We are so inundated with news and media 'stuff' that we either get overwhelmed, desensitized, or enamored with the goings on in our world; here is a sampling of things from the news...
No comments are really required -- however, should anyone think that we (mankind) are just getting better and better...
Child-Killers
Who needs God?
The 'Arts'?
Gender-Bending
And this is just a perusal of the recent 'news'...
Since I have been out of circulation for a while, I guess I am just shocked by the news that I have been reading about! How true is Paul's (God's) assessment of mankind!
Romans 1:16ff -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
And should you think that I am placing myself above all of this, I fit right in with the rest of humanity! Truly the need for a Savior is obvious. Paul recognized this in his struggles with his fallen nature:
Romans 7:18-25a -- For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
It is truly by grace ALONE through faith ALONE that we are saved, we could not bring anything to the table, and if we believe that we somehow need to 'contribute' we simply do not understand the nature of man, or the grace of God! And there is nothing we bring to the table to 'keep' us saved! Even Paul realized this as he stated in the Romans 7 passage quoted above.
Man is fallen and only a perfect Savior is capable of bringing salvation -- anything else is simply filthy rags....
Stuart Smalley is wrong -- remember his tag line? I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me! Sorry Stu -- none are good enough, save one...
3 comments:
Ray, I notice that you are reading Marva Dawn's book. I read that a few years ago. It was one of the books that really got me thinking the most. She's a very good writer.
Kim! So nice to hear from you... We took good care of your hubby whilst he was down here... :-)
Anyway, yes, I am enjoying her book -- she is very shar, and her observations are great. I am also reading a book not on the list -- Dorothy Sayers - Letters to a Diminished Church, which I am finding to be quite a good read as well...
Not shar -- I meant SHARP!
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