What are you willing to
do for your happiness? Is it God’s job to keep us happy? What do our prayers
consist of — prayers centered on our happiness, or that God’s will be
accomplished, regardless of our happiness? Believe it or not this thought
process, called humanism, has infiltrated our brains 40+ years ago and has
reduced God to a ‘self-help Genie’ who bows to our demands through which we can
define our lives as we wish – including the acceptance of immoral practices.
Paul warned us about this in Romans 1:21-22: They knew God. But they didn’t
honor Him as God. They didn’t thank Him. Their thinking became worthless.
Their foolish hearts became dark. They claimed to be wise.
But they made fools of themselves.
Remember last month’s
discussion about Jesus being the light, and shining into the darkness? And
through this foolish thinking, we have allowed the idea of relative truth (or
what’s true for you is not necessarily true for me) to creep into our thought
process. Today, “nearly three out of four Americans say there is no such thing
as ultimate or absolute truth. And the numbers don't look much better among
those who claim to follow Jesus” (Lindy Keffer, Absolute
Truth, available from http://www.focusonthe
family.com/parenting/teens/absolute-truth).
If you want proof of
absolute truth outside of Scripture, look at the world around us. Does the sun
rise every day? Does it come up in the same location? Does 2+2=4 every time?
Does gravity hold us in place? If truth was relative, these things and many more
would not consistently hold true. And “the effects on civilization would be
disastrous! Laws of science and physics would be irrelevant, and commerce would
be impossible (see Gotquestion.org).” Putting this into perspective, aren’t you
grateful for absolute truth?
Lindy Keffer said,
“Truth is powerful. It brings life. It has been here since the beginning, and
it still exists today. Truth is available to all who seek it in the person of
Jesus Christ. Even though our society tells us that it's narrow-minded to
believe in ultimate truth, there is lots of evidence that declares we should
run after it with all our hearts. Christ says the truth will set us free. And
that promise is true for all time.”
I hope and pray that
this article comes as a wake-up call to you as it has been to me. The father of
lies has successfully twisted our concept of truth, and altered our perspective
of God!! The ways of the world has crept into our hearts and has drawn us from
our Creator, Father and Friend. John warned us of the implications of this
thinking: Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in Him… And the world is passing
away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever
(1 John 2:15-17).
Thus, I encourage you
to examine your thinking, and then take a knee before our God asking His
forgiveness and for a purification of our minds and heart to His purpose. May
we choose not to “live the way this world lives. Let your thinking be
completely changed [by reading Scripture]. Then you will be able to test what
God wants for you. And you will agree that what He wants is right. His plan is
good and pleasing and perfect (Rom. 12:2).
In His service,
Matt
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