A FEW YEARS AGO I spent some time in a certain so-called “third world” country, well known for its abject poverty. What struck me most forcibly about the culture of that country, however, was not its poverty, nor the gap between the very wealthy and the very poor — I had read up enought on these points that I was not surprised, and I had witnessed similar tragedies elsewhere — but its ubiquitous, endemic corruption.

Here in the West, we are not well placed to wag a finger. Doubtless we have less overt bribery; doubtless we have published prices for many government services that make bribes and kickbacks a little more difficult to institutionalize; doubtless there is still enough Christian heritage that at least on paper we avow that honesty is a good thing, that a man or woman’s word should be his or her bond, that greed is evil — though very often such values are nowadays honored rather more in the breech than in reality. Even so , we are by far the most litigious nation in the world. We produce far more lawyers than engineers (the reverse of Japan). The simplest agreement nowadays must be surrounded by mounds of legalese protecting the participants. A fair bit of this stems from the fact that many individuals and companies will not keep their word, will not try to do the right thing, and will try to rip off the other party if they can get away with it. A lie is embarrassing only if you are caught. Promises and pledges become devices to get what you want, rather than commitments to truth. Solemn marriage vows are discarded on a whim, or dissolved in the heat of lust. And of course, if we easily abandon marriage covenants, business covenants, and personal covenants, it is equally easy to abandon the covenant with God.

Telling the truth and keeping one’s promises in one domain of life spill over into other domains; conversely, infidelity in one arena commonly spills over into other arenas. So, nestled within the Mosaic covenant are these words: “This is what the LORD commands: When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said” (Num. 30:1-2). The rest of the chapter recognizes that such oaths by individuals may not be merely individual matters; there may be spousal or family entailments. So for the right ordering of the culture, God himself sets forth who, under this covenant, is permitted to ratify or set aside a pledge; that pattern says something about headship and responsibility in the family. But the fundamental issue is one of truth-telling and fidelity.

A Guide to the Book of Revelation

11MAY2013

http://reknew.org/2013/05/a-guide-to-the-book-of-revelation/

Revelation 4:8 ESV
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

2 Timothy 3: 1-5 ESV
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

“When people first sinned against God, God responded by pronouncing death (cf. the repetition of “so-and-so lived so many years, then he died” in Genesis 5). All along the Bible’s storyline, God responds to sin with judgment because he is so deeply offended (e.g., the flood). The sin that above all arouses God’s wrath is idolatry, the de-godding of God. “The Lord your God is a jealous God” because he alone is God. Idolatry is vertical; social sins are horizontal. All social evils exist first and foremost because humans de-god God. Sometimes in our efforts to communicate what Christianity is about we focus on the social structure of sin to show that Christianity is socially relevant, but that misses the heart of what sin really is. Although all the social manifestations of sin are horribly ugly and must be dealt with in their time and place, they must be put within the larger framework of idolatry. That is why when Paul preaches to a pagan crowd in Acts 17, he defines the problem in terms of idolatry—anything that dethrones God, that makes humans the center and removes God from the center. In short: the drama that is unpacked by the developing storyline of the Bible puts at the center of the plot the need to be reconciled to God. And that necessarily returns us to the expiation of sin and the propitiation of God.”

Carson, D.A. (2010-03-01). Scandalous (Re: Lit Books) (Kindle Locations 964-974). Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.

“Democracy is medicine not food.”

CS Lewis

It seems that at every front a zombie principle is trying to work itself into the core of our relational lives. All of us are impacted by it. Many are overwhelmed, living their lives in a meaningless daze looking for short-term fixes to their pain. Many more move from experience to experience for satisfaction, wasting their lives and negatively impacting those closest to them while becoming more zombie-like; alive, but dead.

But there is hope. A true way that has been proven throughout generations and is there by grace for us to discover and live. This way brings real relational life, saving us from the zombie culture around. Relational life and freedom is found in God-focused truth and blessing. Grace opens the door to this relational restoration and hope.

The upcoming Sunday message series from Ephesians 5 & 6, Happy Homes: Being Relationally Real in a Zombie World, focuses on God-designed biblical truths that bring heart and life back to the living dead relationships. These truths will protect your lives and families from the ever-increasing, life-robbing (but often unnoticed) values of our self-centered zombie culture.

Join in the discussion at Valley Life on Sunday mornings live or on Ustream, starting April 14, and follow up in mid-week Small Groups. All Sunday messages will be recorded and available on the Valley Life Web Page and on our iTunes Podcasts.

Don’t let the zombie world around you turn you into the living relational dead. Spend the spring discovering how to be Relationally Real in a Zombie World.

http://www.valleylifeyakima.org

“Jesus is the only savior who if you gain him will satisfy you, and if you fail him will forgive you. Your career and your moral performance cannot die for your sins.”

Timothy Keller (2013-01-15). The Insider and the Outcast

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Growing Your Faith