Daily Devotional for Wednesday February 27, 2008
This is no Longer a Christian Nation
(Genesis 6:12, Matthew 28:18-20)
This is no longer a Christian nation. Most people in this nation do NOT believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved, nor do they hold the Bible to represent Absolute Truth. I have been trying to tell people this fact for many years, sharing often how the better percentage of two full generations now don't go to church. A Pew Research study released the other day ( http://pewforum.org ) makes this same case. However, I find flaws in Pew's numbers just like I find major flaws in the numbers of Christian pollster George Barna, since many people identify themselves as Christians because they grew up with Christian parents and went to a Christian church, not because they have given their heart and life to Jesus and enjoy a personal relationship with the Lord. Many are members of a local church, despite the fact they rarely attend services.
Because of the vast numbers of people I deal with every day here at Liveprayer, and have for nearly a decade, I can assure you that the number of truly born again Believers who are actively involved in a local Bible believing, teaching, and preaching church is a much smaller number than most would ever believe. New Age witch Oprah Winfrey reaches more people each week with her message leading people away from Biblical Truth and faith in Jesus Christ than virtually all of the churches combined.
Sadly, the largest two media ministries reaching the most people each week are Joel Osteen with his watered-down, feel good, cotton candy no-sin message that simply tickles people's ears, and the positive mental attitude prot?g? of Norman Vincent Peale, 33rd degree Masonic cult member Robert Schuller who has vast ties to New Age philosophies and also preaches a flowery, watered-down message that never tells people Jesus is their only hope and answer.
Ever hear either of these men deal with the issues of the day from a Biblcial context? Ever hear either of these men look into the camera and tell people that without Jesus they will die and burn in hell? Ever hear either of these men on their TV program invite people to ask the Lord to forgive them of their sins, repent, and ask by faith Jesus Christ to be their personal Savior? The first time either does, please let me know. Both men have been on numerous secualr programs over the years and have never told the people their hope and answer is Jesus. They are quick to tell people to go buy their latest book. My goodness, Osteen won't even say the name of Jesus on a secular broadcast for fear he might "offend" someone!
Where are the people turning for spiritual direction? Books on atheism were the best selling books in the "spirituality" genre last year. The cults and false religions are growing at an alarming rate. The New Age philosophies of the world are attracting new converts daily. Last Thursday on my TV program, I had a man who was the classic example of where people are turning in the year 2008 for their hope and answers. It is worth the time to sit down and listen to this interview. You can find it on the Liveprayer.com homepage by clicking on the "Show Archives" and going to the Thursday, February 21st program.
This man who grew up in the church, heard all about the Lord, found little relevance in the church to his daily life, quit going in high school and went completely to the other side by denying God even existed, years later gets a knock on his door, not from the local church but a group of New Agers, and he now embraces a belief system that would take faith greater than 1 million mustard seeds for me to ever believe. Watch this program if you want to see what I see and deal with every day!
Only the foolish try to argue the fact that this nation was not founded by men and women that believed in the God of the Bible and had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There is no way to deny that the largest percentage of the first several generations of people in this country were Christians. It was clearly a nation that honored God, followed His Son Jesus, and accepted the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God, representing absolute truth, and our final authority in all matters. However, that is no longer the case, and has not been for many years now.
How can I make such a definitive statement? How can you call this a Christian nation when the Federal Government legally protects the murder of app. 2 million babies every year? How can you call this a Christian nation when people that have chosen lifestyles that God calls an abomination are now accepted and promoted as normal? How can you call this a Christian nation when God's gift of sex has been perverted and is now marketed and accessible to anyone, of any age, at any time?
How can you call this a Christian nation when God's Holy Institution of Marriage has been mocked and turned into little more than a legal date? How can you call this a Christian nation when God's definition of a family is being rewritten daily by those who reject God in their life? The answer is, you can no longer call this a Christian nation for these and numerous other reasons.
The logical question has to be, how did we go from being what was without argument a Christian nation, to the spiritual state that we find ourselves in today. There are two key elements involved. The first is the incredible numbers of people that immigrated to the United States since 1900. People from all over the world that brought to this nation their own religious beliefs and false gods. People that did not believe in the God of the Bible and rejected His Son Jesus.
The second is a topic I have discussed often, and that is a weak and ineffective church since the 1960's and a void of real spiritual leadership. Churches that lost their evangelistic zeal and became institutionalized. Men and women God called who found it much more comfortable to ignore the lost world they were living in, and hide behind the four walls of the church and in the Christian media where they can preach to the choir where it is safe and profitable.
The reality of the year 2008 is that there is 2 full generations of people, the largest percentage of which have never been to church. These people are NOT coming to church on Sunday morning, they are NOT watching the Christian media, and if you want to reach these people you need to take the message of Christ to them. Why are cults like Mormonism, Scientology, false religions like Islam and various New Age movements the fastest growing in our nation today? BECAUSE THEY ARE TAKING THEIR MESSAGE, THAT IS STRAIGHT FROM THE PITS OF HELL, DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE!!!
How does the world get its message to the masses? Commercial television and radio, newspapers and magazines, music, film, the Internet, and advertising are all ways the world forces its messages into people lives literally 24/7. This is how the cults and false religions of the world are doing it. THIS IS HOW THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOR BETTER START DOING IT!!! WE NEED TO BE USING THE SAME VEHICLES THE WORLD, THE CULTS AND FALSE RELIGIONS ARE USING TO TAKE THEIR MESSAGE TO THE MASSES!!!
I love you and care about you so much. I get no joy out of sharing a message like this, but it is my responsibility to tell you the truth. While the United States is no longer a Christian nation, it is still a nation of great freedoms. We must take advantage of those freedoms, while we still have them I might add, to take the message of the hope and love of Jesus Christ to this lost, hurting, and dying nation and world. We know that Jesus is the only true answer for this world, for the United States, and for each person.
One of the biggest problems we have had in this nation over the last 40 years, is the isolationist mentality too many believers have. CHRISTIANS, NOT THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST, ARE LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING GOD OUT OF OUR CULTURE! A vast majority of churches, especially mainline denominations, went into maintenance mode and quit evangelizing. Instead of reaching out to the lost world, the church shut out the lost world.
What this means is that Christians need to get busy and use our freedoms to start putting God back into our culture. God needs His people in every walk of life to quit being so passive, and start having the same boldness as those who reject God, His Son, and the truth of His Word. Those who are in Hollywood need to use their influence to get Christian messages into the films that are being produced. Not just films that are Christian in nature, but regular every day films as well. Those in secular TV and radio need to find ways to inject God's truth into the programming. Believers in the print media need to use their influence and clout to get the Christian message back into magazines and newspapers.
EVERY CHILD OF GOD HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you become part of God's army. Everyone can do their part in the course of their daily life. At work, at school, where you shop, work-out, the hobbies you are involved in, we must let our light shine bright and not hide it under a bushel. God has called us to be the salt of this earth. Living a life pleasing and acceptable to God is still the greatest witness that you will ever have to this lost and hurting world. What Jesus has done in your life is still your greatest message to the lost.
The encouraging fact is that we already know how this story ends. We should take great comfort in knowing that even though this nation has turned its back on God, in the end God still wins. We also need to realize that there are tremendous opportunities to bring many people into the Kingdom in these last days. We need to quit worrying about what used to be, and start focusing on what is. The time is short. His return is imminent. The United States is no longer a Christian nation, but He still has a people and a church that He will use to take His message to this lost and dying world.
My friend, this nation, this world is looking for hope. It is looking for answers. Jesus Christ is the ONLY hope, and Jesus Christ is the ONLY answer. Those faithful saints that have gone on to their rewards in glory, have passed the baton to us. It is OUR JOB to carry the message of Christ to this nation we live in, and to the world we are part of. The Great Commission has not expired. It is a commandment from our Lord and Savior to all those who have accepted Him into their hearts and lives to "go and make disciples of all nations."