I read a Facebook post yesterday because the familiar faces of Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron Bure caught my attention. After reading the article, I browsed through some of the comments and was shocked at the vitriol and hatred that was represented. Many readers challenged these hateful and bitter remarks. The language was flatly offensive! Although once loved and respected [the FULL HOUSE years], their open expressions of faith seem to have earned them the hatred of the culture!
What is the source of this animosity toward Christianity? When did the tide change? Has this development been gradual or steep? Can it be identified when we actually lost our status as a Christian nation?
The symptoms scream at us!
- we're closing churches at record rates!
- the percentage of those attending church, temple or synagogue recently dropped below 50% for the first time ever!
- there is a serious shortage of people being called into the ministry!
Many of us were shocked at a scene from a recent political rally when two young men hollered out "Jesus is Lord!" and were told by the speaker that they were at the wrong rally!
My wife attended a pregnancy center dinner last evening. The speaker - a highly educated leader who has been associated with the pro-life movement for forty years - spoke of the continual opposition that pregnancy centers face from our government!
These signs are frightening for all of us as we migrate aggressively toward an anti-Christian rhetoric in America!
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Let's look to our history for some hope.
America actually experienced its First Great Awakening before we were even a nation (1730-1740). It was sparked by preachers like George Whitefield who had freshly arrived from England where revival was already underway.
Around the same time, Jonathan Edwards from Massachusetts was putting forth the theology of "total dependence" on the transformative emanations of the Holy Spirit.
This renewal swept the American Colonies, bringing people back to a greater intimacy with God.
The Second Awakening (1800-1830) did for the unchurched what the first awakening had done for church members. It firmly established the concept of personal salvation through repentance and dependence on Christ.
The Third Great Awakening (1860-1900) was literally interrupted by the Civil War. It produced the Social Gospel Movement and worldwide missionary work!
The Fourth Great Awakening [declared by some] (1960-1970) gave rise to megachurches and parachurch organizations that emphasized the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The ensuing fifty-four years have left us in desperate need of another Great Awakening!
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Unfortunately, many believers have begun to put their trust in a political victory and resolution to the anti-Christian chaos! This is a misguided and ineffective hope.
True renewal will NOT come through a human intervention! It will only come as a result of a divine intervention!
Divine interventions biblically and typically are the result of intense, fervent prayer and fasting!
Do we care enough about the future course of our country - and by inference, the WORLD - to pray and fast in hopes of seeing the mighty hand of God move?
The answer to that question will NOT be given by churches or church leaders!
The answer to that question will be given by YOU!
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