- Last month, I spent 5 days in Maui, Hawaii. I started this blog while sitting on a beach in Kihei watching the waves roll in. There was a bit of rain making the water shimmer with light and appear iridescent. While the others snorkeled, I was all set to work on client projects, fulfilling a few promises, even though it was a vacation.
But, the beauty was staggering and sent me on rabbit trails of thought.
My life has been defined by freedoms.
I live in the United States.
I am free to worship a God I love.
I can choose education
I have free expression
I can pursue commerce
I can pursue dreams
I can pursue.
Today I began BSF, Bible Study Fellowship. I sat in a group of 15 women, mostly strangers. There were two women from Korea, one from China and one from Romania. One of the women expressed what a privilege it was to be in the United States and to be able to freely worship and to openly express our faith and beliefs. Growing up in a communist country, she knew what it was to not have these freedoms.
Have you thought about that? Do you think about that?
Every day when you awake, do you give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy?
I don’t.
I should.
I will.
We are seeing so much ugliness in the world. We are experiencing daily discord. Both sides of the fence are ugly … any fence – just choose. I read statements or articles Christians write and I cringe. I read statements or articles non-Christians write, and I cringe. The left – I cringe. The right – I cringe.
You can’t believe social media.
You can’t believe politicians.
You can’t believe blogs, or articles, or commentary.
You can’t believe the media, the news, the reports.
Any of you who know me, know I grew up in the New Age (inclusive of Metaphysics, Buddhism, Crystals, Psychics, Astrology, etc.) God was there too though in a confined and limited view. There was within the New Age a certain amount of “truth” though misguided and misdirected. At 42, I began my walk with the Lord. I discovered real truth. And, since then truth has been continuously unveiled. I was once asked by a stranger at a dinner, why I followed Jesus. It was that simple – why? My answer resulted in a two-hour conversation. But my answer was also pretty simple: Jesus made me a better person, a much better person. The eternal life thing is also a huge plus.
My world has become basically black and white. Much of the New Age sits in a haze of gray with some psychedelic overtones. But today, black and white. It is supported by scripture or it isn’t. It is part of God’s Word or it isn’t. That’s it.
There are a lot of untruths in the world. I believe we should be cautious of the untruths. Being in the “other”, non-Christian, non-believing world for so long, I saw a lot. I saw things you would never believe. I saw good. I saw evil. I witnessed self-proclaimed prophets, healers, snake oil and persuasive teachings. But truth. No. Not so much.
Today, as I watch the world, I tend to lean on skepticism. There are many teachings, writings, events and programs emerging that contain a degree of truth but gray areas that sit outside of scripture. Enough truth to capture our interest. Enough outside scripture to be dangerous.
I find it difficult to discern where to speak up and where to remain silent. In BSF, we are spending the next year studying Romans – Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome. Romans is about hearing God’s truth in our time and place in history. We live in a skeptical, rapidly changing and currently angry society.
I pray that we all hear God’s truth
I pray that as false and questionable teachings appear that we can be cautious and discerning
I pray that I am prompted when to speak and when to remain silent
I pray we can all be led to know what to believe and what to discard
I pray.
