He stumbled in around midnight knowing he would need some sleep before he would go in to work his last shift of duty. But there would be no rest for him this night. He labored through the darkness begging forgiveness again and again. Verses echoed warnings inside his head. Then the fear blasted in, leaving a hole in his stomach. The dawn had brought dew he noticed as he shuffled out to his truck, his wife still in bed. Climbing in, the waves crashed over his spirit causing him to slump over the steering wheel. Was the smell of her perfume still lingering on his cloth bucket seats or was it just a programmed scent he had recalled? The taste of her forbidden skin had been sweet, but loomed bitter this morning. Maddening, he slammed his fist on the dash exclaiming, "Lord, I knew better than that! I should've never even been there in the first place!". He knew better. James 1: 22-24 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.". Being a "doer of the word" will be a learned behavior, not an innate one. It is not exactly encouraged in our secular dominated culture.In our pursuit of the "American Dream" we have adopted the values of personal peace and affluence as priorities. Personal peace means to not be bothered by anyone else's troubles as we sit comfortably on our own front porch kingdom. A "Do Not Disturb" sign is displayed on the front door of our minds. Affluence simply means increasing abundance in money and material possessions. The quest for these values places our minds inside a pressurized bubble, ever-increasing in size, and destined to pop. Supplementing these two values is the permeation of cultural christianity. It is sensing a need for God, but on our own terms. It requires God to grant us this personal peace and affluence to prove He loves us. He is the nice, spoiling type that just lets us have our own way as we build up ourselves. Second Timothy 3: 1-5 warns, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.".With this secular influx, we see the development of the Cultural Christian. The Parable of the Sower explains that one cultural christian may be of a counterfeit faith, having a false commitment. "They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away." (Luke 8: 13) Another cultural christian may have a defeated faith: overcome by the secular, worldly influence. "...they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." (Luke 8: 14) Oppositely, Biblical Christians "have a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." (Luke 8: 15)Pat Morley writes, "Biblical Christians don't live by their own ideas, but by penetrating, understanding, and applying the Word of God. As a result of his saving faith he desires to be obedient to God's principles. Cultural Christians have a saving faith, but they have not obediently made Christ Lord over all their lives; they have not allowed the Holy Spirit to empower them. The question we must ask ourselves is " Is there any difference in the way I live and the way the secular world lives?" A researcher interviewed several hundred Christians. He said, "I found a great deal of zeal for God's work, but very little passion for God." Is it possible that we can be too busy "doing" but not keeping our personal relationship with God a priority? Revelation 2: 2-4 points to a group of people saying, " you have forsaken your first love." The Biblical Christian does not lose his genuine passion for God himself. He searches for real truth in the scriptures, examines his life according to Biblical principles, and takes committed steps to applying them to personal issues.We must remember to be patient in our actions. It took time to become who we are today; it will take perseverance to get the man in the mirror to change. To God be the glory.Next Week: Significance: The Search for Meaning and Purpose.
