Thinking Like Jesus

"...our goal should be to act like Jesus. The primary reason people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think – our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions."

-- https://www.barna.com/research/a-biblical-worldview-has-a-radical-effect-on-a-persons-life/  Barna's 2003 study concluded that only 4% of American adults base their decisions on a "biblical worldview."

 

These twenty years later, Barna and other pollsters find that 75-80% of self-described "Evangelicals" unswervingly follow a politician whose manifest character is lies and violent contempt for others (Jesus' definition of "murder" in Matthew 5:21-22).

Jesus told some His followers they were "children of the devil," loving lies and "murder" (John 8:44).

Do today's proudly self-proclaimed "Evangelicals" think like Jesus ?  Obviously not.

"Letter to the American Church," by Eric Metaxas

I recently read the book Letter to the American Church by "conservative" author and media-personality Eric Metaxas, and felt led to challenge his deceptive argument in this letter.

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Dear Mr. Metaxas:

                I’d hoped your Letter to the American Church might be a desperately-needed call for the American Church to repent.

                Those hopes were raised by the words of your introduction, that “…the monstrous evil that befell the civilized world precisely because of the German Church’s failure is likely a mere foretaste of what will befall the world if the American Church fails in a similar way at this hour.”

It was deeply disappointing that your call was for the American Church to repent its silence (as you claim) against the evils of “Marxist atheist philosophy…in economics or in any other sphere,” and sexual deviance.

                So it’s impossible to credit the prophetic parallel you purport to find between today’s American Church and German Christians of the 1930s.  Did German Christians need speak out against Marxism and homosexuality when their violently anti-Communist rulers, espousing traditional “German family values,” had silenced Marxists and homosexuals, and removed them from German society ?  Wasn’t German Christians’ sin rather their silence against the evil deeds of those rulers ?

                Jesus spoke of the enemy forces on earth as “children of the devil,” whose spiritual paternity is manifest in their doing satan’s desires, lies and murder (John 8:44).  You quote those words of Jesus (p. 77): and I have to think you’d agree that Germany’s rulers in Bonhoeffer’s time merited Jesus’ characterization.  Wasn’t the disastrous moral failure of German Christians their silent acquiescence, even collusion, in the lies and murder of the political faction that had seized power in their nation ?

                Jesus also categorically defined “murder” as violent words of contempt against others (Matthew 5:21-2).  You’re surely aware that a faction in America today has made such murder, and egregious lies, its chosen political identity.  Surely you're well aware that a great many American Christians silently acquiesce and collude in, even loudly proclaim, the doctrines of that faction.

                I’d urge you to consider that fact is the most-telling prophetic-parallel for American Christians in this day.  And urge that the desperately-needed call for the American Church’ repentance must be that it reclaim its identity in Christ, and turn back from being a slavish political “demographic” for today’s “children of the devil.”

 sincerely,  Steve Hicks

Drawing the Line III

Thinking further on a couple 2013 posts:

Ted Williams was the last man in baseball to bat over .400 (.406 in 1941). He credited his visual acuity.  Williams claimed he could see the spin of the ball's stitches from the moment it left the pitcher's hand, letting him distinguish a fast ball from a curve, and anticipate the ball's motion and placement when it reached home-plate.

An interviewer asked Williams about his legendary batting skills. It was simple, Williams said: he made it an absolute rule to never swing at a ball unless he knew it would touch the strike-zone.

"But with your eyesight," said the interviewer, "couldn't you have hit pitches that were only a fraction of an inch outside the strike-zone.  Couldn't you have gotten even more hits that way, and increased your batting-average even more ?"

"No !" Williams said. "If I did that, where would I draw the line ?" 

Jesus drew the line.

He said He IS "...The Truth, and The Life" (John 14:6).  He said satan is "the father of lies," and a murderer (John 8:44).

For anyone with "eyes to see," the line couldn't be clearer.  It runs through EVERYTHING each man says, thinks, and does: Truth...or lies ?

America has just passed through a season when the line couldn't be clearer than it is in politics.

Many American Christians batted .000 for that season.

God, have mercy on the foolish misguided...and separate from us all those who love lies and murder !

Amen !!!

Integrity in Politics

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

“…every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” -- Matthew 7:17,18

INTEGRITY is the way Jesus says it is. People, and their “fruits” (words, thoughts, and deeds) are either “good” or “bad.”

Satan has especially led American Christians away from Jesus’ teaching through politics…in two different directions. Either that politics is not “spiritual,” and Christians shouldn’t dabble in it. Or that we can support political liars and murderers..and still be “good Christians” in God's eyes by going to church, praying, reading the Bible, and "talking the Christian talk."

Every person produces political “fruit” if they live in human society…even those who self-deceive that “I don’t do politics.” And every person brings forth political fruit of “righteousness, peace, and joy” (the Biblical definition of the Kingdom of God in Romans 14:17)…or of lies and murder (Jesus' definition of "children of the devil" in John 8:44).

God doesn’t judge by political party…that's man's stupid way of sorting out what "side" people are on. But we choose what soil we will grow in: and the soil we grow in determines whether we produce good or bad fruit.

And the fruit produced shows if the tree is good, or bad.

Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Spiritual Warfare

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

As near as we understand, Isaiah 14:12-15’s “taunt” to “the King of Babylon” describes the angel lucifer’s (“shining one”) attempted rebellion against God.

In those few verses, he five times asserts “I WILL,” against GOD’s will: most notably, “I WILL raise my throne above the stars of God,” and “I WILL make myself like The Most High.”

That was also the temptation satan held out to Eve: assert your own "I WILL", and “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5)

Jesus came proclaiming the “Kingdom of God:” He said the will of GOD rules right NOW “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The question is, as always, if we believe Jesus.

Let's.

God’s Kingdom is “righteousness, peace and joy” (Romans 14:17). Jesus said satan and his rebellious “children” show who they are by their love of lies and murder (john 8:44).

Can the issue of spiritual warfare be any clearer ?

Can the issues for America right NOW be any clearer ?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

"Hard to Know Truth" ?

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

It's not the first time I've heard it.

To something I'd posted on facebook, about some idiocy the current president or his faction had
said or done, a supposed-Christian "friend" of a "friend" opined that it was hard to know for sure
what was true.

I think it was the kind of response that was intended to signal disagreement, when a supporter
of the current president can't really DENY the stupid thing he said or did.  A lame answer, but one
by which a "conservative" can keep his ideological credentials unsullied.  (For "conservatives" well
know that the rest of the pack will eat them alive the minute they deviate from the True Faith.)

I've heard it before . . . but for some reason it particularly enraged me this time.  I'm afraid I let the
gentleman have both barrels.  I responded to his comment,

"Can't agree.  Jesus said "I AM...The Truth..." (john 14:6). Jesus said satan is "...the father of lies..."
(John 8:44). I John 2:21 says "no lie is of the truth," There's NO possibility of confusing lies and Truth:
God is not a God of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33)."

In the past, I'd always thought the "hard-to-know-what's-true" folks were speaking honestly: that they
wanted to know what's true, but weren't sure how to find out.  So some years ago I'd put together a
list of a half-dozen reliable fact-checking websites where people can begin their own research, and
I'd pass it on to anyone who complained it was hard to know what's true, and any friend who'd been
deceived to post or e-mail an untruth.

With the blessed exception of one long-time friend who's a pastor, I don't think anyone I provided with
those fact-checking tools bothered.  From their subsequent and continuing facebook-posts and e-mails,
it was clear they did no fact-checking of the memes and opinions they put forward as true, and wanted
their "friends" to believe were true.  I have to conclude they had no real desire to know what's true.

I have to conclude the complaint that "it's hard to know what's true" is exactly what the facebook "friend"
intended, an excuse...for being too lazy to find out truth, or for not loving truth enough to seek it out, or for
believing a lie instead of truth.

The latter I think is rather frequent.  When Jesis says "I AM The Truth," it means He IS...if I may so put it...
the Reality in which we live (and He also says He IS "The Life.").  It's hard to miss Him.  Believing Reality
is other than He IS...a lie...can only be a deliberate choice-of-will.

God harshly judges those who "suppress the truth in unrighteousness," because "God made it evident to
them" and within them (Romans 1:18,19).  They are consequently "without excuse" (v. 20).  It's not merely
God's righteous judgement on those who worship idols, but on all who self-will to believe what is not true:
the climate-change deniers and  Holocaust-deniers of our time, and those who claim the current president
is a Christian.

Even in the simplest terms of human discourse, why should we believe the much-(self) vaunted "Evangelicals"
who claim to "know Jesus," and from the other side of their mouths excuse their believing lies because "it's
hard to know what's true."  God says they are "without excuse."

God promises His most furious and harsh judgement on those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
I quite doubt coronavirus is that: at least yet, or completely.  But whatever, and whenever, God determines,
His judgement is always righteous, and entirely right.  And none can argue that he was unable to know what
was Truth.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Test Your Spiritual Discernment Here !!

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Reading I John, this series of verses caught my attention:

I John 2:18 says there are already "many anti-Christs" around us.

I John 3:10 says the children of God and the children of the devil "are obvious."

I John 4:1 says we should "test the spirits to see whether they are from God."

That set of scriptures sounds like a challenge: or rather, when God says it, a command.

Since I John is where God gives His main teaching about anti-Christ, maybe He wants us
to check and see if our spiritual discernment is functioning well enough to spot him.

Jesus told us in John 8:44 what's obvious about "sons of the devil:" like their father, they
love lies, and they love murder (and Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-2 that "murder" is angry
contempt for other people).

There's our spiritual check-list.

Of course, we should first run the test on ourselves:  do we love lies and murder ?  If so,
we have to repent before we presume to run that check on anyone elses' spirit.

O.K., done.

Now...looking around ourselves, testing in today's world to see if our spiritual discernment
is in working order...can we spot any of the "many anti-Christs" out there ?

It shouldn't be hard: as John rightly says, they are obvious.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Civil War Redux II

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Tony Horwitz' Spying on the South also quotes Lincoln's advice to Southerners in his 1861 First Inaugural:

“Before entering on so grave a matter as the destruction of our national fabric, would it not be wise
to ascertain precisely why we do it ?  Will you hazard so desperate a step while there is any possibility
that any portion of the ills you fly from have no real existence ?”  (p. 397)

I hope Lincoln's words would resonate deeply with Americans today . . . much deeper, hopefully, than they did
with Southerners of 1861.

Arrogant haters of authority always embrace unreality: they must always assert what our current rulers call
"alternative facts," must always avow like they do that "Truth is not truth."  In this they manifest that they
are "sons of the devil" (as Jesus called them in John 8:44).  Like satan, those who deny God's Primacy must
needs deny God's creation, and His Rule, of all that exists.

Deluded "Christian conservatives" who follow these liars should discern that rejection of reality is rejection
of the One Who created it.  Discern most of all that these liars reject the One through Whom " . . . all things
came into being . . . and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1:3).  That
the liars reject Him Who said " . . . I AM . . . The Truth . . ." (John 14:6)

It is no accident that climate-change skeptics, holocaust-deniers, white-supremacists, and the conspiracy-
minded flock to the ranks of "conservatives," who embrace unreality . . . that is, unTruth.  It is no accident
that the Great Leader they revere is distinguished above all else by his arrogance and his lies.

Too many who call themselves "Christians" also join in lock-step with that Great Leader: join in fearing and
hating the "deep state" he claims opposes him, join in despising the "elites" (middle-class people of ability
who excell by education and hard work) who oppose him, join him in hating and fearing the "liberals" who
oppose him.  Join him, indeed, in fearing and hating everyone who opposes any of his delusions.

"Conservative Christians" have proof, of course, that the current Leader's enemies are their enemies.  Aren't
Christians, after all, the real target of the supposed "War on Christmas" ?  Haven't we seen Christians perse-
cuted by that city-council telling a baker he could not refuse to make a cake for a gay wedding ?  Isn't every
judge's decision not predicated on "conservative" ideology a threat to Christians' religious freedom ?

Lincoln's advice should still be heeded by all those so enmired in unreality that they (like their Great Leader)
wish for a "new Civil War."  Today's "conservatives," like those of 1861, should step out of their partisan mind-
set long enough to consider rationally the " . . . possibility that any portion of the ills you fly from have no
real existence ?"

Amen