A Sad State of Evangelical Affairs

I took a picture of this with my phone while at the Creation Museum. What comes to mind when you study it? To me, it shows no hope. It's desperate. It's gruesome. And if we had to make a flat out moral judgment about it, it just seems wrong.
This is how I view contemporary preaching in 95% of our churches. I understand that it takes big "kahunas" to make such a claim, but follow me as I walk through an unresolved dilemma that I encounter almost every day.

The premise is that people think (because they have been led to do so) that God is not capable of saving them. People have been led to believe that there is no hope. Sadly, the church is responsible for this.

America's churches are preaching that you can trust in Jesus to be saved, but you had better act like it, or it's not real. In other words, look unto yourself for an authentic faith. Are you comfortable with the thought that you are the validating object of your faith? I'm not. This has been streaming from alter calls that are repeatedly coercing saved people to come forward and creating doubt, telling lost people that they better act right, or giving the message of God's free grace to the unbeliever and then strapping demands to their backs that weigh them down.

If my works validate my salvation, I am going to Hell.

Wasn't it because of my broken condition that I needed Christ in the first place?! So what would make me think that I have achieved perfection after coming to Him. Just because I am justified, does not mean that I am not sinless.

The position of the Christian is a desperate one that always looks to a perfect object, which is Christ and Christ alone! It is Christ + nothing. If you add to faith alone in Christ alone, you are in serious danger of Galatians 1:8-9.

Brothers and sisters, if we are preaching works on top of Christ, we drowned grace and belittle Christ's power and authority and sufficiency! This can not keep happening. Christians are suffering from legalism because it's all they know and their joy is lost on mandatory obedience. Is there not a better way that lives according to the law of Christ instead of trying to put one under the Law of Moses? Is this not what Paul preached against?

I encourage you to search the Scriptures and be encouraged by the grace that is within it's pages.
In Him alone is Life!!!

Been a LONG time!

I know that there are at least 3 of you that follow this, and while I know that you are not hanging on my every word, I feel that the responsibility of having a blog is something that I have neglected greatly! After I wrote about my grandfather passing away, I didn't really want to write anything else, but, now I feel that has passed and I can begin again. I don't expect for there to be many who will even read this, but nonetheless i blog because i can!

Let me introduce you to Buster. Buster is a dog that was given to us by our friends Adam and Michelle Hollenbacher. He is about 5 1/2 years old and is very particular and stubborn, but also sweet and affectionate. In short, I love him! He bring my wife and I a lot of joy! One thing that Beth noticed about him is that he has an appreciation for God's creation. When the weather is nice and the sun is out, and there is a slight breeze, he digs it! And he does not want to come back inside. I think that it's interesting that a dog acknowledges the goodness of the creation, while "smarter" men deny a Creator. Nothing short of foolish, is it!