by Tim Hall

All the trappings of human glory were conspicuously present. The king was arrayed in his royal robes, his golden crown positioned just so. The throne was placed in a prominent position so that all could marvel at its craftsmanship and splendor. The anticipated event was an oration, an occasion at which the king would directly address the people.

It may or may not have been a good speech; people are frequently given to flattery when it comes to a dignitary. Regardless, when Herod had finished his oration, the people "gave it up" for their king. "The voice of a god and not of a man!" they proclaimed. Why should Herod object? It was a review worthy of a king, whether accurate or not.

God's review of the speech is not known. But His review of the man is stated in Acts 12:23: "Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died" (New King James Version). A case of worms? Not a very dignified cause of death!

Herod's mistake continues to be a common one in our day. Though few ascend to the position of king, many of us live as kings. And to whose credit is that? "My own," we boast. "I've worked hard all my life, and I'm now enjoying the fruits of my labors." The American work ethic is well-known. Among the advanced societies of earth, Americans work the most hours and take the fewest days off. Along with that dedication to hard work often comes a sense of self-sufficiency. And that is our undoing.

Romans 1 contains a description of the progression of sin. The statement ends with a list of heinous sins like sexual immorality, wickedness, maliciousness, murder, evil-mindedness, etc. (v. 29). But how did these arrive at such an ungodly position? Verse 21 gives us a clue: "Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." A failure to glorify God is where this long slide began. Neither were they thankful; why should they be if they were the masters of their own fate? No, they never developed long-term goals to become evildoers, but that's the road we travel when we glorify no one other than ourselves.

In my library is a hymnal that was published in 1923. Isaac Watts' beloved "At The Cross" is found in this book, and its first line ends, "Would He devote that sacred Head for such a worm as I?" Another hymnal in my library, published in 1994, de-worms Watts' song. "For such a one as I" is now the close. It's a subtle change, but doesn't it say something about sophisticated Americans? "We're not worms; we're proud, hard-working kings . . . er, folks."

Royal apparel; thrones; orations: That was then. Today it's designer-label clothing, status-symbol vehicles and diplomas. The outward trappings change with the times. But the temptations to godlessness remain the same.

by Greg A. Tidwell

In his book Bowling Alone, Harvard professor Robert Putnam notes the increasing division of American culture between "two groups -- the devoutly observant and the entirely unchurched" (p. 75).

This social trend has great importance for anyone seeking to share the gospel.

Earlier generations enjoyed a ready pool of prospective converts, individuals with some measure of faith who had not reached a point of commitment to any particular religion. People today, however, tend to be either completely irreligious or have already made a commitment to a particular religious group.

This change in our culture renders old methods of evangelism less effective and calls the church to innovate in an attempt both to reach the irreligious and to challenge those committed to competing religious systems.

Compromise

The Community Church Movement has been promoted as an attempt to innovatively engage the irreligious population. This attempt, however, has not succeeded in challenging the secular world to become more religious. On the contrary, this consumer-driven approach has led Christians to become more secular.

This movement, further, has abandoned competition with rival religious groups. The Community Church Movement does not refute error; it accommodates error.

Conviction

In contrast to the eviscerated shell of compromise, the Lord's church must look for ways to teach the truth more assertively. Our irreligious neighbors must be challenged to leave their unbelief. Our friends in other religious groups must be challenged to consider the alternative of New Testament Christianity.

We must adjust our methods of presentation to address the times in which we live. The adjustment needed today, however, is conviction not compromise.

by Barbara Oliver

I found a new internet cafe. The last one I was in was up some rickety steps in a little room that did not even have a ceiling fan. With temps in the 90's, it was hot! On the way home, Francis, who went with me so I wouldn't get lost, found this cafe, which has air conditioning and is much cheaper than the other one.

Today, I want to tell you a little about India. It is a city of 11-12 million people. They have a constant influx of people from villages throughout India. Needless to say, this has stretched their already limited resources.

There is a MacDonald's close by, a Baskin Robins, a Domino's Pizza and a Pizza Hut. More Indians have more disposable income to buy the kinds of things we buy in America. But abject poverty is always close by. With such a large population, there is no way that there can be enough jobs and housing for everyone. The government has tried, without success, to stop migration into the city. Families will find a spot along a wall, and that becomes their home. I saw one lady on the sidewalk with an umbrella and a few little household articles. Her house was the umbrella. She just moved it around throughout the day to ward off the hot sun.

Water is in critical supply. There is no longer freely running water. The city turns the water on at intervals, and you have to be ready to turn on your pumps and pump water into your storage tanks. If you don't turn on your pumps at that time, you don't get water for that day. This is for the people who have homes and storage tanks. I don't know what the people living on the street do.

In spite of this and other problems, India has grown significantly. Thirty years ago, most of the traffic was buses, taxis, scooters, rickshaw scooters, and bicycles. Today, it is mostly buses (using natural gas - much less pollution), cars, and motorcycles. Yet, in a step backwards, they also have bicycle rickshaws, a concession which was made in an effort to supply jobs for incoming village people.

More people are living in nice homes and driving nice cars. The government has granted loans, which they had not done in the past. They have built large complexes further out of the city, and people buy their apartment within that building complex. Sort of like condos. We went to Sunny David's place on Sunday, and it was really nice.

Clothing has also changed. In the cities, men gave up wearing traditional Indian garb in the middle part of the 20th century. Though the majority of women still wear traditional clothing, a lot of the younger women are wearing Western ware. Sari shops, which used to be everywhere, have converted to ready-made clothing. Thirty years ago, you could not find ready-made. The other day, Betty took some cotton sheet material to a seamstress to make some pants for me and some pajamas for her. Later, we went to Defence market (a big shopping area) and found ready-made pants for $1.00 and pjs for not much more! Now we are regretting the money we will have to pay the seamstress for stitching us some sheet-clothes!

The one thing that has not changed is the noise! Indians love to honk their horns. With the proliferation of cars and outrageous traffic conditions, they are honking fools! I wish I had a soundbite to share with you. They actually have no-honk zones. Technically, you are not supposed to honk within a 100 meters of a traffic light. If you do, a policeman can write your license number down and send you a ticket. Apparently, no one worries about that much, unless they see a policeman standing around!

Well, I am off to pick up my sheet-pants. More later.