Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
The interesting thing about the blogosphere is that it not only reconnects you to people whom time and distance have separated your from, but it also helps you to discover who they are again. What are they doing and what is happening in their lives everyday? After a while, some of them even allow a portion of their heart to be revealed. It all unwinds like a soap opera from day to day. Except it's all real, or as real as that person allows it to be.
I have mourned over the loss of a friend or the pain of a tragedy in someone's life. I have been shocked at how some lives have unfolded. Nothing bad mind you, just didn't see that coming. I am happy for them and thankful that God has blessed them with a hope and a future.
But what has sadden me again and again is the number of people who have abandon the values of Christ. While none of us are the same from day to day and most definitely we have changed over the years, some have removed the guard rails that were to protect them from driving over the cliff. What did they remove them with? Homosexuality, materialism or some hidden sin? Not as far as I can tell. But it is for the wisdom of men.
Don't get me wrong here. I am not talking about people who no longer desire to be in the Assemblies of God, who have left the ministry or even those who no longer desire to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit. I don't blame some folk for walking away from a sub-culture of church that is unhealthy and destructive.
What I am talking about are those who mock the Bible and the values that it teaches. They embrace the writings of philosophers as equal with Scriptures. Now they rant and rave how "Christianity" stole their future, blinded their mind and manipulated their souls. They mock me and those like me because what we do is a "waste of time" and that all we do is oppress people with our "teachings". How do I respond? With anger or with pity? I conclude neither. The soul has been traded and the world won.
Never mind the fact that I have seen people healed of terminal illnesses, cancer, HIV and assorted other maladies. Never mind the fact that I have seen bones grow, straighten, reappear and reform. Never mind the fact that I have seen marriages and families restored from the brink of destruction and their family tree change for the better of future generations. Never mind the fact I have seen my life (through the power of the Holy Spirit) change another persons life who now changes the lives of hundreds and thousands more. Never mind the fact that I have hope.
I read their blogs, notes, emails and such. Where is the hope! Where is Jesus! I hear their pain and they think it is a good thing to have. I hear their bitterness and they revel in it. I don't think so. I don't know everything and I may not know as much as I should. But I know enough to say, no thank you. I've already sold my soul and I didn't do it at the altar of philosophy, worldly wisdom, environmentalism, social activism, politics or culture. I sold it at an altar of repentance. Thank God, the altars are still open.
The interesting thing about the blogosphere is that it not only reconnects you to people whom time and distance have separated your from, but it also helps you to discover who they are again. What are they doing and what is happening in their lives everyday? After a while, some of them even allow a portion of their heart to be revealed. It all unwinds like a soap opera from day to day. Except it's all real, or as real as that person allows it to be.
I have mourned over the loss of a friend or the pain of a tragedy in someone's life. I have been shocked at how some lives have unfolded. Nothing bad mind you, just didn't see that coming. I am happy for them and thankful that God has blessed them with a hope and a future.
But what has sadden me again and again is the number of people who have abandon the values of Christ. While none of us are the same from day to day and most definitely we have changed over the years, some have removed the guard rails that were to protect them from driving over the cliff. What did they remove them with? Homosexuality, materialism or some hidden sin? Not as far as I can tell. But it is for the wisdom of men.
Don't get me wrong here. I am not talking about people who no longer desire to be in the Assemblies of God, who have left the ministry or even those who no longer desire to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit. I don't blame some folk for walking away from a sub-culture of church that is unhealthy and destructive.
What I am talking about are those who mock the Bible and the values that it teaches. They embrace the writings of philosophers as equal with Scriptures. Now they rant and rave how "Christianity" stole their future, blinded their mind and manipulated their souls. They mock me and those like me because what we do is a "waste of time" and that all we do is oppress people with our "teachings". How do I respond? With anger or with pity? I conclude neither. The soul has been traded and the world won.
Never mind the fact that I have seen people healed of terminal illnesses, cancer, HIV and assorted other maladies. Never mind the fact that I have seen bones grow, straighten, reappear and reform. Never mind the fact that I have seen marriages and families restored from the brink of destruction and their family tree change for the better of future generations. Never mind the fact I have seen my life (through the power of the Holy Spirit) change another persons life who now changes the lives of hundreds and thousands more. Never mind the fact that I have hope.
I read their blogs, notes, emails and such. Where is the hope! Where is Jesus! I hear their pain and they think it is a good thing to have. I hear their bitterness and they revel in it. I don't think so. I don't know everything and I may not know as much as I should. But I know enough to say, no thank you. I've already sold my soul and I didn't do it at the altar of philosophy, worldly wisdom, environmentalism, social activism, politics or culture. I sold it at an altar of repentance. Thank God, the altars are still open.
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