Truth

Posted on by

0

bibles

bibles (Photo credit: fancycwabs)

Truth

“The Bible is not inerrant, but the eternal truths contained within it are”. If you are a student in either of my Bible study classes you have heard me say this before. What do I mean by this? There seems to be a lot of bickering among Christians and non-Christians alike about the Bible and whether or not we are to take it literally. We have a tendency to get hung up on wording. We labor over minute points. What I know for certain about the truth in scripture is this. The Bible, first and foremost, is the love story of an almighty and eternal God for His people. It begins when that dream is but a spark in His eye, a hope yet to be born. As the pages unfold, we find a story of astonishing depth and breadth- of incredible majestic heights and plunging depths of betrayal. Had these sacred truths never been recorded by his people in this endearing and enduring form it would be nonetheless The Truth in all it’s resplendent beauty.

However, it is this Truth contained within the pages which make the Bible a sacred text, not the way in which the story is particularly worded or told. Any time we as human readers of it attempt to change this revealed truth into browbeating legalism, we are guilty of destroying the sacred Truth in Love that the text is meant to reveal. Indeed, it is not the words on the pages themselves as they are written or expressed that are sacred, but rather the heart of God as revealed to the reader which comprises the holy and sacred. Just as Christ said of the Sabbath- man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man. So the message of the Bible was not designed to make His children a slave to legalism and restricted interpretations of other men, but rather to free them in truth and love to live a life redeemed by His grace. May each of us remember as we search and study scripture that it is not the text itself that we should revere, but rather the heart, mind, and soul of Love who created The Word Eternal who is worthy of all our praise. Amen.

Life in Unexpected Places

Posted on by

0

Inexpensive brick and pavers path entry, backd...

Inexpensive brick and pavers path entry, backdoor, $1 dollar each (Home Depot), total cost $4, Seattle, Washington, USA (Photo credit: Wonderlane)

Life in Unexpected Places

Have you ever noticed that no matter how tightly placed stone pavers are that somehow grass manages to spring up between the hardscape? I am certain this is never intended, but it happens as seed and water flow in after a rain. Grass begins to grow unobserved at first. Soon, the unwanted and unintentional grass shooting up with its’ greenness and vitality seems to have more life and function than the cold stone pavers.

This is indeed how Life is. Life in the Kingdom of God manages to grow and flourish almost in spite of us. We are unforgiving. We neglect the reading of Scripture. We avoid gathering with the saints. We misuse resources from God intended to help the Body of Christ and use them for other lesser things. Our hearts are much like cold stone pavers.

But somehow, by the grace and the hand of God, growing between these intentionally placed hard hearts, grows the occasional disciple who has managed to hear the voice of God in spite of everything. This one sees the unseen beyond this life of plenty, and knows that he can never be satisfied with merely the things of this world. He manages to grow and thrive as the grass between the stone pavers….

This lone life and voice is raised above and beyond the trained perfection of music played and sung by the majority present. From its unschooled tones erupts the perfect song of praise, hauntingly beautiful, precious in His sight. Here in the church of Laodicea amongst the stone cold pavers, Life Grows! Amen.

Talking Heads

Posted on by

0

Talking Heads

They speak with such eloquence. A team of busy ants working behind the scenes puts together, with great care and experience, every sound bite and graphic in order to convince us of the correctness or the incorrectness of each issue they are addressing.

Little by little these modern day TV evangelists who start our day have convinced us that everything is either right or wrong (depending on the political leanings of their particular network) and as long as we buy the products of their advertisers and live within the boundaries of political correctness all is well.

If, over time, we allow ourselves to be lulled by the sound of their perfectly modulated voices, their perfect coifs and clothing, and their slick presentation of the “facts” we may find that we have gradually lost the ability to think for ourselves.

Be wary of those who would shape your world view. What world are they referring to? Certainly this one, not the next. Their overreaching, overarching concern is always and only for the things of this world. As such, there is no concern for the fact that each and every last one of us stands condemned before a Holy God. In fact- their mission is to convince us that such a belief is pure nonsense. They drone on and on day in and day out, and if we are not careful, we find that their secular world view has replaced our Biblical one. With out lifting a finger Satan has driven The Gospel from our hearts and minds with the assistance of the smooth, practiced smiley faces of morning news network anchors. These purveyors of political correctness, demopublicans who proffer meditations on nothingness, have stolen the righteousness born only of God from or hearts and replaced it with a world view without purpose, without passion, and without praise. Where will we turn the next time the towers fall?

Iron Filings and Magnetic Forces

Posted on by

0

English: Iron filings

English: Iron filings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Iron Filings and Magnetic Forces

Sometimes all of life seems to be a series of random, unrelated, and chaotic events. When you examine the whole of it- births, deaths, relationships forming, relationships dissolving, successes, failures, goals achieved, and stinging disappointments, it sometimes is difficult to see the meaning in any of it. There is no discernible pattern. Nothing seems to make sense. It can all seem so……random.

To use an illustration- life can sometimes seem like random iron filings scattered about on a piece of blank paper. What we see is scattered blots arranged with no particular rhyme or reason, forming no discernible pattern whatsoever. This remains the case until a strong magnet is applied and the filings begin to submit themselves to the strong pull of unseen forces and orient themselves accordingly. Such a powerful force is only evident by its effect.

This is the power of Christ in our lives. As His power is applied to our lives, all things reorient themselves in submission to His will. The magnetic force of His Spirit pulls the events of our lives together in a way that reveals order and intention. We see patterns instead of randomness. Reason instead of chaos. Purpose instead of confusion. Amazingly, this power effects not just the present and the future, but also how we view events of the past as well.

God, as a Spirit, is timeless and eternal. He is therefore never bound by time’s chains. He breaks the limitations of the past and our memory, understanding the way we see the past as surely as He makes the past come alive in his work. Whether over the eons it took to carve the Grand Canyon or in just the moment it took to form a flake of snow.

So then – it is Christ’s living presence applied to our lives that is the way by which we find wholeness out of brokenness, meaning out of suffering, order out of disorder, and purpose out of purposelessness. When we allow ourselves and our lives to be ordered by the power of His Spirit, we find that He does indeed, make all things new again. Amen.