The only thing that is fluid are the lies and delusions of men and women. The changing tide, the confusion, fear, isolation, anger, and constant in its growth evil in many forms is creating untold casualties.
Uncertainty, disbelief? Was there faith to begin with we need to ask. If so, what form and kind of faith was there?
The world is being tossed to and fro — not due to fossil fuels, American political ideologies, because your pick for who should have won that inane and mindless distracting TV program you religiously watch — no, the world and its people are being tossed to and fro due to our ever increasing and blatant turning from God, from Jesus, from the Holy Spirit, and from the unchangeable inerrant infallible Word of God.
A book few now ever reach for, open, party over, study, meditate deeply on, read or believe.
And that is among those professing to be Christian!
Is it any wonder the world and its people are in the state that it and we are? And this is nothing. Just wait. It gets better as it gets worse, oh, so much worse.
Cynical? Negative? Pessimistic as I’ve been told repeatedly I am by those that think they know me, my mind, my heart, and some of these professing to be Christians. I mourn and wonder and ask within my heart, have these ever read the Bible? Do they understand and believe what they have read? Do they, have they read how this world proceeds and what is to come?
If so, how then can an individual who believes every word within the Holy Bible call someone cynical, negative, depressing, and pessimistic? As a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing every word within the God-breathed Scriptures a joy, a confidence, an assurance, a belief, a faith, a positiveness anyone of the world is incapable of possessing or understanding is present.
Or ought to be.
No matter the degree of decline, decay, decadence, and destruction taking place.
Who and what do you believe?
The world, or God?
If God then lets each of us live accordingly. Faithfully. Trusting and fighting the good fight to the end.
Which is coming sooner than later.
Yes, unbelief and uncertainty abound.
Not really. Belief in all the lies is at an all-time high. Belief and devotion to evil, to Satan, abounds and grows.
But so too, does the Church of Christ. Perhaps not where you live but throughout the world the Church of Christ grows. And we need to ask ourselves, why is it that the Church isn’t growing, isn’t increasing where we live? Are we obeying the Great Commission given to us by our Lord as His disciples?
It is wonderful to contribute to missionary efforts around the world to bring the Word to as many as possible on earth — but what are we doing where we live if we are truly disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ? His emissaries on earth, His disciples, the ones who are instructed to be a light unto the world among all the darkness and unbelief?
The unbelieving believe in something other than God, in Christ, in the Holy Spirit and what is contained within the Word of God. It is clear someone got through to them, got to them in our absence.
Nothing shall prevail against the Church of Christ nor defeat or remove it. Ever. That does not mean we are to remain in neutral leaving the heavy lifting to others.
Do not be faint of heart or mind. There is no reason for uncertainty or disbelief in all the confusion, mayhem, lying and dung flung about in this present world.
To the contrary, all that is taking place ought to only increase one’s belief in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, and in the inerrant infallible Word of God
Feeling weak? Fearful? Go to the only true, lasting source of security, help, strength, counseling and life, understanding, clarity, and everlasting wisdom — God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Their living and active Word.
Prepare. Make ready. Become fully equipped in the whole armour of God.
Read on…
Ken Pullen, A CROOKED PATH, Tuesday, August 1st, 2023
Gallup Polls Show Increase in Unbelief and Uncertainty, and It’s Not Surprising
July 24, 2023
By Sarah Holliday
Reprinted from The Washington Stand
Since 2001, Gallup News has polled Americans on their belief in five prominent “religious entities” — God, angels, heaven, hell, and the devil. After their fifth poll, which took place in May of this year, Americans seem to be straying further from belief in religious entities, and thus, closer to uncertainty or even complete unbelief.
According to the poll, “74% believe in God, 69% angels, 67% heaven, 59% hell, [and] 58% the devil.” When comparing these results with the initial survey conducted in 2001, Gallup concluded that “belief in God and heaven is down the most (16 points each), while belief in hell has fallen 12 points, and the devil and angels are down 10 points each.” In addition to this information, a 2023 study done by George Barna at the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University found that only 4% of Americans hold a biblical worldview, which has only recently dropped from the previous 6%.
Clearly, we are living in a time of depravity. Not in the sense of how humans are depraved on account of the fall in Genesis 3, but in the sense that Americans are deprived of truth while constantly being fed lies. Whether viewing these statistics from a biblical or secular worldview, the results shouldn’t be surprising.
From a biblical worldview, Christians see the enemy at work in the sexually deviant, sexually immoral agenda, abortion industry, war on (biological) women, indoctrination of children, and many other aspects of society. In a short amount of time, these narratives crept their way to the surface of politics, education, and everyday life. Corrupt ideology is rampant among us, and it is difficult to escape from its gaping jaws without Scripture’s guidance.
But even from a secular worldview, the leftist agenda has been so loud that even those who were once neutral are now being swayed to adopt a distaste for religion. Again, not so surprising. Imagine straddling the fence of societal opinions when an army of “my truthers” come shouting their beliefs directly at you. The mere amplitude of their cries is enough to shove the indifferent onto the side of “inclusivity” and “acceptance,” even if solely out of fear of being hated or rejected.
“My body, my choice,” they scream.
“Gender and sexuality are subjective,” they proclaim.
“If you aren’t for us, then you’re against us and worthy of being canceled,” they threaten.
The list goes on for how these people tantalize those who disagree with them. They use the same tactics on the ones they see as vulnerable prey, just waiting to seize them with the bonds of worldly manipulation coordinated by Satan and his demons. To exasperate the matter, a sense of purposelessness plagues the unbeliever and often tempts the one who does believe. The 2023 Gallup poll only affirms this notion.
Regardless of what worldview one holds, it remains true that no human being enjoys feeling like they have no purpose. And yet, this is a common conundrum. If one does not find their purpose in Christ, Ecclesiastes makes it clear that all is vanity. For the one without God, purpose is impossible to find. So, when we see these statistics that say more Americans are committing to unbelief, or are trapped in uncertainty on what to believe, it is reasonable to attribute much of it to this desire of having purpose.
A biblical worldview comes with an agreed-upon objective of purpose found in Christ. Of course, the secular worldview has no objective truth, but rather a stream of various definitions of what purpose entails. David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, put it this way: “A fragmented worldview leads to confusion.” And this confusion is only becoming more prominent. As a result, we can expect the numbers of those who believe in spiritual entities to continue dropping as the heritage of biblical worldview becomes increasingly forgotten.
When discussing how Christians can respond to this reality, Closson noted two major obligations: to remember we live in a post-Christian world and to not take basic Christian doctrine for granted. “Even a lot of Christians probably don’t do well on these polls,” he said. “Why is that? Because people are not reading their Bibles and pastors are not giving theologically [rich] sermons.”
As Closson phrased it, Christians need to “re-double efforts in New Testament discipleship 101,” which he concluded is to preach the word, study the Bible, engage in Christian fellowship, and strive to strengthen our faith in and out of the church walls. Ultimately, if Christians don’t do what we know we are called to do according to Scripture, no one else will.
It is unlikely this poll will be the last of its kind conducted by Gallup. And it is likely the numbers will continue to fall. But rather than allowing it to serve as a hindrance to the Christian calling, may it fuel our hearts to good works, bold faith, and godly witness.
Christ’s church is being built as we speak — don’t you dare pull back now.
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