost 60% of young so-called "evangelicals" who believe there is more than one day to Heaven than the Jesus Christ as Lord, Whom they say they believe in. We either start doing something to disciple and mentor those folks NOW, whom the church is depending on for the next generations, or leave them to wait and go through what the following cartoon illiustrate.....because in the end, the bottom line is - a Practical Atheist is no different than Stephen Hawking. Both do not belief the Word and the Character of God. They believe only in themselves and their "burgoo theology".
VISIT CREATIONISM.ORG FOR MORE POWERFUL MESSAGES LIKE THIS!  

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

SINK OR SWIM?....PUT ON THE LORD JESUS....

A good brother in Christ of mine, brother Bob, did an illustration at a recently concluded meeting, which both he and I attended, where he took a peeled orange and dropped into a full pitcher of water. It immediately sang to the bottom. Then he took an unpeeled orange (with its skin on) and dropped it in the same water. It floated on the top.  Now that is a good example of the Apostle Peter - before and after - he tried to walk on the water.

However, it is also a great illustration of what would happen to the man or woman of God who goes out daily into the world, without the protective covering of Christ in their lives. To the unsaved, this will make absolutely no sense. The devil has convinced the entire world that he does not exist and is just the figment of some thousands year old book - the Bible - made up by Christian "extremists" to keep people from "having fun". So the corrupt culture, media, politics and academia tell us to go "for the gusto" and "if it feels good, do it"! 

To be honest, the majority of those professing Christianity in the west are all down with that worldly sentiment. Any mention of sin and evil in this world is called "intolerance and  being judgmental". They think that way because the devil does not bother them. Why should he? They sure ain't bothering him!  

I just heard the most popular pastor in the world, who tells everyone that their "Best Life" is NOW, when we in the remnant know our Best Life is Yet to Come, slam those who question his prosperity gospel theology and shallow preaching as judgmentalism.  While it is absolutely true that we all live, preach and teach the unconditional Love which God has for us, that "Love" by itself does not save. That kind of Love is a precursor to Salvation - but this is a subject for the next post to flesh out.

The person who is following Jesus Christ intentionally, and who is sold-out disciple and adherent to the Holy Scriptures, has a major bulls-eye on his or her back. This man or woman of God is hated by the hierarchy of hell, who hates the fact that we wake up each day to serve and obey God in Heaven through Jesus Christ. This is the remnant and actually, according to recent Pew and Barna Surveys, the US number is less than 15% of the population. In Great Britain and Canada, it is between 2-5%! There is absolutely NO reason we should walk around, even in this perverse Romans 1 Culture, with our collective heads down when we have the Truth and they do not!

Too many of us are that orange at the bottom of the pitcher. The question we all need to ask is are we the peeled orange at the bottom of this water-filled jar or are we going to float? You and I should resolve to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14a) and not be like those other people, the majority who call themselves Christians but do not know the meaning of the word.

We put on the Lord Jesus, in order that we may float on the turbulent waters of Life and through the storms ahead. 
We put on the Lord Jesus to keep from sinking.
We put on the Lord Jesus to keep from stinking thinking whereby we start believing the lies of the enemy, but now He enables us to reject the lies of the enemy.
We put on the Lord Jesus when we put on the shoes of the Gospel and tell someone else what Christ has done for us...as much as we can.
We put on the Lord Jesus when the Belt of Truth so girds us that our level of discernment about the tricks and false doctrines of the world will reveal that we are more than conquerors, through Him Who has overcome the world.

We put on the Lord Jesus when the Breastplate of Righteousness of Christ guards our hearts, minds and souls so that we grow in sanctification and receive the full measure of His Holiness which He is just so willing for us to walk in. 
We put on the Lord Jesus when the Helmet of Salvation leaves on room for confusion and doubt, because this Helmet - or head covering - is permanently on our head. We cannot lose our salvation because the King said so - nothing will snatch us out of His Hands. Therefore operate in this Truth and win!

We put on the Lord Jesus when the Shield of Faith, one of the major defensive weapons God has equipped us with, is so hardened by battle and experience that all the slings, arrows, 50 cal guns and Howitzers from Hell will fall off like the annoying pests they are.
We put on the Lord Jesus when we hold up the only pro-active and weapon of mass instruction God has given us - the Word of God! We may think that the Word of God is only a literal book called the Bible....well, that's only the physical manifestation of the Living Breathing Mind and Thoughts and Plans of God. Ignore at your own risk and accept to your eternal benefit.

Knowing all of the above, when we "put on the Lord Jesus Christ", is there ANY reason at all we followers of the Way, the Truth and the Life, should be downcast, oh my soul? Is there any reason we should be a sinking orange when we can sail through the choppy seas of Life to God's Golden Shores? Ask thyself, seek the Lord and He will direct to and through the paths of all Truth, Comfort and Hope! Amen.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

ARE CHURCHES LETTING YOUNG PEOPLE WALK AWAY FROM CHRIST?

In the Old Testament, God told us - parents and those who are older - to teach the younger ones (our children) His Ways (Deuteronomy 6: 6-9). The only problem is - most do not do that, well, because it is hard! Even churches, where our kids are supposed to be safe and trained to be future saints and solid citizens of both earth, and then heaven, are falling down on the job!

We have failed our children - both as adults and as an Ekklesia (the Body of Christ). More and more young people are walking away from not just the church, but Jesus Christ - never to return. They may not have learned that garbage from us, but what we allowed in our churches and then in our educational system has created more lost people than we can even dream of evangelizing in our lifetime.

We began losing the vast majority of our young people from age 8 on! Yes! Incredible as this sounds, this is what the research from Answers in Genesis and others. Why did we start losing them so early in their church life? Well, we told them Bible stories which all ended well, without raising them up as disciples of Christ. We lost them by not equipping them to face the world, sin and Satan. We had them for 2 or hours a week in church, while the world indoctrinated them into its ungodly systems, the rest of the week!

This program examines current scary and sobering research from Barna Research and how we go there...and more than that, what are the solutions:






Wednesday, May 15, 2013

HOW DID WE LOSE THEM? (PART 1)

Psalm 44: 1-3 (NKJV)
We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,

The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them.


The worldview of most people today goes only as far back as the day they were born. This is because there is such a lack of adults passing on their knowledge, of almost anything. It is becoming worse with each new generation. To compound this travesty, we also have a glaring lack of Biblically sound parents who are passing on the Knowledge and Wonder of the Lord to their children as may have been passed on to them.

The reason I say "may have been" is the proof we have just out from Barna Research (May 2013) that 59% of teens from age 18 to early twenties drop out of church, after going regularly most of their lives, while growing up! I see it in churches I have attended all my life and even up to now! This is horrible and not just an indictment of preachers clowning around in the pulpit and running the church as their own turfs or businesses, but parents who have no sense of God themselves. Sometimes you wonder if these people - both the preacher and the parent - are even saved and converted themselves!

Just look at this wonderful psalm above and marvel at the words of men who have always been told of the Goodness of God, who is not just deliverer from evil, but provider. The very last line above where he says "...because You favored them"....unless you have testimony time in a church on Sunday nights, which is a dying tradition, you will hardly hear gratitude like this where folks testify and glorify the King "because He favored them".

The bottom line is we are full of all kinds of noise, speed and light and no substance. Our own churches are just as guilty. I was once a member of church leadership and resigned rather than have to face judgment for any transgression against this same 59% we allowed to walk away from Christ, because we were playing church. I don't want that on my conscience. This is why my entire focus for the past decade is to make sure no stone is unturned, as much as possible to do the best I can to reach as many as I can for the Truth.

Over the next several posts, we will go deeper into some of the newest research to find the root of how we got where we are - in the depths of a spiritual pit....and Lord willing - what does God expect us to do about it. In the meantime, you and I need to pray very hard for even our own children who are walking in Christ in their early 20's s still - that they mature in Him and His Word. If we have any child who is not yet converted to righteousness and salvation - double down on your knees. Time is too short!