Life Under the Son

My message to my fellow man today; be a man. In matters. You have a unique role to play in society, and only you can play it when it's needed.

Using Scripture out of context is a persistent problem in the church. I think it happens when we want something to be true, or when we need some justification for what we want to do. We find a text or Biblical principle and apply it to a scenario where it meets our needs. So it is sometimes with the theme of unity in the body, or when faced with disunity. For some, the question of "does this bring unity or division" has become the acceptance criteria for a evaluating a challenge to the status quo. For some, being united as a group (body) has become more important than being united with Christ.

Let's explore

There is no shortage of tragedy and depravity on display in our world today, and our kids will see it and won't know how to contextualize or properly understand it. It's our jobs as parents to be there with them in those moments and guide them to the truth, and it's our job as Christians to guide them to Jesus.

Everything we see in the world today; murder, homosexuality, gender dysphoria, lies and deception, war, abortion...it can all be traced back to original sin and properly contextualized through the Gospel, both in why these things exists and how we overcome the chaos and pain and suffering they cause.

Let's talk about it.

In the midst of a tragedy, once the events have stopped, it becomes prudent that we not react. Once the event has stopped, we must not act. Unlike the demands of those who seek to manipulate the event to their personal benefit, now is not the time for action. Now is the time for reflection. Now is the time to pause. Now is the time to mourn. Now is the time to be thankful for what we have had, to miss what we have lost, and to celebrate what remains.

Once our emotions have settled we will be able to look forward with rational thought to see what, if anything, we need to learn or change as a result. That will come with time, but it will not be in the hours, days, weeks, or likely months after the event. That time will come later, once we are sober and the threat of being compromised by our passions has subsided.

However, the left is trying to seize this moment of pain to create injustice and so it is now that I feel compelled to provide clarity and perspective on this issue.

I believe that in 2019 a major chapter began in the story of humanity. Something shifted globally, and when that happens, I immediately look to the story of humanity, which always brings me to God. The West is in uncertain and dangerous times when it comes to the human condition. Rightly so, people are wondering, "how do I prepare for what may be coming?" As we do so, there are many voices out there trying to answer that for you, selling a product in the process. I offer some thoughts on how to keep this all in perspective. I am all for preparation, but it can be a trap.

There is no end to the damage this world will cause in the absence of good men. Because good men know this, we strive to be perfect in all things, so that those we love can be shielded. However, we can push this too far and become the very thing that will enslave the ones we love if perfection is all we ever portray.

The real answer to being the perfect husband, father, defender, protect, provider, shepherd, friend, is to learn to fail well; to acknowledge our failures and limitations and to use them to point people to the only perfect one; Jesus.

In thinking through how we in the church treat sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation, there's a lot I think we get wrong and so there's much we feel obligated to that shouldn't be, and we have expectations that are unjust.

Let's explore

A sad reality of the American Conservative today, is that we've been so conditioned by the left and the institutes of power in our society to not trust them, that we immediately disregard anything we can't independently verify with our own experience and facts, and so our new basis for context is within the sphere of ourselves. This is dangerous and it's leading to a complete and total misunderstanding of the Ukraine situation and how it directly relates to us.

This is the initial war in a larger global power struggle where Western and Eastern civilizations are asserting themselves to redefine the post COVID world. It matters to every one of us.

You have probably heard the explanation that the condition of mass formation psychosis is the reason for the insanity of the world regarding COVID-19. We keep asking, "has the world gone insane," and the answer has been, "well, yes." However, keeping things in a Biblical worldview, I don't think the mass formation psychosis is sufficient. Perhaps it is a clinical definition of faith and perhaps the COVID-19 hysteria is simply a new branch of the cult of humanism.

I'll explain...

The past years under the COVID and culture wars have proven to us that the powers that control the institutions of society cannot be trusted. However, as we turn to a general distrust and skepticism of the main voices of society, we risk becoming like the left; defined by only what we can experience and what we decide individually to be true. There is great danger here, and a caution to not harden our hearts, lest we become unable to recognize the truth when it does come to us.