Wednesday, May 25, 2011

When our sources for information prove themselves to be unreliable, we always can trust in God and His word!

Today, on this Wednesday, May 25, 2011, I am going to do my very best to stay away from the political stuff. I typically get an email response every day from my wife afer she has digested my blog. Yesterday she had this to say: "blah....blah....blah!"  (End quote) I am aware that sometimes I tend to get a little overly focused on those types of issues, and I do not want to have my daily visits to be nothing more than another policitcal bull session. I am also very much aware that some who read my blog have opinions of their own and they may not agree with my viewpoints. Welcome to America. That's how it works here. Each one of us can have our very own opinions. Guess what? I've actually changed some of mine over time and even found out that I was wrong about a thing here or there. Uh huh. While we all are entitled to our opinions, we are not, as the old saying goes, entitled to our own facts. We are living at a time when getting hold of the facts seems very illusive because everyone appears to have an outcome in mind when they are giving out information. This is why we need a source of reliable truth. The only one I know of is God's Holy Word. Jesus had told some of his listeners one day that they would know the truth and the knowledge of that truth would set them free. (John Chapter 8) They had trouble understanding what He was talking about. Essentially He was saying to them and to us that we are by nature in bondage to our own messed up thinking, our own beliefs, and the input coming from a fallen world. When we operate based on this wrong information, no matter how sincere or committed to it we might be, we remain a prisoner. Jesus came that we might be set free from bondage, therefore, we can always know that He and the Word of God is our source for truth. It was Jesus who said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) That's good to know in a world where we are being bombarded with information on a 24 by 7 basis.

I read an article the other day about some Canadian parents who have a newborn but they are going to do all they can to keep his gender from everyone except themselves and the other children in the home, and as I understand it, even as a secret from the baby because they want the child to become genderless in his or her orientation. The idea is to let the child choose how he or she is to be defined. I'm sure there are a number of folks who think this is a noble approach. However, if God's word can be taken as absolute, then it is He who inspired Moses to declare, "Male and female he made them, naming them Man, and giving them his blessing on the day when they were made." (Genesis 5:2, The Bible in Basic English) God's word can be taken as absolute because it is the truth, therefore, these parents can teach their child whatever it is they choose, but if it conflicts with what God has said, then their doing this will sentence the child to the bondage of living based on false information. What are the stakes involved when people reject the facts that God has given to us? According to God's word, they are eternally consequential. I well remember a luncheon where a senior management fellow asked me about my faith. He said he knew I was religious but wondered if I was involved mainly for the contacts I could make. I simply told him I was all in, I believed the Book, cover to cover, and while I often failed to be who I should be, to me it was a matter of truth. He then told me that he and his wife had some religious exposure as children but during their college days they became agnostic. He went on to say that they had agreed not to influence their children but to allow them to grow up and reach their own decision. I simply told him that he was already influencing his children and they likely will become mostly whatever mom and dad is. It all sounded so logical and reasonable but here again, their approach, their ideas, and even their conclusions do not change the truth where we read, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God." (Psalm 14:1)

I will be the first to admit that trying to live by the truth from God's word can be a very difficult journey. The world is very hostile to the truth. They don't mind picking and choosing things from God's Book that suit their purposes, but they do not want to hear the full counsel because it indicts us all, and tells us of our sinful nature, our need of salvation, and God's plan for us to live according to His truth. If you are willing to stand up for the truth then you no doubt will be ridiculed and when you do slip and slide or even fail, the world will be first in line to point out your hypocritical ways. The good news is that God is still God. His truth is still truth. Therefore, rather than be defeated by our own inabilities to always live out the truth, we openly confess that we are flawed, and we get God's forgiveness and help to get back up and make another go at it. It took me a long time to appreciate the fact that folks who live based on their own thinking or their own moral code, are rightfully inclined to be hostile to someone who says that God's word is the truth. In other words, we should not be offended or surprised by this response. Fallen humanity is by nature opposed to God and His call to righteousness. Again, He loved us all and proved it by sending His one and only Son to die on the Cross. He not only died for me, He also died for those who think I am a narrow minded Bible thumper, for those who think I am a simpleton for believing like I do, and for those who totally reject the very truth that can set them free. That's a good thing for us to remember as we seek to be a testimony and encouragement to others. May God add His blessings to each and everyone. Amen.           .....More later.

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