Jim, I am sure glad you are still posting here. I have always enjoyed your
posts and the others on this site. I hope you will keep it up as the Lord
leads, it's so hard to find any sites now a days that are not just filled
up
with allot of junk to. I hope this site will pick up in participation as
it
was a couple of years ago. I have tried a couple of other sites but,
still
haven't found any that are as enjoyable as this one. If any one knows of
any good ones let me know please.
"Jim" <jim@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1PSdncX8ltdA9mfcRVn-rQ@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> The struggle to appear intelligent in front of our friends...
>
> Being a modern, sophisticated human being, in the midst of a modern,
> sophisticated society, we often struggle to keep up.
>
> But here is a fact you may have missed along the way: If we are void of
a
> living faith in Jesus Christ, then the struggle is actually deeper one,
> because that lack of faith often reflects a failure to think things
through.
>
> Yes, I am serious.
>
> When I was still a young man, I was shocked to learn that the average
> Christian gives a lot more attention and thought to the issues of life
than
> the average unbeliever. You, see, Christians are walking against the
> stream.
>
> One does not "fall into" Christian faith by following the natural flow
of
> our society. And in order to remain true and strong in faith, you will
have
> to endure the criticism of "know-it-all" profs (there are several in
every
> group of teachers in any college). And you will also endure many
> "arguments" and remarks and jokes, etc. from your peers. And then there
is
> "entertainment" on TV, at the cinema, on the radio, in magazines, and so
on.
> But there's more, including the false religious spokesmen in the media
who
> always want your money.
>
> The culture does not encourage genuine faith in God. The pressure is
always
> on for the men, women and young people who choose to follow Jesus
Christ.
>
> If this is the case, then how, you may ask, is the struggle to appear
> intelligent greater for the unbeliever, if the Christian is the one who
must
> examine and re-examine his faith, and his entire view of the world, on a
> regular basis? If the pressure is always on for real Christian
believers,
> wouldn't they have the greater struggle to keep up?
>
> Not at all.
>
> Think about it. Put yourself in the unbeliever's position. You learn
young
> in life that the popular position is not often the right one, the truth.
> So, choosing to hang in with your buddies, or to get good grades, you
opt
to
> go with the flow. Of course, you must keep up with the flow, since it
often
> changes directions.
>
> In your haste to appear more rational than those who admit faith in God,
> more reasonable than any who would profess Christ, you would often zip
right
> past the answers to any real questions you have about life -- without
ever
> hearing or seeing, or being aware that you missed anything.
>
> And so the unbeliever spends his years doing whatever seems to work for
the
> moment, regardless of what may be real or truly right. So only one
choice
> is really made in life, and that is usually at a fairly young age. The
rest
> is easy cruising, as far as mental effort is concerned. As long as the
> unbeliever goes along with the flow, what is there to ever awaken him
from
> his trance, from any of his dreaming?
>
> One might picture it this way: There goes the unbeliever, riding
swiftly
> over green hills on a wild sparrow, automatically turning from every
bright
> sparkle and every muted sound that might awaken him from sleep. He's
afraid
> to rise from that deep sleep, afraid that life might meet with him face
to
> face. To awaken, after all, means the loss of all he has built up so
far.
> And so he flies swiftly away, on and on, forever.
>
> Intelligence is a good thing.
>
> So what about the questions I have? Is it wrong for me to look for all
the
> answers? To God, as we can see in the Scriptures, every honest question
is
> a valid question. There is no question too hard for God to answer. But
we
> must be willing to ask God, and listen to Him, if we want Him to guide
us
> into all truth.
>
> It's a good and proper thing to use one's mind to the fullest capacity.
> It's always a good thing to search for the right answers, and to want
> evidences.
>
> But we need to understand that not every truth is going to be what we
want
> it to be -- and not every right answer will fit into our neatly packaged
> ideas, our preconceived notions of how the universe is supposed to work.
> When we are faced with difficult decisions, such as hanging in with our
> friends or doing the right things, we must be willing to choose truth
and
> personal honesty over popularity.
>
> Sometimes the greatest truths of all turn out to be the very things
we've
> already rejected as impossible or too unreasonable. Sometimes we may
find
> that we have actually battled against truth itself in our campaigns to
> improve the world.
>
> The imagination can be tricky.
>
> The universe speaks of God and reveals many things about His character
and
> divine nature. But if we walk with our eyes closed to the truth, we are
> able to pretend for a long time that no such "absolute" truth really
exists.
> Refusing to hear God's Spirit that calls after us, we're sometimes able
to
> go through a very long life, always running from any and every evidence
that
> might prove us wrong.
>
> Holding our hands over our ears, we can pretend that we never heard
> anything. But the truth remains. It is unshaken by our lack of
attention
> to detail or by our lack of interest.
>
> The Holy Bible gives us an accurate and faithful picture of both
humanity
> and God.
>
> There really is a path to genuine liberty for all. There is a way, a
truth,
> and a life. That truth is Jesus Christ, the Lord who actually loves us,
and
> who is willing and ready to help us, and to rescue us, and to enable us
to
> find the real meaning and purpose to life.
>
> So what about that the human struggle to appear intelligent?
>
> There is no struggle for a giant to appear as a giant. There is no
struggle
> for a pig to look and sound and behave as a pig. There is no struggle
for
a
> rose to feel and smell just like a rose.
>
> The real proof of intelligence is in the ability to choose wisely when
> confronted with several options. No one is wiser than the person who
> responds in faith to God's grace which leads us to trust in Jesus
Christ.
> What is wiser than believing in the God who is above all things, and at
work
> in all things to do good for those who trust in Him?
>
> The real Christian, then, possesses real intelligence. It is an
> intelligence that is proven (tested) by fire. It's an intelligence well
> exercised and active. For such a person there is no more need to
pretend
or
> to keep up appearances. The Christian believer has the real thing.
>
> What about you? Are you still going with the flow? Or are you pressing
> hard after the truth, regardless of the difficulties and the cost?
>
> The Bible says:
>
> "We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under
the
> power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has
> given us understanding so that we may know him who is true. And we are
in
> him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and
eternal
> life." (1 John 5:19,20) Amen & amen.
>
> Jim
>
>
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