The Greatest Generation

The Greatest Generation is one of the best Non-fiction books that I have ever read. I have always loved stuff from the 1940s. I love the movies, the clothing, the hairdos, the lifestyle, the history--pretty much everything.
The book made my smile, laugh, and cry as I read it. The things they said made me cry at times, becuase I knew how true all of it was. One woman said that family time was important to everyone back then, but nowadays we don't have time for family.
Most families are broken and both parents work. No one has time for family anymore, the woman said.
And that was another thing--when a couple got married they would stay together, that's just how they were. They didn't just get divorced and move on to someone else like it's nothing. Some people did that, but they say that the great majority didn't.
So unlike today, there thousands of broken families in America.
Everything has changed so much over the last 60 or so years. Our society no longer has values and morals. And the things we accept now would shock someone who lived in the 40s. They would be shocked that we have accepted the most vile and disgusting lifestyles and thrown the things that matter most in the dump.
And that's just in our society as a whole.
But the church is a different story.
We can't expect anything from the world, but for it to get darker and darker.
But from the church we should expect more, don't you think?

The church is supposed to be the light in this dark world. But is it as it should be?
We always say we don't conform to the world. But take a step back and then tell me again that the people of God aren't conforming to this world.
Have you ever looked to see what we have accepted? Churches are beginning to accept the gays and lesbians like it's nothing. And not only are we refusing to take a stand against the world, but we will not even stand against the heretics and false teachers in our own group.
It's easier to stand against gay marriage, than it is to take a stand against a well respected false teacher in our own field.
Do you even realize how dangerous a false teacher is? Do you even understand what you are letting in your church?
There are thousands of people who are blinded by the devil and led astray by heretics, and we sit back and do nothing! Don't you see anything wrong with that?
God has given us His Word so not only will we know how to live, but so we will also know how to defend the truth. And when a false teacher comes we just follow right after him because he might be famous or well-respected in this world. We follow right after and even though we see his teaching blinding others we do nothing but follow and support him.
Am I the only one who sees something disgusting with that?

What would Calvin or Luther or Edwards say if they lived in our day and they saw what we had let in? What would they say?
Part of me says they would fall down and weep for the condition of the church today. They would weep and we just accept it all. We have forgotten how to cry.

God Bless,
   A.W.

Are we any Different?

One of the things I didn't like about my old church was that it was hard to talk about Christ there.
That sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?
Every week I could go to my youth group and hear some good messages, but after that I would just talk a bit and leave. Then a thought came to me; what is the body here for?
Yes, I go to church to worship God, but we can do that at home all week. So why do you need to gather and worship God? Because God calls us to love and serve the body. And we can't do that if we stay at home all the time.
But whenever I went to my church, even if I did hear a good message, I wouldn't come back filled as I should have been. And one of the reasons why it never really did anything was because I didn't really have any fellowship.
Why is it that when we go to church all we can talk about with people is what movie or book came out that week, or about school, or about what we are doing that week?
I don't go to church to have those conversations, I go to church to get filled up and have fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
And I can't have that fellowship if all we do is talk about things that don't even matter in the big picture. Why can't we talk about what matters? Why can't we talk about eternal things?
A lot of times we don't have these conversations with people because we think it will be awkward, and we don't know how to start one of those conversations.
I know that I used to think that way, but now at my new church I have to get out of my comfort zone and start those conversations. The best times I have at church aren't when we play fun games or when I talk about movies and books with my best friend; the best times I have at church are when I get to talk to someone about Jesus Christ, and what God is doing in my life, and in the world.
I want to go to church to get filled up, and sent out again. And I can't get filled up when all we talk about are books.

I guarantee that the majority of people in your youth group aren't even saved.
I don't care how godly they might seem, a godly mask is easy to put on at church. And at my old church especially it was hard to tell who was really saved and who was not. How can you tell?
How should we be able to tell?
We should be able to tell by not only their walk, but their talk too.
The thing was at my church that for small group it was easy to put a face on at small groups, but outside of it, right after it's back to the same--school and life.
Things that don't even matter.
High school is something that only consumes your life for four years, and then college for another four years. That probably won't even be half of your life. Why don't we just spend our time talking about God who, if we are true Christians will always be in our life, always be consuming it?
Why can't God consume our life? Why can't we just talk about God's work in our lives? Why are we so consumed about the world?
There should be a fine line between the believers and the non-believers in our church.
A fine line.
And our love of God shouldn't just flow out of our walk, but also our talk.


Right now some of you are going, "but it's just too hard and awkward if I try and start one."
Of course it is, and that's becuase for this world, talking about God and His Works doesn't flow naturally into our conversations, as it should.
I have to do this at my new church, and once you start doing it, it isn't so hard. It does get easier, and it does fill you up.
I want to spend my time in a church who loves God, and who wants to talk about God, and about eternal things.
I am not saying that in and of themselves, it is wrong to talk about movies and books, but it is so easy to get into a mode that that is all we come and talk about. Can't we just break out of the flow?
Can't we just talk about Jesus Christ for once?


I want to hear what you guys think. Because I know that people have different views on this, so I want to know what you do. Do you just go with the crowd in how you act and what you talk about? Or do you stand against the flow--do you break that flow?


God bless,
   A.W.