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Concerning Stats Reveal Why Knowing Scripture Is So Important
Believers serious about following Jesus need to understand Scripture.
That’s the argument Dr. Peter Bylsma, author of “The Bible I Never Knew: A Closer Look At Christianity’s Main Themes,” made on a recent episode of CBN’s “Faith vs. Culture.”
A survey released last year by the American Bible Society found a majority of Americans wish they cracked the covers of their Bibles more often. The State of the Bible analysis showed more than half (52%) of Americans aspire to reading Scripture more regularly, CBN News reported.
More than a quarter of them, though, said they just “don’t have enough time” to do it.
Perhaps even more concerning is only 6% of professing Christians hold to a biblical worldview, with the overwhelming majority (96%) choosing syncretism, a “term used to describe a customized blend of philosophies of life that a person pieces together for their own satisfaction,” the survey explained.
Failing to study and understand the themes of the Bible, Bylsma asserted, shows a lack of seriousness about following Jesus and adhering to Christianity.
“Our culture is working against us,” he explained. “In fact, we don’t even realize we are in a culture that is influencing us in different ways. For a person to take on a different perspective based on Scripture … [you need] a network of people who are thinking like you and can support one another because the message of the Gospel and the message of the Bible are countercultural and that is hard to live in today’s society.”
Another concern is New Age philosophies creeping into Christianity.
A Pew Research Center survey from 2018 found six-in-10 Christians believe in at least one of four of the New Age themes outlined in the study: “Believe spiritual energy can be located in physical things,” “believe in psychics,” “believe in reincarnation,” and “believe in astrology.”
Additionally, a YouGov poll released in late 2022 found 87% of Americans believe in at least one belief that falls loosely under the umbrella of “new-age spiritualism.” The study found more than half of respondents (55%) said they believe karma is real, with 41% believing in hypnosis, 39% believing in UFOs and extraterrestrials, and 29% believing in the “law of attraction,” known by many as “manifesting.”
It’s often a failure to understand Scripture and the tenets of the Christian faith that result in those who claim to follow Jesus espousing beliefs antithetical to Christianity. While many come to faith without a deep knowledge of the Bible, it’s critical they, upon salvation, invest in understanding Scripture and the teachings of Jesus.
“We usually come to Christ in a simple way, usually not having counted the cost, usually not having a knowledge of what you’re getting yourself into,” Bylsma said. “You jump in and then you have that relationship and then you think that’s enough. And I would say the church doesn’t really do a good job of nurturing mature Christians.”
“Some of the churches I go to kind of have the same themes over and over,” he continued. “I would say it’s elementary; it’s almost spiritual milk. And there really needs to be a deeper dive into the concepts and the themes [of the Bible]. Twenty minutes once a week just doesn’t do it.”
It’s tempting, he continued, to feel satiated in just knowing a handful of Bible passages. But those who believe they are saved and are desiring of a relationship with Jesus “need to go further.”
To make his case, he pointed to the teachings of the Apostle Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11, he wrote, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (NIV). Paul’s point was that, as believers continue in the Christian faith, they should mature spiritually.
The central — and most important — theme of the Bible, of course, is the message of Jesus. Everything throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, points to God becoming a man, taking on the insurmountable debt sinful humanity could not pay by dying on the cross and rising from the grave three days later.
Believers who have accepted Jesus as their savior ought to invest time in truly understanding the whole of Scripture, knowing that it is fundamentally transformational. It is, as Hebrews 4:12 explains, “alive and active” and “sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (NIV).
You can watch our full conversation with Bylsma in the episode of “Faith vs. Culture” above.
Sources:faithwire
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ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേ സമ്മേളനം സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 വൈകിട്ട് 5 മണിക്ക് ഇർവിംഗ് സിറ്റിയിൽ
ഡാളസ് : ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേ സമ്മേളനം ഇർവിംഗ് സിറ്റിയിൽ സെപ്റ്റംബർ19 ശനിയാഴ്വ വൈകുന്നേരം 5 മണിക്ക് ബെഥനി ഫുൾ ഗോസ്പൽ അസംബ്ളി ഹാളിലാണ് ആരംഭിയ്ക്കുന്നത്. സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ ഇർവിംഗ് മേയർ (A I Zapanta ), ഷെർവിൻ ഡേസ്സ് , ഡോ. സിസിൽ അനിയൻ തുടങ്ങിവരാണ് മുഖ്യ പ്രസംഗകർ. ഇവരെ കൂടാതെ ഇന്ത്യൻ പ്രവാസികളായ ക്രൈസ്തവ ജനതയെ പ്രതിനിഥീകരിച്ച് വിവിധ സഭാ മേലദ്ധ്യഷന്മാരും, പ്രതിനിധികളും, സംഘടനാ ലീഡേഴ്സും, പൊതു ജനത്തെ അതിസം ബോധന ചെയ്ത് സംസാരിക്കുന്നതാണ്.
ക്രൈസ്തവരായ ഇന്ത്യൻ ജനതയുടെ പൈതൃകം, സംസ്കാരം, സാഹോദരിയത്വം , ഐക്യത തുടങ്ങിയ മൂല്യങ്ങളെ ഉയർത്തി കാട്ടുന്നതിനും, ക്രിസ്തുവിൻ്റെ സ്നേഹം മറ്റുള്ളവരിലേക്ക് പകരപ്പെടേണമെന്നതാണ് ഈ സമ്മേളനം ലക്ഷ്യമാക്കുന്നത്. പാസ്റ്റർ മാതൃൂ ശാമുവേൽ, പാസ്റ്റർ ജോൺ യല്ലംമ്പള്ളി, പാസ്റ്റർ പോൾ ഗോരപ്പ തുടങ്ങിയവരാണ് ടെക്സസിലെ ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേയുടെ മുഖ്യ സംഘാടകർ.
സമ്മേളന സ്ഥലം : Bethany Full Gospel Assembly, 2901 N MacArthur Blvd.Irving,.Tx.75062
വിശദ വിവരങ്ങൾക്ക് ബന്ധപ്പെടുക: 469 212 3216.
Sources:globalindiannews
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കോർക്ക് ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭയിൽ സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്
അയർലൻഡ്: ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്: കോർക്ക് ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭയുടെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തിൽ എറൈസ് & ഇഗ്നൈറ്റ്’ എന്ന വിഷയത്തെ ആസ്പതമാക്കി ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്, 2026 സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച രാവിലെ 10:00 മുതൽ കോർക്കിലെ ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭ ഹാളിൽ വച്ചു നടത്തപ്പെടും.
പ്രശസ്ത ദൈവവചന പ്രാസംഗികനും ഗായകനുമായ പാസ്റ്റർ കാലെബ് ജീ ജോർജ് ക്യാമ്പിൽ മുഖ്യസന്ദേശം നൽകും. യുവാക്കളിൽ ആത്മീയ ഉണർവും ദൈവീക അനുഗ്രഹവും ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് ക്രമീകരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഈ ക്യാമ്പ്, ആത്മനിറവിനായുള്ള മികച്ചൊരു അവസരമായിരിക്കും
കൂടുതൽ വിവരങ്ങൾക്കും സൗജന്യ രജിസ്ട്രേഷനും പാസ്റ്റർ എം. എം. തോമസ്, പാസ്റ്റർ കെ. പി. ബിജുമോൻ എന്നിവരുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെടാവുന്നതാണ്
ഏവരുടെയും പ്രാർത്ഥനാപൂർവ്വമായ പങ്കാളിത്തം പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുന്നതോടൊപ്പം, എല്ലാ യൗവനക്കാരെയും പരിപാടിയിലേക്ക് സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്യുന്നതായി ഭാരവാഹികൾ അറിയിച്ചു.
Sources:cchintha.in
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Theologian Uncovers Dangerous ‘Common Sense’ Hidden in Kids’ Movies Today
Very often, the truth is hiding in plain sight. That’s certainly the case with much of children’s entertainment.
The underlying message affixed to any number of movies geared toward kids seems to be some version of following one’s own heart, listening to his desires, chasing after her feelings. But that message, according to Trevin Wax, is a direct contradiction to the Gospel.
Wax, an author and visiting professor at Cedarville University, recently appeared on CBN’s “Faith in Culture,” were he eschewed such ideologies. While the world calls those ideas “common sense,” he said they are incongruous with Christianity.
“You think of these slogans that are out there, like, ‘Be true to yourself,’ ‘You do you,’ ‘Live your truth,’ ‘You are enough,’ ‘Follow your heart,’ ‘Chase your dreams,’” he said. “Sociologists call that ‘expressive individualism.’ … That’s the plot line in so many movies, even, like, good wholesome movies, in Disney movies. … It kind of passes for common sense in our day and age.”
The secular understanding of “freedom” is a far cry from true freedom as explained in Scripture, Wax said.
“It’s just so easy to define freedom in our day as a freedom from constraints, from limitations,” he explained. “[The world says] freedom is me doing whatever I want to do, when the Bible actually teaches that, ‘No, you doing just whatever you want to do, especially in our flesh, is a kind of slavery.’”
Throughout the New Testament, the Apostle Paul explains human beings will always be slaves to something — either to sin and our own desires or to a just and merciful God whose ways are higher and better than our own.
In Romans 6:16, Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (NLT).
“True freedom is submission to God, and it’s freedom for something,” said Wax. “It’s not doing whatever we want; it’s aligning our wants with God’s will, recognizing that that’s when we’re truly freest.”
Wax is the author of the new book, “The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids,” a children’s edition of his book by the same title.
In it, he and his co-author, Thomas West, outline 50 faith-centered questions and answers for children to read, study, and talk about with their families. He explained that these catechisms should serve as conversation starters in the home.
“A catechism isn’t supposed to be everything,” he said. “It’s supposed to be something. It’s meant to give you the structure or the scaffolding that you can then come in later and begin to fill in.”
While the world teaches a “meditation” that empties the mind of everything, Wax emphasized a godly mindfulness that calls believers to fill their minds with the commands and promises of Scripture.
“We’ve got to distinguish the Christian understanding of prayer from just mindfulness routines or just Eastern meditation that leads us to sort of empty our minds,” he explained. “[B]iblical meditation … is a filling of the mind with Scripture and God’s Word.”
Sources:faithwire
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