The Devotional

Papa J's rules for Livin #170

Do you find it strange, like I do, that when you know the local authority is corrupt and a law is breached; their judgment of our action seems justified. Proverbs 16:10-12

The world around us does not have a right standard to live by. Oh, there is the Constitution, but have you noticed how it is always under the attack of people who claim that the Constitution is in need of repair. Yes, we do have a pillar of how to live free, how to have liberty, how to experience justice and how to pursue peace within the nation and around the our borders. This pillar of righteousness and justice though is not a stand alone pillar that operates in a vacuum. In the early sixties our schools fell to secular humanism. Prayer and the Bible were told to take a sabbatical from the everyday influence it had in our public schools. Then, as our young people were molded into this influence and became adults we took another step. The separation of church and state. More and more people are being educated with curricula that is full of secular achievement. So some might ask, “what does secular mean”? The Webster Dictionary defines the word in this manner. “Not religious, not connected to the church.” The word secularize, takes the thought one step further; “to change from religious to civil control” After swooning our nation away from the pillar of Creation, the pillar of Marriage, the pillar of Family and the Pillar on Nationalism, we have become a nation without THE KING. JUDGES 21:25. I would conclude that this “Post Modern Secularist” condition is an evil that wears the same clothing of a religion that is rapidly gaining control of our schools, our government and our freedom. God is not willing that any of these so called religious or non-religious (view) perish. But God is also unwilling that we should give up those pillars that protect and support the pillar of the Constitution of the United States of America.

1 Corinthians 8

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Now we may be thinking. What has all of the above have to do with this chapter in First Corinthians? I am glad you are thinking! Idolatry is adultery to God as we just looked at this in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and if you do a word search in the Old Testament on the two words you will see that God alone is to be worshiped, thus those who worship idols are committing adultery.

When we say that to be secularist or religious positions can be tolerated we are actually agreeing with these positions of idolatry and God is not please. As believers in Jesus Christ we should not be knowingly ignorant of our responsibility to offend the conscience of people, that would include our own conscience. In other words we must be kind and tenderhearted. Philippians 2:15 and Matthew 5:15-16.

Then, of course if a person will be led to Christ by our desire to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must be further willing to be led by the Spirit and not offend these weak babes in Christ by actions that cause them to stumble. Yes we have liberty, but for the sake of Christ and offending the conscience of others, we must be willing to accept those cultural obstacles that always seem to be there. God will direct the path for each of us to take, even when the path is obscure with stumbling blocks. Proverbs 16:9.