Applying Your Faith
By Jack Nester, Jr.

Faith is defined as, "a belief and trust in God or a religious conviction". This set of religious beliefs is intended to influence and guide you in decisions and life situations, yet in the last few years in America people (especially Christians) are told to compartmentalize their faith. This translates into, "believe what you want on Sunday but don't try to apply it in daily life because there is a separation of Church and State." Wrong! The separation is only in the mind of a few and never intended by the Founding Fathers (and this can be documented).

It is interesting to note that most other religious groups such as Muslim (Islam) can press for their "right" of expression and practice with support because it is politically correct to do so. In the name of alleged "rights" our government has had endorsed and enacted into law such perversion as same sex marriage, last trimester abortion or in some cases, teaching of Islam in schools under the heading of "Culture". Of course, there is always the accepted New Age religion of Oprah, the religion of Global warming by Al Gore, going green, environmentalist or the religion of exercise and fitness with all of the programs, materials, food, herbs, botox and cosmetic surgeries (isn't this close to worship of the body?) People grasp most anything including Yoga, believing it is merely exercise when in fact is is part of the Hindu religion.

Many Christians are fearful of expressing their faith when in fact, they should be doing their best to influence and transform lives! The reason our nation has so many problems is that it has departed from it's foundation of a personal faith in Jesus Christ with the Bible as the standard and guide for decisions in daily living in every area.

I'm tired of hearing the whining about things being "judgmental", "not tolerant" or "a phobia of some kind". Give it a rest, just because someone disagrees and doesn't support a given stand doesn't mean they are afraid. The Christian faith is not democratic because the Lord isn't. There are absolutes, rights and wrongs and it is time to apply them unapologetically to daily life and the power of our risen Lord Jesus Christ will bring healing and fulfillment. I urge all pastors to speak boldly to social and political issues from the Bible … you can't separate faith from life. You're not meant to. That's something to think about.