More than Just a Number

"You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe, too! And they shake with fear. ”
- James 2:19

If you walked down the street in any metropolitan city today and asked the very basic question:
"Do you believe in God?"
What percent of the people would respond with an answer of Yes?

Would you expect 80%, what about 75%, or 50%?
In 2020 statistics from Barna Research in a global study indicated that 32% of all those surveyed indicated they did not believe in God. This means that 68% would answer yes to the above question. Is this higher than you thought?  This is down from 80% in 2009 with the increase in personal devices, social media, and institutional influences on the youth and young adults.

With the majority of people believing in God (albeit their version of God), why does the moral fabric of our world continue to spiral downward? James summarizes it very clearly in his scriptures - even the demons believe, and even they shudder in fear of the Lord. It comes down to what those of us who believe are doing with the faith we have in God. How do people realize that you are a believer? Do your actions represent your beliefs? There are those who believe in God, yet have no fear or concern of the consequences of their actions.  There are those who say they believe in God but have no fruit in their actions; there is no evidence.  

The decline of our moral fabric and unrighteousness we see continues to propagate throughout the world, despite such a large percentage of individuals who recognize there is a God. Consider that Satan believes in God, yet continues to fill the minds of individuals on this earth with the notion that God isn't the One in control - we are. He fills our mind with selfishness, pride, arrogance, lust, and addictions (to money, power, food, sex, drugs, alcohol, work, . . . ). His intent is to create uncertainty in the eyes of God's children, and an independence away from God.  He knows all too well that he can defeat you and me when we stand by ourselves. Yet, when we are in the Word and living with and for God, his task is unsuccessful.

Verse 20, states "..faith without works is useless." If there are 68% that believe in God, how does the truth of God come through? Your actions, when led by the spirit, will represent to the world who God is. This is what differentiates your faith from others. We must live by faith, a faith rooted in Jesus Christ through listening and following His examples and teachings. Then share that with the world through our daily walk, actions, and love.  Do not become part of the next statistical analysis.  Stay strong in your walk with Christ, and help others come to understand His love, peace, and grace as well.  

Don't be Deceived

Selfishness is inherent in each of us.  Just read the news this week and you’ll see it everywhere you turn.  People are doing everything they can to make it “all about me”, yet at the same time praise God in the very next breath.  Seriously?  I’m intentionally not being detailed about the “who” in this reference, because it’s easy enough to find several examples today alone where we are bringing the attention to our-self rather than pushing all the glory to God above. 

Politicians, Televangelists, Music artists, actors/actresses, Sport heros, your kids, my kids, your friends at work just to name a few.  It’s endearing to hear a celebrity stand on a stage and praise God for their success, and give Him the appropriate glory He deserves.  But, follow this same celebrity when they walk out of the spotlight and they are living 100% for themselves and all that they can achieve.  It has become obvious that many are using a faith in God as a marketing tool to expand their customer base into the religious circles of the world.  Preying on the gullibility of the Christian population, to enhance their exposure and image, and thereby expand their wallet by doing so.

How do you know someone is a Christian?  Is it because they claim to believe?  Is it because they go to church?  Is it because they say they will pray for you?  Is it because the “Thank God”?  The scriptures tell us “15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.”  (Matthew 7:15-17 NASB)  A Christian is continuously a work in progress to become more like Christ.  Their works represent that of Jesus Christ, as our representation of God in the flesh.

He wears a Cross, He points to heaven when something good happens, He lowers his eyes and demonstrates praying when people are watching.  Yet, he stands on stage in sagging pants, underwear near his genitals, no shirt, tats of skulls, naked women and profanities adorn his chest, arms and back; sunglasses, spiked bracelets and sings out words of disgust and vileness about sexual perversion, killing policeman, doing drugs and living without abandon.  I ask you, not to be the judge for there is only one judge and that is Jesus Christ, if this man falls off the stage and breaks his neck tonight, is he going to heaven?

Authentic salvation changes your heart, your outlook and your intentions.  Every moment is spent living for the Lord and His Kingdom.  Actions (fruit) will demonstrate the existence of Christ in your life.  Your words are uplifting, loving, righteous and bring glory to God.  Your hands are busy helping others, serving, expanding His Kingdom.  Embracing His purpose, His presence and His love; and then sharing it with everyone.  The scripture in Matthew 7:22-23 continues: “22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

God’s not playing games folks.  You are going to die and stand before Him one day. He cannot be fooled by our actions or words.  He knows your heart and the truth that lies within.  Do not focus on yourself, but focus on others and how God can use you to help them.  Then, you will truly begin to see just who Jesus really is and how very much He loves you.

(c) Sondove Enterprises, 2015

Finding Me - Day 7

September 16, 2014

It wasn’t a love like you and I know.  I love my friends, my family and my wife – but what is the greatest gift I can give them?  Perhaps my time; my attention, my presence in times of sorrow and hurt.  Perhaps my words; encouragement, advice in times of worry and need.  Perhaps the comfort of my arms; hugs and holding their hand when they are afraid.  I can’t stop them from dying.  I can’t provide an eternal sanctuary for their soul to rest in.  The limited number of people I know in this world is in the hundreds, and my ability to love each of them varies dramatically.  There are probably less than 100 that I would stop everything I am doing and run to their side in the event of a tragic event. 

Why would the Creator of the Universe care about me?  There are over 6.2 billion people in the world today.  Over the course of time there have likely been well over 10 billion people that have walked the face of the earth since the moment God placed His breath into Adam and Eve.  Of these billions of people, only one man walked perfectly righteous, without blemish, sin or fault.  God’s own son, Jesus Christ, lived for 33 years upon this earth to bring God’s love to us, and provide a path of salvation for our redemption.  In doing so, God expressed the greatest love possible to mankind.  He alone loved all 10 billion of us so much that He created a way for us to live eternally within His presence, and thereby avoiding the eternal Hell created for Satan and his followers.

Day 7: Accepting Love
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” – Titus 3:4-6

We all will die.  You cannot save your soul.  I cannot save your soul.
The wonderful things we do for others in our daily walk are just that, nothing more.  These acts will not get you into heaven.  The hundreds of people you know, you work with, you laugh with and you play with cannot redeem your sinful actions.  They can provide advice, guidance, comfort and a warm hug; but nothing more.  We focus so much on how we feel today, without concern for the infinite time spent after we have passed away.  Accept the love of the Father, for in it, you will find eternity and peace beyond your life on this earth.  That is why God cares about you and I.

Sondove Enterprises ©, 2014
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More than Words

Make 2014 a year for sharing

“And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead” – Acts 10:42

Remember as a child when your parents would tell you, “Just do what I said”?  Remember how hard it was to follow their instructions, even if in your heart you knew they were right?  Yeah, me too.  If I had only followed their advice, done what they said and given them the respect they deserved.  But, then again, I was a young man and knew what I wanted.  I had my own dreams, my own visions and my own plans for what I wanted to do with my life.  I didn’t have time to make the bed, take the dog for a walk, clean up my room, do the dishes or any other chore around the house that was expected of me.  Despite their repeatedly asking me to be home by 10, I was often out till the wee hours of the morning, doing things that I dare not ever let be known.  Now as a father and grandfather I look back and think about the choices and decisions made, but without regrets, for the Lord has continually blessed me and provided for me throughout.

Likewise, we read the word and lift our hands in prayers, but are we actually doing what it says.  Peter and Paul tell us throughout Acts that we are to take the gospel to the nations.  Is that a request or a directive?  We believe it, we want the salvation that comes through God’s Son – Jesus Christ, but are we truly willing to abide by what the good Word tells us to do.  Is sitting in a church pew on Sunday morning’s sufficient to meeting the requests of Jesus to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in need?  It is so easy to leave the sanctuary on Sunday filled with the Holy Spirit and dreams of impacting those around you only to wake up on Monday overwhelmed by the week of work, bills and commitments ahead.

If every person that went to church on Sunday actually woke up Monday morning and lived out what they heard or learned in church, we would have a much stronger impact on the evil in this world.  You see, there is an evil in this world that occupies so much of your time, thought and actions that you are unable to actually seek and grow in your Christian walk.  It’s not complacency, although that is also a problem to be reckoned with, it is a problem of prioritization.  We seem to be willing to prioritize everything in our life except the most important purpose, mission and reason for living; and that is serving God Almighty. 

At some point in our lives we must choose to commit to Him, or commit to ourselves.  When we commit to ourselves, we seek the happiness, wealth, desires, success and recognition in the immediate and present time.  In reality, by committing to Jesus Christ and living for Him, we are actually improving the life ahead of us and securing our place for our eternal life one day.  As the scriptures tell us in Acts 10:42 (also: Acts 17:31, 2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Peter 4:5), there will come a day when we will stand before the Judge and be reconciled to the actions of this life.  I know when I stand before the One judge and hear Him ask, “What did you do with the gifts I gave you?”, I want to be found as one who, despite the many times I failed, I used the gifts He gave me to further His Kingdom on this earth.  I would ask that you do the same.


© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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It's Not About the 8%

"You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe, too! And they shake with fear. ”
- James 2:19

If you walked down the street in any metropolitan city today and asked the very basic question:
"Do you believe in God?"
What percent of the people would respond with an answer of Yes?

Would you believe 50%, what about 75%, how about 90% - does that seem too high?
In 2005 statistics from http://www.adherents.com/ in a global study indicated that less than 8% of all those surveyed indicated they did not believe in God. This means that 92% would answer yes to the above question. Is this higher than you thought?

With such a large number of people believing in God (albeit their version of God) why does the moral fabric of our world continue to spiral downward. James summarizes it very clearly in his scriptures - even the demons believe, and even they shudder in fear of the Lord. It comes down to what we are doing with the belief we have in God. How do people realize that you are a believer? Do your actions represent your beliefs? There are those that believe in God, yet have no fear or concern of the consequences of their actions.

The unrighteousness and decline of our moral fabric continues to propogate throughout the world, despite such a large percentage of individuals who recognize there is a God. Consider that Satan believes in God, yet continues to fill the minds of individuals on this earth with the notion that God isn't the One in control - we are. He fills our mind with selfishness, pride, arrogance, lust and addictions (to food, sex, drugs, alcohol, work, . . . ). His intent is to create uncertainty in the eyes of God's children, and create an independence from God, knowing all to well that he can defeat you and I by ourselves. Yet, when we are in the word and living with and for God, his task is unsuccessful.

Verse 20, states "..faith without works is useless." If there are 92% that believe in "a" God, how does the truth of God come through. Your actions, when led by the spirit, will represent to the world who God is. This is what differentiates your faith from others. We must live by faith, a faith rooted in Jesus Christ through listening and following His examples and teachings. Then share that with the world through our daily walk, actions and love.

Prayer:
Almighty God,
Protect me from the evil in this world. Guard my heart and guard my mind from becoming complacent in doing Your work. Prepare me for the task at hand, to reveal Your gospel to others and in doing so, open doors for them to meet You. Holy Spirit, help me to understand the right words to say and the right actions to take to overcome the evil and confusion in this world. In Your name I pray – Amen

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