Design found in store

A statistic put out by Pew Research Center titled “The decline of Christianity” shows the erosion of people claiming to be Christians is 65% which is down 12% from a decade ago.  It further revealed that atheist, agnostics and no affiliation has risen by 17% and stands at 23% of all Americans.

We really only need to look at what is happening in this country as we continue to abandon God as we continue to move further and further away from the moral laws in direct defiance and rebellion.  All throughout scripture and since the beginning of time people have chosen to live according to what they think is right and we are most certainly witnessing that today.  The secular worldview dominates our culture with no thought of God whatsoever.  Proverbs 21:2  “ Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”   

Also as Jesus was admonishing the Pharisees, who loved money, He says to them in Luke 16:15 “ You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”  Clearly Christ is telling them that although they think they are righteous and good in the sight of God, they do not have God in their heart.  Prior to that we see how Jesus had just declared to them that “ You cannot serve both God and mammon[money] in Luke 16:13.  My friends, as a true follower of Christ,  you either love God above all things in your life, or you don’t.   God has always commanded us to place Him above any and everything in our lives and it must be from a true love of Christ in our heart.    

It’s all a matter of where the love of Christ is in your heart,  and the biggest problem I think is that people overall believe that humankind is basically good and upright, but the Bible tells us something completely different.  The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 3:9-20  “ All people are under the power of sin, as the Scriptures say, No one is righteous- not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.  All have turned away; all have become useless, No one does good, not a single one.  Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.  Their tongues are filled with lies.  Snake venom drips from their lips.  Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.  They rush to commit murder.  Destruction and misery always follows them.  They don’t know where to find peace.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  NLT  see also Psalm 14:3

We see where our faulty thinking lies in believing that humankind is basically good.  We are not, no matter what you think, believe, or say.  There is only One who is good, righteous, and perfect in all their ways and His name is Jesus Christ.  Let me further say that true peace cannot be found here in this world.  All my life I have never experienced the peace and love that Christ puts in one’s heart until now.   I became a true believer in April 2017, when God’s grace filled my heart with a love unknown to me. 

There are so many people living today that are lost and spiritually dead to the hope, peace and joy that awaits them, if only they would turn their lives over to Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 59:8  “ The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths.”   Jeremiah 17:9  The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.  Who knows how bad it is ? 

It is our self-seeking, self-centered, wicked, evil way of thinking that leads to discord, conflict, hatred, and violence.  This has been our pattern since Cain killed his brother Abel in a fit of rage and jealousy.  And today in a much larger fashion we continue with this curse with increasingly frequency. 

God’s plan has always been for the ending of blindness and hardening of the heart, and it is called a Spiritual Transformation of the Heart.  It is best described in Ezekiel 36:26  “ I will give you a new heart a put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them, you shall be My people, And I will be your God.”

This transformation of the heart comes only through the power of the Holy Spirit which is given to all who genuinely believe in Jesus Christ.  It is not something we can accomplish on our own.  This transformation is something only God can provide and is called regeneration or re-birth(born again) Read John 3:3-8.

It is up to us to take that first step and ask God for the forgiveness of our sins which is called repentance.  It is plainly stated in these words of truth found in Isaiah 55:6-7  “ Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Start today – Don’t delay and change your life - Let the power of God’s words speak to you and be filled with a peace and joy beyond measure.  

Find additional inspiration and encouragement found in the books “Finding Calm in the Storm of Everyday Living” or “Heart and Soul” either going to Amazon directly or hitting home at the top of this blog and scrolling down to the books.

Some portions of this blog taken from Scott Ashley, managing editor of the magazine Beyond Today.