A World of Change

“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3

In case you haven’t noticed, our world has dramatically changed. It wasn’t long ago that it would have been unthinkable that nearly 40 million unborn children would be murdered in America. There was a time when kids could pray in public schools. Nativity scenes dotted the lawns of county courthouses and municipal parks—without protest. Marriage was strictly a guy-girl arrangement. And you could even pray in Jesus’ name at graduation ceremonies.

I’m not interested in being like the grump who said, “In my life I’ve seen a lot things change and quite frankly I’ve been against them all!” But if you are talking about changing the face of America to the point where God is out and everything else is in, then I have a problem with that kind of change. My problem is wondering how to handle my heart and attitudes. Wondering how to live and respond in a world where the foundations of righteousness are being eroded on nearly every front.

How do we, as followers of Jesus, process right and wrong in a world that tells us there are no absolutes? How do we proclaim that Jesus alone is what people really need—that He is the “way and the truth” (John 14:6)—when most people no longer believe that there is such a thing as true truth?

You don’t have to be an industrial-strength theologian to realize that the current thought patterns of most Americans fly in the face of what we hold to be true. If there are no absolutes, you can forget about the Ten Commandments. If nothing is ever right or wrong, there is no sin and no need for a Savior. It’s easy to see that believing in what God tells us about righteousness, truth, and godly living leaves us marginalized and outdated. So our hearts cry out with David: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).

Let’s start with knowing what not to do. Notice that David didn’t wring his hands in despair. He didn’t “flee like a bird to [the] mountain” (Psalm 11:1). Instead, he decided to take refuge in the Unchanging One. His confidence was bolstered by the fact that God was on His holy throne and that His eyes were well aware of what was going on. Reminded of the ultimate judgment that God would pour out on wickedness, David knew that, in the face of unsettling change, staying on course with God is indeed the best and safest alternative. Looking at all the change from God’s point of view, he realized that though the change seemed overwhelming, God is still very much in charge and ultimately victorious.

Why would any of us want to go soft on God and His truth in order to feel more “with it,” when we know that the “with it” party train is headed for a disastrous train wreck? So, let’s quit all the hand wringing and feeling sorry for ourselves. Let’s cheer up, knowing that the things that can’t change—such as God’s righteous eternal reign—are still in place!

You can go with the change if you choose. I’m going with my changeless God!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Has the changing philosophies of our world changed your approach to life, sin, and righteousness in any way? Be specific.
• What are some things that God loves and some things He hates? Do you love what He loves and hate what He hates?
• Are you willing to take a few hits for God because you stand with Him and His truth? To what extent? In what ways was Jesus unwavering in His willingness to take a hit for you in this ungodly world?
• Have you expected this changing, increasingly godless world to be a friend of Jesus? Read what Jesus had to say to us in John 16:33, and rejoice!

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/a-world-of-change/

The Secret That Should Not Be Kept

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

Douglas Coupland is a best-selling author known for his books about cultural trends in America. In his book Life After God, he no doubt surprises his readers when he shares:

Now here is my secret. I tell it to you with an openness of heart I doubt I will ever achieve again . . . My secret is that I need God—that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love.

Amazing—an author who has admittedly bought into the godless secularism in our world has let his godless philosophy of life run its course, and at the end of it all he recognizes that something is missing. The unanswered longing in his soul leads him to admit that his “life after God” has left him barren and hopelessly in need. He calls it his secret because it would be almost scandalous in post-Christian America to admit that we do need God after all—the God who has been banished to the outposts of irrelevance.

I love Coupland’s candor. Life after God—or actually life without God—inevitably leaves us hollow and disappointed. And if someone like Coupland feels this way, you can bet there are a lot of others who feel the same—a lot of others who live and work where you live and work. A lot of others who just may be in your family or your circle of friends.

Well, those of us who live life with God have a secret as well. Our secret is that God exists (Hebrews 11:6) and is all He has promised to be (Psalm 145:13). That He is indeed the answer to our deepest longings (Psalm 34:9-10), and that only He can give us the motivation and power to give, to be kind, and to love (Philippians 2:13). And not only that, but that He gives us the wisdom we need to navigate life’s most complex and confusing problems (Colossians 2:2-3). He brings meaning to suffering and peace in the midst of life’s storms (Psalm 119:50). And most importantly, only God can wipe our slate clean through the death of His Son (Isaiah 53:5). Our secret is that God is all He promised to be!

So, when you feel discouraged that no one in your world has any interest in God, remember Douglas Coupland. It takes time for life to come to the disappointing end of itself when it is lived without God. And you never know who around you is coming to the same conclusions as Coupland. When they do, will you be ready to share your secret? Will they have seen enough of the reality of God in your life to want to listen to your secret? And will you have the confidence that your secret is without a doubt exactly what they need and the boldness to share it enthusiastically?

My wife tells me that I am not a good secret keeper—and in this case, that would be a virtue! Come to think of it, the fact that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16) should be on the tip of our tongues ready to be proclaimed whenever we get the chance!

I wonder if anyone who knows our secret was near to Doug Coupland when he shared his secret?

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Get alone with God and meditate on salvation. How do you know you are saved? What has He saved you from? Why are you thankful for your salvation?
• If you had the chance to tell someone how to become a Christian, what would you say? Write down the essential elements of the message of the gospel. Then commit them to memory and look for a chance to tell someone your secret!
• Take some time to read through the verses referenced above pertaining to your “secret.” How do these verses encourage you to share the joys of life with God?
• Have you ever been ashamed of the gospel? If so, ask Jesus to forgive you and to replace your fear with boldness to tell people about Him.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/the-secret-that-should-not-be-kept/

Jesus in the Spin Zone

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” Hebrews 13:8-9

After Rosie O’Donnell announced that she was “coming out of the closet,” I watched with interest as Bill O’Reilly interviewed her on his TV program, The O’Reilly Factor, during a feature that he affectionately dubs “The No Spin Zone.” He asked if she felt threatened by religious leaders who spoke out against the gay movement. “No,” she replied, because she knew that Jesus taught love, kindness, compassion and understanding. When O’Reilly asked Rosie if she thought God would judge her for her lifestyle, she calmly said no, because after all she had endured while growing up, Jesus would smile on the fact that she could love at all.

As I listened I thought, Wow, Jesus is being spun big time right here in the “no spin zone”!

But spinning Jesus is big sport these days. Not only do people twist Him to fit their agendas, but movie producers and authors reduce Him to a mere mortal, spinning Him in affairs with a prostitute and a marriage to Mary Magdalene. Muslims, while denying His deity, claim Him as one of their prophets. Politicians evoke His name when it might get them a few votes. And religious liberals defrock Him of His divine credentials, His miracle-working power, and His role as righteous Judge. Which relegates Him to the role of history’s leading Mr. Nice Guy. And He is nice, but if that’s all you have, then you don’t have Jesus. At least not the One who walked our planet 2,000 years ago.

When spin doctors go to work on Jesus, left on the editing room floor are facts like His judgment of the living and the dead, and that He will say things like, “Depart from me, you who are cursed” (Matthew 25:41).

Rosie is a classic example. She’s on the money when it comes to Jesus preaching love and compassion. Matthew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies.” If you have one of those cool Bibles with the red ink that shows the words of Christ, you could skim through the New Testament and find over a dozen places where Jesus instructed us to love both friends and enemies.

But Jesus is also the ultimate spiritual referee, as noted in John 5:27, where the text tells us that God has given Christ the authority to judge. For Jesus to fit into Rosie’s mold, He would have to deny   1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which says, “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral . . . nor homosexual offenders . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.” And it’s not just sexual sin, but it’s all the ways that we fall short of God’s holy standards that leave us in jeopardy before Jesus as Judge and King.

So, beware of any attempts to dish out Jesus as something less then He really is. Hebrews 13:8-9 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” A spin doctor’s clever quip about Jesus can’t change who He has always been and always will be. It would be a bad day to have lived as though there were no accountability for sin, only to find out too late that Jesus is the Judge!

But here’s the really good news. It’s also true that the Judge came to our planet to pay our penalty for sin and to become our Savior and friend (John 3:16-21). That’s something I’d like to tell Rosie—or anyone else for that matter!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Why do people want to put their own spin on Jesus? Have you ever done this, even if it has only been in your own mind?
• This week, look for opportunities to keep Christ out of the “spin zone” by getting the truth out there. Post it on your blog; take out an ad in the newspaper; rent a billboard if you have to!
• Memorize Colossians 1:15-20. When you are uncertain about what the world says about Christ, measure it against God’s Word.
• Find a Bible that shows Jesus’ words in red letters. Take some time to read Jesus’ recorded words. In your journal, write down what His words reveal about the true Christ.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/jesus-in-the-spin-zone/

Aging Grace-fully

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

Very few advertisements tout the benefits of growing old. In fact, an outsider studying our culture would surmise (perhaps accurately) that we are deathly afraid of growing old or, even worse, afraid of looking old. We have potions and lotions to hide wrinkles and remove spots. We have drugstores full of pills to help us feel young again, and the shelves are stocked with anti-aging creams and shampoos and rinses to fire up the follicle growth and restore our hair to its “natural” color. Plastic surgeons make a fortune attempting to, temporarily at least, keep the inevitable at bay with a nip here and a tuck there.

But it’s a losing battle. We are, on a daily basis, growing steadily older, and the creaks in our knees and the cricks in our neck don’t let us forget it. But for the follower of Jesus, that’s not bad news!

I was powerfully reminded of this recently while reading some thoughts from a professor at Cedarville University. In an article entitled, “Thank God for Aging” written for Torch Magazine, Cedarville’s campus publication, Chuck Dolph makes a powerful case for the reality that growing old effectively strips us of the distractions that rob our intimacy with God. “If we live long enough, we will lose our beauty, our strength, our wealth, our independence, the control of our bodily functions, our pride, and perhaps our very self,” Dolph writes. “These are our idols, all the things that we trust in life to make us attractive, valuable, and self-sufficient.”

That sounds an awful lot like the heart of Paul. He doesn’t sugarcoat the harsh realities of his existence as a follower of Christ. From a human standpoint it’s been a tough road: “hard pressed on every side . . . persecuted . . . struck down” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). But he doesn’t stop there. Note how he completes each one of those phrases with a note of victory: “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; . . . persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Paul goes on to say in 2 Cor. 4:17 that these “light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

The simple reality for Paul was that, “though outwardly we are wasting away,” his physical demise was not to be compared to the fact that “inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). What a great truth! If God is our focus, even though we’re getting older, we can continue to get better on the inside where it counts!

Whether you feel it today or not, you’re wasting away. But that’s not a bad thing. Viewed through the right lens, you could see yourself as day by day growing more wonderfully dependent on the grace and strength of God. Your bent toward self-reliance and pride can be replaced with dependence and humility as you learn—perhaps out of necessity—to trust Him more and more.

In his article’s conclusion, Professor Dolph writes, “If our aging is successful, we will end our lives stripped of everything but God . . . utterly dependent on Him and the love of others.”

I don’t look forward to aches and pains and the loss of what’s left of my mind, but with Paul’s mindset, I can look forward to being more alive inside than ever before in my relationship with God. And as far as aging goes, that’s about as grace-full as it gets!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• What circumstances in your life make you aware of your own mortality and the fact that you are aging?
• What has been your attitude about growing old? How does that match up with what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4: 1-18?
• How is your attitude today shaped by viewing aging as an opportunity to depend more on God’s grace and the love of others?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/aging-grace-fully/

Sweeter Than Honey

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

I wonder how many of us got tired of hearing our moms tell us, “Eat this, it’s good for you!” And you can bet that if it required a lot of coaxing, it wasn’t the most appetizing dish on the table!

Thankfully, there are a few items on the good-for-you menu that go down a little easier than eggplant or brussels sprouts. Like honey, for example. Who doesn’t love a glob of honey slathered thickly on buttered toast? And not only does it taste good, but scientific studies show that honey has great medicinal value. For one thing, it helps reduce cholesterol. It’s loaded with antioxidants that help fight cancer. And a bit of honey and lemon mixed with hot water has a sure soothing effect on a sore throat. In food world, there’s nothing else quite like honey. No wonder the psalmist David used it to describe God’s Word when he exclaimed, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).

If we’re honest, our attitude doesn’t usually match up to David’s. Can we really say that God’s Word is “sweet” or, for that matter, “sweeter than honey”? Usually it’s more like, “Oh, I guess it’s good for me, so I have to read it.” When we engage the Bible with that attitude, it’s no wonder that it seems like a bland, flavorless experience.

So let’s start reading the Word expecting to have a meaningful, personal encounter with God. For me, it cannot be just an exercise in reading through the Bible in a year or making sure I read a chapter a day, or any other system that allows me to put a tic mark on my spiritual checklist next to the “Bible reading” obligation. Each encounter with Scripture has to be a search for something that is relevant to my life. I need to read until I hear Him speak in a way that reaches to the core of me. If it comes quickly, I may not need to read further. But if it takes more time than I had planned, I need to keep reading until my soul, heart, and mind have been revitalized.

When I read about the fact that God is sovereign and fully in control of everything that is happening in my life (Jeremiah 10:23) and ultimately manages the whole universe (Colossians 1:16-17), how sweet is that? When I read that He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5), and that He works everything to a good conclusion (Romans 8:28), it settles my spirit with a sweet taste. When I read that this world is not my home (1 Peter 2:11) and that my home is heaven, a place where God will wipe away every tear (John 14:3; Revelation 21:4), there could be nothing sweeter!

The more we read the words and promises that fill our hungry hearts and provide healing antidotes to our wounded souls, the more we will understand the psalmist’s enthusiasm for God’s Word. I’m telling you right now, when your life goes south, when you are confused and don’t know what to do, your next best meal is not going to help you at all. But the words of God will be just what you need. So, go ahead—eat it—not only is it good for you, it’s sweet!

Whatever your approach, reading the Bible should be a dynamic experience that is alive with flavor and excitement. As you continue to connect with God through His Word, relish every morsel. After all, His words are sweeter than honey!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Do you agree with the psalmist that God’s Word is “sweeter than honey to my mouth”? Why, or why not?
• If it has been a while since you’ve tasted the sweetness of God’s Word, perhaps it’s time to change your approach to Scripture. If so, try one of these suggestions: (1) Read a few psalms each day along with one chapter in Proverbs; (2) search through the Bible to learn all you can about a topic such as love or money; (3) read through a short New Testament book in one sitting; (4) choose one passage and memorize it.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/sweeter-than-honey/

Tell Me The Story

“All these things happened to them as examples and . . . for our admonition.” 1 Corinthians 10:11

Now that I have grandkids, I’m back into the classic children’s Bible stories. Wide-eyed stories like David and Goliath, Noah’s ark, and Jonah and the big fish quickly capture a child’s imagination!

But there’s a danger here—not with the stories themselves but rather with our attitude toward them. If we view them simply as kids’ stories, kind of like the Grimm’s Fairy Tales of the Bible, we miss the point.

The stories of the Bible were never meant to be outgrown. There are profound lessons to be learned from the amazing accounts of those who faced giants, floods, and fish!

Hundreds of years after the fact, the apostle Paul explained that the things that happened to Moses and the Israelites as they wandered through the desert “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Cor. 10:11). These stories are about us. They mirror the tensions we face daily as we too seek to apply God’s will and ways to the realities of our lives. They teach us of the treachery of sin, our desperate need to trust God unflinchingly, and the importance of staying faithful and true to Him regardless of what happens.

Don’t ignore the old stories. You might be surprised what God wants to teach you through them.

We learn the blessed Word of God To fix it firmly in our heart, And when we act upon that Word Its truth from us will not depart. —D. De Haan

Stories from the past can give us pointers for the present.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/tell-me-the-story/

Better With Age

“Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”                      2 Corinthians 4:16

Some people are obsessed with physical fitness—daily workouts, vitamins, organic food—in spite of the fact that our bodies keep ticking away in inevitable decline. In our twenties and thirties we think we’re invincible, but in the decades that follow, the eyesight starts to go, then the knees, then the mind. Let’s face it, trying to ensure long-lasting physical health is like trying to stem the tide with a pitchfork!

And while it is true that the older we get the worse we get physically, it doesn’t have to be that way spiritually. Believe it or not, it is possible to get better with age. It’s what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Many of us fear aging with all the trouble it brings. But when we are gradually stripped of everything that props us up—whether wealth, independence, health, dignity, beauty, or all of the above—we are left with more and more of God. So no matter how old you are, it’s not too late to dig deep in God’s Word and invest more and more time in your spiritual well-being. You’ll see the payoffs, now and later. The older you get, the better you can become!

Although our outward shell decays, We still can be renewed each day; Commitment to God’s Word and prayer Give strength that will not fade away. —Sper

To get better with age, get spiritually fit.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/better-with-age/

God’s Glasses

“It was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” Psalm 73:16-17

As a kid, I used to devour 3-D comic books, the kind that came with that special set of cardboard glasses. Without the glasses, the pages were blurry. But with the glasses, the images became clear and jumped off the page. Superman’s muscles bulged as he swooped down to rescue Lois Lane from Lex Luther and, hooray, Lex was always eventually foiled!

Sometimes, even today, I find myself wishing for the same type of comic-book justice—you know, with the nice tidy ending where the bad guy loses and the hero gets the girl. But life seems to rarely work out like that. Instead, the bad guy ends up with the girl in the tropics, living off of her trust fund!

Perhaps you can identify. Ever feel like you (the good guy) always lose, and the bad guys in your life win? Well, if so, you’re not alone.

Asaph, the author of Psalm 73:1-28, struggled with this question big time. Many of us can relate to the depth of his discouragement when, after watching the wicked prosper, he wrote, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence” (Psalm 73:13). Asaph was ticked because being good was getting him nowhere fast. In his mind, he had been good for nothing!

Until, that is, he went into the presence of God and saw life through God’s glasses. I guess there are lots of reasons that God lets the wicked prosper, but among them is the fact that the Lex Luthers of this world prosper because God is a God of mercy and grace. He gives good things regardless of whether or not we deserve it. And who of us could begrudge that to anyone, since we all are deep debtors to His mercy and grace? I’d hate to think of where I would be without His mercy and grace!

But, your heart cries, where is justice? Why do the wicked go on unchecked while your life seems restrained and difficult? Which was exactly Asaph’s complaint. But, just when it seemed like all was lost for Asaph, he put on God’s glasses and realized that prosperity is more than what we see in the here and now. He said, “It was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Psalm 73:16-17). Reading a little further, we see that their ultimate destiny is the judgment of God. Asaph learned that, in the scope of eternity, the bad guys lose. In other words, what difference does it make if you have a big inning and lose the whole game?

I have a friend who says that if all we see is the here-and-now, we will misunderstand everything. How true. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to trash seeing life without the advantage of God’s 3-D glasses. When I see life from God’s perspective, I discover along with Asaph that true prosperity is found in God’s presence, guidance, and in-depth, long-range goodness to His people (Psalm 73:22-23). From God’s point of view, the wicked do not prosper—not really. True prosperity is in being able to say with our psalmist friend, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. . . . But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:25,28).

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Read Psalm 73:1-28. The next time you are discouraged by the prosperity of the wicked, meditate on this chapter.
• Has God’s goodness to you ever fueled an independent and rebellious spirit? In your journal, write out a prayer asking God to forgive you.
• Pray and ask God to give you a look through His glasses when it comes to the bad guys who seem to prosper all around you. Ask Him to give you an eternal perspective on the events in the here and now.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/gods-glasses/

Not Home Yet

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3

One of my favorite missionary stories is of a couple who, after decades of faithful service overseas, was returning back to the States. Their heart’s desire was to stay on the field, but their age and failing health concerned their mission board and after packing up their belongings they boarded a steamship bound for New York.

Also traveling on the same ocean liner was a popular, well-known government official and his wife. Over the weeks at sea this elderly couple observed the official’s drunkenness, womanizing, and foul language. It was a marked contrast to the lifestyle to which they’d become accustomed. They grew even more disheartened, when, upon their arrival in New York, the official and his wife were greeted with great fanfare—a brass band, reporters and photographers, roses for his wife—the works!

And so this aged missionary couple, health broken and spent in their service for Christ, walked off the gangplank and through the crowd, unmet and seemingly unknown. As they walked, a tear trickled down the husband’s cheek.

“What’s wrong?” his wife asked.

“My whole life I’ve given to serving Christ. We’ve spent ourselves for Jesus and nobody is here to greet us. There’s no bouquet of flowers for you.”

His dear wife thought for a minute and then said, “Honey, we’re not home yet. We’re not home yet.”

That simple perspective could change the way we live our lives. Jesus, wanting to draw His disciples from earthbound living and pointless pursuits, told them that He was leaving to return to the Father, but that His leaving held a wonderful promise for them. He was going to prepare a place—for them, and for us! And, what’s more, He will return personally to usher us into our new digs. What an incredible promise!

That promise kept the disciples from digging their roots too deeply into the stuff of earth. Earthly power and influence no longer held the same appeal. The world’s pleasures lost their luster in the glory of intimacy with Jesus and the fact that He would soon return for them. And temporal, earthbound possessions lost their grip. What trinkets of this world could compare with the treasures that were in store for them in heaven? They conquered seduction, temptation, and discouragement knowing that they weren’t home yet. They lived for the moment when Jesus would return to take them to His incomparable home.

We need a little more of that thinking in our daily lives, don’t we? It’s so easy to think that this world and all it offers is all we have. It’s easy to live for the applause of men, for fleeting creature comforts and the accumulation of stuff. We are bent toward making ourselves more and more at home here, at great cost to our spiritual lives, forgetting that a far better home is being prepared for us.

So today, when your head is turned by something this world has to offer or when seeds of discontent try to take root in your heart or when you are discouraged thinking that all you have done for Jesus is in vain, remember: you’re not home yet!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• How has your attention been attracted by the stuff of this earth?
• How can a focus on earthbound pleasures, power, and possessions leave us feeling discontented and discouraged?
• How does it change your perspective to realize and remember that Jesus is, right now, preparing a heavenly home for His children that will be infinitely greater than anything our limited minds can imagine?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/not-home-yet/

Snatched From the Fire

“Snatch others from the fire and save them.” Jude 1:23

In a conversation with Billy Graham, I asked him what he thought needed to be changed in how we preach to people today compared to the way we preached to people in the 1950s. I expected him to reply with a profound analysis of our culture and the need to contextualize our message. I was surprised, then, when he replied simply and straightforwardly: “Nothing has really changed in terms of the needs of people. Wherever or whatever you preach, you must remind people of their sin, speak to them of heaven and hell, show them to the cross, and urge them to come to the Savior.”

He’s right, of course. The message is the same. The problem is, the receptivity of our culture has changed dramatically. The fundamental tenets of heaven, hell, sin, and the Savior are no longer familiar concepts in our culture. And, generally speaking, people quite frankly don’t really want to hear what we have to say about these matters. Why would they, when popular philosophy teaches us that nothing is wrong or right and that we are entitled to believe whatever we wish since there really is nothing that is truly true?! In a no-sin, no-true truth world that cringes when we claim that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), it’s easy to give up and lose our nerve. But a lack of urgency in sharing the gospel can lead to tragic consequences for those who need to hear the good news.

Which reminds me of the lesson that D. L. Moody, the Billy Graham of the 19th century, learned.

After proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a crowded hall in Chicago, the evangelist closed his message by encouraging the attendees to go home, consider the claims of the gospel, and return the next week to settle the matter in their lives. But that night Chicago heard the ringing of fire alarms and the clatter of horse-drawn water wagons being hurried through the streets. Mrs. O’Leary’s cow had kicked the lantern, and the Great Chicago Fire swept the city—hundreds of lives were lost. Because of that, D. L. Moody committed himself to never again forget to urge people to receive Christ immediately—before it is too late.

As Moody learned that night, we can’t afford to wait to share the good news of the gospel in light of the urgent needs of those who are living without a Savior and heading toward a godless eternity in hell.  Jude had this sense of urgency when he wrote to the early believers: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3), instructing them to “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 1:22-23).

Having been snatched from the fire ourselves, how fitting that we too should seek to rescue others.  This is the message that has been “entrusted” to us. Let’s pray that the Lord will put a fire in our belly to start sharing His message with urgency! And in the face of a secular, doubting world, remember that we need not be ashamed of the gospel since it is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). No amount of doubting can thwart the power of God to save those to whom we carry the gospel!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Do you agree with the statement: “Nothing has really changed in terms of the needs of people”?
• What are some reasons why people resist the message of sin and their need for a Savior?
• How have you responded to the gospel? If you haven’t responded yet, what are you waiting for?
• What is your attitude regarding sharing the gospel? If you lack a proper sense of urgency, pray and ask the Lord to reignite the fire in your belly for the gospel!

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/snatched-from-the-fire/