Secular or Sacred?

As Unto the Lord

With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, Ephesians 6:7 (NASB)

I seem to keep asking the same question. “Why is it so hard to do the things I should do and so easy to do the things I shouldn’t?” This is the struggle in life that all of us face. Even the Apostle Paul declared “For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do.” Romans 7:19 (HCSB) I am so thankful that Paul did not stop with that statement. He continues “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25a (HCSB)

Our salvation is found only in Christ! We need to be very careful at this point. I am not talking about the Jesus that so many of us have chosen to worship at the smorgasbord of life. You know what I mean. When we go out to eat at an “all you can eat” buffet, we get to pick and choose what we like. I contend that the vast majority of us have bellied up the buffet of “Christian Living” and chosen what items in the Bible that already fit with our lifestyle. We satisfy the questions such as: Am I comfortable with this teaching? Will it require too much of my time? Too much of my money? Too much…? In essence, we have recreated a “copy of Jesus” that fits who we are we no practical, theological, or spiritual changes needed!

Until we desire the Jesus in the Bible, the Son of God, we will never be satisfied. Until we long for God, we will be incomplete. We will only be completed in His love. In John 6:35 (HCSB), we read “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.”

In the book, No Bad Dogs, by British dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse, she says dogs understand love better than we do. She writes, “In a dog’s mind, a master or a mistress to love, honor, and obey is an absolute necessity. The love is dormant in the dog until brought into full bloom by an understanding owner. Thousands of dogs appear to love their owners, they welcome them home with enthusiastic wagging of the tail and jumping up, they follow them about their houses happily and, to the normal person seeing the dog, the affection is true and deep. But to the experienced dog trainer this outward show is not enough. The true test of love takes place when the dog has got the opportunity to go out on its own as soon as the door is left open by mistake and it goes off and often doesn’t return home for hours. That dog loves only its home comforts and the attention it gets from its family; it doesn’t truly love the master or mistress as they fondly think. True love in dogs is apparent when a door is left open and the dog still stays happily within earshot of its owner. For the owner must be the be-all and end-all of a dog’s life.”

The real test of our walk of Faith isn’t seen in our work or activity, or even in our theological purity. It’s found in this: do we choose instead to stay close to Him? How faith can be measured by what or whom we desire. What or for whom do you long?

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Open my eyes that I may see You in the light of Your glory! Help me to shatter the images of the “copycat Jesus” I created for my own convenience. And really love You! In Jesus Name, Amen.

SECULAR OR SACRED?

What is Secularism?

Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, Ephesians 6:6-7 (HCSB)

Justice Potter Stewart, in writing an opinion to describe the threshold test for obscenity in 1964 stated “I know it when I see it”, uttered one of the most famous phrases to come out of the Supreme Court. I have encountered many things in life that are hard to describe adequately, but you understand when you see it. Trying to define secularism is at times easier to define by the obvious fruit it bears. Matt Slick posts an article entitled “What is a Christion World View and Why do Christians Need One?” where he describes the condition of our society (http://www.carm.org/issues/worldview.htm). As you read this excerpt, you will begin to understand what secular really means.

“The fruit of the secular world view can be seen in around us. As we observe society, it is evident that not all is well. Television has degenerated into a bordello of violence, soft-pornography, anti-family sit-coms, commercials that appeal to immediate gratification, and senseless children’s cartoons that are full of violence, occultism, and disobedience to parents. It often portrays pastors as psychotics, priests as pedophiles, and religious people as insecure, ignorant, and bigoted.

The News is extremely biased and when speaking in areas where religious and secular morals collide, it uniformly presents information with loaded words. Instead of “pro-life” we hear “anti-abortion rights.” Instead of “conservative” it is “right wing fundamentalist.” Other words are used such as “Bible thumpers,” “censorship,” “intolerance,” “bigoted,” etc.

“According to the Center for Media and Public Affairs, the average TV watcher sees 14,000 references to sex and the average child “watches 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of elementary school.”

Illegitimacy is on the rise. In 1970 babies born out of wedlock were 10% of all births. In 1991, it was 30%. Rape is increasing as is violent crime, venereal disease, drug usage, and prison populations.

In many American schools the “Impressions” series is promoting the New Age and the occult. Some programs have students being taught that they alone are the ones who should decide if drug use is good or bad. Many school textbooks teach anti-family values, promote homosexuality, teach moral relativism, encourage sexual conduct, and, of course, instill evolution as a fact. In addition, they condemn the notion of a Christian God even being mentioned. Consider the following:

“When 10-year old Raymond Raines bowed his head and silently said grace over lunch in a St. Louis public school cafeteria, he was placed in detention for a week and told that he must eat in a room by himself if he continued to pray.”

“When 30 Texas high school students gathered to pray at the flagpole before school one morning, the principal politely told them not only to leave, but to pray out of sight.”

“In Illinois, a high school principal sent police to break up a similar prayer group. Two students were arrested.”

Obviously, America (and the world) is in desperate need of the life changing gospel of Jesus.”

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please give me a worldview that is focused on what is right and not what is convenient. Help me to raise the standards by which we live instead of just making more money. Help me to live for You! In Jesus Name, Amen.

Secular or Sacred?

Lessons Learned from Obedience Training

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. –  Ephesians 6:5-6(HCSB)

We have a new puppy in our family and her name is Hollie. She is a five month old, four pound maltipoo with an attitude. In an effort to train her, I am reading about how to do it properly. I have discovered that philosophies are many.  Peter Schmit relates the philosophy of training dogs with theology that permeates life.

The philosophy for dog obedience training has changed quite a bit in the last few decades. It used to be that many dog obedience schools operated by teaching the dog, “you better obey me, because I’m your master. And if you don’t obey me, bad things will happen.” And plenty of dogs were trained this way, and trained well. They obeyed, but they obeyed out of fear. But now there has been a shift in the thinking of many trainers, though some still do it the old way. If the old way was punishing disobedience, the new way could be characterized as rewarding obedience. In this new way of training, you don’t strike the dog, you don’t yell at him any more than a firm “no!” But whenever you catch him doing something good, he gets praise and rewards. The thinking here is that the dog is going to want to do the things that make you happy, because positive things happen to him when you are happy.

Both obedience philosophies get results, but they produce very different dogs. The old way produces a dog that is terrified to do the wrong thing. The new way produces a dog that is eager to do the right thing. And these two schools of thought work not just for dogs, but maybe you’ve seen children raised by these two ways. And this should be nothing new for us, since basically we are talking about the difference between Law motivation and Gospel motivation. In our lives, sometimes we do things, like hitting the brakes when you see a cop car, which would be obeying out of Law motivation. It is the fear of punishment that motivates you to slow down. But now let’s say that you are driving your children in the car with you. You are so happy for the gift of a family that God has given you, that you want to drive as carefully as possible, and so you don’t even think about breaking the speed limit. That would be Gospel motivation. You are motivated by thanks and love.

As you think about your job and the work you do every day, ask yourself the question, for whom are you working? If you do only what is required with a poor attitude, then you would be law motivated. God wants us to be motivated by gratitude and love. When we do all that we do as thought we are working for Him.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the forgiveness and salvation that comes through following Jesus as my LORD. Help me to live with gratitude and thanksgiving each and every day. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Secular or Sacred?

Slaves

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.  Ephesians 6:5 (HCSB)

In our country, we value freedom! We fight for it and we even help others obtain it. When the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church in Ephesus, he was writing to people who predominantly were slaves. In fact, slaves probably outnumbered the free. Slavery was very common in the ancient world. You may be thinking at this point that Paul really does not have anything to say to me because we no longer have slavery in this country. However, the relationship between slave and master is a similar relationship between employee and employer.

John MacArthur, in Macarthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians, writes “In our day the struggle between employers and employees has reached monumental levels. Conflicts rage constantly between workers and management, with each side accusing the other of selfishness and unreasonableness. Employees want smaller workloads, fewer hours, more vacation, and more pay and benefits. Employers want more productivity, more profits, and greater control of management policies and practices. Both sides want lower taxes for themselves while expecting greater government protection and sometimes even subsidy.

It is not hard to see that the heart of the problem on both sides is greed. The sin of greed is the primary fuel that feeds the inflationary spiral that has become a common part of modern life in most parts of the world. When everyone wants more, prices must rise to pay for higher wages and profits. And as prices rise and money therefore buys less, people want still higher pay or profits to make up the difference. When the government becomes heavily involved in various subsidies and supports, then taxes, the national debt, or both must be raised. If the government prints more money without backing, the value of all its money is decreased, and again people want more income to make up the difference.

Added to all of that is the principle that, as possessions increase so does greed, because greed is by nature insatiable. It is likely that modern Western society is the greediest in history. Everyone wants more for less, and the ascending spirals of inflation, debt, and taxation are unabated.”

Sin is a cruel master because it is never satisfied. Sin does not come to visit, it comes to take over! It is into this dark world that Christ chose to shine His light of truth.  The truth is as long as we are a slave to sin, we will never be free! May we learn the lesson that Paul teaches in Philippians 4:12 when he says, “I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.”

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

I am a sinner in great need of Your mercy. At times, I have coveted what others have. I have allowed the philosophy of the world to keep me on a merry-go-round of greed. Please give me Your peace and contentment. In Jesus Name, Amen.