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You know, I have been surfing the web looking for different things for school and somehow, I have stumbled upon several different athiest websites and articles.  After reading some of the stuff that I found, I realized just how much our country needs revival.  I didn't realize how bad off our country has gotten to be.  This country was founded by people who had faith that God would take care of them and lead them, hence the phrase "In God We Trust".  Now when you look at the way people are living their lives, you have to wonder how we got so off track!  I mean, if you just read an article or two of this athiest stuff, you realize just how important home missions are.  I would really like for someone to comment on this topic.  We really need to be praying especially for the non-believers around us, and the Christians who are trying to reach them.

Hi mjc,

Welcome to Christians Unite.

Yes, the situation in America is a sad one indeed. If would like look around on this forum and you will see many threads that point this out. It is very important that Christians join together in prayer, work hard to spread the Gospel, doing all we can to further God's work while we still can.

I hope to see more of your posts here and to continue joining us in prayer for the people of this nation as well as those of the entire world.

Well thank you.  I believe that God has called me to be a missionary.  And I guess that's why this all just jumps out at me.  I see all of these things and views of different unbelievers and I see why there is such a need for missionaries.  I just didn't realize how much of a need there is in our own country, let alone the countries over seas.

The need is growing by the day right in our own neighborhoods. Public schools indoctrinating children in all sorts of sinful lifestyles, laws being passed that enforces these actions and taking the rights of parents away from them. Other laws that are whittling away at the rights of Christians making it harder and harder to witness to others. Unfortunately there are many Christians that do not recognize this fact and many of them that are sitting idly by doing nothing at all about it.

It is important that we get this word out and join together in prayer and in actions to overcome this evil.

Hello MJC,

Welcome to Christians Unite. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it here. I'm looking forward to reading your posts and having fellowship with you.

There is a huge list of horrible things that indicate rapid moral erosion in this part of the world. The devil is currently trying to turn the moral erosion into massive mud-slides.

There is no comparison between our society today and what it was like 50 years ago. This is a relatively short period of time, and I'll point out a few changes:

The Bible and prayer was removed from public schools.

Over 41 MILLION BABIES have been murdered in abortions.

A host of displays and actions that publicly express our love and respect for GOD have been banned from public view.

A host of religious liberties have been removed and those remaining are under assault.

Gays, lesbians, and transgender folks are forcing public education that indicates they are normal and moral.

The devil has devoured millions of homes with dope, other substances, and sin. Children are being robbed of decent parents, love, and care.

The crime rates have skyrocketed out of control, along with the "dumbing down" of masses with dope and other substances.

Violence is out of control.

The old fashioned family with love and respect has been replaced with gang membership.

The most major cause of death for teens and young adults used to be car accidents. We still have these, but most major causes have been replaced by gun violence, dope overdose, and suicide.

The devil is taking control over many of our churches, and the number increases by the day.

Generally, our society is immoral and has turned its back on GOD. GOD was and is the moral fiber that made our country strong, but GOD is being pushed out of our society. The systematic persecution of Christians is far past the beginning now. Rights are being removed from Christians and given instead to gays, lesbians, transgenders, atheists, and other groups of people who are enemies of CHRIST.

In short, our society is in a downward nose-dive. I must place part of the blame on Christians who sat back, watched this, and did absolutely NOTHING! Silence does amount many times to calling evil good. It does not appear that there are many Christians left with the backbone to stand up and say "NO!"

Removing GOD, morals, and ethics from our society creates a vacuum, and the devil quickly fills that vacuum. We will all reap what we sow, and we might not like the harvest. It is likely that much of the harvest will be soured and poisoned!

   It is a dark dark, wicked world we are currently in, we are the light.
         MT 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

MT 6:22,23 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!

MT 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, [that] speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, [that] preach ye upon the housetops.


JN 1:4,5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

JN 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

2COR 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ

2COR 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ

1PET 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Amen Forrest!

The Scriptures you quoted are beautiful and most appropriate.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 19:14 NASB  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Another Amen!

I third that Amen!  More people need to realize that getting saved from enternal life in a lake of fire is not the end of salvation and accepting Christ.  It seems like after people have a "religious experience" they feel like they are done.  Then they just become pew-warmers.  As Christians, we are to go forth and preach the gospel to every creature.  The scripture didn't say to go forth to your home church and listen to the preacher spread the gospel to all who may come on Sunday.  The mission field is not going to come hunting us down.  We have to get out there and do our part.  These people (athiests) are never going to make changes until they see that they need to.  I didn't realize how many people in our country were lost without caring until I read some of these articles.  That is just hard to get across and explain without sounding so mean.  Forgive me, I don't mean to be rude but I am not very good with words.

mjc

Hello MJC,

I think that the important thing to realize is that there is important work for all of us to do. Some Christians are so busy with the world that they don't hear the voice of GOD leading them and directing them to do various things, and there is always a million excuses.

Regardless, of age, health, or occupation, GOD has work for all of us to do. Many Christians do their work from wheelchairs and rest homes, and others do GOD'S Work before and after their regular jobs. Many of our young people do GOD'S Work at our schools and universities. Armies of us work around the world and in our own countries to minister to those without the basic necessities of life. The list of things that GOD needs done is huge, and some of the work involves danger. If nothing else, all Christians can become Prayer Warriors, and many are. The needs are great, and there are never enough laborers for the LORD. All of GOD'S Work is important, and we should all know that GOD has things for us to do. It isn't just money - time and effort are required. GOD will equip us for what HE needs done, and it simply becomes a matter of yielding to HIS Will. I pray that we all do just that.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Galatians 6:2 NASB  Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Matthew 22:36-40  NASB  "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

I completely agree.  We need to pray that people would be willing to do what it takes, and to go the extra mile to do what God needs us to do.  We all need to pray for divine guidance.

Hello MJC welcome to CU Forums, I pray you enjoy your visits here and that we will be able to fellowship with you often. I agree with all the above.

When I was a child, we still had prayer and a Bible verse read before school each morning in the classroom!!  I think prayer/Bible reading was taken out around 1962 when I was 12.  (Can anyone else remember the exact year?)  In those days the worst thing the kids did (in high school) was to smoke cigarettes between the school buildings!  And, oh, we also had a girl in the 8th grade that dyed her hair green for St. Patrick's Day!  (She always got sent home after that.)

So, yes, prayer and Bible reading made a big difference in our lives.  I feel for the young people today who are surrounded by so much evil, and alot of them don't know that God can help them.  I try to let my light shine and speak to people each day with the love of Christ.  We never know who may come across our path and be hurting.

mjc, if you are interested in home missions (domestic), you might check out Missionary Gospel Fellowship.   Missionaries with them minister all over the USA and in many different ways.

Yes, it was 25 June 1962 that a decision was made in the case known as  ENGEL ET AL. v. VITALE ET AL. 370 U.S. 421 (1962).

There were some schools that continued prayer until 1963 when it again was taken to the Supreme Court and again ruled against.

There is a post here under Parenting called "Restore Christian America". The second and consecutive posts show charts that give the different changes that we have seen in society since the removal of prayer and Bible reading from schools.

Brothers and Sisters,

I was just reflecting on what it was like to grow up in the 50s and 60s. I give thanks for all of the Godly things that I was surrounded with: Godly parents, Godly grandparents, Godly schools, and a society that was free of the many things that we suffer with today. I was a pretty stubborn kid, and I really don't know how I would turn out if I was growing up in our society of today. I'm sure that my parents would have their work cut out for them, just as all parents do in this day and time. The children of today just don't have many of the advantages we had back in the 50s and 60s. This is now a confusing and evil world that we live in, and decent parents have a real challenge. May GOD give us all strength and guidance.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Philippians 2:1-2 NASB  Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

I didn't grow up in the good-ole'-days, but I can tell you that I am still growing up, and in today's world its very hard to grow up and stand for Christ all at the same time.  I have shared previously on here and in my testimony that I have answered the call to be a missionary.  Well, until about last week, I had pictured myself more as a foreign missionary.  But now, after I read some of the things that I saw about these athiests and their thoughts, I realize that we need missionaries here just as bad as overseas.  It never hit me until I read some of those articles that I found.  I am scared for the people that I go to school with who don't know Jesus and are unchurched.  I know that its hard for me to stand against all of the temptations that I am faced with.  I know its got to be super hard for people who don't have the Holy Spirit within them saying "this is just satan". 

Hello MJC,

I just wanted to mention a couple of Christian Youth organizations that I think are doing a wonderful work in our country:

Campus Crusade for Christ
The Navigators

Sister, I'm sure there are many other outstanding organizations that work with our own young people, but these stand out in my mind. Their mission field is the colleges and universities of our country. They also do considerable work off campus in many settings, but one of the goals appears to be forming an Army of our best young Christians to serve RIGHT HERE AT HOME. I must also mention that the Navigators are International, and they work all over the world, so there would be an opportunity to work in foreign countries with a strong sponsor if that's what you feel led to do. This was just an idea that I wanted to mention. Both organizations are very old and respected, and they both have excellent training programs.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 6:10-14 NASB  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

A wonderful read through the posts.

And I even mentioned today in my SS Class.  How it is my generation (Born in 67) which seems to be leading the charge in many of thes things.  Now our parents were part of the free spirited revolution of the 60's and 70's.  And where personal freedoms became the growing thing.  We have continued the heritage our parents gave us and pushed for more personal freedom and less and less personal responsibility. 

I know alot of this started off in the late 50's but was brought up and to a peak many times during the 60's and the war in Vietnam was used as an excuse.  Which is what is happening again with the Gulf war.  And look at the spread of Islam even here in the United States.  All in the name of personal freedom and religious tolerance.

MJC I commend you for being called to the mission field.  And praise to God for giving you the heart for that.  I pray that He will continue to lead you in the field where He needs you best. 

AMEN, I too commend you sister, and I will keep you in my prayers.

Amen.

Amen!
I met some cult people  from "athiest" , all of them don't understand or misunderstood about God words. They just hate us because we stood they way.

Oh boy, You should see forums that I visited.
There is no reason for me or us to hate them, they just people like us, but blinded fool.
 

As the mother of a teenager, I often reflect on the "good ole days" when I was a kid.  It saddens me that my son has never had the freedoms I enjoyed.  I was a Brownie and my older brother was a Cub Scout.  We attended summer camp, roasted marshmellows and lived in cabins in the woods.  We had so much fun.  I have never allowed my son to join the Scouts due to fear of him being molested by a pedophile.  I remember riding my bike with my friends and going quite a distance from home, without a care in the world.  At 4 and 5, I used to walk to kindergarten with three friends.  We had quite a distance to walk.  There was no thought of be abducted by a child predator.  During the summer, a group of us kids used to sleep outside on our porches.  Today, parents are afraid to allow their children to play in their own yard without adult supervision.  How truly sad it is.

Like I tell my husband, there are NO athiests in hell today!!

The "good old days" I remember:  We never heard of divorce.....when a neighbor's son had a divorce, it was truly shocking!!  We never heard about murders or other crime.  We kids would run around the neighborhood playing, riding our bikes, going to the neighborhood's small store for ice cream bars, walked to/from elementary school alone and later took the bus to/from high school, "trick or treated" the whole length of our street getting candy from each house (which we ate with no fear).....I even would take the bus into downtown alone when I was only about 11 years old.  It was wonderful!!  I am so sorry that children today have to grow up with such knowledge of evil in order to protect themselves, and am sorry they deal with bad peer pressure.

I couldn't agree more.  I was just talking with a person who was at one time my best friend.  Now we hardly talk and I am saved and he's very far from it.  We were talking about hell and heaven.  He doesn't think he's going to hell but he doesn't really believe in God either.  That is so contradictory!  I'm trying to witness to him but he doesn't want to here it.  I'm praying that God would just open his heart and mind so he will take hold of something I am trying to tell him.  He's just one of the many people, high school students, that I know that are just as lost as the day is long and don't even realize it!  This is such a bad situation!

Sometimes when people reject or don't want to listen to the Gospel, you just have to give them some time (after you have shared it with them) and just live your Christian life before them.  When they see your life and peace in Christ, this can have a big impact on them.  And, of course, the Holy Spirit is able to speak to their hearts as well.

It seems like he just ignores me.  I think he might be starting to come around though.  I got an e-mail from him a few minutes ago.  He's wanting to talk about church and stuff from what I gathered.  That makes me feel really good because I feel like I'm doing my job as a Christian.  It's one thing to witness to a friend or aquaintance, but when it's someone that you really know and care a lot about its a totally different story.  Its so much harder.  I hope that God will just soften the hearts of people who don't know him and that they will just listen to what we have to say.  Please pray for my friend.

mJc

That's good to hear he emailed you and wants to talk.  Just talk in a natural way and explain if he has questions, etc.  I find if you aren't "pushy" with people, but just natural and sincere with them, that they are more open.

And, yes, we will pray for him and all hearts to become more open to the Good News of Christ.

I am trying to be as natural as possible without just screaming "THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE MISSING!!!"  I want to just make him and everyone else believe and see the light!  I know that I can't just scream at them though.  This is just so important but so hard to get people to understand at the same time.

Great thread!

mississippi_jesus_chic, your burden for the lost strikes a chord with me.  I praise God that He is raising young men and women such as yourself and others in this thread to mission work right here in the USA.

I saw a story recently that did a study, and found that roughly only 2% of believers share their faith on a daily basis.   2 percent!!!  ???  :'(

I fear that the Church in America has lost her way.   Not on a whole mind you, but in large part.   Sadly, many sit back and pray for a sovereign move of God for revival, and never put legs to their prayers, by going out and sharing the gospel.   As one pastor puts it, its easier to talk to God about men, that it is to talk to men, about God.

I know this has been a real burden on my heart as well.   Its amazing how many doors God opens up for witnessing when you are actively looking and praying for opportunities.   Not only friends and family, but complete strangers too.

Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  


May God bless you and others here in your efforts to reach the lost. 

Blessings!

Amen 2T

Amen!  As Christians, we should witness to others and try to lead as many as possible to Jesus.  I must admit, I have not done my share.  I can recall a couple of years ago seeing a woman almost daily who was obviously a prostitute.  She would usually stand outside a gas station I frequented, and on many occasions I saw her either getting into men's cars, or being dropped off by men. One day I saw her standing in the parking lot and her face was extremely red as though she had been through the wringer.  My heart ached for her.  One day I passed her as I was leaving out the door, and something tugged at my heart to ask her if she knew Jesus.  I never said a word.  It haunted me for quite awhile, because I knew in my heart, if anyone needed the love of Jesus, it was her.

While in the dentist office recently I overheard a conversation and immediately knew the receptionist was considering suicide.  I felt compelled to interject, and began to speak with her.  She was not a Christian, but was open to learning about Jesus.  She told me she had never owned a Bible, and had never felt the need to believe in God.  She had recently lost her only child (19 year-old son) in a terrible car accident, and no longer had the will to live without him.  The driver of the car was drunk, so she also was feeling a great deal of anger and hatred toward him.  I asked if her son had accepted Christ, and to my surprise and joy, he had.  She said her son had asked Jesus to come into his life a few weeks prior to his death!

I had arrived early for my appointment which gave us plenty of time to chat.  Before I left, she told me that she was going to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.  I know the words I used were not mine, but inspired by the Holy Spirit.  I felt such joy.  I then also realized the true reason I had arrived so early for my appointment. 

I pray I will never again fail to witness to someone in need of salvation.

Amen, That should be all of our prayer.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:15&16 (TNIV)

I know that sometimes it's hard to witness to people, espcially people who you care a lot about, but I think that if we would pray that God would just open up oppourtunities and strengthen us, it would be a lot easier.  That's what I have begun to do.  I have come to realize that there are a lot of Christians who really don't want to put themselves out there for God to use however he wants.  To me, that's where this verse comes in to play. 

People can only stay mad at you for so long.  But when it comes down to it, you need to ask yourself one question.  If he/she dies tomorrow and goes to hell, is it going to be because I didn't do my part? 

I almost gave up on my friend that I spoke of a while back, but when I ask myself that question, it makes me think.  What if the day I die God asks me, "Why didn't you try harder to reach him?"  There would be no good excuse then.  We have just got to get out there and start working hard.  We need to not only go to church, but get outside of the safety of 4 walls.  Basically, it comes down to becoming MORE than just lukewarm, which is definitely what we need to do. 

I always pray that the Lord will give me the right words to say.  In Los Angeles where I live, we now have many people from  Muslim and Hindu countries....you don't even need to leave the USA these days, just come to Los Angeles!  :)  You can be an Ambassador for Christ right here!  :)

I pray about witnessing too.  Many times I pray for opportunities to witness to people.  But when I do, I pray that God will just give me the words to say and to give me strength to stand for Jesus.  I don't want to be responsible for someone not hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. 

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I am blessed to live in the Bible belt.  Its not as bad around here, but the situation is no doubt getting worse. 

Amen to that...cause we seem to be loosening the belt all the time...

It is getting just as bad down here in the good ole South as it is anywhere.

We all need to pray for strength to stand up and stand out rather than sinking deeper and letting things go the way they are currently going.  Things are most definitely getting worse everywhere, including the good ole South as Brother Jerry said.  We see things happening all over the world and we know its bad.  But when you begin to see things worsening close to home, your prospective seems to change a lot.  I know that when I went from junior high to high school, I felt like I was in a totally different world.  Keep in mind that there is only one high school in our entire county.  I have seen and heard things in high school that I had never heard before, and to be honest, really don't care to hear again.  And then when I got a job and began dealing with the public, everything seemed worse.  The point is, I know that things right now are nothing like what they were when my grandfather was my age, or even my dad.  And I hate to see what my children will face some day.

All we can do in the midst of evil is to keep our relationship with the Lord.  His presence and holiness will help to protect us.  I know you young people have it alot harder in the schools nowadays.  I pray for you to be helped and kept safe by the Lord.  Maybe if you see someone that seems nice and is struggling with that bad environment....maybe you can reach out to them in Christian love and help them?

Trust me, we need all the prayers that can be prayed!  Now in some places prayer is pretty much illegal in schools.  But, if students are willing its not as hard as it seems to spark up a Godly conversation.  One time last year I had a class with this girl who didn't seem to know the Lord.  One day she came into 4th period just crying her eyes out.  So I just wrote her a note during class and asked her what was wrong?  She informed me that a close friend had passed away in a car accident just a few hours earlier.  I simply wrote back and told her that I was going to pray for her  and her friend's family.  This one sentence started a whole conversation, and eventually the girl told me that she had asked Jesus into her heart.  The thing that makes witnessing the hardest, is that you don't see the results right then.  It may take months or years before someone actually confesses their sins and asks Jesus into their hearts.  I know I tend to try to hurry things along.  We just need to be more patient and plant all the seeds that we can.

God really used you when you reached out to that girl that was crying.....when we are sensitive to people's hurts and needs, this is often the time when God can reach their hearts.....they are more open to Him then.

You are right....we must be patient....we never know what God is doing in a person's heart.  Maybe they will eventually believe in Christ and we might never know it here on earth.  But the important thing is that they come to know Christ as their Savior, even if we never know it.

I completely agree.  It helps me to know that I am actually acomplishing something, but no matter what evidence we see in people, whether good or bad, we should be working just as hard for the Lord.

I agree about the erosion of morality in the States. It's sad and, unfortunately, I don't think a major reversal of the situation is likely.

Flip on the television for a sample of what consitutes the average American's culture and realize it's an aboslute waste. Kids spend hours in front of their TV, which would be fine if they learned how to be moral from the shows they watch, but they don't! They're simply wasting their time with the powerful diversion that Satan created in the television.

The State of the U.S. just emboldens my hatred of Satan even more. To see what he's reduced the world to makes me very angry. And sad.

Well, the Bible does say times like this will come.  People are choosing sides....the wheat and the chaff.  Just keep living your life in Christ....God will take care of it all in time.