Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Since you
have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw
off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by
lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and
attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous
and holy. Ephesians 4:21-24(NLT)
Life that is
lived without bedrock convictions is not life, but simply survival. A cork can float on the roughest sea, its
direction and destination will not come from within, but without.
Values are
part of bedrock convictions. Values are
the inner
core of who we are. A bedrock
conviction is a value that has been molded and shaped by the belief we hold
about that value. In short, it is what
we are, coupled with what we believe about what we are.
If I hold a
value about my health, a bedrock conviction would be a combination of the value
of health, and the knowledge that eating balanced meals (not including
okra) will facilitate good health. If I
do not eat right, my conviction is not bedrock, or absolute, it is only
relative. Actually, when our value and
knowledge are violated by our actions that do not match up, it is this square
peg in that round hole that
causes the guilt we feel.
I never have guilt when I eat
squash or salad. They inexplicably
match-up with values held about promoting good health. But when I eat a 1/2
pound box of chocolate cherries, whoa…what a conflict of values and actions!
Most people
do not like bedrock convictions. It is a
whole lot easier (in the short run) to operate on your feelings (like the cork
on the ocean). When you have bedrock
convictions, they will force you to make tough decisions. Like the church usher who was standing near
the last row of pews, talking to the man who, during the sermon, was seated
with his drink in hand, and his portable T.V. tuned to the Brave's game, He
said: Ralph, ol’ buddy, sooner or later
you are gonna have to make some tough choices.
What is a Christian value? It is a response to this life based on the
character of Jesus Christ. It is a
standard taken from the position of the absolute authority of the Word of God. It is what makes us Jesus people.
I have been
asked before: Why all the fuss, ranting and
raving about Christian values? Why can't
you Christians just do your own thing, and leave everybody else alone. My values are not your values. I will tell you why the fuss. The world cannot survive on anything less
than the values of Christ. That is the
way God designed it. Hitler thought his
values were best, and it cost 12 million people their lives. Under Stalin it was 30 million. Oppressive Red China's total is still
climbing.
In America,
Mother's Day loses some of its luster when we remember the holocaust of the
unborn millions. This is not Christian
values at work. This is humanism, which
says: I do my thing, you do yours; if
we agree, OK; if not, stay out of my way. Communism could not survive
humanism, and neither can America survive, much less return to greatness.
The greatness
of our country is not in its' resources or economy. Those are the by-products of the blessing of
God, which comes from serving and following Jesus Christ - Christian values!
The apostle
Paul shared Christian values with a church that needed a new compass – a Christian
direction. Over the next few days we
will discuss the bedrock convictions that reflect the values Christians should
hold.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a
blessed day!
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