Living in a world gone mad
In whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians
10:31
Let’s begin by praising God this morning that He is
sovereign and in control of everything that happens. In today’s culture of fear
mongering, we often lose sight of His sovereignty and don’t know how to live in
a way that glorifies Him. Between the
homosexual agenda, rampant Islamophobia and the vilification of Christians,
it’s easy to get confused about the “right” thing to do. Threats to our religious
freedom and accusations about our faith and motives have a paralyzing effect.
How do we stand in such times without offending and how do we love in a culture
that has redefined love to mean permission and advocacy?
When I moved to Romania, I learned that many nations have
battled with these questions before us.
In 1995 my theoretical questions of being a Christian in an openly
hostile environment took on flesh and blood as I befriended people who had
lived through years of repression and persecution because of their faith. Surprisingly
there were two distinct groups of survivors. One group had openly opposed the
government and the religious suppression—blatantly breaking laws and
challenging restrictions. The other stayed under the radar and worked within
safe boundaries—not abandoning faith but not making themselves targets.
Unfortunately, these two groups had not worked in tandem and
tended to point the finger and accuse the other of recklessness or compromise,
respectively. Who was right? I didn’t have the answer and I still don’t, but
I’ve learned a few things along the way.
I hope sharing them will encourage you a bit this week to focus on the
right things and to live boldly and free of fear for God’s glory.
1.
Remember this is not a battle for America, nor
is it a battle over Israel, defeating Islam or wiping out homosexuality—it’s a
battle for God’s glory as revealed in Jesus. Cultures will come and go. Acts
17:26 says that God made the nations, determined their appointed times and
their boundaries. And he did it all so that man would seek God. America’s
future is already written. We are witnesses to God’s determined plan and we can
trust Him so…
2.
Don’t live in fear. Watching too much news can
scare the bee-jeebers out of you and get your focus off of God’s sovereignty.
The Bible clearly says where things are headed and they will get worse before
the get better. Don’t fret over it, but prepare your heart and focus on what’s
important. We KNOW the future, both good and bad, so we can relax and watch God
work for His glory and our good.
3.
Seek intimacy with Him over comfort and material
security . Often times, the reason our anxiety level rises is because we are
scared of losing things that are precious to us. But all we have is a gift from
God and we musn’t hold on to them so tightly that we forget to hold on to Him.
He never changes, he is eternal, and he will never be defeated so when we put
our affections completely on Him, we can be truly secure. We are not living for the American dream, but
for the Kingdom of God.
4.
Don’t hope in a political solution. This is not
going to end well on earth. Will it be unpleasant for us? Probably. But God is
good and sufficient and won’t abandon His people. Jesus came to bring personal
salvation from sin, not political salvation through policy or privilege. Don’t
hope in a new President or despair because of our present one. God is
sovereign.
5.
Seek opportunity to share Christ before seeking
opportunity to make a statement. What we believe is meaningless if we aren’t
offering hope to a broken world. So don’t just fight for the right to
publically confess Christ, publically confess Christ!
6.
Be bold about the WHOLE Gospel. Don’t be afraid
to share the Gospel in its entirety, because that’s the only Gospel that matters.
Sharing God’s love isn’t enough, nor is sharing God’s hatred of sin. The
message of the Gospel is powerful and changes lives, but it must be about
Jesus, it must call out sin, it must demand repentance and faith, it must be
about dying to self and living for Christ, it must credit our salvation to
Jesus’ blood and righteousness and not our works. Jesus is THE ONLY way. Yes! This
will offend people and Yes! It’s intolerant, but watered down, its nothing more
than an inspiring story and has no power.
Does all this mean you should not bake a wedding cake for a
homosexual couple? I have no idea. Should we have the right to refuse? Yes, I
think so. But as a believer, our rights as an American citizen are not really
the point. Glorifying God in this world is. Do you bake the cake and share the
Gospel? Maybe. Do you deny the request and share the Gospel? Maybe. Do you
listen to the Holy Spirit at work in you and follow His lead? Absolutely.
I challenge you this week to spend as much time reading
God’s word, praying over it, and listening to the Holy Spirit as you do
watching news programs and reading articles on social media. Saturate your mind
with God’s perspective or you will be drawn into despair and confusion in a
world gone mad.
Help me Lord to trust
you in these crazy times and to not fret as it leads to evil doing. (Psalm
37:8). Help me to glorify God in all that I do (1 Cor 10:31). Thank you that
you established the times and boundaries of all the nations for the purpose of
helping people seek after you (Acts 17:26).
Help us to go boldly and make make disciples, confident that you are
with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).
Praying for you,
Karen
