This morning on Facebook, I read a general comment from one of my friends about the inconsistency of the American Christian (used here as a follower of Christ, regardless of denomination.) He made some observations that I believe were right on the mark.
Where has the troubled Christian in America failed?
- There is a lot of talk about violation of rights and even “persecution” of Christians in an attempt to make followers of the false religions feel better.
- There is a lot of confusion as to what the Lord’s kingdom is all about.
- They have forgotten that being persecuted for Jesus’ sake is a blessing. (Matthew 5:11-12)
If I had to pull one reason out of the air as to why this has come about, it would be because the American Christian’s Bible is left in the corner untouched. If the American Christian were as familiar with their Bible as were the people that came to this “new world”, the events of today would unfold far differently.
- They would have better responses to a non-believer’s challenges.
- They would not have allowed non-believers and false teachers convince them the Bible says things that aren’t in there.
- They would be energized and motivated by the attacks of the lost.
- They would be able to defend it with confidence.
Jesus, Peter, Paul and James said that Christians can expect to be reviled in any number of ways and can expect blessing and reward from it. (Matthew 5:10-12, 1 Peter 1:3-9, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4) The book of Revelation is all about encouragement of the Christians facing some tough times. Knowing this, the American Christian has a choice to make:
- He can capitulate or ignore the problem and be lost with the rest
- He can be invigorated by the trials as the passages above suggest and work harder to get the word out.
A fully developed and fed faith gives us the hope to continue. It helps us understand what being a member of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom entails. It enables us to keep planting the seeds.
We weren’t promised an easy path to our reward, but it is a path we need to be proud to follow.
Daily Bible reading for September 2
Psalm 31
1 Samuel 20
Daniel 3
Luke 2:1-21
September 2, 2013
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