Are We Living in a Godless Culture?

Social media is a great thing. It allows us to connect almost instantly to anyone, anywhere. We can share stories, swap pictures and videos, and interact with one another even though we are on opposites sides of the world.

But it can also allow you to see the world and just how much has changed since the foundation of this great nation, known as America. It shows you the ugly side of life and how far we have fallen. I can now see looking back historical at how the nation of Israel, God's chosen people fell away and we are doomed to repeat the very same mistake unless we wise up before it happens.

Just this weekend, I had the glorious opportunity to immerse myself in history as we celebrated Good Friday through Resurrection Sunday. It always brings me back to humble beginnings when we can see how much the world was changed through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's the very reason for celebration because all the other religious figures of the world are still in their graves. This is what makes Christianity stand apart and thus perhaps, why the world has been hating Christians ever since it happened.

But you know what I've noticed is that just because you attempt to control people with barbaric acts of violence, create rules to take everything away, Jesus still lives. You could take it all away and our faith would still stand strong.

It was during this weekend, that I came across a Facebook post about the rising persecution of Christians all around the world thanks to folks like ISIS and other religious groups who are trying to strike fear into the hearts of believers of Jesus everywhere. It wasn't something that a lot of the local news or world news programs even reported on. It was a group of African students who were killed because they either confessed they were Christian and believers of Jesus or they weren't. Those who weren't followers of Jesus, were let go by the way.

It was the same for people all around the Middle East, in China, North Korea, anywhere that Jesus is hated, you will find groups rising up to kill Christians. Why?

Are we forcing our beliefs on you?

Is that even possible? We can't force anyone to do anything they don't want to do. Look at the Holocaust as an example of what forcing people to do, gets you. It doesn't.

Are we forcing the truth of the Bible upon people who don't want to read it?

Are we forcing people to bend and yield to our ways over their own desires?

Or is it quite possible, the Christian way of life is simply about loving a God who was willing to die for us because He loved us enough to save us?

No one is forced into anything, in fact that is the very reason God created free will. He didn't want a bunch of people he created, to serve him and love him just because He forced us to.

Nope, is simple, we get our own choice. To chose to believe it all, everything the Bible tells us is true and that Jesus is who He said He was, and lives in Heaven waiting for us to join Him.

The world did have a beginning and one day it will also have an end. That is just the way it is. And when we get to the end, our choices will make eternal decisions for us. It is really that simple. And perhaps that is why people hate God.

Maybe He didn't answer their prayer the way, they wanted.

Maybe those laws, He created, aren't the life they want to live.

Maybe we want what we want, and we don't need any help from God.

God is so loving that He will provide all those choices for you. He doesn't owe us an answer and even if He did, we might not like the answer we get anyway, kinda like our children do when they want something and they don't get it.

Back to my story, this entire Facebook post was literally a wall of shame, mockery, hate, anger, hurt, and sadness. From posting wild pictures of Jesus, to mocking any aspect of people being killed for their faith, was posted in well over 600+ comments by the time I gave up looking at it. While there were a handful of Christians doing all they could to share and support the truth of this post, well over 90% were not having anything to do with it and made their opinions known.

Is this a sign that we are living in a Godless culture?

I believe with all my heart it is. From removing our prayer from school, to removing the 10 Commandments from the government offices, to removing crosses or any religious item that may offend someone, is happening every single day. While we fight to keep our freedoms, it is sad to see what we are letting slip away for the sake of doing what makes others feel good in their own eyes.

Why is it that if any other religious group were to face the type of persecution that Christians are, people would not tolerate it. Why are we making concessions for Islam in this country when we are a nation founded on Godly principles? 

I believe my dear friends and family, that what we are seeing is the hand of God removing His hand of blessing upon our nation, and when that happens, our continued disobedience will leave God no choice but to administer his judgment until we wake up and call upon Him to save us.

But if the Facebook post is any indication of what the majority of the world feels, may God come quickly because things are going to get pretty bad before people wake up any time soon, if they ever do. So when faced with persecution for your faith in Jesus?

Stand boldly with Him for the Bible clearly spells it out for us as believers:

John 15:18-21“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you... because they do not know Him who sent Me." 

John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues [today it might be from churches]; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them."

Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven...."< br />Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us"

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."