Day 44: On The Road Again

Seems like we take a little day trip every weekend. I guess it's to just get away from the sprawling Metropolis that Paducah is. Well, not really that reason, but it is refreshing to just take a little drive an hour or so away, have lunch, do a little shopping (tax free in Illinois today) and come back home. A not so expensive outing that everyone can participate in and no one get hurt.

We were in Carbondale again today. We stopped at a used book store called the Bookworm. This store has one of the most diverse and largest inventories of used books I have seen. It is also home to a rather over sized cat named Casper, who pretty much runs the place.

Most of the books are older, some newer. I imagined today, while looking over the "religion" section of whose hands held these books and read their pages. Were they deep theologians, someone taking a class at SIU-C and doing their required reading or just a regular person like me, who wants to read to get a better understanding of the character of God. I deduced that it was probably a cross section of all mentioned and then some. I did see a few copies of "Purpose Driven Life" from Rick Warren, that I assumed were read by someone that were looking for a way to be more pleasing to God. Me, not a fan of Warren or his methods and would rank him with other pragmatists whose "purpose" is to lead astray those that are either still young in the faith or just beginning to have curiosities peck at them.

I did not find any John MacArthur or John Piper books, nor any on or about Spurgeon or other faithful proclaimers of God's Word. There were other religions present in the religion section, but in a college town I am sure that their are many different religions present and available.

On a side note, I did see the "thriller" section and thought of Michael Jackson. I did a little thinking about him for a few steps, thinking about his trying to be accepted by others, his plastic surgeries, "alleged" small boy complaints and his religions of choice - his parents raised the Jacksons as Jehovah Witnesses which he renounced around his Thriller days. He later had a stint with the Muslim religion when his brother Jermaine was converting and also sported a red yarn bracelet symbolizing Kaballah. Just avery twisted process by a twisted man in need of a Savior.

Truth be told, without the grace of God I could have been a Jehovah Witness, Muslim, Mormon or any other false religion. I actually was for part of the most deceived religion in the world, the one that are probably the hardest to witness to - the false convert Christian. Seems like everyone around here is a "Christian", but no one seems to know what that entails. They know they were lead in a prayer or had some kind of crying/ emotional experience, but they know nothing of Jesus Christ. They want nothing to do with holiness and are quite comfortable thinking they have their ticket to heaven and an inexhaustible ticket to sin. As long as they say "sorry about that", they are fine and still on their way to heaven. It is a very sad reality that most of these souls are on their way to hell.

Deception is rampant. What better lie to use by Satan than one that uses supposed men of God to proclaim? Sunday after Sunday false prophets stand in pulpits across the globe and proclaim that all you must do is make a decision for Christ, then *BAM* you're in. Nothing about the sacrifice of Christ, the punishment of their sins being poured out by the Father on His Son, nothing of the wrath of God that hangs over their heads, nothing of repentance and a true turning to God, nothing of the grace God can bestow on them or the completely vile person they are in the sight of God. The message that is proclaimed is very different than that proclaimed by Christ, Himself, and the Apostles. Galatians 1:8 says that if anyone proclaims another gospel that they are cursed. That means the majority of those standing in pulpits across the globe are apostate, false prophets and are cursed. Pray for them. They need the One that can intervene and glorify Himself through their true conversion, the humble display that they have been wrong and a call to repentance.