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The
Sin of a Bad Attitude
By
Doug Post
Sept
12,
2004
Christians who would not
think of gambling, drunkenness, or committing an act of fleshly evil,
may otherwise be guilty of a poor disposition with an envious, bitter,
or negative frame of mind. An individual may quote scripture, pray
fervently and never miss a Lord's Day assembly, yet may possess such a
critical and negative attitude about life that others actually wish to
avoid them.
Are sins of the flesh less
harmful than sins of the spirit? The sin of a bad attitude can
cripple, if not kill, the progress of the Lord's church in
any community. Regardless of daily
news, sorrowful circumstances, stormy
weather, even the hurricanes of life, each of us has a duty to
show ourselves true men and women of God and be of good cheer.
The Bible says: II
You are of God, little
chJ1dren and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' (1
J ohn.4:4). II For whatever is born of God overcomes the world And
this is the victory that has overcome the world -
our faith. Who is he who
overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God" (1 John.5:4-5).
Jesus also said; II These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In
the world you wJ11 have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world' (John. 16:33). May our faith in God cause us
to see all circumstances in as favorable a light as possible. Let us
have a happy readiness of heart to go onward in life.
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FREE
IN
CHRIST
By Doug Post
Too
many people are looking for a church that pleases them rather than a
church that pleases God. When the standard of excellence in the church
is "what I like/I then it becomes a pathway of selfish pursuit.
People deceived by this approach think they are being liberated, but
they are really being enslaved.
True
freedom only comes through submission (obedience) to the will of God.
Having a standard for truth beyond "self" is the only way we
can have the freedom to live as we ought. The moment we make our
preferences as the standard for Christian faith, we are enslaved by a
system, which binds us ever so tightly. Understanding the will of God,
however, provides a context wherein we can be free. As Jesus told his
followers, "". If you abIde in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you
will know the truth, and the truth will set you freel (John
8:31,32). God's law assists our
freedom in the same way traffic
laws assists our freedom
to travel. Without these laws to
regulate us, driving would become a burden, not liberation.
The difference between
self-centered religion and God-centered religion is like the difference
between a projector and a flashlight. A projector casts an image, which
makes US believe something is present when in reality it is not.
However wonderful the image may be on the screen, it doesn't really
exist. In contrast, a flashlight reveals reality through illumination.
Walking through the woods at night, can
you imagine how useless your flashlight would be if, instead of
revealing the truth about the path ahead, it projected
a fanciful image of whatever you chose to see at that moment? A projector is appropriate for
entertainment, as it is dealing with fantasy. A flashlight is
appropriate for illumination, for it reveals reality. God, in His grace,
has provided illumination through Scripture. " Your
word is a lamp to my feet," the Psalmist writes, "and a light
to my patH' (Psalm
119:105).
The Bible does not exist to titillate our fancies, but to inform and
direct US in accuracy. This truth is a light, which frees us
from the darkness of sin and from eternal death. In the truth of
Scripture we are free to be the people
God would have US
to be.
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It's
A Combined Effort
When I was growing up, one of the hardest things for me to understand
was how snow could blanket the ground. I would watch the first flakes
fall, and immediately upon touching the ground the flakes would melt.
I thought, "If the first ones melt and the second ones do the
same, how can it blanket the ground?" What I didn't understand
was that each
snowflake cooled the ground just
a little and that each one would prepare the ground just a
little more for the next ones. If one began to melt, it would leave
enough of itself that, added to the thousands of others, it would
blanket the ground. 50 it is with your small efforts to convert the
world to Christ. You may never convert a soul all by yourself, but
coupled with others' efforts, you will.
(CaC, Liberal, K5)
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Think About It.. .
Reputation and character are seldom the same. Reputation
is the human evaluation - what others
think of us: character is the Divine evaluation -
what God knows us to be. You
can have a good
reputation and a bad character or a bad reputation and a good
character.
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A
Danger to Democracy
by Stan Mitchell
I ran
across a survey recently that polled American leaders in business,
politics, and the media. They were asked what groups constituted the
"greatest danger to democracy" today. Fourteen percent
fretted about the dangers posed by racist groups such as the Ku Klux
Klan and neo-Nazis. Interesting, you might say. But here's the
shocker.
Twenty-four
percent said that they viewed Evangelical Christianity as a threat to
democracy! Allow that to filter through your thinking for a moment.
Greater than power-hungry politicians, greater than the attempts of
the Politically Correct to dictate, greater than a one-sided, eager to
"educate" media, greater than those pathetic, hate-filled
skinheads. Bible believing, conservative churches are a greater threat
to democracy than these! Don't be afraid of media moguls who brainwash
us with PC thinking; be afraid of a Gospel Preacher in a church Sunday
morning, be afraid of churches that stand up for scripture. (The
Williamsburg Charter Survey on Religion and Public Life, Washington
DC, 1988).
What are they saying? What does this tell us?
To begin with, this sort of thing is as silly as
Letterman after his bedtime. Conservative church groups are simply not
a threat to democracy and free thinking.
Curbing their right to enter public discussion, robbing their ability
to express themselves, tearing the Ten Commandments off court walls,
removing the very name God from our pledges and commitments --
now that would
be a threat to democracy!
What it tells us is that the world is still, and
relentlessly, the implacable foe of what is right and godly. Why are
we surprised? Did we forget?
"Dear friends do not be surprised at the painful
trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to
you" (1 Peter 4:12).
The threat they feel is not to their democracy, but to
their deviance from God's will. The world has always hated that!
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