The Wisdom of Fools - From His Heart - Week of July 24, Encouragement from Jeff Schreve

The Wisdom of Fools - From His Heart - Week of July 24

July 24, 2015

"Professing to be wise, they became fools ..." - Romans 1:22

"And the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage goes to the gold medal Olympian, Bruce ... excuse me, Caitlyn Jenner." And the crowd erupts in a standing ovation as a very confused, tormented, and unhappy man steps to the podium dressed as a prom queen to receive the coveted prize.

What in the world is going on in America?

Romans 1:18-32 gives a vivid picture of a society that willfully and knowingly rejects the word and ways of God. This type of society brags about their enlightenment and progressiveness while they ignorantly sit in the dark. They profess to be so wise, yet they are so utterly and completely foolish. They cheer the deceived and deceiving, and vilify those who are truly courageous--just ask American Sniper Chris Kyle's widow.

SINKING FAST

Our once-great nation is sinking fast. The further we get from God and His perfect blueprint for marriage, family, and society, the further we plunge into degradation, ruin, and despair. And the irony is we think we are so smart, when in reality we can't distinguish arsenic from iced tea. It stands to reason when we wickedly discard the Author of right and wrong, we quickly lose all sense of moral direction. We fight for animal rights while marching for Planned Parenthood. We defend the indefensible atrocities of Mohammad and Islam while decrying the evils of Christianity.

Isaiah 5:20-24 CEV aptly sums up where we are today in America:

You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet. You think you are clever and smart. And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent our of a fair trial. You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy LORD God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION

I hope you are greatly bothered by the things going on around us. Righteous indignation is a good thing. Complacency is not. In fact, it brings forth death. The frog is comfortable, complacent, and oblivious in the water ... until it boils. But by then, it is too late.

May God use what is going on in America to awaken sleeping, complacent Christians to spring into action! May we search our hearts and confess and repent of any sexual immorality, idolatry, dishonesty, greed, selfishness, and spiritual lukewarmness we have willfully allowed into our lives.

Unless and until God's people get right with Him, there will be no revival in America. God is waiting for us to respond, to come clean, and to stand in the gap for the land. He says in Ezekiel 22:30, "And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

He found no one in Ezekiel's day. How tragic. I wonder who He will find in our day?

Love,

Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries

P.S. I would love to hear your comments at pastorjeff@fromhisheart.org.

Jeff Schreve founded From His Heart Ministries, www.fromhisheart.org, in 2005 with the vision to reach as many people as possible with the good news of God's love. Jeff believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a great plan just for you. He broadcast on radio, TV and in the internet around the world from his pulpit ministry as Pastor of First Baptist in Texarkana, Texas. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All gifts go to further the broadcast.

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About From His Heart

From His Heart Ministries is the TV, Radio and Internet broadcast outreach of Dr. Jeff Schreve who believes that no matter how badly you have messed up in life, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. We’re on mission to help a new generation discover their creator through the preaching of the compassionate, relevant, yet uncompromised truth of the Gospel. Pastor Jeff speaks the truth in love with clear biblical content combined with engaging, personal stories. His messages are filled with life-giving principles for everyday living and eternal assurance.

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About Dr. Jeff Schreve

Jeff's life has been radically changed by Jesus Christ.
Growing up in a church-going home, Jeff learned a lot about God, but he did not know God. He believed in Jesus in the same way he believed in George Washington: he knew Jesus was real, but had not personally met Him. All this changed one night after a Young Life meeting when he was alone in his bedroom. There Jeff saw his need for Christ and His forgiveness and surrendered his life to Jesus.

As a student at the University of Texas, Jeff grew in his Christian life. He graduated with a degree in business and moved back home to Houston, Texas to start a career in business. There he met his future wife, Debbie, at a single's group meeting at Champion Forest Baptist Church. They were married in 1986 and have been blessed with a wonderful relationship and three awesome daughters and two beautiful grandchildren.

A New Direction
After spending 13 years as a chemical salesman, God called Dr. Schreve to preach. He left his secure position and moved his family to North Carolina to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was a scary and difficult move to make ... but it was one of the best decisions they have ever made. One year later, God called them to serve on staff at Champion Forest Baptist Church. In 2000, he completed his Master of Divinity degree graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He graduated with a Doctor of Ministry degree in 2014 from Southeastern Seminary.

Jeff Schreve has been the senior Pastor of First Baptist Texarkana in 2003, a growing and exciting church with 4500+ members.