The Way, Issue 16 (Spiritual Preparedness for Believers)

By Tim Gamble

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -- John 14:6

Get Out of Woke Churches

The following is from an article I wrote in May of 2023:

Get out of modern liberal / progressive / "woke" churches.  Instead, find a small Bible-believing, Bible-teaching congregation to join. Or find a home church or private Bible-study group to meet with on a weekly basis. Or start one of your own with family and friends who also believe in the Bible. 

In the 1960s and1970s, modern feminism (anti-male, anti-family, anti-traditional values) began infecting many Christian Churches. Many pastors and other leaders did nothing, or even embraced modern feminism, often out of fear of losing members, donations, or even their jobs, if they didn't fit in with modern times.

In more recent decades, the concept of "social justice" (which is absolutely not the same as Biblical justice, see the book Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice) has infected many Christian Churches. Likewise, "environmental justice" - another non-Biblical concept - has also gained traction in many Churches, Today, most pastors and other leaders have embraced social and environmental justice out of a desire to fit in with the modern world (though they would call it being "relevant" and "authentic" - two buzz words of the Far Left).

This desire to "fit in with the world" is condemned in Scripture many, many times. Yet, many modern Christians try to adopt worldly ways, thinking it is okay because they are giving it a supposedly "Christian" spin. It is not okay. We are followers of The Way, not followers of The World. We are called to be set-apart, not to fit in.

God, and God alone, decides what is right and what is wrong, what is sin and what is not, what is good and what is evil. What God has decided is never "out dated" or "old fashioned." We have not "out grown" what God has revealed to us. We do not become "relevant" or "authentic" by rejecting God's Laws. The world may praise us for doing so, but God won't. 

Let me be clear on this: God decides what love is, not us. God decides how we are to love Him. God decides how we are to love others. We don't decide this for ourselves. God tells us exactly how we are to love Him, and how we are to Love others. It is NOT up to us to decide how we will love Him, or how we will love others. God has already decided this for us. Read the scriptures. Its all laid out right there. 

Worldly ways are not God's ways, and slapping a Christian bumper sticker on it won't change that fact. Follow God, not the World. Reject modern "Christianity" that tries to fir in with the World. Reject churches, pastors, and teachers that worry more about being seen as relevant than about pleasing God.

Link to the original article: Dump "Woke" Churches!

Scripture Readings For This Week

Exodus 30:11 - 34:35

1 Kings 18:1-39

Mark 9:1-10 

 

Proverbs and Psalms

Try to read one chapter a day from both Proverbs and Psalms. 

Scripture Memorization For This Week*

Continuing the memorization series on the Ten Commandments, from Exodus chapter 20. This week features the Ninth Commandment:

Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." 

* The above is from the NKJV, but feel free to memorize using whatever version you are comfortable with. 

Remember: You Only Fail When You Give Up

Missed a day (or several) reading your Bible? Got busy with life and forgot to pray yesterday? Having a hard time with the memorization? Don't sweat it! Just keep trying. Remember, you only fail when you give up. 

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Two of my favorite and most often used Bibles: 

The NKJV, American Patriot's Bible, The Word of God and the Shaping of America - One of my favorites, the New King James Version is literal, accurate, and easy-to-read for most modern folks. The American Patriot's Bible "shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world. The story of the United States is wonderfully woven into the teachings of the Bible." Lot's of articles and study notes showing the importance of God and the Bible to our nation's founding and subsequent history. Available on Amazon. 

The Scriptures - This new English translation includes Genesis through Revelation, and restores the Name of our Creator to the text in each place it occurs. This new version in English is a literal translation by Institute for Scripture Research, overseen by Dr. Chris Koster. New in this 2009 edition: Improvements to the text - seeking a yet closer equivalent to the literal meaning of the original language. Quotations / Allusions from the Old Testament are in bold type in the New Testament, and are accompanied by the text references - aiding your understanding of the original contexts, and how they influence the writers drawing upon them.  Available on Amazon.