In Part 1, I asked the question: What is the mark of the beast? or What is the meaning of ‘the mark of the beast’? To answer that question rightly, I need to work through at least five subjects: the dragon the beasts the image of the beast the worship
How then do we overcome this inertia, what we often say to ourselves: ‘I’m too tired,’ or ‘I’m just exhausted.’ We’ve all been there and no amount of guilt-tripping, motivational speeches, or rah-rah Christianity can long deliver us from our chronic fatigue. It will take something more fundamental. I hope to scratch that surface here. Here then are five keys to ensure we won’t fritter away our lives — five keys to overcome the inertia we all feel.
We are not owners but stewards, managers of God’s unlimited wealth. If we let that sink in, if we truly believe that, we will become the most . . .
Acquiescence to wearing a mask is submission to lying authority and may weaken our ability to be faithful to God.
When time is abstracted into hours, minutes and seconds, time becomes uniform, commodified and standardized so as to be used. So life becomes and is reduced to the use of time’s standardized commodities. One minute is treated like any other. The problem is that hours, minutes and seconds are not real; they are artificial constructs, and they will ultimately lead to an artificially-constructed life.
I count at least four good reasons not to take the vaccine. But only the fourth and final reason is truly a ‘bridge too far.’ The first three reasons are good enough to justify refusal, but if I’m right, only the fourth makes it absolutely untouchable, unthinkable.
“All warfare is based on deception.” — Sun Tzu, military general, The Art of War
“But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” — John 2:24–25
Here’s a thought experiment: . . .
How can we actively participate in God’s instruction of worship? The Lord gave Israel just such an instructional roadmap in the proclamation of the Ten Commandments, especially the first four commandments which comprise the first tablet concerning our walk with God. Let’s take these one by one and ask the question: How does this commandment teach us to worship?
Lie: Worship is
an experience of God’s presence.
Truth: Worship is
a response to God that results in the arrangement of our lives around God.
I can’t think of any more important subject to get right
than the subject of worship. As Christians we all would agree that worshiping
God – whatever it is – is supremely important. And most would also agree that
getting this right is the one prerequisite to getting most everything else right. But the real disagreement
enters around what worship fundamentally is.
Too often we assume that we know this but the truth is that we’re confused.
Worship is such a broad and profound subject that there are simply too many
ways to get this wrong or woefully incomplete. Until we can better understand
the nature of worship it won’t really matter to talk about how we worship, which is precisely where most of the disagreement
normally occurs.
Lie: My life is meaningless
Truth: Your life is full of meaning and purpose.
This lie is told (most often subliminally) in different ways with different words, but all the ways and words are equally devastating:
Life is meaningless
What’s the use?
It’s just not worth it
What difference does it make?
I have no purpose
I’m bored
I don’t know what to do.
I give up
What’s the point of it all? or simply: ‘why . . Why . . WHY?!’
Nearly all of us struggle to some degree with this lie and no one is exempt from the assault. Some try to . . .
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