It has been Christmas day for 43 minutes by my clock. The children have long been asleep and Santa Claus has made his way down and back up our chimney, bringing presents to our 4 precious charges. This year I think we made progress with them by emphasizing the birth of our Savior more than the gifts they might receive. It’s a good thing because Santa had a tough year with the recession and all. Our youngest left a note for Santa that said she didn’t have a list because she didn’t really care what she got, because she was thinking about Jesus. Did she really mean it or was she simply saying what she thought was expected? I don’t know, but I know she wrote it down from her own soul, without any adult helping her. I am encouraged.
Growing through Challenges
This year has been challenging on many fronts for my extended family. Many in my family are unemployed this year, which is very unusual. Both my family and my wife’s have strong work ethics imprinted on their DNA from generations of hard working, barely surviving men and women. We have discussed the Father’s plan and realize that he is in the process of changing us, transforming us into the image of his Son. He has to tear down the false ideas in our hearts to build up the true ideas within us. If we don’t allow the adversities to reveal our flawed thinking so we can reject it, we will try to build the truth over the lie. We will use the form that looks like the truth but we will still be motivated by the lie, by the selfish, by the human idea of what happiness is and where it comes from. My brothers and I agreed that God is boiling us down and separating the wrong so that we can be made right. I am amazed at their courage to face their own lies and allow God to change their hearts. I am encouraged.
Relativity
Our nation is in deep, deep trouble. Everything is upside down and inside out. What is clearly foolishness is applauded as virtuous and what is true is seen as prejudice and bigotry. This is what happens when there are no absolutes, there is no true/false, right/wrong or good/bad. The nation Israel went through times like this as is indicated in the book of Judges by the phrase “there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes”. This phrase is a wonderful description of relative thinking. Relative thinking says there is no right or wrong, only opinion and every one of us has one. While this approach might seem to be the result of enlightened thinkers, it is actually a formula for chaos.
Absolutes
God offers mankind absolutes that reveal those things He has created that do not change or move. An absolute is totally true, always true, never changes and can be counted on to be the same. The Captain of a ship steaming at night saw a light ahead and radioed, “this is the Roosevelt, a 100 ft. steamer and we seem to be on a collision course, I suggest that you give way”. The radio returned fire with this, “this is the Bronson Bay station, and I am a lighthouse, I suggest that you give way.” The lighthouse is an absolute that doesn’t change or move, by which we can chart our course knowing where we are.
When absolutes are watered down or abandoned as they are today, we lose the ability to chart a clear course because everything changes with circumstances. Without absolutes to go by, every idea is relative to its context and situation. Right is right because it serves our purpose, not because of an unalterable idea of what is right and what is wrong. USA has given up its absolutes and replaced them with political correctness and hypocrisy wrapped in pretty paper. Congress is in the process of enacting economic suicide and they call it healthcare reform. Our president is willing to say anything from both sides of his mouth in order to push us into a one-world government. He serves the evil one but knows it not.
Adversity makes us Choose
Yet, in spite of the evil of our government, I am encouraged. I am encouraged because I believe what my bible says, that God uses adversity to grow His people and uses persecution to scatter His message. The day is coming and it will be sooner than we expect, when any Christian who holds to absolutes will be branded an enemy of the people. We will be called bigots and small minded because we refuse to include everyone in our theology. When we assert that homosexuality is wrong we will be called homophobes and guilty of hate crimes. When we asset that Jesus is the only name given under heaven that leads to God, we will be ridiculed and admonished to come into the 21st century. In my lifetime, I expect that ministers will be imprisoned for their faith and believe it or not, I am encouraged. We need harsh pressure to make us choose who and what we really believe and where we will stand. The adversities of our day will work good for the church, not bad. Be encouraged.
Sticking with the Truth
My church seems to be shrinking in numbers. Some of our people have been going to other churches. These churches offer bigger and flashier ministries with more people for their social life and for the singles, a better chance to find a mate. My church is not flashy and perhaps we are stuck on a method and need to change, perhaps. We could change the way we present the Lord’s message but we won’t do so to accommodate those who would have us shorten our message of truth and replace truth with entertainment. The reason is that the only way to be successful in life is to live by absolutes. When life gets tough which it is certain to do, the only thing that will hold you up is the Lord and His word. It is the truth that will free us from the pain and fear of an uncertain world because we know how to interpret the times and His will in the times. My church is committed to teach these absolutes as we know them and even though we could shine our packaging up a bit, the core of truth is there, it is steady and it will remain as long as my Pastor and I have anything to say about it. I am encouraged.
We can always find reasons to feel discouraged. Life in the devil’s world is difficult to say the least. As we grow older, life seems to get even harder. Health trouble, loss of loved ones, financial difficulties and uncertainty about the future. If you use your circumstances as your happiness, life will feel like a roller coaster ride, up and down. Instead of deriving happiness from your life situations, look to God’s word and the absolutes He offers for your comfort and encouragement. Christmas marks the birth of our Savior who has redeemed us from all of our troubles and offers us victory over the difficulties of the devil’s world. His victory over sin and death is shared with all who will believe that he did for them. We have the victory in Christ and that gives us good reason to be encouraged.
