And you have not His Word abiding in you; for Whom He has sent, Him you believe not.
Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; it is they which testify of Me. And yet you will not come to Me, that you might have life. – John 5:38-40
There are cultures where reality can get pretty twisted, where they call good evil and evil good – I guess they do that in Washington, D. C., as well as in Hollywood these days. Yet all around the world there are people in whom the Word abides regardless of their upbringing or their education, or even their religion. A person has to have the Word abiding in them in order to respond to God at all.
Recently someone asked me if I believed in “once-saved-always-saved” which is a view sort of like Calvinism -- or Calvin-and-Hobbes-ism, or maybe Calvin-Ball-ism. My answer is, no – if the questioner means that by following some ritual or formula, however simple or complex, a person is somehow “saved”. That has always sounded too much like magic – recite the spell, uh, I mean, prayer and suddenly your shoes turn white and you’re Pat Boone. You walk out of church singing, “I got white shoes. I got Great. White. Shoes. I got white shoes.”
(Don’t worry. It’s an inside joke.)
I do believe, on the other hand, that once a person has a genuine encounter with God, in whatever form they receive, that person will never be able to get away. I haven’t been able to, and I’ve been trying for years. I mean, you can’t so much as get on the internet to look for graphic midget imagery without running across somebody talking about “One Cosmos Under God” or whatever. What’s the world coming to?
The more important question, then, is how does one have such an encounter? Obviously osmosis won’t get it. Jesus was walking around teaching, healing the sick, and raising the dead. People witnessed these things and did not believe Jesus. They sat down and ate bagels with the Lord Himself, got up and went away completely unchanged – except for being hardened in their rejection of Him.
Here Jesus pinpoints the problem. Unless a person has the truth in them, they will not accept it when they hear it. To embrace falsehood is to reject truth. If we decide to live the lie, to make ourselves at home in the deception, then the Word – which is truth – cannot abide in us. When we are offered life, we look at it like chopped liver and fail to recognize the inestimable value of it. We turn away.
The people to whom Jesus spoke knew the Scriptures by heart. They thought somehow this knowledge would lead them into a kind of immortality. People are no different today. They seek in science, technology, politics, art, and religion, and find only lies – not because there is no truth where they are seeking but because there is no truth in their hearts. The truth is all around them, all but shouted at them. Yet they do not hear.
It rings no bell. It does not resonate. There is no answering harmonious hum in the soul. It finds nothing to attach to. It does go in one ear and out the other. Jesus says later on in John, that the devil is coming but “he has nothing in Me.” The lie could not cling to the Lord for He had the Word fully abiding in Him – He is the Word. He is nothing but the Truth (So, help me, God). With too many of us, it is the other way around – Christ comes and He cannot take hold of us because He has nothing in us.
It sounds like a catch-22 – and genuinely Calvinistic – that we cannot respond to truth without having the truth abiding in us. There would seem to be nothing we can do.
Nothing? Hey, God can work with that.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
* See The World Famous Blog of JWM for information on the related "Jesus Willies".
16 comments:
Toiletbowl said: Don't believe one optimistic word from any public figure about the economy or humanity in general. They are part of the problem. Rule # 1: Don't believe any word from anyone named Anonymous.
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White shoes - and before Memorial Day. ;-)
I tend to adhere to the theory that it's the tiny doubts* that drive us forward to search out more Truth. It's the old "halving the distance" argument, never quite getting there while at the same time knowing the goal is Real. And that's a good thing.
*in terms of questioning or hesitation, not distrust.
Note to the Anonymous poster whose (34 pages in 12 point) manifesto was removed:
1) I reckon ya better sit yer bad self down and watch that there movie "A River Runs Through It" -- it's got that there Brad Pitt in it. An' ya need tuh pay real close attention when ol' Tom Skerrit is a'tellin' the boys the finer points a'writin'.
In fact ya might want tuh add this tuh yer collection a' tats -- like maybe on the back a' yer hand: "TOO MANY WORDS".
2) A'fore ya do that though, I'd say ya need to get on down tuh th' free clinic an' have yer lithium levels checked on account'a I'm pretty shore yer on th' upside a' yer Bi-Polar condition.
3) Read Bastiat.
4) If ya borrie money tuh make money yer smart. If ya borrie money tuh spend money yer dumb.
4-b) If yer a'gettin' yer financial ad-vise from Oprah and Dr. Phil you cain't even make dumb.
5) It don't take but one damn fool tuh spoil it fer ever'body.
That's an interesting thought, Robin. I'm sure you've met the church folks who have all the answers. (I knew one really-really well.)
Sometimes what you need is not the right answer but the wrong question.
and what about the dozen or so accurate predictions made so far? Was that just dumb luck on my part? Did you make any of them Slim? What about you Robin? Were either of you amoung the handfull worldwide to predict this economic crisis back in '05'? Didn't think so. Nice come-backs though. I've only heard the references to 'meds' and my 'anonymous' SN a dozen times or so. The 'backwoods' angle has been played by one of my previous critics as well. Only once though. Care to debate the issue or would you rather squabble over my attitude? OK then. THATS WHAT I THOUGHT. Now, get out of my face. I have work to do.
Anon, I respect your opinions, and I actually read a great deal of your post offline. It's just not something that everybody is going to want to slog through. You obviously are a thoughtful person.
If you want to set up a blog under a screen name, as I do, you can do that and remain fully anonymous. Post your thoughts there, and post a link here. I will be happy to leave that up.
Cool, you've already read Bastiat. Just blew by Frugal Friday post though.
I've seen the anoner's skreed on some other blogs before. This here one "was" the LOOOOOOng version.
Big Game player that one is. Came on as the
RESCUER>>>
-I’M ONLY TRYING TO HELP
-WHAT WOULD YOU DO W/O ME?
-THEY’LL BE GLAD THEY KNEW ME
Then flipped into PERSECUTOR.
wv sez: "hedne" won't be back.
He looks like the economic version of Gunkid. They are kind of sad. I'd feel sorry for them if they weren't so rude.
Its not a game QP. You just don't have any clue what it feels like to be so sure about something so important that so many people seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge. Consider this: You're on a sinking ship with 100 other people. There are no life boats. You try to warn the others. You point right to the hole in the boat. Water is gushing through. But for some reason, they don't see it or they don't care. The hole is way too big for one person to repair. You don't want anyone to die. Still, they don't see it and they won't help you. They think you're crazy. Time is running out. What do you do?
My prayer is that I never gave anyone the 'J Willies', but alas, I'm pretty sure I did.
There is a fine line between a gentle certainty and a smug triumphalism. Easy to cross and so hard to repair the damage.
Dear Anonymous,
I think I'd do what Mushroom suggested and get my own blog, then supply others with the link.
Yes, Sal, you're right. I've done damage to others myself exactly that way. In my mind, your comment is related to my new post and the phrase "peculiar people".
Another website. Another short debate. Little or no progress as usual. I do appreciate the respectful words Mushroom. You too Sal. But getting my own blog and hoping that others will read it just won't do. By the way. I do have to make a correction. One of Oprah's charities (Angel Networks) is 'three star' (out of four) rated by charitynavigator.org. The scale is peanuts when you consider her incredible 9 figure salary, 2.7 BN net worth, and the huge worldwide (donor) fan base. But the efficiency was good as of '07'. Thats it. MJFPRF and Angel Networks are 'top' and 'three star' rated respectfully. Every other celebrity foundation is rated poorly, fair, or not rated at all. That is really sad when you consider how many there are. Just about every big name celebrity on the planet has one or more. Even Tyra Banks. Her Foundation spends less than 1/2 of its funding directly on 'good will' programs. The vast majority of celebrity foundations are crap.
You know, Anon, we all agree with you that there is a hole in the boat as you say. Greed is a spiritual problem. It stems from a failure to understand our purpose in the world. Ultimately I believe God is in control, and He will be able to work through the coming crisis to advance the Kingdom.
I don't recall seeing George Soros mentioned in your comment, though you did mention Buffett. Soros is behind much of the current crisis and is making money off of it. Much of Obama's funding came from Soros. And I suspect that more than we know was filtered through the internet and ACORN.
I really think you should set up a blog. I'll put you in my sidebar -- obviously I don't get much traffic -- 20 or 30 hits a day, but some of it might come your way. What could it hurt? All you need is a bogus email in Yahoo or some place, which you probably already have.
Also, if you want to really remain anonymous, quit using your IE and download Firefox, and the FoxyProxy add-on.
Soros is a disgusting billionaire hypocrite pig. I will add his name to the rant. I will also look into firefox. I've never tried it. Thanks for the advice.
5.19.09
The NBC pundits are dead wrong again. This is not the bottom of the recession. Its not the beginning of a true recovery. Its only the beginning of that short and shallow revival. There will be some positive signs over the next year or so. But they will not lead to a true recovery. Our leaders may claim to end the recession in 2010, but that claim will be made on the short and shallow revival. It absolutely will not last. I stand by my predictions made earlier this year. Obama's efforts are revolutionary but they are too little too late. He will have no choice but to acknowledge a severe US depression by the end of his first term or shortly thereafter. Every major economy in the world will be in depression by 2015.
The NBC pundits (Chatzky and Wong) are bound and determined (paid) to plug their coorporate sponsors and perpetuate the 'multiple credit card' lifestyle. Their claim is that you need more than one to build reasonable credit, finance a home, and be relatively secure financially. THAT IS ANOTHER FLAT-OUT LIE. The industry is simply too corrupt and predatory to deal with. It has been for at least 20 years. The use of 'multiple credit cards' is simply too risky, addictive, complicated (check that fine print), and ultimately expensive. In the vast, overwhelming majority of cases, the 'multiple credit card' user has ended up further in debt year after year after year. Their credit was built to some extent on a temporary basis and their ability to repay loans was diminished gradually right along with their bottom line. They ended up paying as much or more in finance charges as they did on principal. That is OBSCENE. Now, their net worth is way down. Their credit is f$#@#$. Their ability to get out of debt f#$&@#. That 'credit' didn't get them anything but F#$#@#. Still, those NBC pundits (liars) have the nerve to perpetuate that 'multiple credit card' lifestyle as if it were ever legit or necessary to begin with. It wasn't. Until two years ago, one could have built reasonable credit with a stable income, a checking account, a savings account, one secured credit card, one loan for a used car, one loan for a new car, and a reasonable downpayment. Until recently, that was enough credit to get a first home loan. Now, the economic boom is OVER. The majority are F#$&@#. Its only going to get worse. A LOT WORSE. The window for ordinary (decent) people to stake their rightful claim is closing fast. They better get out of debt and well prepared for the comming US/global depression. It will be catastrophic. Under these circumstances, it is downright reckless to promote more use of credit cards. Only a calculated PIG with an ulterior motive would have the nerve. The 'multiple credit card' lifestyle wasn't the only cause of this economic crisis but it was a major factor. Another vehicle to transfer wealth from poor to rich. Which again, is the single greatest underlying cause. IT WILL BE OUR DOWNFALL.
Blogspot now has a character limit. That leaves me no choice. I will create a dozen anonymous blogs of my own and plug them all over the web.
Good deal, Anon. And I agree that this is purely a false recovery. I expect the market to rebound a little more simply on the basis of inflationary pressure. By printing a trillion bucks out of thin air, the government -- D's and R's -- have pushed the crisis down the road again, only this time it will not be measured in years but in months. If unemployment rises to ten percent nationwide (it may already be) and the GDP does not show real grow apart from inflation, catastrophic collapse will only be more certain.
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