Counter Culture

I love a Saturday full of Bible study!!! Today was fabulous! I have moved from one stack of books and Bibles to another today...complete with my favorite ink pens and red wax pencils. If I try to read one more thing out loud to my husband he has threatened to strangle me!!!

Today's studies have been interesting because they all overlapped. Here is a kind of outline for what I worked on today: morning prayers and Bible reading (the Book of Jeremiah at the moment), a Sunday School lesson from Philippians Ch. 2, a training union lesson on the Book of Daniel with substudies from Genesis and Revelation. I just could not be any more content! Well, my studies kept hot-lapping each other. Jeremiah continues to prophesy repentance prior to total destruction. Daniel continues to prophesy repentance prior to total destruction. Genesis layed out Nimrod and the first world-ruled (world...not God) order - Babylon. Revelation depicts the final fall of the world-ruled empire - Babylon. Then there is Paul writing from prison in Rome (Babylon!!!) encouraging his fellow Christians to be Christ-like in attitude and filled with joy as a result!

My mind is blown! I need a soap box...oh yeah...the Portico is my soap box. Christians, we are to be counter-cultural. We are not to blend in with this world. We are not to compromise and find a way to straddle the fence. Contrary to what Oprah says...it is NOT all roads warm and fuzzy lead somewhere warm and fuzzy.

God did not take on the form of the king of the world. He didn't even take the form of someone wealthy, or affluent, or popular. He became a baby in the most common of places to the most common of people who were only made extraordinary by their obedience to God!!! He came as Christ to serve. He did NOT have to do that. Yet, He did to show us as much of His characteristics as is possible for man to emulate!!! We just have to choose to follow His example. You/we didn't choose a lot of our circumstances thus far, but we certainly have chosen our attitudes every day...all the way. Do you have the attitude of Christ or the attitude of our society? They are most certainly polar opposites.

Christ lived to love, to serve others, to sacrifice to the point of death. We don't even fully support our missionaries anymore! We are living in times where politics, one world order, and governments are front-line, 24/7, center of attention topics. Christians, it is time (well passed time which is why we are where we are) to be counter-cultural. The loss of your retirement plans did not end your life. If your child is like mine and got less this year, he's probably better for it. If healthcare gets sacked, we still serve and are faithful to the Great Physician.

Here is what has my attention. I don't want one penny of my taxes going to abortion. I don't want to be told where I can and can't pray. Christian radio has just as much, if not more, right to be aired than anything else. I can help someone in need without being featured in the paper. I can forgive. I can continue to love. I'm not here for the attention of others. I am here to please and glorify God.

As my day continues to spin, QVC (which I love and use) is running the captions "It's All About Me," which is exactly the title of Babylonian thinking in my Daniel study. Hhhhmmmm.

It better start being all about Him. I don't know about you,but I like the idea of living life to the fullest. Give me love, friends (true friends), security, hope. Thank you, God. You give me those things every day. Oh...my favorite...grace! How in the world and why in the world do people still pass on grace?