Beholding is a way of becoming. We all take on the likeness
of that which we admire. This is the doctrine of sanctification in a
nutshell. If our gaze is preoccupied with our idols we will become like
them. "Those who make them (idols) will be like them, and so will
all who trust in them." ( Psa. 115:8) The Bible teaches that idols
are unreal, they are nothingness. If we are consumed by idols, we become
like them, we become immersed in nothingness. We become empty vessels.
But, those who are
consumed with Christ are focusing on what is real. After experiencing the
reality of Christ who would want to return to the emptiness of illusionary
idolatry? What is your obsession? Imagine what we might be were we
obsessed with Christ? The more we behold him the more we become like him.
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.
I love the Superbowl. I'll be there watching today as the Giants and the Patriots clash for supremacy. But, I am reminded again and again that many have become so engrossed with their trip to the coliseum to watch the battle of the gladiators that they have forgotten God.
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.
There has been much
discussion in recent months regarding the decline of America. Some deny it.
Some seem to actually revel in the decline of America. Still others will explain it away as an
illusion. It only appears we are
declining because other countries like China and Brazil are experiencing an
incline. But these facts remain: we are plagued by the fear of terrorism, we
are rocked by corruption in our government and our economy teeters on the brink
of total collapse.
There seems to be a natural
law at work in all societies. It is the
law of atrophy. It is truly phenomenal the
structures men have built over the centuries.
But they all reach their peak and then began to decay. We wage a constant battle to fight decay in
our historical structures like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State
Building and the Statue of Liberty. Other
men have been builders of empires and institutions. All of them, without
exception, have decayed and eventually died.
Multiple billions of people have lived productive lives throughout the
ages and all have degenerated and finally died.
Ezra Pound once said, “Music
begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance…poetry begins to
atrophy when it gets too far from the music.” Mothers keep their young near for fear of
their getting lost and dying of hunger or being consumed by a predator. If America is in decline it’s because she is
getting further and further away from the truths and principles upon which she
was founded. We can expect a progressive
atrophy of freedom and independence when we allow ourselves to float so far downstream
from the original intent of our founding fathers. When we twist the U.S. Constitution in such a
way as to sanction the murder of the unborn, when we use the sacred scriptures
to condone the sinful actions of mankind rather than condemn them we are in
serious decline.
We have replaced the absolute
truths of God’s word (the Ten Commandments) with our own relativism (the ten
suggestions). We have asked God to
change himself to suit our own nature and desires. We don’t want to be accountable to a holy and
just God. When the unchanging, eternal
God ignored our suggestions to change, we chiseled out our own God. Our new god was proportionally
distorted. The god we created was filled
so full of love there was no room for justice.
The god we created would never separate himself from those who hate and
despise him. The new god we worship has renounced
his righteousness and purity in the name of inclusiveness. Repentance and holiness are no longer
requirements to enter the presence of a holy God. He has opened up the doors of eternity to the
impure and the impenitent. It will be a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31) because
he will be nothing like the god we envisioned.
Life is a constant battle against
this natural law of decay. We fight to
protect our marriages from the numbing effects of living in the grind of
routine. We are constantly introducing
new programs and agendas into our churches and institutions to stir new
life. Aging is like a slow descent into
a miry quicksand. We diet, we get
surgeries, we frantically exercise to fight off this universal enemy. We fight on valiantly even though no one ever
wins this battle. The life of America
parallels the life of any person. It
arrived as an infant. It struggled
through its teen-age years. It gloried
in the strength of its youth and prime.
It then feels the atrophy of age and it will eventually find its rest
under a tombstone in a graveyard of empires.
The decline we are witnessing
is simply the depravity of man bursting through the decaying dams we have built
to contain it. We are experiencing the
consequences of our own choices. We
began to think badly about the time of the cultural revolution of the 1960’s. Not only did we turn our face from God, we
lifted our fist to him and declared ourselves wiser than he. We replaced the “God of the Copyright
Headings with the gods of the Market Place.”(Rudyard Kipling) Divine truth and wisdom was replaced by
humanism and materialism. “Woe to those
who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for
darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isa. 5:20) We
boldly declared the validity of our own truth and proclaimed that there were
many ways to God and surely there was no hell and all were bound for
heaven. We attempted to tie ropes around
the arms of God and live unaccountable lives.
Now we find our society in
decline and in our foolishness we cry out, “Why, oh why!” It is because he “lets all nations go their
own way.” (Acts 14:16) Lee Greenwood
said, “I believe there is a decay that is eroding America, and as a result, God
begins to disappear from our society.” Our
own depravity is constrained by the presence of the Spirit of God. When he withdraws his presence from a “rebellious
and a stiff necked people” (Deut. 31:27) the harness that holds back the beast
is released.
So, what must be done to
stave this rush to destruction?
Americans still are not thinking well, even when it comes to devising a
solution. We think the solution is to
find a Priest in Chief who will lead us to the moral high ground. We ignore God’s laws and obsess over the laws
of men. We want a law against abortion,
a law against sexual perversion, a law for this and a law for that. The solution will not be found in adding laws
to the books of men. There is no dam
built with the laws of men that can contain the depravity of man. The real solution is to go to the source of
the river. The waters will not recede
until we return to a genuine faith in God and embrace the truth of his
word.
I heard an older teacher once
ask his students this question: “How do
you eat an elephant?” A classroom of
math students waited eagerly to hear his reply, “One bite at a time.” How do we rebuild a Christian nation? How does the Kingdom of God grow? We allow ourselves to be used of God. It will be done the same way Christ demonstrated
two thousand years ago when he met the woman at the well, when he conversed
with Nicodemus, when he confronted Saul:
one convert at a time.
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.
The Truth About America (Part 1)
Who Is Weeping For America?
By Kevin P. Probst
One man said the “truth hurts, not the searching after, the running from.” I see so many who are running away from the truth about America. I understand that coming face to face with the painful truth about a country one loves can be extremely painful but I also know that solutions to our problems can’t be found until we stop running from the truth. For those who are followers of Christ, he taught us: “the truth will set you free.”
So, what is the truth about America? You’ll not find that truth in the voices you hear on talk radio and network television. Many listen to Rush Limbaugh, Anderson Cooper or Glen Beck, as if they were infallible sources of truth. The real and only source of truth is the divinely inspired Word of God. It is God conversing with the hearts of men through his own Spirit.
My in-laws came to visit a couple months ago. In fact, my wife’s father had come to help me put in a new hot water heater. We worked well together. I don’t have a mechanical bone in my body so he turned screw drivers and twisted wrenches and I held the flash light for him. But as I stood there watching things I didn’t understand I began to feel something was not right. My head felt light. My stomach felt queasy. My wife had grilled steaks and baked potatoes but I had no appetite. I finally dismissed myself and went to bed. Later that night a gut-wrenching sickness gripped me.
Americans are feeling like something isn’t right. There is a queasiness deep within. There is a gut feeling that things are not as they should be. According to a recent poll conducted by The Hill Newspaper, 69% of Americans believe our country is in decline. 83% are worried about America’s future. So, what is wrong with America?
We see a strange group of people Occupying Wall Street. We observe copycat demonstrations going on all over the country. Angry, violent flash mobs are robbing convenience stores and beating patrons. Rage seems to be reaching a boiling point. We are more politically polarized than ever. The promise to unify us seems to have morphed into a determination to divide us.
I see a vast number of Americans who desire to see but they cannot. They want to know but they can’t. Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” (Matt. 13:13) The multitudes are crying, “What’s wrong with our society? What’s wrong with our country?” Isaiah said, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this peoples' heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.” Jesus quoted that verse to his disciples and then he said to them, “blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” – (Matt. 13:16) A clear perspective of this problem cannot be achieved unless it is viewed through the lenses of truth found in the Word of God. Any other perspective muddies one’s view of what is really happening.
This is the truth about America. We have exalted our government to be our god. It has become our idol. The American people keep voting for more and bigger government. The poor no longer look to God. They look to the government for more welfare. The ignorant no longer look to God. They expect the government to educate the masses. We no longer look for wisdom in the Word of God. Instead, we have removed that book from our schools. We presume that government can solve the problem of alcoholism. We pretend that Government is winning the war on drugs and eliminating poverty. We expect government to integrate us and teach us to live together in love and harmony.
People are angry because their god has failed them. The pain of disappointment and disillusionment is causing them to hate their government. They hate Bush. They hate Obama. They hate Republicans and Democrats. They have no confidence in the Congress. Only 9% are pleased with the job Congress is doing. (CBS, NY Times poll) The corruption in their government has reached unprecedented levels. Something has gone terribly wrong but an unrepentant people can’t perceive what it is.
As a history teacher I teach my students that the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. History certainly does repeat itself. America is not suffering from a new and mysterious ailment. America suffers from the same things that affected previous nations and empires of the past. We have eyes but we fail to see. Isn’t this affirmed by the fact we have seen a multitude of nations try socialism and communism and everyone without fail plunged into societal darkness and experienced economic failure. Russia, China and numerous eastern European countries are fleeing a failed system. Who can explain the mysterious and incomprehensible fact that our country (America) is moving toward socialism and big government? Why are we abandoning what brought us success and embracing what has brought failure to other nations? It is because we have eyes but we cannot see.
One day Jesus stood on a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem. He opened his heart and revealed the great compassion he had for his people, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37)
Who is weeping for America?
Has American Sport Become A Religion?
During the colonial period in America’s history the Puritan influence brought condemnation to those who participated in “lascivious” behaviors such as dancing, gambling, card playing (the devil’s “picture books”) and other leisure activities. Participating in sport on the Sabbath could earn one a public whipping in the town square. Life in puritan New England was a shadow of John Calvin’s autocratic system of governing in the French speaking Swiss city of Geneva, where “devilish pastimes” such as hawking and hunting were strictly forbidden and the standard of “purity of conduct” was not to be sullied by participating in frivolous fairs and raucous ribaldry.
How things have changed over the centuries. Sport has found a central place in our culture. One thinker said American sport is “too close to the religious to call it anything else.” Several years ago my son and I attended the Georgia/Georgia Tech game in Athens, Georgia. We made our way to the stadium in bumper to bumper traffic. The entire city was draped in red and black. The smell of southern barbeque wafted through the parking lot as thousands gathered to celebrate their favorite team. We climbed the ramps that led into the 7th largest NCAA stadium and joined 92,000 others who all shared a commonality: an undying loyalty to the team wearing red and black represented by a snow white, wrinkled, old looking bull dog named UGA.
It was more than just a few hours of Saturday afternoon fun. It was an obsession. It seemed as if those thousands there were more than just loyal, they seemed worshipful. I commented to my son, “This is almost like a cult. There is almost an attitude of worship here." What was happening in Athens that Saturday was happening all across America in a multitude of cities.
Having coached high school football, basketball and baseball through most of my adult life, I recognize the value of sport in the development of the character. Sport had great value in our family as it kept my sons busy and out of trouble. Athletes learn much about loyalty, team work, perseverance, unity and the benefit of investing hours of hard work. But as a Christian and guardian over the souls of youth I question where to draw the line with sport. Can it become too all-consuming? At what point does sport begin to diminish in its value as it becomes our idol? How does it affect a ten year old son who observes a father who is far more loyalty to Sanford Stadium than his church or has far more love for the Bulldogs than for the Savior?
We call ourselves fans. The word ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic’ which was introduced into the English language in the mid 16th century. It means “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion”. It is derived from the Latin word, ‘fanaticus’ which means “insanely but divinely inspired.” You might say that a fan is someone who has a near supernatural devotion to a certain team or player.
Is sport a religion? It certainly felt like a religion to me that day in Athens. Please notice the similarities between sport and religion:
Denominations. Religion, especially protestant religion is divided up into denominations. Each denomination has a certain code of behavior expected of its members. Denominational disciple requires members be removed if they participate in gross violations. That code is written out in a manual available to all.
Sport is divided up into teams. There is a certain code of behavior expected of team members and also fans. Team members who violate the code will be removed from the team and fans are expected to avoid the “fair weather” title by demonstrating intense loyalty whether the team wins or loses.
Rituals. We demonstrate our religion by participating in certain rituals. The Jewish boy enters manhood at Bar Mitzvah and by age 13 he is responsible for his actions. Christians submit to baptism to demonstrate their devotion to Christ and they partake in communion to remind themselves of his sacrifice.
There are certain rituals celebrated in sport. The winners of the NCAA tournament cut down the nets. The hockey player who completes the hat trick is showered with the hats of fans thrown onto the ice. Football players who score a touchdown or baseball players who hit a homerun often raise their finger skyward in appreciation of their God given talent.
Community. Christians are proud to be Presbyterians, Baptists or Methodists. Many will gather every weekend to celebrate their common bonds. They are bound together by their beliefs and creeds. The church parking lot is full of cars with fish symbol magnets and tags that indicate what might happen to the driver were the rapture to occur.
Sports fans come together to celebrate their commonalities. They congregate together in the Hawk’s Nest, the Dog Pound or the Bear’s Den. They tailgate together before the game and they pin stickers and tags on their automobiles to express their loyalties.
Attributes. We believe God to be a supernatural being, transcendent beyond mere humanity. He is all wise, all powerful and present everywhere all at once.
Certain athletes take on an almost supernatural aura. Their power and speed seems suprahuman . They appear to be omnipresent on the field of play, always showing up in the right place at the right time.
Relics. Christians treasure the cross. Jews treasure the star of David. The church steeple is symbolic of America's devotion to God.
Sports fans also have their symbols. They wave their terrible towels, they flash their super bowl rings and they plant kisses on their trophies.
Journey. The Muslims call it The Haji. Every Muslim is expected to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime. Many Christians have a bucket list wish to visit the Holy Land.
Sports fans trek to the Hall of Fame. Baseball teams embark on a 162 game journey in hopes of reaching the Promised Land. Last years losers can find redemption by winning. College basketball teams plod along the Road to the Final Four.
Restoration. Religions all teach some sort of restoration. The sinner can become righteous, the lost can be found. The central theme of the message of Christianity is restoration. Jim Baker, Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart shocked their followers by falling from grace only to seek restoration.
Sports fans struggle with the idea that their sports idols are not divine. Pete Rose never made it to the Promised Land (Baseball Hall of Fame) because of his gambling sin. Many believe O.J. Simpson was never convicted of murder because a jury could not perceive of their sports god committing such an atrocity. Barry Bonds cheated, Warren Moon slapped his wife and a multitude of fans are praying for the restoration of the god of golf, Tiger Woods.
The similarities are intriguing but at the most crucial point they break down. Sport doesn't have a true Redeemer. It provides a temporary escape from the unpleasant things that torment us in our lives but the true Savior offers a real and permanent deliverance from the tortures of sin. Many fans are oblivious to the fact that their devotion and enthusiasm for sport is a cheap substitute for a more meaningful commitment and loyalty to a true Savior.
The Christian knows real redemption. He understands that human achievement can win him no grace. The real Savior, the Divine God promises to show us the way to life everlasting. The victory experienced by the Christian is permanent and cannot be snatched away by any opponent. The Christian worships God because of who he is, not because of what he has done.
During the colonial period in America’s history the Puritan influence brought condemnation to those who participated in “lascivious” behaviors such as dancing, gambling, card playing (the devil’s “picture books”) and other leisure activities. Participating in sport on the Sabbath could earn one a public whipping in the town square. Life in puritan New England was a shadow of John Calvin’s autocratic system of governing in the French speaking Swiss city of Geneva, where “devilish pastimes” such as hawking and hunting were strictly forbidden and the standard of “purity of conduct” was not to be sullied by participating in frivolous fairs and raucous ribaldry.
How things have changed over the centuries. Sport has found a central place in our culture. One thinker said American sport is “too close to the religious to call it anything else.” Several years ago my son and I attended the Georgia/Georgia Tech game in Athens, Georgia. We made our way to the stadium in bumper to bumper traffic. The entire city was draped in red and black. The smell of southern barbeque wafted through the parking lot as thousands gathered to celebrate their favorite team. We climbed the ramps that led into the 7th largest NCAA stadium and joined 92,000 others who all shared a commonality: an undying loyalty to the team wearing red and black represented by a snow white, wrinkled, old looking bull dog named UGA.
It was more than just a few hours of Saturday afternoon fun. It was an obsession. It seemed as if those thousands there were more than just loyal, they seemed worshipful. I commented to my son, “This is almost like a cult. There is almost an attitude of worship here." What was happening in Athens that Saturday was happening all across America in a multitude of cities.
Having coached high school football, basketball and baseball through most of my adult life, I recognize the value of sport in the development of the character. Sport had great value in our family as it kept my sons busy and out of trouble. Athletes learn much about loyalty, team work, perseverance, unity and the benefit of investing hours of hard work. But as a Christian and guardian over the souls of youth I question where to draw the line with sport. Can it become too all-consuming? At what point does sport begin to diminish in its value as it becomes our idol? How does it affect a ten year old son who observes a father who is far more loyalty to Sanford Stadium than his church or has far more love for the Bulldogs than for the Savior?
We call ourselves fans. The word ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic’ which was introduced into the English language in the mid 16th century. It means “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion”. It is derived from the Latin word, ‘fanaticus’ which means “insanely but divinely inspired.” You might say that a fan is someone who has a near supernatural devotion to a certain team or player.
Is sport a religion? It certainly felt like a religion to me that day in Athens. Please notice the similarities between sport and religion:
Denominations. Religion, especially protestant religion is divided up into denominations. Each denomination has a certain code of behavior expected of its members. Denominational disciple requires members be removed if they participate in gross violations. That code is written out in a manual available to all.
Sport is divided up into teams. There is a certain code of behavior expected of team members and also fans. Team members who violate the code will be removed from the team and fans are expected to avoid the “fair weather” title by demonstrating intense loyalty whether the team wins or loses.
Rituals. We demonstrate our religion by participating in certain rituals. The Jewish boy enters manhood at Bar Mitzvah and by age 13 he is responsible for his actions. Christians submit to baptism to demonstrate their devotion to Christ and they partake in communion to remind themselves of his sacrifice.
There are certain rituals celebrated in sport. The winners of the NCAA tournament cut down the nets. The hockey player who completes the hat trick is showered with the hats of fans thrown onto the ice. Football players who score a touchdown or baseball players who hit a homerun often raise their finger skyward in appreciation of their God given talent.
Community. Christians are proud to be Presbyterians, Baptists or Methodists. Many will gather every weekend to celebrate their common bonds. They are bound together by their beliefs and creeds. The church parking lot is full of cars with fish symbol magnets and tags that indicate what might happen to the driver were the rapture to occur.
Sports fans come together to celebrate their commonalities. They congregate together in the Hawk’s Nest, the Dog Pound or the Bear’s Den. They tailgate together before the game and they pin stickers and tags on their automobiles to express their loyalties.
Attributes. We believe God to be a supernatural being, transcendent beyond mere humanity. He is all wise, all powerful and present everywhere all at once.
Certain athletes take on an almost supernatural aura. Their power and speed seems suprahuman . They appear to be omnipresent on the field of play, always showing up in the right place at the right time.
Relics. Christians treasure the cross. Jews treasure the star of David. The church steeple is symbolic of America's devotion to God.
Sports fans also have their symbols. They wave their terrible towels, they flash their super bowl rings and they plant kisses on their trophies.
Journey. The Muslims call it The Haji. Every Muslim is expected to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime. Many Christians have a bucket list wish to visit the Holy Land.
Sports fans trek to the Hall of Fame. Baseball teams embark on a 162 game journey in hopes of reaching the Promised Land. Last years losers can find redemption by winning. College basketball teams plod along the Road to the Final Four.
Restoration. Religions all teach some sort of restoration. The sinner can become righteous, the lost can be found. The central theme of the message of Christianity is restoration. Jim Baker, Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart shocked their followers by falling from grace only to seek restoration.
Sports fans struggle with the idea that their sports idols are not divine. Pete Rose never made it to the Promised Land (Baseball Hall of Fame) because of his gambling sin. Many believe O.J. Simpson was never convicted of murder because a jury could not perceive of their sports god committing such an atrocity. Barry Bonds cheated, Warren Moon slapped his wife and a multitude of fans are praying for the restoration of the god of golf, Tiger Woods.
The similarities are intriguing but at the most crucial point they break down. Sport doesn't have a true Redeemer. It provides a temporary escape from the unpleasant things that torment us in our lives but the true Savior offers a real and permanent deliverance from the tortures of sin. Many fans are oblivious to the fact that their devotion and enthusiasm for sport is a cheap substitute for a more meaningful commitment and loyalty to a true Savior.
The Christian knows real redemption. He understands that human achievement can win him no grace. The real Savior, the Divine God promises to show us the way to life everlasting. The victory experienced by the Christian is permanent and cannot be snatched away by any opponent. The Christian worships God because of who he is, not because of what he has done.
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.
