A Minister Who Does Not Believe in God!

You can't believe everything you read on the internet. I get it. You can't even believe everything you hear on the news either. However, when an article quotes a man directly from his writings, I think we can at least be a little confident that what we read has an element of truth.

Having said that, I read an article about a Presbyterian minister who does not believe in the existence of God, yet believes he is a Christian! I suppose we should not be overly shocked by this statement. All the way back in time during the time of the Judges we read that "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes." - 21:25

Here is a link to the article:

http://christiannews.net/2015/03/23/minister-who-denies-gods-existence-i-dont-appreciate-being-told-im-not-a-christian/

We are increasingly seeing this erosion concerning morality in our society as well as in our churches. Several months ago I read another article about a church in Maryland that has a Saturday night bar service, complete with beer and wine. I think they called it a Christian nightclub. A few days later they did a news story on this church and interviewed several people in attendance who were obviously drunk.

Here is link to one article about this club:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/club-for-jesus-a-gospel-filled-nightclub-aims-to-share-christs-message-with-seekers-and-sinners-alike-112425/

For years there has been a huge gap between Baptist and Catholics largely rooted in major doctrinal differences. Within the past few months a very famous Baptist minister declared that the Pope was his Pope and the Pope for the entire church. Doctrinal differences set aside for the cause of unity (I Suppose).

Here is a link to an article about this quote:

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=28695

I could cite many more instances that appear shocking and unbelievable. Here is the point. Why is this happening? What is going on in the world and Christianity in particular to cause this?

Erosion of the authority of the Word of God. I hear this all the time: That may be what you believe about the Bible but I interpret it differently. Or - The Bible is outdated and full of legends and superstitions. Its not relevant to us today.

We are living in the end times. God told us that in the last days people will not stand for sound doctrine. They will heap to themselves teachers that will tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear. Some of the things they will tell them is:

Church is not important. You can worship God anywhere.
Don't focus on sin its too negative. You need to get the negative out of your life.
Name it and claim it. After all, God wants you to be wealthy.
Since love is central to God's plan for man, lets just love one another and forget about our differences.
All versions of the Bible are the same. Choose one you like.
You need to do what is best for you.

I could continue my list. I think you get the picture. Is it any wonder why the church has drifted so far away from God's truth? Seminaries are teaching the young preachers of the next generation that the miracles should be questioned. The Bible should be improved. We need to make our churches "Seeker sensitive." As a result we have a pile of ministers who do not know God and His word. Thats how we can have a minister who does not believe in the existence of God.

This is a travesty and we only have the Church to blame. We have accepted compromise and the smooth path. We need to get back to the old paths before it it becomes too late to recover ourselves.

Psalm 14:1

Callouses

I recently picked up my guitar again after a very long time of not playing. My fingers got very sore just like they did many years ago when I first started to learn to play. After several weeks of intense playing I have developed callouses on my finger tips. They are crusty and ugly but they sure do keep my fingers from hurting. These callouses have developed from repeatedly striking, pressing, and sliding on the strings. To a guitar player they are welcome friends.

The Bible warns believers about developing a “hard (calloused) heart.” While to a musician callouses are good but to a Christian a calloused heart is not. A heart become hardened when a person repeatedly resists the leading of the Holy Spirit. A heart becomes hardened when instead of loving and forgiving we become angry and resentful. A heart can become hardened when it loses compassion for those in need. Our human nature causes us to judge others more harshly then we might judge ourselves. This can lead to hardness of heart as well. 

Friend, lets be careful that we not allow ourselves to become so hardened that we lose the love of God for others. Yes, they are not perfect. In fact they truly are dirty rotten sinners (just like us). I have seen this posted on social media and I like it so it is worth repeating. “Don’t judge others just because they sin differently than you do.” Don’t let your heart get hardened toward others.