A Terrible Year It has been a terrible year. Wow! That’s quite an understatement. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for everybody. The negativity has been borne by peoples and civilizations all over the globe. The stench has spread across most sectors of our lives. We have been overwhelmed physically, emotionally, socially, and politically. I think it is important that we are clear and honest about the reality of the situation that we are in and all that we are going through. The dangerous idea that to admit or speak of evil will bring about evil is not only foolish, but causes us to lose touch with what is real and create a fictional consciousness that is not the result of faith but rather fear. As a matter of fact, there is no power in positive thinking or so called “speaking life” but we must be believers whose faith can face the storm of reality in light of the truth of God in whom we believe. This kind of “think it to make it” or “name it and claim it” ideology is not genuinely Christian, but actually old eastern mysticism or repackaged new age spiritism. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that knowledge of the truth is essential to freedom in Christ. So no matter how rough the road, cold the trail, or dark the day we can walk by faith not by denial. The faithful Hebrew trio (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego), in Daniel 3, did not deny the heat of the furnace or the ability of the king to have them thrown into it, but they were spared by God’s grace. However, the servant Stephen, in Acts 7, does not deny the hardness of the stones or the hatred of the rioters, but he still prays for them even as he is murdered and received into the Lord’s presence. It’s been a terrible year! It’s true, but it is not all that is true! A Wonderful Life Tonight our family watched the classic film “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Spoiler alert! If you don’t know what happens in the movie, what I am about to say might not make sense. In the movie when George Bailey gets to see what life would have been like without him, the filmmakers wanted the viewer to see how impactful George’s life has been. When George runs through his town of Bedford Falls, now called Pottersville, he sees a bustling barrage of debauchery something akin to a small sin city. As I watched this I thought about how many people today would watch that scene and actually believe that Pottersville was better than Bedford Falls. As we have become a more post Christian culture, the picture of what the good life is has changed for a large portion of the population. While I think that this is true globally it is definitely true nationally. We see this kind of division in our country because as a people we do not have a common worldview. By worldview I mean that we do not have a common view of our origin, answering the basic question of, “Where do we come from? Are we creations of a sovereign, loving and just God? Or are we the product of natural and undirected processes?” Secondly, by worldview I mean that we don’t agree on what is currently true. Answering the basic question of, “Why are we here? Are we here to glorify the God who made us and saved us? Or are we here for our own pleasure and comfort or to propagate our genetic contribution?” My point is simply that even as recently as the making of the movie the culture in our land on the whole believed that our lives had both divinely designed purpose and genuine social impact. For us as believers we must know that our lives are wonderful, not because of our circumstances, but because of God’s purpose. A Wonderful Eternity As we think about Thanksgiving we are often focused on thinking about the blessings we have had in the past or the ones we are enjoying in the present. But in terms of worldview we should as Christians be thankful for the hope we have in the future! Every worldview has an eschatology, that is a belief about last things. For many people with a basic humanist and materialist worldview they believe that they will just die and cease to be and technology will advance to either human and technological synthesis or catastrophe. For the evolutionist, again we are just individually going to die and that’s it and ultimately some crisis (global warming, asteroids, etc.) will be the end for humanity. But for Christians, our worldview, informed by the Bible, tells us about a glorious future with a new heavens and on a new earth with perfect bodies in the realm of perfect peace. The Kingdom where righteousness dwells. If we really believe that is what our future holds, then we ought always to give thanks in all circumstances regardless of our past or present. Because truly, “It’s a wonderful eternal life!”
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Not My Fault It may often seem silly to us when a small child who has been caught red handed responds with a denial of what is so blatantly obvious. Adults do this too! They get caught in a lie or cover up and instead of coming clean they try to make excuses. It's the most natural thing we can do in our sin nature to respond by shifting the blame. As a matter of fact, shifting the blame is exactly how our first parents (Adam & Eve) responded when they were caught in the very first sin. Like little children, they first tried to hide then immediately started playing the blame game. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. Interestingly, there was enough blame to go around for all three were guilty of disobedience, deception, and dishonoring God. They all sinned! But what about us? I mean we are not children. We are smart enough to know that shifting blame doesn't work right?! In our current day of entitlement it seems like the blame game is pretty popular. Maybe we need an app for that! As I have conversations regularly with people who have all kinds of different problems, it seems that it's always the noun's fault. You know people, places, and things. But in reality the circumstances that surround us in the form of people, places, and things are simply the setting and the context in which we act according to our own desires. As long as we say it's not our fault, we will never be able to repent of sin or rejoice in grace. The True Verdict The reality is that everyone of us is guilty. We all know Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," but in the context of that verse Paul's point is that people in every category (Jew & Gentile) are sinners. But two chapters later the Apostle really spells it out in Romans 5:8, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Most of us, of course, admit that we are sinners in the general sense that everyone is a sinner, but the true Christian has come to realize that I am a sinful person as an individual. Paul himself would write to his protege Timothy and call himself the "chief" and the "foremost" of sinners (1 Timothy 1:12-17). Guilty is the verdict that we all truly deserve and it is the verdict that should rightly condemn us all. Too many people, even professing Christians, do not realize that punishment is the default setting not a tragic outcome that catches a few unseemly people. We are sinners and we do deserve judgment. But God… But God's desire is to both demonstrate His justice against sin and His grace for sinners (Romans 3:21-26). This is good news for us! When Jesus was on trial, Pilate the Governor stated that he found no guilt in Him demanding death. Pilate actually wanted to let Jesus go but the religious leaders had stirred up the people to demand His crucifixion. Please notice that the people were demanding that Jesus suffer the penalty of death though He wasn't guilty. However, everyone wants to escape the penalty of death though we are guilty. Remember how we began? Adam and Eve and the snake playing the blame game. The problem is that they were all guilty. None of them were innocent and they all wanted to personally escape the judgment. But Jesus is the opposite of them and us. He is truly not guilty yet He goes willing to the punishment so that the blame and guilt and shame can genuinely and actually be transferred to Him. Jesus takes the cross that we deserved. You may be reading this thinking, "Yea, that's the gospel, we know that." But think about it, Jesus wasn't crucified because of the sham trial or the spineless governor or the hypocritical leaders. Jesus was crucified because He wanted to play the blame game and take all our shame. In Romans 10:11, Paul quotes the Old Testament to say that, "Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” We as true believers ought to be the ones who can confess our sin and rest in grace knowing that Jesus has taken all the blame and all our shame! The W! Everyone likes to win! Regardless of if you are a highly competitive person or not, everyone likes to win! No one wants to lose! Even in the circumstance of a parent or relative losing to a small child on purpose, they are still “winning” the outcome they wanted. Of course, the secular evolutionists in our culture would say that this natural desire for competition is because we evolved in an environment where only the most competitive people survived! However, from the Christian worldview, where would we conclude that competition comes from? One possibility could be the innate sense of glory that God placed in us perverted by our fallen, sinful nature. I am not saying that competition is sinful! Only that competition may be a striving for that ultimate sense of glory found only in God. At any rate, in today’s post I would like to consider the ultimate triumph that is found in Christ alone. The Polls are wrong! In the last couple of presidential elections we have seen the polls put out by the media be wildly wrong in their predictions. Regardless of your political persuasion or view of the media, the polls weren’t even close. Someone might ask, why do the news organizations and especially the campaigns push out all these polls? The reason is because one of the effects of the polls is to either energize or depress the voter’s sentiment. Stay with me! As people look at the polls, if they see that one candidate is way ahead they are more likely to lean toward that candidate if they are undecided. Also, when voters look at the numbers for their candidates if they are decided and the chances seem low that they will when that voter may find that it is not worth the effort to vote for a candidate they believe will lose. This is important because we like to be on the winning team. Most of the fans watching sports are already invested in a particular program or brand. However, in some major events, for example the Super Bowl, the audience will be made up of many people who don’t have a loyalty to any team. In studies that have asked these fans both pregame and postgame questions, it is found that people will usually try to align themselves with the winning team. This all shows that our understanding or belief about winning can affect our perception of reality? I’m sure we have all been around rival fan bases as they disagree about a call even when watching the video replay. How can they not both agree on what happened? Because they are biased! And to be honest, we all are! Good Taste I am a very biased person. I like what I like and I don’t like what I don’t like. Have you ever heard someone say they ‘hated’ one of your favorite foods? I may alienate many of you, but one of the foods that I dislike the most is tomatoes. I like most anything you make out of tomatoes, but raw tomatoes are completely disgusting to me! You may be reading this and think that I’m crazy because you love those fresh ripe tomatoes right out of the garden. You see that we can respond differently to the same stimulus. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, the Apostle Paul uses this dichotomy to manifest the difference between believers and unbelievers. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” Paul states that the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ is spread through us everywhere. Over the last several months, we have heard enough about spread but imagine the spread of the influence and power of the gospel like a fragrance all over our community. Paul says that this influence is evident to both the believer and the unbelievers. But notice that not everyone enjoys this wafting scent. To those who are perishing, the influence of God righteousness, justice, and grace are like three day old roadkill in July. They sniff the air and all they smell is death! However, for believers this cultural transforming aroma, that of flowers in the springtime and hay in fall, enters our nostrils as the very smell of life itself! Paul says that believers are therefore spreading the gospel not as peddlers, meaning corrupt money makers, but as sincere and commissioned spokesmen for God. But please don’t miss how verse 14 begins. Paul is thankful that God always leads us in triumph! You know with all the division, disease, and even despair we see around us, God is still currently leading us (His people) in a triumphal procession. Brothers and Sisters, let us march in God’s gospel parade with joyful hearts and smiling faces as the precious pleasing fragrance of Jesus hangs sweetly in the air! No Fear So how are you feeling today? Are you anxious or nervous? As I write this, it is Thursday, and no official call has yet been made about who will win the presidential election. I know that all around us people are eager to know who won. I also realize that there are many on both sides who will feel as if the decision is illegitimate, if their candidate does not come out victorious. To be honest, I believe both sides are probably taking whatever means necessary both legal and corrupt, to secure their success. The candidates and campaigns are driven by multiple kinds of motivations such as ideology, ego, arrogance, genuine concern for the nation, and a host of other meaningful factors. These motivations extend to us as well, as voters and supporters. This means that most of us are not only invested in the political saga taking place before us as entertainment or intellectual curiosity, but also as an impactful and emotionally incredible event. On Monday, a friend and I were discussing these very issues. In the course of the conversation the relative scenarios were laid out and we each expounded upon our oh so highly informed theories. In reality, we had no idea what was going to happen and I can tell I still don’t. But as brothers in Christ the conversation shifted for us in a most marvelous direction. My friend made the statement that he wasn’t scared. Wow! I quickly added that I also did not have that same sense of overwhelming fear that I believe our world is currently catering to, whether in the area of health, finances, or politics. We were able to both affirm that based on the Scriptural teaching of the absolute sovereignty of God, we had no fear! Today, if you are feeling anxious and nervous I hope that you will find the sovereignty of God a refuge and respite for your weary soul. Sovereignty The concept of sovereignty is that of sole authority. The idea of national sovereignty is that a sovereign state is not under the jurisdiction of any other power or governance. We are not individually sovereign! We can’t be sovereign because there are many realms of authority that we fall under both in society and according to God’s word. This, however, does not mean that we are not responsible. The very realms of governance (state, church, family, etc.) that mean I am not sovereign, are the ones that God has ordained to hold me accountable. So no right thinking human will ever be able to live without fear based on their own autonomy or personal sovereignty. But my friend and I were freed from fear because we trusted in the sovereignty of God. He is not under any outside authority or subject to any jurisdiction. The whole creation is His and He rules and reigns. This means that for every who trusts Him there is no reason for us to fear at all. I know that many people look to what they call God’s sovereignty as a reason for confidence, but often they assume that God will make things happen the way they want. These people might say that they are not concerned about the election because God is sovereign, so they believe He will cause their candidate to win. However, this is not the confidence I am talking about at all. Rather, I mean that we can be truly free from fear when we trust God even if the other guy wins, the family member dies, the job is lost, the foreclosure is executed, or your heart is broken. When we are ready to believe that Christ is enough for us, even when in His sovereignty these things are in our lives, then we can rejoice and give glory to God no matter what happens tomorrow. Just consider the words of God given in Isaiah 45:11-13. “Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: ‘Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,’ says the LORD of hosts.” This passage is about the One who is the ultimate expression of God’s compassionate sovereignty, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Holy One in whom we must place all our trust and find all our comfort, hope and peace! Brandon has inspired me by including songs with his blogs. I came across this song again yesterday from the spring, give it a listen. |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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