It's
no wonder we've had two world wars this century, with hundreds
of smaller conflicts across the planet.
And
Word War III - still ominously lurking somewhere on the
horizon - even though most people feel safe due to the recent
historic break-up of the Soviet Union!
Violence,
murder, drug abuse and other criminal activities have
escalated at a frightening rate, suicides have spiraled,
herpes II is almost epidemic and AIDS may soon bankrupt our
health systems!
HOW
DO WE CHANGE THE WORLD?
How
do we usher in the era of brotherly love, kindness, peace and
understanding we all crave for?
What
is the needed ingredient that is missing in today's peace
conferences and boards of inquiry into drug addiction,
alcoholism, suicide, family breakdown, child abuse and racism?
Certainly,
our educational system is unable to communicate love, and
impart it to the students. We read with alarm of the tragic
rise of bullying and violence by juvenile delinquents against
younger kids in the schools.
All
our anti-racial and anti-hate laws will never eradicate the
awful stigma of bias and prejudice from people. They may even
be anti-productive in eroding our basic freedoms. Taking from
good people the right to free speech and expression, while the
bigots still hate and feel superior certainly cannot build a
better society!
YOU
CANNOT LEGISLATE LOVE!
Caring,
sharing and compassion must be born within by a force of good,
which has invaded and possessed our beings. And has changed us
from the inside!
In
other words when we are spiritually born-again, the desire to
hate leaves and instead a strong urge to love and befriend
people automatically moves into action.
Our nature is changed by
the overwhelming influence of the Holy Spirit of God in a life
transforming action called the New Birth. And the subsequent
Baptism of the Holy Spirit!
It's
not difficult to love people when there is no hate in the
heart. When the animosity is gone! And the devil has left!
When
no fear remains, it's easy to feel safe. When all torments
have gone, it's not difficult to know peace and when the
depression and sadness has lifted, joy fills the vacuum.
DRIVEN
BY EVIL SPIRITS
The
sadist wants to injure, the rapist subjugate, torture and
sexually molest and the killer desires to put out the light of
life. They are being driven by evil spirits, unclean demons of
darkness!
New
York Times reporter, McCandish Phillips stated recently, "Spiritual
forces are massively at work in North America causing a rise
of drug abuse, sexual perversion, the occult and the breakdown
of the nation's morals".
When
Jesus Christ - the Prince of Life and Light - comes in, all
the evil spirits depart; for light dispels darkness and good
destroys evil.
Then
it is easy to forgive, bless, help and share!
What
is the needed ingredient that is missing? It is God's divine
'Agape' Love which so changes the individual that he begins to
think like God thinks, love like God loves and act like God
acts!
What
does that mean? Pure and simple: unconditional love! Actions
motivated by pure, selfless compassion and caring!
A
preacher was preparing his Sunday sermon on a Saturday
morning. His wife had gone shopping, leaving little seven year
old Johnny with his daddy.
The
little fellow was in and out of his Dad's office every 10
minutes or so. Restless, energetic and bored! His Dad kept
giving him magazines to leaf through, books to read or blocks
to play with. Johnny read them all in a few minutes and
clearly was looking for some new adventure.
He
was full of questions and wanted to look through his Dad's
files.
The
pastor then got a brilliant idea. He tore off the back cover
of one of his magazines which had a very large photo of the
globe on it. Then he cut it into small pieces.
PUT
THE WORLD BACK TOGETHER!
"Here,
my son," he said.
"Use this scotch tape and put the world back together
again."
Within
7 or 8 minutes the little fellow was back knocking on the
pastor's door.
"I've
got the world back together, Dad. I've got the world back
together," he
shouted. Excitedly his father jumped from his desk. He ran out
into the den. It was true. His son had done the impossible. He
had put the world back together from little bits.
How
had he done it? His son must be a genius. It was a job that
would have taken an adult at least an hour or more.
Johnny
just smiled and said, "I've looked through that
magazine many times Dad, and I noticed that on the inside of
the cover was a full length picture of a man.
"When
I put the man together, the world automatically had come back
together."
Herein
lies the key to our world's major spiritual, moral,
socialogical, psychological and economic problems!
That's
why St. Paul wrote: "If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is
a new creature, old things are passed away. All things become
new". (2 Cor. 5:17)
The
gospel of Christ changes the individual from the inside out.
The Bible addresses the real problems of life and declares
that UNBELIEF, REBELLION & DISOBEDIENCE - which is sin -
are the root causes of all our problems. And once this is
settled we receive God's peace, a stable mind, good morals and
the strength to cope with the pressures of life!
"Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth
on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
(John 5:24)
Jesus
said, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make
you free". (John 8:32)
What
is the truth?
Jesus
said, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man
cometh unto the father but by Me". (John 14:6)
He
also stated, "Thy word O God is truth". (John 17:17)
Jesus
is the living Word of God and the Bible is the written Word of
God. And if you will read, believe and obey God's Word, Jesus
will come out of its pages and come into you heart!
The
Bible says, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see
(or enter) into the kingdom of God". (John 3:3-7)
Receive
Jesus Christ into your heart today my friend and you will be
born again and the world will automatically become a better
plac
