Hodge-podge Religion

Hi Folks,

Here is a word that I would like you to think about.  I will be using this word in my message on Sunday, entitled, "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing."  The word is "Syncretism"; and it means, “the combination of different systems of philosophical and/or religious beliefs and practices.”  When we think about the new spirituality movements of today which are highly influenced by the New Age Movement Masters, this word is an important word.  Their approach to spirituality is to borrow from various systems of philosophies and religions in order to come up with their own version of beliefs and values.  There are elements of God's truth in practically everything they say.

But here is the point about truth.  A half truth is not a truth at all.  It is actually the worst kind of lie, because of its deceptiveness.  It is a lie that sounds like a truth; and for those who are not well grounded in truth, it leads them down a path of no return.

There are lots of so-called truths out there today; but which one should one believe?  Some say that there are no absolute truths except the truth that lies within you.  In other words, truth is subjective.  What I believe and value in my life is my truth, and what you believe and value in your life is your truth.  My truth might be slightly different (or greatly different) from your truth.  But it is still my truth.

These types of philosophical beliefs sound good and are very tempting; because they have the potential of disqualifying wrongdoing and sinful nature.  In other words, I don't believe in marriage because it is not my truth.  God is love, and the love that I feel for my partner is of God.  Therefore, God sanctions our relationship and it is honoring to Him, because I am created in His image of love.  This is my truth.

Can you see where that line of reasoning will lead you?  People of faith understand truth very differently.  Truth is not something that is created within ourselves.  Just as God is absolute love, He is also absolute truth.  We dare not trust in the reasoning of our own minds to determine what is truth.  God's truth is absolute, and for the well being of the entire global society.  The subjective kind of truth promoted by New Age Masters is concerned only for self first, and then everything else is secondary.

Enough of philosophy.  My message on Sunday is based on Jude verse four,

“For certain men [people] whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless people, who change the grace of God into incense for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”

If you have a chance, read this verse and meditate on it several times over the next few days.  See what God reveals to you, because He wants to reveal His absolute truth.  I believe the Holy Spirit will make no mistakes as He speaks the voice of Almighty God into your life.

The other point I want to mention is this: hopefully as we take an in depth look at the book of Jude we will come to a deeper understand as to the importance of rediscovering our Core Values.  Here are the top eight,

• Bible-centered Preaching
• Worship
• Fellowship
• Forgiveness
• Family
• Integrity
• Christian Education
• Giving

These eight values rose to the top from a group of about twenty of our congregation who gathered together to join in a seminar of Rediscovering our Core Values.  They provide a "line in the sand", so-to-speak, in terms of where we stand as God's people.  It's like saying, "On these things we will not compromise."  These represent our truth - which comes only from God through Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Check out this website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA



God bless you with His truth today,

-Leo

A Great Ministry to Support

It is important to uphold the ministries that we share with other churches of our denomination.  I would like to promote one to you.  It is called the United Baptist Woman's Missionary Union (UBWMU).  This organization does great work at keeping our Convention Churches active in missionary work, and aware of our missionaries serving abroad.  You can check out their website at http://www.atlanticbaptistwomen.ca/ .  Scroll down on the left hand side of the page and click on Missions.  Most if not all of our missionaries and their placements are listed.

The reason why I checked out this page the other day was to find a contact for the Daily Vacation Bible School Missionaries that this organization sends out every summer.  Each year they hire teams of students to travel to different churches to lead the DVBS program for children.  This year we (New Life Baptist) are checking into having two students come to help us out.

I would like to encourage this very important ministry to you.  Check out the good work that they do.  Maybe it is something that we (our ladies) might want to become involved in.  It would serve to help our church be more mission minded, and invloved in the lives of our missionaries.

Our ministry does not stop at the boundaries of our area.  God's command to preach the gospel to the whole world still applies today, and every Christian has a part to play in that happening.  The UBWMU is a great way for us to stay proactively involved.

On Friday I will post an article pertaining to Sunday's message, "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing."

Blessings,

-Leo