Last week, I began to break down these concepts from Luke 10:27 and I got as far as talking about what it would me (to me, anyway) to love the Lord our God with all your heart. But that was only one of four ways Jesus told us we should love Him. So, let’s continue where we left off and see if we can wrap this up.
For about seven months now, I’ve been working on my own blog in addition to writing for the Jesus Site. The title of my blog is “Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength.” This blog is focused on what Christ referred to as “the greatest commandment” in response to a question from the Pharisees. This reference can be found at Luke 10:27.
Recently, I was listening to some teaching by Chuck Smith on the work of the Holy Spirit. The teaching was excellent with lots of great stuff. But I wanted to specifically focus on something he pointed out within the first few moments of the audio.
“We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.”
This bold statement comes from a recent article at The Christian Science Monitor entitled, “The Coming Evangelical Collapse.” Sound outrageous? I’m not too sure about that.
For so many Christians today, faith is simply a matter of just that….faith. In many cases, this faith is the result of being nurtured in an environment that leaves little other option other than to follow in one’s parents footsteps. One generation believes in and accepts Jesus Christ because their parents raised them in the church and that is all they have ever known.
Making the connection between belief and action should be such a simple thing. In every day life, it plays itself out. You believe the stove is hot, so you avoid touching it. You believe that you’ll get in trouble if you’re late for work, so you get out of bed earlier. So, why is it so hard to do the same thing with Christ?
