An Amazon driver named Kevin Rivera was finishing<\/a> his route in Long Island, New York, when he saw a house on fire. Through the front door, he could see several people inside the home, including a woman and a baby. They were apparently unaware of the fire, so he courageously rushed in to help.<\/p>\n He got the family of seven to leave through the back door and away from the flames, then he rescued their two dogs. When they got outside and saw their burning house, they realized how dire their situation was. \u201cThey just started crying,\u201d Rivera said later. \u201cThey just got emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n To those thanking him for his bravery, Rivera replied, \u201cTo be honest, I just feel great that I did something.\u201d<\/p>\n This story points to two relevant facts today. Here\u2019s the first: Our cultural house is on fire, but most of the people living in it don\u2019t know it.<\/p>\n The United States Air Force Academy is instructing<\/a> cadets to refrain from calling their parents \u201cmom\u201d or \u201cdad\u201d and to use words that \u201cinclude all genders.\u201d A former Mississippi official pled guilty<\/a> yesterday to misusing millions of dollars in federal aid meant for poor families. The Boston Celtics\u2019 head coach was suspended<\/a> for the season for an inappropriate relationship with a female team employee. Boeing agreed<\/a> to pay $200 million for misleading the public about the 737 Max following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n A US government panel recommended<\/a> this week that all adults under the age of sixty-five be screened for anxiety disorders and all adults be checked for depression. The report is both relevant and urgent as anxiety and depression continue to escalate<\/a> in American society.<\/p>\n And yet, we are turning from Christ and Christianity in record numbers: the percentage of self-professed Christians in America is predicted<\/a> to fall from 64 percent in 2020 to as low as 35 percent by 2070. \u201cNones,\u201d those who have no religious affiliation, are expected to rise from the current 30 percent to as high as 52 percent by that time.<\/p>\n If Christians suggest that the problem is sin, we are dismissed as outdated, irrelevant, or even judgmental and dangerous to others. As a result, our secularized society is convinced that the cure is worse than the cause.<\/p>\n This fact leads to a second observation: One of the hardest things to do in life is to help people who don\u2019t believe they need help. If people don\u2019t think their house is on fire, they\u2019ll likely refuse our attempts to rescue them. The same is true with their souls.<\/p>\n Here we meet one of Satan\u2019s most effective strategies: deluding humans into believing that we do not need what Scripture teaches, that we can dismiss the word and will of God and make our own decisions for our own advancement.<\/p>\n In the garden of Eden, he convinced our first parents that God\u2019s warning was wrong: \u201cYou will not surely die\u201d (Genesis 3:4). Instead, by violating God\u2019s clear instruction, they could \u201cbe like God\u201d (v. 5). And we know personally the results.<\/p>\n We have been falling for the same deception ever since: \u201cThe god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:4).<\/p>\n In his fascinating spiritual biography of Thomas Jefferson<\/a>, Baylor historian Thomas Kidd notes that our third president was certain that when he died he would, in his own words, \u201cascend in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved & lost and whom we shall still love and never lose again.\u201d Upon what did he base such confidence?<\/p>\n Jefferson absolutely rejected the divinity of Jesus, convinced that \u201cJesus did not mean to impose himself on mankind as the son of god physically speaking.\u201d He believed that \u201cwe are to be saved by our good works which are within our power, and not by our faith which is not within our power.\u201d<\/p>\n Late in his life, Jefferson summed up his faith: \u201cAdore God. Reverence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself; and your country more than life. Be just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of Providence. And the life into which you have entered will be the passage to one of eternal and ineffable bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n In short, he was convinced that we are to \u201cadore God\u201d but trust our good works for salvation.<\/p>\n Despite Thomas Jefferson\u2019s skepticism, the evidence for Jesus\u2019 uniqueness and divinity based on history, archaeology, ancient manuscripts, and logic is remarkably compelling. (For examples, see my website article, \u201cWhy Jesus?<\/a>\u201d) But many in our postmodern culture are likely to dismiss our arguments as \u201cour truth.\u201d<\/p>\n They measure truth by relevance, which is actually good news for the gospel.<\/p>\n When people see the transforming difference the risen Christ makes in us, they will want what we have and be drawn to the Lord we serve. Charles Spurgeon was right: \u201cA Christian man should so shine in his life that a person could not live with him a week without knowing the gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n NFL quarterback Trey Lance is a case in point. The San Francisco 49ers traded<\/a> three first-round picks to Miami for the right to select him in the 2021 NFL Draft. They designated him their starting quarterback before this season began. Then, in the second game of the season, he fractured<\/a> his right ankle and had to have season-ending surgery.<\/p>\n Lance posted<\/a> an update on Instagram Tuesday, sharing an image of himself from his hospital bed and quoting Romans 8:18, \u201cI consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.\u201d On his Twitter profile, he calls<\/a> himself a \u201cchild of God\u201d before he describes himself as the \u201cSan Francisco 49ers Quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\nReport recommends all adults be checked for depression<\/h2>\n
\u201cYou will not surely die\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe are to be saved by our good works\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cGod put that in my plan to use it as my platform\u201d<\/h2>\n