GOOD NEWS

The good news is, God’s pencil has no eraser. Before you breathed your first word, God knew how you would respond to His offer of grace. According to His foreknowledge, He wrote your name in the book of life. And there it shall remain forever. Jesus said it this way:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. —John 10:27-28

Stanley, C. F. (1990). Eternal security : Can you be sure?. Nashville: Oliver-Nelson Books.

A BLIND SPOT IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY

What is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in the selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible on caring for the poor? The difference is that one involves a social taboo in the church and the other involves a social norm in the church.

We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask, "How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?" I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, "How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such expensive cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while tens of thousands of children were dying everyday because they didn"t have food and water? How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn't even exist?"

Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? More specifically, is materialism a blind spot in your Christianity today? 
Surely this is something we must uncover, for if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to question just how effective we will be in declaring the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth. More pointedly, if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all.  In the end will your wealth serve to be a blessing for you or a millstone around your neck?

DAVID PLATT - FROM THE BOOK "RADICAL"