A
Challenge to the Culture from Scripture
Casting
the Vision
This year is nearing its end. Yes, there
is the hype of Christmas and New Years and the enjoyment of family traditions,
but the end of this year is a good place to press pause and set aside some time
aside to examine the year.
·
What challenges did you face?
·
What did
God teach you this year?
·
What decisions were made? What steps of faith
where taken?
·
Did God enable you to give sacrificially this
year?
·
What were the big accomplishments of the year?
·
Who spoke into your life or has become a good
friend?
·
How has the Holy Spirit been transforming you,
conforming you to the image of Christ this year?
·
Has anyone come to Christ through your ministry
(every Christian has a ministry)?
·
Has anyone been discipled or aided in their walk
through you by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Answering questions like this in a special
notebook is a very meaningful and even Biblical activity to do. For one, we see
God all throughout the Scripture telling His people to set up memorials and to remember what He has done. During seasons
of discouragement, being able to go back and look at what God has done in our
life is important. Likewise, reviewing how God was faithful and providentially
provided throughout history is encouraging. I think that we forget to remember far too often. It is
important to take time aside to review what God has done, thank Him and bless
His name!
Our focus changes when we Bless the Lord: no
longer are we asking for selfish things, but delighting in his
blessings…..
We
are content.
This next year, is an exciting year! Yes,
not everything looks good around us—the country is a mess, but I encourage you
not to focus on that. This past year, one of the great blessings God has given
me through the encouragement of one of my friends and mentors is that I do not
fear or worry about what happens in the country anymore. Am I active in
fighting evil, signing petitions and voicing the truth of God Word? Yes,
faithfully through the Holy Spirit’s (Christ in me) empowerment. Do I care
about politics, education, legislation, debt (each American now owes some $200k
toward the deficit), and future generations? A resounding yes! I am realistic that all this around us is
bound for a crash unless God does a miracle, but I am at peace. I know that my
God will preserve His remnant. I know that His Word promises that He will
provide for my basic needs through the riches of Christ (Matthew 6, Philippians
4, 2 Corinthians 9:8). My focus has turned to the Lord, to seeking His face and
to purposefully taking steps to provide for my future family and to stand up
and lead when all around I hear people say that no one is standing up and
leading. My personal life vision has expanded dramatically: homesteading,
farming, multiple business endeavors, political causes and projects, ministry,
relationships, homeschooling, discipleship, debt-free living and business, and
most importantly, dependence on, abiding in, and empowerment from Christ’s Holy
Spirit.
I have studied business a lot this year
and have reached one simple conclusion: the
ways and plans of man are complex and futile. God’s ways, as revealed in
His Word, work and are blessed! A business or an income stream is simply a
method of taking dominion of the earth and practicing creative resourcefulness.
I have come to the conviction that true
wealth is simply having more than I need today. And to plan for the future,
realistically, Scripture seems to pattern that a man must somehow incorporate
reproducing plants and animals into his providing plan. Why? Because all
throughout the Bible, you see wealthy men who had thousands of animals.
God gave Adam the job of being a gardener and the natural thing about animals
and plants is that most of them reproduce
much faster and increase the value of one’s “wealth” (in food, cash value if
sold, and living assets) faster than most if not all investments vehicles
pursued today. Now, I’m not
completely against investment vehicles for Jesus says that it is better to put
a talent in the bank than to hide it in the ground, but I do not think it is
wise to make financial instruments one’s only source of “security.” Do not
misunderstand, our security ultimately rests in the Lord, but His Word is also
clear that He gives wisdom and discernment to those who seek Him and that the
righteous have a completely different way of life, an intentional and
conservative sort of mindset compared to the wicked (Proverbs and Psalms).
Realistically, we are not very wise as a
culture for we are almost completely dependent on grocery stores which would be
empty within a few days of a huge disaster. Within a few weeks, people would be
fighting each other for food and only a few would be prepared with a month’s
worth of food supplies. Proverbs says that the wise man’s house is filled with
choice wine and oil and has stores of provisions (Proverbs 21:20). I am not
trying to be rude, but the truth is that we, as the Body of Christ, are not
setting the example to the world by following God’s Word. The Whole Bible—every
one of the 66 books and every single page has value. The Law is how we know
that we need Jesus and how we show others their need for Christ (1 Timothy
1:8-11)!
Read: 2 Tim 3:16-17 2 Peter 1:20-21 John 1:1-4,14 Romans 12:2 John 14:6 Jeremiah 8:8-13 Proverbs 16:3 2 Chronicles 36:21 James 2:18
Isaiah 55:8
I believe that we can make a difference in our nation, but it is not
likely going to be by legislation. Laws don’t mean anything if we do not, as
the Founding Fathers said, self-govern
ourselves. We need to live as the Bible teaches. When we do, and we disciple
our families through not only the Words of the Bible but through action in
applying it in many ways every day, while still being the Church and Biblically
fathering the fatherless (single mother’s children, orphans) and widows (those
who are truly widows) and caring for our elderly parents and family members,
then we will transform the culture.
Do you know how we got to
where we are today? Largely through education. Socialists,
communists, environmentalist, homosexuals, you name it, invested themselves in
the educational system. Through books (most widely-read authors have horrible
backgrounds and worldviews if you study them out), college campuses, and
radical youth rebellion groups, they made their mark. Evolution became
prominent, feminism spread to the point that its effects are so ingrained in
the culture that even few in the Church can distinguish them, tolerance for
evil has become engrained in us (although the Bible says to hate evil),
compromise to avoid conflict has become the norm, being “kind” at the expense
of being truthful or standing boldly for what is right has become the law of
the land, and perhaps the worst evil of all, self-love and self-confidence have
placed our fate upon our own shoulders and neglected God. God is a person that
must not be presented through a program that is dependent on us being relevant
today—what an error—; rather preached with conviction of the Truth and emphasis
on personal responsibility in one’s own walk with God. Instead, God is often
presented as the “get out of jail free card.” It is true that God gives
freedom, but He certainly does not remove all the consequences for sin in this
life just because you have finally accepted Christ. If that where the case,
then why do HIV, AIDS, drug-inflicted disabilities, and criminal records still
hurt the lives of many of those who have come to Christ? We must not preach a false Gospel.
