M.I.A.
Jerry Watts
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
We are a country that has been forged on the battlefield, bought with the blood of citizens who believed this country was special enough to risk and give their lives for this experiment which we call ''democracy'. Every time we go to war, we have casualties. Some are wounded, sadly others are killed, and still others are considered ''MIA (Missing in Action)''. The missing in action are those we desperately desire to find and return home. We feel incomplete until then.
Having the opportunity to visit and speak in many churches, I have become convinced of this: within our churches we have something critical that is MIA and honestly, we have trouble seeing it from the inside, but I am afraid our Lord and the people apart from Christ see it clearly. To be candid - we guys not only have difficulty seeing what is missing but believing it. (READ TEXT)
At every point of our Christian and church life, we must take the never changing word and connect it to this ever-changing culture. Because this doesn't compute, here's some cultural context.
In 1991, George Barna released a study entitled, ''The day America Told the Truth.'' He gleaned this truth from surveying Americans. The truth back then was (it's worse today) that America is not fond of Christian people. Why? When asked about Christians, the public responded that they had 2 qualities; 1) they attended church, and 2) they were very judgmental. Ouch. Does that hurt anyone besides me? Is this from what Jesus expects of us. His told us things like, ''Love One Another'' (supposedly easy) and then he raised the bar by saying, ''Love your neighbor-as much as you do yourself.'' Then He pressed us a bit further by saying, ''Love your enemies.''
There is one more statement which makes this possible. Jesus said, ''Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.'' In other words, with all that you are. Now remember, this means to love Him more than Alab ...
Jerry Watts
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
We are a country that has been forged on the battlefield, bought with the blood of citizens who believed this country was special enough to risk and give their lives for this experiment which we call ''democracy'. Every time we go to war, we have casualties. Some are wounded, sadly others are killed, and still others are considered ''MIA (Missing in Action)''. The missing in action are those we desperately desire to find and return home. We feel incomplete until then.
Having the opportunity to visit and speak in many churches, I have become convinced of this: within our churches we have something critical that is MIA and honestly, we have trouble seeing it from the inside, but I am afraid our Lord and the people apart from Christ see it clearly. To be candid - we guys not only have difficulty seeing what is missing but believing it. (READ TEXT)
At every point of our Christian and church life, we must take the never changing word and connect it to this ever-changing culture. Because this doesn't compute, here's some cultural context.
In 1991, George Barna released a study entitled, ''The day America Told the Truth.'' He gleaned this truth from surveying Americans. The truth back then was (it's worse today) that America is not fond of Christian people. Why? When asked about Christians, the public responded that they had 2 qualities; 1) they attended church, and 2) they were very judgmental. Ouch. Does that hurt anyone besides me? Is this from what Jesus expects of us. His told us things like, ''Love One Another'' (supposedly easy) and then he raised the bar by saying, ''Love your neighbor-as much as you do yourself.'' Then He pressed us a bit further by saying, ''Love your enemies.''
There is one more statement which makes this possible. Jesus said, ''Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.'' In other words, with all that you are. Now remember, this means to love Him more than Alab ...
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