Hope or Deconstruction? (a loving response to the woke movement)

How valuable is your faith to you? In a time when 'deconstructing your faith' has become a popular mantra, will you follow the trends or stand in defence of the gospel?

David the psalmist wrote, "It is time for you to act Lord; your law is being broken. Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path." Psalms 119:126-8.

Why has it come to this?

Firstly, on a spiritual level during a fearful time, a shocking reality check for humanity on its chosen path. In civil society, a need to find blame for the collective problems we face.

Within the church, a disillusionment from mega/entertainment church culture. It has not been a faithful witness and isn't the model taught by Jesus for believers, because it doesn't meet the real needs of community and it places honour in the wrong place.

Secondly, the contrasting world views supported by the religion of LGTQ+ with the foundational truths of faith in the teachings of Jesus. The two are incompatible.

So why is it 'ill-conceived' to deconstruct your faith? My question to you is - what will be left if you do? And will it still be called 'faith'? Can you deny the truths of the gospel and still remain a christian? What does the world offer you that is better than what you already had?

The greatest teacher of love (Jesus), instructed his disciples to keep his commandments as a sign of their love for him. "If you love me, keep my commandments". There are some 49 commandments of Jesus taught in the new testament. The term disciple means, "to be a disciplined follower of Jesus, to be a student" (of his teachings). This means to devote yourself to learning, to doing, to practicing and to keeping his teachings.

Jesus himself taught and upheld, validated, honoured, and lead by example the keeping of all 10 commandments (from old testament law) in his new testament teachings. These were the very words of God, written in stone and given to man. We know that 'righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne' (Psalms 11:3) and that 'God you remain the same, yesterday and today and forever'. (Heb 13:8, Psalms 102:27). The law of righteousness gives us a picture of the character of God, and what he stands for and against. It is a dividing line between His ways and the world's way. Righteousness and unrighteousness. Life and death.

These laws of love are the laws 'written on our hearts' at conversion into the christian faith, this is the New Covenant made available by Jesus' death on the cross. The 'laws written on the heart' of the believer is their conscience and their moral compass (new nature). To go against their conscience is a hard thing for a believer because on the inside they are being held to account for their actions.

"They show that the requirements of the law are written in their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness" (Romans 2:15).

Jesus taught us to walk in the way of love. That "love is the fulfilment of the law". He taught that he had not come to "abolish the law or prophets" but to fulfil them. He also warned, "Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of the commands and teaches others accordingly, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven". (Matt 5:17-20).

When a believer goes against their conscience they put themselves in a place where they can be tempted to sin.

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them" James 4:17.

Sin is also the transgression of the law, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin is lawlessness." 1 John 3:4. The law is for the unconverted to show that there is universal law and order.

"We know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers - and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel" 1 Timothy 1:9-11

So if you are a believer, you have the law of love working on the inside of you, and if you are a non-believer, the law still holds you to account with consequences for living in rebellion to it. "For the wages of sin is death". When Jesus sacrificed his life for yours, he took the punishment, on your account for the righteous law being broken. He paid the price for you to be set free from the 'law of sin and death' which held you captive. This is why you put your faith in him.

So to ignore the reality of a law of righteousness is to believe a lie, it was the first lie that was ever told. "You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman." Genesis 3:4. So if you believe that there is no law, that there is no sin then "doing your own thing" does actually make sense. There is no need for repentance, no need for conversion and therefore no transformation of the soul. There is no need for a saviour and no need for an atoning sacrifice on the cross. This is the deconstructed gospel!

When two opposing world views collide they cannot be blended together. As an artist I know the results of mixing the wrong blue with the wrong yellow. The blended colours become unusable, they are lifeless and very disappointing to work with. We can't expect better results then this, it doesn't matter how many times we try the same colour blending experiment you will always get the same result. Warm and cool colours have their own unique qualities. Both are incredible in the hands of a skilled artist. So it isn't about value or one over the other, its about difference, its about purpose. It isn't about unity (through blending), it's about keeping seperate and using to greatest effect each for their unique purposes and qualities.

One will say, "do your own thing", "be your own person", "be proud of who you are". The other will say, "If you love me keep my commandments", "you are not your own, you were bought at a price, therefore honour God with your bodies", "humble yourself under the mighty of God, that he may lift you up in due time." Can you see the difference? And it wasn't hard to find these differences, there are many other such teachings that collide. The religion of "do your own will" and "keep My commandments" will never blend. This was proven in the garden of Eden, when Eve took the forbidden fruit. God gave her a commandment and told her a truth, then the serpent told her it wasn't true and with lies deceived her. Adam went along with it and they lost their beautiful garden home.

The woke movement gives you permission to throw off the traditions of the past? You should know exactly what you are throwing off? Which foundational truths are being down-graded in the process? Do these woke concepts stand at odds with the belief in a righteous God and that his law is truth and a standard for human morality? Does the woke movement at its core seeks to defame Jesus or reframe Jesus? "No one who denies the Son has the Father, whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:23. Do you remember the story of Job? He lost all his possessions, his family, his health, his status but in his faithfulness to God he confessed, "till I die, I will not deny my integrity!" Job 27:5.

So has the greatest teacher of love (Jesus) been defamed by the teachings of the woke movement? By his unfaithful bride and by the popular culture surrounding the liberation of sexual identification?

Are you in confusion to reconcile the concepts of "love" and "identity" when they are taught by both ideologies yet the two stand in opposition to each other?

My belief is that the woke movement fails to give the world the answers we need RIGHT NOW, it only seeks to cast blame, shame and dismantle the building blocks of a moral civil society. To sell out your hope in heaven for a version of a man-made utopia. To make you your own god and disgrace the bible.

How can you 'deconstruct your faith' and remain 'faithful'? How can you destroy the foundations and have stability? How can you disconnect from Love and expect healthy relationships? How can you overcome fear and failure without a vision of hope?

What we need now is restoration of health and relationships, we need businesses to succeed, we need stability not confusion, we need conviction not compromise, we need to seperate from everything 'toxic' not create more of it! But mostly we need HOPE, not hopelessness in a world of fear. If you "deconstruct" your faith you will have no hope because to have faith, hope comes first. "Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the HOPE of the godless." Job 8:13. You are first preached the 'hope of the gospel', then you believe (faith) and are saved. "We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved." Hebrews 10:39. "For the just shall live by faith".

If you 'deconstruct your faith' you agree with a statement "I deconstruct my FAITH'. It's a slander to what your 'faith already is", you are sending in the demolition crew! It is different to deconstruct my 'ideologies' or deconstruct my 'traditions'. To deconstruct your FAITH is in itself a statement of disbelief. Ask yourself, am I still a faithful believer in Jesus Christ? or have I just denied 'the faith'. If you let go of faith you will be robbed of your hope too.

HOPE is the missing link.

Without hope there is no faith. Without faith, there is no love.

The result is hopelessness. The result is fear and greed. The result is lust with no commitment or responsibility. And this is where relationships are breaking, businesses are failing and injustice has become the calling card for international agendas.

So what is HOPE?

True hope is the picture or image of truth painted on your spiritual consciousness or heart. It needs to grow there in the secret place. Like a butterfly forming in the cocoon. It needs to be protected. It needs time and nurture. It's the young heart and mind being taught on the inside by the love of God. It's the forming of your true identity.

Hope needs to become fully formed in your inner being so that faith comes forward.

Faith is the substance of things "hoped" for. Faith is the wings of the butterfly opening up. Faith is the right equipment, what you need to live a life worthy of the calling you were given. It is the wings you need to fly. It's the development of your purpose. It's the birth place of social justice. The mantra of international community development in the literature always was, "do no harm". Jesus also taught, "Love does no harm to his neighbour".

Love is faith in action. When faith becomes a moving force, it's true empowerment and the results are the goodness of love in all its various expressions. Love has good fruits, like joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. When we live these truths we put faith in action. We become love.

The full expression of who you are is the forming of true identity and purpose within you. You will be empowered to fight a beautiful fight not an ugly one. Hatred and the shunning of family members who love you but do not agree with you will only leave you isolated. A community that espouses 'acceptance', 'tolerance' and 'love' but forces you to shun is at its heart hypocritical! That path looks for you like broken relationships, dishonour and poverty.

Fighting injustice starts with fighting greed (which fuels modern day sexual slavery), walking away from drug use and walking away from supporting ideologies that result in wars which cause displacement and gross human suffering. The three biggest industries in the world today are human trafficking, drugs and arms trading. This is the 'level' of consciousness that humanity is at, that's the reality check. If you want to move into a 'new age' of enlightenment, start by fighting injustice by destroying lust and greed within yourself. This protects families and communities, by consuming less, practising thankfulness and living content with what you have. Materialism is greed, this is the root of the problem. Honouring truth, standing for what is right and fighting injustice is what love in action really looks like.

Also remember, your sexuality is not the entirety of who you are. You are more than your sexual preference, you are more than sensuality. If you focus only on sensuality you have not become a student; a truth seeker is one who is willing to learn.

Your true identity is already within you in seed form, it is faith placed in your heart. It needs the nurture of love to develop. If you 'deconstruct your faith' you will never become what you are meant to be. Go through the whole process of transformation, it all starts with hope.

Learn the teachings of Jesus. Learn his law of love. True identity and true capacity to love will begin to form. You will become a new creation. You will transform into the truest version of yourself. Can you see hope in these words? Can you sense your identity and calling? Can you sense faith rising? Can you feel love? I believe in you and I want the best for you, and I know it cannot be found in false doctrine or in hate speech. Two haters don't make a right. Leave the fight alone, it needs to dissipate. You need to do the work, and that is to believe.

Learn where truth and wisdom comes from. Eat from the Tree of Life and you will be healed of every heartbreak and every wrong done against you. You'll find forgiveness and restoration. The leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. In a little while "He who is coming, will come... He will wipe away every tear from your eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away".

May true hope arise in your heart today.