WisconsinChristianNews.com ...If That’s What You Believe (Continued from Page 5) Volume 25, Issue 5
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Let me provide an example. If I had jokingly told my kids when they were small, “Guess what! Today I ordered us an in-ground heated swimming pool. They’ll be coming to start work on it next week!” — as young children, they might have believed me. “Really?! Wow, Dad, is it a big one? When will it be done?” Not knowing any bet- ter, they would hardly be able to contain their excitement. They could see themselves jumping in right then. My wife, on the other hand, would know I was only joking. Imag- ine. The kids believed it. My wife did not. So, because my kids believed it, does that mean that for them, there’s a brand new, in-ground heated swimming pool in our back- yard for them to play in, and because my wife didn’t believe me, for her there is no pool? “That’s a ridiculous exam- ple,” you say. Really? But the kids believed it. They should have a pool, because whatever you believe is fine, as long as you’re a good person, you will get what you believe. Well, bottom line is, we always had lots of grass in our backyard, but there was never a pool. Sorry kids. Let me give you another ex- ample...many years ago, I changed my cell phone num- ber. I tried to inform as many people as I could that the number had changed, but there were still a lot of people who believed my old number was still my number. These folks tried to call me but got someone else. Why would that happen? They believed they had the right number. They even dialed it twice to be sure. Why didn’t they get ahold of me? The keys on a keyboard are laid out in a particular pat- tern, one that we learn and memorize when we learned to type. As long as we begin typ- ing a letter, article or message with our fingers in the proper place on “home row,” what we type will make sense. But if we deviate by moving our fin- gers over by just one key, we can type away forever, but all we’ll end up with is gibberish. Likewise, if I go to play my guitar and place my fingers on the fretboard in such a way as to form a proper chord, what I attempt to play will sound right. But if just one finger is in the wrong position, on the wrong fret or the wrong string, everyone will immediately know there is such a thing as absolute truth — and the ab- solute opposite.
isn’t true. If you believe some- thing that isn’t true, then it isn’t true regardless of how much belief you may have. Some have said, “It’s not what you believe, but Who you be- lieve.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6). That may sound intolerant, but in fact, it is just simply true. Satan is our enemy. He plots day and night against us. The last thing he wants is for us to know the truth. Unlike my joke about a swimming pool or making a mistake with a phone number, a keyboard or a guitar, Satan’s lies are de- signed to be deadly. Many can see the folly of fol- lowing the violent religion of Islam, yet many more believe it. We can look back to 1997 and remember in sadness and amazement at the “Heaven’s Gate” cult. Most people realize it was ridiculous to think a spaceship was cloaked in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet, yet 39 people believed it so strongly, they committed sui- cide to meet that spaceship. We remember in horror the sickening images in the news in 1978 when 900 people be- lieved so strongly in Pastor Jim Jones that they followed him to their deaths in the jun- gles of Guyana. Remember. Remember these things before you have the at- titude of, “That’s fine if that’s what you believe.” It’s not fine. Believing lies can kill you. And believe it or not, some people knowingly choose to believe lies. 2 Thessalonians 2, “...and with all wicked de- ception for those who are per- ishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be con- demned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Satan is the father of lies. Perhaps one of his biggest is the lie that says we’re more compassionate if we’re more tolerant of other views, even if they’re in error. In reality, we’re not more compassion- ate, just more cowardly. It takes courage to share your faith. More courage than many people can muster. In our desire to not offend any- one, many Christians stand idly by as our friends and loved ones and acquaintances go happily through life, ignor- ing God and believing all is well. Parents often think it’s more “loving” to be non-judg- mental, accepting and affirm- ing when their children fall
victim to the “woke mind virus” and declare they’re now “homosexual” or “trans- gender.” Or when they turn away from God and accept some weird “new age” form of false spirituality. But Jesus said, “No one comes to the Fa- ther but by Me.” We could have told them the truth in love, but instead, we wanted them to like us. It was more “tolerant” and “affirming” to let them believe whatever they believed and so many “love” them straight to hell. But with so many religions in the world, how do we know that Christianity is the one true way to God? We need more than a trite, “God said it, I believe it, that set- tles it” answer. Getting back to a point I made earlier, many people make broad sweeping assumptions about what the Bible says without ever reading it. These as- sumptions may come from vague childhood memories of a Sunday School class, things they inferred from Christians they’ve known in the past, ideas presented in a movie somewhere, or any number of other experiences that together formed their view of Christianity. But they’ve never really opened the Bible to read God’s Words for themselves. This is dangerous. Because without a solid Bible educa- tion, you develop a worldview based on assumptions, with no real facts. It’s a founda- tion for life built on igno- rance. In such a case, it’s easy to be deceived. And this deception has eternal conse- quences. In our modern world, it’s even easier to take the broad, easy path of not bothering to find out the truth, not even caring about spiritual, eternal things. And today, even if you go to church, you can’t rely on that alone for your Christian education. There are many deceivers, many compromis- ers — and Satan’s lies have infiltrated most modern American churches now. The only way to discover the truth is to read and study the Bible for yourself. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything. And don’t assume you know the Bible if you’ve never — or rarely — opened one. There are many good re- sources available to aid your study and help strengthen your walk with the Lord, but there is no substitute for the Book He wrote Himself — and no other place to begin. Many who consider them- selves “spiritual” will revere “ancient” books of wisdom of all kinds, yet despise and dismiss the most ancient of
Books, the most reliable of Books, the most sacred and Holy of Books, with the most truth of any Book ever writ- ten. Open God’s Word. Study it. It’s the history of the world, it’s the future of all life, and it contains the key to the King-
dom of God. In this world of deception and lies, it’s the one thing we really can believe. Email: Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com Phone: (715) 486-8066
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