As surprising as this may sound to some people, the Bible is just as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. In some cases, maybe even more so. You have to think - part of the Bible is prophecy, meaning things to come. So a lot of it is geared towards a future time.. but future for them is present-day for us! 

Today, I want to share a story that jumped out at me this year while studying the Paul and reading of his journey to spread God’s word to all the nations. Truly after Jesus’ death, a majority of the new testament is the story of the birth of the Church. One day, I’d love to chronicle the life of Paul on his mission to share the Gospel, but until then, I will pull out a piece or two. 

I know its a long way around saying it, but this whole scene sounds like a modern day moment to me! Listen to what these guys said: "You know that our prosperous livelihood is being threatened by this Paul, who is persuading crowds of people to turn away from our gods. We make a good living by doing what we do…Our businesses are in danger of being discredited”!

Sound familiar? I don’t know about you but this makes me think of a lot of things… the local authorities of the day sound a lot like politicians and the business men sound a lot like the money-men of..you guessed it…present day. I feel like it is becoming increasingly apparent today that the life and values of christianity is being viewed as a threat to those in power positions. I mean.. it may have been thousands of years ago, but the Bible is alive and well. The principles and lessons are timeless. Money is still king in the eyes of the world and idol worship is still alive, too. Though it comes packaged differently.. Today, these idols and (lower case) gods are sold as entertainment, celebrity status, and global ‘causes’. Where agendas are pushed at the expense of what is real and true and good. Global warming. Big pharma. Gender Ideology. Government controlled education… and the list goes on. Sounds to me like a lot of junk being pushed by the people profiting from whatever idol they are pedaling. 

And here’s the deal. As powerful as these people are… politicians and big businesses alike — they are all threatened by the INTEGRITY of choices of those lives turning to Christ. You can see it all over cancel culture. Which voices get cancelled? The ones speaking God’s truth… not the ones standing saying “This is my truth”. Because truth isn’t subjective to one person or another. Truth is what God says it is. How many celebrities have been dragged through the mud for sticking to their convictions? How many Christian films and books and shows have been suppressed or deleted? Heck, the day I put up my YouTube channel, it got pulled down. I can only imagine why…. 

I promise I didn’t come to ruffle feathers today. But.. I did come to encourage. The Bible doesn’t just mention stories casually for no reason. The years have changed but satan’s tactics are still the same. May that be your motivation today. He’s still using his same old trick and yet, the ending will never change. Our God wins. So may we carry on fighting the good fight. Know that, just as in Pauls day, there will be those in power threatened by the very things you stand for. Let it be so. Because we know who’s we are and who we answer to at the end of the day. And it’s not those people. It’s our Father who formed us in his own image. Today, I pray each of you are emboldened to keep standing firm and sharing the good news, its the only news that brings hope and a future to a dark and hopeless world. I love y’all, and I’ll see you back again next week! 

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