Posts

Everyone’s a Winner?

/0 Comments/in /by

In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate responds to Jesus stance on Truth by asking, “What is Truth?” (Jn. 18:38) Unbeknownst to him he was having a conversation with – the TRUTH. We are all familiar with Jesus’ statement in John 14:6 in which He declares that He is the TRUTH and from that we can rest assured that He is not a truth but the sum total of what that word implies and defines.

Ironically, it appears that Pilate has risen from the dead enlisting his own disciples of what we term relativism. Amy Davison, in her article for Women in Apologetics defines relativism as: the thought that truth is a socially or culturally agreed upon set of beliefs. Adding No one set of beliefs is any more right or wrong than the other, and attempting to argue as such is considered oppressive or bigoted. By denying the existence of objective truth, Post-moderns offered the equivalent of, “Everyone is a winner!” in the form of a tentative, “Everyone is right!” Which is partly why it is so attractive. If truth is subjective then each person is their own lawgiver, judge, and jury. Every culture, every practice, every belief is on the same subjective playing field. There is no longer an objective standard because we no longer have an objective lawgiver, and with no objective standard, morals become, as philosopher A.J. Ayer states, “Mere public opinion…an emotional preference.”

Carla Alvarez, in her blog, An Unexpected Journal argues successfully against the moral relativism that has emerged in our culture as a plague far worse than any pandemic. She notes that C.S. Lewis was once approached by a publisher seeking his endorsement: Looking for an endorsement, a publisher sent an elementary grammar textbook to C. S. Lewis for review. (Lewis would later refer to this book as The Green Book) What he read within, based as it was on a relativistic worldview, so disturbed him that it prompted the essay, The Abolition of Man….(Later) Lewis warned his fellow British academics that the acceptance of the ideology in The Green Book would certainly lead to “the destruction of the society which accepts it.”

3 John 3-4 states: In fact, I greatly rejoiced when [some of] the brethren from time to time arrived and spoke [so highly] of the sincerity and fidelity of your life, as indeed you do live in the Truth [the whole Gospel presents].4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my [spiritual] children are living their lives in the Truth. AMPC

What’s really powerful about Jesus being the TRUTH is that He doesn’t take sides. There is no “your truth” and “my truth.” Davison adds: It cannot be ‘absolutely’ true that my truth and the exact opposite of my truth are both equally true, because this violates the law of non-contradiction. Jesus, the Truth, has no contradiction in His nature. He simply IS – the GREAT I AM! For Gaius, the recipient of Johns letter, to be in the TRUTH means that he had joined himself to Jesus; subjective opinions and feelings became irrelevant in the LIGHT of JESUS, the TRUTH. Davison continues: Nor can all truth be subjective because that statement in and of itself isn’t subjective! Something that is subjective is based on personal opinions and feelings rather than on facts.

Relativists, and those who parrot this ideology, believe Everyone is a winner and Everyone is right. The good news? If everyone is a winner then no one is a winner and the concept of winning becomes meaningless – as there is no distinction between those who excelled and those who did not. If everyone is right then no one is right then there is no true standard of right and wrong, effectively making the concept of “right” meaningless because it becomes subjective and relative to each individual. The Champion of ALL – is Lord of ALL – and only through taking the time and effort to daily align yourself with Who He is are you made right, and win for yourself the depths and meanings of ALL that it means to be a winner. Thus if you want to be a winner you must lose the right to being your own champion. How can you achieve that status today? What circumstance are you in that Jesus, the Truth would invite you to die?

New Beginnings?

/in /by

C.S. Lewis: You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

Often time a new beginning includes a new ending. C.S.Lewis also wrote: Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars.You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.

The prophet exhorted a backslidden Israel to begin again by stating: ...the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit…Isaiah 61:3

But what was the context of this prophetic word? Isaiah 61:1-4 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3 To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion—to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit—that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.4 And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. AMPC

Endings are hard to begin. Much like the monkey bars we’ve got to desire to rise to the challenge by climbing, or jumping to grasp the first rung. I can’t recall the last time I climbed and crossed some monkey bars. But I can remember the last time I did a pull up. The thing about pull ups is that they pull back and after slamming out the desired repetitions I am a lot less enthusiastic about jumping up to grasp that bar. Joel 2:32 reveals something about God we all need to be reminded of: And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

If there is a spirit or demon of heaviness then we can rest assured Jesus has a deliverance ministry for this affliction. Joel 2:32 promises that those who call on the Name of the Lord shall not only be saved but delivered. It’s high time we ascend those monkey bars again as a child of the King and change the ending of our lives with a new beginning – a new rung in the ladder that ascends into God’s Presence. You will only ascend through His Praise. Put that garment on, button it tight, and take a leap. Ask Jesus to bind up and muzzle the spirit of heaviness, and grant you Grace and the Power of His Spirit – to praise and worship Him. Ask Him to restore the Helmet of Hope in His Salvation.

Invitation To Friendship

/in /by

In the book, The Insanity of Obedience, its author, Nick Ripken writes: Betrayal within the faith community is a special concern, and it is important enough to demand specific attention. Consider this scenario: Expectations were high. After years of struggle and prayer, a house church was emerging among a resistant Muslim people group. Lives had been spent with this precious moment in view. Seeds had been sown and those seeds were now bearing fruit. Fervent prayers were being answered. Bold witness was being blessed. It was an exciting time. A church was being born. Almost immediately, it seemed, a Judas arose from within the group, exposing the inner circle of leaders. The small core of believers fled in disarray and fear. In an instant, the infant church seemed to disappear. Now, years later, these believers still wait in hiding for the birth of the first house church among their people. Nik Ripkin goes on to state, In light of the Biblical record and in light of Jesus’ response to His own Judas, let us consider some truths about Judas and let us consider what our response might mean for the growth and health of the Gospel. (1) We can expect to find Judas within our inner circle. (2) We can expect Judas to grow up within the movement and not to be imported from the outside. (3) With God’s help, we can choose to deal with Judas ourselves and choose not to export him to others. (4) We can learn to recognize Judas quickly. (5) We can be aware that Judas often has money issues. Regarding this last point Nik offers the testimony of a Muslim believer: When a seeker after Jesus comes to me, I ask them, What is it that you want: a car, a house, a wife, or to go to America? I tell them that I cannot even give them an aspirin. All I have is a cross. Do you want to pick up your cross and follow Jesus? That is all I can offer you. He then continued, “Everyone who followed Jesus in the New Testament gave up something. Everyone who comes to Jesus through a Westerner is trying to get something.“

There’s an interesting detail that Western readers often overlook when reading about the night of Jesus’ betrayal by Judas. John 13:26-27 Jesus answered, It is the one to whom I am going to give this morsel (bit) of food after I have dipped it. So when He had dipped the morsel of bread [into the dish], He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. 27 Then after [he had taken] the bit of food, Satan entered into and took possession of [Judas]. Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do more swiftly than you seem to intend and make quick work of it. We know from Scripture that John, the Beloved disciple, sat to Jesus’ right at the table and that Judas sat to His left. In Jewish culture the seat of honor was on the left side of the one who headed up the meal. Jesus had given the seat of honor to Judas – who was going to betray him; to the one who stole money from Jesus and the other disciples. Jesus honored him. But it get’s much worse, or should I say, more convicting. When Jesus handed the morsel of matzah to Judas that also had symbolic, and cultural ramifications. What was its message? Through that one action Jesus was offering to Judas a lifetime of friendship and love. He was saying to Judas, Will you be my true and close friend?

As we celebrate Passover, and draw closer to the events of Christ’s crucifixion, we need to take the time to ask, Have we betrayed Jesus for protection, provision, spouses, family, cars, houses, or material gain? I am often haunted by a realization I had years ago, that Jesus has many acquaintances but very few friends. We all want Him for something. But in the words of Henry Blackaby, If you knew all you had was a relationship with God, would you be totally and completely satisfied? In other words, If you didn’t have any of the material wealth, or family and friends – would your relationship with Jesus keep you totally and completely satisfied? What are you living for?