With the current financial crisis rocking America, many businesses (small and large) are experiencing challenges. Some have even been forced to close. For those who have been able to weather the storm, they are seeking the services of a company whose popularity has sky rocketed in light of the current crisis. The company is entitled the Turnaround Management Association. Members of The Turnaround Management Association are rarely asked to join successful companies. Instead, these skilled professionals are called into ailing businesses to help get them back on their feet.

Truth be told, the same need for dramatic change exists throughout society. People who can reverse the downward spiral in an individual's life, a relationship, or a team are constantly in demand.

But what about changing the world? Many people would say that only God can do that. And that's exactly what He sent His Son to do. The Bible describes humanity's downward spiral by saying that the entire world was imprisoned by sin and "in bondage" (Galatians 3:22; 4:3).

Into that hopeless situation God sent his Son. No one else would do. He had sent prophets, priests, and preachers. Humanity was still in dire straits and to add to that, religion remained earthbound, legalistic, and doomed. Galatians 4:4 states

“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”. 

The Bible goes on to state the purpose of His coming - Jesus came

"to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (4:5).

The personal turnaround for us begins when we accept God's offer of eternal life in Christ and receive His Spirit into our hearts (v.6). Rather than simply being given a new set of rules and sent off on our own, we are adopted into God's family.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate turnaround expert. He specializes in impossible cases.

As a nation, America has a rich history. This country was founded by men who believed God’s Word.  Many of whom were ostracized and even persecuted for their role in founding America. Of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured.

Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion. 

These men, knowing the consequences of their decision, knew it was better to die in freedom rather than live in bondage. They broke off from England’s tyrannical rule and started their own nation, providing freedom for its citizens.

While our history as a nation can be traced by those who stood for their beliefs, so our Christian heritage can be seen through the lives of men and women who were not afraid to stand up for Christ, even though it meant certain persecution.

Men like John Huss, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas Ridley were killed for preaching God’s Word and rejecting the heretical teachings of the day. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for belief in God.

I am afraid if we were living in their day, few Christians would be willing to give their lives for God. As we see in our verses, God records that many Christians faced horrible torture and cruel deaths for their faith, yet they held fast to the teachings of God’s Word.

How committed are you to the Bible? What would it take to turn you away from claiming Christ? How can we expect to stand strong in the face of adversity if we cannot even be counted on to read our Bible or attend church faithfully?

God describes these martyrs as those “of whom the world is not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). You may not be faced with persecution for your faith, but God still desires your faithfulness. Be faithful in the small things today for you never know when God will require more of you.