By the time the new Miss America, Erika Harold won the title of Miss Illinois; she had presented the abstinence message to more than 14,000 young people. Since 1900 Miss America and the affiliated state pageants have required contestants to adopt an official “platform” issue. As Miss Illinois, Harold, who is a Christian, adopted the platform, “Teenage Sexual Abstinence: Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself.” Though the pageant has traditionally been skittish about certain subjects and at one time forbade contestants to be alone in a room with any man, including fathers and brothers without a chaperone, state officials selected “teen violence prevention” as a more pertinent platform.

When the new Miss America learned that the pageant officials ordered her not to talk about abstinence, she was quite upset. After winning the crown, Harold received an e-mail from an inner-city Chicago girl asking her to continue the abstinence campaign. The young woman said, “ You changed my life because of what you said, and now I made the decision to be abstinent because of what you said.”

After several days of discussion, Miss America won the right to talk about teen sexual chastity. Harold said, “There were pressures from some sides to not promote [abstinence].” She added, “ I’ve gone through enough adversity in my life to stand up for what I believe in.” Harold told the Washington Times she believes teen sexual permissiveness is intertwined with youth violence, and she feels compelled to talk about abstinence as one remedy for violence.

Dr. John Whiffen, the medical director for the National Physicians Center for Family Resources said, Harold “ should be commended for promoting a message of health to adolescents, not silenced.”

—http://asp.washtimes.com, Miss America Told to zip it on chastity talk, Pageant permits promotion of chastity, October 9 and October 10, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

2 Timothy 4:1-3 “ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct; rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead they gather around them a number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to ear.”

In 1879, Louis Pasteur ceased his investigation of an outbreak of chicken cholera to go on vacation. When he returned, he injected some chickens with germs that were left in some flasks while he was on vacation. The chickens didn't get sick.

Thinking the germs in the flasks had "spoiled," he collected some fresh germs and injected them into the same chickens and some new chickens he bought at a market. All the new chickens died, while all of those injected with the "weakened cholera" survived.

As he reflected on the experience, Pasteur remembered a discovery, Edward Jenner made 83 years earlier. Jenner observed that milkmaids who contracted cowpox never contracted smallpox. Seeing the cause and effect, Jenner created a vaccine using a weakened form of the cowpox to inoculate his patients against smallpox. It worked, but most scientists dismissed it as a "folk remedy."

Pasteur knew he was on to something and began a series of experiments that laid the foundation for modern studies of immunology, epidemiology and medical bacteriology. In early May of 1881, he vaccinated 25 sheep for charbon. On May 31, he infected those 25 sheep and 25 other sheep with the deadly germ. Within 2 days, all 25 of the inoculated sheep were alive, the others died. Today, the disease has another name: Anthrax.

The principal is simple; exposure to a "weakened" form of germs builds an immunity to a disease-even something as potent as Anthrax. Unfortunately, the same principle works with things other than germs.

Is it possible to be inoculated against the power of the Gospel by being exposed to a "weakened" form? Perhaps it is the "self-help" gospel, or the gospel of "prosperity" or the "cheap grace" that calls people to Salvation without calling them to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, regardless, the weakened state of the message can inoculate hearers from the Gospel's impact.

The church must resist the temptation to tame the gospel or adapt it. All that will do is produce a weakened strain that gives Satan a tool to inoculate sinners, making them immune to its power. The gospel does not need editing, neither does it need morphing to accommodate culture. It needs to be proclaimed in its raw form, not in a way that pleases the hearers, but in a way that calls them to repentance. To a powerful form of godliness.

2 Tim. 3:1-5 NASB "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. [2] For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, [4] treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; [5] holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these."

The latest cell phone craze has become a method of proclaiming the gospel in parts of the world where believers often face persecution.

"Ringback" or "Answer" tones allow a person to customize what someone hears when they call. The tones allow people to play music or send a personalized message to callers instead of just hearing the usual sound of a phone ringing. In India, unusual ringback tones are taking the country by storm, and now Audio Scripture Ministries is producing recorded passages from the Bible for use as ringback tones. So far the ministry has produced about 4 dozen tones in the Hini and Tamil languages. They are also beginning to produce the passages in English because India is working hard to teach its entire population to speak English. Tom Dudenhofer from the ministry says the ringback tones provide a way for believers facing persecution take a stand. He says, "They simply say, 'well, when anybody calls me, they're going to hear this particular verse, or this particular Scripture passage.' They do it as a public testimony."

—http://www.mnnonline.org/mobile_content/9002. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (NJB) "Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom: [2] proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement—but do all with patience and with care to instruct."

A village in Hungary is reviving a medieval tradition because the local town council voted to suspend the local paper and TV station because their view of the news was biased. To protest the council's decision, Mayor Tama Derce hired town criers to get information to the public. Derce said, "I will hire someone who will stand with a drum at busy junctions of the district and another one with a loudspeaker." He added, "The town criers will keep working until the councilors reverse their decision."

—http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=336518&ssid=68&sid=LIF. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 10:26-27 (GW) "So don't be afraid of them. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. [27] Tell in the daylight what I say to you in the dark. Shout from the housetops what you hear whispered."

At a high school assembly, Nebraska Corn Husker assistant coach Ron Brown brought a simple message: Be accountable. Be dependable. Be responsible. His presentation was well-received by most of the 350 students who attended. The presentation also prompted a complaint to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska. That complaint and several others led the ACLU to send a letter to Nebraska schools warning them that if they invited Brown, or another speaker who referenced the Bible in their presentation, and the schools might be asking for a lawsuit.

The letter started a new public debate over religion and how it should be handled in the public schools. Since administrators decide who gets into their schools, they say they tend to ovoid speakers with overtly religious messages, make the assemblies optional, and talk with a speaker beforehand if they have concerns. When Brown was asked about the concerns, he said asks schools to make attendance optional. He said he has given the same talk for 20 years, and won’t change because of the ACLU. Brown added, “I’m going to talk about Jesus Christ whenever I’m talking about drugs or alcohol or character.”

--How much religion is too much, http://www.omaha.com/article/20100916/NEWS01/709169871/1029, September 16, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Romans 1:16 (NASB) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

A huge collision near the end of the race made twenty-year-old Trevor Blane the youngest driver to win the classic Daytona 500 in February 2011. Blane is an outspoken believer who often uses the social media like Twitter to talk about his faith. After the race, Blane tweeted, ”Sayyy what! I’m blown away at how amazing God’s plan is! 500 winner :) can’t believe it!” During post race interviews, Blane continued to use the opportunity to talk about the Lord. He told reporters that he and his crew had prayed before the race. They didn’t ask to win, but rather that God would use the opportunity to help them grow. Blane said he and his team pray a lot and expect a lot too.

When he is home, Blane attends a church outside Knoxville, Tennessee. An associate pastor at the church said Blane tries to live his faith every day. Blane said, “The biggest fear for a Christian is to be lukewarm, and we’ve learned how to get out of our shell. One example is, before every race I got to the point where the guys (on my race team) wanted me to say a prayer with them.” When asked about his win, Blane added, “I can’t even describe it. This is our first time ever coming here, so to win in our first time, I feel a little undeserving.”

--Daytona Winner outspoken Christian, http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=6297 ; February 21, 2011, Illustraton by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Make the most of every opportunity, whether wining a huge race, or answering a simple question.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ASV) (15) Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil.