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Before you answer, let me share a passage with you;
"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
-Romans 3: 10-12
The word of God is sobering and spot on. If the words above bother you because you actually believe people are essentially good, and that humans aren't as bad as the Bible says they are, your being bothered is simply evidence that the above passage is true.
If you're honest with yourself, in the depths of your own soul, you know you're not a good person. You get mad easily, you don't always give to those in need, you don't live in the ghetto even though you can, you don't like being made fun of, you don't love everyone equally, you're a bit prejudice, you don't like Whites, or Blacks, or Latinos, or Asians, or some-other type of ethnicity. I don't say this to bash you, I just want you to be open and transparent with yourself, and with God.
O' Wretched Man That I Am
People tell me I'm a "good man" from time to time just because I take care of my family; i.e., spending time with my kids, taking them out to visit people and places, living with them, working to support them, and loving my wife. How shallow is it to say I'm "good" without knowing my heart....
Well, God knows my heart, and we see what he thinks of humans who are seeking to be good on their own. God doesn't call anyone "good" in the Bible, in the same we say people are good. God knows that apart from giving your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He has no choice but to sentence you to eternal damnation because He is a 'just and holy' God.
"And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." -Revelation 20:15
Revelation 20:15 is a very sobering verse, isn't it. It states the fact that all will be judged, and that any hoping or desiring to enter into eternal bliss, must have their names written in a special book known as 'the book of life.' God has set the rules for eternity and no one has the authority to change them. Not Buddha, not Mohamed, nor any other religious figure who has ever made an appearance in the landscape of human history. The God of the Bible has said that "anyone" wishing to be saved for all eternity MUST have their names written in the book of life.
The Good of the Gospel
So, the million dollar question is: How does one get their name written in the book of life? Here's how the Bible says it happen...
"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12(Referring to Jesus Christ in context)
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8: 37-39
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." -Romans 10: 8-10
No matter how you've lived to this point in your life, God extends an offer of salvation to you....
Will you accept?
Be blessed
If you haven't seen this, I think you'll find truth in it.....
Here's a nice piece on the decline of the traditional (or should I say, Biblical) family, taken from The Resurgence blog, and written by Nick Bogardus.
At the end of article are some links to sermons that every Christian should listen to.
Enjoy!
A Massive Culture Shift
There is a massive shift happening right now in our culture. The ink
and pixels that have spilled on the change are markedly hopeless and
without answers. To see the tip of the iceberg, we only need to look at
the LA Times from last month. The nuclear family is now the minority of
households in California.
“New census figures show that the percentage of Californians who live
in “nuclear family” households - a married man and a woman raising
their children - has dropped again for the last decade, to 23.4% of all
households. That represents a 10% decline in 10 years, measured as a
percentage of the state’s households. Those households, the Times
analysis shows, are being supplanted by a striking spectrum of
postmodern living arrangements: same-sex households, unmarried
opposite-sex partners, married couples who have no children…new sorts of
households - blended families; bands of middle-class singles who live
and vacation together; families that were once called “broken” - are
increasingly the standard.” LA Times, US Census Data Show California Families Changing, June 22, 2011
Actors in Limbo
What it means to be a family is being re-defined, largely by a tectonic shift in gender roles. In the Wall Street Journal, Kay Hymotitz argued
that because women are moving ahead more quickly and in greater numbers
in our advanced knowledge economy, that husbands and fathers are now
optional. This, she says, has created a situation in which today’s
pre-adult male is like an actor in a drama in which he only knows what
he shouldn’t say, and in which most men in their 20s hang out in a
"novel sort of limbo, a hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and
responsible self-reliance."
"Perhaps the things that really need redeeming are the church’s lack of a voice in what it means to be a man or woman."
Untethered, Lost, Mute, and Passive
In Hanna Rosin's article in the The Atlantic
entitled “The End of Men,” she paints a nearly identical picture of the
alpha-female dominating mute and passive males. “He can be sweet,
bitter, nostalgic, or cynical, but he cannot figure out how to be a man.
'We call each other man,’ says Ben Stiller’s character in Greenberg, 'but it’s a joke. It’s like imitating other people.'” The New York Times described this new "emerging adulthood" as a block box where 20-somethings delay reaching adulthood, often until their 30s.
The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people
remain untethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going
back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding
commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary
(and often grueling) Teach for America jobs, forestalling the beginning
of adult life.
Don't Focus Just on the External
Of course that is true in the church, only you can replace the Teach
for America jobs with short-term missions trips. For all of the time and
energy spent on “redeeming the arts”, “redeeming cities”, and
everything else we want to attach the word "redeem" to, perhaps the
things that really need redeeming are the church’s lack of a voice in
what it means to be a man or woman. Exerting so much effort on people’s
activities is only addressing externals, symptoms. Chances are if a guy
can be a man who loves Jesus, reads his Bible, gets a job, leaves his
parent’s house, and loves one woman, then he will also be effective
wherever God has called him, be that the arts or in business.
One important thing that needs to be pointed out about this cultural
shift described in the articles above is that it is turning us into
autonomous individuals. Mrs. Hymotitz even went so far as to say that
husbands and fathers are optional in this new economic paradigm. While
we might bandage the need for relationship with loosely-defined
friendships, these float on the surface of lives marked by selfishly
avoiding commitments, being untethered to romantic partners, or
permanent homes.
"Perhaps the most loving, most prophetic thing the church can do is to
call men in their 20s to love Jesus, read their Bibles, get a job, to
leave their parent’s house, and to love one woman."
Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
In the face of the confusion, hopelessness, and lack of any answers
from our culture, one of the most radical things the church can call
Christians to is back to God’s design for men and women. Men and women
were created to cultivate and steward God’s creation—to rule over it as
his representatives. But what is often underemphasized is that we were
created to do that together. God made men and women in complementary
ways to reflect his trinitarian nature, his covenantal love in
marriage, and his authority and submission in the church. This
ultimately points toward the unity that will exist when Jesus comes back
for the bride he loves. All of this is his love towards us.
The Call
Perhaps the most loving, most prophetic thing the church can do is to
call men in their 20s to love Jesus, read their Bibles, get a job, to
leave their parent’s house, and to love one woman—according to the Wall
Street Journal, The Atlantic, and the New York Times, no one is doing
that.
Again, take the time to listen to these sermons. They were foundational to the life change that occurred in my life when they were first preached, it took me hours to download them on my 'dial-up' connection.
I was given the blessed opportunity to guest post at Far Above Rubies: a blog that promotes and defends Biblical Womanhood. Thanks to my friend, Jasmine, for allowing me to share with her readers.
Click here to read my post on 'The Essence of Feminine Godliness!'
God has set jurisdictional boundaries in all areas of life; whether it's at work, home, church, or in the neighborhood, we must understand and respect the the jurisdictions that exist within our lives. You might be wondering what I mean by 'Jurisdictional Authority,' so let me give you a brief description that might help you gain a better understanding of what many have failed to grasp.
Jurisdictional authority simply means that there are areas of life you have no authority in, and if you try having authority there, you'll quickly find yourself face-to-face with those who actually do have authority in that area, and in opposition to God's established structure. For instance; at work you have no authority over your peers, but your supervisor does. If you try telling your peers what to do, they'll resist you and you'll soon be standing at attention in the bosses office. Or at church, you might try disciplining another member of the church for sin, but might not be in a position of Elder or Deacon, and the actual Elders and Deacons might come down on you for over-stepping your boundaries.
Speak to the Parents, not the Child
Another area that we must understand and respect jurisdictional authority in is the area of family. If you're not the parent, know your limitations. You may have wonderful ideas for what someone's child should be doing with their life, talents, and treasures, but to try and persuade that child to do it without speaking to their parents first is not acceptable. The age of the child does have some bearing on when it's appropriate to speak to them without having spoken to the parents however. If the child is in their twenties, that's one thing, but if they're still teens or younger, that's another entirely. The bible says nothing about 'your 18 now, you're an adult.'
As well, I believe gender plays a role in deciding when it's appropriate to approach a child with your plans for them without having spoken to the parents. I believe if a daughter is living at home, she is under her father's covenant headship, and the proper way to address the daughter with significant plans like where to work, go to church, who to court, etc., should absolutely be brought to the parents attention first, and especially the father who God has placed over that daughter until she's married.
With sons, it's a little different. Boys should be groomed to be Priests, Prophets, Providers and Protectors, and because of this, should be given more opportunity to choose the right path for themselves in their early twenties even if they're living at home. They don't need a father's protection in the same way a daughter does, so their releasing, if you will, from the father's covenant protection should come about sooner rather than later. To protect a boy for too long will thwart his spiritual growth and leave him in a state of arrested development as a leader.
Know Your Own Authority
Jurisdictional authority exists because God put it in place. Know your boundaries and respect those who have God given authority where you have none. As well, know your authority and use it to guide and direct the affairs of your life with grace and wisdom.
Let me know what you think on the subject, and whether you agree or disagree, and why. I'd love to dialogue on the matter. Grace and Peace!
