Does Truth Determine Experience or Experience Determine Truth?

 

Philosophy is mind bending, but the culture's philosophical underpinnings are critical to morals, ethics, and choices.

I have a friend who debates politics with me on a regular basis. It might not surprise you, but I am very conservative in my politics, he is a H Clinton Liberal. We enjoy chiding one another about the issue of the day, and after 25 years, we can still disagree and be friends.

The other day he looked at me with new understanding, and said: "You are very consistent in your positions. I'm beginning to see that your position on individual issues is always founded on your idea of fundamental truths that are important to you." I was more amazed than he was. DUH! Was it possible that anyone makes decisions about abortion, or war, or Divorce, or welfare, or freedom without foundational principles of truth to guide them?

My brother told me the other day that Josh McDowell asked at a conference recently, "Does experience determine truth or truth determine experience." I had never heard it put this way before, so I headed to Google. The debate isn't very robust on the subject, but McDowell, who is famous for being in touch with the teens and 20 somethings, went on to say that young adults today believe that experience is the underpinning of truth. He compares that to the older folks, who believe that truth is foundational, and that experience must be measured in terms of truth.

It could also be a conservative Christian vs liberal kind of thing, except a lot of Charismatic Christians seem to trust experiences without much in the way of Biblical truth claims. That is the underlying problem that John MacArthur has with the Charismatic movement. I have issues with Pastor MacArthur on his handling of criticism regarding other denominations within Christianity, but I have long wondered whether many in the Charismatic movement are much too caught up in experience. On the other hand, who could argue about the effectiveness of this branch of Christianity. (Did I just make a case for experience over truth.)

I will admit that the Truth of Scripture is the most important source for forming my opinions and informing my decisions. Moreover, my daily experiences, good and bad, are constantly being compared to my understanding of those truth principles. I believe that the Holy Spirit helps me in all of those efforts.

But now I can see that others might work from a completely different approach. They might know three women who have had abortions, or merely seen several on TV, who say they are happy they did it, and that if they hadn't had the abortion, the results would have been negative for their emotional or economic health. This experience is consumed by the listener in a vacuum of truth, and abortion seems like a good idea to them based on the experience.

On another day, this same person might watch a video showing a 14 week-old fetus in utero with a doctor explaining issues regarding brain development, ability to feel pain, and such. The sensory aspects of watching and listening, combined with the feelings and emotions of that video, may cause the person to reach a new truth decision. But that truth decision will be just as flimsy as the earlier sense that abortion is fine, or fine for some people, or for some circumstances.

Where do you come out on this philosophical question?  Why?  

Am I Okay, God? Devotionals from the Seventh Dimension

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Romans 8:37-39

Have you ever asked, am I okay? If so, you aren’t alone. I have asked myself that question many times.

Memories still haunt me of bullying by others who accused me of many things. When I was young, I struggled not to believe the lies even when I knew they weren’t true. I blamed myself—the only way I knew how to make sense of the accusations.

*~*~*~*~*~*

From Seventh Dimension – The Door, a Young Adult Christian Fantasy:

Was the man possessed by demons? Were there underlings roaming the earth looking for an unfortunate victim? The anguished soul stood still for the first time in front of the fisherman, captivated by the king’s eyes.

From off the lake, a breeze stirred, slowly at first and then gaining momentum. Like onion skin, vaporous creatures peeled from the madman, coming out of his brain. The swirling wind tore at the naked and exposed shape shifters. The black, formless creatures were like bats without bodies.

The dark beings smelled rancid and the awful odor settled over everything. The demons cowered submissively before the king. The creatures hissed and screeched and made fools of themselves. The fearful pig herders withdrew a safe distance.

The king asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” one of the demons replied, “for we are many.”

The king’s power and authority over the spirits was omnipotent. The underlings knew him. They knew the king. The muscles in my shoulders tensed and my legs twitched. Much-Afraid hid her face under my arm.

The demons begged, “Please, do not send us out of the area.” They pointed to the pigs. “Send us among the pigs. Allow us to go into them.”

At the king’s command, they fled from the man and entered the herd. Their formless bodies slid inside the pigs. I shuddered. The pigs shook violently. The herd, numbering in the thousands, stampeded down the steep bank and headed straight into the lake.

The herdsmen watched their valuable livestock disappear and shouted accusations at the king. “By whose authority did you drown our herd?” They flailed their arms at the fishermen and the shepherds traipsed back up the field resolute for answers. “Who is this man that sends pigs into the lake? By what authority does he do such things?” They continued to argue among themselves.

At first, Cherios, Lowly, Much-Afraid and I were too stunned to speak. Cherios spoke first. “Lowly, that is the king, the king of the garden. He’s here. The king is here among us.”

—Shale Snyder; Cherios, the rabbit; Lowly, the pig; and Much-Afraid, the dog; chapter twenty-two

*~*~*~*~*~*

As a teenager and even into early adulthood, I believed everyone was more athletic, talented, and smarter than me. Had I missed the blessings that my friends had received? I wasn’t able to see my value or worth.

There’s a difference, however, between feeling flawed and being a sinner. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, the king in Seventh Dimension – The Door, did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.

I grew up in a non-Christian home and did not know Jesus Christ. My first introduction to him was in the 1961 Hollywood movie King of Kings. I was drawn to Jesus for one reason: his love for the people with whom he came into contact.

I did not feel loved for many years. I think we all suffer from feelings of worthlessness and lack of validation. We live in a fallen world where no one loves perfectly except Jesus Christ. And even though he was perfect and sinless, many still rejected him.

If people can reject the Son of God, who was sinless, how much more can we feel rejected by others who are imperfect?

While it’s true you’re a sinner, that doesn’t make you a bad person. It means you need a Savior. You’re created in the image of God and that makes you more than okay. You’re wonderfully made. You were bought with a price—Jesus Christ died for you.

You’re loved more than you will ever know. God loves you more than your parents, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your brother, your sister, your spouse—even your dog.

You cannot do or say anything that will make God love you more. You cannot do or say anything that will make God love you less. His nature is unchanging. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I hope to show you in this short devotional book, Am I Okay, God? Devotionals from the Seventh Dimension, you’re more than okay. You’re loved by a perfect God.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin separated them from their heavenly father. Sin entered the world. Until then, perfection was all Adam and Eve had known, including perfect communion with God in the garden. The first sin created a chasm between God and man. Decay began and has continued to this day.

God banished Adam and Eve from the garden. The price for their disobedience and for everyone born after them was eternal punishment.

Ever since the first sin in the garden, Satan has accused and tormented God’s people. The condemnation you feel does not come from God.

In the above excerpt, Jesus performed an exorcism on the demon-possessed man. The naked demons entered the pigs looking for a “home” to possess. Jesus then drowned the pigs and the demons in the lake. The demons had tormented the man relentlessly for years—until Jesus set the man free.

*~*~*~*

Thank you, Jesus, that you have given me life. Let nothing separate me from your love. Let this day be the first day of the rest of my life—the day I receive your unconditional love and no longer believe the untrue things people say.

To learn more about Lorilyn Roberts Seventh Dimension Series Books, please visit http://LorilynRoberts.com

We're Getting it Backward

I took up the clarinet in 5^th grade. My parents probably wished I hadn't. I did want to learn—really. But how many times can you play “I Love You Truly” in the expected half hour practice before you start to get a little . . . creative? Or a lot bored.

I don't remember the teacher at all. I don't even know if it was a man or a woman. Clearly, I was not inspired. As a result, I was also not very good.

Enter 6^th grade and Mr. Leafblad. I don't remember him ever telling me my playing stunk. (It did.) I don't recall being bullied, or patronizingly cajoled, or shamed into practicing. I do remember practicing. He had such enthusiasm for leading us. (How anyone manages that in a junior high band I will never, ever comprehend.) He had endless encouragement that I could get better. And I did. In fact, I got to be the best clarinet player in junior high.

I became what I was meant to be, a much better player, because the one in charge accepted me as I was, encouraged me, and saw me as a whole human, not a kid with a clarinet I did, or did not, practice often enough. The desire to do the right thing grew out of love for the person asking it of me.

One of the biggest mistakes we make in trying to figure out our identity in God is to do things that make us acceptable. We hope beyond hope that in doing things we can figure out who we are.

We do too many things that offer us identity.

It worked in school. We figured out early where we fit in. We became the smart one, or the good one. Maybe you were the funny one, the pretty one, the social butterfly, or even the victim. Regardless, we learned that if we kept doing the things that made us whatever we were (getting straight A's, cracking jokes in class) we had an identity. We were secure.

I spent years proving I deserved my spot in the universe by being the smart one. If I dared let it slip, if (when) I found someone smarter than I was, I would have no idea who I was. It was terrifying.

Don't we do that in church, too? Don't we often—usually--approach God that way?

I'll obey God's rules. I'll go to that service project. I'll come to church, take communion, even go all out and volunteer for children's church. If I do all these good things for God, I'll be a good person. That means I'll know who I am. God will accept me.

You want to know something crazy? Jesus doesn't call me or you to be a good person. Jesus calls us to be His person. To get our identity from belonging to him, not from doing good things. Mind. Blown.

We do this thing backward.

Once we know who we are because of who He is and what He already calls us, we will want to do good things out of pure love and gratitude. When we try to reverse that? Try to obey in order to force-feel acceptance? We get so messed up.

People who try to do this identity thing backward are the ones you meet who are always right. They know what is and is not “approved.” No one else can do it right. Everyone else is a little bit wrong. They are Never. Satisfied. Why? Because we only know who we are--we only feel accepted ourselves--if we're better at doing good, being good, or toeing line of truth closer than the other guy. If we have to admit we don't know, that the lines may be more fuzzy than we thought, then we are no longer the best at doing, thinking, and being right. We don't know who we are.

People who try to do this identity thing backward also become addicted to approval, doing more and more and more, until they burn out. How many of those have we seen? How many have we been? I see that hand. I raised that hand.

There is another way.

Go the right direction. Take our identity from God, freely given, first. We are chosen, beloved, accepted, known, adopted, and so much more. Then, move into obedience. Let the love for the Great Encourager be the motivator to be what we were meant to be. Not the fear that we'll let Him down.

“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

and through him God reconciled everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross."

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.” (Colossians 1.19-23)

God is not that teacher who won't ever give the A. He's not the boot camp sergeant. He's the one who sees you as what you will be--without fault. Do you really want a label? Try the ones mentioned above: Blameless. Loved. Reconciled. Friend of God. (Because if you're no longer an enemy, you're a friend.)

I'll never get my identity from doing things. Things are things. They can't offer anything to my soul. Only a person can do that. The Person—the one who asks us to follow, listen, live in the identity we've already been given and let good things flow out of that.

What things are you putting before just knowing God? How might you have to look at those things differently?

Useful Information about Your Future

Transhumanism, the government, and God.

When contemplating your future, what concerns you the most? Growing old?  Achieving a certain level of success? Being financially fit? Healthy enough to enjoy retirement? I’ve tried to avoid aging, but now it’s

happening. I never worried too much about success—until I got published. I don’t think about money. It scares me. Enjoy retirement? I don’t think about that either. It’s enough just to get through the day.

Writing about transhumanism hasn’t greatly altered my forward thinking. If it happens, we’ll accept it bit by bit until it’s not only perfectly normal, but strongly preferred. I’m not worried about getting microchipped. If my heart gives out and gets replaced by one grown in a lab, I’ll be comfortable with it. After all, I wrote about the lab-grown heart. And machine-mind interfacing. And super powers. If anybody should be prepared for the coming improvements, it’s me. Google transhumanism and you’ll find the picture of a middle-aged housewife who writes Christian fiction.  Well, that’s me.

At first, I wondered how I got dropped into such a strange world. Did I do it to myself? I’m the one who let transhumanism into my head. I’m the one who wrote Wake the Dead . It is our future—at least to some degree. But when I think about the future, transhumanism is not the dominant theme.

More than comments on the transhuman stuff, I get remarks about the futuristic government I’ve imagined. It demands control. It provides everything—even entertainment. It doesn’t tolerate religion. Are we headed in that direction? Again, to some degree, the so-called New World Order will affect our future. But that doesn’t fill me with trepidation.

So what do I worry about when I think about the future? I’m too stuck on today to think much about it at all. Today is a new wrinkle, a pain in my joints, a mortgage payment to make. A book to promote. Today has enough worries of its own. Twenty years from now? I might have some government-issued, bio-manufactured joints that I got free of charge! Or I might be meeting in secret with other frightened Christians who have forgotten their mission.

That’s it. The future. The mission. When I wonder about the future, it’s the mission that persists in angling its way into my thoughts and dreams. I’m not one who likes too much travel—give me a quiet room and a laptop, and my imagination will take me all sorts of places. I don’t want to go on a short-term mission trip, though I know God might send me on one anyway. And I will go. But we all have a long-term mission. For some, it’s life in a foreign land filled with danger and discomfort. For most of us, it just means living redeemed and holy wherever God plants us.  

But isn’t there more? Does every believer have a mission? I can only wonder about my own. Shouldn’t I have fulfilled my mission by now? The past is over so I won’t worry about that. Am I living it right now? Will I fulfill it in the future? Will it mean more writing? More going places I don’t really want to go? More occasions to forget I’m an introvert and put the needs of others first? I think the answer is tied to all of these questions. Will I end up in some weird place the way my picture got dropped into the Internet’s top picks on transhumanism? Maybe my mission field is the future.

What’s yours? Do you even have one? If you don’t know, remember what Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection:       

     

      "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 

                                                                                                                                                      John 20:21

Seems like a contradiction. Jesus set peace on them, then set His fate them. He breathed on them. Peace filled them. And they spread out and preached the Gospel. The mission led to their violent, bloody deaths. All except for John, who wrote down the Revelation of Jesus Christ while exiled on the Isle of Patmos. It’s believed he died a natural death in Ephesus. But he gave his life just like the others, and he did it with God’s peace.

So the best advice I can give you about the future is not to embrace or avoid transhumanism. It’s not to  prepare for living under a despotic government. The only useful information about your future that I can offer is to tell you that Jesus instructed His followers to peacefully go where they were sent. If you don’t think God is sending you anywhere, then maybe you’re already on your mission field. Go outside and be a missionary. Live like you’re going to die. Die like you’re going to live again. Because that is your future.

Only Love Can Crowd out the Evil in our World

“Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs”—Proverbs 10:12 (NIV).

In a recent morning devotional, the writer shared about the loss of his 17-year-old grandson, the fatal victim of a robbery. Commenting on his grandson, the grandfather said, “We had recently attended his high school graduation, and he planned to enter college in the fall. He was a handsome, loving and talented young man. Now, suddenly, he was gone.”

As the writer continued to share his story, my heart went out to him and his family. I can’t imagine the pain they’ve experienced. The writer said, “The senseless murder of our grandson was not part of God’s plan. ‘What,’ I wondered, ‘led the killers to tear a hole in the glory of God’s world?’ The only answer that came to me was that evil had taken root in their lives because love was not there to crowd it out.”

As I pondered this thought, I had to agree. If someone never experiences the love of a parent, a kind neighbor, a compassionate school teacher, a loving church family or even the kindness of a stranger, how do they understand the love of Christ? As the writer above said in his devotional, “Many people who commit crimes against their neighbors have not experienced God’s love through their interactions with others. Much of the violence in life can be prevented if we Christians extend love to all people.”

If God can love us, surely we can love those around us.

All people—even the ones whom we’d rather avoid? The ones that rub us the wrong way or slyly insult us…do we have to love them too? Yes, according to Jesus, even the ones who annoy us, step on our toes, invade our personal space or whose personal habits cause us to turn up our nose in disgust.

ON AN ASSIGNMENT

Before you were born I set you apart

It is an honor and a privilege to be called by God to a task. He never makes a mistake when he makes an assignment. He knew us and already had plans for our lives before we were born. He said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV84).

God gave to Jeremiah gifts and talents in line with God's purposes. He appointed Jeremiah as a prophet, knowing that he was best suited for that responsibility. The same applies to all His children; each of us has an assignment and the equipping to do a fine job for His glory. Let’s not be mistaken. We are just vessels; God is doing His work through us.

When we answer God’s call, we need to be attentive and watchful so that we don’t miss any of the details. God never gives all the details at the outset. He unfolds them bit by bit, as we go along. 

One day God called Moses to go to Egypt and free the Israelite people from slavery. There was no mention of the Egyptians changing their minds later, and there was no mention of the Red Sea. Moses did not know ahead of time that he would never enter the Promised Land. He received instructions in bits and pieces, at the right time. Staying in close contact with God and following His directions is the best way to fulfill our assignments.       

We should be careful not to assume anything about our assignments, not even outcomes, because only God knows those details. Our interpretations of situations could be very different from the way they look from God’s point of view. 

After the Israelites defeated Jericho, Joshua, the army commander, and his men assumed that defeating the next city, Ai, would be a piece of cake. After all, Ai was a smaller city than Jericho. But it was not to be. They were sadly defeated and deeply disappointed. Their assumption did not pay off! Something had gone terribly wrong. There was secret sin in the Israeli camp. They had no idea that one of them, Achan, had disobeyed God’s command designating the plunder of Jericho for Himself. Believing that neither God nor anyone else would ever know, Achan had stolen and hidden objects he had removed from Jericho. God was displeased. (See Joshua 7:1-13)

When things go wrong with your assignment, which they often do, don’t quit! Look to God for encouragement and persevere. The devil likes nothing better than to see you fail, give up, or be discouraged. The apostle Paul faced numerous trials and suffering during his ministry. Even some Christians turned their backs on him from time to time, but he did not quit. He took comfort in the Lord’s support! In his second letter to Timothy, Paul stated, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.… But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Timothy 4:16-17 NIV84). If you ever get to a point of discouragement with your assignment, please don’t quit. Call on God!

Don’t get proud when things go well, because God hates pride. Instead, be happy and thankful, and remember to give God the glory. After all, He was really the One doing the work through you. King Uzziah of Judah is a good example. He walked faithfully with the Lord for years, but toward the end of his reign, he was unfortunately struck with leprosy because of pride. Scripture puts it this way, “After Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall” (2 Chronicles 26:16 NIV84). Pride is a horrible thing. God hates it. Fear it, and avoid it at all costs. It does lead to destruction (See Proverbs 8:13, 16:18).

Have you been given an assignment? Have you started? If not, when do you plan to start? Whatever the assignment, it was prepared in advance for you to do (See Ephesians 2:10 NIV). Don’t drag your feet, and don’t waste time. The experience will be so much more enjoyable if you act obediently and promptly. If you are considering dragging it out, you can read the book of Jonah to figure out the possible outcome.

With our assignments come blessings, if we remain diligent and faithful. May the Lord find us working diligently with nothing to be ashamed of when He returns, be it morning, noon, or night. 

Real Relationships Are Way Too Much Trouble

 

The Apple Watch Will Give Me One More Screen

It's 9:00 at my house and the TV is blaring. Just to my left, the laptop is open. Over on the right my new iPhone 6 plus is at the ready should anyone call or send a text. Soon my left arm will be adorned by a smart new watch, the first time I've worn one in decades.

Downstairs, there are real live humans. Some of them are also involved with screens. Don't dare try to interrupt the 4 year-old granddaughter who by my rules would already be in bed, anyway. She is enjoying Spongebob on TV and has the iPad open to a coloring app.

Adult children are actually engaging in conversation and laughing up a storm at something on various laptops open on the kitchen table. Funny YouTube videos or Instagrams?  Not sure, exactly. I'm thinking I might pause NCIS to go find out what they are laughing about.

I could have gone to any number of events this evening: Bible studies, small groups, charitable organizations, Garden clubs, author's meetings. But I deserve this downtime. I worked 10 or so hours today, mostly in front of various screens or on the phone. Going out seems like such work.

Did have a conversation with my housekeeper last week. I wondered why, at 60, she has never remarried. She says that after a long day of cleaning someone's home, she likes going home to total peace and quite, not having to concern herself with the needs or wants of a husband. She has her routine and is doing just fine. I didn't ask, but I'm guessing that routine involves screens.

In Japan, half of the population has checked out of even having sexual relationships. Too complicated and, yes, there are screens for that.

Sunday morning, too. Not for me...yet. But many of my post 60 friends are doing church on TV. They like the choirs and hymns. They like the convenience. I should ask some of them if it is just too much trouble to do the small talk for 10 minutes before and after. Sometimes it is for me. Sort of like the dance you do at a party where you only know a few folks. Not my favorite thing to do. And I'm considered a social butterfly.

Maybe this isn't a new phenomenon. Maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety. I remember people playing board games, card games, and just getting together with small groups of couples for fun. Am I in the wrong crowd, or has that just pretty much stopped happening.

I'm curious to hear your story.

Update. Just spoke with my adult son who tells me that a major thread on his Facebook is women in their 20's and 30's talking about how they don't need a man in their lives.