Pluralism
From a pluralist’s standpoint, the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way of salvation is intolerant. It assumes the existence of absolute truth, that it may be known, and it delegitimizes all competing religious claims.
Culture is the set of principles, values, behaviours, and beliefs characteristic of a particular group of people. We are all born and immersed in the culture of the world, which is opposite the culture of heaven.
Receiving Christ as your Saviour means you shift from the world’s culture to heaven’s culture. Your aim as a believer is now to learn as much about heaven’s culture as you can and, increasingly, live it out on earth.
From a pluralist’s standpoint, the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way of salvation is intolerant. It assumes the existence of absolute truth, that it may be known, and it delegitimizes all competing religious claims.
To summarize Scripture, the issue is not that possessions are wrong. It’s our attitude toward them. It is the LOVE of money and things that Scripture condemns. Anything we trust in besides God is an idol.
We were created for God and just as fish are in despair out of water so the human soul is in despair when it is outside of fellowship with God. He is the source of true fulfilment and our greatest pleasure in life is to glorify and enjoy Him forever.
The subject of narcissism has intrigued people for centuries, but social scientists now claim that it has become a modern epidemic. It is due to a societal shift from a commitment to the society as a whole to a focus on the individual and oneself.
There is a difference between opinions and fact/truth claims. When someone claims Jesus is not God, that’s an opinion. When Jesus says that He is God, that is a fact/truth claim. And the truth of His statement is based on objective reality.
Secularism is flawed with inconsistency because secularists want the fruits of Christianity but not Christianity. It values the fruit of our Christian roots, but by getting rid of the root, we will eventually lose the fruit. It’s just a matter of time.
Although it sounds like a paradox, the key is learning to balance the reality of today with the hope of tomorrow, making decisions today knowing they will affect your tomorrows and help prepare you for what’s to come.
Waiting on the Lord means we are looking to Him for grace—the desire and power needed in a situation. Sometimes we know the thing to do, but don’t want or desire it. We need to wait on the Lord to supply even the desire to do the right thing.
As citizens of that world to come, our work today—whether in our homes, our cities, or around the world—should be to live out and encourage the ideals of that world to come with every fibre of our beings.
Remember. Just because “everybody’s doing it” doesn’t mean it’s either safe or right. You keep flying high above the crowd. Up there it doesn’t just seem safe and right, it is safe and right.