“Lord, I crawled across the barrenness (of life) to you with an empty cup – uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only i had known you better, i would have come running with a bucket.” (Nancy Speigelburg)
Recently, some members of the church congregation viewed the Christian movie, “Do You Believe?” One of the challenging questions in the movie was, “If you were ever accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” The movie, our conversations, and personal soul-searching led me to Holy Spirit-inspired prayer, Scripture reading, and this article.
I believe we are living in a time when the line between the church (true believers of faith) and the secular world (nonbelievers) is hard to distinguish because of biblical illiteracy and unholy spiritual apostasy.
The world is filled with many religions, beliefs, and false prophets (Matthew 24:23-24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders … they shall deceive the very elect”). The Apostle Paul warns the church against worldliness: “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2); “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17); “For we wrestle … with principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12); and he wrote that Christ “ gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4).
The world does not have the love and desire in its soul to serve God and his Kingdom. This life for nonbelievers is centered on worldly desires such as success, possessions, position, personal prosperity, and public/political opinion. The believers/practitioners of Christ Jesus are centered on scriptural statutes, commandments, and Christian ideals of love and forgiveness.
What has led to the hostility towards our country’s biblical Judeo-Christian foundations? A few factors such as national initiatives like removing Bibles and prayer from public education and also abortion; broken family structure (divorce and now same-sex marriage); and perhaps, above all, parents, churches and Christians in general for compromising God’s word for cultural toleration, and institutional parentalization of raising our children. God’s words in homes, and in many cases the pulpit and Sunday school, have been de-emphasized to blend into the world’s culture.
There is hope! Nearly 2,000 years ago, the world was touched and warmed by the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. The message from God has traveled across the four corners of the earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Lives and history have been eternally changed. Jesus Christ — crucified, buried, and risen — is big enough to cope with any problem any of us may face in life. If we are willing to turn away from our sins and receive Jesus by faith as Savior and Lord, we (you) can receive a “cup” that never runs dry.
