Tag: Apathy (home)

Satan called all his angels together to create a plan to seduce mankind. "Who will go for me and what will you tell them?" One glided forward, "I will go, and I will tell them that there is no heaven." "No, they will not believe that. They want there to be a heaven. Who else has an idea?" Another said, "I will go and tell them that there is no hell." "No, they know there is a Hitler, there must be a hell." Finally, a crafty spirit said, "I will go, and I will tell them that there is no hurry."

permalink source: Anonymous
tags: Death, Apathy

Some years ago, a new pastor was called to a spiritually dead church in a small Oklahoma town. The pastor spent the first week calling on as many members as possible, inviting them to the first Sunday service. But the effort failed. In spite of many calls, not a single member showed up for worship! So the pastor placed a notice in the local paper stating that since the church was dead, the pastor was going to give it a decent, Christian burial. The funeral for the church would be held at 2 p.m. on the following Sunday. Morbidly curious, the whole town turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, there was a large casket, smothered in flowers. After the eulogy was given, the pastor invited the congregation to come forward and pay their respects to the dead church. The long line of mourners filed by. Each one peered curiously into the open casket, and then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. For inside the casket, tilted at just the right angle was a large mirror. Each one saw his own reflection in the mirror as perhaps never before! That is still what happens when human beings allow the living Christ to confront them in their sinful brokenness. This special day calls us to make a choice to receive God's Christ, and to let our lives be made whole again by the power of God. As you begin this Holy Week, can you truly say in your heart, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" The choice is up to you!

permalink source: Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company, 1995.
tags: Church, Creativity, Apathy

If Christianity is false, it is of no importance. If Christianity is true, it is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is of moderate importance.

permalink source: C.S. Lewis
tags: Apologetics, Salvation, Apathy

Once when I was in the Himalayas, I was sitting upon the bank of a river. I drew out of the water a beautiful, round stone and smashed it. The inside was dry. The stone had been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone. It is just like that with the "Christian" people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is.

permalink source: Sadhu Sundar Singh, excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu, the Bruderhof Communities website
tags: Evangelism, Apathy, Spiritual Formation

Thus, many so-called seekers do not seek at all; they wait for something worthy of their allegiance and the waiting becomes habitual and comfortable. Our society has far more of these “waiters” than “seekers.” http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0308/articles/reno.html

permalink source: R. R. Reno, Fighting The Noonday Devil
tags: Apathy, Sloth

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