Death of Society
The biggest problem with social media is what it has become, not what it started out as. Everyone is so brave when they are talking into their phones or computers and it is impossible to know who would be likely to carry through with their threats. In a recent situation, Cole Tomas Allen brought guns and knives to the recent White House correspondent’s dinner in an attempt to assassinate President Trump.
Putting Off and Putting On
I believe it is the put off/put on principle that truly transforms the life of the Christian. While many choose not to put in the effort to create new habits and patterns (and some want to but aren’t clear on how), it is incumbent upon us to understand that this is absolutely part of our sanctification process. We must take it seriously and while we do not do this to “earn” our salvation (since salvation cannot be earned, but it is a completely free gift), this process is a must in order to grow in Christ our Redeemer.
Satan’s Strategy and the Role of Self
In the book, The Gospel for Disordered Lives, the authors expose the way Satan works to defeat the believer. In chapter 8 titled, Battling Satan and His Demons, they discuss biblical counseling and how it involves spiritual warfare against evil forces that hate us and who are stronger than the folks counselors counsel. This actually applies to all Christians, whether it is recognized by them or not.
Keeping the Big Picture in View
In Ed Welch’s book, Side By Side, in his last chapter, he writes about keeping the story in view. By that he means that we should try to continually focus on the big picture regarding our salvation. Welch compares our past, which is filled with sin and failure to our ultimate future in Christ. But he also points out our present situation and how much God pursues us daily.
King Jehoiakim’s Defiance
The king seemed interested and wanted to see the scroll so he sent for it. The contents of the scroll was read before the king and all the princes gathered. After 3-4 columns of the scroll were read, the king took a knife and cut off what had been read and tossed the words in the fire near him. Eventually, the entire scroll was burned up after it had been read.
This act was one that showed King Jehoiakim’s view of God and His Word. He didn’t care. He resisted God. V24 tells us that neither the king or princes were afraid at all. They were defiant in their rebellion of God!
Demons as Aliens?
But what is interesting today as it was way back during Noah’s day is that the average human being did not see these beings who were offering to “help” them as demons. They saw them as demigods, which I believe is where we get the Greek gods like Zeus and others, who allegedly came from Mt. Olympus, which may translate to a mountain in the Middle East where Nephilim originally came down to earth.
It’s Getting More Perverse
So much has come out about the inappropriate conduct of many within Congress that it boggles the mind. There are only a few people who seem to be worth anything, Brandon Gill among them. Too many who have been in Congress for years or decades talk a good talk, but that’s essentially all they do. There is no action that they take. Nothing moves in Congress. More and more it seems like a dog and pony show.
Why the Delay?
I’ve been doing a good deal of thinking lately about why God seems to delay in meting out justice at times, yet at other times, He seems to move fairly quickly to resolve something. There are many examples in Scripture where God’s patience seems to have no end in sight, then He finally moves. In other examples, it only takes a person one misstep and God reaches out to deal with it. Why is that?
Feelings Will Follow
We are responsible to “put off” and “put on” with the help of the Spirit within us. We must make the active decision here. Tim notes that when we angrily react to something, we are not using faith at all. We are simply being pushed by our feelings. If we consider the state of much of society, we see large portions of the population devoid of self-control. They simply react to whatever circumstance they encounter, usually in anger. Reacting like this is not loving.
Crash Course in Hebrews, Pt 2
The problem though is God always sees through our charades and caricatures. He wants us to stop doing that and by faith, cease from self-effort and simply live His will in His strength. This is probably the most difficult lesson of Christianity to learn and it is fully tied to our sanctification. We must learn to enter into His rest and that only comes when we stop trying to get things done using our own power.
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