10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
The life that God has in store for each of us is a life in which we can know His presence, a life where we experience His love and see His principles work as we apply them into our everyday decisions. The Christian life is not a matter of trying in our own strength to keep a set of rules, but allowing His strength to flow through us so that His nature is produced through our hearts. We can have peace because we know the Prince of Peace; we can know true joy because we have a right relationship with the One who made us.
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I believe Jesus calls us into an integrated life, in which His principles are applied and His presence is apparent. He speaks of abiding in Him in John 15:
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Well, the Barna Group has released some findings of a survey that shows that there is an activity that could lead to better politics - and that is reading the Bible! According to American Bible Society’s annual “State of the Bible” survey powered by Barna, half of American adults, or 51%, say politics would be more civil if politicians engaged in regular Bible reading. Similarly, 53% say that American politicians would be more effective if they read the Bible on a regular basis. And, nearly half of all adults, or 46%, say they wish the Bible had greater influence on American society.
Barna contends that, "These views are likely influenced by most people’s belief that the Bible is sacred literature (80%) and that it contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life (66% strongly or somewhat agree)."
And, even though a majority of Americans have a positive opinion of the Bible and its teachings, there is a marked difference between age groups regarding opinions of the Book. As the Barna Group points out:
With respect to the relationship of Bible reading to politics, only about one-third of Millennials say that politics would be more civil with more Bible reading and a slightly greater percentage believe that politicians would be more effective with increased Bible reading. About half of Gen-Xers feel that way for those questions. Two-thirds of Boomers and over 70% of Elders believe that more civility and more effective politics would result from more Bible reading.
Roxanne Stone, editor in chief of Barna Group, is quoted as saying, "From the ten commandments to the golden rule, the Bible certainly contains principles for political discourse—even for the non-Christian," adding, “And for Americans, who are steeped in both a historical and present Christian cultural influence, the Bible remains an important moral document, not just a religious one. It’s no wonder that, when two-thirds of the population sees a book as having everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life, that they would also see that book as a valuable rubric for public civility. And who among us wouldn’t mind seeing a candidate turn the other cheek once in a while?"
Our takeaways from this survey data for today include:
For one thing, a politician putting a "God-stamp" on his or her words or ramping up church attendance during a campaign season are not necessarily indicators of personal spiritual growth. A candidate may talk a good game with respect to religion or even appear to be pious, but you have to be conscious that may not be a person's natural state - and we still have to look at the record. The big question is how a person's faith is informing the decisions he or she makes.
And, that's a challenge for our own lives, too. We have to guard against a disconnect between the sacred - our practice of faith - and the other areas of our lives. We should not compartmentalize our lives - i.e., having a "faith" box here, and a "work" box, a "family" box, etc. Our relationship with Christ should be integrated into every area of life, as we recognize that abiding in Christ means to apply His principles consistently.
I still believe, and you'll hear me say it on my radio show - God's way is best. He has provided a roadmap, or an instruction manual for effective and satisfying living. If we are in alignment with God, depending on Him to direct our paths, then we can experience that abundant life that Jesus has in store.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Well, the Barna Group has released some findings of a survey that shows that there is an activity that could lead to better politics - and that is reading the Bible! According to American Bible Society’s annual “State of the Bible” survey powered by Barna, half of American adults, or 51%, say politics would be more civil if politicians engaged in regular Bible reading. Similarly, 53% say that American politicians would be more effective if they read the Bible on a regular basis. And, nearly half of all adults, or 46%, say they wish the Bible had greater influence on American society.
Barna contends that, "These views are likely influenced by most people’s belief that the Bible is sacred literature (80%) and that it contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life (66% strongly or somewhat agree)."
And, even though a majority of Americans have a positive opinion of the Bible and its teachings, there is a marked difference between age groups regarding opinions of the Book. As the Barna Group points out:
Generally, American adults under 50 tend to be more skeptical, or at least more ambivalent, about the Bible than older adults, and this is especially true of Millennials aged 18 to 31. For example, fewer young adults consider the Bible sacred literature (71% of Millennials and 75% of Gen-Xers, compared to 88% of Boomers, and 91% of Elders), and Millennials (22%) are three times more likely than Elders (7%) to say that none of the books considered sacred literature by many religions—including the Torah, the Koran, the Book of Mormon and “other”—are holy books.Elders are defined as over 70, Boomers are 51 to 69 years of age, Gen-Xers are 32-50, and Millennials are 18-31.
With respect to the relationship of Bible reading to politics, only about one-third of Millennials say that politics would be more civil with more Bible reading and a slightly greater percentage believe that politicians would be more effective with increased Bible reading. About half of Gen-Xers feel that way for those questions. Two-thirds of Boomers and over 70% of Elders believe that more civility and more effective politics would result from more Bible reading.
Roxanne Stone, editor in chief of Barna Group, is quoted as saying, "From the ten commandments to the golden rule, the Bible certainly contains principles for political discourse—even for the non-Christian," adding, “And for Americans, who are steeped in both a historical and present Christian cultural influence, the Bible remains an important moral document, not just a religious one. It’s no wonder that, when two-thirds of the population sees a book as having everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life, that they would also see that book as a valuable rubric for public civility. And who among us wouldn’t mind seeing a candidate turn the other cheek once in a while?"
Our takeaways from this survey data for today include:
For one thing, a politician putting a "God-stamp" on his or her words or ramping up church attendance during a campaign season are not necessarily indicators of personal spiritual growth. A candidate may talk a good game with respect to religion or even appear to be pious, but you have to be conscious that may not be a person's natural state - and we still have to look at the record. The big question is how a person's faith is informing the decisions he or she makes.
And, that's a challenge for our own lives, too. We have to guard against a disconnect between the sacred - our practice of faith - and the other areas of our lives. We should not compartmentalize our lives - i.e., having a "faith" box here, and a "work" box, a "family" box, etc. Our relationship with Christ should be integrated into every area of life, as we recognize that abiding in Christ means to apply His principles consistently.
I still believe, and you'll hear me say it on my radio show - God's way is best. He has provided a roadmap, or an instruction manual for effective and satisfying living. If we are in alignment with God, depending on Him to direct our paths, then we can experience that abundant life that Jesus has in store.
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