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Truth is worth the journey

There is no greater journey in this life than seeking truth. Yesterday I discussed how questioning truth can be risky and I shared a few ways to help mitigate the risk. I'd like to share a few more guidelines for stepping out being as a seeker of truth. Take time to read and listen to authors and others you may not agree with. Try to listen with openness and respect. Try to set aside your pre-conceived ideas about their beliefs or doctrinal positions. Our faith should be built on a strong enough foundation to withstand being challenged. I think it's our pride rather than our faith that can be offended at times. Don't worry, the Holy Spirit will guide you through this process. Be prepared for criticism. Your openness and questions will challenge people and threaten some. Those who don't come to you in love and in the context of a healthy relationship probably don't have anything constructive to share. If someone you trust and respect questions the veracity of your fa

Questioning truth can be risky

Asking question to better understand truth can be risky. You need to be willing to adjust your thinking. Adjustments are almost always necessary. Somehow, we move from openness to defensiveness.  New believers are usually hungry to learn and grow in their faith. We all get comfortable after a while and want to build our identity and life on what we know. We like to surround ourselves with others who think like we do. That can be a good thing because we need community to help us grow and understand truth, but it can also hold us back. Being open to grow in your faith can sometimes feel like you may be losing your way or disconnecting from your foundation. Feeling like you might take a wrong turn or be deceived by false teaching is a valid concern. Here are a few things I would recommend in keeping yourself grounded. Surround yourself with people you trust. Give them permission to hold you accountable and challenge you on stuff when needed. Ground yourself in prayer and the Word. Don'

Go and do likewise

In Luke 10:25-37, a lawyer tests Jesus by asking how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds by asking what the law says about this? The man's answer is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. Thats the correct answer, that's what God's Word tells us, that's the truth this man had learned at some point. As an expert in the law, he wanted to know how to keep every aspect of the law without fail so he asked Jesus who his neighbor was. Jesus replies by telling the story of the good Samaritan who has compassion on a wounded man by the side of the road. Jesus then asks the man who in the story he thought had been a good neighbor to the wounded man. The man answer that it was the one who showed him compassion. Jesus then responds by saying "Go and do likewise." Jesus was saying that it is not enough to know the truth, we must also go and do the truth. If I am not willing to go and demonstrate com

Half-truth

"A half-truth made out to be a whole truth is an untruth" N. T. Wright. This quote is so profound and so necessary for us to understand. The Scriptures were meant to be progressive. Peter's vision in Act 10 is a good example of this. No, that does not mean you can make truth whatever you want it to be. Truth will never conflict with its own nature. That is why Jesus does not do away with the law, he fulfills it. The content of the Bible moves from a restrictive law-based environment to the freedom of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Many Christians like and promote the law-based approach which leads to stopping short of a pursuit of the whole truth. Then the half-truth is presented to be the whole truth. The goal moves from seeking and knowing truth, to compliance with the truth we know. Thats not a criticism, it's just the nature of the law-based approach. I believe N. T. Wright is right and unfortunately our attempts to shape our worldview with half-truths ends up becom

Thank you for your kindness

Today I walked past one of our Meritus team members who was helping a guest and their family with registration.  As I walked by, they were finishing up and I heard the guest say to lady behind the desk "Thank you for your kindness." I was very impressed by that. I feel it's so important to share kindness. This fruit of the Spirit is an act of creation. When you are kind to others, you actually create something good in that person. As with all the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, we are allowing them to encounter the kingdom of God through our lives. I try to go out of my way to be overly kind and express gratitude to others, but it never occurred to me to thank people for their kindness. I think I will from now on.

Filling spaces

God creates spaces that he intends to fill. God is relational and there is no concept of love, relationship, giving, receiving, and filling without the other. That's why God is a triune being. Thats why he created our universe and this planet and filled it with life. That's why he created humanity and seeks to fill us and order our lives according to his own pattern of relationship. I heard Rob Bell talk about the pattern for the Genesis 1 poem where God created spaces and then fille those spaces. See the pattern here between day 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6. Then on the 7th day, God rested in the completion of his work. Our discovery and understanding of patterns like this are crucial to our understanding of who God is, who we are, and who we are to become. Day 1-God created the light, the day and the night >>  Day 4-God filled the day and night with the sun, moon, and stars. Day 2-God created  the sky and the oceans >> Day 5-God filled  the skies and the oceans wit

Good & Evil - 02

I keep thinking about why when a man who knows the right path will often intentionally choose the wrong path. Why would we seek to tear down our life and other's lives rather than build up? Yesterday I talked about good and evil and how emptiness is the absence of good. Without the good things from God flowing into our life, we cannot choose the right path. The same could be said for a life that is being filled with the wrong things. God loves an empty vessel because that person can be filled. Jesus called the poor in spirit blessed and said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. When we make our own way or put ourselves above others, then there is no room for us to receive from the Lord. Spiritual growth happens as we surrender our empty spaces and our unformed human nature to the Lord. His Spirit will transform that space and bring order. The enemy desires to claim that space for himself. He wants to manipulate the spaces of your life in his image rather th

Good & Evil - 01

The debate over man's inherent evil or goodness is nothing new. I will just say that goodness, the character and nature of God, does not originate with man. God did create man with the capacity to receive, practice, and grow in goodness. I believe we were all created in God's image with the innate ability to know right from wrong and do right or wrong. How else would free will be possible? I keep thinking about why when a man who knows the right path will often intentionally choose the wrong path. Why would we seek to tear down our life and other's lives rather than build up? There are a number of reasons for this, but I want to highlight just one today. In a sense, evil is the absence of good, like darkness is the absence of light, or cold is the absence of heat energy. Evil is the disruption of God's plan, the incorrect ordering of nature or the movement from order to chaos. Good is creative and brings order to unformed and unordered nature. Think about the Holy Spiri

Incarnation

The importance of the incarnation of Jesus cannot be understated.  I'm taking a Western Philosophy online course through Hillsdale College. Professor Schlueter discussed Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In short, Palto presents a thought experiment of a cave with three levels. At the lowest level, prisoners are chained as the sit facing the back wall of the cave. On an upper level behind them, there is a large fire with men holding up objects, so the object's shadow is reflected on the back wall of the cave for the prisoners to see. The top level is the world above the cave with trees and the sun shining down.  The allegorical scene then is of the top level where you see reality with light and trees. One level down, you have men determining what they think is real and projecting images of their reality to the prisoners below. All the prisoners know of their world is from the images they see. The professor then asked what would happen if one of the prisoners were to be freed an

Eisegesis - 02

Eisegesis  -  an interpretation, especially of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter's own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text. I see this eisegetical dynamic at work all the time. We've become polarized by religion, politics, and social issues. We keep listening to people who reinforce what we want to hear. It feels good to be on the winning side. We all like to be right. So much so that we often become blind to what's truly the right thing. This is natural for us, but we can break the cycle if we are more aware of the pattern.  We bring an eisegetical approach to scripture because that's how we approach other things. Does it seem like no one listens anymore or really hears you? Thats because they listen only to hear what reinforces their own beliefs or produces their own preferred outcomes. It's more difficult than ever to focus and pay attention to other people or think beyond our immediate circumstances. Even in the church, we can&#

Eisegesis -01

Eisegesis -  an interpretation, especially of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter's own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text. Eisegesis is a hermeneutical term I address in the introduction to Bible study lectures. We need to be aware of how easy it can be to bring our own pre-conceived ideas and preferred outcomes to the text. Eisegetical observations lead to wrong interpretations which lead to self-reinforced application. It's human nature and unless we take a step back and recognize what's happening, we will keep going thinking we're right.  One of the problems is that we live by the laws of our doctrines or past teaching rather than a living relationship with Jesus Christ. It's in our best self-interest to reinforce our beliefs through the study of Scripture. No one wants to be wrong or admit that they have built their house on the sand. Many Christians, me included, have built their identity on being a Christian. It can be very em

Online Bible and theology related courses

I want to recommend some good online courses. First, N.T. Wright online is a great source of excellent teaching. There are very few teachers out there today better than N. T. Wright. Many are paid courses, but there are some free courses and videos. I am still working my way through the course on the Apostle Paul. Second is  Hillsdale College Online Courses . These courses are free, and donations are encouraged. These are excellent courses, and they are well done. I've finished the Genesis course which I highly recommend. I signed up for the new Exodus course which is the same professor as the Genesis course. I also enrolled in the Introduction to Western Philosophy course which I started today. Larry Arnn presents the introduction to the philosophy course. He talks about the difference between practical wisdom and wisdom. I hear people say truth never changes and that is true, but I remind them that we change. How we learn truth and how we apply truth does change. Wisdom is "

Illegitimate Totality Transfer

Today I was listening to a talk entitled "Reading the Gospel While Black" with N. T. Wright, Esau McCaulley, and Tim Mackie. McCaulley makes a great point about the necessity for clear definitions when we discuss topics like justice. He referred to the hermeneutical term, illegitimate totality transfer which assumes that all the uses of a word or term that occur in a given time will apply in any given instance.  As I tell my bible Study class, words can have different meanings in different contexts. A biblical author can use a word one way with one meaning and another author can use the same word with a different intended meaning.  Illegitimate totality transfer is when we insist that word or idea carries the entirety of its meaning no matter how it is used. For example, the meaning of the word salvation can convey different meanings and intent in different texts, but some faith groups only see the word in its entirety no matter where or how it's presented in context. I k

We are all responsible

I think sometimes I can be too critical of the church. I don't mean to be. My desire is to create an awareness and hunger for real fellowship and relationship with God. I want to teach God's Word, help people grow, and jump into discussions we should all be having. The truth is that being the church of Jesus Christ and building faith communities is everyone's responsibility. There are things we all need to be doing better and things we all need to surrender to the Holy Spirit. The best way to help others grow in Christ is to be like Christ. There is a reason Jesus took on the form of humanity and came to us and lived among us. The incarnation is the best way to be and share the love of God with others. What a simple and truly wonderful thing it is to just share God's love with another human being. We can all do that any time and, in any place, and in any situation.

Faith Assumptions

Yesterday, I was thinking about the assumptions we often make about people. Today, I was thinking about how we make assumptions with our faith. Why do we believe the things we do? Hopefully because we received good, solid teaching and instruction through God's Word. Thats a good thing, but do we then use those foundations of faith to interpret everything else we know about faith? In a way, yes, we should. If something is true, it will continue to be true and will be reinforced as we learn new aspects of truth. However, I think we need to approach every learning opportunity with an open mind. Just like I can't pre-judge a person and make certain assumptions before I even meet them, I can't do that with truth. I must approach a person with an openness to really get to know them for who they are, not just reinforce who I think they are. Can we do the same thing with truth? Can we discuss doctrines, question scriptural interpretations, and freely ask questions about our faith w

People Assumptions

Do we make too many assumptions about people we encounter? I think I do. Especially in spiritual matters. It just feels practical and safe, I guess. For twenty plus years I've been teaching discipleship classes and small groups. I've always felt like the Holy Spirit helps me discern where people may be at spiritually. Part of that is because I feel he helps me teach and he wants to reach people where they are. Still, I think I miss a lot when I engage with people through assumptions rather than an open mind. Many times, I know I've held back things I should have said because I assume people will not respond well or not understand. Maybe I should have anyway. As I told a small group recently, obedience is the thing that matters to God.  People have surprised me lately. They have been more open and receptive. Is it a coincidence that I've experienced that in situations where I chose to follow the Holy Spirit's leading? Probably not. God wants people to have every oppo

Worship

Worship is necessary for spiritual life. I'm not saying it is a requirement to be saved or born of the Spirit. In Acts 16:31, the jailor cries out to Paul and Silas asking, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your household." That's all it takes. Howard Hendricks used to say salvation was "Jesus + nothing". True belief requires our whole self to receive all that Christ is. Only we try to differentiate between things like belief, faith, obedience, discipleship, and worship. It is all the same thing to God (at least I believe it is). So many believers are missing the opportunity for real worship together as a community. We need worship like water in the desert. Without it, our desire and passion to be with the Lord will wither and fade. It will be replaced with law and duty rather than devotion. Many believers don't even know what they are missing. When we experience worsh

Leap Day

Today is Leap Day. I follow Seth Godin's blog and he has a great post today called The Leap .  Several years ago, Seth took a leap and decided to blog every day. Now he is sharing post #9000 with the world. Pretty incredible. For me, this is #592 with 65 days in a row now.  I encourage you to think about a leap you can take. We all get discouraged because we have taken leaps before and have fallen short. Don't let that stand in your way. Start with something small, something doable. Do something that stretches you or challenges you in some way. The key is to decide to take the leap then do it and don't look back. Once the decision is made, you just keep going. Seth's leap 9000 posts ago was "T he decision to be a blogger. And then redeciding, each day, not to stop." Thats been the key for me as well. I decided before the end of the 2023 that I needed to write every day. I want to keep my mind in a place where I always have something fresh to share.  Seth says

A vision on a rooftop by the sea - 07

In the last post on Act 10 we discussed how our religion can get in the way of the new thing God wants to do. So how do we move past that? First of all, you should know without a doubt that God is on your side. He sent his Spirit to guide you, teach you, and draw you lovingly to Christ. We often think God is not on our side, that he is waiting for us to screw up or get something wrong. That fear-based motivation is what people do, what religions who try to scare people into Heaven do, but that is not what God does. God calls to Peter through this vision and says, "Get up, kill, and eat." Then in verse 14, Peter says, "No, Lord." In verse 15 the text says, "But the voice spoke again". This happened three times. This is what God does. He speaks again, calls to us again, and draws us away from religion into relationship. He will help us leave the old thing for the new thing if we let him. We can choose to stay close minded, or we can open our hearts and be po

How old is the universe?

 How old is this universe? No one really knows. Why does it matter? Because learning, exploration and wonder matter. God created us with the ability and the drive to ask questions and constantly seek out new knowledge. In Ps. 19:1, the psalmist declares that "The heavens declare the glory of God." We were created to fellowship with God, to look up in awe and wonder at his artistry and glory. I've asked myself lately why so many Christians have such a narrow, restrictive view of the universe? We seem to base everything on biblical genealogy and the presumed age of the Earth. I believe a correct interpretation of those passages show they were meant, as all biblical text are, to point the way toward Christ, the Messiah. Science and technology are growing and making new discoveries all the time. It feels like we are forcing that data into a very narrow and limited framework. I don't understand why, except that we're desperate to prove the Bible is true according to ou