Pot-Pourri

Ch. 2 of the current book I am reading is titled "Pot-pourri Evangelism." I believe it states the current state very well.

Exhibit A - "We have reached such a low state of spirituality that we are excited when a prominent personality professes conversion and speaks our evangelical vocabulary - even though his life shows no evidence of change whatsoever wrought by the Gospel of Christ. We have so lost the vision of the power and dignity of our blessed Lord that we think it very wonderful when one of these unregenerated leaders "helps God out" in His great enterprise of evangelism."

Exhibit B - William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said at the turn of the 20th century, "The chief danger of the twentieth century will be

Religion without the Holy Ghost,
Christianity without Christ,
Forgiveness without repentance.
Salvation without regeneration,
Heaven without hell."

How far we have come from the real Gospel. Today I heard a man speak on Matthew 16:24
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, ''If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" This may be the most preached on verse that is the least understood, obeyed, and practiced.

Who preaches repentance?
Who explains, let alone understands, regeneration?
Who preaches hell as a real place? No, we do not want to offend.
All these new age-ers... "If hell is not real, what does Jesus save us from?"

I heard a 83 yr. young preacher say recently, "I believe fully 75 % of our church "members" are not saved. They had an emotional experience, but have not made Christ Lord of their life. There has been no change in heart or mind." I have to agree.

Don't forget Exodus 7:10-12 - Jannes and Jambres were pharaoh's magicians who withstood Moses by duplicating the work of God by satanic power. Yes..... duplicating the work of God by satanic power. No one is more thrilled when people play church, pastors live in the world, and church parking lots are FULL ON SUNDAYS.

Pot-Pourri......

If you have time for it...

I found this, read it and am just sharing it. (Taken from http://www.horatiusbonar.com/)

No commentary on my part. What about you? I would like to dialogue...

On Bible Study and Book Reading

Horatis Bonar - written 1861

On Bible Study

Do not skim it or read it, but study it, every word of it; study the whole Bible, Old Testament and New; not your favourite chapters merely, but the complete Word of God from beginning to end. Do not trouble yourself with commentators; they may be of use if kept in their place, but they are not your guides; your guide is ‘the Interpreter,’ the one among a thousand (Job 33:23), who will lead you into all truth, and keep you from all error.

Not that you are to read no book but the Bible. All that is true and good is worth the reading, if you have time for it; and all, if properly used, will help you in your study of the Scriptures. A Christian does not shut his eyes to the natural scenes of beauty spread around him. He does not cease to admire the hills, or plains, or rivers, or forests of earth, because he has learned to love the God that made them; nor does he turn away from books of science or true poetry, because he has discovered one book truer, more precious, and more poetical than all the rest together.

In so far, then, as time allows or opportunity presents, let us ’seek and search out by word concerning all things that are done under heaven.’ But let the Bible be to us the book of books, the one book in all the world, whose every wisdom is truth, and whose every verse is wisdom.

On Book Reading

Specially beware of light reading. Shun novels; they are the literary curse of the age; they are to the soul what ardent spirits are to the body. If you be a parent, keep novels out of the way of your children. But whether you be a parent or not, neither read them yourself, nor set an example of novel-reading to others.

Don’t let novels lie on your table, or be seen in your hand, even in a railway carriage. The ‘light reading for the rail’ has done deep injury to many a young man and woman. The light literature of the day is working a world of harm; vitiating the taste of the young, enervating their minds, unfitting them for life’s plain work, eating out their love of the Bible, teaching them a false morality, and creating in the soul an unreal standard of truth, and beauty, and love.

But see that your relish for the Bible be above every other enjoyment, and the moment you begin to feel greater relish for any other book, lay it down till you have sought deliverance from such a snare, and obtained from the Holy Spirit an intenser relish, a keener appetite for the Word of God (Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 19:7-10).

-Edited from Chapter 6 of Follow the Lamb by Horatius Bonar, 1861.

Hollywood

"In our eagerness to tell the world that Christ satisfies we have gone to the extreme of presenting a popular Christianity. When we laugh and joke and act the clown at the beginning of the service, and at the close become serious and warn the unsaved of their impending doom, it is difficult for them to realize that we are sincere." (italics in original)

" Today, all the advertising is centered around the preachers and the singers, and they are so glamorous..."

"It was the custom when there were mighty preachers in London for people to go "sermon-tasting." A man and his wife once heard two great preachers, one on Sunday morning and the other on Sunday evening. The whole day long the man kept saying of the morning preacher, 'What a wonderful preacher, what a wonderful preacher.' In the evening, he and his wife went to hear _______ _______ (name omitted by MC). Down the stairs of the Metropolitan Tabernacle they came, tears rolling down their checks, and saying, "Oh what a wonderful Saviour! Oh, what a wonderful Saviour I have!'"

"For my part, I absolutely refuse to entertain, either older believers who are often cold and carnal, or young believers who have no have no depth, and no spirituality... I refuse to entertain sinners on their way to hell."

These are from a book I am reading. Isn't it easy to read an "amen" book - one with which we quickly and easily agree? The danger, I find, is in becoming self-complacent and arrogant. I often find myself saying emphatically, "Amen! Preach it!" but rarely moved to change or action. That is why I'm closing...

Oh, the book - "Evangelism" by James A. Stewart - Lamplighter Publications. It is an old book -which makes the comments even more significant for today.

Before I knew...

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior.
-------------------------------------

These are the lyrics to "My Savior," an old hymn. The younger generation knows this song (I omitted the chorus) as "My Savior My God," by Aaron Shust. This is another example of a contemporary musician taking a wonderful old hymn, adding a few words and "jazzing it up" to make a "new" song. I don't mind - the point is still beautiful.

I heard this song again recently. It really has great depth.

"That he who lives to be MY King, once DIED to be MY Savior!"

And think of all that goes with "Before I knew my Savior..."

Read it again.... I hope it blesses you.