More bad news—yeah I know you’re tired of it, so am I. But sometimes it does us good to think about what is happening around us. I just read that the Boy Scouts in Dundee, Scotland will now “be able to pledge allegiance to ‘Allah’ and drop the traditional oath to God and Queen.”

A spokesman for the Scout association said, “ The Scouts may have been a Christian organization originally but we have long been non-denominational and inclusive.”

I can’t help but wonder why “Christians” keep thinking they have to cater to everyone. Everywhere you turn you see examples of this. Now, I’m not really concerned about the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts, etc. My concern has to do with the ease in which professing Christians compromise. It’s crazy! It’s like the generic “prayers” at a political event, etc.—worthless! It’s like the “seeker friendly” churches that remove the name Baptist so as to accommodate those who despise it. Why don’t we just scotch our feet and take a stand for the truth. I would rather be hated than to compromise the truth.

This is where we get to the root of the problem. Most people today do not believe there is any such thing as absolute truth. When you adopt that view anything goes. That’s the attitude we are dealing with today.

Sadly, most people don’t understand the dangers of this. When you depart from the truth there is no stopping place, one compromise leads to another. Without the foundation of truth everything eventually falls. That’s why abortion, homosexuality, etc. have become acceptable in our society today. You just have to wonder how far it will go before the judgment of God falls.

Now as never before, Christians need to take a stand for the truth. Regardless of the pressure being exerted on us to change, we need to stick with the Word of God. We aren’t in a popularity contest. We are involved in a spiritual warfare and the truth of God’s word is our weapon—lay it aside and you lose! Think about it!

A short time ago I resolved to stop spending so much time on issues such as politics–but I almost slipped! After reading about some recent events, which I won’t name, I was sickened by it. My first thought was to write something about it, attack, denounce it, but I resisted the urge. It would have been a waste of time.

Every student of the Bible can clearly see what an awful condition our nation is in and where we are headed. It’s not a pretty picture. The good news is that, more than ever, I can see what is truly important and what is not. Trying to reform the world and save our nation are not the most important things.

As Christians we have a mandate from heaven (Matthew 28:19-20) and that’s where our focus should be. We must not let a thousand “good causes” distract us from our God given task. The work of His kingdom should take precedence over everything else. Winning souls, establishing churches, and training disciples matter more than efforts to change society. The fact is, that is the only way to change society for the better.

I’m tired of “cursing the night”–it doesn’t work. A better use of our time and energy is to bring light to this sin darkened world. As believers we should invest all we have in proclaiming the glorious gospel to those living in darkness–“it is the power of God unto salvation to every one thay believeth.”(Romans 1:16) Our time on earth is short. Let us not get side-tracked in the pursuit of things of secondary importance. We have only so much time, energy, and resources, may we spend them wisely. Think about it!

There’s nothing like “old friends” and I’m not talking about age, although that would be appropriate in some cases. My wife and I just returned from visiting some of the folks I’m talking about. I preached last Saturday and Sunday at the Rodgers Baptist Church in Garland, Tx. where we had the privilege of visiting with Pastor Ron Thomas and his wife Brenda. This church has a special place in my heart and every visit brings back a lot of wonderful memories. Being there also gives me the opportunity to see a lot of old friends, even some I didn’t expect to see. What a blessing!

Many of those “old friends” are preachers and their wives (remember what I said, “I’m not talking about age.”–whew, that was close!), but many are simply church members who have remained faithful down through the years. I’ve know some of them for nearly 40 years and they are still involved in God’s work. What a great testimony!

It is members like that who, under the leadership of their good pastor, make Rodgers Baptist Church the great church it is. God has used this church to do amazing things and I am encouraged everytime I visit. It reminds me of what God can do when we do things His way.

Well, I guess there ought to be some point to all this, so I’ll just wrap it up by by saying this—Be grateful for your friends and never forget what a serious responsiblity it is to be a person’s friend. They won’t be around forever, so take a little time to let them know how special they are to you. It will be wonderful when all God’s children are gathered home where they can spend eternity in one anothers company. Until then, take some time to enjoy your friends. You will be glad you did. Think about it!