HELP! MY GAG REFLEX IS GETTING OVERWORKED!

These days, every time I turn on the TV, read the paper, or listen to the radio, something else has come along to make me gag.  What is wrong out there?? 

One little word:  S-I-N.  Farewell to those who stopped reading this post after the previous statement.  Morality is overturned, cheating is the norm, bad is good, and good is bad.  However, for those hangers-on who know what I'm talking about, we just shake our heads at the headlines when yet another anti-scriptural idea comes to the fore.  For example, a large percentage of politicians these days seem bent on showing us a reasonable facsimile of the middle school mindset!  I could definitely get on my soapbox about the so-called "think tank" in Washington, DC, but I haven't been able to find it lately.  So I'll move on to something else.

Human nature has not changed for thousands of years--we're still the same greedy, self-centered, underhanded beings that we were in biblical times:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).  In my lifetime, however, I've seen an alarming trend of sin being flaunted openly--just about anything is "okay."  It used to be, "as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else."  Now:  "Who cares if someone else is hurt?  I want to do this, anyway."  Parents, I pray for you as you attempt to raise your young children by biblical standards in today's society.

Men of God who preach the Bible are vilified for using hate speech.  Churches who stand for biblical principles are labeled as haters, unloving, and prejudiced.  "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is a concept of God that the world out there does not understand at all.  Christians are to hate sin, as God does, but we are to love the sinner, as God does.  I hate murder, but those who murder can be redeemed spiritually if they seek God's forgiveness.  And to speak the truth, however distasteful it is to this culture, is an important facet of sharing God's love:  His truth must be proclaimed.  Eternity beckons all mankind, and it is up to us--those who are Christians/disciples/followers of Christ, to share "the good news."  I'm afraid we aren't doing that very well these days.

David Platt's book, RADICAL, hit me squarely between the eyes.  You should pick up a copy and read it.  I stand guilty as charged--I'm not doing enough to share God's plan of redemption with those around me.  This post is my feeble attempt to proclaim, to all who are reading this post, that peace CAN BE found through Jesus Christ, who came as Savior to the world.  Oh, I know some won't like those words, but that is not my problem:  it is theirs.  "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV).  In the depths of our hearts, if we are being honest, we know that is true.  Just look around. 

I invite you to seek the truth. Begin by reading the Gospel of John, often called a microcosm of the gospel.  For Christians, life still has its difficulties, but peace and joy will take root, helping those who are redeemed to live in this world with His strength.  The battle is far from over, and it won't be over until Christ returns to this earth as promised. 

My gag reflex?  After each initial shock, it settles down once again.  After all, I've read the ending of THE BOOK, and for those of us who are His, we will be just fine in eternity.   Life down here is merely the boot camp to prepare us for that.  The Girl Scout motto, "Be prepared," works well for eternal life.  God's Word is a road map to prepare us for eternity.  He does not leave us to wander and wonder where we'll end up.  He's already clearly shown us the way, but we must choose to find out what it says, and then follow it!