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Blog Archive
June 01, 2022
Terry's Thoughts June 2022
Based on several issues that have developed over the last few years and particularly lately, I chose to deviate from my normal style of newsletter articles to address, what I see, as troubling cultural problems that cannot be ignored.
Given the recent incidences of violence in schools (New York and Texas), in places of business, or within the communities and homes of America, we are all on edge about what the future holds. Additionally, there is mass confusion in areas of human life that many never thought would be a problem, such as in the cultural distortions concerning sexual identity, unholy lifestyles both among unbelievers as well as some believers, and the loss of trust in much-loved mentors as well as institutions that we could once trust. So how do we deal with such situations as believers and as the Bride of Christ (the church)? The simple answer is to kneel, pray, and cry out to the Lord for wisdom, healing, and repentance. Christians need to return to Christ instead of the culture when searching for help, and unbelievers need Jesus Christ in their hearts if they ever hope to overcome the tragedy of a life without hope. How is this accomplished? The answer is to simply take seriously the truths, commands, and mandates on holy living and the Gospel from God’s Holy Word! Fortunately for those who know Christ as their personal Savior, all is not lost! The HOPE, courage, and wisdom to survive as well as flourish is found in Scripture.
Lest we forget Scripture is also filled with encouragement, joy, instructions on how to live Godly lives, prophecy that points us to Him, the blessings available to those who surrender to His will and leading, and, most importantly, the power that we need to overcome all the madness and tragedy surrounding us. One of my favorite passages on hope, as mentioned above, is found in Matthew: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (CSB, Matt. 11:28-30). Jesus tells us here that He has everything under control even if we cannot see how, given what we see. Additionally, He tells us to lighten our load in Him and “learn” from Him. Learn what? To trust Jesus regardless of the circumstances you may find yourself in and He will give you the rest you need to continue the journey. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the Gospel personified and we have been commanded to share it. Those caught up in sin have a heart problem and nothing short of Jesus can cure what plagues us within the church and our culture. Let us focus on the HOPE found in Jesus as we navigate the difficulties ahead. Also, don’t forget the Bible reminds us that life will become more difficult as we move closer to His rapture and return, so trusting Him and following Him has become more important now than ever before, at least in my lifetime! Who will you trust and who will stand on His word to impact our culture? Hopefully we will hear, from the WCBA, the same words Isaiah used to respond to God’s call on his life, “HERE I AM. SEND ME.”
As I conclude this special article, please allow me to briefly fill you in on something I mentioned above. At last year’s annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the messengers mandated that the Executive Committee form a task force to engage an outside firm to investigate allegations of misconduct concerning reports of sexual abuse among clergy and leadership within some of our member churches and institutions. Additionally, there were some questions as to the actions of some of the senior leadership in their handling of these allegations that needed to be investigated. Well, that task was accomplished, and the final reports are beginning to be released. The first of what might be a series of releases occurred last Sunday evening. If you have seen this transparent and unbiased report, you will discover some of the findings utterly disgusting as I did. How should we respond? Our response should be one of Godly love for the victims of abuse certainly, but also Godly love toward those caught up in the sin that easily ensnares humanity. We need to pray that we can recover from the damage done with our witness for Jesus. Now is not time to point fingers (that will come), but it is a time for God’s body to come together and practice what we preach from God’s word. This news is fresh and there may be more devastating news to come, so let’s pause just a bit, wait to see what else may appear and trust the Lord for wisdom moving forward. I am working on ways we can protect ourselves from abusers and provide safe places for victims to find help as well as the love of God. Folks, our common enemy and the culture would like nothing more than to see the church destroyed; however, we find—in the Word not in denominations—that the world may fall away but His WORD, THEREFORE HIS TRUTHS WITHIN, will never die. With that promise we can and will survive this serious bump and hopefully genuine revival will occur! Look for, in the coming days, resources to assist your church in the responsibility of protecting the vulnerable and dealing with those who would prey on the vulnerable. Also remember I love you and stand ready to assist you in this journey we call life.
Terry