Strange Land

Is the United States of America still the great nation it once was?

If our founding fathers saw America today, they probably would not recognize it as the nation they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to create and defend.

They would think they were in a strange land. In a country of people with unfamiliar ideas.

Some time ago I received an email illustrating just how much we’ve changed since the Second World War. The email was reportedly written by an 80 year old man. I can’t verify its validity, but it made a lot of sense.

The author believed former President Bush made a terrible mistake going to war in Iraq. But he suggested that the mistake was not the war against terror. It was his foundational assumption.

“Bush's mistake,” he wrote, “came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in World War II. It is not!”

Now hold on for just a minute! Not the same country? How can he claim that?

The article continued: “No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He believed that this was still the country that our fathers fought so dearly to preserve!”

“It is not the same country. America is now a cross between Sodom and Gomorrah and the Land of Oz. We did unite for a short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we found out that defending our country would require some sacrifices.”

“Today, for many folks, America is not at war--the military is at war. America is at the mall!”

When I read that, the truth hit me: America has transformed into a different country.

Instead of sacrifice, Americans are into convenience and comfort. Instead of liberty we want license—the unbridled pursuit of any and every passion that suits our fancy.

Shame on us. We were raised to be better people than that. We have forgotten who we were.

John Adams, the second President of the United States, wrote that our government did not have the power to control “human passions unbridled by moral and religion.” And then he added, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

In the House Judiciary Committee Report on March 27, 1854, the leaders of Congress issued the following observation: “At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged… In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity…That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”

Much has happened in 156 years. Since then America has lost her faith, her morality, her will and her way. The question before us now is “Who will lead us and where will they take us?”

Sadly, some in America do not want God to be part of our future. They don’t believe that faith and politics belong together. They don’t want us to be a Christian nation. And when that becomes the majority view, many Americans will truly become strangers in a strange land.

What’s the solution? As usual, the Bible has the answer. It says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” The word “LORD” is the special name for the God of the Bible.

It is not too late for America to return to her spiritual roots. But it only happens one person at a time. Will we listen to God when he says, “Return to me and I will return to you”?

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Trustworthy or Not?

Whom do you trust? With the political season upon us, that’s an important question.

A recent Harris poll showed that Americans put their greatest confidence in military leaders. Next were small business owners, university leaders, medical leaders, the Supreme Court, the White House and leaders of organized religion.

At the bottom of the list were the press, lawyers, Congress and Wall Street. No surprise there!

Most people put their confidence in someone. But with confidence in many institutions at an all time low, whom do you trust the most?

A “Con Artist” is someone who convinces others to confide in him or her. Then they swindle the “Mark” out of their cash or valuables. First they gain your trust; then they trick you.

Every year con artists bilk Americans out of millions of dollars. They especially target vulnerable people like senior citizens. One of the latest techniques is to send an email promising you’ve inherited part of a fortune. Those that respond often lose large sums of money.

Sadly, religion attracts con artists too. Convincing followers they’re the only ones with the truth, they begin a new cult or counterfeit religion. It works because people desperately want to believe in something. They want a foundation for their life. But cults are a con.

Whom are you willing to trust with your eternal destiny?

To trust someone with your soul, you need to be completely sure they’re not a con. But how can you know? The founders of most religions all claimed to be “The One.” That they were THE prophet of God. So how do you know which to follow? They can’t ALL be right! Right?

Some take the easy way out and brand all religious leaders as phonies. They choose to believe in nothing, concluding that it’s impossible to identify who’s truly a prophet of God.

Well hold on just a minute! Did you know the Bible gives a simple two-step test to find out?

God said that if a prophet speaks in the name of God and it does not come true, then God has not spoken through that prophet. Secondly the Bible tells us that a prophet’s teaching must agree with what Jesus taught.

If you study the evidence you’ll discover that false religions hide their prophets’ mistakes. In addition followers are discouraged from asking questions. What does your group do?

Unfortunately, many attack the Bible without ever examining the overwhelming evidence that supports it. In “The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict,” Josh McDowell documents the historical evidence for the Christian faith and the reliability of the Bible.

McDowell’s book is a great place to investigate the Bible and the claims of Jesus Christ.

Most people agree that Jesus was a prophet and a teacher. But the Bible clearly states that Jesus claimed to be God. Now what kind of sane, moral person goes around claiming he’s God?

Either Jesus was telling the truth, lying or just plain crazy. If he wasn’t telling the truth, then he wasn’t a good prophet or teacher. But if you consider his words and listen to the eyewitnesses, you may end up agreeing with the soldier at the cross who said, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

So here are you’re choices: Either Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Lord of all or else he’s a liar or a lunatic. Logic does not give you a fourth option. You owe it to yourself to find out.

I encourage you to investigate Jesus. Read what he taught. You’ll find him trustworthy.

If you’re skeptical, take Jesus’ challenge: “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Connected Life

How connected are you?

Americans like to keep in touch—with their world and with each other. At least that’s one conclusion that can be drawn from a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. In it they asked 2,967 adults over the age of 18 which consumer products are necessities and which are luxuries.

When it comes to television, we still like it. Many adults now watch video content on their computers and cell phones and just 42% consider a TV set a necessity. But, while that’s down from 64% in 2006, there are still more TV sets per household than people!

Landline telephones are still considered a necessity by 62% of the population. Last year it was 68%, but now 47% say that its newer cousin, the cell phone is a must have. Fully 82% of adults use cell phones, up from 53% in 2000.

Internet usage is up as well. Some 79% of adults now use the internet and 45% see it as indispensable compared with 29% four years ago. Video conferencing and social networking are more popular than ever.

Americans sure live a connected life!

Well, hold on for just a minute. With all that connectivity, to whom do we talk, text or chat?

How many people use their cell phone, text messaging and computer to keep in touch with friends--but they nonchalantly go about their lives without ever talking to or hearing from their maker? Quite a few, I suspect.

Have you tried connecting to God? If it’s been a while, try again.

Did you ever wonder what God thinks about your plans, your life or your decisions? The Bible lets us know. It says about God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

The Bible? What could an ancient book possibly have to say to modern man?

You might be surprised! Pick one up sometime and read it. A good place to start is the New Testament Gospel of John.

It’s reported that Billy Graham liked to read every day from the Psalms and the Proverbs. He said that the Psalms teach us how to get along with God and the Proverbs teach us how to get along each other. Good advice from a good man.

Then after you’ve heard from God, you might try talking to him. It’s easier than you think.

To talk with God you don’t need a cell phone, computer or an email account. All you have to do is pray. Prayer is another way we connect with God.

Jesus encouraged people to pray and even gave us a model prayer in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew. It’s in chapter 6, verses 9-13 and you may already know it. The prayer begins with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.”

The Bible adds, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

A connected life can be a good thing as long as you don’t forget God.

So the next time you pick up a cell phone, let it remind you to talk with God. And if you text a friend, remember to read God’s text message to you, the Bible.

Once you connect with God it won’t be long until you’re saying, “The Bible and prayer? I can’t live without them!”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Triple Threat

Is the world, as we know it, about to suddenly change? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, certainly seems to think so.

Why is the world so taken with a man who began his September 23 speech to the U.N. with a prayer to Allah to hasten what some would call the end of the world? --What? You didn’t catch that part? No surprise since most media outlets didn’t report it and left his prayer out entirely.

He said, “All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, and peace and blessing be upon our Master and Prophet, Mohammad.... Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam Al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those who attest to his rightfulness.”

Ahmadinejad is not a lunatic, as some believe. He is a dedicated Shiite Muslim who believes in the soon return of a Messiah-like figure, the Mahdi, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed.

Muslims of this persuasion believe that the Mahdi’s return will coincide with an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil (an “Armageddon,” if you please). Ahmadinejad sees his role as a “John the Baptist” type, preparing the way for this Muslim “Messiah.”

For listeners that understood his meaning, Ahmadinejad’s speech was troubling. And for students of the Bible, it’s hard not to notice an unusual convergence of End Times beliefs taking place in the three monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

A triple threat, if you please.

“Now hold on just a minute! What is threatening about the beliefs of these three religions?”

Due to the best-selling “Left Behind” books, many Americans are aware that Evangelical Christians believe in the “Second Coming” or return of Jesus Christ. They also believe it is “imminent”—meaning it could happen at any time—and that it involves judgment of the world.

What many didn’t know until recently is that Islam and Judaism shared similar expectations.

Muslim “Twelvers” like Ahmadinejad believe in the promised Mahdi (the Twelfth Imam) who will return with Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ). In addition, there are Rabbis in Israel discussing and writing books about whether the Jewish Messiah is about to come and if we are seeing a present-day fulfillment of the biblical prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Until recently I had no idea that these three religions shared similar, Messianic “End Times” expectations. (Even more interesting is that Israel apparently had a similar Messianic expectation just before Jesus Christ was born.)

A recent survey of average Americans shows that 42% believe we are living in what the Bible calls the “Last Days.” And it’s not just Evangelical Christians. One in three Jews also believe we are living in the “Last Days.”

Regardless of what you believe about the Bible and its prophecies, just a brief review of these facts should be interesting, if not disturbing. There are many differences between the three religions. But all three seem to agree on this: Jesus Christ was a teacher or prophet and that he (or a messianic figure like him) may be about to come soon—in one way or another.

All of this, plus the daily events in the Middle East, is enough to make a thoughtful person wonder if something important (of Biblical proportions?) is unfolding on the world stage.

Do you want to see what Jesus said about all this? Now might be a good time to pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 24, where Jesus said he is coming back.

What if it’s sooner than we think? Now that would change the world overnight!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

What Time Is It?

It’s the best of times. It’s the worst of times.

The stock market is back up and the Iraq war is winding down. However the Afghanistan conflict seems like it’ll never end and terrorism is spreading around the globe.

But, in spite of economic uncertainty, people are still buying technology toys—flat-screen televisions, computers, and smartphones—like there’s no tomorrow.

Well, what if there was no tomorrow? Frankly, I think there will be a tomorrow. But what if tomorrow brings a very different world than today? That’s a more likely scenario.

Now hold on for just a minute. Could the world be all that different tomorrow? Absolutely.

We know from recent history that the world can change overnight. It happened several times in my lifetime. It’s just a matter of time before it happens again.

The day after President Kennedy was assassinated, our world was a different place. It changed forever the day after the Columbine School shootings. After 9-11-2001 people talked about a “New Normal.” And nine years later we’re still learning to adjust.

It seems like every day the media reports a catastrophe somewhere: Earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist attacks planned, thwarted or perpetrated. Every night the news from the Middle East is more troubling than the day before.

Does anyone really understand the times we live in?

Someone does. More than 2,000 years ago, God told the prophets of Israel about what would happen in our times. They recorded this “future news” in the Bible for our benefit. Author Joel C. Rosenberg calls Bible prophecy “Intelligence intercepts from the mind of God.”

God revealed to the Biblical Prophet Ezekiel that in the last days Russia and Turkey would become allies with Iran against Israel. For thousands of years there hasn’t been a Russian-Turkish-Iranian alliance but it’s developing now. (Turkey was a friend of Israel until recently.)

God also said that Babylon (Iraq) would one day rise again to be a world power.

Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples about the end times. He said war and earthquakes would multiply. He talked about the rise of false religions and cults. He said evil would increase and then there would come a time of great distress, unmatched in human history.

The Prophet Joel talked about all the nations turning against Israel and seeking to divide it. In the Bible book of Revelation, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse causes a devastating worldwide food shortage, which leads to massive inflation.

These events sound as if they were ripped from today’s and tomorrow’s headlines!

One of the Bible’s purposes is to help us understand what is happening and why from God’s perspective. It also tells us that part of God’s plan is for Jesus Christ to return one day and fix the mess we’ve made on planet earth.

Students of Bible prophecy tell us that recent history and current events seem to line up with many of the Bible’s predictions. Our world could change overnight.

What should we do? How should we live in such a time as this?

The Bible tells us Peter, the disciple of Jesus, wrote that since “the day of the Lord will come like a thief,” that is suddenly and unexpectedly, “you ought to live holy and godly lives.”

What time is it? It depends on your relationship with God. If you are far away, now may be the right time to seek the Lord. If you are close to him, encourage others to trust in Christ.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Calloused Heart Treatment

It’s a blessing to be raised in a God-fearing home. It can also be dangerous.

Now hold on just a minute. Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain.

When one is raised in Sunday School and church, the Bible can be like air. It's all around you.

Heroes of the faith--Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter and Paul--are like friends of the family. They’re very familiar to you. Stories about Jesus are embedded in your memory.

So where's the danger? It’s in the familiarity. Because familiarity breeds contempt.

Jesus warned us about having a calloused heart—being spiritually blind and deaf. His exact words were, “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand…. This people’s heart has become calloused.”

The danger is that we can get to the place where we no longer see God at work, hear his voice or understand what he is doing. We can even attend church regularly and enjoy the rituals. But when God’s Word is read, it’s no more than familiar words.

How can we tell if we have a calloused heart? One sign is that we’re more interested in the rituals of religion than in a personal relationship with God.

If we’re not careful we begin to view religion as a contract. In other words, “I do my part and God does his. I go to church, believe in God, pray and even tithe. Then God will bless me and keep me and my family healthy and happy.”

But the Bible says that God wants us to be more than dutiful worshippers. He wants us to be his children. And that involves a relationship of trust, accountability, obedience and love.

Maybe you’d say, “I was raised in church but it’s dead ritual to me. I don’t enjoy it at all.”

Why is that? The Bible explains one possible reason. It says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The only solution is what the Bible calls the “new birth.” To be “born again.”

To be born again is not reincarnation or a physical rebirth of some kind. Jesus made it clear that it involved a spiritual birth. It’s more than agreeing to a creed or changing your mind.

The new birth, according to the Bible, is an act of God bringing new life, eternal life--his life--into our soul. It happens when we stop trusting in our own good works to earn salvation and begin trusting in Jesus Christ. It is his life, his death and his resurrection that saves us from sin.

God promised he would do this through the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel when he said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” And it is personal faith in Christ—believing in HIM--that brings this new life.

The Bible puts it like this: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Just as we receive human life from our parents, we receive eternal life from God. That life comes through the presence of God’s Holy Spirit whom the Bible says indwells all who put their faith and trust in Christ.

The good news is that, regardless of whether we were raised in a religious or non-religious home, everyone can receive new life and a new heart through faith in Jesus Christ.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Umbrella Line

It was a line in the sand. An umbrella line, to be exact.

I’ve been to the beach many times yet I’d never heard of the "umbrella line” before. But there it was stretching down the beach. A line of beach umbrellas. Colorful sentinels of the sun marking its daily arc with soothing circles of shifting shade.

Ignoring this line in the sand, we picked a spot closer to the ocean.

No sooner did I have the umbrella and beach chairs set up than over walked a lifeguard. In a friendly Aussie accent he told us we had to move.

It seems this beach town had an ordinance. An umbrella ordinance.

The lifeguard set up the umbrella line in the morning. All other umbrellas had to be in line with those or behind them. Since we were in front of the line, we had to move.

What if I had said, “No way--I’m not moving! No lifeguard is telling me what to do”? I probably would have had a meeting with a police officer, received a ticket and been fined.

Since that’s not how I wanted to start our vacation, we moved behind the line.

God has also put his "line in the sand." Only it's not umbrellas and it carries more weight than a city ordinance.

People often think of the Bible as a list of do's and don'ts. But to me it's more helpful to think of it as an instruction manual on how God designed life to work. As such it's full of helpful illustrations about what works and what doesn't.

God also makes clear the consequences for bad choices. Why? Because God wants us to enjoy life abundantly. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Over and over Jesus spoke of how blessed we are when we seek God, obey him and live according to his plan for our lives. But not everyone follows God’s plan.

The Bible says the reason God recorded the lives of so many people was to serve as examples for us. Some made good choices and some bad. Sadly, many today ignore the good examples, repeat the mistakes and suffer the consequences.

Some people are bothered by restrictions on their behavior. They don’t want anyone telling them what’s right or wrong.

But what if it’s true? True that God made us and he made life work a certain way? True that much of human suffering is due to our own ignorance and avoidance of God’s laws?

Wouldn’t it make sense to seek God and his blessing in our lives?

Try this. Find the godliest Christian you know. Someone you trust completely and whose advice you take seriously. Ask if they regret serving God. Ask about God’s blessings in their life. About answered prayers. About their struggles and God’s provision.

Ask them to be honest and tell you what it cost them to serve Jesus with their life. And then ask them if they recommend it to you. My guess is that they will. I certainly would!

Then spend some time reading a Bible. Look up the lives of Noah, Abraham, Joseph and especially Jesus. Notice how the Bible is honest about its heroes. Consider the outcome of their lives and think about how you want your life to count.

While we were on the beach, we learned to respect the umbrella line in the sand. And in life I’ve learned to respect God’s boundary lines also. The umbrella line helps keep the beach beautiful and God’s lines help keep our lives safe and blessed.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!