There Is No Fear of God in This Land

By Jeff Andrick

“Jeff, I couldn’t put it down. Started reading and couldn’t stop. Not a conventional approach, but your subject matter really matters. Your personal stories win the reader over, conclusions were solid and the presentation intriguing. Thanks for the opportunity to be an early reader and fan! Really good, Jeff.”

“I think you nailed it, Jeff. Your passion shows through. You won’t sell many copies, though, maybe to a few serious Christians.”

There is no fear of God in this land. Without a proper fear of God straying is inevitable in our practices and our beliefs. What was once staunchly admonished is now tacitly accepted and important doctrines are treated like casual recommendations. If the Word of God is so serious and profound, why do contemporary Christians treat it so playfully?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973641162

Jeff Andrick

Jeff Andrick is a businessman living in Brazos County, Texas. [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2018 Jeff Andrick.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Front cover photo by Candice Shirley.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4115-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4114-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4116-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911678

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/08/2018

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1     There Is No Fear Of God in This Land

Chapter 2     Elijah in a J. C. Penney Suit

Chapter 3     A Celebration of Alcohol

Chapter 4     A Celebration of Profanity

Chapter 5     A Celebration of Pornography

Chapter 6     A German Prophet

Chapter 7     Wales

Chapter 8     The Saddest Words in the Bible

Chapter 9     The Scariest Words in the Bible

Chapter 10   Brokenness

Chapter 11   The Solemn Assembly

Epilogue

INTRODUCTION

Who am I? Who is this guy writing this book? I am not a preacher. I am not a minister. I am not a theologian. I am not an author. I am not a scholar. I was not a great student. I am not ambitious. I am not outgoing; in fact, I am an introvert. I do not have great abilities. I do not stand out in a crowd. On my very best day, I am simply a sinner saved by grace. I am just a guy, an ordinary guy, who decided to put down on paper how he feels. That is all this is. How I feel. I know that others do not feel the same, and that’s okay with me. I don’t care to debate these things. This is simply how I feel. How I feel about life. How I feel about the important things of life. How I feel about the Christian life. It’s about what I see. What I see in the Christian faith in our day. My thinking is in line with a quote I recently read from DesiringGod.com: Christianity in the Bible feels so wonderfully serious, and contemporary Christianity so obliviously playful.

I explained to friends who read early copies that I can think of three responses to this book. One is silence: no response. Two is: Jeff, I think you are right. And three is: Jeff, you are the problem—people like you are the problem. Any response is okay with me.

A poem written by a great man, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, entitled Who Am I? talks of all the nice things others say about him. It talks then of all the thoughts he has about himself. It creates two pictures—one positive and one negative—of what others say and what he knows about himself. The last two lines read:

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

The words written on the following pages come from one who is still in the struggle, still in the fight, but one who can say with his whole heart, O God, I am thine. This book is written to those who can share those words in the hope that it will help as we press on.

CHAPTER 1

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THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD IN THIS LAND

A bout fifteen years ago, a friend invited me to attend a fund-raising event. We were involved in a jail ministry in our town, and the event was benefiting a jail ministry in a town about two hours from us. That neighboring jail ministry had been very successful. My friend thought we could see what they were doing and see if it would be helpful for us. It was one of those things that you agree to, but as the day gets closer, you wish you hadn’t.

As the day approached, I thought, Why did I agree to do this? This is going to be a waste of time. I could be relaxing at home. Well, the day came, and four or five of us headed out to the banquet. All the while, I was thinking, Why did I do this?

We