Scriptural
Reference:
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those
who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
"Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone,
the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17
"For it is
by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we
are God’s handiwork,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:8-10
"Rejoice always,
pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Your word is a
lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed
it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve
my life, Lord, according to your word.”
Psalm 119:105-107
“All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness.”
2 Timothy 3:16
"Woe unto
them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light,
and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
Isaiah 5:20
Reflection:
Do you remember the first day you accepted the Lord Jesus the Christ
as your saviour? The way you felt like your life finally had real meaning.
How everything started to make sense and you could feel the Holy Spirit
alive and buzzing within you. Wasn't that an amazing sense of Gods'
perfect grace? Wasn't it an amazing feeling that you wanted to share
with everyone you knew?
I remember it as
well. And sadly I also remember the unexpected reaction and response
I got from family and friends. The wave of negativity and sarcasm was
painful. I can still feel it today. Also, when I share my faith with
others I have connected with at this later stage of my life is much
the same. People who can be friendly and accepting quickly become aggressive
and sarcastic. Quickly the casual "how are you doing" turns
into a derisive "you really believe in an invisible non existent
god?". So much for niceties.
The world could
be divided into three groups. The first, includes those like you and
I, those who are born again and saved by the grace of God through His
Son Jesus the Christ.
The second group
would be the marginalised. These people have not given into the worlds
darkness. But they will be resistant to listening to the Gospel truth
as much as the worlds lies.
The third takes
in all those who have given in and sold out to the world, Satan' domain,
lies and cardinal enticements. They are hell bent on corrupting other.
So as to justify their own sensual interest.
We each will encounter
all three of these people. How we respond to them should be as different
as we each are. In fact our whole life has been a form of training to
prepare us for times like the ones we are now living in. From the very
first day of our salvation. Our accepting the grace that God has offered
everyone. To the testing times that we now live in. Where, as Isaiah
5:20, people seek after darkness as if it were light. Shunning the light
and any form of truth.
In a Post Truth
world people will push that truth becomes flexible. That truth can not
stand up against emotion and feeling. In such that what one person professes
as being a truth is made invalid against another person emotions and
personal experience.
In metaphysics
and philosophy of language, the correspondence theory of truth asserts
that the truth or falsity of a statement is established only by how
it connects to the world and whether it accurately describes or corresponds
with that world. While in the Coherence theories of truth where is viewed
as the quality of the entire systems of propositions. With individual
propositions being deemed true based on their coherence with the whole.
Contemporary coherence theorists believe that truth can be determined
by various systems of coherence. So essentially there could be a multitude
of viable truths. Regardless of how each may contradict each other.
Or how dangerous any of them may be is taken seriously.
In short and in
closing; I mentioned the first day we each were saved. How amazing the
feeling was. The glow of certainty in our hearts and in our future.
How we felt empowered to share the same gift with others. I then mentioned
how our closest family and friends may have been the most brutal in
reacting to our new found faith. Yet we soldier on and grow in the knowledge
of our salvation. Even in these difficult times when truth is becoming
an option not a foundation for life. We, as Christians in a aggressive
world, need to stay true to our birth into a new world of hope and a
future with our saviour. We need to never forget what we felt like when
we repented and accepted Jesus as our Lord. Make each day a new day
of faith and prayer in and to God our creator.
Prayer: