"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10.14 NIV"
Today's church in general would argue "How can we keep them coming if our preaching is convicting or calling the people out?" Our great nation that was founded on a slogan of 'In God we trust' has leapt so far away from God we can not pray without offending, we can not praise God without offending, and we can not share the Gospel without offending. And when we offend, government swoops in to make laws and legislate American thought.
In the middle of my study I stopped to think how America has changed since I was just out of High School. Cable TV was brand new, and that influenced music (thank you MTV), fashion, news, sports, and salesmanship. TV evangelists were able to preach all over the world thanks to Cable TV. Sports grew to a ginormous proportion on Cable. A station was created for sports alone, not just the 13 minutes on the evening news.
The internet, cell phones for common folk, and a sugar substitute that tastes more like sugar and not a broken AAA battery came next, creating convenience and an instant knowledge if you could maneuver the dial-up modem. In the last 30 years our Supreme Court has lost its focus and purpose, our legislature has become a haven of corruption and skullduggery, and the Presidency, once the most coveted and powerful job on the planet, is no more than the figurehead of a political machine of lobbies and self interest, instead of being what President Lincoln saw the post Civil War country could be, "that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Fictional President Andrew Shepard said it best - "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." Rather than a government that rules and regulates us out of what we are supposed to be in order that a few are appeased, the broken system needs fixed.
In this day of persecution of the psychological, where the mind of those who have no faith is pressuring the faithful with logic and sarcastic arguments, those prayer warriors should be so diligent, asking God for guidance and courage. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. Philippians 4.8,9 NIV"
