What a privilege we have to become children of God and have a personal relationship with Him. But what about Christian fellowship with other believers? How should we view church attendance, involvement, and the nature of our relationships with one another? Are those things requirements for a Christian? Are they duties or are they not that important? What does the Bible have to say?
God will not play spiritual pat-a-cake with us by allowing us to seek His help while we continue turning to our idols and self-efforts. If God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers, maybe we need to ask ourselves, “Am I playing spiritual games with God?”
And what about those who might be playing games with their own eternity by claiming a relationship with God and living another way?
What does the Bible say about personal accountability and the influence or responsibility of parents? Is there such a thing as generational sin? Are some children doomed to live certain lifestyles or to suffer the spiritual consequences of their parents’ sins?
Conversely, is there anything parents can do to guarantee their children will be followers of Christ? Where does a parent’s responsibility come in and where does it end?
God had chosen the nation of Israel to be the people through whom He would bring the promised Messiah. But He also wanted them to be a nation of priests and prophets who pointed others to the one true God. They were to be His missionary nation.
They not only failed to be His light to the world but instead followed the pagan nations around them into darkness. Now they were faced with His judgment.
Today it’s us, the church, who are to be salt and light. It won’t always be easy. Salt sometimes stings and darkness doesn’t like the light, but both are desperately needed. Will we be children of light or be swallowed up by the darkness?
Not all idolatry is characterized by the worship of statues and even when it is, there are idols of the heart at play, as well. We might say they are the idols behind the idols.
God warned the nation of Israel over and over to repent and turn from their idolatry. Their refusal to do so took them into captivity and cost them the loss of their land, their homes, their freedom, and often their families. The consequences of idolatry are just as devastating today! So, how can we know if we have idols of the heart?
Can religion become an addiction? Can it offer an escape from reality? Worse yet, could it give someone a false sense of security concerning their relationship with God? What would a religious addiction look like? And could churches today be full of people suffering from religious addiction?
Also, read about how the Israelites tried to justify living life their own way and then tried to avoid the consequences of doing so. Could we be doing the same thing today?
Does salvation + time + knowledge = spiritual maturity? If not, where does it come from? From years of church membership? From learning how to use Bible software or getting 10 devotionals in your inbox? Does it come with a degree in theology? Or from attending Bible studies week after week? If not, what does it take?
What is it about the Bible? How is it different from any other book? Why have so many tried to destroy it and why is it so vilified today? And for us personally, why does it have the ability to both pierce and warm our hearts in a way nothing else can?
But we don’t just have a unique book, we have the unique privilege of coming into the throne room of God. What can we hope to find when we come into that throne room? Should we expect judgment and begrudging answers? Or can we expect something quite different?
“Why doesn’t God deal with evil people?”
Every day we read about people who abuse children, traffic in other human beings, sell drugs to teenagers, and desert their families. We see people who destroy the lives and reputations of others to get ahead financially or politically or to acquire power in some area of life. Others become wealthy by preying on the most vulnerable. Why do evil people seem to get away with murder?
Add to that, events like school shootings, terror attacks, and hate crimes and it’s tempting to wonder, “Where is God?” “Why doesn’t He deal with evil people who do such things?”
Ezekiel was called to speak truth to a hard-hearted and rebellious people, but God gave him the strength he needed and told him, “Do not be afraid of them!”
We live in a time when people have similar attitudes and responses to the truth. Sometimes we will suffer persecution, not just for what we say or do, but for who we are because darkness hates the light. And sometimes, our persecutors can be people close to us, even our own family members.
Also, what can we learn from Jesus about persecution? And what did Peter, who once denied his Lord, learn that can help us trust God and have the strength to do what He’s called us to do?
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