Subject: Fwd: daily devotional 2/12/2003
> > > >>The message of Joe Millionaire. The hottest program on television right > >>now > >>is a FOX program called Joe Millionaire, with over 20 million viewers each > >>week. It is a simple concept. Take a construction worker who makes > >>$19,000/yr, clean him up and put him in a French chateau, bring in 20 > >>gorgeous women who are looking for a husband, lie to them that he has > >>recently inherited 50 million dollars, and each week eliminate some of the > >>women until there is a winner that will now be told her Prince Charming is > >>not worth 50 million, but a mere construction worker. The great finale is > >>to see if she will stay with him for who he is, or if she only wanted him > >>for the money she thought he had. Now THAT my friend, is great > >>entertainment. > >> > >>Coming soon will be a wonderful new program where the viewers will call in > >>to vote for one man and one woman who will literally get married. The > >>concept of the program is to see if the marriage works, since 50% of > >>marriages end in divorce anyway. Other popular programs include groups of > >>men fighting to win the heart of a single gorgeous woman, groups of women > >>fighting to win the heart of a single handsome man, people who eat bugs > >>and > >>animal parts to win a prize, and the list of this incredible entertainment > >>goes on. We are literally only one small step away from people actually > >>dying for the entertainment of television viewers. > >> > >>What is the point of bringing this up today? The fact that THIS is what > >>our > >>culture finds entertaining. This is what the people outside the church > >>(and > >>sadly some inside the church) love to watch. This is the message that > >>television is sending to the masses, marriage is a joke, people have no > >>worth, and the only TRUTH is what feels good at this moment. There are NO > >>MORE BARRIERS. Whatever reigns on morality and common decency there used > >>to > >>be, have been taken off. It is simply now a matter of seeing how > >>spectacular you can display every conceivable ungodly act that your > >>imagination can dream up. Our culture is bombarded daily from every > >>direction with the sickest, most demented messages that man has ever > >>known. > >>THERE ARE NO MORE LIMITS!!! > >> > >>This begs the question, where is the church? Where are God's people? The > >>amazing fact is there are more churches, more ministries, more Christian > >>television, more Christian radio, more Christian books, more Christian > >>magazines, more Bibles, more Christian resources of all kinds then ever > >>before in the history of our world. This creates an interesting picture > >>doesn't it? How can there be this unbridled sin flaunted so boldly, while > >>at the same time having these incredible Christian vehicles and resources > >>that proclaim the Good News and the TRUTH of the Bible? The cold reality > >>is > >>that even with all of the above, we are simply NOT making an impact on our > >>culture at large. > >> > >>A big reason is because the Christian world has to a large extent shut > >>itself off from the rest of the world. It operates in what I call the > >>"circular Christian trough". The church has for generations now been > >>mostly > >>operating in a maintenance mode. The problem with that is as the older > >>saints leave this life and are on to their rewards in Heaven, there is > >>nobody new to take their place. Christian ministries reach out to those > >>already in the churchworld. As exciting as some of the great crusades and > >>conferences we hear about are, the fact is, 95% of those people who attend > >>are already part of the local church community in that area that an > >>"advance > >>team" spent months cultivating. 97% of those who watch Christian > >>television, listen to Christina radio, subscribe to Christian magazines > >>are > >>already Christians. "Evangelists" preach in churches where the vast > >>majority are already saved. > >> > >>THE REASON THAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD ARE NOT MAKING AN IMPACT IN OUR PRESENT > >>DAY CULTURE IS BECAUSE IT IS EASIER > >>TO TAKE OUR MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE FAMILY OF GOD INSTEAD > >>OF > >>TO THE LOST AND HURTING OUTSIDE > >>THE 4 WALLS OF THE CHURCH!!! > >> > >>We are living in a day and time of GREAT OPPORTUNITIES. Unless God's > >>intervenes, within weeks we will be involved in a war over in Iraq. I > >>have no doubt that there will be more terrorist attacks here in the United > >>States in the future. Many people have lost lots of money in he stock > >>market decline of the last few years. With the downturn in our economy, > >>many are out of work or underemployed. Now more then ever, people are > >>hurting and looking for answers. We have the only true answer for them, > >>and that is faith in Jesus Christ! > >> > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus > > ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. 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