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David Scudder
DaveBethel at gmail dot com Sr. Pastor of Bethel Chapel Church
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Bethel's Youth Group > Musings from Bethel's young people Kensington Neighorhood House > Our Outreach to Kensington |
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The book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, fascinates many people. Some are interested in understanding the book’s many symbols and what they tell about the future. I am studying the book of Revelation and preaching from it on Sunday mornings. While some passages in the book do tell about the future, others tell us things about the past. I recently came across a curious verse that says: “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).
What in the world does it mean to get a “white stone” from Jesus? Historians helped me understand that. When the Bible was written, it was customary in the Roman world to use white stones with individual’s names on them as a passes to get into special events. Sometimes the Romans would give out the white stones as free passes to entertainment; sometimes the white stones were given to the victors of athletic competitions as free passes to festivals. In this verse then, Jesus is talking about giving out free invitations. Earlier Jesus told us that eternal life begins with an invitation. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Coming to Jesus means turning from our own sinful ways and following Him. This is why Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). When we answer Christ’s invitation, He gives us the strength to begin overcoming our self-centeredness. It is our faith in Christ that enables us to live better lives: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). When we trust Christ for forgiveness He makes us new from the inside out. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this verse God is promising a new nature, a new name, and a white stone that symbolizes His invitation into Christ’s glorious festival at the end of the age. What a wonderful opportunity for those who will respond to His invitation. (Rev. 3:20)
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Tell Me That You Love Me
I have always enjoyed Charles Shultz’s Peanuts cartoons. They often illustrate things about everyday life in a very interesting way. In one strip, for example, Shultz describes the inner longing we all have to be loved, as well as our inability to really love others: Charlie Brown: All it would take to make me happy is to have someone say he likes me. Lucy: Are you sure? Charlie Brown: Of course I'm sure! Lucy: You mean you'd be happy if someone merely said he or she likes you? Do you mean to tell me that someone has it within his or her power to make you happy merely by doing such a simple thing? Charlie Brown: Yes! That's exactly what I mean! Lucy: Well, I don't think that's asking too much. I really don't. [Now standing face to face, Lucy asks one more time] But you're sure now? All you want is to have someone say, "I like you, Charlie Brown," and then you'll be happy? Charlie Brown: And then I'll be happy! Lucy: [Lucy turns and walks away saying] I can't do it! Of course, we long for much more than to just hear the words, “I love you.” We long to know that someone really loves us just the way we are – with no strings attached. Why don’t we receive that kind of love? I am convinced that there are two barriers to experiencing unconditional human love: others and ourselves. Let me explain: First of all, we are all born with selfish and self-centered natures. Just watch two toddlers trying to play with the same toy if you doubt this truth. This “me centeredness” is why others around us have trouble loving us unconditionally. As we grow older, we learn to hide our selfishness, but it is still there. You can see it if you ask someone who is head over heels “in love” why he or she loves the other person. You will hear things like: “He/she makes me feel important” or “He/she understands and appreciates me.” Notice the “me” in those statements. Let’s face it; we are all too self-centered to totally love someone else. We love when our love is returned or when there’s something in it for us. Our own feelings are also a roadblock to loving others. Although we want to be loved, we also want to feel that we deserve some love. In other words, we want to be loved because there is enough good in us for others to love. We want to feel worthy of being loved. Here is the good news. There is Someone who is willing to love us even though we don’t deserve it and who can help us to love others when they don’t deserve it. God loves us through His mercy, and His grace makes us worthy of that love. Notice how Paul put it, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). As we come to realize that God is willing to love us “according to His mercy” (i.e. unconditionally, not based on anything good in us), then it is easier to love others because they don’t deserve it either. When we see how much we need God’s love, it makes it easier to love those around us the same way. Jesus said very plainly, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). I would be glad to point you to the One who wants to wash away your sin and love you as if you never sinned. [You may share any comments or questions with Pastor David by clicking on "Comments" below"]
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I have a completely worthless skill (and I hope you’re not thinking, “writing articles”). I know how to repair typewriters. (For the younger readers, a typewriter is a machine that printed letters on a sheet of paper when you pushed the keys.) Not only that, I am also trained to repair mechanical calculators and cash registers. As a young man, I was hired to work in an office machine repair shop in a small town. Because I have a mechanical knack, I learned to fix the machines in no time.
One of my jobs involved going into high school typing classes. I would walk into a large room filled with students at their typewriters, open my tool case, and begin repairing one typewriter after another. I quickly learned that internal foreign objects caused most of the mechanical problems. Sometimes I would find pencils jammed into the machines. (Students knew that they didn’t have to work if their machine didn’t work!) Sometimes they would be filled with erasing. Sometimes they were just plain dirty. Someone may have cleaned the outside of the typewriter, but it was often a much different story when I removed the case and looked inside. The typewriters needed regular and thorough inner cleaning in order to work reliably. This is much like the problem that religious hypocrites have. They tend to be more concerned with how things look on the outside then they are about what is happening on the inside. The Bible describes them this way, they “do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots” (Mark 7:3-4). Being clean on the outside is important, but it doesn’t do much good if the inside is gummed up with sin. The Bible puts a major emphasis on being clean on the inside. It tells us that our heart (who we really are on the inside) is our biggest problem. Jesus said, “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matthew 15:18-19). Our heart problem is not something that God will overlook. Jesus went so far as to declare that a pure heart is required in order to go the heaven: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). King David put it this way, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4a). God’s standard is indeed very high, higher than we are capable of reaching. We can wash our hands, but how do we wash our hearts? We can’t. The good news is that God can! God has told us, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). “‛Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‛Though your sins are as scarlet [blood-red], they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool’” (Isaiah 1:18). This internal cleansing is ours when we genuinely hate our sinful hearts and humbly turn to God. We must ask Him to make us clean. Even though he was a great king of Israel, David asked God to do this for him: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). The difference between a dirty heart and a clean heart is this: the clean heart has been made clean by Jesus, the One who paid the penalty for sin. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2). “God is not asking you to make a promise that you cannot keep – He is asking you to receive a promise that only He can keep.” James Ryle
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The Emmy awards are undoubtedly one of the biggest annual events in Hollywood. The glitz and glamor of this event is exorbitant. The movie and television stars show up in their most expensive outfits, and people wait for hours just to get a glimpse of their favorite star. The biggest news is not just what they are wearing, but who shows up with whom. Thousands of people seem fascinated by the intimate details of the lives of these Hollywood celebrities.
One of the winners this year was Kathy Griffin. She won a creative arts Emmy for her show, “My Life on the D-list.” Ms. Griffin has had a successful career that started in the 1980's. She has performed as a stand-up comedian, as well as starring on several reality shows. Kathy Griffin has also appeared on popular talk shows like “The View.” She was born a Roman Catholic, but later became an avowed atheist. Last week Kathy Griffin stirred up controversy, as well as censorship with her acceptance speech. When she accepted her award she said, “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” She went on to hold up her Emmy and say, “Can you believe this ****? Hell has frozen over. **** it, Jesus, this award is my god now!” When the Emmy awards were broadcast, the above remarks were censored. This may surprise you, but I think that it would have been better if Hollywood had aired all of Kathy Griffin’s remarks exactly as she said them. You may be shocked by that, but let me explain. I am concerned that too many people who claim to be Christian are admiring this world’s celebrities. Maybe it would help us to see them as they really are, and not just get the sanitized, glamorous view that we are usually shown. Kathy Griffin’s rant reminded me of another famous celebrity, a politician who lived over 2,000 years ago. The Bible records what happened to him in Acts 12:21-23. “On an appointed day Herod, [think modern-day celebrity] having put on his royal apparel, [picture the rich and famous walking the red carpet as they enter the Emmy awards from their limousines] took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. [envision an acceptance speech at the Emmys.] The people kept crying out, ‛The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.” Now the Bible certainly doesn’t claim that people will die instantly if they don’t give God the glory He deserves. What happened to Herod does teach us how dangerous it is to rob God of the glory He deserves, though. The Bible describes outwardly rebellious people as those who “blasphemed the name of God. . . and they did not repent so as to give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9). What kinds of people interest you the most? Whom are you always trying to find out about? Ask yourself, “Should I idolize those who scorn the Creator?” We have a choice. We can either love the temporary glamor that the world has to offer, or we can love and serve the God who gave Himself to rescue us from our sin. Notice how the Bible explains our two options: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17). If you are tired of what the world has been offering you and you’re seeking the key to eternal life, contact me and I’ll send you some helpful information about the Bible. You may e-mail me at DaveBethel@Gmail.com.
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Have you ever heard someone say, "You can't trust what the Bible says. It is thousands of years old, and it has been changed many times over the years. Some of it may be true, but you know there has to be a lot of mistakes in it after all this time?"
If part of the Bible has mistakes in it, and man-made additions that are not from God, then there would be no way to know if anything in the Bible is true. This is why: If we are left to our own opinions about what is true and what isn't true in the Bible, then we become the ultimate authority – not the Bible. But, the Bible says that "All Scripture is inspired by God ..." (2 Timothy 3:16),"The law of the Lord is perfect..." (Psalm 19:7), so either the entire Bible is God's Word or none of it is. How can we know if the Bible we have today accurately reflects what was originally written thousands of years ago? The Jewish scribes copied the Old Testament part of the Bible very carefully. Reading about the painstaking way they did it gives us a lot of confidence. One Bible scholar reminds us that, "The scribes who copied Hebrew manuscripts were keenly aware of the fact that they were handling a sacred and precious revelation. They were trained to exercise the greatest care. They counted not only the words but the letters [on each sheet], making note of how many times each particular word and letter occurred. If an error was detected, the entire sheet would be destroyed and the scribe would begin again." [Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S.] The New Testament part of the Bible was written more recently. There are approximately 5,500 ancient copies of the New Testament still in existence. Not only that, but scholars also have between 18,000 and 25,000 ancient translations of those manuscripts. This is far more than we have for any other old book. This is very important because comparing all of these shows easily if any copying errors have been made. Since over 80% of the copies all say the exact same thing, we can be very certain that our Bible today is accurate. Since the Bible is a supernatural book, it cannot be destroyed or discredited. H. L. Hastings said, "If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they died and the book still lives." For example, in AD 303 the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered that all Bibles be rounded up and burned. Instead, Diocletian died, and within 25 years, the next emperor ordered that 50 copies of the Bible be made at the government's expense. Centuries later, the French skeptic Voltaire claimed that within 100 years, the Bible would be forgotten and Christianity would disappear. But Voltaire died in 1778, and before 50 years were up, the Geneva Bible Society was in his house, using his press to print Bibles! Experts have written volumes of information that point to the Bible as a supernatural book. I've shared just a few of them here. Contact me if you would like help finding out more about how reliable the Bible really is. The Bible is old, but it continues to change lives today. It tells us, "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations. . . ." (Psalm 119:89-90). I am so thankful that the Bible has changed my life.
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According to an August 29, 2007 CBS/AP article, suicide prevention telephones have been installed, ". . . on the approaches to one of the country's largest bridges in hopes that people intent on jumping to their deaths can be dissuaded by one last human voice." The article went on to say, "‛More than 25 people have made fatal jumps from the Tappan Zee Bridge into the Hudson River in the past 10 years,' the state Thruway Authority said."
Life is precious, and I applaud this effort to save lives. However, human despair is not a new problem. It has plagued our race from the very beginning. Even strongly held beliefs do not necessarily bring hope. For example, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a socialist and a brilliant, though liberal, thinker. Shortly before he died he wrote these words: "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith." All of his deeply held beliefs proved to be hollow and empty when it came time to die. It is the loss of hope that leads to suicide. Suicide prevention counselors have learned that just hearing someone say that there is hope can help turn a person away from their tragic plans. This is why the AP article I mentioned above also noted that, "Above each telephone is a sign that says, ‛When it seems like there is no hope, there is help.' We're trying to help people who at that last moment might say, `You know, I'd like another chance,' said John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. ‛The human voice and presence,' he added, ‛is the best way of connecting these individuals to the services available.' " The announcement of hope, though, is only as good as the person who gives it. Mere human hope is never a long-term solution. A little over a month before he died, the famous French atheist Jean-Paul Sartre tried this technique. In order to overcome his feelings of despair, he said over and over, "I know I shall die in hope." Then in deep sadness, he eventually added, "But hope needs a foundation." This man knew down deep in his heart that hope needs to be real. Faking hope doesn't make it real and it doesn't help. Sartre's attempts at convincing himself were groundless. I want to point you to God who is a solid source of genuine hope and has been through the ages. His Word is a book of hope, and the hope that the Bible gives is much more than optimism or wishful thinking. It is what we all long for – a solid and reliable hope that is greater than any circumstance. The Bible clearly explains how you can have hope that is based on God's promises and is as sure as God Himself. It is a certainty that God is who He says He is, that He has a plan and a purpose for your life, and He will fulfill every promise given to us in His book, the Bible. There are people all around us who live in despair, and it's encouraging when someone is willing to reach out and to help them. As much as you might want to give hope to someone who is struggling, though, you need hope for yourself first. Real and lasting hope is only found in our Creator Who is perfect in every way. He is the only one who can always deliver on His promise to give hope. This is why David said, "My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him" (Psalm 62:5). God invites us to turn our lives over to Christ and begin trusting Him. When we do that, then we will experience a peace that only God can give. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). It is God's hope that gives us confidence. "For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth" (Psalm 71:5). Suicide prevention telephones may bring some temporary relief, to a few people but God's hope brings eternal joy to all who come to Him. Do you know this God of hope yourself? Contact me, and I'll send you a free Bible study guide that will help you find Him. Post a comment below or email me at DaveBethel@gmail.com.
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A father took his young son hiking in the mountains for the first time. They were enjoying being together and seeing the great outdoors until suddenly the boy slipped on a rock and twisted his ankle. As he crumpled to the ground, he yelled out, "Aaahhhhhhh!" To his surprise he heard a similar voice in the mountain mimic back, "Aaahhhhhhh!"
For a moment he forgot his pain because he was so curios about the strange voice. He called out, "Who are you?" and then he heard the reply, "Who are you?" He got a little perturbed and shouted, "I said, tell me who you are!" A second later the same words came right back at him. The boy turned to his father and asked him what was going on. The father smiled and said, "Listen to this." His father shouted out, "You are my son," and a moment later the boy heard his father's voice in the distance repeat the same phrase. "You see," the father explained, "that is called an echo. When we say something loud enough, it is reflected off of the mountain walls right back to us." There is an important truth about life here. The Bible says that our lives are mostly an echo or a reflection of what we think and do. Paul warns us, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows [plants], this he will also reap. For the one who sows [plants] to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows [plants] to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8). We only have two different choices about what we plant in our lives: the flesh or the Spirit. Sowing to the flesh means putting our affection on ourselves, rather than on what matters to God. British pastor John R. W. Stott wrote, "Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fancy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk that strains our self-control we are sowing, sowing, sowing, to the flesh." Notice that the Bible says that the result of sowing to the flesh is "corruption." The word used there is a word that was commonly used for rotting food. We could accurately put it this way: If we center our lives on ourselves we will become rotten. "Sowing" to the Spirit, on the other hand, means putting God's interests ahead of our own. Jesus told us to, "Seek first (God's) kingdom and (God's) righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Our culture, though, is constantly telling us that loving ourselves is an important and necessary step in a healthy and happy life. That simply is not true. The Bible tells us that there is "nothing good" in us (Romans 7:18). It is only after we have turned from our own desires and accepted Christ's sacrifice for us that we become God's "beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1). We really don't have anything worth "sowing" (or spending our lives on) except getting to know and obeying God. This may sound narrow-minded, but it's the truth. The reward for putting God first is enormous. As we expend our lives to follow Christ, the joy and peace that God intends for us to have will echo back into our lives. What kind of echo are you hearing? If you are reaping the bitter results of a life that has ignored God, then turn away from your selfishness and pursue Jesus Christ.
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My wife and I recently dropped our third son off to begin his first year at college. I know this is something that old people say but, things were much harder when I went to college. I don't think that my son knows just how good he has it. For example, when I went to college I didn't have a computer with a "delete" button. All of my term papers had to be done on a typewriter. You know, those old, clacky machines that you can only find in museums today. When I made a typing mistake, which was often, I had to use correction fluid or try to erase the error without tearing the paper. Some professors required my papers to be completely free from any corrections. Other professors would mark off if I had too many corrections. That was a struggle for me. Now, though, we have word processing where we (and the computer) can correct our mistakes before our words are printed. Wahoo!! Now even I can have a perfect-looking paper!
Wouldn't it be great if life came with a delete button, too? Oh, if we could just go back and delete our latest error and start all over! Life is not like that, of course, but God knew how much we needed one. One great theme of the Bible is how God has made a "delete button" available for our sin. That is great news! It's not only possible to have our sins removed, but we can be certain that all of our guilt has been "deleted" forever. God's "delete button" is powerful enough, thankfully, to erase all of our sin. The Bible has made this clear: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). This forgiveness applies to every single sin because Jesus "gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed" (Titus 2:14). How then can we make sure that God has highlighted our own sin and pushed the "delete button"? Understand two things: #1. God is awesome: "Great is the glory of the LORD" (Psalm 138:5). #2. God deserves your full devotion. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). "Do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Admit two things: #1. You have failed to love and obey God. "For I know that nothing good dwells in me..." (Romans 7:18). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). #2. You cannot do anything to pay for your own sin. "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5). Trust that Jesus paid the price for all of your sin. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). Then turn your life over to Christ. "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "Whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). Does this sound too simple to you? Human pride is a powerful thing. The world is full of religious people doing things they believe are right. Many believe that their own righteousness will help get them into heaven. Jesus gave all of us a very clear warning when He said, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven . . . I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21,23). We must give up our pride and realize that only God can completely erase our sin. He has the "delete button," and He doesn't use it if we're depending on our own works. The solution is to turn our lives completely over to Him.
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On Monday, September 4th, Steve Irwin died when a stingray speared him through the heart while he was filming a TV program off of the coast of Australia. Irwin appeared regularly on Animal Planet and several other TV shows that featured exotic animals. He was famous for his love of animals and his unorthodox way of interacting with many strange, and sometimes dangerous, animals. He often took bold risks by getting dangerously close to animals that could kill him. I remember watching him handle a highly poisonous snake that suddenly struck at Mr. Irwin's face, missing him by a fraction of an inch. Irwin, who was 44, left behind a wife and two young children.
My first reaction to Steve Irwin's death was to grieve for his family and friends. Then I began to wonder: What value did Steve Irwin's passion for animal life hold? Professor Grahame Webb, a crocodile expert who manages a crocodile park in Darwin, Australia, said that Irwin "made a strong contribution in making people think a lot more about the values of conserving these animals." Preserving animal life is important, but how valuable is it in light of eternity? Mr. Irwin is not the only one who has been speared to death out in the wild. In 1956 five missionaries in Ecuador also lost their lives when Auca Indians pierced their bodies with spears. What about those five men? What value did their lives have? Ironically, one of those five men, Nate Saint, answered that question long before he knew how his life would end. He said, "People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." According to Jesus Christ, real meaning and satisfaction only exists when our lives are expended for Him. That is why Jesus said, "whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25). The Apostle Paul took these words to heart. He was born into a powerful, wealthy family, but he gave up all of that in order to be an itinerant missionary for Christ. He explained it this way, "I count all things [including material things] to be loss [i.e. worthless] in view of the surpassing value of knowing [or having a relationship with] Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him" (Philippians 3:8-9a). Paul gave up everything, but then he gained much more than he gave up! He realized that there is greater value in Christ than there is in this world. Any human death is tragic. Ultimately, though, a life that is spent on things that don't really matter is even worse. Only Christ is worth living for and dying for. If you are tired of chasing the world's empty promises, then discover the awesome value of knowing and serving Jesus Christ right where you are today. We don't have to be foreign missionaries in order to be living for Christ. I will gladly send you a free New Testament that shows you how to find Christ in the pages of the Bible. I would love to hear how you found your relationship with Christ or have a discussion if you'd like to find Him.
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We have just passed the fifth anniversary of the tragic events on September 11th, 2001. Over three thousand American lives were lost in a matter of hours. None of us will ever forget what we were doing when we heard about that gruesome terrorist attack on our homeland. That event so shocked our country that many Americans began attending church in droves. Some churches even reported a doubling of their attendance. That upsurge of interest in religion, though, didn't last. In only a few weeks, church attendance was back to normal. The Barna Group, a research organization that focuses on religion in America, just released a comprehensive study about faith in America since 9/11. In their summary they concluded that, "the faith of Americans is virtually indistinguishable today compared to pre-attack conditions." There has been no lasting change in our spirituality or beliefs. Why did the sudden interest in religion die so quickly? The Barna report is probably right when it notes that, "People used faith like a giant band-aid – it helped people deal with the ugliness of the event but it offered little in the way of deep healing and it was discarded after a brief period of use." I believe this problem can be largely explained by the view that most people have of God. Americans tend to think of God as Someone who exists primarily to provide our needs and make us feel comfortable. In other words, God is like that mythical genie in a bottle. When we get in trouble, all we have to do is rub the bottle hard enough and God will spring into action and take care of our needs. But, when the tragedy is over, we expect God to get back into the bottle until the next problem arises that we can't handle by ourselves. God is nothing like that. Jesus Christ taught us that God doesn't follow us. We are supposed to follow Him: "Jesus said to His disciples, ‛If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross [i.e. be willing to die for Christ] and follow Me' " (Matthew 16:24). In this story Peter had been treating Jesus like a genie when he insisted that Christ's willingness to be crucified was a bad idea. Jesus rebuked Peter by pointing out that his heart was not set on pleasing God: "You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Matthew 16:23). If you think about it, Peter was telling Jesus what to do instead of being willing to trust what Jesus was telling him about the future suffering that was coming on the Cross. We think that following our own plans will make us happy. Jesus explained that real happiness is found by letting God have His way. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25). We can't treat God like a genie in a bottle who helps us to work life according to our own plans. Instead, we have to seek Him with our whole heart, and be ready to follow His way and His plans that are revealed so clearly in His holy Word, the Bible. Let's pray that our country will really turn to God. That turning can start with you.
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