Your Public Image Versus Your Private Life

Public Image versus Private Life

Barbara Henderson

In all of time and eternity there is One utterly and continually perfect being. That is of course Jesus Christ - the son of God. In Jesus - the Man and the image of the man were exactly the same person. It is always right to follow the example of Jesus. He merits hero worship. He is a hero.

For every other hero recorded throughout history, there is a less than perfect side. Some hero's have a better record than others for things done outside the limelight. A few were truly close to being the person the public perceived them to be. An example of a man who was good by human standards was George Washington. No matter how hard the skeptics may dig through history, they don't seem to be able to find any dirt on him.

That's good. Someone known as the father of any country should have a squeaky clean image. But, usually the hero's life shows some character flaws that should not be copied. The Bible is full of hero's and heroines, but in almost every case, some misconduct is included in their biographies.

Abraham - patriarch of the Jews - had a son outside of his marriage. Moses - leader of the people and writer of the first 5 books of the Old Testament - had a terrible temper. King David - a man after God's own heart - committed adultery and then murder in an attempt to hide his sin. I think God recorded these things to help us remember that those in authority or public position are still just human beings born with the sin nature like everyone else. They are going to mess up sometimes. It also shows that God forgives every repentant sinner - no matter what their station in life may be.

Today, like never before, celebrities of all sorts are thought of as more than mortal. The lives of these celebrities are very public. It seems the details of their private lives are forced on all the public, whether the public is interested or not. You cannot get through a check out line in the grocery store without being bombarded with magazines and tabloids that reveal the details of celebrities' lives. Headlines are 45% celebrity headlines' 45% weight loss plans; and the remaining 10% covers the rest of what is going on in the world. When Princess Diana died, her death was mourned globally as though she were the sister of everyone alive. Of course I was sympathetic. But I never met the woman. I was very sorry for her family and the people who knew her. At that time, my sister had just died; so I knew first hand what her loved ones and friends were going through. But what I saw around me was NOT NORMAL. How could people who never met her grieve as though they had just lost a beloved family member? I believe it was at least in part because she projected the image of being everything to everyone. She was everywhere you looked smiling from some magazine cover. She was what ever your fantasy might be. Some people may have pretended they were actually the princess. Others may have seen themselves as her good friend. To others she was the ideal woman - or what every man wants in a woman. She was anything their minds wanted her to be.

In real life she was just a mortal human being. She went through a terrible marriage. According to some reports, she suffered from personality disorders. Amidst all the glamour and publicity, there were some very sad aspects to her life. But her image was that of perfection and one living in constant delight. Maybe the public just saw what they wanted to see. Perhaps they were delusional. People are created with a heart that wants to worship the perfect God of creation. He alone is worthy of honor and worship. People who reject God will eventually find someone or something else to adore and worship.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says:

10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Celebrity obsession has created a delusional public. They love the image of a man or woman as though that is the real person. They have no concept that the IMAGE of a celebrity is NOT the real person. An example is John Wayne. His image was that of the great American hero. He was larger than life. In truth, he was never in the military at all. He had a legal exemption during WWII because of his family. Celebrity obsession may be so appealing to fallen man because it requires nothing of them except blind loyalty. No sins must be confessed, and no changes to the inner person are required.

There is a great danger for those involved in hero worship. They are filling a need to worship God by giving undeserved attention and devotion to a mortal. They have rejected God, His truth, and His righteousness. Their souls are in danger of eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.

Revelation has numerous passages referring to the image of the beast. It is puzzling to understand exactly what the image of the beast may be. The book of Daniel offers some help. First - the great king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream in which he saw an image of a man. This dream foretold of four kingdoms that would exist. His kingdom was the first. Median/Persian was next. Greek was third. And Roman was fourth. The king saw each as part of a human figure made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and then iron mixed with clay. He saw these kingdoms as great achievements of man.

But then Daniel also had a dream. He saw the four kingdoms represented by wild animals - beasts. Daniel saw the kingdoms more as they really were - earthly kingdoms in a world in rebellion against God.

This leads me to believe that it may be possible that the image of the beast spoken of in Revelation is the inward man. His image will not be that of the evil one he actually is. His image will be that of a good man; and a leader who is able to get things done. His image will be the image of the ideal leader that people have longed for throughout history. In truth, inside and outside, the beast will be the poster boy for the sin nature that came to mankind when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

All through history there have been giants of evil whose outward appearance seemed benevolent or good in the beginning. But inwardly, they were servants of the devil. They were beasts.

An example of just such a man from recent history is Adolf Hitler. In the beginning to the people of Germany, his evil nature was not apparent. It seems that they saw not the real man, but an image or perception of what they believed a savior would be. This could not have happened except that first they had rejected the truth - and God then allowed a delusion to come to them. They believed a lie.

Eventually, the beast of Revelation will come on the scene. His actual name is not known. It is just prophesied that he will come, and he will be terrible. His personal image will not show the true character of his evil nature. His image will draw people to him like a magnet. Inwardly, he will be a beast.

To avoid worshiping him will be very difficult for those who come under his authority. People will WANT to worship him anyway. His image or personal charisma will be so appealing and strong that people will just want to follow him. They will want to believe him. They will have already rejected God. Having rejected the truth, they will be ready to believe a lie.

Something will happen to wake up some of the people living at that time. The Bible tells us some will refuse to believe a lie. They will refuse to worship the beast. Most of them will get their heads chopped off for refusing to worship the beast. It is pretty amazing that even though the beast starts chopping off heads, his followers will not notice his beastly nature.

Most of the rest who refuse to worship and take the mark will probably starve to death, or die of exposure to the elements, or be killed in some horrific natural disaster. Living conditions then will be overwhelmingly bad. The Bible just tells us that it is time of trouble such as the world has never seen. There are no words to describe just how bad it really will be.

All people have a private side. It is human nature to show one side to the public, another to those they work with, and another to close friends and family. Certain situations actually require different behavior. The problem comes when the character of the individual is presented as totally different depending on the circumstances and group which he or she is around at the time. But Jesus was the same person 24 - 7's. He has commanded Christians to be like Him. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. We are to treat others the way we want to be treated. We are supposed to show the love of God to others by the way we live and act. Our inner person is not supposed to be a beast. Who we really are, and our image or how we are perceived by others, is supposed to be the same thing. Honestly, we can't hit the mark of perfection. Like heroes of the Bible, we are all going to stumble and fall occasionally. Thankfully, God is willing to forgive us and still use us. So today is a good day to start improving our own image.

Thanks for reading this article.

God bless you.

Have a good day.

Make the Message Clear and Plain - Christ Receiveth Sinful Men!

Make the Message Clear and Plain

Barbara Henderson

It was an interesting day in Jerusalem to say the least. In recent weeks Jesus Christ had been crucified, buried, and rose up from the grave.  He was seen by many.  There was no doubt that Christ was risen from the dead.  He ascended to heaven.  His Apostles were gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the time to come to preach!  The crowds gathered, also waiting.  THEN Peter, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, stood up to preach the good news – salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone.

In the crowd listening to Peter preach there were people from all over the place! Most languages and cultures were represented right there in Jerusalem listening to the fisherman tell every individual how to be reconciled to God Almighty and obtain citizenship in heaven through Jesus Christ.  Peter made the message clear and plain.  He did not turn aside to avoid hurting the feelings of those who worshipped false gods.  He did not attempt to entertain in order to get people’s attention.  He did not dress like the most popular culture. He did not care what celebrities were doing at the moment.  He did not have a praise band playing pop music disguised as music designed to please Almighty God.  Peter simply opened his mouth and proclaimed the gospel.  He made it as clear and plain as possible.  He told the truth.  Were some people offended?  Most likely.  Were some converted?  Definitely!  The church exploded with true converts.  Peter made the message clear and plain.  There was no confusion regarding exactly what the message was.  The message was REPENT!  You are walking down a road that leads to hell.  You don’t have to go there.  Turn from the things of this world and look to the gift of eternal life offered through Jesus Christ alone! 

If you have been following the news in the United States you know that headline news was the story of the Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson clearly saying homosexuality is a sin.  He got suspended from his job as a television star on a reality show.  The network – A&E – thought because of the money involved that they would be able to get an apology out of the bearded icon.  It didn’t work!  A&E thought America would rise up and condemn the man for not accepting homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle.  They got a big surprise.  In the end – there was a lot of money on the line, and A&E reinstated the Duck Dynasty patriarch.  Personally, I don’t watch the show.  Having relatives in Arkansas and Oklahoma who could match the Duck Dynasty stars homespun humor and lack of any bending to peer pressure, the show may be just a tad too close to home for me.  However, I am pleased to see a show that represents Christian family values.  I just don’t watch it.  I don’t watch a lot of television period.  I applaud the family values in the show, and their refusal to bend to the forced tolerance that is rampant in the current political, cultural, and social setting in the USA and in the world.  I have been thinking about how to go forward in stopping the sort of evil treatment Christians and conservatives get for simply speaking the truth.  This is what I came up with.

Today I am calling for national rebellion against forced tolerance of anything and everything that is not right according to God.  There is no one person or even half the population of any nation that has the authority to change into ‘good’ what God has clearly called ‘bad’.  End of story.  Do not let the world silence you!  You don’t have to go looking for a fight.  Just be ready to tell the truth when the opportunity arises.  You don’t have to say it in a hateful manner.  On the homosexuality issue simply quoting scripture is enough. Tell those who don’t like the message in the Bible to take it up with God.

We are at war, and this war is far more than a culture war.  This is a war for the truth.  The truth is clearly stated in the Bible on every important subject.  Truth is unchanging.  It is not affected by time, culture, social agendas, acceptable morals in any particular culture or social environment, or quantum leaps in pseudo-science. 

First, there is a personal decision to simply speak the truth when called on regardless of the social or political fallout.  If you wind up facing the giants, remember that you are just a lowly messenger.  You don’t have any authority to change the truth.  Do what is right.  Don’t waste your time trying to fit into the current culture.  Don’t waste your time trying to stay in touch with the current politically correct hot buttons or the social agenda’s making headlines.  If you make a real effort to do what is right according to God Almighty you will make one major effort each and every day.  You will work to treat others the way you want to be treated.  That means treat others with kindness and tell them the truth.  Remember that very often things that are social acceptable or politically correct are not based on truth. 

Second, there is the church.  The duty of every church is to tell the truth without deviations.  That’s it.  When the truth of God is mixed in with pop culture, political correctness, attempts to reach different cultures, or anything else that distracts from the gospel the message is NOT clear and plain.  Listeners have to sort through all sorts of gobbled-gook in order to find the truth.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.  It doesn’t matter if you live in a shack or a palace. The message is the same.  It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, rich or poor, smart of not so smart, the message is the same.  It doesn’t matter if you are from central Africa or Scandanavia.  The message is the same.  It doesn’t matter if your culture is Southern American or Yankee American.  It doesn’t matter if you live in a nation where freedom of choice of religion is allowed or in a nation where accepting Jesus Christ may get you murdered.  The message is the same.  Jesus says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.  That is the message.

There is no better message than the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ – the only begotten Son of God.  You can, however, confuse the message drastically by dumbing it down, applying worldly tactics for business growth to church growth, pop culture, social agendas, political correctness, or any other distraction. 

The motto of Christians could be ‘Make the message Clear and Plain’.  Christ receiveth sinful men!

Christ Receiveth Sinful Men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfj2YMeN-IM

Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound this word of grace to all
Who the heavenly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall.

Refrain

Sing it o’er and over again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.

Come, and He will give you rest;
Trust Him, for His Word is plain;
He will take the sinfulest;
Christ receiveth sinful men.

Refrain

Now my heart condemns me not,
Pure before the law I stand;
He who cleansed me from all spot,
Satisfied its last demand.

Refrain

Christ receiveth sinful men,
Even me with all my sin;
Purged from every spot and stain,
Heaven with Him I enter in.

Refrain

Making Peace with Yourself First

War on the Inside Leads to War on the Outside

OR

The True Peace Process

Barbara Henderson

Have you ever wondered what you personally can do to bring about peace on earth?  Or, what can you do to at least be sure you aren’t part of the problem?  Have you ever considered the success rate of appeasing aggressors – whether they are aggressors in your personal life or on a global scale?  I would guess that a conservative estimate of the percent of the earth’s population who would truly like to see the world at total peace is 99% at least.  Can it be possible that the other 1% are the ones causing all the problems?  That isn’t actually the case.  People want peace, but they don’t personally want to begin the global peace process by making peace in the one place where they actually have the authority to make peace.  True peace for the individual begins when an individual makes peace with God Almighty on His terms.  From the vantage point of peace with God, the individual can begin to make peace with those around them.  Sounds simple?  Well, actually it is simple.  It just isn’t easy. 

You will always be on the frontlines of your personal battle with:

your sin nature,

the world systems and all the things they offer,

and the demonic influence of the devil and his fallen angels. 

In other words you are constantly fighting a three front war.  Consider the two fronts of WW2.  The European and the Pacific theaters took all the man-power and will-power the free nations could supply, and the victories were very hard to come by.  Now, imagine if there had been a third front.  To say the least victory would have been much more difficult and the battles likely prolonged in the process.

Second, you have to fight the battle to establish the truth of scripture

in your own heart,

the heart of your family, and

the heart of your church.  Once established, you must fight to maintain the truth. 

Third, you have to fight to be sure that everyone understands the importance of holding fast to the truth and passing the truth on to the next generation.   Today there is an overwhelming number of ‘easy good news’ churches.  The importance of the truth is trivialized in favor of not offending non-believers.  Of course it is wrong to intentionally offend anyone, but the One we should be most concerned about offending is Jesus Christ Himself.  If we do not stand firmly on the foundations of the faith it definitely offends Christ!  Furthermore, to offend Christ is offend our own savior and risk the souls of the lost.  How can they be saved if they do not know how?  How can they know how if no tells them for fear of offending them?  To tell the truth there is probably a little fear of personal embarrassment with most Christians when it comes to that.  No one likes to stand out as someone the world makes fun of or stereotypes negatively.

In the midst of the ‘let’s all get along’ movement in the church, there is a fear of being the one who is divisive.  No one wants to be the one who points out doctrinal error.  Maybe they see some souls supposedly getting saved and they don’t want to quench the spirit.  As long as someone is getting saved then everyone should keep their mouths shut regarding deviant theology and doctrine.  Theology and Doctrine are even considered inconsequential as long as someone is getting saved.  Or, so goes a lot of modern church teachings.  Within these churches there are many willing to consort with denominations known to be in grievous error and even some cults like Mormons.  There is a call for Christians of all denominations to reconcile.  This cannot be done as any committed Christian is well aware.  We are to be reconciled to God.  We are not called to reconcile with every person’s idea of religion.  Neither are we called to bring peace to the world.  We are called to clearly present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.  We are not called to make the gospel easier or harder, or to add anything to it. 

The TRUTH is that the deviant teachings, no matter how many souls are allegedly getting saved, are divisive!  They are dividing the church from the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.  Did Jesus or the Apostles or Paul ever teach to just get along?  No.  They taught to earnestly contend for the faith.  They thought any error in teaching Christian principles was a major conflict, and they were not hesitant to jump into the fray and defend the teachings of God. 

So, you can see that the battle is continually raging.

The battle is raging within you constantly.  You must be on guard that you are not led astray.  If the Apostle Paul knew he personally had the capacity to become a castaway – someone no longer fit for service – then we can rest assured that each believer has that capacity as well.  Never grow cocky in assuring yourself that you have climbed above the fray and have no risk of falling.

Self defense required – personally and nationally.  Self defense is required!  It is a constant battle, so you must not go into battle unprepared.  You must defend yourself against the major fronts of this war!  Self defense requires restraint!  You must restrain your sin nature.  You must restrain yourself from allowing the things of the world to tempt you into allowing them first place in your heart.  And you must defend against attacks by the devil by continually wearing the whole armor of God.  Restraining evil is not for sissies!  Christians personally work to restrain themselves from doing what God calls wrong.  Nations have laws by which people are required to live.  Law breakers are restrained by punishment for breaking laws.  Free nations often find themselves in the role of restraining and punishing rogue nations who care not for freedom. 

Godly objectives required – personally, religiously, nationally, and globally.

For any war to be won there must be clear objectives. 

Personally, objectives should include personal obedience to God Almighty in a manner that is cheerful and thankful;

holding fast to the truth of scripture; and

giving people a choice in where they spend eternity by truthfully presenting the Jesus Christ of the Bible as they way of salvation.  (These days you have to make it clear that the Jesus Christ of the Bible is NOT the same Jesus presented by Moslems, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or any other claim to be Jesus that does not acknowledge Him as the pre-existent, born of a virgin, Triune God of the Holy Bible)

Religiously, the objectives are the same.  Don’t be hasty to lead a rebellion against a preacher that does truthful sermons but doesn’t do much of anything else.  Pray for him, and let God deal with him.  Do be hasty to confront error from the pulpit!  Be sure you are correct.  Get counsel from leaders.  But do not sit still and allow a preacher of the gospel to preach heresy from the pulpit!

And even nationally, when the call to war comes the rules are the same.  The goal is to stop evil doers or at the very least to confine them to as small an area as possible.  It isn’t to gain personal or national glory. It isn’t to increase riches or wealth.  It is to uphold the truth, and work to ensure that all people have a way to at least know the truth and live in a place where life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are things the government is working to ensure to all the people.

I personally have a very difficult time accepting the current armed interventions by the USA in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  The reason is they are trying to confine and restrain evil without allowing the free exercise of religion to our own soldiers or the people of the nations in which they are fighting.  It does not matter in the slightest which repressive Islamic dictator is in charge.  If Christians are persecuted and not allowed to speak then there is nothing the USA or any other nation will be able to do to improve the lives of those living under a restrictive dictator or Islamic combination of theocracy and dictatorship.  There will also be no lessening of hate toward non-Islamic people or safety for those who refuse to kiss the foot of the oppressor jihadists.

So, we are back to the beginning.  Wars come globally because of wars going on inside a person.  There is no global peace as long as there is no peace in the heart of man.  Peace in the heart comes when peace is made with God Almighty.  Personal peace with God is the beginning of peace in a family, a church, a work place, and a nation.  No, there will not be total peace on earth until God Himself is the governor, but there can certainly be a much better world the more people who start the peace process by personally taking care of their own peace with God Almighty.  Honestly, that is the only peace that any individual has the authority to make. 

Regarding those people standing on street corners holding signs or sporting bumper stickers that say, ‘give peace a chance’, each of them needs to pick their own worst enemy and make peace with that person.  Or just pick the person they find most annoying.  Once they manage that they can move on to their next worst enemy and their next most annoying person.  Of course that will never happen because they won’t be able to make peace with anyone who doesn’t want to make peace in return.  Of course it won’t work.  A lot happens in the name of peace that is really just coercing one person or ethnic group or population into the terms set out by the dictator of the moment.  It really is not peace at all.  

It is a good thing to know and accept that the only peace you have any control over is peace between you and God Almighty.  Through that peace - which passes understanding - you may be able to make peace with others. 

Visit my author page – thank you.

Barbara

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B007YWIYFU_rf_p_n_feature_browse-b_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB007YWIYFU%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1384781931&rnid=618072011