TOWARDS HOLINESS, PART 2 - THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

The current state of affairs is this -  we have a bunch of Lots running around Western Christianity, in a vivid display of “Cultural Christianity”. It is undeniable. In a sense, it is even defined by the Favorite Bible Verses of those of us in North America, compared to the rest of the World.

Now, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with either scenario. In fact, the choices (of favorite bible verses) are not because of Sin, but due to Circumstances on the Ground. YouVersion is the most popular Bible App in the World. It was started by now Life Church Pastor Bobby Gruenewald from a church in Decatur, Illinois, not far from where we live, who was in line at a busy airport wishing he had a bible to read while waiting…..and waiting. YouVersion is the result and as of 2018, over 950 Million downloads of the Free Bible software. This is a worldwide total and could be up to one billion Bible downloads by now,  2019.

YouVersion can track searches on their App and their findings are very telling. In America, the most popular verse search is, of course – John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only beloved son that whosever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life". HOWEVER, in the rest of the world outside North America, the keyword searched in the most trackable Bible research in the world is FEAR! Not Love, as in the comfort of our beautiful air-conditioned churches, but Fear as in – Christians who are constantly under the threat of persecution.

In 2017, the most popular Bible verse in the entire world, outside of America was Joshua 1:9, which says "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

In 2018, then, the most popular Bible verse which the world looked up was Isaiah 41:10, which says "'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’".

Note the basic underlying themes here, in order of their occurrence:

• Anxiety and doubt in the hearts and minds of God’s people
• Combined with circumstances on the ground, this anxiety and doubt leads to Fear.
• But, God ….God shows His love to His people under persecution and distress.
• He does so by PROMISING to be with them wherever they go (Joshua 1:9)
• He even promises to strengthen and hold them up, physically, emotionally and spiritually…with His Most Powerful and Righteous Right Hand (Isaiah 41:10).

It will serve us, as well as sober and alert us to what is really going on in our world.  The mundane things we do, which is called "doing life", are necessary. We must work, provide, pay bills, eat, sleep and go to church. But these are the things WE DO, so we can work on WE ARE.

Who are we, really? We are created in the image of God, for good works - absolutely. However, we are also created to glorify God, believe Him and live for Him.  Where we live has an impact on how we believe what we believe. While, we are not literally, yet, under the gun as our brother and sisters in Christ in foreign cultures and dangerous lands, are still accountable for the things we trust, put our faith in and pass on.

Let us, therefore, carefully consider, not just the reason the types of popular verses exist in different parts of God's world, but how we can grow and mature as Christians and then pass this legacy on to the next generation.

PROMISED LAND MINISTRIES BRINGS OLD TESTAMENT ISRAEL TO LIFE

Pieces of the Actual Wall of Jericho Brought Down by Joshua and the Israelites

Curtis Stanberry, an ordained minister and first class archaeology expert is an expert, both on digs and the Biblical foundation necessary to understand all the priceless finds in the Holy Land of Israel. He and his wife, Tamera, are a traveling team, grandparents and joyful souls who are one of the great hidden treasures of Central Illinois. The wealth of their knowledge of Biblical Archaeology; Dinosaur and other Great Flood fossils here in the western United States and the Scriptures is truly wonderful, especially in the field of Apologetics.

Holding A Piece of
The Wall of Jericho

We had just a brief taste of this when Curtis delivered a 50 minute presentation to the Business Men in Christ Men’s ministry monthly breakfast in Springfield, Illinois. Curtis brought a great sample of his museum pieces to the breakfast and we even got to hold a piece of the Wall of Jericho, which Scripture recorded was brought down by Joshua and the Israelites!! (See some selected photos here).

Stanberry spent most of his presentation in a gripping archaeological and topographical explanation, from Joshua Chapters 7 and 8 of the great battle of Ai and location of the towns mentioned in Scripture. While this holds a great fascination for those who love history and even biblical archaeology, the significance of this should be shouted from the rooftop.

Never have we had so many bible resources, bible translations, bible versions, people giving away free bibles (Gideons, American Bible Society etc.) and

Oil Lamp from the Days of Elijah (1 Kings)

Christian ministries proving Scripture true almost day. Never have we had so many bible apps, bible study computer software and free downloadable bibles WORLDWIDE than now.  The YouVersion Bible App, which began when a then-pastor from Decatur, Illinois wished he had a bible while waiting in an airport line, has recorded over 300 million free bible downloads worldwide in less than 11 years! Still, the majority of Christians and especially younger Christians, cannot give an account of their beliefs. Never mind knowing enough of the Bible to even tell another peer about Jesus, His Word and His Creation.

More and more young people and even some young adults do not believe in almost 60% of the Bible which tells the provable Creation story. More and more archaeological evidence proves it. This is harmful to their souls and eternal destinations with more than 50% of young “evangelicals” believing there is more than one way to Heaven than the Jesus Who said, in John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. All of these increasingly  terrible facts about the state of Christianity in America and other countries (where it is worse) cry out with the need for Apologetics.

Here is where Biblical Archaeology comes in. Christianity is the only Faith system and “religion” if you will, where the evidence supporting its main document – the Bible – grows by the day! From the soft tissue found in the dinosaur fossils from Montana in 2005, confirming the Young Earth,(more here) to the layers of silt in the Grand Canyon, to the beach sand I saw in gorges in the Illinois Starved Rock State park and the legions that the original people of the area had, the evidence of God and the wonders of His creation is everywhere.  We just need to look out the door in the morning. This knowledge is being kept from all young people these days, except Christian homeschoolers, by an pagan system of education and evolution which will condemn many to eternal separation from God on Judgement Day.

The best response is Apologetics.  This is the mission of David Rives Ministries; Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis and many other Creation ministries. The popular “Is Genesis History” had tremendous impact when it was shown in 2016, which was produced by The Truth Project.

Curtis and Tamera Stanberry are doing their part wonderfully. They are available for presentations from an hour to 1, 2 or 3 day conferences, with their amazing traveling Bible Museum pieces. Here is their contact information. We highly recommend them to your church, youth ministry or association for a conference of any length. It will strengthen the faith of most around us.

PROMISED LAND MINISTRIES

The Holy Land/Christ Crucified Museum

Rev. Curtis and Tamera Stanberry

(Specializing in Biblical Research & Archaeology)

302 North Pine Street

Nokomis, Illinois 62075

Email: promisedland@gmail.com

Phone: 217-563-7231

Phone: 217-525-9600  

TECHNO-FAITH - CURRENT GENERATION STEPS IT UP?

100 MILLION DOWNLOADS IN LESS THAN 7 YEARS. DEVOTIONALS, READING PLANS 

More and more people, (including yours truly) are reading the Holy Scriptures - the BIBLE - on mobile PDA's than ever before. The Word of God is reaching literally the ends of the earth faster than your local cable company can lay the fiber optics in the ground. There are more free downloads of the wildly popular YouVersion app around the world than Justin Bieber songs!

Just as an FYI, YouVersion was developed by a pastor with ties to Central Illinois named Bobby Gruenewald who in a long line at O'Hare airport in Chicago, wishing he had a small bible in his pocket to help him pass the time! One thing led to another and the idea to have a bible which anyone can access at any time, anywhere was born! Six years later, the 37 year old now innovation pastor at LifeChurch.tv has the most popular application in the world in over 600 versions and 375 languages! As of July 2013, there have been over 100 million free downloads of the app from iTunes and elsewhere. Apart from just the Biblical Text now, YouVersion is now offering manageable bible reading plans and free devotionals from Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns and others among a myriad of other features.

Because of popular discipleship tools like this (YouVersion), Bible reading is now at an optimum! It is estimated that within twenty years, more people will be accessing the worldwide web (internet) via Tablet and/or Smartphone, than the old fashioned desktop computers! In fact, mainline computer manufacturers like DELL, Gateway and others are seeing their share of the market fall as iPad; Google Nexus; Kindle HD Tablet and others zoom in sales and popularity. As a future ebook publisher and current fan of ebooks, I can testify that an ebook is a lot easier and faster to read than a traditional hard or paperback book.

FREE APPS FOR YOUR SMARTPHONE & TABLET - LOGOS, GLO BIBLE ETC....

Here are some of the key findings just released by him in October 2013:
- 70% of church-going Millennials (those born around 1986) read the Scriptures on the screens of a smartphone or tablet and laptop.
- 54% of church-going Millennials watch teaching, music and other faith-based videos online "religiously"
- 56% of church-going Millennials use the web to research churches to determine their next Sunday morning destination or a future church home.
- 59% of church-going Millennials use the web to find resources and information on spiritual matters and to connect with various instruction. More and more, we find many are also joining discussion forums like Rapture Forum, Crosswalk etc to connect with others and discuss Faith.
- 38% of church-going Millennials check online for verification of what they hear immediately upon hearing it.
- If they are reached properly and approached about giving, 20% of church-going Millennials will donate to a church or faith-based organization via text or online.

(Source: Barna "How Technology is Changing Millennial Faith, October 2013).

This is all great news as more and more young people are accessing God's Word, both here in the USA and mainly in the Far East and eastern Europe where there is an availability of electronics. Here in the US, the Oklahoma based LifeChurch and others encourage congregants to tweet bible verses during the sermon or nuggets gleaned from the teaching. During the regular week, Twitter (and Facebook to a lesser extent) has become the popular repository of quick bible verses and online chats to share Scripture verses and other forms of Faith-based encouragement among believers.  All the user needs is a hashtag (#) to join the conversation of a certain group.

This is all amazingly encouraging stuff, until we discover that there is a disconnect between the wide distribution of the electronic Biblical teaching. This is not to put a damper on all this great technological advancement in the Faith. But the disconnect appears in the fact that only 9% of American Christians have a Biblical worldview! These are the latest numbers.  According to Barna, the numbers have gone from 7% in 1995 to 10% in 2000 to 11% in 2005 and now 9% in 2009! (The survey is conducted almost every five years). 

A Biblical worldview is defined by Barna for these surveys (and which have also been confirmed by the Pew Foundation) is "believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today...."

The best explanation I can offer for this kind of disparity in the massive influence of "techno-faith" and "true faith" is one word - DISTRACTION.  All of this wonderful activity has its place, its potential and its own power. But during a supposed time of worship, praise and preaching, taking one's focus OFF the Worship of the One True God to monitor your tweets and share thoughts on the message or the communion devotion online is almost, well, disrespectful to the Savior.

The Bible says "Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). The Book of Revelation in chapter 4:8 gives us the awesome picture of what true worship is in Heaven, RIGHT NOW and it says "And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME." No tweeting or IOS 7 here, just the 6 Creatures and the 7 Spirits of God in full blown unspeakable reverence before Holy God.

One factor added to the distraction away from True Worship - which is awe in the Presence of the Holy - is DISCERNMENT! The internet is full of distortion and even disinformation about the Lord Jesus and the teachings of the Bible.  Unless some of these websites visited for more information are well known and as tested and true as Answers in Genesis or Probe Ministries (apologetics), we must be EXTREMELY careful about some of the research and information gathered online!  Over 80% of what passes for biblical teaching online should be addressed with a grain of salt.

These are some of the issues which Millennials will face increasingly, as they move into mature adulthood with their tech gadgets. The daunting task facing our young people is not just the high cost of a smart phone data plans, but these major theological points - distraction and discernment - and how it all fits in with God's plan for our lives. Our task, as the generation which is passing the torch to the Millennials, is to mentor and disciple them on how to balance all of this advancement with the required reverence, repentance and relevance of honoring our Father in Heaven; listening to Him and completely obeying Him.
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