I was watching the program “Nightline” the other day about reaching young people with issues that matter. Using new “shock value” commercials directed at kids. There was one for texting and driving where the accident is shown in very graphic detail in real time. The wreck, the personal trauma of being hit, cut, bruised and even to the point of hearing one of the teens neck crack as another car hits her from the side. Graphic to say the least! Interestingly the shock value commercials for smoking, shown by a camera going down a smoker’s throat into the lung - very effective. It got smokers to actually want to quit. At least to think about it. Not all smokers quit, but some actually did. There was another one about how drugs affect the family. They showed this commercial of “a family” of a drug user being hurt because of their drug use. Those made younger kids think really hard. “I don’t want my little sister or brother or parents hurt.” The ad was a violent short movie. Yet it worked.Why am I writing about that? Well, it got me wondering about the church. About soft-selling the Gospel. You know it’s my pet peeve. The rainbows & unicorn dancing Gospel. It is much more meaningful now as we are going through 2 Thessalonians. A persecuted and struggling church that Paul is encouraging. Reminding them to stay strong and not live they way they used to. He reminds them about what will happen to those that have rejected the Gospel of grace they embraced. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 (NKJV) 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,That, dear saint, is shock value. It is a sad thing to think about those that we know who have rejected Christ will one day get what they always wanted, a life without God’s presence. Those are things we don’t like to think about, and honestly if I didn’t preach expositionally, I wouldn’t go out of way to put this type of message together. I want to speak about all the goodies of being a Christian! You and I both know the words we like; Faith, Prosperity, Success, Financial freedom, restoration… all good things. Too bad they are all focused on the earthly temporal life. We get, got and will have all those things. Sometimes here, but assuredly, in heaven is the ultimate promise of our salvation. Plain & simple.As we continue our look this month through 2 Thessalonians we’ll see God’s promise and what we can expect to see happen. Prophecy is being fulfilled in our day and age. We should be rejoicing! Our Savior has won the victory. We also should “be about our Father’s business” because there is a world that is lost and hurting and heading for destruction. It is amazing to think that “we” know the Gospel of Truth and it is the Power of God unto Salvation for those that believe.I want to encourage you to read and re-read 1 & 2 Thessalonians this month with me. Let us stay consumed by a passion for God’s Word and a hunger for His presence.My hope and prayer is that we find ourselves each day taking advantage of any opportunity to live out and speak the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior. He is not done saving souls and we have not yet been taken away. We have purpose, He has a plan. You may even have to shock someone with this message. J
Connecting through Prayer
A consistent prayer life is fundamental to establishing strong connections with God, others, and God's plan for our lives. Drawn from the booklet "Connecting through Prayer," this article is sure to enrich your prayer life.
