<\/p>\n
I have responded this way many times when what I expressed didn\u2019t come out right, or there were additional consequences to my words or actions which I had never considered.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve all done it.<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever read a \u201cspoken text\u201d from a friend who was sent without their double-checking it and it made you begin to question their sanity or Christianity because of the words that ended up being sent?! \u00a0 I\u2019ve been on both ends of those funny kind of moments. \u00a0 But of greater concern today than a personal verbal (or written) blunder \u2013 those comments pass and are forgivable \u2013 are the words which are purposely said and written which <\/span>sound<\/span><\/i> good and attractive but have hidden intentions and motives which play out in a negative manner.\u00a0 These are more alarming and should grab our attention and further examination.<\/span><\/p>\n The secular narratives of Western culture today are repeated again and again, and in most cases, the teaching of today\u2019s organized church does not do an adequate job of refuting or undermining these beliefs.\u00a0 Due to this, we see an increasing number of these secular beliefs adopted by Christians because they seem attractive and the biblical truth has not been connected to those humanistic ideas in a clear and compelling way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In his recent book <\/span>How to Reach the West Again<\/span><\/i> (2020), pastor and author Tim Keller tells us that these messages of the world \u201ccome at us dozens of times a day\u2014or even an hour\u2014in ads, tweets, music, stories, opinion pieces, etc.\u201d\u00a0 (p. 39). \u00a0 See if you recognize any of these Keller identifies:<\/span><\/p>\n These are so common! \u00a0 Even if they are not spoken, they are embedded in the messages we see or are the moral in the stories and songs which are most popular. The young people in our churches and even Christians coming to a Christian University such as ours can often adopt these views and not see the contradiction of Biblical truth to those ideas.\u00a0 Paul wrote to the Corinthians who were also being seduced by the cultural messages of their day:<\/span><\/p>\n For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 19:3-5).<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Bible has a true message which is centered on Jesus Christ.\u00a0 <\/span>Identity<\/b> is <\/span>not<\/span> about each person or their desire and choice to be what they want to be.\u00a0 The Bible says that God created man in His own image, to reflect the glory and being of God in him.\u00a0 He created each one as male and female in a complementary way to reflect Him (Genesis 1: 26-27). To reject one\u2019s created sex is to reject God\u2019s creative work which He states is very good (Genesis 1:31) and in His image.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Bible describes man\u2019s fall into sin.\u00a0 Because of this, man struggles with God\u2019s perfect creation.\u00a0 But it does <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> change God\u2019s design and intent.\u00a0 The sinful should not question the perfect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Man, as a sinful being wants his own <\/span>Freedom<\/b>.\u00a0 God\u2019s Word clearly states that freedom to be all that God created us to be is found in living in obedience to God (Romans 6:15-18).\u00a0 We are never truly free without Christ because we are slaves to sin and the evil one.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, your <\/span>Happiness<\/b> is not lasting joy without something or someone to live for more than yourself (2 Corinthians 5:14).\u00a0 A moment of early pleasure can bring years of hardship and regret.\u00a0 So is that really happiness, as many present popular songs promote?<\/span><\/p>\n Morality<\/b> is living according to a standard.\u00a0 If each person chooses his or her own standard, there will constantly be conflicting standards and violations of others\u2019 morality.\u00a0 If our laws were based on this thinking, there would be <\/span>no<\/span> culpability for evil perpetrated on others if it was not against <\/span>your<\/span> personal standards of right and wrong.\u00a0 But evils such as rape, murder, and racism are <\/span>always<\/span> wrong<\/span> no matter the standards or the state of the individual carrying it out.\u00a0 This is because God is righteous and has a standard of truth for each one of us to allow us to have meaningful lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I would agree with Tim Keller that we need to speak a biblical narrative that is counter-cultural and supplies a strong alternative to the predominant messages summarized above.\u00a0 This is not to be done in a condemning or judgmental way, but in a gracious, loving way because we desperately want others to have this life-giving reality and escape the \u201cstrongholds\u201d which the enemy uses to hold mankind captive to him.\u00a0 Life without Christ really is hopeless!\u00a0 Let\u2019s hold out hope and shine light into the darkness.\u00a0 We need to perceive the intentions and motives of false narratives in our world.\u00a0 We can do this by simply asking good questions of others around us.\u00a0 What happens if we play that thinking forward?\u00a0 \u00a0 Where does it lead?\u00a0 How are others impacted by those self-centered ideas?\u00a0 What if there is a master design and plan for each person\u2019s life and real joy comes from discovering this?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We need your prayers for our faculty and staff as we daily teach and talk with students who are the future ministers in our world.\u00a0 Satan would seek to neutralize them by these ideological strongholds.\u00a0 But through your prayers and encouragement, God will win the day and call these students\u2019 hearts and minds to follow Him and learn to hear, and later, be a voice for God\u2019s truth. Will you join us in this battle?\u00a0 Pray for your own church and their efforts to also preach and teach this.<\/span><\/p>\n By His Grace,<\/span><\/p>\n Ken<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have responded this way many times when what I expressed didn\u2019t come out right, or there were additional consequences to my words or actions which I had never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":3,"featured_media":105687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-68374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-presidents-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n