We recently watched this excellent interview: https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-casey-calley-means. It is a powerful overview on health in America, what is causing the decline in health, and how it can be fixed.
LaWanda – Jesus, precious Jesus. As I read your words to me, I am undone. O precious Lord, I praise you. I thank you, Lord, for your tenderness, how you handle my heart with such care, “cradling” my head to keep my mind close to your heart and holding me close that I might know the heartbeat of my Savior. O Jesus, how you love us. How you love us so.
Well, here is a sermon I just loved. I encourage you to listen to the first five minutes and if you haven't learned something new by then and want to skip the rest, go for it. I learned lots of new stuff through this sermon.
Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. (Isa. 62:10)
Do you have a broken spirit and a contrite heart? If this phrase is familiar to you from the Bible you know that it is the sacrifice acceptable to me. Do you know anyone that you would describe this way? Do you find these qualities attractive in others? Do they see them in you? How do you go about acquiring these qualities? Is there a simple progression of steps or a program of instruction that will accomplish it? Can you imagine that such an outcome is possible without suffering? Is this something that you want badly enough to count the cost and consent to the process and pay it?
Have you ever heard of an arrangement operated ‘on your honor’? For many things legal documents are involved and for others there are visible accountability systems. The concept of being on your honor dispenses with these controls on the premise that the character of those involved is sufficient to assure compliance. Have you heard it said that your true character is revealed in what you do when no one is watching? This is the same concept applied to agreements between people. What do you trust others to do on their honor? What will you do on yours?
Do you think that the advertising industry is only promoting products, or do their messages attempt to influence your values, lifestyle, and worldview? I spoke a lot about money, for where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also. So there is a connection between material things and spiritual things. Will an appeal to pursue material things be successful if it isn’t attached to a values and worldview connection that opens the door? I’m not opposed to you making purchases, but are you aware of the linkage between commercial appeals and the value systems that they represent?
Do you hear skeptics say that everything should be based on evidence? Do you feel that premise puts you as a disadvantage as a believer? Have you heard of court cases that pivot on the question of admissible evidence? In these cases the question is no longer about what really happened, but what one side or the other insists on rejecting from the proceedings. In this case is truth being sacrificed for process? What can you afford to exclude in your search for transcendent truth with eternal consequences?
What is your central identity marker? Most people have strong commitments for both faith and politics. In some circles these topics are avoided because they can be polarizing and divisive. Which of the two occupies the top position for you? Does your faith change to accommodate your politics, or do your politics change to accommodate your faith? If you are open to growth and change then it is reasonable to expect transitions and you should know the order of your priorities so you know what direction the changes will flow.
Are you immune to the effects of advertising? Does your faith give you a solid foundation that prevents you from being swayed by messages designed for that purpose? The advertising industry is betting over a hundred billion dollars a year that you are wrong. The Bible speaks of those who are carried about by every wind of doctrine. A modern addition might include cultural trends and fads. Perhaps you are too close to the situation to judge accurately and it would take an outsider to see it clearly.
