The Greatest Nation ... Falling Apart

There's no question America is the greatest nation ever founded but we have problems. Like any great society we seem to have lost our way. With political, economic, moral, sociological and spiritual problems destroying our way of life, it's a wonder our nation has lasted this long. I'm afraid we are in for a rude awakening - unless we radically change our way of thinking and life.

Here are just a few massive problems:

Overpopulation - We have a finite amount of space and with a rapidly expanding population we stand the risk of running out of room. Population control is NOT the answer. But we will have to develop alternative methods of agriculture in order to feed our residents.

Fossil Fuel Depletion - There's only so much oil and natural gas available. Alternative energy sources must be developed before we deplete fossil fuel reserves.

Global Terrorism - The threat from terrorism is greater than ever before. America must continue to lead the world in eradicating terrorism.

Water Supply - We live in a world controlled economically and politically by those who control the water supply. We are depleting our own water and may become too dependant on supplies from other nations.

Economics - We live in a nation of the have's and the have not's. Those with financial resources rule those without. Our panzi scheme of financial institutions have created great wealth for themselves while exploiting those living below poverty. After all, exploiting poverty is a great way to make money.

What's the answer?

To simply say Jesus is the answer is too simple. The real answer is Christian activism and involvement. Christians should be the most vocal resisters to our status quo way of life. We should be the ones sounding the alarm. We should be the ones actively involved in local, state and national politics, economics, financial planning, sociological development, natural resource development, etc.

If we took the message of Christ into every aspect of our American system, we would alter the course of human history.

SKILLET ..... and the Coke and Tea Incident

I was reminded of this story last week when listening to a sermon about how Christians should react in certain situations. The story went like this: A man, dressed in a new suit, had a waitress spill two gallons of salad dressing all over him. He was furious! And caused a big scene in the restaurant. How many times have we reacted in a non-Christ-like way when faced with similar situations?

My story goes like this:

I used to promote concerts .... large events with Christian artists like DC Talk, Newsboys, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc. In 1998, there was a new Christian band coming on the scene. They had just released their second CD and were beginning their tour. I booked them to play a show in Knoxville. You may have heard of them - SKILLET. Brand new and hardcore.

Shirley and I took the band to dinner about an hour and half before the show. If you've ever seen John Cooper, his wife Kory and the other band members, you know they look kinda ... scary. What do you expect? They're a rock band - with crazy, spiked hair, eyeliner (John), etc.
In East Knoxville, people don't usually dress that outrageous ...

We ordered tea, water and coke to drink. When the waitress brought a tray with six large drinks, she tripped .... fell forward and spilled, NO ... she dumped the drinks all over John. How would you react? Remember, he's about to go to work ... All dressed up .... Now covered with sticky coke, and tea. He was soaked.

His reaction was classic and Christian. Immediately he started laughing .... we all started laughing. He was kind, polite and accepting of the waitresses huge mistake. Everyone in the restaurant heard the commotion and watched with anticipation how he would respond. Within seconds, the manager arrived. Everyone was apologetic .... and John .... Well, he acted like Jesus. After a few minutes of conversation we told her who we were and that they were Christian musicians playing a concert down the road.

She called her teenage son and told him she was serving a band called SKILLET. Surprisingly, he had heard some of their music. She encouraged him to come to the concert. In fact, I made sure he got in free ... Following the concert ... he was saved.

In the middle of a bad situation John acted like Christ and a young man became a Christian. Just think, if she had never dumped tea and coke on John, her son may never have encountered Jesus Christ.

Next time something happens and you're about to explode ..... respond like Christ.

Because John was sticky we had to go back to the hotel so he could shower and change. Needless to say, we were late starting the concert .... so what! A young man came to Christ.

By the way, if you ever get the chance to hear them in concert ... GO! It'll be a Gospel presentation like you've never heard.

Births, Baptisms and Burials

Births, Baptisms and Burials ..... It seems as though those who are in ministry vocationally can become so consumed with "ministry" they forget their personal relationship with Christ. When I was a student minister, I told myself my relationship with Christ didn't suffer because I studied the Bible - but it was mostly in preparation for Bible studies or sermons. No big deal .... I prayed while leading our students in prayer! Isn't that enough?

We can become so wrapped up in Sunday School prep, small group leadership, hospital visits, etc. that our personal walk suffers because we are in the business of ministry. Guess what? This applies to non-vocational ministers, also! Remember, all Christians are called to ministry. So no matter what Christian activity you're involved with, make sure your personal relationship with Christ doesn't suffer.

Don't get wrapped up in the business of ministry that you forget Christ.

Will You Still Believe

Many times, our walk with Christ is interrupted by obstacles that may trip us or lead us down another path. Sometimes, our walk takes us to dark places, treacherous, narrow paths where we find it difficult to continue. Sometimes, we’re tired. Sometimes, it’s hard to see Christ walking with us. Other times, it’s difficult to hear His voice.

When you can't see, will you still believe?

When you can't hear, will you still believe?

When your walk becomes a crawl, will you still believe?

When the things you've been taught split from the TRUTH, which one will you follow?

IF only God had given us a way to see, hear and walk with Him during these times ….. Oh wait, He did! His revelation of His redemptive plan has been preserved in His Word – The Bible. Read it! Even if you don’t have the Scofield Authorized King James Version – Read it, study it, and meditate on His life-giving Word.


http://www.rhapsody.com/russ-taff/russ-taff--word-records/i-still-believe-lp-version


I'm reminded of Russ Taff's song I Still Believe. Check out the link.

Spiritually Suicidal

My mind is troubled and disturbed because I’m easily distracted by deception and sin. I’ve declared war on my sin but that has only led to fatigue and gaping wounds spilling spiritual blood. The stench is unbearable. The wounds are too deep. Fighting seems useless. Then it occurred to me that becoming spiritually suicidal may be a better approach. I’ve taken the .44 from my heart and started picking off my sins one by one … attacking myself. My sins of unbelief, pride, selfishness, idolatry and arrogance are under attack by me. I’m killing myself with the Word of God.
In Paul’s day, he compared the Word to a sword. The sword was the offensive weapon of choice. Today, our offensive weapon of choice has to be a gun. So that must mean spiritually we are to allow the Holy Spirit within us to take out the sins that separate us from the Holiness of God. By blowing our sins away piece by piece God heals the wounds making us more like Him.

Decade in Review

2000-2010 - Decade in Review - Major events from this past decade

2000 - Y2K, Concorde Crashed killing 109, First Survivor Aired, Terrorist attack on USS Cole, Hanging Chads in FL

2001 – Wikipedia launched, Earnhardt died, Twin tower attack, ipod

2002 – Kelly Clarkson won first American Idol, DC sniper attacks killing ten

2003 - Space shuttle fell apart over TX on way to landing, Shock and Awe, Schwarzennegger elected governor

2004 – Wardrobe malfunction, Madrid trains bombed killing 200 and injuring 1500, Reagan died, Martha Stewart went to jail, Yasser Arafat died, Tsunami hit Indonesia killing 230,000

2005 – Terri Schiavo unplugged, Pope John Paul II died, YouTube launched, Hurricane Katrina

2006 - Twitter launched, Facebook opens to public, Gerald Ford died, Saddam executed

2007 – iphone launched, VA Tech shooting, Sopranos final episode, Bonds broke homerun record
2008 – Castro officially retired, Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals, China earthquake killed 90,000, Obama elected

2009 – Bernard Madoff caught, Miracle on the Hudson, King of Pop died, Edward Kennedy died

2010 – World Cup in South Africa, Saints won the superbowl, ipad released