Education or Complacency?

[MrsDeweySmith]

This is from Laines Letters (lainesletters.com, I believe is the addy)
Sister Deanna

Dear Sisters,
I heard something so upsetting last night. I couldn't sleep and kept praying and praying to God about it. This morning I found my heart was still heavy and the tears just flowed and flowed to my Savior and King.

What is the problem? Well, my oldest son, Quincy, got into a discussion with a few Christian teenagers at church yesterday. The conversation was about rated "R" movies. The other teens felt that it was okay to watch them if they were "learning" something which would help them in the future to realize that this action or this history lesson being portrayed was wrong and should not be repeated. My son kept trying to show them that they should not be watching such a movie in the first place - that it would only put things into their minds which would cause more destruction than help to them. Violence, nudity, and the hearing of God's name in vain among other destructive words and scenes...


Education or complacency?


"Cease listening to Instruction, my son, and you will stray from the Words of Knowledge." Proverbs 19:27


Quincy came home from church and sat down with his father. He asked his dad to help him find verses from the Word of God which would help his friends to realize this kind of thinking was wrong. Art showed Quincy many verses. One of them was:


"Abstain from every appearance of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22


Abstain.


Withhold ourselves.


Don't go there.


Don't be named among them.


No evil.


Abstain. Abstain. Abstain.


"I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me." Psalm 101:3


That evening Quincy took the verses to his friends at a Bible study. Twelve teenagers were there. All of them believers in Jesus Christ. For a little over an hour Quincy tried to show them through the Word of God that going to rated "R" movies or any other movie which is profane is wrong, whether it is "educational" or not. But do you know what happened? Not one of those teenagers agreed with him. Not one. In fact, they strongly opposed him.


My son came home so dejected. He is sixteen years old. It is not easy to stand up against twelve other peers for over an hour. Especially when they are all coming at you pretty strongly. Quincy was a bit confused when he came home. He felt so alone. He was so sure that when they heard the Word of God they would agree that The Word was right because they were followers of Jesus Christ. But that was not the case. And there was no teacher present at the study last night to help him out. Although, to be quite honest with you, I am not so sure a teacher would have been much help to him. For we are doing a lot of things in the name of "education" these days, even among Christian leaders...


Education or complacency?


We have a saying in our house, "If we can't watch it with Jesus, we can't watch it."


God has a better way of putting it:


"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9


"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable." 1 Peter 2:11-12a


I beg you, too. Oh, I beg you. Abstain. Abstain. Abstain. I can tell you from experience that spending time in the world's words will only bring waste to your mind and heartache to your soul. I did it for years as a believer. I was as complacent as they come. By all rights He should have spewed me out of His Mouth. It was not until I gave up the world's words and hung on to His every Word that I began to see victory after victory in my life. His Word feeds the soul. His Word sheds light in your heart. His Word changes your mind and thus your conduct incredibly.


"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."


"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15: 4, 13


I can tell you that I never had joy, peace, patience, and comfort in believing this world's words. But when I began to dig deeply into the Word of God and began to forsake this world's empty words I found joy, peace, patience and great comfort. My life has not been the same since. I simply love the Word of God! I am so very thankful He drew me away to abide in Him. There is nothing like being a child of God.


"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest in your hope fully upon the grace of that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in ignorance, but as He Who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:13-16


Holy, holy, holy. Set apart. Chosen for His purposes and His praise. A royal priesthood.


We try very hard to teach our children "who" they are in Christ Jesus. They may look like the children of a welder and a homemaker, but really they are:


A Chosen Generation.


Called to abstain from fleshly lusts.


Held to an honorable conduct.


Minds girded in Christ Jesus.


Holy. Holy. Holy.


And what these teenagers decreed to my son last night, I have an awful, sinking feeling, their parents also decree.


"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6


How many of us as believers are training our children in the world of movies and television rather than in the Word of God? Then when they become teens and have a thirst and a taste for the world, we wonder to ourselves "Where did this come from?"


We're blind! We're blind! We've spoonfed them the world's words for years and they've got "the taste of the world" on their tongue.


Guess what? They like it.


And they're not willing in the least to give it up. Even if you quote the Living Word of God to them.


May God help us. May God help us!


"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded." James 4:8


"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7


"Captivate every thought and make it give up and obey Christ."


"Abhor what is evil."


"Cling to what is good."


"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."


His Word is so true. So true.


I can tell you that you from experience that you will never know the power of God wallowing in complacency. You know what else? You will never know the power of God wallowing in education either.


Rather the power of God rests in His Word and the believer believing it, praying it, and obeying it. Oh, I can tell you from experience that I am not the same woman after spending seven years in His beautiful, beautiful Word. It has literally transformed my mind, my heart, my soul, and my entire being. Everything that I gave up from this world was really worthless. Everything that God has given to me in its place is perfectly priceless.


"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."


"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2:9, 12-13


Ahhh, there is nothing like falling in love with God our Father, revealed through Jesus Christ His Son, and shed abroad in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing, nothing like it.


"Abhor what is evil."


"Cling to what is good."


I've been doing both through Jesus Christ my LORD and I am in awe of His power and victory in my life. Guess what? So is my son. He told me today that he's learned a lot through this and feels closer to the LORD. I know exactly what he means. For it may look like we're standing alone at times, but really Jesus Christ is the One doing the standing in us. It is more awesome than I can describe.


Education of complacency?


"For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16


The mind of Christ. Now that is priceless, pure, and powerful. It's worth everything.


Love,
Laine

[benshelpmeet]

Dear Deanna,

Thank you for posting this letter. This is so sad but true. The state of our churches is poor. Almost dead. Our preachers, teachers, parents are humanistic in there thinking and carnally minded, and it's how they come across on topics discussed with them. They just don't get it, what true christianity is and who Christ is and what He expects out of the believer. I think many, many people have just said a prayer and tryed to be moraly good (for the most part ) but that their just not truely born again. Religious but not saved. I know this is a shocking statement but it's verry true. Were in the end times for sure. It all seems so strange, the world, the church, people, they just don't get it! We need to not get sidetracked and dismayed or disheartened by our surroundings, our peers , the state of our churches. We must stay focused on God and His Word, we must be strength to others searching, stumbling, thoses in need, those wanting more, to know Jesus truely know Him and walk with Him. We must be strong in our faith and walk. Our children need us. We live in strange desperate times, but God is our refuge and strength. Amen.

How sad our children have to stand up against such odds, there should be at least one other in 12 that believe in living for and honoring God with there lives. Most christians have views that do not line up with the word of God. Most do not even know the word of God. Now thats sad. God help us!

~ sister Darlene ~

[George]

That was extremely well written. It was a pure pleasure for me to read it. Unfortunately the ones who need to read and heed it the most will not.

"R" rated movies are quite the controversy in a lot of Churches. I constantly hear evangelists visiting in our Church speaking against "R" rated movies. However, there is a large problem with this attitude and position. (Now I got your attention.)

The MPAA, which is the body that assigns the ratings to the films has changed it's standards drastically over the years. It has been especially so in the last ten years. Films that are rated "R" now would have been rated "X" just a few short years ago. The biggest problem is that the body which rates the films is made up of members of the industry and is self-policing. They set their own standards and are not connected with any type of regulatory body.

Films that are rated "G" these days are often questionable for anyone much less children. Such films often have profanity, immodest clothing, witchcraft, magick and other such things in them. A good example of a film recently that was rated "G" that I don't believe any Christian should have watched was "Finding Nemo." The voice of one of the primary characters in that film was provided by Ellen Degeneres. I affectionately refer to her as Ellen Degenerate. Ellen Degeneres is an openly homosexual, pro-abortion piece of filth. Yet many Christian people not only allowed their children to view this film they did so themselves. Why on earth would anyone who professes to have a relationship with God want any of their hard-earned money to line the pockets of such a person? The answer is far beyond my understanding.

Let me relate a little story to you which is supposed to be true. There was a Christian man whose children were bothering him really a lot about going to see a movie. When they asked their father they told him the movie was not "all that bad" and that "everyone was gong to see it."

The father thought for a bit and then told the children to get together with him at 1:00 the following afternoon and he would have an answer for them.

The next day at 1:00 when the children went into the living room their father was sitting on the couch with a fresh batch of home made brownies sitting on a plate on the coffee table. He announced to the children he had reached a decision and all they had to do in order to go and see the movie was to eat one of the brownies.

The children were of course very excited and each reached for one of the brownies immediately. The father stopped them and said, "Before you eat those brownies let me tell you something about them. They are fresh and still warm. They are rich and chocolaty. There is only one thing wrong with them. Before I baked them I went to the neighbor's yard, picked up a dog mess and baked it into the brownies. But they aren't all that bad. There is only one thing wrong with them so if you want to go to that movie all you have to do is eat one of them."

Needless to say the children did not eat the brownies, did not go to the movie and the story has it they never bothered their father about seeing a movie that was "not all that bad" again.

I recently heard an interview with a "Christian" movie reviewer on a rather popular, nationwide radio broadcast. he was speaking of just such a movie. The movie was rated PG-13. He made the statement that in the movie there were "only" five instances of profanity (two of them by children), and two scenes of nudity, BUT...the nudity was only seen from the side so it was not "all that bad." he was making the position that it was OK for Christian parents to allow their children to attend this movie.

I do not believe this country is immoral any longer. I believe it has sunk to the point of being amoral, meaning it has no morals any longer. I had a teacher in our own Christian school tell me that 98% of the children who attend that school listen to the wrong kind of music.

It is a sad time we live in. Recently a rather well-known fundamental Baptist preacher in Northern California made the statement he believes he is preaching to the last generation of Christians before Jesus returns. I believe he is right on the money.

When the Bible says to abstain from all appearance of evil that is a command. Speaking for myself, I believe when the Bible issues a command we do not have the choice as to whether we are to obey it or not.

Yours in Christ,
George