ACCUSATION

It has been dominating the news.  It has dominated some people's lives.  The thing to remember is the devil accuses but God convicts.  God is NOT the accuser of the brethren, but the hound of heaven will not give you peace when he is on your trail.  What is the difference?

The conviction of God the sense of absolute sorrow and a recognition we are in sin and not doing the right thing.  With conviction comes the strength to change and be conformed to the character of Christ.

The accusation of Satan is intended to destroy you - to increase anomie, hopelessness, and condemnation.  Jesus did not come into he world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved - John 3:17.

Accusations in the news today are rampant - the big issue is separating fact from fiction.  There are literally oceans of false accusations - they are made for the sake of money, politics, or perverse psychological manipulations.

the Bible tells us how to handle an accusation in terms of going to the person to seek to resolve it - then with others, then the church.  For the unbeliever, there is the judicial system.  We are not receive an accusation against a leader except there be two or three witnesses.  Uncorroborated accusations are not legitimate per the Bible.  The 'he said, she said" conundrum should not be the case - if there is no DNA evidence, no contemporaneous complaint, no fresh investigation when memories and evidence are at their best, it is simply unproductive and unfair to make an accusation way down the road.  Many lives have been ruined by accusations which cannot be proven or disproven.  It is almost impossible to prove a negative, especially is the complaint is vague.

I am not saying to overlook a serious offense - we are to overlook the minor ones.  If a major one occurs, it must be reported and dealt with so it will not continue.  Most people who do evil do it repeatedly.  They do not stop at once, especially if not caught.  We want peace and justice, and we want to be very careful before making an accusation, especially one we know is unprovable.

On the other hand, be quick to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Make the changes needed ad ask the Lord to conform you to HIS character through the power of His Holy Spirit.

SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE DIVERSITY?

Everywhere you turn, everywhere you work, the cry is for “diversity”. The idea is that differences enrich life.  After all, God made people different shades and with differing personalities. He made nature and space with a sizzling array of designs, shapes, and colors.  Who can argue that?

However, some time ago, there was a huge move to say there is no absolute truth. That there is no right way. That each man should believe and think and do what is right is his own eyes.  That is chaos.  There is right and wrong. There is a right way and a wrong way to treat women. Sharia is the wrong way. Period.   There is a right way and a wrong way to treat Christ.  The right way is that he is the only eternal Son of God who fully displayed the attributed of the Father in human form here on earth where we live. The wrong way is to dismiss him with the sops that he was a good teacher and a prophet. That really bugs me – If you really believe that, why don’t you do anything he says? Why don’t you believe in hell when he talked so much about it? Why are you not quaking in your boots about his prophecies for the future?

Diversity as practiced puts unbelievers as members of the same church as believers – that cannot be – it happens in institutions, of course, but not in the mysterious Body of Christ. It happens in the workplace – you get people who are in it for themselves and not for the good of the company. Having hard workers and laggards may be diverse but not helpful. There needs to be unity of purpose –not simply having different people. When I was in school, they had five tracks based upon your academic ability. There was no comparison between the work we got in the top tracks vs. the much easier work in the easier ones.  Those who were not as disciplined in their thinking pushed for academic diversity – not a good idea. Those at the bottom got no better while those at the top slipped precipitously into mediocrity.

Diversity in marriage is hailed – I have a diverse marriage, if the shade of one’s skin is the only criterion.  However, I married a Spirit-filled Christian woman which is not diverse from myself.  I have NOTHING in common with a sinner and to marry one is not only against the Bible, it is stupid!  One of us may be more computer-friendly and the other more poetic, and diversities like that are fine, but if two people view Christ, the Bible, and core Christian doctrines differently, they are in for deep heartache.

Oddly enough, the end result of diversity is not really diversity.  Rather it is total uniformity! If you know God you know that it is ANYTHING OR ANYBODY BUT JESUS.   Any deity is fine as long as it is not Jesus.  No one blasphemes any so-called God – they ONLY blaspheme Jesus!  You can believe anything you want about homosexuality as long as you are FOR it and treat it as EQUAL or SUPERIOR to God’s design.  It is insanity.  Look at human bodies – homosexuality is a deep perversion of the obvious intent for our lives. You are FORBIDDEN to say that Jesus is the only way to God, but you can say that Islam is the only way!   You are not to persecute anyone, but CHRISTIANS are not fit to live or have any rights whatsoever!  You can promote ANY religion but the only true one in schools and other public venues! You can promote any person of any ethnicity or color EXCEPT the white male, who is obviously responsible for every single one of the world’s ills!  The blatant racism and bigotry in this movement is extreme.  I believe that is why they love to call everyone a racist – they are deep racists themselves and believe everyone else must be as well!  

The diversity movement has proven itself to be intolerant to its core of anyone who diverges from their cold, atheistic, statist orthodoxy. I oppose it totally – the brainwashing, the stereotyping, the divisiveness, the hypocrisy, the holier-than-thou attitudes.

What I DO embrace is the unity of all blood-washed saints of all shades, nationalities, economic and educational levels, and both genders operating in Biblical fashion according to the plans of God.  That trumps the pagan diversity agenda which is merely a temporary tool towards uniformity of thought against our Lord and against his Christ.

GOD'S WILL

I am stunned at how often people assume that God's will for their life is the same as their own.  Destiny-Oriented and self-empowerment preaching has largely supplanted preaching on the will of God.  The Joel Osteen's of the world - and he is merely the largest of many - preach a self-centered gospel and so many lap it up.  However, it is like a cat lapping up poison milk.  What if Peter had balked when Jesus told him what God;s will was for him in the manner in which he would die? More importantly, what if Jesus on the Mount of Olives in that fateful garden had prayed differently - rather than "not my will but thine be done", "Father, being crucified with criminals is not in my playbook. You will have to find someone else."   So many want Jesus to be their Savior because going to hell is not in their playbook, hut they balk at him being their Lord.  They also balk at submitting everything to him as a wife is to do for her husband, not discerning we are the Bride of Christ.  My people, give yourselves over to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Embrace his will for your life that God may be glorified.  It is the only way to go that is worthy of one who professes to follow Christ.