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Mirth is God's medicine - everybody ought to
bathe in it.
- Henry Ward Beecher
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 Die to Live
During His personal ministry, Jesus used various methods, to teach
His disciples. For example, He taught parables that contained
illustrations common to the culture and practices of the people of that
time. He used illustrations involving fishing (Matthew 13:47-50),
agriculture (Luke 8:4-15), domesticated animals (Matthew 25:31-46), and
various customs familiar to those he taught and to which they could
relate.
In this text, he used seed and illustrated an important principle
regarding what must occur before it can reproduce--it must die! Anyone
who has horticulture knowledge understands that the seed taken directly
from a watermelon, or any other fruit, will not produce unless it first
decomposes (dies). The decomposed matter in the shell of the seed is
the nutriment that supplies the germ of the seed during the germination
process. This process occurs when the seed is planted and surrounded in
the heart of the earth and properly watered. In order for a harvest to
occur, the seed has to die, but the viable seed’s germ is alive.
Outwardly, the seed appears to be dead, but when it is planted and
moistened, the seed germinates (sprouts), the growth and development
process begins, and eventually it produces "after his kind" (Genesis
1:11,12). The fruit’s benefits can then be realized, used, and
enjoyed.
In this text, Jesus used this important agricultural principle to
illustrate the necessity of His death, which had to occur first. After
His death, he would be buried and rise the third day (Mark 9:31).
Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is similar to seed. The
seed must die, be planted, and watered in order for the germination
process to begin. Then, it will develop, grow, and produce fruit.
Likewise, to accomplish the scheme of redemption, it was necessary for
Christ to die.
Additionally, in order to be an acceptable servant of Christ, one must
die to the sins of this world, "be planted together in the likeness of
His death," and be "raised to walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6)
- Glendol McClure |
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God's
Creation
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the
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 Salad Bar Religion
"Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat
beliefs they like and often leave the veggie-like strict doctrines
behind," begins the cover story of the Life section of the June 24,
issue of USA Today.
The article's main focus was the uncertainty about how the religious
vote will affect this year's presidential election, but the first
paragraph contains more truth than one typically would expect from a
secular media.
The conclusions about American religious belief emerge from a Pew Forum
on Religion, and Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of
35,000 Americans. At first examination, Americans remain much more
religious than their European counterparts. An astonishing 92 percent
in the USA say they believe in God, and 58 percent say they pray at
least once a day.
But there, the good news abruptly ends. The survey findings document a
stunning lack of correlation between people's professed beliefs, or
faith, and their actions. The Pew study found that most Americans have
a non-dogmatic approach to faith.
Following are a few illustrative examples
While 78% say there are absolute standards of right and wrong, only 29%
rely on their religion to delineate these standards. The majority (52%)
see practical experience and common sense as their optimum guide.
Smaller groups cited philosophy and reason, or scientific information
as their guideposts.
As other studies have found, 74% believe the Bible's teaching about
heaven, but only 59% believe in hell as taught in the same Bible.
A majority of Americans (70%) believe many religions can lead to eternal life.
About the same percentage (68%) believes “there's more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”
In another example of confusion, about 44% say they want to preserve
the traditional beliefs of their religions, but they also say their
religions should adjust to new circumstances or adopt modern beliefs
and practices.
American view of God is varied
As seen earlier, 92% believe in God. But that figure needs explanation,
and the survey provides some. Of those believers, only 51% have a
certain belief in a personal God. Another 27% are far less certain
about a personal God. What does that mean? Well, 14% refer to God as an
impersonal force. "People say 'God,' and no one knows who they mean,"
says Barry Kosmin, director of the Institute for the Study of
Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Americans believe in everything
"Americans believe in everything. It's a spiritual salad bar,"
concludes Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University. He says
Oprah Winfrey has more to do with setting the cultural agenda in
America than do religious leaders. Folks like Winfrey use biblical
language but mix it with other traditions to create what the USA Today
writer called a "hodgepodge personalized faith." Kosmin is quoted as
saying, "Exclusivism (one religion has the exclusive and absolute
truth) has gotten a bad name in America today."
Where does the hodgepodgery come from?
Beyond the ignorance of Bible teaching already noted, the Pew Forum
also attributes the confusion to life in a pluralistic society where
friends, co-workers, even family members come from a variety of faiths.
It noted that 37% of couples are comprised of people who have different
faiths. "No one wants to think their spouse, friends, or co-workers are
mad or bad," says Wolfe.
So, the researchers and social/religious commentators believe the
wishy-washiness of American religious beliefs can be traced more to the
home than to the church. Duke University sociologist Mark Chaves
attributes the changing religious landscape to changes in the
family--rising divorce, increased cohabitation, smaller families, and
steady increases in religiously mixed marriages. He says, "Don't look
at the church; look at the home!"
Future doesn't look good right now
The study also found that prospects for positive change in the future
do not look great. Regarding adherence to religious principles, adults
under 30 are much less strict than their parents. These young people,
other studies have shown, tend to cycle back to their religious roots
at key times, such as when they get married, have children, and the
like. But when perceived needs pass, they again drift away.
Sadly, many people have bought into the notion that having many choices
is one of the benefits of freedom. While this is true, when considering
which religion to follow, the first concern should be: “Which ONE
will please and be acceptable to God?” He made his desires known
(Ephesians 4:4-6).
- Randy Blackaby
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 The De-valuing of Human Life
In a recent cartoon from the Mountain Home Messenger
there are seen three vehicles. The car on the right is just a
simple vehicle with one simple bumper sticker that says, “PROTECT
UNBORN CHILDREN.” Also on the sticker is the outline of a
child’s hand. The vehicle on the left is a little more
decorated, the bumper, tailgate, and rear widow sporting the following
bumper stickers: “NOW” (National Organization for
Women), “WE BELONG TO MOTHER EARTH,” “I
BELIEVE,” “SAVE THE HOOT OWL,”
“PRO-CHOICE,” “ARMS ARE FOR HUGGING,”
“FIGHT FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS," “PROTECT INNOCENT TREES,”
and “THINK GLOBALLY ACT LOCALLY."
Isn’t it amazing how radical the swing is in society today from
what God has dictated? Human life simply is not valued as highly
as it should be. We live in an age when anyone sporting Christian
values is automatically labeled a “kook." Notice how far
off the values in America have become as demonstrated in a quote from a
recent Firm Foundation article:
Babies and Cats
Brian Peterson and Amy
Grossberg were each given two and a half years sentence for bludgeoning
their baby to death. Barry Herbeck was given 12 years in prison
for torturing five cats to death. Neither killing babies nor
abusing cats is right, but somehow these disproportionate sentences
seem to suggest a perversion of justice-also new inanition. All
life should be respected, but human life has more value than that of
animals-Hinduism not withstanding.
It looks to me like we have a problem in America. Psalm 33:12a
reads “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." In
years past that could be said for America, but now? The gods of
America are the men who populate her and the currency that drives
her. The blessing is quickly changing to curse. We
Christians are salt and light, and it is our job to do all that we can
to spread Christianity in a nation that is quickly deserting Bible
truths.
The words of God to Judah, in Zephaniah 2:1-3 apply to America today,
“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not
desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as
the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before
the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all
ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of
the LORD'S anger."
- Daniel F. Cates |
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A
smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive
without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the
memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he
cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made
rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen,
for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given
away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of
yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.
- Author Unknown
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