What Is the State of Your Religion?
This past week U.S. President Obama
gave the annual State of the Union speech. Decades ago, this speech was
intended to be the President talking to the members of Congress
concerning the state of the nation. With the advent of television, the
State of the Union address began to be used to promote the
accomplishments of the current president. In recent years in America
this State of the Union address has become a footnote in the news cycle,
only to be reviewed in passing the next day.
The State of the Union speech this past week and a survey I read from George Barna made me think about the state of other things, including religion. Mr. Barna specializes in polling Christian topics, and he released an annual survey highlighting the most (and least) Bible-minded cities in America. In a culture that promotes so much anti-Christian “entertainment,” it can be surprising to consider that there is still a Bible sub-current in the U.S.A. Birmingham, Alabama took the honors as the most Bible-minded city, while Providence, Rhode Island took the “honor” of being the least Bible-minded city. The rest of the list is available at http://cities.barna.org/2015-bible-minded-cities/ .
All of this made me ask myself the question: “What is the State of Religion in the Church of God?”
The criterion for Mr. Barna’s survey was simply this: if a person read something from the Bible in the last seven days, they were considered Bible-minded. That’s a pretty low bar isn’t it?! The criteria didn’t include any particular length of time reading the Bible, praying, church attendance, or anything else connected with a Christian life. And we should also add to the list of things a Bible-minded person would do, including fasting, meditation on Scripture, serving the widows and orphans, obeying God’s instruction (tithing, observing the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, etc.), and being part of preaching of the Gospel.
Doing the physical things connected to worshipping God does not earn us salvation, but it does impact our character as we begin to emulate God’s character. My concern with Mr. Barna’s study is that reading the Bible once a week doesn’t constitute a solid foundation for becoming a child of God. A casual approach to any of our responsibilities as a Christian leaves us vulnerable to the cares of this life and the pull of this world.
As a young person, be mindful of the calling God is giving you and the responsibility of studying and implementing His instruction. Spend time reading the Bible, doing a study and praying daily to God. Build a solid a foundation for the rest of eternity.
The State of the Union speech this past week and a survey I read from George Barna made me think about the state of other things, including religion. Mr. Barna specializes in polling Christian topics, and he released an annual survey highlighting the most (and least) Bible-minded cities in America. In a culture that promotes so much anti-Christian “entertainment,” it can be surprising to consider that there is still a Bible sub-current in the U.S.A. Birmingham, Alabama took the honors as the most Bible-minded city, while Providence, Rhode Island took the “honor” of being the least Bible-minded city. The rest of the list is available at http://cities.barna.org/2015-bible-minded-cities/ .
All of this made me ask myself the question: “What is the State of Religion in the Church of God?”
The criterion for Mr. Barna’s survey was simply this: if a person read something from the Bible in the last seven days, they were considered Bible-minded. That’s a pretty low bar isn’t it?! The criteria didn’t include any particular length of time reading the Bible, praying, church attendance, or anything else connected with a Christian life. And we should also add to the list of things a Bible-minded person would do, including fasting, meditation on Scripture, serving the widows and orphans, obeying God’s instruction (tithing, observing the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, etc.), and being part of preaching of the Gospel.
Doing the physical things connected to worshipping God does not earn us salvation, but it does impact our character as we begin to emulate God’s character. My concern with Mr. Barna’s study is that reading the Bible once a week doesn’t constitute a solid foundation for becoming a child of God. A casual approach to any of our responsibilities as a Christian leaves us vulnerable to the cares of this life and the pull of this world.
As a young person, be mindful of the calling God is giving you and the responsibility of studying and implementing His instruction. Spend time reading the Bible, doing a study and praying daily to God. Build a solid a foundation for the rest of eternity.
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