Faith Challenge for October 2008
Near the first
of each month, I post a "Faith
Challenge" in this section in order that
you might think about it, discuss it
with your friends, and respond.
Below is one of these faith challenges.
Please email us with your response.
feedback@sonnychilds.com
Money Over Morals?
“It’s the economy stupid!” Few things
tempt Christians to look past a
candidate’s position on moral issues
like a candidate’s promise to fix the
economy. We say, “God comes first.” We
sing “All to Jesus I surrender.” We pray
“Thy will be done.” We quote “Seek ye
first the kingdom of God”, but far too
often they are only words void of any
proof from our actions.
So what will it be this year? Will we
once again place party ahead of
principle and money ahead of morals?
Will the stock market and prices at the
pump outweigh God’s definition of
marriage and the sanctity of life? Will
we once again step behind the curtain
and pretend it can hide us from Heaven’s
view? What will it be? We cannot serve
God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
One day Satan encountered a man walking
home from church. Recognizing him as a
Christian, Satan confronted the man and
began slinging evil darts of temptation
in his direction. The first dart was
thrown at his head, but the Christian
was wearing the “helmet of salvation”
and the dart fell harmlessly to the
ground. Next Satan aimed at his chest,
but the evil dart was easily deflected
by the “breastplate of righteousness”.
Moving further down the man’s body,
Satan hurled dart after dart until he
reached his feet, but even they turned
away the temptations, because he was
wearing shoes of the “Gospel of peace”.
Confident with the protection he had
against Satan’s deadly darts, the
Christian turned and began to walk away.
But then it happened. A sharp cutting
pain pierced his lower back. He winced
and grabbed his hip. As he turned, he
found an evil dart of temptation stuck
securely in his wallet. Satan found his
weakness and hit him where it hurt.
Too many of us are like the man in the
story above. We have gone to great
lengths to guard ourselves against all
kinds of evil, but in the end, it is a
love for this world that will be our
downfall. Like Lot, who pitched his tent
toward Sodom, we too have been
distracted by the bright lights of the
world. We have compromised our
convictions at the expense of our
country.
The story is told of some mischievous
college students on Spring break who
decided to pull a prank on a local
department store. Late one evening, they
broke into the store and, for several
hours, went through all of the items
exchanging price tags. Although they
stole nothing during their evening’s
work, the result of their actions was
even worse than if they had. As the
doors opened the next morning, shoppers
rushed in and discovered the outrageous
bargains. Bubble gum was priced at five
hundred dollars a pack, but fur coats
were on sale for fifty cents. Doughnuts
were marked at seven hundred dollars
each, but diamonds were on sale at a
dollar a dozen. What a mess, and all
because someone switched price tags.
Many years ago Satan broke into
America’s department store. After
switching all of the price tags,
Americans rushed in and accepted the
changes offering little to no
resistance. Job promotions were given a
costly price while time with the family
was made to look cheap. Two story homes
were marked with high value, but two
parent homes were tagged “out of
season”. “Quality time” was displayed as
being “fashionable”, but a “quantity of
time” was marked as “unnecessary”. On
and on our values have changed until
even Christians now pursue material
things at the expense of their family.
Satan has a way of convincing us that
good is evil and evil is good. He loves
to twist our standards until he has made
us see valuable things as cheap and
cheap things as valuable. What a mess he
has made of our nation!
Too many Christian’s have given in to
the devil’s subtle temptation to
exchange God-given values for those of a
money-centered world. It is not the
economy! And Christians should not feel
stupid for thinking otherwise. Our
treasure is not in earthen vessels. Our
treasure must be in Heaven. We are
pilgrims on a journey. The more roots we
put down and the more baggage we
collect, the harder it will be for us to
keep our focus on the journey.
This world is not our home. As we
journey through life, our first priority
must be to further the values of God and
to influence others to do the same.
Since God has provided America as a
temporary refuge along our journey, we
owe it to God to honor Him with the time
that we spend here.
2 Chronicles 7:14
"...if my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then will I hear from
heaven and will forgive their sin and
will heal their land."
Do you believe it? Is your faith strong
enough to let God heal our land?
While traveling through the heartland of
our great nation, I was riding in a car
that had a bumper sticker which simply
read, “Morals Matter”. One morning
before getting into the car, we noticed
a note on the windshield. After plucking
it from behind one of the wipers, I held
it up so I could see. The message simply
read, “It’s the war and the economy
stupid!”
Which is it for you? Do morals matter
most or is that just a position we take
on Sunday? Do you believe that if we
elect officials who seek His face that
He will take care of the war and the
economy? We say, “God comes first.” We
sing, “All to Jesus I surrender.” We
pray, “Thy will be done.” Do we really
mean it?
Note: When I was a teenager, I thought I
knew everything. Now that I am much
older, I know that I have much to learn.
Please feel free to email me with your
thoughts on this important topic.
feedback@sonnychilds.com
This material was compiled from
excerpts out of the book, “A Vote of
Conscience” by Sonny Childs.
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For the MAPsters who missed the Homemade
Roles, Woodland Bible Camp and VBS Slideshows that were online
during June and July, go to the home page of
www.mapsters.net.
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Where in the world is Sonny Childs?!
At
present, Sonny and his family are unpacking,
packing, repacking, and resting for the next
couple of days! Sonny's next meeting starts
Sunday at the Bohon Church of Christ in
Harrodsburg, KY. He will be speaking on
"Islam and the Spirit of the Antichrist."
2008 Schedule
It is our goal
to travel to a location and conduct several
meetings before moving on. To that end, if
you see that we are going to be in your
area in the coming months and would like to
take advantage of our services, please let
us know. Email us at:
sonny@sonnychilds.com or call us at
1-800-973-2646.

2008
October 12-15 Harrodsburg, KY
Bohon Church of Christ
October 18-19 Salem, KY
Church of Christ
October 24-26 Paragould, AR
The MAPster
November 2-7 Louisville, IL
Red Brush Christian Church
November 12-15 Pine Prairie, LA
Church of Christ
November 16-19 Turkey Creek, LA
Church of Christ November 20-22
Oakdale, LA
Church of Christ
November 23-25 Welsh, LA
Church of Christ
November 30 Open
December 7 Open
December 14 Open
December 21 Open
December 28-31 Paragould, AR
Mini-M.A.P. Retreat |
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