The Washington Post reported this week that abstinence programs work in helping young people set themselves apart from our sex-craved culture. The study, that was conducted in four different schools in a Northeastern city, among 662 African Americans found that about 33% of the students who went through the abstinence program started having sex, compared with about 52% who were taught only safe sex. The findings were published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

This is good news for True Love Waits advocates, for our kids--and in my estimation--indicates that God is doing a good work in this generation for a very special purpose.  Maybe the youth of today are being prepared for an assignment much bigger than the purity of their sexual lives.

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Prayer has always been the fuel of Christian missions. Jesus Himself set the standard when he began his ministry with forty days of fasting and prayer. Afterwards he returned in the “power of the Holy Spirit” and people flocked to his message.  Later Jesus chose twelve apostles after a night of prayer, and sent them out to share the Good News.  In the Matthew nine passage above we see Jesus engaged in mission activity in various towns that made his heart ache and caused him to exclaim: “What a huge harvest! “How few the workers!” He then announced the key to future success: “On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”

Though we don’t fully understand the whys of prayer, we do know that God has designed the moral universe around its efficacy. Without prayer, God doesn’t act. Through prayer, people’s lives are changed. It might be said that prayer gives an impartial God a reason to be partial in someone’s life. 

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Today we remember that infamous day of January 22, 1973 when the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade put every conceived child in America at risk of premature death.

Fifty million of them have met that cruel fate in the past thirty-seven years.

They say the currently-debated health care bill will affect one-sixth of our economy. The abortion industry has already done so. In the past four decades we have killed over one sixth of our population. That' the staggering consequence of a very bad law.

Over one hundred thousand people died recently in the Haiti earthquake. We were stunned, wept, donated money and sprang into action to care for the dead and help the living. But fifty million fellow Americans have been slaughtered by abortion on demand at the shrine of convenience and sexual promiscuity during the last four decades--and we've hardly blinked an eye.

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As Christians live out the power of the Cross and the Lordship of Christ in all arenas of life, this will inevitably lead to the challenging and shaping of human cultures.  Ultimately, the battle for the nations of the earth will be a battle for culture. Even elections, like the stunning victory of Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate seat this week--are a battle for cultural direction.

There are basic principles that apply to all human culture. Most of these you may not have learned in your normal sociology class.  A culture makes a nation. A culture forms the boundaries and creates the distinctives of any group of people.  If we are to understand what Jesus would have us to do to see whole nations changed by the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel, we must understand what He wants us to do with human culture.  A good  place to start is the following premise:

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If we are to obey Christ's commandment to affect whole nations in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must be willing and fully committed to bringing the full message of Christ's Kingdom into all the nations and cultures of the earth.  This does not mean that the whole world will be saved.  History and experience have proven out this fact over thousands of years, that it is a remnant in the earth that is being saved.  Yet this remnant is getting bigger and bigger all the time, and we must not limit God and the outpouring of His Spirit.

However, it is important to understand that it is not majorities that set the agendas of nations--it is always a dedicated minority in that society.  To disciple a nation will not necessarily mean that all of the people or even the majority of the people will give their hearts to Jesus Christ.  But what will happen in the nation is that Christians, as true salt and light, will begin, through servanthood, to give direction to the values and focus of the people and culture. 

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A number of years ago, I flew into San Francisco to spend a few hours with two women who were historians.  On the trip across town from the airport I was drenched by the rain while trying to scramble to get transportation during a city-wide taxi strike.  Bedraggled, and soaked to the skin, I finally arrived at their lovely home in a quaint part of that beautiful city.  Like two mother hens, my hostesses, Miss Verna Hall and Miss Rosalie Slater, ushered me into their home, gave me a towel to dry off with, and then proceeded to fix a lovely evening meal where we chatted and got acquainted.

After the food and fellowship, they began to show me around their home which was a stunning collection of antique furniture, beautiful decor, breath-taking art, and loads of books.  In every room Verna and Rosalie gave me a free lecture on aspects of America's history and heritage as seen through the artifacts,writings, and memorabilia that they have painstakingly collected. I was fascinated by their presentation. After this had gone on for an hour, Verna turned to me, and asked me some questions.  One of them I will never forget.

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