“What is wrong with
people today?” “How can someone plant a
bomb and kill hundreds of innocent people?”
“How can a mother take the life of her own child?” “How can two people who say they love each
other be so cruel to one another?” I hear
these and other questions all the time.
I’ve often asked them myself. I
call these “why” questions. The answers
that go with them are “I don’t know” answers, because only God knows the
reasons.
The only explanation
that makes sense to me is that, for many people, God’s principles are
out-of-date, impractical and irrelevant.
His people, due to mixing their religion with cultural norms and biases,
have perverted the truth about Him so that whatever makes them feel good or bad
becomes the standard for right and wrong.
The doubters, God-haters, and social critics consider Christians and
their religion to be promoters of bigotry, hatred, violence, and
misinformation. And, honestly, who can blame them when those who claim the Name
live opposite of what He stands for?
So it should be
obvious why all of these frightening things are happening. Satan rules in the lives of most people! Who else can cause so much hatred and chaos?
Somehow these people (whether
in Christ or out) have to be convinced to replace the Deceiver (lies) with
their original Ruler (truth); the One they recklessly traded away because they
couldn’t see how the Bible applies to their lives today or because it doesn’t
affirm their feel-good belief-system or their comfort-zone laziness. They have to be convinced that God’s
principles and Jesus’ teachings make sense and work in every aspect of 21st
century living – even if it causes the majority to rise up against them and
publicly ridicule them, or to categorize them as “billy-goat herders,” and
unenlightened, closed-minded and judgmental hypocrites. We must all come to understand that God’s way
is the only way if we are to get rid of these distressing acts of
crime and violence. And fortunately we
have the very thing we need to accomplish this.
God and His Word: the only thing that can defeat Satan.
The Apostle Peter says
it this way; “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and
godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. Through these he has given us
his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate
in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires” (2 Peter 1:3, 4).
Notice that we get
this power through knowledge. That means
Bible study – not just a cursory
reading or storing up trivial facts. And
especially not allowing someone else to tell us what it says or means. We personally
must gain the knowledge necessary to use God’s power and effectively teach
others so that they also may be able to use it to escape from the
Deceiver.
By participating in
the divine nature (acting like Jesus) we can let the world know that Jesus
rules! This is the only way to be free of the effects of Satan’s rules. But
it’s going to take total commitment. It will mean being willing to stand
against the ridicule, slander, name-calling, and ostracizing that is sure to
come. For those who choose to put God first in this way, remember that you are
blessed and have a better place to look forward to than your irreligious
critics do. And for those who try to avoid the negativity that loyalty to
Christ generates, just remember who you will have to be spending an eternity in
turmoil with.
Make doubly sure that
Jesus rules in your life, not public opinion. Get to know Him better day by day
through personal experience and practice regardless how others around you
choose to live. And look forward to a
comfortable eternity of being free from the troubles, chaos, and hatred caused
by those who have chosen Satan’s rule.
Doug
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