FAST FOOD FAITH # 2

     Greetings in Jesus Name:

 As much as I try to not make judgments on attitudes and the things that are around us all of the time that seems to be screaming a contradictory viewpoint to what God has already told us is the absolute truth; my spirit cannot help but be offended by much of what is going on.

  That offense comes first by the lies we listen to from this world about what is most important to us in making good decisions in life.  It seems like the more ramped up to take sides on issues in society the more we tend to allow a separation develop between us and others who profess to be believers. I am fully convinced that there is very little that we hear about today from this world that is drawing us closer to any kind of good, and mostly further away from a direct relationship with God.  What can we do about it?  First of all, we need to go back to what we know the truth is, and then start comparing that which we are hearing to what we know is fact and truth.

 Among the very first things is the need to reestablish what we consider to be the truth; which is found in God's word.  There is an absolute truth, but in order for it to work in our lives we must seek it out and then hold tightly to it because if we do not we will eventually be separated from it.  The enemy of God knows this better than any of us do.  This truth from God's word becomes the basic food we need in order for us to grow in Christ, and it is among the first things that will be attacked and questioned.  Today we can find all kinds of approaches to the Christian experience.  It is almost like a great smorgasbord of choices we have as to how we can choose to approach a life as a "Christian", and yet  God's word has told us that there is only one Plan of Salvation, which has been laid out for us and that Plan only includes a relationship and commitment to and with Jesus Christ.

  The "Good Guy" approach is based on the commitment that we have to the family being first in our lives and is very much supported by the world around us.  On the surface, we can say this seems to be a good thing because it focusses on the things that our hearts are tied most closely to in this life, but that becomes deceitful.  The word tells us that anything that we put in the center of our life other than God has separated us from God, even our families.  These are fighting words to many people who profess Christ today, and who attend church every week.  Jesus addressed this by saying Who is my mother, brothers, and sisters? It is those who hear and do God's will!  Jesus said rather straightforward that if anyone loves his father or mother more than he loves God; then he is not worthy of God.  The question is then what do we believe to be the truth?  When we begin to hear words that cause us to think that God only brings about Good in our life and is never the author of anything difficult we are also deceiving ourselves.  Many people believe this with their whole heart and hold on to the idea that God would never bring about any pain or discomfort, and yet God's core value in us is to bring us as close to Him as is possible.

  If it takes a disaster to wake some people in a nation of God will certainly use it.  God did not spare the Nation of Israel from slavery to Egypt.  The truth must come back to what is in God's mind and heart, and not in what benefits man.  God is not coming back to save our bodies, and He is not coming back to make this world "Green", but rather to save us spiritually from an eternity of separation from Him.  These are all very basic things of truth that are being overlooked today by many in church leadership.  These truths do not have anything to do with doctrine or denominational differences, but they are base truths set down for us in the foundations of our faith in Christ.  My question is do we hear them being taught in our churches today?  I am saying that we need the basic food given to those who are new in the faith before we can begin to feed them alternative concepts of thought in Christ.  This is especially true when those people don't yet understand what the truth is.  This becomes a very dangerous kind of fast food because it is like giving a 3-year-old a loaded weapon to play with, and most churches don't even have the safety on.  I want to pick up on the next blog with more Fast Food franchises.  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.


THE UNWORTHY SERVANT