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Diluted Truth Growing up I used to watch all the Bowl Games on New Year's Day. There were about eight of them and they were confined to that 1 day. To get to a Bowl Game a team had to be really, really, really good. Now we are inundated with bowl games. There are so many that a I cannot keep up with them. One Bowl Game had two teams whose coaches were fired for having such a poor season. Another Bowl Game had to get a special waver from the NCAA to allow a team with a losing record to play. Why the change over the last 50 years? Money and the desire of the colleges, the NCAA, and the organizers of these Bowls to make money. The end result is that the Bowl Season is now over a month long and most fans only keep up with their team. The bowls have become diluted to mean practically nothing. Such can be said to a lot of preaching that goes on today. It used to be that the Bible was preached in almost every pulpit. Now a lot of places hardly hear the Gospel of Christ. The conditions of salvation are often left out of sermons, and sin is not mentioned. In denominations the Bible is a relic, an outdated book with outdated principles. Every in the Lord's church there are congregations where plain preaching is not appreciated. So what happened over the last 50 years? Man has decided that religion should concentrate on man and not God. Church has become a social organization with social programs and a social message. Some preachers today are good communicators but poor students. Churches have become businesses with "programs" and "outreaches." Money is needed to finance all of these activities. The truth is diluted to appeal to a larger audience. The end result is weak preaching and teaching. Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17.17). Let us be dedicated to serving God and learning more of His word. We need to be good Bible Students with a hunger for knowledge. -- Dennis Tucker |