Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus
There’s a wise adage that says, “What has your attention has you”. So the question is really obvious; what has your attention today? If our focus is anywhere other than on Jesus Christ, we are captured by something other than Him. Satan is a master of distraction. Since the dawn of time he has been parading a feast of temptation before our eyes (Genesis 3:1-6). He doesn’t care if you ever go his way; he’s content to just keep your eyes off of Jesus. We make it too easy for him.
Today is the last day of 2012. The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time for me, as it presents a clean slate and a fresh set of opportunities. I’m a goals fanatic and have found it useful to have a theme to guide my planning for each year. Last year’s theme was, “Consume Less, Contribute More.” This year I have selected, “Take Action”. As a follower of Christ, nothing could be more important. As James said, we must be doers of the word, not merely hearers (James 1:22-25). If we are going to grow in our faith, we must act on the things Jesus told us to do.
Whenever there is a tragedy such as the horrific killings in Newtown, Connecticut, people want to know how a good and loving God could allow such inexplicable violence. How can God truly be worth serving if He allows murder, rape, kidnapping, depravity and abject evil to exist in our world? Is He not powerful enough to put an end to it? Is He even in control at all? These are fair questions that come out of unimaginable grief and trauma. I think it is okay and even healthy to ask these questions. But people want to do more than question God, they demand an answer. It’s here that I think too many Christians are missing the mark.
Every December there are groups of Christians who protest or boycott companies who do not use the word “Christmas” in their advertising. One group is outraged because J.C. Penney (ironically hailed by the same group for using the word ‘Christmas’ in their ad campaigns) is using Ellen DeGeneres, a homosexual as their spokesperson in their commercials. These are the kind of actions that caused me to abandon Christianity to instead live my life as a follower of Christ. This is why young people are turning away from Christ in record numbers. If this is what it means to be a Christian, who wants to be one? Who would want to identify with an elitist mentality that focuses on the judgment of others?
Søren Kierkegaard once said, “The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.” He’s absolutely correct. The Bible is very easy to understand. The question really is whether or not we want to hear what it has to say. With knowledge comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes obligation. If we know what the Word says, we are either compelled to obey it or reject it.