A Revolution of the Soul

By Dr. DAN ERICKSON

(This article is excerpted from A Christian Manifesto: An Unstoppable Force, which is available at http://www.peoplematterministries.com/unstoppable-force.html)

“My friend, we have lived in serious times.” – John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson

In his book Serious Times, author James Emery White unearths these potent words from Adams toward the end of these great men’s lives. The two founding fathers had given their years to a revolutionary struggle that impacted millions of people and hundreds of years of history.

Today, we too are engaged in a historic struggle, but of a different kind. It’s not one involving guns, bayonets or Redcoats, but it’s every bit as serious. This battle is for the soul of our society, beginning with our own hearts and minds.

Perhaps never before has there been such pressure in the West to conform to our culture’s prevailing secular views. Although the majority of Americans have never been practicing Christians, a certain amount of respect has traditionally been given to people of faith, the Bible and religious culture. But no longer.

Today, the media and our institutions of higher learning characterize committed Christians as foolish at best and dangerous at worst. Anyone who dares to question secular culture’s status quo is ridiculed, called an extremist and marginalized. We daily see the results of people who live as if God does not exist: shattered relationships, hollow hearts, and aimless and desperate children. We live in a nation of despair.

This constant pounding has taken its toll not only on our non-Christian culture, but inevitably infects the hearts of committed believers. It generally affects us in two unhealthy ways. The first is a tendency to blend in, be silent and become like the secularized culture in which we live. The second is to become reactionary, angry, street-corner prophets of doom. Neither leads to a change in our culture or in our own hearts.

How then, are we to respond? Jesus offers a third way:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14 (NIV)

Our Lord Jesus Christ chose neither accommodation nor violent revolution, though he was constantly approached with appeals from both sides. Yet he and his followers ultimately turned the world upside down. The revolution Jesus and his followers started was a revolution of the soul. They did not seek, nor achieve, a political solution. Rather, they gained something much more powerful: By the power of the Holy Spirit, they actually changed people’s hearts. As a result, culture began to change.

Today we have set before us both a challenge and opportunity.

The challenge is the wholesale secularization of our society and the devastating results it yields in fatherlessness, homelessness, addictions and economic destabilization. Yet the opportunity is that we have a solution to the problem that politicians could never dream of. It’s in the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Our opportunity was spelled out by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians:

“… Become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. …” – Philippians 2:15-16
(NIV)

Both Jesus and Paul tell us to cling to and share the truth while we simultaneously embody integrity, love and courage. Our reputations, in and of themselves, should speak volumes. But, according to God’s word, that is not enough. When it comes to God’s truth, silence is not golden.

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” – Romans 10:14 (NLT)

My friends, we have a choice. We can blend in, curse the darkness, or join Jesus’ call for a revolution of the soul, beginning with the revitalization of our own hearts.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Will you join me in a revolution of the soul? Let’s stand for the non-negotiable truths of Scripture that have defined believers for millennia. Let’s live with non-negotiable commitments to integrity, love and grace that characterized our Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples. Let’s become that Unstoppable Force that will change time and eternity.

Imagine the possibilities!

Finding God in Unexpected Places This Christmas

By Dr. DAN ERICKSON

This week I sat down and read the story of the birth of Jesus, looking for any new thoughts or ideas. God was once again faithful to show me something fresh. I hope that I can be of encouragement to you in this Christmas season by sharing these thoughts.

Although Jesus’ birth was predicted in many ways in scripture, the people who should have recognized him did not do so. I think this is because the Messiah didn’t arrive in the way they were expecting.

There was no royal robe, crown or entourage. He was not rich or famous. His birth was more humble than any of ours. A long trip, no place to stay, the birth in a manger with animals – this was no one’s idea of a king’s birth.

Yet God manifested himself that night as a tiny baby and the shepherds rejoiced. In the same way, we can observe Christ in the quiet, small details of life – if we are looking. I think we see evidence of him in the smile of a child, the ring of the bell by the Salvation Army, the hug of a friend or the love of family. We need to notice the small and significant ways Christ touches each of us. The miracle of Christmas begs us to be the one who smiles, who rings the bell and who gives a hug. Christ calls us to love our world, a world that still doesn’t see the One who came and lives today.

As you celebrate, we pray that Christ will be acknowledged and his coming celebrated for who he is.

“She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:2