Daily Devotional for Friday January 5, 2007

Who is Your Hero

(Romans 10:14)

The AP and AOL conducted a poll recently and asked the American people who their top heroes of the year were. Here are the results from top to bottom:

1st George W. Bush 13% 2nd Troops in Iraq 6% 3rd Oprah Winfrey 3% 4th Barack Obama 3% 5th Jesus Christ 3% 6th Bono 2%

The rest of the people selected were primarily celebrities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, politicians like Al Gore and Condoleezza Rice, and sports stars like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. The only Christians leader mentioned was Billy Graham. It is interesting that while President Bush was the top hero to those polled, he was also the number 1 villain by a huge margin over Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.

So, what does a poll like this poll say or mean if anything? The fact Jesus, the Savoir of the world who has changed millions of lives for 2000 years is far behind a nation's President who at best can influence his nation and world for 8 years, the military of a nation no matter how heroic they may be, and tied with a politician who supports killing babies and has yet to even finish a single term in national office and a talk show host, really only confirms what I have been preaching for years that this is no longer a Christian nation. This is clearly a nation that has rejected God, His Word, and Jesus Christ, and is not being influenced by the spiritual leaders God has raised up, but by the entertainers the media promotes and a handful of politicians.

(This poll also confirms why I have worked so passionately to bring the Liveprayer TV program to the major secular television networks. So many people have their lives and views shaped by those on TV. That is why it is critical to be in that same world, on those same networks, to have the ability to influence those lives for Christ!)

The fact Jesus came in ahead of Britney Spears, Tiger Woods and Al Gore is actually surprising to me, however, I will not be shocked when in a few years He is not even mentioned in such a poll. You see my friend, our nation is not moving back towards God, the things of God, Biblical Truth, and faith in Jesus Christ, it is moving AWAY at an alarming rate. I state often that we are a nation in spiritual "free fall," and polls like this, as unscientific as they may be, only support that fact.

Look around you, gambling is now as close as the corner gas station or convenience store, sex in every form and fashion is right before your eyes 24/7, the consumption of alcohol and drugs rises each year, God's Holy Institution of Marriage has been redefined and reduced to a legal date, the foundation of our society, the family, has been decimated, and every kind of sin and evil you can name is glorified and promoted as normal and acceptable. Even though the better percentage of two full generations have never even been inside of a church, most churches that do exist are little more than social clubs and hollow shells of what God's Word calls the church to be.

As we head into this year of 2007, it is time for the faithful remnant, those who have refused to bow their knee to Baal, to take our stand. We can't do that by hiding in our churches, but need to come out from behind those four walls and take our faith in Christ to the lost and hurting masses. We need to take our faith to our job or school, to the places we recreate, to where we shop, to those in our neighborhoods, TO THE STATE FAIR, not to mention our family and friends. God has not called us to hide our light under a bushel, but let it shine! Now more than ever this lost and hurting world needs the light of Jesus Christ and we are the ones who have been called to bring that light to them!

I want to use this Devotional today to MOTIVATE you to make this new year the year you will let God use YOU to lead many souls to faith in Jesus Christ. First, you can't do that if you never share your faith with others. However, even after you share your faith, you still need to take that last step and give the person the opportunity to accept Jesus. Don't forget, you can't force them to do it, they have to make that decision. But it is your job to give them the opportunity. You do that simply by asking them if they would like to accept Jesus as their Savior. They will either say yes or no. The more people you give that opportunity, the more people you will hear say YES!

I love you and care about you so much. I don't know about you, but rather than being sad by a poll like the one I shared with you today, I get more determined. A poll that has people viewing Jesus Christ the same as a merchant of false hope like Oprah should inspire ALL Believers in Christ to get serious about God's universal call that ALL of His children share their faith with others. The entertainers, the politcians, the sports stars, are not famous for leading people to Christ. Sadly, in most cases they are actually leading people AWAY from Christ. It is the job of those who know Jesus as their Savior to wake up, to rise up, and bring His hope to the lost and hurting.

I will be praying for you today. Praying that God will inspire you today to realize that there is much work to be done. Jesus said that the night is coming and we must work while it is still light. My prayer is that during this coming year while you focus on the things you need to in your daily life, in the life of your family, you will make it a priority to focus on the things God has called you to do. The most basic thing a follower of Christ is commanded to do is to share our faith in Christ with others. It is not a suggestion, it is a COMMANDMENT!

We live in a nation that has largely rejected our Lord. I find each day that most have rejected Him out of sheer ignorance, out of never having been given the opportunity to know Jesus. The Bible says in the Book of Romans, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" May God bring you under conviction today that He has called YOU to preach His Gospel to the ones he allows to cross your path each day. There may be many heroes in this world, but there is only one Savior...JESUS CHRIST!!!!