Just a Little Truth

Do you find yourself thinking in absolutes?  I tend to think in absolutes.  Hot is hot and cold is cold (truthfully it is the absence of hot).  My truck is silver…I wish it was blue but it is silver.  I either like food or I don’t, I do a good job or a bad job, I win or I loose.  I think this is a perfectly natural reaction to the world around us but we need to have more discernment when dealing with others.

In 1 John 2 we are warned about watching out for the antichrist.  The Scripture says,

“18Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us…. 22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”

In my absolute mind I think if God as all good and no evil then Satan as all evil and not good…Not true.  Satan is so smart and so good at his work, he can take a big fat lie and sprinkle it with truth to make it go down easier.  It’s like buying oatmeal cookies over chocolate chip.  We think the healthiness of the oats will somehow over compensate for the sugar, fat, and the fact that I ate the whole bag.  Another way of looking at it is, sea water is water but I cannot drink it and hope to live long.  There is some truth to this statement therefore; the statement must be true, is false.

We as the followers of Christ need to be careful and discern what others are saying about Christ.  We need to be mindful about what is good and what is  not good.  If something is all good then it is of God but what is partially good may be from Satan.  The best test we have is to look at the nature of God.  We need to ask ourselves, does what or who we are dealing with follow the nature of God.  If it does not at some point you may want to be weary and ask more questions.  Always praying that God will lead you and his ways be yours, not yours be his.

It’s All About the Candy

Yesterday my household was preparing for the Halloween Hunt we realized we were short a few items.  So off I ran to the store with Remington, my oldest, and we began the frantic search for batteries, tape and some last minute items we didn't even know we needed.  While searching the store Remington asked me what is Halloween all about?  It took me back for a second and I began to try to explain to him what it is all about. 

I told him how in some countries it is referred to as The Day of the Dead and it is to mourn the loss of loved ones.  While others use it as a day to worship the dead and practice evil, and yet others look at it as a day of tricks and practical jokes.  I told him some cultures used it as kind of a celebration of the coming winter and the passing of summer, a harvest festival if you will.  Then he asked why do we celebrate it?....The candy son, the candy….

It is all about the candy.  We look at life trying to find the candy.  We want only the sweets in life and it shows.  We have diet soda, diet candy, and zero calories cool aid drinks.  We are sold on the idea that something will make us feel good, enjoy life, taste good, have more fun for longer, and satisfy our desire to be pleased.  It’s all about the candy for us.

That is one of the lies that Satan is selling us.  It is all about the candy.  It is not.  While that taste good Jesus tells us the candy is temporary.  It is not about the candy but about the savior.  Does that mean I can’t have the candy?  No the candy is not the problem it is when we put it above Jesus that it becomes the problem.  It is ok to have some of the good stuff in life as long as it is not taking away from the important part of life…our relationship with God.  When it is ALL about the Candy we have failed. 

What is the Candy in your life that is getting in the way of your relationship?