“God works in the lives of his people using two agents, his Holy Spirit and his Word. He controls his Holy Spirit, but we are responsible to appropriate his Word in our lives.”
The apostle Paul described it as follows:
“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure….” Philippians 2:12-13
We are to “work out our salvation” which means to bring our salvation by grace through faith to it’s ultimate conclusion, to become more like Christ and less like the devil.
How are we to do that? We are to cooperate with God’s Spirit “who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
And how do we cooperate? Paul says in Philippians 2: 16 “holding fast the word of life.” We read His words recorded in the Bible and we hold fast to them and let the Holy Spirit use them to change us.
As one brother said “As we read our Bible, it is reading us.”
We should approach reading the Bible with awe because it will reveal “us” in ways we never thought possible. Not only sins like unforgiveness, pride, arrogance, perverse morals but also the staggering truths of who we are in Christ and all the marvelous things God has done in us and for us and is going to do in the future for His children.
In closing, I benefited from the following reality check on my relationship with God. I recommend it to you.
If you want to know what your attitude toward God is, check what your attitude to His Word is; that is your attitude toward God.
You do not love God more than you love His Word.
You do not obey God more than you obey His Word.
You do not have room for God in your life than you have room for His Word in your life.
If you want to find out how much God means to you, see how much His Word means to you.
If you want revival and spiritual growth in your life, prayerfully read your Bible, obey it’s truths and let the Holy Spirit do His work in you.
When we are reading our Bible and cooperating with the Holy Spirit, ALL of God’s creative power is working in us…His Word and His Spirit. The same creative agents that created the world.
“Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross, follow your Lord. The masses are always wrong. In every generation the number of the righteous is small. Be sure you are among them.”
-A.W. Tozer (April 21, 1897 -May 12, 1963; American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor)
Source: The Berean Call – (be sure and check out their free mobile phone app.)
Their foot shall slide in due time. (KJV) Deuteronomy 32:35
“As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning: Which is also expressed in Psalm 73:18,19. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation in a moment!”…
“The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and JUSTICE bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that have never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls, all you that were never born again and made new creatures, raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God…
“…And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands calling, and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with thier hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.”
The preacher Jonathan Edwards spoke these words on July 8, 1741 while preaching his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield, Connecticut. As he preached some people called out for him to stop. At one point there was so much noise, he had to ask them to be quiet so he could be heard.
He concluded the sermon by saying, “Let everyone that is out of Christ now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let everyone fly out of Sodom: ‘Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.’ “
The people of Enfield were never the same.
Have you fled to Christ, the Lamb of God, to be cleansed by his shed blood on Calvary? We all need to flee to Jesus to escape the coming wrath of God. If you have not, why not today?
“They cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who will be able to survive? “ Revelation 6:16
Source: E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, The One Year Christian History. A great daily devotional based on historical events.
The following ancient tradition by the Polynesians was reported by English Missionary John Williams (1796-1839) who arrived in Tahiti in autumn of 1817 and was eaten by cannibals in November 1839 in the New Hebrides.
“…the heavens were originally so close to the earth that men could not walk, but were compelled to crawl” under them. “This was found a very serious evil; but at length an individual conceived the sublime idea of elevating the heavens to a more convenient height. For this purpose he put forth his utmost energy, and the first effort raised them to the top of a tender plant called teve, about four feet high. There he deposited them until he was refreshed, when by a second effort he lifted them to the height of a tree called Kauariki, which is as large as the sycamore. By the third attempt he carried them to the summits of the mountains; and after a long interval of repose, and by a most prodigious effort, he elevated them to their present situation.” For this, as a mighty benefactor of mankind, “this individual was deified; and up to the moment that Christianity was embraced, the deluded inhabitants worshipped him as the ‘Elevator of the heavens.” 1
“Now, what could more graphically describe the position of mankind soon after the flood, and the proceedings of Nimrod as Phoroneus, “The Emancipator,” than this Polynesian fable?
“While the awful catastrophe by which God has showed His avenging justice on the sinners of the old world was yet fresh in the minds of men, and so long as Noah, and the upright among his descendants, sought with all earnestness to impress upon all under their control the lessons which that solemn event was so well fitted to teach, “heaven,” that is, God, must have seemed very near to earth. To maintain the union between heaven and earth, and to keep it as close as possible, must have been the grand aim of all who loved God and the best interests of the human race.
“But this implied the restraining and discountenancing of all vice and all those “pleasures of sin,” after which the natural mind, unrenewed and unsanctified, continually pants. This must have been secretly felt by every unholy mind as a state of insufferable bondage. “The carnal mind is enmity against God, ” is “not subject to His law,” neither indeed is “able to be” so. It says to the Almighty, “Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.” So long as the influence of the great father” (Noah) “of the new world was in the ascendant, while his maxims were regarded, and a holy atmosphere surrounded the world, no wonder that those who were alienated from God and godliness, felt heaven and its influence and authority to be intolerably near, and that in such circumstances they “could not walk,” but only “crawl,”– that is, that they had no freedom to “walk after the sight of their own eyes and the imaginations of their own hearts.”
“From this bondage Nimrod emancipated them. By the apostasy he introduced, by the free life he developed among those who rallied around him, and by separating them from the holy influences that had previously less or more controlled them, he helped them to put God and the strict spirituality of His laws at a distance, and thus he became the “Elevator of the heavens,” making men feel and act as if heaven were afar off the earth, and as if either the God of heaven “could not see through the dark cloud,” or did not regard with displeasure the breakers of His laws. Then all such would feel that they could breathe freely, and that now they could walk at liberty. For this, such men could not but regard Nimrod as a high benefactor.
“According to the system which Nimrod was the grand instrument in introducing, men were led to believe that a real spiritual change of heart was unnecessary, and that so far as change was needful, they could be regenerated by mere external means.
“Looking at the subject in the light of the Bacchanalian orgies, which, as the reader has seen, commemorated the history of Nimrod, it is evident that he led mankind to seek their chief good in sensual enjoyment, and showed them how they might enjoy the pleasures of sin, without any fear of the wrath of a holy God. In his various expeditions he was always accompanied by troops of women; and by music and song, and games and revelries, and everything that could please the natural heart, he commended himself to the good graces of mankind. “2
And so it continues in 2025 because when God confused the languages at Babel after the worldwide flood, the newly created language groups that dispersed around the world took with them the rebellious teaching of Babel and the worship of Nimrod into their new countries; therefore, today the nations are still in bondage to idols and false gods.
Thank you King Jesus for the Gospel that sets men free and brings them into your heavenly kingdom which one day will come to earth when You will reign from Jerusalem bringing justice.
Come Lord Jesus!
Carl. 1.Source: English Missionary John Williams (1796-1839) who arrived in Tahiti in autumn of 1817 and was eaten by cannibals in November 1839 in the New Hebrides. He wrote Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands which you can find on the internet for free.
2. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Or, The Papal Worship Proved To Be The Worship of Nimrod), Printed in United States 2013. Hislop (1807-1865) was a Scottish minister.
While doing research for a family book, I ran across an old article I had saved concerning a story about a 16th-century Bible that had once been baked in a loaf of bread.
The odd event occurred during the 30-Years War from 1618 -48. A family named Stepan lived in what is now Czechoslovakia. One of their prized possessions was a Bohemian-language Bible printed in 1541. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church at that time had prohibited anyone from having a Bible in his possession. If you were found with one you were labeled a “heretic” and the Roman Catholic Inquisition could have the owner tortured, burned alive at the stake or murdered by some other means. In other words, just owning a Bible could cost you your life.
The oral history of the Stepan family states it occurred as follows: “the dough was ready and just about to be placed in the oven when “the searchers” appeared at the door. Without hesitation, the mother stuffed the Bible into the raw dough and put it in the oven.” The priest never thought to check the interior of the hot oven. After the priest left and the bread was done, the precious Bible came out unscathed! And they preserved their lives!
“Another time the family says the Bible was placed in a metal box and buried in the owner’s yard until a Bible-burning fervor has passed the Catholics in the area. It was hidden in the chimney at another time. “
In 1893 the descendants of the Stepan family immigrated to the United States settling in Pawnee County, Nebraska. In 1915 the eldest son, Joseph Stepan, who was entrusted with the family’s most precious possession, would move to Libuse, Louisiana.
Later due to lack of male heirs in the Stepan family, the Bible became joint property of all the Stepan descendants. It was exhibited in the Nebraska Historical Society museum in Lincoln, Nebraska for a time. As of this writing, the last place I know it was exhibited is an historical museum in or near Table Rock, Nebraska.
Ironically, that museum is in an old Roman Catholic Church!
Please Read Your Bible,
Carl
Note: The Bible has been banned numerous times by the popes of the Roman Catholic Church. It started after pope Innocent III had the Albigensians murdered in southern France in the early 1200s. One historical book I have read said after these innocent people were killed, the pope banned the Bible because he realized the reason these noble people would rather die than become Catholics was because they read and believed the Bible.
Here lies the reason the popes wanted it banned. If you read it under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and not the Roman Catholic Church, you will learn the truth and you will be set free from the tradition and commandment of men which is what the Roman Catholic Church is built on.
This is why millions of people over the centuries have chosen to die than bow to the popes and their corrupt doctrine. Credible historians say that 50 million people died at the hands of the Dominicans and the Jesuits during the 600-year Inquisition. Some were Jews and Muslims, but most were born again believers in Jesus Christ who rejected the pope and his doctrine. Why? Because they had read and believed the revelation that God had given in Holy Scripture.
We hear a lot about “self-esteem” today. The “self-esteem movement,” made up of some religious teachers and psychologists, seeks to make people feel better about themselves without making any reference to sin or the need for forgiveness. Some religious teachers have even said that Christianity should stop talking about sin. Because the movement is associated with psychology, many mistakenly believe that the claims of the “self-esteem movement” have a scientific basis. They do not.
Consider the Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” From the world’s standpoint, he had no trouble with self-esteem. On the other hand, the world would say that the sinner who prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner…” had a serious self-esteem problem. In Jesus’ analysis, however, the Pharisee’s self-righteousness – his “good self-image” – was what kept him from God. It was the sinner’s knowledge of his self-worthlessness, and humble repentance, that brought him the peace of God in a personal relationship with his Maker.
From this vantage point, it is easy to see that the cult of self-esteem promotes self-righteousness. Adding Christ to self-esteem still produces self-righteousness.
Christians and all people need to be encouraged to focus on Christ! The Christian who lives a daily life of repentance in the full knowledge that Christ has redeemed him, making full atonement and peace with God, will have no “self-esteem problem.”
Luke 18:13 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Prayer: Forgive me, dear Lord, for those times when I have thanklessly felt sorry for myself or let my pride come between us. Fill me with the joy and peace that only You can provide through the forgiveness of my sins. Amen.
It is amazing what you learn reading church history. For example:
In the 1500s, the city of Geneva Switzerland was the first city in Switzerland to go all in on the Protestant Reformation. The council of Two Hundred suspended certain Roman Catholic practices and then… “The monasteries were next invaded; and there were some startling revelations of frauds by which the people had been so long and so grossly deluded, and the vast superstition upheld.”
“Many of the secret machinations and impostures are too vile to be transferred to our pages; but one, which is more amusing than revolting, we may quote. A number of strange lights, or small flames of fire, would sometimes be seen moving about the churchyard at night, to the utter amazement of the people. What could they be ? was the question. “These”, answered the priest, gravely, “are souls from purgatory. They have come to excite on their behalf the compassion of their living relatives. Will fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, not freely give of their money for prayers and masses that we may not have to return to the place of torment ? was their pitiful cry.”
“The effect of this imposture was another golden harvest to the priest. But what were these livid lights and blue flames really? They were simply a number of crabs with little bits of candles stuck on their backs, the heat of which may have propelled their movements. The enlightened public, indignant at having been so long deceived, relieved the crabs of their fiery burdens, and threw them back into the cool waters of the lake.”
Source: Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History (PICKERING & INGLIS LTD, London, 1976), p. 908. (Miller is quoting historians Waddington, vol. iii., p.275 and Wylie, vol. ii. p. 273)
What brought about these amazing changes in the Geneva citizens? They started listening to preachers who preached the whole truth from the Bible, particularly the New Testament, and, thanks to the newfangled printing press, they were able to read the Scriptures for themselves without the gloss of the priest.
Divine Light from the Scriptures banished the ignorance and superstition that had held these people in fear and gross darkness. They began to walk in the Light and the doctrine of purgatory, plus many others, was exposed as a lie and just a money-making tool of the Roman Catholic Church.
Have you seen the divine Light that comes from reading the Holy Scriptures ? Or are you still looking at the strange lights in the graveyard and listening to the priest?
Happy New Year to all. May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be your Guide in 2025.
Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a great scientist; but he was an infidel, while Newton was a devout believer, and they often locked horns over this question, though their mutual interest in science drew them much together. Newton had a skillful mechanic make him a replica of our solar system in miniature. In the center was a large gilded ball representing the sun, and revolving around this were smaller balls fixed on the ends of arms of varying lengths, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, in their proper order. These balls were so geared together by cogs and bells as to move in perfect harmony by turning the crank.
One day as Newton sat reading in his study with his mechanism on a large table near him, his infidel friend stepped in. He was scientist enough to recognize at a glance what was before him. Stepping up to it he slowly turned the crank, and with undisguised admiration watched the heavenly bodies all move in their relative speed in their orbits. Standing off a few feet, he exclaimed, “My! What an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?”
Without looking up from his book, Newton answered, “Nobody!” Quickly turning to Newton, the infidel said, “Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked who made this thing?” Looking up now, Newton solemnly assured him that nobody made it, but that the aggregation of matter so much admired had just happened to assume the form it was in. But the astonished infidel replied with some heat, “You must think I’m a fool! Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius, and I’d like to know who he is.”
Laying his book aside, Newton arose and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and said: “This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusion?”
The infidel was at once convinced and became a firm believer that Jehovah, “He is the God” (1Kings 18:39.)
Author unknown
Issac Newton’s infidel friend became a believer and found out the following:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
(The Word is Jesus Christ.)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
And God made the two great lights, the greater light;…. He made the stars also. Genesis 1:16
The sea is His, and He made it: and His hand formed the dry land. Psalm 95:5
Happy is he…whose hope is in the Lord his God, which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepth truth forever. Psalm 146:5-6
And Jonah said…”I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:9
The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;… Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because he has fixed the day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom he has appointed, having furnished proved to all men by the raising him from the dead. Acts 17:24,30-31
STEPS TO SALVATION
First, acknowledge your sinfulness and need:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
Second, exercise faith in Christ:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16:31
Third, confess your sins to God:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1: 9
Fourth, forsake your evil way:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55: 7
Fifth, confess your faith:
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10: 9
CLOSING
If you are like Newton’s friend, an unbeliever in Jesus Christ, and you realize that God is the maker of all things (including you and me), I encourage you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, If you do these five steps from your heart (not just your mind), I assure you, you will have the greatest Christmas you ever had. The reason for the season, Jesus Christ, will come into your being and begin to make all things new in your life and forgive you of all your sins. He will give you purpose and hope in this unraveling world.
Do it now, today! Please do not put it off.
Merry Christmas to all,
Carl
Source: the bulk of this blog comes from a gospel tract by the same title. Pilgrim Tract Society, Inc. is the publisher.
“Our only safety is to have Christ ever before us as our all-governing object; and the more steadfastly we look on Him, the more will His character be mirrored on our souls, and the more distinctly shall we reflect it to others. In looking to Him, we are enlightened; to have any other object before us is to be in blindness of popish bigotry and the clouds that arise in the Christian’s heart of self-occupation. To be true witnesses of a heavenly Christ, we must be heavenly minded, and heavenly in our ways. And heavenly-mindedness is the result, not of trying to be so, but of occupation with a heavenly Christ, according to the revelation which we have of Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In what direction is the eye? is always the important question, for the heart is sure to follow the eye, and the feet the heart.
The following passage may be accepted as a practical view of Christianity, both negatively and positively. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purifying unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2: 11-14).”
Source: Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History (PICKERING & INGLIS LTD, London 1976), p. 898
These two paragraphs express the lesson learned from the Roman Catholic pope and Emperor Philip’s attempt to kill the Reformation in the Netherlands by murdering the Protestants over a span of 40 YEARS. This occurred in the 1500s.
During trying times like these, with many storms upon us (literally and figuratively), no book provides greater comfort than the Bible.
Yet how many actually read it? Although there are studies noting a drop of Bible-reading among Americans in recent times, nonetheless, 47 million are reported to be “Scripture engaged.” No other book would come close to that kind of readership.
As of this writing, the education department of the state of Oklahoma is planning to purchase 55,000 Bibles for the public schools. I’m sure the left is gnashing their teeth over such a plan.
But historically the Bible was the reason that education for the masses was developed in America in the first place. The Puritan forefathers created schools for the masses (a forerunner to the public schools), so that children could learn to read, so they could read the Bible for themselves.
Someone might argue, “Well, that was the Puritans. But surely the founding fathers didn’t agree with that.”
But actually, they did argue for that in 1787 and in 1789 when the founders adopted the Northwest Ordinance. As new territories became states in the newly formed United States, they were to follow the same basic template.
Here’s what Article III of the Northwest Ordinance had to say about schools, which were voluntary at that time and often run by churches: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary for good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
The Bible was the chief textbook in one way or another for the first 200-300 years of America — and that’s when the children could read, because of it. It was the Bible that gave birth to Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, and so on.
It was only when the schools explicitly went against the Scriptures that American education went off the rails. Now there are major portions of society who can’t read, despite years of schooling.
Meanwhile, is there a correlation between reading the Scriptures and human flourishing?
Many social science studies have shown that church is good for society, that attending church on a regular basis lengthens your life (on average), and that attending church often improves the quality of your life as well. Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion has spent years assessing studies on the impact of applied religion (generally, Christianity) leading to positive personal and societal improvement. Dr. Johnson even wrote a book showing how Christian belief and practice help lower criminal behavior. The book is appropriately titled, More God, Less Crime.
But what about Bible reading? A recent study that Dr. Johnson wrote, along with M. Bradshaw and S. J. Jang, is entitled, “Assessing the Link Between Bible Reading and Flourishing among Military Families.”
Before exploring their results (which were positive), the study mentions earlier related findings: “Previous research shows salutary associations between multiple dimensions of religiosity (including reading sacred texts) and different aspects of flourishing (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, social connections and support).”
The abstract of the study noted: “Bible reading may promote overall mental, physical, and social well-being.”
They list at three of their findings on how the Bible fosters human flourishing: “First, Bible reading is likely to promote psychological well-being by helping individuals develop a close relationship with a loving and caring God who engages in the lives of individuals.”
They continue: “Second, Bible reading may facilitate feelings of divine control that help cope with stress. Third, positive and encouraging messages in the Bible may also promote purpose in life and guidance seeking, which may also enhance flourishing.”
I have found personally that when I started reading the Bible myself as a young man, it was such a great source of knowledge, for wisdom, for direction, for personal relations, etc.
The Bible was important to great Americans like George Washington, whose writings and speeches are filled with Biblical phrases, such as “And every man shall rest under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid.” This was Washington’s vision for America.
Even Jefferson collected many of the teachings of Jesus (including a few miracles) in a document for Native Americans, so they could benefit from them, just as we have. People mistakenly call this unpublished work “The Jefferson Bible.” But as Jefferson noted once, the morality of Jesus is the most sublime and greatest moral teaching of all time.
President Lincoln called the Scriptures “the best gift God has ever given men,” through which we learn about the Savior. Millions of Americans have revered the Bible.
As Ronald Reagan once said of the holy book, “Inside its pages lie all the answers to all the problems that man has ever known.”
To promote human flourishing, spread the message of the Scriptures.
Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is the executive director of the Providence Forum, an outreach of D. James Kennedy Ministries, where Jerry also serves as senior producer and an on-air host. He has written/co-written 33 books, including George Washington’s Sacred Fire (with Providence Forum founder Peter Lillback, Ph.D.) and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (with D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.). http://www.djkm.org? @newcombejerry www.jerrynewcombe.com
A new study suggests that the mental health crisis in the United States may be more closely related to a lack of a biblical worldview than to commonly cited causes like chemical imbalances.
The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released the study Tuesday, attributing the rise in mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression and fear, to what researcher George Barna calls “worldview deficiencies” rather than “psychological or chemical imbalances.”
The findings are based on interviews conducted in January with 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18 or older, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The report highlighted mental health struggles among younger generations, noting that 56% of Generation Z and 49% of millennials regularly experience anxiety, fear or depression. Generation Z refers to the youngest group of American adults, while millennials are defined as those born between 1984 and 2002. In total, one in three adults from these generations has at least one diagnosable mental disorder.
Barna sees a direct correlation between mental health challenges and the lack of a biblical worldview, which the Cultural Research Center defines as “a means of experiencing, interpreting, and responding to reality in light of biblical perspectives.” The CRC evaluates an individual’s biblical worldview based on their answers to a series of belief-related questions.
Only 1% of Generation Z and 2% of millennials possess a biblical worldview, according to Barna. He commented that it is “not uncommon to find a young adult who trusts feelings more than facts, sees no inherent value to life, believes in Karma, and rejects the existence of the biblical God.”
“Add to this a lack of any sense of purpose or meaning, and the idea that truth is subjective,” Barna explained. “This common set of components results in a lifestyle that is inconsistent, chaotic, frustrating, and lacking hope. Anxiety, depression, and fear are virtually inescapable in such a life.”
Barna highlighted several beliefs he considers contributors to mental unrest among young people. Seven out of ten individuals under 40 said their life lacks a clear purpose, while four out of five who reject God reported frequent experiences of fear and anxiety.
“The lifestyle that results from these common worldview components is one of chaos and fear,” Barna said. “However, embracing a biblical worldview offers a sense of purpose, security, and peace that can alleviate many of these mental health challenges.”
Barna also pointed to syncretism — described as a “blend of conflicting beliefs drawn from various worldviews” — as the dominant worldview among young Americans, adding that it’s “not surprising that anxiety, depression and fear are rampant among young adults who adopt syncretism.”
“Without a solid foundation of truth, their lives become inconsistent and chaotic,” he said, emphasizing that “the biblical worldview, by contrast, provides a framework that fosters emotional stability.”
Barna acknowledged that some situations do require conventional mental health treatments, such as counseling, prescription drugs or physical therapy, but he said that other mental health struggles may stem from “worldview components that trigger and sustain the condition.”
“If people instead embraced the core tenets of the biblical worldview, their lives would not be perfect,” Barna concluded, “but they would avoid many of the emotional and psychological pitfalls we’re seeing today.”
The report also examined the mental health of individuals whose beliefs directly conflict with the biblical worldview. Among those disengaged from both political involvement and Christian faith, 82% reported frequent experiences of anxiety, depression and fear, compared to 67% of respondents who were more engaged.
Incidents of fear, anxiety and depression were higher (46%) among those who believe gifted mediums can communicate with the spirits of the dead, compared to 34% of those who do not share this belief.
Similarly, 40% of respondents who consider “Mother Earth or the Universe” as an important guide reported mental health challenges, compared to 25% who did not. Among individuals classified as “consistently liberal” on social and political issues, 38% experienced frequent anxiety, depression or fear, while only 22% of those who did not identify as consistently liberal reported the same challenges.
The fact that man is by nature a religious creature was underscored with the discovery of the oldest known religious sanctuary in the world. The shrine was discovered in northern Spain. Evolutionists say that the shrine was built by early Stone Age man. In terms of biblical history, the sanctuary was probably built by some of the first post-flood settlers in Spain.
Scientists declared the ancient structure a religious sanctuary based on three criteria. First, it is a large structure that required the effort and cooperation of many people to build. Second, it has features that are unnecessary for daily living. Third, the structure is associated with a supernatural being. Scientists noted that the stone floor of the sanctuary shows a great deal of wear, indicating that it saw a lot of use. The worship center included an altar made of a limestone slab weighing nearly a ton.
The shrine also had a stone sculpture of a head. The right half of the head is human and the left half of the head is a carnivore of some sort. Worshippers at the site had separate storage places for sewing needles and hunting tools. Spear points, animal bones, and shells were found in a trench in the sanctuary.
Man is undeniably a religious creature. We have been made by our Creator in such a way that we are dissatisfied until we have a relationship with Him. You, too, can have a relationship with Him through the forgiveness of your sins which was earned for you by His Son, Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:27 “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us…”
Prayer: Dear Lord, only in You can I be satisfied. I thank You that I can indeed be satisfied without fear because You have carried my sins to the cross and brought me new life through Your resurrection from the dead. Amen.
Notes: C. Simon. 1981. “Stone-age Sanctuary, Oldest Known Shrine, Discovered in Spain.” Science News, Dec. 5, p. 357. Photo: Envato
“He sends his command throughout the earth; His word runs swiftly.” Psalm 147:5 CSB
Spurgeon said “If God’s word runs very swiftly, then it can even overtake those who run away from it. Not only can the Lord come quickly to those who seek Him, but He can overtake those who hasten away from him.”
Lord, let your word overtake our prodigals, our rebels, our lost but loved ones.
David, when he composed Psalms 23, knew this. Looking at life from the standpoint of a sheep, he wrote “He [the Good Shepherd] leads me beside quiet waters.” In other words, he alone knows where the still, quiet, deep, clean, pure water is to be found that can satisfy His sheep and keep them fit.
Generally speaking, water for the sheep came from three main sources: dew on the grass, deep wells, or springs and streams.
Most people are not aware that sheep can go for months on end, especially if the weather is not too hot, without actually drinking, if there is heavy dew on the grass each morning. Sheep, by habit, rise just before dawn and start to feed. Or if there is bright moonlight they will graze at night. The early hours are when the vegetation is drenched would dew, and sheep can keep fit on the amount of water taken in with their forage when they graze just before and after dawn.
Of course, dew is a clear, clean, pure source of water. And there is no more resplendent picture of still waters than the silver droplets of dew hanging heavy on leaves and grass at break of day.
The good shepherd, the diligent manager, makes sure that his sheep can be out and grazing on this dew-drenched vegetation. If necessary, it will mean he himself has to rise early to be out with his flock. On the home ranch or afield he will see to it that his sheep benefit from this early grazing.
In the Christian life it is a more than passing significance to observe that those who are often the most serene, most confident, and able to cope with life’s complexities are those who rise early each day to feed on God’s Word. It is in the quiet, early hours of the morning that they are led beside the quiet, still waters where they imbibe the very life of Christ for the day. This is much more than mere figure of speech. It is practical reality. The biographies of the great men and women of God repeatedly point out how the secret of the success in their spiritual life was attributed to the quiet time of each morning. There, alone, still, waiting for the Masters voice, one is led gently to the place where, as the old hymn puts it, “The still dews of His Spirit can be dropped into my life and soul.”
One comes away from these hours of meditation, reflection, and communion with Christ refreshed in mind and spirit. The thirst is slaked and the heart is quietly satisfied.
In my mind’s eye I can see my flock again. The gentleness, stillness, and softness of early morning always found my sheep knee-deep in dew- drenched grass. There they fed heavily and contentedly. As the sun rose and the heat burned the dew drops from the leaves, the flock would retire to find shade. There, fully satisfied and happily refreshed, they would lie down to rest and ruminate through the day. Nothing pleased me more.
I am confident this is the same reaction in my Master’s heart and mind when I meet the day in the same way. He loves to see me contented, quiet, at rest, and relaxed. He delights to know my soul and spirit have been refreshed and satisfied.
But the irony of life, and tragic truth for most Christians, is that this is not so. They often try, instead, to satisfy their thirst by pursuing almost every other sort of substitute. For their minds and intellects they will pursue knowledge, science, academic careers, vociferous reading, or off-beat companions. But they are always left panting and dissatisfied.
Some of my friends have been among the most learned and highly respected scientists and professors in the country. Yet about them there is often a strange yearning, and unsatisfied thirst which all their learning, all their knowledge, all their achievements have not satisfied
To appease the craving of their souls and emotions, men and women will turn to the arts, to culture, to music, to literary forms, trying to find fulfillment.
And again, so often, these are amongst the most jaded and dejected of people.
Amongst my acquaintances are some outstanding authors and artists. Yet it is significant that to many of them life is a mockery. They have tried drinking deeply from the wells of the world only to turn away unsatisfied — unquenched in their soul’s thirst. There are those who, to quench this thirst in their parched lives, have attempted to find refreshment in all sorts of physical pursuits and activities.
They try travel. Or they participate feverishly in sports. They attempt adventures of all sorts or indulge in social activities. They take up hobbies or engage in community efforts. But when all is said and everything has been done, they find themselves facing the same haunting, hollow, empty, unfilled thirst within.
The ancient prophet Jeremiah put it very bluntly when he declared, “My people… have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
It is a compelling picture. It is an accurate portrayal of broken lives – shattered hopes – of barren souls that are dried up and parched and full of the dust of despair.
Among young people, especially the “beat” generation, the recourse to drugs, to alcohol, to sexual adventure in a mad desire to assuage their thirst is classic proof that such sordid indulgences are no substitute for the Spirit of the living God. These poor people are broken cisterns. Their lives are a misery. I have yet to talk to a truly happy “hippie”. Their faces show the desperation within.
And amid all this chaos of a confused, sick society, Christ comes quietly as of old and invites us to come to Him. He invites us to follow Him. He invites us to put our confidence in Him. For He it is who best knows how we can be satisfied. He knows that the human heart, the human personality, the human soul with this amazing capacity for God can never be satisfied with a substitute. Only the Spirit and life of Christ Himself will satisfy the thirsting soul.
From: W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 (Zondervan, 1970) p.61-64. Great book and I heartily recommend it to our readers. Carl
You either come to God for forgiveness and salvation based on what the Savior Jesus did on the Cross, or you’re going to come under divine judgment and come to Jesus as your Judge. Which will it be? Carl
Bryan Loritts provides a great challenge to build relationships that last in his new book Enduring Friendships: Sticking Together in an Age of Unfriending. The book uses Paul’s New Testament letter to Philemon as a backdrop for thinking deeply about friendship. And it does challenge us to think deeply about our relationships. Onesimus, the slave to Philemon, who likely stole and then ran away from his servitude, making him deserving of severe consequences if not death. Philemon, the enslaver, and partner in the gospel with Paul. Paul, the missionary, who led both of these men to Christ and now pleads with them to do hard things for their relationship and for the glory of God.
He wants Onesimus to repent and go back and face his offended enslaver.
He wants Philemon to repent and receive Onesimus, not as a slave who stole from him, but as a brother who merits his embrace and partnership.
Paul himself wants to pay whatever is owed to Philemon. “Put it on my account.”
We don’t know “the rest of the story”, but can imagine that repentance was had, forgiveness was extended, and God was glorified, because Onesimus is later counted as a Bishop in the early church.
This book reminds us that relationships are hard but worth fighting for. And enduring relationships are costly and take courage to pursue through the messiness of life. What a mess the book of Philemon offers up. But what a beautiful picture of grace and forgiveness if Paul’s formula is lived out. The offender repents, the offended forgives, and the beauty of reconciliation is witnessed by all.
I wish I could say I didn’t have any tangled messes of relationships in my 49 years, but I can’t. I wish I could say that I’ve always done the right and hard thing for the sake of reconciliation. In ministry, the slights received often make us callous toward deep relationships and make it easier just to let people walk away or not make the journey back to the one we offended. People come and go. Sometimes close relationships are resisted because we begin to expect slights, disrespect, betrayal, and eventual departure. Enduring Friendships reminds us that relationships are worth it.
The key to it all of course is Jesus. He empowers us to forgive, to receive grace, and to repent. And he did the hardest thing of all so that we could experience reconciliation by offering up his own body on the cross.
Some great thinking and maturing to be stirred up by Bryan Loritts’ new book. Grab a copy.
Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
Soul-level friendship often feels like a full-time job with periods of bad compensation.
The problem is relationships are drama, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. Whose life is not made up of mountaintops and deep valleys? If we’re not up for drama, we are not ready for relationships.
A Christian who does not forgive is a contradiction in terms.
There is no lasting friendship without grace.
If you want to have sustained friendships over the course of your life, you must accept that you will at various points be Onesimus and Philemon – offender and offended.
When we fail to allow for nuance and complication, we set the table for short-lived friendships that never resurrect from the graveyard of offense and betrayal.
The journey of friendship is fraught with unavoidable hurt because those involved are marred by sin.
Gossip is saying something behind a person’s back we would never say to a person’s face. Flattery is saying something to a person’s face we would never say behind their back.
Pride is the #1 killer of friendship. Humility is the prime nourisher of healthy relationships.
When we are at death’s door and inevitably stare into the rearview mirror of our lives, we will not take joy in our acts of retribution.
An ungracious Christian is an oxymoron.
Nothing illumines our witness and stands more in contradistinction to our world than when we fight to remain at the table of friendship with people who we have wronged and who have wronged us.
About Lane Corley
I am – Follower of Jesus Christ – Husband to the beautiful and patient Heather Corley – Father of three. – Church Planter/Church Planting Catalyst for Send Network – When I can, I’m reading, raised bed gardening, and on mission with my church. – Hoping to be helpful.
The following is a true story as told to me by my son-in-law who is a North American Mission Board missionary. Only the names have been changed.
While talking with a pastor friend, the pastor related how Young Man had just asked Jesus Christ into his heart, been born again, and joined the church. The pastor was concerned because Young Man had a lot of zeal but lacked knowledge on how to be a witness to his friends. He was afraid he would turn people away from Christ instead of drawing them to Him.
Meanwhile, Young Man was out witnessing to his friends about their need for a Saviour to escape Hell. He carried a cigarette lighter in his pocket. He witnessed to his friend Tim by grabbing Tim’s arm and putting the cigarette lighter underneath his forearm and apply the flame to the skin. You can imagine Tim’s surprise as he jerked his arm away from the flame.
The next Sunday, the pastor runs into Young Man before church and Young Man tells him how he had witnessed to Tim, his friend, with the cigarette lighter. The pastor realizing that he was right about the Young Man, says to the Young Man, ” I have to talk to Tim right after the service. Where can I find him?”
The Young Man says, “Oh, Tim is seated in the church, he wants to be baptized.”
Tim had received his friend’s unconventional witness concerning his need to have his sin washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ so he could escape the justly deserved flames of Hell. In other words, Tim was born again and wanted to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism to testify to the world that he had been born again.
Do you need the flame of a cigarette lighter applied to your arm to get your attention?
The New Testament warns us there is coming a day “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed –for our testimony to you was believed.” II Thessalonians 1:7-10
Today is the day to believe on the Lord Jesus and what He has done for you at the Cross by shedding His precious blood so your sins could be covered. Do not put it off.
“The greatest reason why you should prepare to meet your God is because you MUST meet your God.”
It is not optional.
No excuse slips will be accepted. Your physical death nor your grave will keep you from it. There will be no back door to escape. No escape anywhere. No escape.
Unless your case is settled out of court through a meeting with the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, you MUST appear before the judgment bar of God and you are going to meet with yourself in the presence of God.
What a terrifying thought to meet with yourself! All your evil thoughts, evil words and sinful actions revealed in the presence of a pure, sinless Holy God who hates sin. A Holy God whose Son you have rejected as your Savior and whose precious blood that was shed for the forgiveness of your sins, you have trampled under your feet. A Holy God who is described as a consuming fire.
“But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judges them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shall escape the judgement of God.”
Romans 2: 2 tells us that man’s judgement will be according to truth. Every individual sees himself in the distorted mirror of his own imagination. We have seen mirrors in amusement parks which make a tall man look short and a thin man look fat. The human imagination makes the individual see himself in some sort of comparison with others, and always in a light more favorable than is justified by the truth. The coming of God’s judgment will destroy that distortion; a “hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies” (Isa. 28:17).
You will be forced to look upon yourself as you truly are, in the sight of a Holy God, who hates sin.
And Romans 2:3 says that there will be no escape. No escape. Don’t forget that –no escape.
No, there is no escape. But wait! There is a way of having your case settled out of court. You must move fast. You must come to Christ now. For now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. The Bible teaches us that the issues of eternity are settled in this life. There is no second chance. The Lord said, If you “die in your sins; where I am going, you cannot come….for if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins” (John 8:21, 24).
Today His mercy calls. You are guilty, but you can yet escape God’s wrath, through Christ. If you refuse God’s mercy, you must face Him.
There is no escape.
Come Today To Christ!
Carl
Excerpts from Donald Grey Barnhouse, Romans 1, pp. 12-14, 22
I recently did a teaching on the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and how to tell the book is a channeled book. She is channeling an unidentifiable spirit being who self identifies as ‘Jesus Christ’. But by examining what this spirit tells her in the light of the New Testament, you can tell that it is not the real Jesus Christ but a deceiving, seducing, evil spirit whose goal is to lead God’s people into occultic practices.
There are many ways to discern this deception: by comparing what the spirit says to what the real Jesus Christ said and did in the New Testament, how she used God Calling*, another channeled occult book, as her inspiration, misquoted Scripture, plus others means.
One of the ways you can tell is by the flattery and romantic non-sense that is used in the text.
Some examples are:
Let My gold-tinged Love wash over you and soak into the depths of your being.
When you seek my Face in response to My love call, both of us are blessed.
Look into My Face and feel the warmth of My Love-Light shining upon you.
When your joy in Me meets My joy in you, there are fireworks a heavenly ecstasy.
Take time to rest in the Love-Light of My Presence.
When you trustingly whisper My Name, My aching ears are soothed.
When you walk through a day in trusting dependence on Me, My aching heart is soothed.
Feel your face tingle as you bask in My Love-Light.
I am aching to hold you in My everlasting arms, to enfold you in My Love.
As you listen to birds calling to one another, hear also my Love-call to you.
Now if you have read the New Testament, it does not take long for this type of verbiage to raise an alarm. I never read in the New Testament where Lord Jesus talked to Peter, John, James, or any of the other disciples this way. I can see ole Peter shaking his head and saying that Jesus never talked to him that way.
Apostle Paul warns us about the enemy of our soul using flattery to entrap us:
“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” (Romans 16:17-18)
Paul warns us not to be ‘unsuspecting’ Christians, not to go through life thinking that the enemy does not have designs on us to bring us into captivity to their master satan. There are evil workers of the antichrist spirit (I John 4:3) who will use smooth and flattering speech to gain our trust and confidence resulting in our bondage.
Jude, the Lord’s half-brother, also warns us about flattery as a tool of deception:
“These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” Jude v16
These sinners Jude is warning about are seeking power and control; power and control over you and me so we can help them accomplish their own wicked goals that are cloaked in a false robe of righteousness. The Lord warned us about those who look like sheep but speak like dragons (Rev.13:11).
The Old Testament prophet Daniel tells us that flattery (or smooth words) will be a tool of the ultimate human evil, the Antichrist. Daniel 11:32 says in part:
“…with flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant…” (HCSB).
Truly what Proverb 26:28 says concerning flattery is true:
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Watch out for this tool of the devil. Protect yourself from religious deception. Read the New Testament and know the Truth that will set you free from bondage to religion and protect you from wolves in sheep’s clothing.
“The word that is used in the original language for salvation covers the entire work of God on behalf of the human soul. I am sure that not one of us, not even the one who has spent the most time in the study of the word of God, can fully comprehend the height and the depth of the vast subject of salvation. The depth is our need, the height is the provision that God has made. Salvation begins when the sinner recognizes the fact that he is less perfect than God and therefore under condemnation.
In order to make this very practical, I shall appeal to you directly concerning your own salvation. God comes to you today, just as you are. There is nothing that you have to do in order to draw his attention to you. You do not have to make yourself better in order for him to start his work. There is an old hymn that puts it well:
Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream.
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.
God comes to you whatever your background of education or the lack of it. He comes to you with your prejudices, however they may have been formed. He comes to you with the declaration that you are in a position that is desperate without His help, but he tells you that He is ready to furnish the help you need. Unfortunately, there are those who turn away from Him because they live in a world where illusions are so plentiful. A man is in vigorous health, making good money, and relatively happy. It is easy to think that since you are getting along so well in your progress through the world that you are also getting along well in your progress towards God. The fact is that you are lying in the embrace of death and do not realize your need.
A Chinese evangelist was once preaching on the street in a town in China. He spoke of the weight of sin and a heckler called out to ask how much that weight was. Fifty pounds? One hundred pounds? The evangelist answered: if you have a corpse lying in his coffin, will he feel a one hundred pound weight on his chest any more than a fifty pound weight? So the weight of sin is upon the human soul, and it is only when the Holy Spirit makes us conscious of need that we can feel the weight of sin and turn to the Saviour who is able to lift it.
If you fancy that you have an ability that can help you, you have never understood your own inability or the magnitude of the task which is demanded of you. A man might be the world’s champion Olympic swimmer, but if he were suddenly thrown overboard in the midst of the ocean, the distance to the shore would be totally beyond his powers. And God declares that you are overboard in the sea of sin and that estranges you from him. No breast-stroke of emotion can bring you to the shore. You must recognize your lost position and submit yourself to his sovereign grace. God commands men everywhere to repent. And repentance does not mean an emotional state of being sorry for your sins. It is derived from a Greek expression for the military command of “right about face”. You have been facing yourself, trusting in your own ability while Christ has been behind you, despised and rejected by you. You must about face. You must despise and reject your own efforts for salvation and realize that God has done all the work through the Saviour and that He requires you to put your trust in him.”
For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Quote from Donald Grey Barnhouse, Man’s Ruin (Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids), pp. 169-171
Psalm 119: 38 