Silly Putty

TITLE: Silly Putty
DATE: November 6, 2018
TEXT: Isaiah 40:28-29(ESV) 28  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Silly Putty. I can remember the day I opened up my first egg of SILLY PUTTY.

It was amazing stuff. Think about it… it bounced like a rubber ball, but it oozed like a liquid. It could bend, it could break, it could stretch, it could duplicate a panel of the Sunday color comics if you let it sit there for a few minutes.

What I remember most about Silly Putty of yesteryear is that you had to keep the stuff in its plastic egg. If you set it free, and left it unattended, it would flow away and be permanently lost in furniture, carpet, clothes and the family car.

From what I can see, the majority of Americans seem to think that religious OBJECTIVE TRUTH is just about as moldable and elastic as is SILLY PUTTY.

I say that because I have read the report of a survey conducted by LifeWay Research. They went to a demographically correct group of 3,000 American adults and asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement:

"Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth."

I was shocked to find 60% of my fellow Americans agreed with that sentence.

When they analyzed the data by age, by sex, by income, by just about anything they could analyze… the answer always came back the same: 60% agreed with the statement. Some 30 percent of Americans disagreed, while 10 percent said they were not sure.

In other words… religious beliefs are based on personal preference…like…

• do you like to drive a truck or a car?
• do you prefer a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or peanut butter and honey?

It’s all personal opinion and it doesn’t make any difference what you believe.

UNLESS

Unless one religion really is better than any of the others; and that one religion would be better because it is telling the truth and other religions are not. A few moments ago I said 30% of Americans disagreed with the majority. I forgot to tell you… that group is composed of Evangelical Christians. LifeWay Research said these Christians would say:...

• The Bible is the highest authority for what they believe.
• It is important for them personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Christ as Savior.
• Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin.
• Only those who trust in Jesus alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal life.
• And that truth is God’s truth and it can’t shift or change or pull like Silly Putty.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that this generation may see that You, Your Word, Your promises, Your plan of salvation don’t change. May Your Son become for them a solid foundation upon which You can build their salvation. In Jesus’ Name I ask it. Amen.
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The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by the Christian Newswire on October 25, 2018. Those who wish to reference those articles may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: http://christiannewswire.com/news/5944981829.html
 
Contact: Deborah Finnamore, Publicity Manager, Ligonier Ministries, 407-333-4244 ext. 1158, definnamore@ligonier.org