Nugget of the day:  And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:29-32 Paul was speaking to the Athenians in this passage. These people’s hearts were cold. They did not care how they or their society lived. Instead, they accepted everything. These people did not stand up for what was right and moral. They worshipped any god, and they believed everyone was entitled to do as they pleased. What a sad state their community was in. They did not want to hear Paul’s message.  By not caring, they never learned the Good News of Christ. They did not have hope for a bright future. They did not know the love of our Father.  In living this way, many of them sealed their own fate. They lost the one thing that should have mattered: their salvation. I often say I like to work with hardheaded people. We may butt heads, but they care about something. If I can show them the right way to do something they may resist at first, however, when they see how important it is they will change their ways. Passive people just don’t care. They don’t care if something is right or wrong. We need to be careful as to how we hold onto our faith. If we become placid, we are in danger of losing our identity as Christians and followers of the One true God. Our placidity makes it tough to raise our children and grandchildren in a world which dishonors values and morals. We have a lot to lose not only for ourselves but our loved ones when we do not stand for the truth, and we accept immoral values. My prayer tonight is that we stay firm in our faith. We do not accept the concept that if other people are doing it, so it is alright for us also to do.  I pray we keep our guards up and protect our children and loved ones from the false gods that are becoming more and more prevalent in the world today.  God has given us morals and values. He does not change His views to coincide with the world’s; we must align our beliefs to coincide with His. Tonight spend some time reflecting on how you are living your life. Have you become complacent and go with the flow or do you stand for your faith and hold tight to God’s values.  The people who are trying to influence your thoughts and actions will not stand with you when you face our God on that glorious day when you meet a Him face to face.  You alone will be judged for your actions. It is far better to stand up for your beliefs here on earth than to stand before God and try and defend your disobedience. Our children are watching how we live our faith and to whom we pledge our allegiance.  Our children have a lot to lose when they turn from God’s morals and accept the world’s.