Dear Crosswalkers,
It is always good to get away for a vacation, but also good to be home again! Special thanks to Mike Jones and David Bolhorst for doing a GREAT JOB of filling in for me while I was taking a break. I strongly encourage you to check out their messages on our website if you didn't get a chance to hear them in person!
While away, I was shocked by the rampant cheating scandals in our public schools that made the headlines. There was a good article in the Washington Post, which you can read in its entirety here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/2/schools-scramble-to-stop-cheating-scandals/
According to the report, more than 30 New Jersey schools are under investigation for falsifying test scores! Atlanta officials recently discovered that 44 schools and 178 teachers and principals have been faking test scores for the past decade! These are staggering numbers! The article also mentions ongoing investigations of possible cheating scandals in Pennsylvania, Dallas, Baltimore, and Houston. How many more are there that haven't been caught? To be fair, I'm sure that many schools and school districts are run by honest people who choose not to cheat. But we must ask, "Why all this cheating?" Apparently, it's a desperate attempt to avoid getting the dreaded government "failing" rating. In other words, rather than face the facts and admit failure, many teachers and school officials are choosing to cheat.
Now before we get too caught up in our righteous indignation about all those cheaters, and especially those who have been cheating for years and apparently getting away with it for years, we need to take a good hard look in ourselves and ask ourselves if we have ever been tempted to take the shortcut, the easy way, the even the wrong way in order to achieve our goals. You see, this cheating scandal simply verifies the Bible's teaching that
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?(Jeremiah 17:9). The Christian view of human nature is that it is broken and therefore needs to be restrained, disciplined, overcome, and even healed.
Sometimes, I'm tempted to choose crazy too! Why? Because today, most people believe themselves to be essentially good, in their innermost core. When caught doing something bad, their defense is "That's not the real me." I'm sorry, but IT IS the real you! The sooner we face it, admit it, and turn to Jesus to receive forgiveness and the power to do better, the more spiritually healthy we will become. Crosswalk is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners. All are welcome!
Love in Jesus,
Pastor John
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