I read yesterday that just 13 percent of pro football fans will consider going to church more regulary if the NFL owners and players don’t resolve their labor squabble before the fall.
It’s sad to read that working in the yard, surfing the Internet and playing video games far outpaced the public’s interest in going to church if the games don’t occur each Sunday afternoon.
I guess that the erosion of interest in the Lord has gotten worse than we Christians might have thought.
To think that 87 percent of surveyed fans had little interest in attending church on Sunday is a reflection of how they view the Bible and the Family of God.
Like so many around us, the fans might think the Bible is a bunch of “blah, blah, blah” and is of no real value in helping them toward more successful lives.
Why would they feel that way?
Some of it is likely rooted in unrepentant selfishness and sin. But some of it is also rooted in the hypocrisy of those calling themselves Christians.
When a non-believer observes a self-proclaimed Christian who is living contrary to the Word, the testimony of the believer is shot.
The non-believer reasons that if the Christian treats the Bible’s teachings as “blah, blah, blah,” then why should the non-believer change his or her life to embrace scripture?
Please, my friend. Love the Word. Live the Word.
The lost need its help.
We need to show that it really does help us.
Perhaps you’ll even have the opportunity to invite a football fan to church so that he can see that faith works.
Here’s a passage from today’s reading in the One-Year Bible that prompted this devotion:
“Take to heart all the words I (Moses) have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess” (Deuteronomy 32:46-47).
Put the Word into gear in your life, my friend. Don’t leave your soul parked in idle.
You’ll not only make progress toward the Promised Land of blessing in this life and salvation in the next, but you just might persuade an unsaved football fan to join you.
As always, I love you
Martin
