Wake Up, Look Up

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hello everyone thanks for listening to

wake up lookup a podcast where we

connect events happening in real time to

the Gospel of Jesus Christ I'm Zach wck

and in today's episode we're asking the

question does your friend want a Bible

this is prompted by an article I read

this week actually submitted by a

listener just to reminder listeners you

can submit articles to us you can find

the email address I'm guessing in the

comments of YouTube or on the podcast or

the website somewhere you can find it

send us articles and this listener

submit submitted an article that said

sales of Bibles and the United States

are up

22% over last year people are buying

Bibles more and more Bibles in fact this

is a trend that has been going on for a

while in in 2019 for example there were

9 .7 million Bibles sold in the United

States uh but in 2023 there were

14.2 million Bibles sold in the United

States so again growth happening in a

major way people are wanting to buy and

read the Bible in fact in social media

there's a trend of influencers who are

going to a store buying their first

Bible and committing to read it now

that's interesting to me for two reasons

uh number one it is a reminder that

facts are more important than feelings I

know it often feels like the country is

becoming an increasingly dark place it

feels like the world is becoming

unhinged but the fact is more people are

buying and reading the Bible now than

ever before in the history of the United

States uh that is a fact that goes

against the way I feel things are headed

increasingly as Christians we got to

lean into facts and away from feelings

that are UNS supported we got to make

sure we count the wins and not just the

losses but it's also interesting to me

for a second reason and that is that

Americans remain growingly more and more

disinterested in Christianity 28% of

people for example in the United States

consider themselves completely without

any religious affiliation that's higher

than ever before people are increasingly

wary of religion and increasingly

interested in the Bible now what do we

do with this seeming Paradox well there

are a couple things I want to bring to

bear on your life and mine from this

tension the first is that believe it or

not your friends are spiritually curious

It's hardwired into us as humans to

contemplate meaning and purpose life

after death is there a god does he love

me I realize that when you spend time

with your friends they might be more

likely to talk about sports or or the

weather or their kids or reality

television that they're watching or

whatever uh but that doesn't mean in the

dark of their mind and their heart that

they're not asking these questions in

fact whether they tell you about it or

not statistically many of them are

buying Bibles they are trying to find

truth I think as Christians we always

assume that if we bring up spiritual

things with our friends or our family

it's going to be weird and it's going to

be weird because we care but they don't

but that's not what the data says people

are spiritually curious second they are

specifically curious in the Bible listen

I think it's important for Christians

that we talk about our own faith enough

and our own reading the Bible enough

that a spiritually curious friend who

buys a Bible thinks to ask us what kind

to buy or where they should start or if

we would help them understand it do your

friends know that you're the person they

can talk to about the Bible do they know

that you're the one who could get them a

Bible who would get them a Bible do they

know that you're the one they could go

to with questions about the Bible if not

then repent I know I am this week of all

the people in my life who don't

automatically think of me when it comes

to the Bible become that kind of person

by the way personal invitation if a

friend ever asked you a question about

the Bible you don't know the answer to

shoot me an email shoot me a text I'll

give you the answer that you can give to

them and when you give it to them don't

say my pastor says you give them the

answer you become the person they talk

to about the Bible they don't know me

but they do know you and then third

here's the reality people don't like

religion and what that means is as our

friends who are spiritually curious keep

reading the Bible let's make sure that

our Christian faith looks like what

they're reading let's ask the Holy

Spirit to show us all the things we've

added to it all all the kind of cultural

attachments that they're going to say

hey I don't see that in the Bible why do

you do that why do you live that way the

truth is most of us Christians are more

religious than we care to admit or even

aware of let's ask the Lord to purify

our religion to make it increasingly

only biblical so as our friends are

reading the Bible what they see there

might be very similar to what they see

in in our own lives listen get excited

and start praying that this the trend of

the Holy Spirit getting people reading

the Bible would not just happen around

you but in your family in your Social

Circle in your neighborhood and say to

God I don't want to miss this I want to

be part of it send me all the

spiritually curious people in my

neighborhood I'll buy them a Bible I'll

read the Bible with them and I will help

them in your grace God to meet Jesus hey

thanks so much for watching this video

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