This is from my friend, Jon, over at laboringinthelord.com

Despite its foundational Christian heritage, America is rapidly degenerating into a godless society. The church in America, although highly visible and active, appears powerless to redirect the rushing secular currents. Mired in a moral and spiritual crisis, America’s only hope is a national revival, like God has graciously bestowed in the past. — Erwin Lutzer

Mike MacIntosh on True Friendships

"Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him." Mark 7:31-32

What is true friendship? Consider the deaf man in this passage from Mark. Surely he was frustrated, unable to communicate clearly with others. Surely he wanted to be healed. But it was his good friends who brought him to Jesus. It was "they" who begged Jesus to heal Him. Now that's true friendship.

Friendships aren't about getting together to vent or to gossip and complain about how rotten your life is. Friendships are about building strong relationships that are rooted in faith. You see, friends bring people to Jesus. They bring people to the place where Jesus can be seen and heard.

So it may be that you need the right friendships in your life -- friendships that build you up, and strengthen and encourage you in your walk with the Lord. Real friends don't take you away from the Lord; they bring you closer to Him. Maybe the Lord is telling you to be a friend to those who desperately need Jesus in their lives. Maybe the Lord is prompting you to build relationships with those who you know do not know the Lord, and He wants to use you to "carry them" to Him. We don't need Bible thumpers; we need friendships.

The Problem with Christianity

"The problem with Christianity isn't Christ. The problem with Christianity is Christians." Author Unknown

Mike MacIntosh on Godliness

It's such a sad commentary that people say with their lips they love the Lord, but are so far away from Him. The Bible tells us one of the signs of the end of the world is that people will have a form of godliness, but will deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). There are people who sure look godly, but they are deceiving themselves and others. Godliness isn't about words, it's about the Lord Jesus Christ living in you and working through you.

You see, the power of godliness should change your language, your attitude, and your outlook on life. It should change how you handle money and how you interact with people. It should cause you to wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning Father, what do you have for me today?" Godliness is a result of a relationship with God. And when godliness is absent from your life, you are just giving lip service -- you are doing your own thing throughout the day. God doesn't need lip service. He wants a relationship with you.

It always amazes me that God wants me. And He wants you. He wants you to spend forever with Him. I mean, He has the angels and He has the creative power to do whatever He wants at any time. And yet, He chooses to love us and to be patient with us. He is just waiting for you to come home and be with Him because He loves you. He is madly in love with you. He is not a religious guy up there saying, "Now if you can keep all the traditions, I might let you into my club." No, He is saying, "I'm your Father. You wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Me creating you. I love you and while it may be painful for a few years down there on that planet, eventually you're going to see the big picture, you're going to spend forever with Me and, you know, you'll never want anything. Trust Me that I am always allowing things to come into your life that will only strengthen you and better you, because I love you."

When we think about how much God loves us and accepts us, then living a life of love and service for Him comes into perspective. Why would we ever just want to give lip service to the One who gave us a new life and a promise of spending eternity together with Him? Let's be a people of God who really love, serve, and worship Him.

Proverbs 30:8-9:

"...Give me neither poverty nor riches —
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God."

We live in a day and age where everybody wants to be rich. Everybody thinks that they will win the lottery. Of course, the odds of winning the lottery are the same whether you play or not. I know a man who came into millions of dollars. He claimed to be a Christian (and I am not judging that); however, his real god was money. He sold out a friend to get his money and interestingly enough, it turned out that he got far less than he thought he would. (God has a way of dealing with false gods). He left people who were not believers saying, "He is the biggest hypocrite I have ever seen."

The problem with making an idol out of money (or anything else) is described by the Psalmist, Psalms 115:8: "Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them."

Be careful what you strive for; you just might get it.

Proverbs 18:21

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit."

There is a heresy that teaches that words are "containers of power;" power to heal, to bring prosperity, wealth, blessing untold. This is exactly what Occultism has taught for centuries.

The truth is that words do have power, not to bring wealth and healing. That power belongs to God alone. Words have the power to encourage, or discourage; to build up or to tear down.

I have known men and women, scared for life, because of what a father or mother told them. Children are desperate to seek your approval. To berate them or humiliate them can have a lasting effect.

Jesus had some interesting things to say about words and behavior:

Matthew 18:6: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

There are some who love the tongue. They love to build up others, to be an encouragement, like Barnabas in the Book of Acts. And there are others, who like to tear others down with their words. Both these type of people will eat the fruit of their tongues.

Which fruit would you rather eat?

Proverbs 14:15:

"The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps."

Why do you believe what you believe? Is it because someone told you it is right? Or because you searched it out for yourself? When I first became a Christian I left the church I was attending and began to attend another one. The leader was very charismatic; he had presence and seemed to be very zealous for the Lord. Yet after about two years I knew something was wrong, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I met the woman who would become (and still is, to my great surprise) my wife. We left, disillusioned, discouraged, and defeated.

I began to study the Bible diligently, something I had forsaken while "working" with this group. I soon realized that I had been deceived and that the man was not who he presented himself to be. I had believed certain things because I was told that they were right, yet had not bothered to check them out for myself. I had allowed myself to be deceived because I believed every word I was told.

It was then and there the I developed the conviction that no one would ever deceive me by twisting the Scripture again. Be prudent and consider well every step you take. Do you believe what you believe because someone told you it was right? Or have you taken the time to search it out for yourself? The difference could be life and death.