Sharing With Skeptics (5/30/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading John 9:1-41.

Most of the time, when we don't witness it's due to fear. We often fear the response of the people, especially the skeptics in the crowd. This story gives us a good example of overcoming fear and speaking forth the truth of the Gospel. The blind man who was healed spoke the truth as he knew it. "I was blind but now I see!" That's really all we're required to do as witnesses of what Jesus has done in our lives.

In this chapter there are different responses to Jesus. We need to let our Lord open our spiritual, mental, and emotional eyes to see what Jesus teaches us in these responses. Different people ask different questions. Different people have different perspectives of events. Are we listening to the Holy Spirit as he leads us in dealing with all these different kinds of people?

When questioned about why the man was born blind, Jesus told the disciples that Yahweh allowed the man to be born blind so that the works of the God of Creation could be displayed in his life. Too many times people falsely believe they're suffering because of some specific sin in their lives. Jesus clearly states that it wasn't due to his parents' or his sin. Sometimes Yahweh allows hardship, handicaps, or struggles in our lives so he can demonstrate his power. We need to trust that he's God and he's in control, even in our difficulties. Sometimes the pat answer about Karma or fate just doesn't cut it. Sometimes we just have to acknowledge that we live in a fallen world where bad things happen.

Jesus exposed the religious leaders for the skeptics they were in this situation. The Pharisees immediately doubted the healing and questioned the man's integrity. There was a division among them over whether Jesus could or couldn't perform miracles. One complained that a sinner can't do what Jesus did, and another asked how an ordinary sinner could do a miracle. First, we need to remember that miracles don't happen because of the person Yahweh works through. Yahweh did this miracle, Jesus was his vessel. Second, some people are just too intellectual to accept miracles. They'll deny any supernatural occurrence and claim some other natural cause.

This clash of opinions happens every day in America and throughout the world. Some accept things at face value, but many suspect underlying issues or falsehoods are at work. Some hate "religion" and therefore are skeptical of anything they label as religious. Some have been convinced that belief in a Creator God isn't necessary and therefore think all "believers" to be naive and unintellectual. Some just aren't sure what to think and just go along with the crowd. We Christians just need to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit and become vessels of blessing just like Jesus was. When we doubt Yahweh's power, grace, and love then we can expect to miss out on his blessings. We need to allow Yahweh to be the Omnipotent God we say he is and then do what he desires regardless of what any skeptics say. There will always be doubters or immature Christians or critics around. Just don't let them fill you with doubt

We see that the formerly blind man's parents displayed the fear of being kicked out of the synagogue if they went against the leadership. When they're given the opportunity to speak for the truth, they back down instead of taking a stand that would put them at odds with the skeptics. We need to develop a thick enough skin to deflect the criticism that's sure to come when we confront these type of leaders. We should never let the fear of man keep us from speaking forth what we know to be the truth. Don't fear the misunderstandings, rejections, or scorning of man. Fear your Lord God and speak his truth, no matter what.

Jesus showed us that one man's suffering provided a felt need, blindness, that led to an open door for the Gospel. We need to look for the felt needs to maximize our effectiveness in communicating the Gospel. When we speak directly to felt needs people begin to open the door of their values, beliefs, and perceptions of truth. When that begins to happen we have the space we need to present the Gospel. To do this in effective ways we need wisdom, sensitivity, and insight to speak Yahweh's truth clearly. We need to be willing vessels of Yahweh's love and grace to the people we're led to share and speak with.

We see in this chapter that the blind man didn't need to know all the answers to be used by the Holy Spirit among the skeptics. We don't have to have "perfect" answers for every question. It's more important that we clearly state what we know to be the truth. The blind man simply stated what he was like before he met Jesus, and then after he was miraculously touched. We often back out of opportunities because we hear the devil's lying whispers about our lack of preparedness or knowledge. Giving truthful answers isn't about knowing the Scriptures in exacting detail. It's about sharing from your heart what you know and what experiences you've had with Jesus your Savior.

Even in his brand new experience with Jesus the blind man showed a growing faith and knowledge. He obeyed Jesus and washed in the Pool of Siloam. When he met Jesus again he worshiped him after Jesus revealed himself to him. His responses to Jesus were heartfelt and life-changing. His obedience is a good lesson for us. We all need to be less skeptical and more accepting of the plain Word of our God. In his innocence he trusted the one who had helped him in a very profound way. Jesus healed his blindness and he didn't try to reason it out. All he said was, "I was blind but now I'm healed." Can we be just as innocent and start from the basics, too? "I was lost and now I'm found." We've been set free from spiritual blindness, and we should love and trust Jesus just like this man.

But we do have some very serious skeptics in this story. The Pharisees remained spiritually blind because they chose not to see Jesus for who he really was. They were hardened by their cynicism and religious piety. Stubbornness, selfishness, and just plain stupidity tends to blind many people to spiritual truth, even when clear truth is right in front of their eyes. Many religious people try to excuse themselves from doing Yahweh's will by using all kinds of intellectual contortions. When we don't accept the fullness of Yahweh's Word, we build strongholds of doctrines that make it next to impossible for us to receive the truth that falls outside the boundaries this kind of thinking creates.

If we don't remain open and fully yielded to the Holy Spirit there's always a tendency to become hardened to spiritual things. There can be no good spiritual fruit when we have this kind of attitude. We become extremely arrogant when we've set our doctrinal positions in stone and refuse to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the Word of our Living God, but without the Holy Spirit's activity there's no eternal life in it. We need to combine what we know from Yahweh's Word with the ongoing instructions we're receiving from the Spirit to have anything of eternal value.

Jesus taught that those who remain flexible and pliable in listening to the Spirit's voice will be the ones who understand his directions and will be blessed to be involved in miraculous activity. However, those who are skeptical and unwilling to learn new things will suffer for their spiritual blindness by missing out on these miraculous activities. We need to warn people, especially churched people, that Yahweh isn't playing games. Faliure to seek the Creator and his Truth leads to a lack of spiritual understanding and a lack of Holy Spirit activity.

Jesus plainly spoke to the skeptics, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." We started with a blind man who was healed. He ended up seeing both physically and spiritually. We end up with religious leaders who were tragically blind, but thought they could see just fine. In the presence of their Messiah, the Light of the World, they said they didn't need his help. Some of the most dogmatic people are religiously blind. They reject Jesus claiming perfect vision, while mired deep in sin and doubt. Many today treat the activity of the Holy Spirit with the same type of scorn.

It's easy to detemrine if something's on fire. It's hot to the touch and sets other things on fire. Any fire that doesn't spread eventually goes out. A Christian or a church without faith sharing activity eventually loses its fire. A Christian or church without fire is in trouble of growing cold and skeptical. Spiritual fire is important to us. The heat of our passion for Jesus should equate to some passion for those who don't know Jesus or are in need of some type of healing.

There may be points of faith that we doubt, that we just can't accept right now. Don't just swallow something because a person in leadership says its true. Work them out in your minds and hearts with the Holy Spirit's help. Yahweh's revelation and inspiration will always help us determine if something is spiritually true. Faith doesn't overcome doubt by obliterating our struggles to understand. Faith overcomes doubt by winning an honest duel, an honest contest between our doubts and Yahweh's truth. Allow yourself the necessary time to receive an ever-increasing level of truth. Yahweh's got all the time in the world, and he's solidly focused on what you need to learn. Trust the Holy Spirit's guidance and keep putting into practice what he's teaching you.

Obedience will then help us overcome our doubts and rightly confront the skeptics. If we trust Yahweh then we can speak his truth no matter what the other person says or does. Jesus points us to obedience to best overcome our doubts. We need to do the same in sharing our faith. We can present the Gospel in understandable ways. We need to be bolder in trusting the leading of the Holy Spirit when the opportunities arise. May your spiritual journey be rich and filled with many charcter building moments.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

What Was Lost (5/23/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Luke 19:10.

 

    In most commentaries, and even in some translations, this verse is used to say that Jesus came to save men like Zacchaeus.  But the word translated as "what" or "that" or "he" is only an impersonal pronoun.  It's not necessarily referring to men directly.  It's more likely to be talking about a thing.  What I'm presenting isn't dogmatic, but should be taken with an inquiring mind and looked at as a possibility.

    I want us to consider that the thing mentioned is the dominion of the earth.  Gen 1:28 says, "Elohim blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature."  To subdue is to bring under control, and to rule is to have dominion.  Adam gave all this away when he sinned.  This task of having dominion was clearly placed on the shoulders of Adam, the first Adam.  Jesus, the second Adam, took that dominion back through his life, death, and resurrection.

    Through a sovereign act, Yahweh chose to give imperfect human beings dominion over the earth.  Within the rules of that dominion, he gave us the right to make our own choices and live with the consequences.  Yahweh's perfect will often gets missed or overruled by our free will.  This doesn't mean he's any less sovereign.  He's always fully in control of what happens.  Nothing happens without his involvement, either his direct hand or his allowance of the event.

    C. Peter Wagner teaches about moving from Despair to Dominion.  Dominion means your sphere of control and influence, even supreme authority.  In the past the general theological position has been dispensationalism.  Men like Darby and Scofield established a timeline stating the world will continue to get worse until the end of the age.  Their major focus was escaping the evil to come.  See how Despair has been the primary issue with many who believe and follow this scenario.

    The new thought is that the Body of Christ is to take dominion of society.  Our influence is to be growing and expanding, not diminishing and disappearing.  The first Adam was given dominion of the earth and its creatures, but handed it over to Satan by sinning.  The second Adam, Jesus, took back the dominion of the earth.  Not as completely as we'd like, because it's still in the hands of folks with free will.  We're not talking about Kingdom Now, but about turning the majority of influence back to godly people.  We don't have to let the world get worse to hasten the return of Jesus.  There are plenty of people in our world working toward the one world government prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

 

    1 John 3:8 tells us how Jesus came to return things to the way they're supposed to be.  "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."  Jesus, the second and last Adam, came to set things back in order.  Part of his assignment was to return dominion to the hands of the followers of Yahweh.  Now it's in our hands.

    Dominion is a topic many people talk about, but few really possess.  Dominion in its simplest form is power, proper authority or control over something or someone.  It's the ability to request or command and expect a fulfillment of what we've asked.  For all saints in the Body of Christ, understanding dominion is crucial to our ability to walk in holiness and godliness.  We don't have a free hand in this, that would be like giving power tools to toddlers.

    Spiritual dominion isn't just being in charge or in control, as many think today.  It's not necessarily about being able to go around commanding or demanding whatever we want or desire, even though spiritual authority can be used in this way at times.  It's definitely not about brow-beating people into submission to get our whims and irrational desires met.  Spiritual dominion comes from Yahweh to us.  It's only effective when we're submitted to Yahweh's plan and will and purpose.  We must be obedient servants first.  The amount of power givne to us will grow as we responsibly handle whatever we're given to do by the hand of our Lord.

    Dominion is very much about knowing who we are in Christ.  It's understanding that in us, through the power Jesus gives us, we can lay hold of the promises of Yahweh and possess them until the day Jesus returns in glory.  Dominion is understanding that we can do what Yahweh says we can.  We can have what Yahweh says we can.  We can be what he says regardless of what any other person or demon thinks.  Dominion is very much about being fully submitted to our Lord and walking in obedience to his Word.

 

    Think about how Yahweh establishes covenants with humans.  The covenants always are initiated by Yahweh.  We can't manipulate him into covenanting with us.  We can't offer him a counter proposal.  Yahweh sets the boundaries, and we're responsible to operate within them.  The covenant he made with Abraham was upheld only by him.  He alone pledged and secured the pledge while Abraham watched.  Jesus alone upholds the covenant when we're saved.  It's only by his grace we can remain in him.

    This pattern is clearly set forth throughout the Bible.  The promises of Yahweh's purpose and plan for mankind are set forth.  He created us in his image.  He expects fruitfulness in the physical and spiritual.  He expects us to subdue the earth and have dominion over it.  He expects us to accept his direction and leading in our use of the resources provided.  Good stewardship of the earth and all its creatures should be the natural, or should I say supernatural, way we operate.  Earth muffines and tree huggers should have nothing on good Christians when it comes to being concerned for the preservation of nature.

    Our dominance on the earth is set forth in the covenants Yahweh has made with humans.  But when we look around we see that our dominance hasn't been properly restrained and directed by the will of our Father.  Proper dominion means we don't strip forest clear.  We don't pollute and ruin as we gather the raw materials from the ground.  We care for and respect the animals at the same time we use them for food and clothing and labor.  It also means we don't allow our greed to overcome common sense or our responsibility to share with all the other humans on the planet.

    The Word of God also speaks about our portion, our inheritance, not only in the spiritual sense but also in the physical sense.  Matt 6:33 says, "Seek first the Father's Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  This means we should be receiving spiritual and material blessings from the hand of our Father.  Too many Christians live with a self-imposed poverty mindset that says, "As long as I have God that's enough."  Don't miss out on something good from your Father's hand by never asking or being too pious and refusing it.

    Now don't go thinking you can demand material riches or blessings from Yahweh, but do understand that he wants to give us many things we never stop to consider.  It's true that Yahweh is enough, but sometimes he says, "I have this 400 acres for you and MY Kingdom purposes."  Maybe he says, "You have a great talent and I want you to go to school to enhance it.  Here's a scholarship or grant opportunity."  Maybe he says, "It's OK for you to be rich in material goods because I want you to provide for Kingdom ministries."  Our loving Father isn't into having a bunch of pitifully poor and weak children.  He wants us to be able to expand his Kingdom and fulfill his purposes on this earth.

    Then we have a choice.  If we choose to continue saying Yahweh is all I need, and that we don't need those other things, then we're being disobedient.  We're not accepting our covenant position with him, and we're not taking dominion over all he's placed in our hands.  This isn't prosperity teaching.  We're not seeking the 400 acres or the education or the money, Yahweh is placing them in our hands to build HIS Kingdom.  Prosperity teaching is about me and mine.  Kingdom teaching is about Yahweh and his children.

 

    We must take dominion, and be in proper control of what Yahweh has placed in our hands.  We need to stop bowing to things we don't have to bow to, and stop accepting things we shouldn't be accepting.  Yes, in America we need tp pay our taxes and obey the laws.  But we don't have to do things the way the unsaved masses do.  We can bring our bodies, our minds, and our spirits under proper control and dominion.  We can overcome the influences of the world system which stands against Yahweh and his Kingdom.

    Much of this means having a change in attitude.  Yahweh says wonderful things about us, and we need to agree with him.  Don't just use "positive thinking."  We need to be thinking, really thinking positively in the light of what the Bible say about the saints of Yahweh.  We can be mighty warriors doing battle for our King.  We can influence our world for good.  We can proclaim truth.  We can stand against the corrupt thinking that dominates our news media and political leaders.

    There's a lot we can do as the children of our Holy God.  We can stand strong for righteousness.  People should know us as people who love what's good and right.  We can worship with a committed heart.  People should know how much we love our Lord.  We can rejoice in the midst of our troubles.  People should know that we have a hope above and beyond that sustains us even in the midst of bad things.  We can stand for holiness and purity.  People should know that biblical standards are still valid and not out-dated.  We can stand and act in true spiritual authority.  People should know that there's a higher power who is truly active in our world.

    Remember Phil 4:13.  "I can do everythinng through Jesus who gives me strength."  We can be ready for anything because of the power of Jesus within us.  We can be self-sufficient because of the sufficiency of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  Let Yahweh establish you and prove himself through you.  The devil isn't our master.  The Great God of Creation is our Lord and Master.  We can walk with dominion even in the midst of a fallen world.  We just have to make sure we're walking with our Lord and trusting in his power and authority to work through us.  "For thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory forever and ever.  Amen."

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

The Kingdom is in You (5/9/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Luke 17:20-21.

 

    Jesus had a lot to say about the Kingdom of God.  You could say a major focus of his ministry was the Kingdom and what his Father was actively doing in the world around him.  The words he spoke to the Pharisees tell us something vitally important about the Kingdom.  "The Kingdom doesn't come with your careful observations."  Other translations speak of speculations or visible signs.  The Pharisees were truly people of the Book, but they had tunnel vision concerning how the words in the Book would come to pass.  They were exactly like many of our End-Times "experts."  In spite of our Lord telling us we can't know the exact dates or some of the specifics about his return, they insist on working to identify them.

    Too many Christians have tried to bring about the Kingdom through human efforts and endeavors.  We need to consider that the most important observation we need to be making isn't with our physical senses.  To be aware of and involved in the Kingdom of God we must be careful not to miss the sense of the presence of Yahweh.  Jesus told us the Kingdom is "within" us.

    If your translation says "among" you, it's because translators don't agree.  There's a controversy among theologians about this passage.  It's over whether it should read among you or within you.  Because this is the only mention of this exact situation in the Gospels, we can't compare them and see what the other writers did with the phrase.

    The truth is that both translations are equally valid.  The Greek word entos means to see inside.  Too often theologians waste a lot of time on semantics, the study of language formation and historical development, instead of getting to the point of what's written.  The Kingdom is found within the hearts of believers.  It's also found among us in the working of Yahweh's plans and purposes throughout our world.

    The simplest definition is that the Kingdom is any place or any point in time where Yahweh's sovereign rule is acknowledged.  Yahweh has declared his intent to establish his Kingdom both today in human existence and eventually throughout eternity after he ends time as we know it.  I think one of the reasons we struggle so much over what it is or what it means is because it's truly of Yahweh and heaven.  The only time we begin to get a handle on it and understand it's meaning is when we're actively doing Kingdom business.

    Our Creator has called all mankind, regardless of race or gender or politics or religion, to live in surrender to him and his Word.  We can't observe his Kingdom with our physical senses.  It has no borders or limits.  It's not constrained by time or any other outside force.  The Kingdom is only discerned spiritually and only experienced as we obediently serve our Lord and Master.  If you haven't acknowledged his right to rule over you and direct your activity, you're living in denial of his sovereignty and will be unable to discern his Kingdom.

 

    The Kingdom of God isn't brought to people by our presence.  We don't bring it to them by evangelizing.  The Kingdom of God isn't necessarily found where we hold our worship services.  Inviting the lost to our worship services is good, but it's not going to show them the Kingdom.  Some of us still think, "If we can get them to church, then the Holy Spirit will touch them and they'll get saved."  But it's our task and duty to show them to the doorway into Yahweh's Kingdom, then to bring them to our gatherings.  The gatherings are for the equipping of the saints for works of ministry according to Eph 4:12.  Bringing someone to a worship service should build on what we've done as witnesses instead of being the first place they hear the Gospel.

    When we come to the realization that we're the temple of Yahweh and that we house the Kingdom "within us," then hopefully we can begin to manifest the Kingdom in stronger ways.  Yahweh's equally powerful in the woods, by the sea, in a mosque, or even in an organized church meeting.  His power resides in us all the time through the presence of the Holy Spirit "within us."  Too many Church people have forced the Spirit to be dormant outside of Sunday and midweek services for much of church history.  It's time to change that and let every person, place, and time be touched and impacted by the Kingdom "within us."

    We need to be more like Jesus.  Wherever he walked, ministry happened.  Whatever Jesus did, the Kingdom was manifested.  Whoever Jesus met, heard Kingdom words.  When he walked into a building, ministry happened.  When he walked out of a building, ministry happened.  When he prayed, it was for Kingdom purposes.  When he played, it drew people closer to the Kingdom.  And if the Kingdom is "within us," many of the same things should be happening in our lives.  In John 14:12 Jesus said, "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these."

 

    A Kingdom mindset isn't bound by theological or denominational systems.  It may be found within a system, but it won't be overcome or constrained by any system.  Church organizations, families, workplaces, governments, and culture are things that we're involved in on this earth.  But we're OF the Kingdom.  Everything takes on a new meaning when we're living as Kingdom people.  The "rules" of whatever place we're involved in will never overcome or overrule our Kingdom purpose, because that abides "within us."

    Kingdom people aren't consumed by the same things as wordly people.  We're not caught up in their intrigues or fads or systems.  Kingdom people have a passion for Jesus, a desire to bring his glory to earth.  Instead of situational ethics, Kingdom people use Kingdom ethics.  There's no wavering or waffling when we're Kingdom-minded.

    When we get "KIngdomized," we wake up each day excited about what our Lord will do through us today.  We begin to walk and flow in his presence right now and throughout our day.  We begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearer, and are more responsive to his leading.  We begin to "do what we see the Father doing" just like Jesus said he did.  When we go to gatherings or meetings, secular or Christian, we expect the Holy Spirit to break down walls while bringing supernatural wisdom and insight.  When we encounter hostility, we realize the person is hurting and needs a healing word spoken to them.  When we drive or walk through our neighborhoods we pray for our neighbors and ask our Lord for his love to reach them.

    Our lives are supposed to be about loving our Lord God and loving the people we encounter every day.  Don't wait for the heavenly vision or dream or holy 2 X 4 to hit you up side your head before you attempt to share your Kingdom joy and love.  We're supposed to be ready at all times to share what we know and understand.  The Holy Spirit makes us ready instruments in the hands of Yahweh because the Kingdom is "within us."  He's always ready to use us to impart godly love and mercy through our words and actions.

    The Kingdom of God is relational, supernaturally relational.  Pay attention as you go through your day to discern the people your Lord connects you with.  Be ready, willing, and able to deliver godly love and mercy wherever you go.  Speak from your heart, live out the Gospel, be an authentic Christian who wants to expand your Lord's Kingdom.  Don't worry about becoming so heavenly conscious that you're no earthly good.  If you''re truly a Kingdom person, Yahweh has given you a promise.  Matt 6:33 says, "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (your earthly needs) will be given to you as well."

 

    Don't just invite people to church.  Yes, they'll hopefully be ministered to and blessed in some way.  But you're the minister they've encountered first, or better yet the minister Yahweh has chosen to use to reach them.  Share the love you've been given.  Be real, try to reach them where they are.  Use the spiritual gifts and talents that you've been blessed with.

    The presence of the Holy Spirit is "within us" wherever we go.  Expect revelation and insight that will help you be a useful minister.  Expect impartation that will allow you to directly touch needs.  Expect miracles to point the way to your Lord and Master.  Resistance can be overcome when you bring the presence of Yahweh with you.  Be an effective minister of the Gospel by giving of what you've been given.

    The side we don't like to talk about is that this may bring us some pain and suffering.  Not everyone will be pleased or blessed by our efforts to share the Gospel.  But if Jesus suffered when he brought the Kingdom, we're likely to join him in his suffering.  I know it's difficult to consider, but the disciples rejoiced the first time they were beaten for the sake of the Gospel.  If our mindset is truly of Yahweh's Kingdom, we won't look at suffering the same way anymore.  The Kingdom is "within us" and the outside world needs to know how they can have the same blessing.  You don't need some special outside touch to minister the Kingdom.  It's "within you."  Just let it out.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Christian Apologetics (5/2/11)

Shalom,

 

     Sorry this is late.  It came back as unable to deliver.  Please begin by reading Isa 43:8-13.

 

     Let's begin by saying that the burden of proof is on those who don't believe in the God of the Bible.  The phrase "let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right" is the key here.  Yahweh's challenging those outside the faith to prove their point, to justify their position.  The people who don't know their Creator often try to stump the Christians who share their faith by asking unusual questions or by insisting that they prove the reality of God to them.  We don't have to prove anything.  We just have to share the truth we know.

     As Christians we have the responsibility of being "witnesses."  It specifically means a recorder who testifies, coming from a root word meaning to testify by repeating.  Do you see our role and function here?  We're to speak forth what we've heard and seen, to repeat the story of Yahweh and his activity in our lives.  Our role isn't as salesmen trying to get someone to buy our product.  Our role is that of reporting what we know.

 

     Have you ever noticed that people usually only pay attention to the "heavy" questions of life when things go wrong?  Most of us don't do any really serious soul searching when things are going well.  When things in life are going well, we tend to assume that we must be doing something right or be lucky or some other silly notion.  Despite what many people tend to believe, karma isn't what rules our lives.  We don't just get bad results when we do bad things, and we don't necessarily get good in return for the good we've done.  It's just not an automatic thing.

     Yet, when things go wrong we do begin to wonder.  That wouldn't be such a bad thing, but very often we try to shut out the questions that really bother us.  This doesn't work either.  No one can run away from these tough questions forever.  All of us believe in something.  Whether we've thought about it or not, we have a philosophy of life.  It's made up of what we believe about right and wrong, life and death, truth, God and man.

     Prov 19:3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at Yahweh."  Doesn't that sound like some people you've dealt with?  Doesn't that sound like something you've likely done yourself?  Why is it that so many people are upset with God over their own bad decisions and choices?  Why is it that many don't want him involved in their lives, yet blame him for not intervening and deflecting bad things away?  Not a lot of people truly like the word responsibility, but it's something we're all "responsible" for.  Blaming Yahweh for our troubles isn't going to draw us closer to him.  It's only going to push him away at a time we really need him.

     Many people are shallow and refuse to discuss religion or politics in public.  They refuse to consider the most important things in their lives and how they affect every decision and action they take.  That often makes it difficult for us to talk of faith in Jesus or other things that are extremely important to us.  If your religion doesn't affect your politics, you don't have a religion you can rely on.

     The bottom line is truth, real truth.  There is real truth.  It can be known and understood.  The current popularity of tolerance and political correctness doesn't change the fact that there is discernible and absolute truth.  Popular opinion can't change the reality of our Creator and his very real expectations for all of mankind.  Despite what many try to do with it, truth can't be twisted and distorted to make it fit any scenario.  We need to accept that we live in a world that's filled with absolute truth.

     It's important for all of us to discover what we believe to be true.  Asking questions of our Creator in our search is OK, in fact, Yahweh expects it of us.  You don't have to go through life with a blindfold on your mind to believe in the God of the Bible.  It's not that we're merely clinging to wishes and feelings.  The God of the Bible is real and accessible to all who truly seek him.  Because of our inborn selfishness, we prefer to live by our own rules.  But a simple evaluation of facts should lead us to the source of all truth.  Rom 1:20 spells out the facts very strongly.  "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

     If something is true you can look at it hard and think about it deeply and compare it to other belief systems - and it will stand.  It will prove to be reliable.  Christianity can stand the test, if we honestly do the searching.

 

     Take a look at yourself.  What are your roots?  What is it that you hold onto to keep yourself going day by day?  Do you believe the things your family taught you?  TV?  Your schooling?  Your friends?  Your political party?  Do you know what's really true and where the answers are found?  Have you seriously considered truth, or do you just go with the flow of popular opinion?

     What do you hear from the general public?  Surely you don't think that any one belief system is right?  Everybody knows that all sincere roads lead to God in the end.  Yes, these lies permeate society and lots of people feel these things are true.  But then again lots of people avoid the real answers to the real questions by using this type of evasive logic.  If you're deceived, how do you know it?  You know it by knowing the truth.  The only way to properly detect a lie is to know the truth and Yahweh has made that truth knowable.

     Consider how you can prove these lies to be lies.  If something is right, then some other things have to be wrong.  If something is true, doesn't that make other things automatically false?  Many people tend to think that facts about religion are different than facts about the "real world."  Facts about grocery stores, pets, road maps, and other such real things just aren't the same as religious stuff.  Somehow 2 plus 2 always equals 4, but God is whatever I decide he is and no one is allowed to deny me my truth.

     If you sincerely believe you're a cow and begin to live outdoors eating grass, aren't some people going to come and take you to a place of padded rooms and psychotropic drugs?  How is it that it's OK in religion to hold any belief "as long as you are sincere?"  In fact, you're not supposed to say someone else's view is either right or wrong, true or false.  We're all supposed to allow free thinking about religion, because there's no absolute truth to refute or support any of it.  Christians need to stand against this nonsense.  We know truth, he's the person of Jesus Christ.  He says we need to let others know his truth.  He says we need to witness to the facts we know.

     Every idea has consequences, just like the plant that grows from a seed.  The seed you plant determines what will grow.  The idea you accept as truth then affects everything else you do.  The logical result of thinking that anything goes in religion is to think that any sincere religious action is OK.  The trouble is that this includes even suicide, murder, and many other forms of abuse.

 

     What we believe about truth, and right and wrong, and God aren't "ho-hum," mundane matters.  Although many people say that anything goes in religion, in actual situations they find themselves drawing a line and calling some religious beliefs wrong, hurtful, or stupid.  If we should fight against evil shouldn't be a debatable point.  How we should do it is what matters.  Child or spouse abuse doesn't become right because of our religious belief system.  Yahweh gave us universal truth which we need to use to determine good and evil, right and wrong.  And when we determine something to be evil or wrong, we're supposed to defend the ones being hurt.

     What we believe affects everything about our living every day.  What we think and feel and do springs out of our beliefs.  Our task as Christians is to know what we believe and be able to explain it to others.  1 Pet 3:15 says, "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give and answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  An answer means a logical defense of your belief system.  You don't have to give an answer that's acceptable to everyone.  You need to give an answer that explains what you know.  Remember, be a witness who gives testimony of what you've seen and know.

     Think of keys.  Only the right key will open the door, start the car, or give you access to whatever it is you're trying to open.  The keyhole has a certain shape.  The inner workings have a certain shape.  The designer made it in a particular way, and only the matched pair of key and keyhole will work.  Other keys may slide into the lock, but they won't actually open the door for you.  I believe that there's only one explanation for truth and life, and thereby only one valid religion and philosophy.  Only one fits the facts.  The other opinions and philosophies won't and can't work.

 

     You have a choice when you ask questions about religion and life views.  You can assume that what you see around you and what you feel inside you are real and investigate on that basis.  Or you can assume that you need some special mystical knowledge and be led around by that philosophy.  People who hold the first viewpoint can look for truth by observing.  Rom 1:19 says "God has made it plain to them."  The it is truth, the Yahweh-ordained truth.  People who hold the second one have to resort to mystical techniques.  Things like chanting mantras, or taking drugs, or meditating on wome weird thing outside yourself.  It's all based on insider information instead of plainly seen in creation.

     I believe real truth is practical and sensible.  It fits with and explains the world we see and feel inside.  I can't accept that we each have our own truth, because too much of the world works differently than that.  I can't change truth to fit my desires or whims without eventually hurting myself or someone else.  Christianity is realistic, even harshly so.  God's Word speaks to us of reality, how people really think and act.  If we're going to explain our faith to others, we must have confidence in the God of the Bible.  The Holy Spirit will teach us and guide us and direct us as we ask for his help.

     Remember, Yahweh says we're to be his witnesses, reporting what we've seen and what we've experienced.  Give a logical defense of what you know, even if the person you're talking to doesn't consider it to be a logical position.  We're not required to prove anything to anybody.  We're instructed to show them the way to Jesus, the one who is the absolute Truth.

 

     Blessings & Peace,  Mike