Bad News

I have written at some length about the dangers of an overexposure to “news.”  Most of what I have had to say on the subject has to do with the problem of bitterness.  Bitterness is a deadly poison and if you are going to spend too much time listening to opinion makers on either side of the political drama in America it will be impossible for you to avoid the poison of bitterness.  

But there is another danger, no less deadly, that lies in wait for the person who spends too much time on current events.  Jesus warned us about things that can grow in our souls like weeds in a farmer’s field.  If the weeds run wild they will choke out the good plants and there will be very little harvest.  Jesus warned us that “the cares of the world … enter in and choke the word,” making it “unfruitful.”  (Mark 4:20 ESV)  

It’s possible for some of us to catch the morning news on TV, listen to talk radio on the way to work and all throughout the work day, and then to watch cable news for several hours in the evening.  I suspect that a surprising number of Christians are doing just that and I’m telling you that we need to stop.  The cares of this world “choke” the word, which means that they also choke off the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, because the Spirit works primarily through the inspired word.  A fifteen minute quiet time is not going to effectively counter eight to twelve hours spent on the “cares of this world.”

If you aren’t making the progress that you would like to be making in the spiritual life, check out the amount of time you are spending on the “news” and start giving more of that time to the Spirit and the word.  Having praise music on in your cubicle at work is a good testimony, and it’s good for your soul as well.

In praise of a closed mind

I’m closed minded about some things; and so are you, if you’re sane.  But there’s a church in my neighborhood that seems very open minded.  They have a slogan on their church sign:  “Open doors, open hearts, open minds.”  Is that the Christian message?  Speaking of his ministry in Corinth Paul said that his entire focus was “on Jesus Christ and the fact of His death on the cross.”  (I Cor. 2:2, Phillips)  Corinth was a major Greek city and Greece was the birthplace of western philosophy.  Paul could have come to Corinth with an open mind, intent on opening up channels of dialogue with all the leading intellectuals.    

But Paul didn’t go to Corinth to hold discussions.  He was absolutely convinced that God the Son had become a man, died on a cross while paying for our sins, and that He had been raised from the dead.  Paul saw this as the ultimate solution to human problems and he proclaimed it with authority.  Jesus Himself said that he was “the way, and the truth, and the life” and that no man could come to the Father apart from Him (John 14:6).  On the basis of that statement Christians have always held that Christianity is right and that every other religion on the planet, while they may contains some true and beautiful ideas, is ultimately wrong.  That sounds terribly closed minded.  We have been culturally conditioned to believe that being closed minded is a bad thing.  That cultural conditioning is pure demonic hogwash.

I once knew a woman who wasted a decade of her life on crack cocaine.  This is what she had to say about it.  “Once the drug has a hold of you, you’ll sell everything you own so that you can buy the drug.  Then you’ll sell everything you can steal.  And once you run out of things to steal, you’ll sell your body.”  I don’t know about you, but I have a closed mind when it comes to crack cocaine.  I examined the evidence, made a decision, and now my mind is closed.  I’m sure the drug must make you feel good while you are high, but I’m not really interested in entering into a dialogue with a pusher on the subject.

I’m not interested in robbing a bank as a solution to a financial need.  You may have come up with what you believe to be an absolutely fool proof plan to do the crime and escape without anyone being hurt, but I’m not interested in your plan.  I’ve thought about crime, made some decisions, and now my mind is closed when it comes to crime.

If there is some poor, confused woman out there who desires to enter into an intimate relationship with me (I know that odds for this are not good) I would want that woman to know that I have a closed mind when it comes to any woman but Nancy Lafyatis Cummings.  I gave the whole issue of monogamy a great deal of thought before I got married and I believe that it is the will of God and the best way to maximize joy and minimize pain as we make our way through this life.  I have a closed mind on the subject of affairs.

Some people don’t believe in vaccines or antibiotics.  I’ve listened to their arguments and I am unconvinced.  I don’t agonize over whether or not to get a prescription when I have a sinus infection.  If I need one I go see the doctor and get one.

I am closed minded when it comes to paying 18%-25% interest on any kind of a purchase whatsoever.  I have a closed mind when it comes to political correctness because I believe in freedom of speech.  I’m closed minded about a lot of things, and so are you, if you are a sane person.

I believe in Jesus Christ.  I believe in Him because of all of the Bible prophecies that have been fulfilled.  If the book of Daniel was written by the prophet Daniel in the 6^th Century B.C. (and I have never seen any convincing evidence that it wasn’t written at that time) then I don’t see how any thinking person who honestly considers the issues could be anything but a Christian.

I also believe in Jesus because of years and years of religious experiences in my personal life, mainly happening in times of prayer.  There is Someone there; He is real; and He consistently confirms the message of the Bible to me.

Last but not least, I believe because the Bible helps me make sense out of life like no other book ever written.  If the Bible is true, then we would expect evil spirits to be present and hard at work manipulating human beings and human culture.  We would expect them to be constantly assaulting our minds and attempting to get us to believe really, deeply stupid things.  For instance, take the idea of being closed minded.  We examine the facts, come to a decision, and when we think we have sufficient evidence we close our minds to what we consider to be foolishness.  We all do it.  It doesn’t make sense not to do it.  (Unless you are currently addicted to crack cocaine in which case none of this will make sense to you.)

So why is it that a mental process, that makes perfect sense when you apply it to high interest credit cards, adultery, and crack cocaine, suddenly feels so wrong when we apply it to religious ideas?  It’s almost enough to make someone believe that there really are dark powers out there messing with our culture; which is exactly what we would expect to see happening if the Bible was true. 

Two important things

There are two important things we all need to get right.  If you can do these two things then, in a sense, you have "solved" life.  You have done the two most important things that you can do with your life.  The first thing is to enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  Once you know your sins are forgiven and your place in heaven is secure, no matter what else happens to you, you have taken care of the rest of forever and guaranteed that you will have the ultimate happy ending.

The second thing we must do is to begin to live our lives so as to please God in the here and now.  Do what He wants you to do right now.  If you aren't sure you're in the place God wants you do be in terms of your vocation or your ministry, start doing what you are already doing with a sincere motivation to please Him.  If you form the habit of dedicating the beginning and end of each segment of your day to Him, I believe that you will find Him willing and eager to guide you into any changes you need to make in your vocation and/or ministry.  A humble custodian, sweeping and moping for God, with a clear sense that this is the place God wants him to be, is greater than Secretary General of the United Nations, if God has not called that man to be Secretary General.  And at  the last day, the humble custodian will receive eternal glory for every floor he swept and toilet he cleaned.

Obscurity is simply not an option

Obscurity is simply not an option.  The gaze of God is unblinkingly focused on me.  Eternal glory is mine for the taking if I will simply do my supposedly mundane tasks as acts of worship that I will present to my Heaven Father.  For a creature born in sin, plagued by devils, and living in a world that constantly tugs him in the direction of evil, plain old everyday godliness requires heroic determination and is worthy of everlasting glory. 

Vanity Fair

A man who is constantly trying to keep the presence of God in the center of his thoughts should limit the amount of time he spends with his mind immersed in fictional worlds where the characters never acknowledge the presence and power of God.  The same thing holds true for the amount of time he should spend with his mind immersed in a discussion of current events that is shallow, because it never deals with the underlying spiritual causes, and atheistic because it never makes any reference to the presence and power of God. 

I Am Weak

I am a created being.  I need to eat, drink, sleep, and breathe.  If I stop doing any of those things I will weaken and die.  When I fast I remind myself that my creator does not have any needs.  He is perpetually sustained by the power of His own inexhaustible life.  When I fast I am reminded of words from “Jesus Loves Me.”  “Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.”  When I fast I must trust Him, moment by moment throughout the day, to sustain me and give me the physical strength to do my job and complete the activities of my day.  This is just a variation on what I should be doing consciously, moment by moment throughout my non-fasting days:  trusting God for the spiritual strength I need so that I can live for the praise of His glory.

The Greatest Lover

God is the universe’s greatest lover, and with the exception of a few, terrible hours that the Son of God spent upon the cross, no person of the Godhead has ever been alone.  We were designed to join into the same kind of relationship with God that the persons of the trinity share among themselves.  The plan is for every moment to be spent in the conscious awareness of His presence, the conscious enjoyment of His love, and the conscious purpose of living to bring a smile to His face.