Historical tracking data is from Barna’s FaithView metrics and are based on online and telephone interviews within nationwide random samples of 96,171 adults conducted over a twenty-year period ending in February 2020. 36% fewer Americans attended church weekly in 2020 than in 1993. In 2000, 45 percent of all those sampled, qualified as practicing Christians. Currently, Just One in Four Americans Is a Practicing Christian. We see this statement very frequently in the old testament, “The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.” (Judges 3:7)
Why has this been the normal occurrence in our history? When one backslides or falls away, this means they made a conscious decision to wander away from God. Of course, their decision DISHONORS GOD and it hurts Him, but He will not condemn them/us for it. God is our Father, and HE LOVES HIS CHILDREN SO MUCH. As long as we return to Him and confess our sins, God’s arms are wide open to accept us and forgive us.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. STAY ALERT! WATCH OUT (grēgoreuō: give strict attention to) for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for SOMEONE TO DEVOUR. (katapinō: to swallow up)” (1 Peter 5:7-8) God gave the remedy for this but sadly it is rarely practiced, This is what, “…the LORD your God has commanded to teach you…and your son and your grandson, ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE, You shall TEACH them (the Words of the Lord) diligently to your children, and shall TALK of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up…You shall WRITE them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:1-9) We’re usually not bothered by the devil when were preforming our daily routines, it’s the idle times when we’re sitting around when we lie down and when we get up so, these are the times when we need to get our minds on the Word of God. And “Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing (orthotomeo: hold a straight course) the Word of Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) Don’t just study the word, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST YOU.” (Psa. 119:11)
-Bill Stockham