We ought to memorize 2 Chron. 12:32a: “the sons of Issachar…had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” If the church is to be effective in this rapidly changing world, we must understand the times and know what to do. We find ourselves with a mix of naturalistic and relativistic thought in the public square. At the same time, we are faced with a mix of dead orthodoxy and anti-intellectualism in the church. Does such a mix in the church bode well for our witness in the cultural mix God has given us in which to labor?
The Church is perishing today through a lack of thinking that leads to vitality. We have experience-oriented emotionalism which has no anchor for souls who face tough times; religion-centered liberalism which has no attraction for intellectual, cultural elites; and entertainment-mall-mega-churches which seem to have little real power to produce new converts in significant numbers. However, it’s no time to panic. The church has something the world does not have if we would only embrace it: a word from God. In light of such, it’s time to get serious about that word as we find ourselves in serious times. It’s time to be men of Issachar.
On today’s edition of “Calling for Truth,” we’ll talk about serious minded Christianity for serious times.
