It seems to me that a lot of people are losing interest in going to church because the old devil, who is very real, has a grip on the world. No one wants to offend anyone now days, so churches are not preaching the hard truth, lots of them sugar coat things so as not to offend. We need to get back to the basics. As I once heard Richard Weightman say, "The best commentary on the bible is the bible". We get further and further from it daily, I’m not saying don’t read other Christian books, but we must be careful when we listen to man’s interpretation of God’s word!
Don’t ever think that you can’t just preach the basics, that’s hogwash. I had a pastor back in Louisiana, Bob Simpson, who always preached it right from the bible, just the basics. I listened to him Wednesdays and twice on Sundays and I never heard him preach a dull or boring sermon. He always opened with a joke to get everyone laughing, like one I remember: He said a salesman was driving in a rural area and came up on a chicken running so fast he had to speed up to 70 to catch up with it. It turned into a farm road and he followed it. He stopped and asked the farmer who was out working if he saw the chicken? The farmer said; “Yep, we all like drumsticks around here so we breed chickens with three legs.” “Well how do they taste?” asked the salesman. “We don’t know,” replied the farmer, “We can’t catch ‘em.” Then, bam; while you were still laughing he blessed you with the true word of God. Usually you were wiping tears when you got there from his humor and you were wiping tears when you left because God’s word had squeezed your heart. You could hear a pin drop, because it was what we had gone to church for, we wanted to be fed on God’s word. You did not fall asleep when he preached.
There is no end to subject matter in the bible, every thing we need is there. Bob Simpson loved the Lord and he loved his people. If teens or even adults were chatting in church he would call them down and reprimand them for being disrespectful of God’s word. You might think his church was small for this reason, no; it was the biggest around and is still growing. People want to hear God’s Word, they hunger for it! Somewhere along the way man decided that we need to be entertained and they are just plain scared to preach the whole truth.
Acts: 4: 12 …Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
HE IS ALWAYS THERE
By: Lillian Carol Russell
May the Lord bless us all; grant us peace today and every day.
May He guide and protect us all as we travel life's highway.
His word stands forever and His promises are true.
And though the dark clouds gather the Son will see us through.
Sometimes the road we travel may seem to be uphill
The climb will be much easier if it is not against His will.
Let us commune with Him in constant fervent prayer,
And place our trust in Him alone, for He is always there.
From His presence and His glory we can never hide,
The Holy Spirit dwells with-in, our constant friend and guide.
Let us never take Him where He would not want to go,
Sometimes the things we do can grieve the Holy Spirit so.
He alone knows our every thought and every deed,
If the thought that we are thinking is a flower or a weed.
The things we do in secret are not secret from our God,
Let us be so very careful where our feet have trod.
Let us always keep Him close in thought and in prayer,
And always remember; He is always there.
JAMES 4:14 ...Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then will vanish away.
