A Possible Solution - Step 1

I feel sometimes like all I am doing is complaining - discussing problem after problem and never discussing anything like a solution. I have shared some of my Bible reading, and tried to be encouraging in some posts :). But here, I will begin to share my ideas about "fixing" this mess. I hope to make my argument clearly, and point by point, but please comment/email with questions or challenges - I would love to hear what you think as well. I cannot think of every objection and differing point of view.

To preface anything else I say: I hold the Bible to be inerrant, the final authority given by God on any problem faced by men and women, at any point of human history. It is not a book that is (or will become) obsolete, because the basic problems affecting the lives of men and women have not changed since the beginning of time. Our basic sin natures are the same. Technology does create some interesting questions and situations, but the basic issues we struggle with are no different now than in 4000 BC.

1. Any solution has to begin with the only thing we can completely control in this world - ourselves. We need to know exactly what we believe, and why we believe it. We have to know what the Word of God says about the issues - not what the latest, greatest Christian novel thinks, or what your pastor thinks, or some off-his-rocker blogger thinks, but what God says. There are numerous sources that can help us understand what God says in the Bible, but we need to be in the Word ourselves. I myself struggle mightily with reading the Bible consistently, so this is not easy to do, and I am by no means a great example of it. But if we would know the mind of God - to the extent that we can know it - we have to read what He wrote to us. We have to be on firm footing before we tackle the big issues. We have to understand what shapes our worldview - the way we interpret everything that happens both to us and around us in life. As I examine the world that God made, I see design and purpose. In my own life, I see design and purpose. I live in this moment in history, and at this specific place in the world, because God has a plan for my life. You live in this moment at your place for a reason also - do you know what it is? Have you asked God to reveal it to you? There is something God created you to do that only you can do, because you are unique. And that is a tremendous privilege, and a tremendous responsibility.

I find Luke 12 to be excellent in laying out the basic steps:

v 7: Do not fear, God is in control.
v 8: Remember whom you serve, and proclaim Him.
vv 11-12: As you need words, they will be given to you.
vv 13-34: Focus on what really matters, not what the world focuses on (God's priorities vs. ours).
vv 35-48: Be ready - your chance is coming, the day when you will serve.
vv 49-59: Jesus' words divide. This does not mean the church should be divided (though sadly it is), but rather that the church will be separate from the world at large. This is logical, as we have different priorities: while they seek peace and financial prosperity, we seek Truth, that all men may know Him.