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Monday, April 26, 2021
Watered Down Tea and Christianity Leave a Bad Taste
I love my instant tea. But for it to be just right, there has to be just the right amount of tea and sugar combined, with just the right amount of water for the size pitcher being used.
If I fail to put the required number of tablespoons of tea in it, I end up with a weak, watered-down version of what tea is supposed to taste like. I'd rather have plain water than have to endure a distasteful glass of colored water with a hint of tea.
Could this be one of the reasons many are leaving the church and the Christian faith? Has Christianity, as a whole, become so watered down that it has become distasteful, impotent, and useless?
What do I mean watered down? A good honest look at the church and Christians, in general, reveals a Christianity that is a pale version of Biblical Christianity. The Christianity of old was a committal kind punctuated by obedience, sacrifice, and selflessness. Jesus was the center of it and the lives of believers were centered around Him and committed to Him. He was at the top of the believers' to-do list, not just on Sundays, but every day of their lives. In contrast, the form of Christianity we now see is clothed with convenience and filled with unending options. Church members attend services whenever it's convenient. If the weather's good, the fishing is bad, my sports team is not televised, there's no birthday party to go to, no family visiting, no yard to mow, no crops to get in, no car to repair, no clothes to wash, and I wasn't out too late last night, then I'll slip into the church, but don't expect me to be on time or put anything in the offering plate, because I have a busy schedule, my bills need to be paid, and, besides, it's my life, my money, and I worked hard earning it.
Those searching for more than what the world offers them, will not be impressed by a church full of Christians who think and act like the world. But not only can tea be ruined by too much water or too little tea, it can also be rendered undrinkable because there's too much tea in it. We must also guard against allowing our Christian faith to become pharisaical. Christ gives us grace. We are saved by grace. Passing judgment on others and criticizing them for the clothes they wear, the Sunday's they miss, and the lack of offerings they give is a polluted form of Christianity. We need to share the truth in love, and not serve the truth on a platter of legalism and self-righteousness. Sometimes we are put into a bind because we can't control the factors that require our attendance or our services when Sunday morning rolls around. Growing in the faith involves becoming aware of our spiritual shortcomings and gradually turning our ship (lives) in the direction that reflects true biblical Christianity. Growing in the faith involves learning how to guard our Sundays and lives from the things that separate us from our Lord, our church, and our devotion to both.
In the end, it doesn't really matter whether my tea is too weak or too strong, either way, I'm not going to drink it. It will never get in me and therefore it will never affect me. Sadly, this is true of so many within the realm of Christianity. Does it really matter what the obstacle is that prevents others from embracing Christianity and receiving Jesus as one's personal Savior and Lord? Consequently, the important thing is to remove any obstacle that stands in their way. And if one of the obstacles happens to be you, acknowledge it, and seek to correct it. Because the future of our churches depends on it, and this includes the eternal future of the next guest God directs to our church.
When it comes to tea, getting the right combination of tea, sugar, and water for a good-tasting glass of tea is not that difficult, unfortunately, this is not the case when referring to churches. The Christian church is in crisis. Our modern-day, watered-down version of Christianity, plays a major factor in why churches are dying, immorality is exploding, and God is growing impatient. But if we could put ourselves in the shoes of those, who by the grace of God may choose to visit our churches, we would see a need to change our lives and our churches.
For instance, when "God-seekers," those whom God has awakened spiritually to the need of a relationship with Him, do show up in our churches, what do you think they will see. In many cases, thankfully not all, they are confronted with a watered-down, distasteful, worldly familiar, form of Christianity. One that includes all the worldly ingredients you might find in the dark alleys of big cities or the polluted halls of Congress. Instead of peace, there is tension, instead of humility, there's arrogance, instead of love and acceptance, there's fake friendliness and suspicious questions, instead of seeking God's will, there's rebellion and self-rule.
I fear that many leave church services all over the country, feeling more like they've been bumped around by a political caucus, instead of having just worshipped within the walls of the house of God.
If Jesus is the head of the church, and He must be if it's a biblically genuine church, the Word of God, not the desires of men and women, nor the preferences of the loud and prominent, must be what sets the tone, the direction, and the priorities of the church.
I pray that the church once again becomes the church with Jesus and the cross at the center of it. Although we may not be able to change the masses or even our neighbor in the pew or chair beside us, we can, with God's help, change personally and privately. We can help our church become one candlelight brighter for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Our Environment Makes All the Difference
Friday, March 19, 2021
The Inclusiveness of God
(Acts 10:34-41) Below is a section of a Bible lesson I recently wrote that will be published in the Fall by Stinson Press. In it, we see that God is very inclusive, for the doorway to Him is always open to any who would enter. However, the doorway is Jesus Christ.
God provided the
Jewish people with a multitude of guidelines, and prohibitions to maintain
their uniqueness and purity of bloodline. However, this was to enable them to
be a light to the world and avenue through which His Son would enter the world.
Their role was to be a people unspotted by the world but heavily involved in
the world. They were to bridge the gap between God and the world. Instead, they
separated themselves from the world in every way possible. They looked down on
those who were not a part of their Jewish world.
Consequently, God had to do something extraordinary to convince the Jewish converts to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He chose Peter to build the first bridge to the Gentile world.
In the first part of
this chapter, God sends an angel by way of a vision to Cornelius, a centurion at
Caesarea. He is a proselyte, one who has converted to Judaism. We know this
because verse 2 says he was “A devout man and one that feared God with all
his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always.” In the
vision, he is told to send men to Joppa to a specific house and bring a man by
the name of Peter back with them.
Just
before the men arrive at the house where Peter is staying God gives Peter a
vision. In it, a large sheet is lowered down before him with various unclean
animals on it. He then hears a voice that tells him to kill and eat. Peter
refuses and says he has never eaten anything common or unclean. Peter thought
it was a test from God, when in fact, God was conveying a new truth to Peter.
After Peter’s refusal, the voice said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not
thou common” (Acts 10:15 KJV). While Peter was thinking about the vision, the
Bible says, “the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting
nothing: for I have sent them” (vv.19-20).
After
the men explained what they wanted he was able to understand what the vision
was about. When he arrived at Cornelius’s home, he acknowledged that God is not
a respecter of people. He then points this out to Cornelius and his household
by saying. “But in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness
is accepted with him” (v.35).
Peter
then shares the gospel with the Cornelius’ household. He points out that Jesus
is Lord of all and then proceeds to back up his claim by reminding Cornelius of
the things that he and all of Israel had heard about Jesus. The baptizing of
Jesus by John, the miracles by Jesus, and His death, burial, and resurrection,
all of which provide the proof that warrants believing and putting one’s faith
in Jesus as the Messiah. Furthermore, Peter points out that the resurrected
Jesus did appear to His many followers.