Since we become slaves of whatever we yield ourselves to, what are the “baals” (or masters) in your life? In what ways might you be serving them instead of God? What promises do these masters make to lure you to their service? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1244).
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:26 NIV).
When
Jesus ministered to mankind some 2000 years ago, his ministry had a
dual thrust. It was positive and encouraging to some and negative
and critical of others. To some he reached out with healing and
compassion, to others he skewered with harsh judgment. I think this
approach is needed today.
The title of yesterday’s blog was “Embarrassing and Humiliating.” Jesus held no punches in embarrassing and humiliating the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. Predictably, they counterattacked with cunning and eventually murder itself for their god made unlimited demands that they avoid the embarrassing and humiliating at all cost, rather they were bound by lust to seek the status and regard of men. In the United States today we have those who lust after status and the regard of men. A peculiar thing is evident here; money is seen as the ultimate cleanser, indeed the very salvation of men. Get lots and lots of money (by whatever means) and the power of that money will carry the day and ensure status, regard, and power. Thus today, we have merchants of death supremely isolated from the misery they bring to millions of individuals and to the larger society. Wealthy, respectable thugs routinely buy political influence; without conscience or shame sacrificing the public good to selfish interests. I pray daily that God will rise up someone to embarrass and humiliate these wolves in sheep’s clothing—to strip off their pretensions and lay bare their cruelty, greed, and abject selfishness.
Unfortunately
government itself has fed the lust for wealth as a source of
salvation. Unbelievably, it has taken upon itself the role of casino
(lotto being the most obvious form) pandering to the desires of
citizens for easy money. Thus government has come in these dark days
to endorse and validate the lurid ethic of greed. We have submerged
beneath a dense haze of pollution the vision of a City on a Hill.
Susan
Boyle - Britains Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 - Saturday 11th April | HD
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