In a takeoff regarding certain political adherents CINOs are Christians in Name Only. They are people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but, like Jannes and Jambres in the time of Moses, they had a counterfeit faith.

Wayne Blank wrote about Jannes and Jambres saying that they “are mentioned only once in the Bible by the apostle Paul…. Although they are not identified by name in the Old Testament, Rabbinic tradition holds that Jannes and Jambres were, or were among, the magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron at the time of the [Israelites'] Exodus [out of Egypt]…. Jannes and Jambres obviously had ‘miraculous’ powers, but unlike Moses and Aaron who were empowered by God, the Pharaoh’s magicians were fraudulent and/or Satanic.”²

In today’s world there is never a shortage of counterfeit Christians, and counterfeit so-called “Christian” leaders who may have magnetic personalities, great oratory skills, and who are able to attract many followers, and in so doing deceive masses of people. Sad to say, this kind of person is found in every aspect of life be it in religion, in pseudo-science, in education circles, in business, and in politics.

As Christians we need to be like the people of Berea who are recommended by the Bible: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”³ Even though the Apostle Paul was the great leader of the early church, the Berean believers wanted to make sure that everything Paul taught was in harmony with the Word of God, the Bible. I suggest you do the same regarding all of my writings too.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be an authentic follower of Jesus and grant that my life and words will always be in harmony with your Word. And please give me a spirit of discernment so that I will always recognize false teaching. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Timothy 3:8-9 (NLT).

2. www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20001210.htm.

3. Acts 17:11 (NIV).

On one occasion when I was leading a seminar, I asked the group in attendance the following question: “What do you think the Christian’s number one sin or problem is?” One jokester called out from the back of the room, “Apathy! But who cares?”

Funny, yes, but tragically, as the old saying goes: “Many a true word is spoken in jest.”

Look at today’s world, for example: Our government is spending, spending, spending and borrowing trillions of dollars to do just about anything it wants to do without considering the ultimate consequences, but who cares? Political correctness (which is anything but correct) is destroying us, but who cares? Our country is on an accelerating moral decline, but who cares? Opposition to Christianity is growing more intense, but who cares? Giving in to the demands of Islam and their relentless push to have their Sharia law accepted, and for them to gain more and more power and control in our Western nations, is also steadily but surely increasing, but who cares?

Surely, Satan has blinded the minds of the masses. But what about us; that is, we who call ourselves Christians, what are we doing to make an impact on today’s society? In younger days we used to sing with great enthusiasm, “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before….” It’s been many years since I have heard this grand old hymn sung anywhere, or similar call to action hymns such as: “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross….” Perhaps there is a lot of truth in another jokester’s words who said, “Like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God, brothers we are treading where we’ve always trod.”

As Edmond Burke so simply yet powerfully stated: “All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men [and women] to do nothing!” And might I add, “and to remain silent.”

Note, too, what Chuck Colson said: “German sociologist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann coined the phrase “the Spiral of Silence” after witnessing Hitler and his ilk intimidate citizens until they were afraid to speak out against the most horrible evils imaginable: the mass slaughter of human beings.”²

So, apathy just may be our greatest sin, our greatest danger, and our greatest enemy.

So what can you and I actually do? For one thing we can pray earnestly for a great spiritual awakening throughout our countries. And in this day of incredible electronic communications, everyone with an email address can become involved in helping to spread the message of Jesus Christ—the only hope of our sin-sick world. To help you do this I encourage you to stand with ACTS International in our Global Media Outreach and learn how to be a missionary right from your own home—and therein have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner. Click HERE or on www.actsweb.org/people_power/. There is no charge. Furthermore, there is no greater opportunity and privilege than to share the message of Jesus Christ so please consider joining with us today so you can be a missionary right from your own home.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from the sin of apathy—of doing nothing and remaining silent when there is an urgent need to help share the message of Jesus Christ with people across the street and around the world. I am available; please use me to have an active part in what you are doing in the world today by helping to introduce others to Jesus. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB) (NLT).

2. The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Feb 29, 2012.

“I came home from work last evening,” said David E. Leininger a while ago, “greeted the family, changed clothes, and began reading the mail. The Newsweek magazine was there, so I began flipping through it. Early on I came to this rather striking ad: it said, ‘… You’re DEAD. What do you do now? Just for a minute, think the unthinkable. Think about when suddenly you’re not there.’² And then the ad goes on to try to sell life insurance. Years ago, a friend of mine who was an insurance agent would approach potential clients on the street and say, ‘I had a dream about you last night … I dreamt you died … and you didn’t have insurance!’ The amazing thing to me is that his approach actually worked—he made a fine living.”³

I find it interesting that the first thing many people read in the daily newspaper is the obituary notices. I don’t know why except it is an admission of sorts that death is a fact of life.

Other people avoid reading the obituary notices altogether as they don’t want to even begin to think of death. This is sad because sooner or later it happens to us all, for nobody gets out of this place alive. In younger days death seemed a lifetime away—and it was. The years passed, then my father died, then my mother, then my oldest sister … and now, along with my younger sisters, I’m next in line. Dying doesn’t bother me, but the process can be frightening if one should lose his or her health and, especially, his or her mind. Over that we have little or no control.

However, what we do have control over is life after death. Should you have a dream tonight that you died, what would happen to you? Where would you spend eternity if this were a reality and not a dream? Better still, where will you spend eternity when it is a reality?

God has an insurance plan exactly for this purpose and it is totally without charge to you. You can read about it by clicking on: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian and read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—Without Having to Be Religious.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for letting me know in your Word that I need to be prepared to meet you at the end of my life here on earth. And thank you for showing me the way you have provided for such preparation by accepting your Son, Jesus, as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Amos 4:12 (NIV).

2. Ad for the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, Newsweek, 2/26/96.

3. In a sermon by the Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger, “Thinking About the Unthinkable.” (Unfortunately, the web site is no longer available.)

You’ve probably read about the man who quit attending church and was visited by his pastor.

According to the story, “It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

“Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.”

“As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.’”²

Note: Be sure to read, “Benefits of a Good Church” at: http://tinyurl.com/bs9jf

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to realize the need to be involved in a good church where the people believe in your Word and live in harmony with the principles found therein. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV).

2. Author unknown.