Ben Sasse, Senator from the state of Nebraska emphatically stated this week at the Commencement week for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton MA that ‘we are generally a people of the Book’. He remarked that indeed, the graduates of the Seminary were trained to take the text seriously. As I listen to him, I am reminded of Dr. Albert Mohler’s diagnosis of the postmodern worldview, as one of the symptoms he mentions is the demise of the text.
Most atheists I talk to accuse adherents of religion for the indoctrinating their Children. They suspect and believe that without parents teaching and training their children in godliness, these children would grow up without the knowledge of God. They are both right and wrong. And this is why:
At my local church, we have been doing a study of the book of Daniel, since the beginning of the year. Daniel, a young Jew taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar the great Babylonian King, together with his three friends; Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, find themselves in a foreign land and separated from the land of their ancestry, a land of promise. And they shall dwell in captivity probably for the rest of their lives.
The sweet assurance of God’s superintendence and sovereignty over all affairs of the world is peace to those who trust in Him. The world with all its brokenness can be a source of despair for those whose heart is not rested in the knowledge that God is good, even in my suffering.
There is something so repugnant to the world about a believer holding fast to God in face of calamity and evil. Some see it as utter foolishness and mock, some cannot help but muse within them about the certainty of things unseen, and the ground for a believer’s hope, while others openly express amazement at the endurance and steadfastness of such a man.
Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Luke 23:8
There are people whose excitement for Jesus is only because He can perform miracles. In fact they name their ministries after that. Herod’s gladness was not for Jesus as the treasure, but for the miracle Jesus can do.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1:6
There is a certainty with which the judgement of the wicked is fixed. Those who have found refuge in Christ should be aware of this, lest they fret and are anxious when they see the wicked prosper in their schemes.
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. Psalm 17:15
I am going through the Psalms. Again. Oozing out of these sincere prayers are nuggets and nuggets of treasures of wisdom. I could sleep there. I could hold all my conversations there.
The world has increasingly grown averse to the truth. We run with rumors and scoff at the truth. We hate correction, repulse honest rebuke and loathe any absolute Truth claim that discomforts us in any way. As the Master said, we love darkness and loathe every appearance of light (John 3:19-21).
