Caleb is a walking testament to the faithfulness of God. At eighty-five, he was still strong, still capable of trusting God to bring victory in the midst of a culture of unbelief. He spent forty years wandering in the desert because the Israelites were afraid of the Anakites- the giants in the land. Now, when he could be planning a well-deserved rest from his labors, he has bigger vision.
Caleb wants the city of the Giant. The biggest, baddest of all those that Israel feared was targeted by the aged Caleb. Caleb wanted his mountain, his city. With God's help, he would take it so that it would never be a stumbling-block to Israel again. May God give us that kind of courage in our day!
Here are some lessons we can learn from Caleb:
1. Let us not speak of a good and broad land as a land of fear and poverty.
2. Let us not speak of our own abilities as the only possible source for our deliverance.
3. Let us be strong and do exploits so that God's work might be commended to the next generations.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Confidence in Men WILL Fail Us
The worldview of society has taught us to have confidence in man, in ourselves. The two candidates for president are the epitome of that value. They have amorally clawed their way to this position and we all look to their wisdom to lead us forward. Money, Sex, and Power are both tools and rewards for climbing to the top of the heap. Both candidates have known decades of unaccountable power, to do as they pleased for the good of others or for themselves. If we can just choose the right people with the right power, they can make things happen!
Why are we so confident in their abilities? Why do we double-down on corruption and perversity believing that good will result? The reason is society has taught us that confidence in man is the only option we have. Psychology has taught us that good self-esteem, to be confident in ourselves, will lead to emotional health. Sociology has taught us that man guides his own steps and that if religion is at all necessary, it should be a privatized, personal warm feeling. Science has taught us that our existence is random purposelessness. We pull ourselves us by our own bootstraps because that is all there is. Government has taught us that we need have no regard for God, that a secular authority is all that is needed. Law has taught us that good is negotiable and morals are pragmatic. Man decides what is best in any given circumstance.
But what if it is not in man to direct his steps? What if there is a curse, as Jeremiah indicates, on all -individually or corporately- who trust in man? If I am not supposed to trust in my own resources because "it is not in man to direct his steps," then a country, with all of its intellectual elite, will not discover the best way forward either.
Why are we so confident in men? Because we have been taught that there are no other choices. We have been taught that God does not exist and that ideas concerning morality, ethics, are not sourced in God but in the pragmatic whims of the powerful and influential. We, individually and corporately, have been taught that trust in God is not an option. So we trust in man. We breed leaders who are corrupt and perverse and their influence becomes normalized. It is the way man is.
If we cannot recover the individual and national ability to trust in God, this great experiment in freedom and representative democracy is lost. Corruption and perversity are our future and righteousness will go into hiding. Would you agree?
Why are we so confident in their abilities? Why do we double-down on corruption and perversity believing that good will result? The reason is society has taught us that confidence in man is the only option we have. Psychology has taught us that good self-esteem, to be confident in ourselves, will lead to emotional health. Sociology has taught us that man guides his own steps and that if religion is at all necessary, it should be a privatized, personal warm feeling. Science has taught us that our existence is random purposelessness. We pull ourselves us by our own bootstraps because that is all there is. Government has taught us that we need have no regard for God, that a secular authority is all that is needed. Law has taught us that good is negotiable and morals are pragmatic. Man decides what is best in any given circumstance.
But what if it is not in man to direct his steps? What if there is a curse, as Jeremiah indicates, on all -individually or corporately- who trust in man? If I am not supposed to trust in my own resources because "it is not in man to direct his steps," then a country, with all of its intellectual elite, will not discover the best way forward either.
Why are we so confident in men? Because we have been taught that there are no other choices. We have been taught that God does not exist and that ideas concerning morality, ethics, are not sourced in God but in the pragmatic whims of the powerful and influential. We, individually and corporately, have been taught that trust in God is not an option. So we trust in man. We breed leaders who are corrupt and perverse and their influence becomes normalized. It is the way man is.
If we cannot recover the individual and national ability to trust in God, this great experiment in freedom and representative democracy is lost. Corruption and perversity are our future and righteousness will go into hiding. Would you agree?
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