But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Burger King® began in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953.

Since then the fast-food chain has used various slogans designed to get people to come and buy its burgers. For a while Burger King asked, "Aren't you hungry?" Then it gravitated to the more personal, "We do it like you do it." That was followed by "Get you burger's worth."

Most of you may not remember the unsuccessful mid-80s' ad campaign which asked, "Where's Herb?" In those commercials people were encouraged to find Herb, a fictional character who had never tried Burger King. The ad company which came up with that idea was dropped after that disaster.

Of course, all those commercials are in the distant past. For the last 40 years Burger King has encouraged people to "Have it your way." The idea was simple and to the point. Burger King felt it had a niche in the fast-food market because their customers could design their own burger. If you wanted more of this or less of that, no problem; Burger King was ready to let you "have it your way."

This past week, the execs at Burger King dropped a blockbuster. To reach a younger generation, Burger King would be very, very cool. In language you and I can understand, that means "having it our way" was out and would be replaced by ... are you ready for this?

May I have a drum roll please? "Be Your Way."

Since it is a slow week, I have spent the last day trying to figure out what "be your way" means and how it's connected to buying burgers from Burger King or any other fast-food place. So far I've had no luck or lightning bolts revealing to me the reason behind why Burger King's executives would jettison a tried-and-true slogan for another, which seems like nothing more than a penny's worth of non-burger related philosophy.

Well, that's life.

Still, in recent years I've noticed that, in order to be more appealing, some Christian congregations and denominations are going the Burger King route. By that I mean they are ditching the doctrines and the fundamentals of the faith to make themselves more appealing to the public. Words like "sin," "repentance," "hell" and "damnation" have been banished from the pulpit.

Instead of hearing about these things, inquiring minds are told God's greatest desire, His fondest wish, is to make them happy, wealthy and secure. For such preachers and parishes, Jesus has been demoted from being the world's Savior to being a good guy who has no problem if someone is particularly attached to, and wishes to keep, a pet sin.

I suppose that kind of message appeals to some. Me, I prefer God's unchanging Word, which campaigns for our salvation. I prefer to hear His assurance, which simply says, "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

That is a truth that will keep me coming back.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, the world is always changing. Some things are here today and gone tomorrow. I give thanks that for sinners, the salvation that was won by the Savior is permanent and unchanging. May I, in every circumstance and situation, cling to Him. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 20-22    John 10:1-21

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