Christian Presence

Long ago I noticed that many Christians arrange their lives so they have no contact with the secular world.  Many want to live far out in the country so they don't have to deal with urban areas, which is where most of the lost dwell.  They read in scriptures that we are not to love the world, so they shun the world.  Yet they spend big bucks for Christian entertainment to deal with the same emptiness that unsaved people try to supress through secular entertainment.  All the while, the Church makes little impact on society.  Here is the way K.P. Yohannan describes the situation:

"What does the Lord Jesus think of our religious merry-go-round?

"The question that must be asked of every Christian activity we support is simply this:  'Will this event create any impact on a lost and dying world?'  If the answer is no then we must reconsider sponsoring it.  We must ask if this is something from our agenda or His.

" 'But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.' (James 1:22)

"We have switched to a retreat and survival mode.  Actually confronting the takeover of our school systems and institutions by decades of secular humanism is too much of a strain for our kind of religion.  That would require going out and witnessing to the publicans and sinners of our day. 

"So we are running into temporary survival shelters such as Christian schools, religious radio and TV broadcasts, Christian concerts and a myriad of other escapisms.

"The controlling force behind this massive retreat from the post- Christian, secularized culture of the West is fear rather than holiness.  It is laziness rather than righteousness.  And it is born from a lack of love rather than a genuine desire for seperation.  (Emphasis mine-JHG)  Could it be that these 'good things' are really enemies of the best?

" 'For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'  (2Timothy 1:7)"

From "The Road To Reality: Coming Home To Jesus From The Unreal World."

I decided to post this in place of "Monday Morning Devotions" this week.