A decision of the Olympic organizers in China to ban all Bibles from the athletes' Olympic village has some Christians angry. The officially atheistic government of that nation reportedly said that the presence of Bibles could produce division and provoke violence among athletes. According to news reports, religious symbols such as crosses are also banned among competitors. This anti-religion stance is not really new. For those of us who grew up in the mid-20th century, it is a familiar theme. When Communists were ruling the former Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe, we read of Bible bans, arrests of Believers, and destruction of churches all the time. Karl Marx, the philosophical father of Communism, was himself an atheist who characterized religion as an 'illusory happiness... the opium of the masses.' He believed that abolishing religion would force people to deal with the real issues of their sad lives. Following his lead, Communist leaders in many nations attempted to create God-free zones- and they failed, miserably! China may ban Bibles, but her atheistic leaders cannot turn the Spirit of God away at the border.
Believer, there is a more pressing issue for us than Bible bans at the Olympics! Many of us leave God out of entire parts of our lives - sometimes intentionally, sometimes unconsciously. Let me give you a couple of examples.
When you turn on your TV to watch a movie or a couple of programs in the evening, do you invite the Holy Spirit to be with you? More to the point, if Jesus Christ were visibly present in your living room, would your choice of programming be different?
When go to work, do you leave the Lord in the entry lobby? Do you separate the Biblical principles that govern your personal life from the decisions you make in your business?
When you open your checkbook, does God have a say in the way you spend your money?
When you're getting angry with someone, do you push the Lord out of the room so you can really vent your emotions, without restraint, complete with profanity?
Is He invited to the secret reveries of your mind, the place where you escape the scrutiny of others and the restraints of social convention to wander through fantasy land?
Let me remind you of what you already know - There are no God-free zones! He is omniscient and omnipresent. In the 139th Psalm, we find a prayer praising God's greatness. The Scripture says, " God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. . . . You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. . . . . Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? " (Psalm 139:1-2, 4-5,7 The Message)
Perhaps you find that a threatening passage, and are filled with the same kind of revulsion that we feel when confronted with the invasions of privacy of Big Brother government! I hope not! For me, knowing that God is always near, that He knows everything about me, is a wonderfully reassuring fact. Nothing that comes my way today surprises Him, catches Him off guard. As my Advocate, my Counselor, I can rely on Him to guide me through the situations for which I am unprepared, to keep me from being overtaken by the temptations that spring at me like a lion from the bushes along the road!
To be sure, there are times when He falls silent. Sometimes we are the ones who grieve Him, who break the intimacy with Him, with deliberate choices of disobedience. And, sometimes we just do not sense Him near, for reasons we cannot know. I have walked through several periods in my life when my prayers were cold and lifeless, when I 'felt' like a spiritual orphan. Know this - God is there! All Believers experience such times. Recently we learned that Mother Teresa was anguished by long periods when she did not feel the Presence of God. The biographies of every Christian has chapters that record similar seasons. In those moments, by faith we remain true to Him. What we cannot know with our senses, we receive with our mind. We live in the promise of the Word. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)
Don't allow for any supposedly God-free zones in your life, dear Believer. Here's a prayer from the Word. Make it your petition today.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV)
__________________
On God's holy Word I challenge you
To give to the Lord your life anew.
My friend, make your choice;
He waits for you
For this is the moment of truth.
Now walk with God
And He will be your dearest Friend
Where'er you goIn everything you do.
And may your life
Reflect His love to ev'ryone.
Now walk with God
And He will walk with you.
Now Walk With God
Otis Skillings© 1969 Lillenas Publishing Company (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 810055
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