Give Me That Old Time Religion

I don’t need to have my ears tickled by watered down preaching or teaching and I don’t need to be entertained constantly.  A steady diet of these things will bring about complacency and inner emotionality that needs to be fed every day so that each person can keep going that’s being sustained by them.  We are all emotional beings, but if people continue to prey on our emotions what will happen when all the hype is gone?  Where will many people be without that constant emotional high being fed by what goes on around them outside of themselves. You might think of it this way, when the hard times come, and they will, Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation, when trials and testing come along with persecution, which will happen, remember this, Paul said everyone who lives a godly life will be persecuted, and there is no music or anyone to entertain you, the only thing that will sustain you and strengthen you is the joy of the Lord that comes from the inside of you and not the outside, if you have a true relationship with the Lord.  

God’s Word says the joy of the Lord is our strength. The world tries to think of more and more ways to entertain people all the time, now think about this, are we trying to compete with the world or conform to it?  The Word of God has something to say about this also in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The world thinks this way, for instance, as far as some entertainment is concerned, we need bigger and higher and scarier rides, the bigger and higher the ride the better people will like it and the more money comes in.  People are sustained by hype every day and many may think the more the better, it seems kind of like a way of escaping reality, kind of like taking drugs, whatever your choice might be.  We exist in a world where we are entertained constantly by T.V., movies, computers, iPhones and of course the internet, going to theme parks and beaches and many resort areas.  Don’t get me wrong, we all can use some entertainment now and then, but a steady diet of it, I believe, will do more harm than good.  I believe in every area of our lives we need to have a balance.  Too much of anything will burn us out prematurely.

A joyful heart is good medicine and where does true lasting joy come from?  The Lord of course!!  I think preaching and teaching needs to have a balance of truth, even if it hurts, plus love and grace.  Today it seems like we hear mostly love and grace without the conviction factor or the fear factor which causes very few to weep at the altar because of their sins before a righteous God!!  

Last I heard the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom.  Where is the godly sorrow today which leads to true repentance unto true salvation?  There are consequences for sin, and no one should take it lightly.  Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life and, in the process, suffered a great deal of pain, making it a very costly sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, something we could have never accomplished on our own.  He was crucified, died and was buried for the atonement (forgiveness) of our sins, without His sacrifice no one could be forgiven of their sins and we all are guilty.  Praise be to the King of kings and Lord of lords for His grace and mercy and love, through Him we can find forgiveness for our sins, praise the Lord!!  

For me, I prefer the old-time religion with a little more grace and love thrown in for a balance.  Enough said, I pray that the good Lord will bless you all today and give you all a blessed day!!  PS if you haven’t yet today, or even if you have, thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!