Our New Presence on Facebook

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Just wanted to take a moment or two of your time to let you know that we have a new presence on Facebook. Not sure why we waited so long but truthfully, I find FB more of a distraction than anything, though there are certainly some good things there.

Anything we publish here will automatically be highlighted over at our new Study-Grow-Know page on Facebook. That address is: https://www.facebook.com/Study-Grow-Know-621075958045995/

We also want to take a moment to let people know once again of our presence at Sermon Audio dot-com. Our page there is found at this link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/studygrowknow

Much of the time, we take our individual articles and turn them into audio messages to post over there. Interestingly enough, we have listeners from all over the world, but with most of our listeners living in the United States.

If you feel so led, please feel free to highlight these URLs on your own social network or blog sites. In the meantime, we would invite you to stop by our Study-Grow-Know page on FB and “like” us. If you feel so inclined, please also share our site among your friends.

Thanks very much for your support and may we grow together in Christ. This means that may your authentic fellowship with Him increase as you gain more of Him and lose more of yourself.

Thanks very much!

By the way, as a bit of an aside, I was at a popular bookstore today and I was once again amazed at how many people have published their own “Bibles.” Now, I’m all for seeking out the help of commentaries, word study books, almanacs, maps, and dictionaries related to biblical studies. I think that’s important. However, with the amount of different Bibles out there that are designed for every purpose and every circumstance, I think it’s become a bit too much.

The same can be said for all the tremendously large amount of Christian “self-help” books out there. These are the type of books which use a smattering of Scripture here and there and sprinkle in large doses of Christianized talking points in an attempt to prove “memes” and sayings allegedly to help us walk through this life.

Every book I looked at this morning had a cover made largely of the author. Each author was photographed from either the waist up or full body shot, with one of those ethereal-looking smiles on their face that is designed to say, “Look how happy and at peace I am! Don’t you wish you were me?”

Books that highlighted everything from you can have your best life now, to how to live in heaven while still on earth, to you’re using the wrong words that create the wrong thoughts, etc., etc., etc. It was sad, to say the least.

I cannot remember the last time I went into an actual Christian bookstore. I recall the last time I went to one, it was a bit appalling. I had been to that particular bookstore several times, but hadn’t gone in over a year. When I finally did return, I was shocked to see just how small the section for commentaries, word study books, dictionaries, and other academic works had become. They had been shoved out by all the Christian “self-help: schlock.

It is amazing what the arena of Christendom has become, hasn’t it? I know many to most of you can relate to this. I have no problem with Bible studies in groups or even going to other Christians to seek their counsel or wisdom on certain passages of Scripture. That’s fine. It’s one of the ways iron sharpens iron. My overall difficulty is how Christianity has been reduced to a set of memes and glib sayings. That’s not going to help anyone grow in fellowship with God in Christ. That type of Christianity has no staying power, no actual empowering by God from within. In many ways, it’s not even milk for the soul. It’s less than that.

I have sometimes wondered what Jesus would think or say if He went into a Christian bookstore today? What would His response to the various books that try to wrap Christianity up in some type of shiny bow? What would He say to the managers or owners of those stores that sell “Candy for Christ” or books that teach heresy, yet are kept on the shelves because they are big sellers?

The situation overall is very sad. Seek Christ. Seek fellowship with Him. Whatever it takes, seek to understand the amount of forgiveness that He has granted to you for the sin in your life. This will, in turn, create within you a true desire to forgive (and thereby) love others.

That’s not going to happen by reading a few memes from a book whose author is plastered across the front cover, either standing, sitting in a chair or couch, or made to look like he/she is walking on a cloud. That’s marketing. It’s not Christianity.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective