Today it seems as if those who have the most rock solid values are lacking in vision. Likewise, many who have vision are lacking in values. It must be our goal to have vision with values. We want to sink our roots deeper and deeper into sound biblical truth, with a genuine commitment to the moral standards and integrity that are clearly mandated by Scripture.

        As we pursue understanding the greatest Christian life, one thing we must dispel is that the greatest Christians were the most famous ones. Those who are most well-known on earth may be least known in heaven. Those who are the most highly esteemed in heaven may be little known on earth. Having great spiritual authority with men is not as high as having great authority with God.

      Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,
      and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so.

      And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind,
      and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
      And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Genesis 1:11-13).

         Every worldview has an ideal society as its goal. What is the Christian worldview of the ideal society?

The Da Vinci Code is an important book that we need to understand. This book may be a well-written suspense thriller, but for historical accuracy it is hard to imagine one that has so twisted and distorted the facts. Even though it is a compelling read, it is taken too seriously by many, which is a statement about our times that we need to understand.

          The American Founding Fathers believed that tyranny could come from either the government or from the people. Because of this, they built a brilliant system of government that had firewalls to protect against the tyranny from either direction. They warned that if these firewalls were torn down, the Republic could not last. In the last century, we tore both firewalls down, and the system has been crumbling since.

Through Achan’s sin, Israel had learned some valuable lessons about both greed and rebellion. Sin results in defeat. Rebellion results in defeat. To take the Promised Land, or to possess our promises, we need faith, courage, wisdom, and a resolute heart to obey the Lord.

The next aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is “gentleness” (Galatians 5:23). This is defined as being “mild, kind,” or “not being rough, violent, harsh, or severe.” Some people may be born with a natural gentle demeanor, but the fruit of the Spirit that is gentleness is to conduct yourself with sensitivity and consideration for others.

The world’s problems are getting bigger, more complicated, and increasingly beyond man’s ability to solve. The end of this age will be marked by cascading problems that have surpassed any human ability to deal with them. This is the ultimate fruit of man trying to live without God. Not only man, but the whole creation will forever be able to look back on the history of the earth and see what the results are when trying to live without God. In the midst of this, there will be a testimony of what it is like to live with God.

Our perspective of the kingdom must be based on knowing the King. As I have contended that much of the biblical teachings on righteousness deal with stewardship, which is management, there is a sure biblical witness that the Lord cares deeply about this. It was this issue in the Parable of the Talents that determined which servants heard "Well done," and which heard "You wicked, lazy slave!" (see Matthew 25:21-26 NIV) That is how important being a good steward is.