Inconvenient Faith

There are many formerly professing Christians who have left the faith because it was inconvenient.  I think everyone knows someone like this.  At one time they believed that Jesus was God and through Him they had received eternal salvation.  Today they live their lives as any non Christian does and possibly even preach that there is no God.  It is inconvenient to live the life of a Christian.  It forces us to make choices that can be counter to society and to our own desires.

In today's world, it is not only common, but encouraged for two people who are dating to have sex.  Sex is seen as something pleasurable to be enjoyed with no consequences, and it is best to see if you are sexually compatible before you marry.  Many of us grew up in families where premarital sex was discouraged and called a sin.  Our parents, the church and society taught sexual abstinence, and we believed it was best to abstain. 

Today, if you're at work and during the break you let it slip that you think sex before marriage is wrong, people around your table might start to laugh and make fun of you.  They call you a virgin and ridicule your puritanical thinking.  They think you're some kind of prude who needs to move out of the 19th century and start living in the 21st.  Being called a Virgin is an insult? Being prudent is somehow wrong? In today's world, yes it is.

Many people find themselves in this type of situation and must make a decision to stand on what they believe or change their belief.  They must decide if they will stand for what they believe is right, or do they need to compromise their life?  Too often people will compromise.  The pleasures of life will cause our beliefs to change.

Even if they believe that something is wrong, they will move at least partially in the direction which opposes what they had previously trusted to be true.  Over time not only will they change their actions, but their hearts will follow.  Life will change what we believe, if what we believe is fragile with no firm foundation.   It is too inconvenient to stand for our faith without an anchor to hold onto.

Society pressures everyone to conform to the accepted norm.  The moral standards of those around us will have an effect upon us if we do not have anything solid to anchor our faith in.  We cannot simply believe in God, or what the Bible teaches, because our parents taught us to believe them.  Even basing our faith on what is taught in Sunday School or at Church is not firm enough.  Any teacher, no matter how good and charismatic they might be, is not solid enough to base your faith on.  There is no foundation to plant yourself on, which will be able to weather the storms of society crashing down upon you, except Jesus Christ.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11

We must let Jesus be the foundation of what we believe.  He is the truth upon which we can depend upon.  The world is at war against the truth of God and we must decide now before the battle begins who we will stand with.  You will never stand alone as a Christian against the world.  Jesus is always right beside you to encourage, strengthen and comfort you.  Whoever is on the Lord's side will not find a comfortable life but they will find a relationship with God that is closer then any on earth.  They will find a life that is full and rewarding.  A life with a purpose that is bigger than themselves.  Inconvenient? Yes, but its a life worth living.

Photo Credit: The Miracle often lies Outside our Comfort zone. by BK

Christian Rebels

My daughter Christy and her husband Travis are rebels.  When they first met they went to a prayer group with other students their age. If it turned out they were the only ones present,  they would not pray together but leave.

When they started to go out together they would not kiss, cuddle, hold hands, or even touch.  They very much wanted to but they chose not to so that they would never go too far.  They would go to the home of an older couple who chaperoned them so they could talk, read and enjoy each others company.  The couple told us how they would sit as close to each other as possible and gaze into each other’s eyes without touching.

Their relationship became stronger over time, but they still wouldn’t touch.  When walking down the street together Travis would not hold her hand, but instead held onto the purse she was carrying.  One time the two of them were sitting outside on a cement step not touching, but gazing into each others eyes.  A guy walked by and rolled his eyes.  “Get a room!”  They laughed because that is what they were trying not to do.

The day they became engaged, they celebrated by holding hands for the day.  The day they got married was the first time they kissed.  These two people are true rebels.  They revolted against the modern accepted belief that a couple should have a physical relationship before marriage.  They rebelled against society norms. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a rebel as: “opposing or taking arms against a government or ruler.”

At one time what they did would have been seen as normal and accepted and anyone who lived and taught that premarital sex was acceptable would have been seen as counter to the culture of Judeo-Christian ethics.  Today the Bible-believing Christian is the minority and out of date.  We are the ones who are seen as going against the accepted beliefs of the nation.  We are not taking up arms or blowing things up, but we are in opposition of what is acceptable in today’s world.

Our nation sees same sex marriages as acceptable and the gay lifestyle is encouraged in our schools.  Killing an unborn child is encouraged if it makes life easier. Marriages are no longer seen as commitments, but as something to be cast aside whenever you want.  Even Christian marriages have no better divorce rate than non-Christian marriages. Witchcraft is simply another religion right along side any Protestant or Catholic Church.  Gambling is merely another form of entertainment and getting drunk is a normal thing to do when out with friends. Isaiah 5:20a says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“

We are a nation governed by a morality that is turned upside down.  We no longer are one nation under God, but one nation under self.  Whatever we want to do, we do it.  We no longer fear God and obey His word. Who is the ruler in the definition of a rebel (opposing or taking arms against a government or ruler)?  From our nation’s point of view Christians are the rebels because they are battling against the ruler of this world (Satan). From God’s point of view, most people in this nation, including many Christians, are rebelling against Him.  He is the true ruler of the universe.  He is King of Heaven and Earth.

Satan started a revolution against God and brought man into the revolution with him.  Adam gave him dominion over the earth, but soon Jesus, the rightful king, will return to take it all back again and cast Satan into the bottomless pit.  Anyone who follows the rebel leader Satan is a traitor against the rightful ruler of the universe.  We must rebel against the occupational government of Satan and place Jesus on the throne of this world and the throne of our lives.

Christians are seen by the US Government as potential terrorists.  The military sees Christians as religious extremists.  The United States seems to feel more threatened by true Christians than by Muslims.  Christians are some of the most patriotic citizens in this country, but spiritually we are a threat.  This is not a physical war but a spiritual one.  Satan will try to silence us any way he can.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

- See more at: http://www.subversivetruth.com/christian-rebels/#sthash.yGEhSkGM.dpuf