Summer is in full swing now and we hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather. Hopefully we will get more rain as well to “green” things up a bit.
Six years ago, the elder board decided to hit the restart key and go back to the basics. We asked ourselves to examine what our priorities were and what we wanted them to be in the future. We decided the best way to start was establishing a set of core values that would become our focus. We also put them in order of importance. We agreed that the most important core value was Biblical truth. Number two was Prayer.
The latest statistics from Barna indicate that the percentage of Americans who believe that the Bible is the guideline for absolute truth has dropped substantially over the last several decades. The numbers are staggering. Only 40% of Americans now believe the Bible is true, down 20% in only twenty years. Sadly, less than 20% of Americans who consider themselves born again believers hold a Biblical worldview. As far as Americans in general, the numbers are even more shocking. Their latest polls put the number of people holding a Biblical worldview at only 9% in the 20 to 29 year-old age group. That number decreases as they get younger! You can see the survey reports that Barna has issued as well as their criteria for establishing how they determine these online. This society is trying to redefine truth and God’s word has no place therein. The fruits of their efforts are plainly seen.
How to respond? Paul’s letter to the Ephesians exhorts us to put on the full armor of God, including the belt of truth buckled around our waist. His second letter to Timothy says we should present ourselves to God as a workman who correctly handles the word of truth. His second letter to the Thessalonian church encourages them because they were chosen by God to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit and though belief in the truth. Jesus himself said he was the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus also said that if you hold to his teachings, you will know the truth and it will set you free. The Bible is jam packed with truth, from Genesis to Revelation. We need to be deeply grounded in the truth of God’s glorious provision for salvation through the shed blood of our Lord. We can only get there by digging deep into God’s word, the ultimate source of truth. Anything less is not enough. It needs to be a part of our fabric. There is no room for compromise here. From experience, if you are not moving forward in your time spent in His word, you will be sliding backwards. We need to be ready with the good news for those who are searching and see the hope that we are displaying in our lives. The agenda being thrust forth presently will not satisfy.
I believe that God’s word and prayer go hand in hand. The truth of God’s word ignites prayers. Let’s be in prayer for each other and all those friends and family members still searching. Let us also be in prayer for all in authority and those who are in opposition to Him. As Marshall pointed out at one of our elder meetings recently, “Who knows how many Pauls may be out there!”
Ted