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We live in a world of distorted values and priorities. We tend to highly
value things that God considers secondary (or even prohibited).
Sometimes we value them so much, that even "good" things become a form
of idolatry. [See the Idolatry
web page for more about this.] We need God's Word to show us what our priorities must be.
Acceptance of God's values will result in conflict.
If we pay serious attention to what God says, and live by his
values, we will soon find ourselves going contrary to the ways of the
world. Unfortunately, we will also find ourselves going contrary to the
ways of many who call themselves "Christian." Sometimes our greatest
opponents will be people who claim to be "Christian."
However, there is a deeper kind of conflict that we may also face.
We may desire to follow the ways of God - and demonstrate it by the
choices we make - but there will be times in which the values themselves seem to conflict.
- This may be due to our not understanding the
relationships between various values.
- These conflicts may be forced upon us by a world that
has no interest in following the ways of God.
- It may also be our own fault - the consequences of previous
wrong choices.
In any event, we must strive to learn and to follow the Bible's
instructions on how to deal with such conflicts.
The Issue of PRIORITIES |
- a look at what comes first. |
Moral Obligations - What are we to do? |
A basic look at how everything we do relates to
values and moral obligations; as well as an examination of how various
values and obligations relate to each other. This article summarizes the
issues mentioned in some of the articles found in the
"Values CONFLICTS and CLARIFICATION" section (below). |
HTML /
PDF |
A Look at Your Values |
A worksheet for looking at your "value priorities," and
for reflecting on the values of the Kingdom of God. [The PDF format
includes both the worksheet and the teaching notes.] |
HTML (Worksheet) / HTML (Teaching Notes) /
PDF (Both) |
Free Time |
The way we use our "free time" reflects our
real values, a lot more than our words do. We may claim that
we love God more than we love ourselves, but our actions will prove
whether or not our claim is true.
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HTML / PDF |
"Fighting the Forces of
Evil for Over 50 Years... Send More Money!"< |
God wants our lives
more than he wants our money. In fact, we owe our lives
to him and we are sinning if we are unwilling to give him what we owe
him. (In that case, giving money is more offensive or insulting, than
pleasing, to God.)
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HTML / PDF |
A Letter from a Missionary |
This is a missionary's reaction to the shift in values
that he sees occurring among people who claim to be "Bible-believing
Christians." This link leads you first to an explanation and
clarification that I wrote (so that you will not misunderstand what
the missionary is saying) and then to his letter.
(The PDF contains both pages, but the web links are removed.) |
HTML |
PDF (std. size print - 4 pages) / PDF (small print - 2 pages) |
Helping Missionaries With
Our "Tea Bags"! |
It is good (and pleasing to God) when we are willing
to help those who have been sent out with the good news about Jesus.
However, we need to make sure our help is appropriate! We also need
to remember that the way we help reflects our character. [This
humorous, yet serious, article focuses on helping missionaries (and others) in a tangible
(material) way. We need to remember that we can also help in non-tangible
ways, such as through prayer.]
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HTML (with a link to a PDF example) /
PDF |
Hungry? |
Just a couple verses that remind us of our priorities.
NOTE: The HTML page also has a link for further study - not on the PDF page. |
HTML / PDF
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A Study in Values (& the "Value
Chart") |
This group of studies explores various issues related to
how different values relate to each other. A few selected Bible verses
are examined, to show how values can be prioritized. The over-all
focus is similar to the "Love and Hate" article (above), but this study
is more generalized and perhaps not as in-depth. (This might be a good
place to start if you're not familiar with the concept.) |
HTML / To the PDF's |
"Hating the Sin and Loving the Sinner"? |
The idea of "hating the sin and loving the sinner" is a
half-truth. Ignoring the other half of the truth often leads to a
gross distortion of both truth and justice. This article looks at some
of these issues. |
HTML /
PDF |
From the Bible - examples of prayer for wisdom (for
knowing how to live)...
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not
stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of
his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians
1:9)
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what
is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ...
(Philippians 1:9-10)
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