I have a friend who used to throw sheets over her mirrors. She had heard of a religion that believed your soul could be stolen if you looked in a mirror at night. My husband went to law school with some very intellectual individuals who would not take a test without their lucky article of clothing. I have many faithful Christian friends that forward me emails promising blessings and riches if I pass it on to seven people in the next seven minutes.
Often we are more apt to believe the extravagant rituals and superstitions than the simple call of our God. The Bible constantly condemns the people of Israel for putting their faith in an idol they had created with their own hands. It sound ridiculous to us that someone believed that a golden calf could bring rain or offspring, but we put our faith in hopeless things as well.
We put more faith in our intelligence, career, family, or money- all which could be gone in a moment of tragedy- than we do in God and His ability to provide us with all that we need. God asks us to seek first His Kingdom and all else will be given to us. It really is that simple but we would rather trust our own creations than our Creator.
The Biblical story of Naaman is a perfect depiction of how we often make belief more complicated than it really is. Naaman had a leprosy, a horrible skin disease that was very contagious and often left the victim disfigured. Naaman was told that he could find healing through the great prophet Elisha. Elisha instructs Naaman to wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be cured.
Naaman goes away angry and says, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" (2 Kings 5:11-12) Naaman was expecting some kind of showy affair or at least wash in rivers that were considered cleaner than the Jordan.
Naaman thought the river or the ritual held the healing power, but it would be his belief demonstrated in following the instruction that would cure him.. Elisha could have instructed him to wash in a different river or roll in the mud or do ten jumping jacks and he would have been healed either way. Naaman doubted God's capabilities of healing him and was putting his belief in the act of the cleansing.
Naaman's servant reasoned with him, "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed!'" Naaman is convinced and washes in the Jordan and is healed.
Like Naaman, God has given us the same simple commandment: Wash and be cleansed! We act out our belief in God through Holy Baptism, where we are washed clean of our sins through the belief in the sacrifice of Christ. Through his cleansing we are cured, but we must believe in order to be cleansed. And just like Naaman, we often doubt the simplicity of the whole thing. We say, "I thought surely God would ask me to do good works, to sell all of my possessions, to pay for my sins, and make myself acceptable in His sight first. Doesn't that make more sense?"
How often do we overlook and limit the miracles of God because we count it too simple to believe in? Our life has been tarnished by our sin. We have separated ourselves from our Creator by placing our trust in the things we have created. We have covered ourselves in the filth of greed, lust, and hatred. We are burdened by our actions and our hearts are grieving. And our God is making a simple call for us to wash and be cleansed. Have you overlooked His call because you were looking for something more complicated?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Are you in the belly of a fish?
The story of Jonah is one many of us have heard since our youth. Jonah is told to go preach to the Ninevites, a city practicing wickedness, and Jonah catches the next boat available heading to anywhere but Nineveh. As a child, I had always assumed that Jonah feared for his own life and that was why he ran. But the truth of the Book of Jonah is quite different.
Jonah thought he could run away from the task God had asked of him. He then finds himself on a boat in the midst of a terrible and unexpected storm. The passengers are terrified and pray to their respective Gods. Jonah is sleeping when one of the men come to him and asks that he pray to his God. Jonah confesses that he is the reason for the storm and tells the men to throw him overboard. The men try to row toward shore instead, but when they find this impossible, they pray that God will not hold them accountable for their actions, and throw Jonah overboard.
The next part is the well-known part of the story where Jonah is swallowed by a giant fish. He survives for three days in the belly of the fish and then is spit up on land. He then goes to the Ninevites and warns them of the threatening destruction of their evil ways. They repent of their sins and God has mercy on them.
What follows I found to be very surprising. Jonah becomes angry and prays to God, "O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Jonah 4:2-3 Jonah leaves the city and sits in a barren place to sulk and, it appears, to die. A vine grows up over Jonah and provides him shade and he is "very happy about the vine." Then a worm chews the vine and it dies and Jonah is left in the blazing sun and a scorching east wind. Again Jonah is angry with God.
"But God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?'
'I do,' he said. 'I am angry enough to die.'
But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned with this great city?'" Jonah 4:9-11
So I discovered that Jonah did not run out of fear, but because he did not want the people of Nineveh to be saved! I find it so interesting a confession as it is believed that the book of Jonah was written by Jonah himself. I wonder if Jonah had some personal issues with the Ninevites or if he just saw them to be so rotten that he could not handle them being saved. I look at myself and think of those I withhold the Gospel from. There are people whom I have deemed "unsaveable." I thought my husband was not capable of becoming a believer. I thought he was too comfortable with his lifestyle to consider a need for God. I look at a lot of people that way.
My mom told me the other day that she was going to give my business card for the blog to some old acquaintances of mine. I said, "Oh, they're not religious. I don't think they would be interested." I have wondered why I had said that ever since. Why not give it to them? Was I worried it would offend someone I don't even talk to? Or did I deem them incapable or unworthy of salvation? (Not to claim that this blog has the ability to save the lost.)
So often we limit the list of those we want to receive salvation. Murderers, molesters, cheaters, or someone who hurt us are people we do not want to run into in Heaven. Usually we draw the line of acceptable, "salvageable" behavior just a few feet past our own poorest actions. The mentality seems to be if you have done no worse, than I am okay with you "getting in." Most think they are good enough to be saved.
The story of Jonah shows us that we are all good enough to be saved in the sense that we are all in need of salvation and it is not limited to any one group of people. Jonah himself was no peach. He certainly wasn't the loving-caring-for-others-in-need type. At least not in this story. He denied God's call. He got angry with God over something that should have lead him to rejoice. But God had great mercy on him. God could have allowed him to drown. He could have allowed the Ninevites to kill him. He could have allowed him to die as he asked. Yet God was so patient with him, waiting for Jonah to come to an understanding and showing Jonah how valuable his one life was and then comparing that to all of the lives in Nineveh.
Are you in the belly of a fish? Is God calling you to share his news with someone you have deemed unworthy? Could your current circumstances in life be a result of ignoring that call?
Pray that God would help you to share the Gospel unbiasedly as He calls us to do. Pray that God would cause your heart to love those you struggle to love. Pray that you could experience joy for every sinner saved. The greater the sinner, the greater the grace. Isn't that what makes our God so great?
Jonah thought he could run away from the task God had asked of him. He then finds himself on a boat in the midst of a terrible and unexpected storm. The passengers are terrified and pray to their respective Gods. Jonah is sleeping when one of the men come to him and asks that he pray to his God. Jonah confesses that he is the reason for the storm and tells the men to throw him overboard. The men try to row toward shore instead, but when they find this impossible, they pray that God will not hold them accountable for their actions, and throw Jonah overboard.
The next part is the well-known part of the story where Jonah is swallowed by a giant fish. He survives for three days in the belly of the fish and then is spit up on land. He then goes to the Ninevites and warns them of the threatening destruction of their evil ways. They repent of their sins and God has mercy on them.
What follows I found to be very surprising. Jonah becomes angry and prays to God, "O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Jonah 4:2-3 Jonah leaves the city and sits in a barren place to sulk and, it appears, to die. A vine grows up over Jonah and provides him shade and he is "very happy about the vine." Then a worm chews the vine and it dies and Jonah is left in the blazing sun and a scorching east wind. Again Jonah is angry with God.
"But God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?'
'I do,' he said. 'I am angry enough to die.'
But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned with this great city?'" Jonah 4:9-11
So I discovered that Jonah did not run out of fear, but because he did not want the people of Nineveh to be saved! I find it so interesting a confession as it is believed that the book of Jonah was written by Jonah himself. I wonder if Jonah had some personal issues with the Ninevites or if he just saw them to be so rotten that he could not handle them being saved. I look at myself and think of those I withhold the Gospel from. There are people whom I have deemed "unsaveable." I thought my husband was not capable of becoming a believer. I thought he was too comfortable with his lifestyle to consider a need for God. I look at a lot of people that way.
My mom told me the other day that she was going to give my business card for the blog to some old acquaintances of mine. I said, "Oh, they're not religious. I don't think they would be interested." I have wondered why I had said that ever since. Why not give it to them? Was I worried it would offend someone I don't even talk to? Or did I deem them incapable or unworthy of salvation? (Not to claim that this blog has the ability to save the lost.)
So often we limit the list of those we want to receive salvation. Murderers, molesters, cheaters, or someone who hurt us are people we do not want to run into in Heaven. Usually we draw the line of acceptable, "salvageable" behavior just a few feet past our own poorest actions. The mentality seems to be if you have done no worse, than I am okay with you "getting in." Most think they are good enough to be saved.
The story of Jonah shows us that we are all good enough to be saved in the sense that we are all in need of salvation and it is not limited to any one group of people. Jonah himself was no peach. He certainly wasn't the loving-caring-for-others-in-need type. At least not in this story. He denied God's call. He got angry with God over something that should have lead him to rejoice. But God had great mercy on him. God could have allowed him to drown. He could have allowed the Ninevites to kill him. He could have allowed him to die as he asked. Yet God was so patient with him, waiting for Jonah to come to an understanding and showing Jonah how valuable his one life was and then comparing that to all of the lives in Nineveh.
Are you in the belly of a fish? Is God calling you to share his news with someone you have deemed unworthy? Could your current circumstances in life be a result of ignoring that call?
Pray that God would help you to share the Gospel unbiasedly as He calls us to do. Pray that God would cause your heart to love those you struggle to love. Pray that you could experience joy for every sinner saved. The greater the sinner, the greater the grace. Isn't that what makes our God so great?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
To Anonymous
For some of you who have not been following the dialogue I have been having with an Anonymous reader, this post may seem outside of the spirit of the blog. I can not email Anonymous or respond in private and so the best way is in a post. Please understand that I feel compelled to respond to this reader, because I once sat where s/he did.
To Anonymous- I will do my best to answer your questions, but I have to start out by saying that I can not, nor can anyone else reason someone to faith. You will not be able to reason yourself to faith. What I was trying to explain in my blog about reason becoming my God was that I only looked to my own intelligence to determine the "rightness" of God. Faith is a giving over of reason to God. I understand that this isn't easily done, as I have always been of the inquisitive nature. I still am. And what you will notice in the Bible is that many of the "greats" questioned God- Job, Solomon, David, Moses, Abraham, Thomas. I don't think that questioning God is the equivalent of turning our back on Him. I am sorry that I gave you that impression! I do think that if we are not going to God with our questions, we place ourselves in a dangerous position of turning from Him. I was trying to encourage you to go to Him with your questions.
This is how I view my faith. I have trusted God to have the answers that I myself don't have. He has been faithful in revealing to me His truth in the doubts I have brought to Him. Please don't think that I am free of the struggle of doubt, but I have learned that I can not hide from God, but He is merciful when I come to Him with my doubts and sin. I pray very regularly, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
I want you to know that I am not frightened by the questions you pose, and hope this is not what you said you may not "write here again." I am firm in my faith, so you do not have to worry about shaking it or taking it from me. And I do not think that you are trying to convince me that I am wrong. I see you as someone who is honestly seeking answers, just like I once did. I am thankful that you have chosen to engage with me. I wonder if it would be more easily done through email, only because sometimes the formatting of the blog poses problems in how I would like to line by line answer your questions. I certainly am not suggesting this to get you to reveal yourself to me or to "hide" your thoughts from my readers. I think it is healthy for Christians to know the very real struggle that so many have in coming to faith. I have family members in this same struggle. I wish I could hand my peace over to you and have it be that simple. For you to consider, you can email me at bloggingtobless@hotshepherd.org.
I am not sure I will be able to get through all of your questions today. The girls are napping right now but there is no guarantee how long that will last. Regarding the Native Americans and any that grow up in a culture different than ours- I want to first say that accepting belief in Jesus Christ does not mean you are condemning them. I know that this is what it feels like. I place my trust in a good and gracious God and can only trust in what He tells me. The rest I leave up to Him. Do I think that you must believe in Jesus in order to be saved? Yes. I think there is a reason that this makes me feel uneasy when I consider those that don't believe- some my own siblings, relatives, friends. If I did not feel uneasy about it, I would not be encouraged to tell the gospel to them. We are continually reminded of the urgency in sharing the Gospel in the Bible. I believe there is a wrong way and a right way to do this. We are also told that the Gospel will offend some. It is not always an easy truth to hear.
I do not support solely the reading of the King James Bible. I have read that as well as other versions of the Bible. I am confused when you refer to the "Jesus of the King James Version of the Bible" as though He is different from the other translations of the Bible. The message from Bible to Bible is Jesus saves. It is not like the King James was the first copy of the Bible. It was the first English translation of the Bible, but the Bible was written in Greek and Hebrew originally. We have many original texts that our current English Bibles have been translated from. I have to touch on the oral history as well. I want you to consider how important it was to a culture to properly recite an oral tradition before the age of writing. It is not like our current culture of telling stories where details get lost or distorted. They valued that knowledge more than we can understand in our age of media.
Regarding the Sabbath, the early Christians starting gathering on the first day of the week to commemorate the day when Christ rose from the dead, which was Sunday. The Book of Acts describes this transition. I don't think God cares what day we set aside for Him, as long as we are setting aside a particular time to worship Him. Romans 14:5-6 touches on this. Galatians 4:8-10 also discusses the difficulties the early Christians faced in following the law in a legalistic sense versus following it in a faithful sense. I believe that it is good for me to set aside time in my week to worship God and to draw closer to Him, but I do not believe it is necessary for my salvation. The Law was always a guideline to lead us to faith. There was never an opportunity where a man could follow the Laws of God to perfection and hence "win" salvation. That is where Jesus came in. He is the answer to the sin, the imperfection we all face in our life.
You said you admit you are "ignorant, flawed, selfish, sinful, boastful." We all are. Recognizing that is the first step to rectifying that. I know that I can not lead my life in a way that will always be pleasing to God. God can not ignore the sin in my life. If He were to draw a line and say, "All sinners who have only sinned thus many times under thus many circumstances will be considered righteous, all others condemned," where would he draw that line? God's salvation is not exclusive. It is offered to everyone sinner, even the worst kind. Paul was a murderer of Christians. David murdered so He could have the wife of another man. But God does not limit His forgiveness. It is offered to anyone, even those who once denied Him.
Colette is up so I have time to address one more question and the others I will get to shortly. You asked, "If I agree that a rich man getting into Heaven is easier than a camel passing through the eye of a needle, what should I do about any pursuits of wealth?" God does not look down upon the wealthy, in fact, He often blessed the faithful with riches. The intent of these riches are to bless others. My husband and I tithe (as well as support other charitable organizations) not because we believe it will earn us anything, but because we believe we have been blessed so that we can bless. I know that God continues to bless us because we continue to be faithful in blessing others. There was a period of time when I was out of work and my husband was only working one day a week. We had to decide if we would continue to tithe during that time. We decided that our faith had taught us that God would provide for us and we continued to tithe. Faith is about exercising! It's not just about what I believe, but how that belief leads me to action. If I say I have faith and have no works, my faith is useless. I have found that every time I put my faith into action, God proves Himself to me. When we decided to tithe, we were scared about our decision, but we went to God with that fear and told Him that we were trusting in Him. This is what He wants from you. He wants you to come to Him with your doubts and with your sin and step out in faith.
My friend, you are in my prayers. I know what a powerful thing that is.
To Anonymous- I will do my best to answer your questions, but I have to start out by saying that I can not, nor can anyone else reason someone to faith. You will not be able to reason yourself to faith. What I was trying to explain in my blog about reason becoming my God was that I only looked to my own intelligence to determine the "rightness" of God. Faith is a giving over of reason to God. I understand that this isn't easily done, as I have always been of the inquisitive nature. I still am. And what you will notice in the Bible is that many of the "greats" questioned God- Job, Solomon, David, Moses, Abraham, Thomas. I don't think that questioning God is the equivalent of turning our back on Him. I am sorry that I gave you that impression! I do think that if we are not going to God with our questions, we place ourselves in a dangerous position of turning from Him. I was trying to encourage you to go to Him with your questions.
This is how I view my faith. I have trusted God to have the answers that I myself don't have. He has been faithful in revealing to me His truth in the doubts I have brought to Him. Please don't think that I am free of the struggle of doubt, but I have learned that I can not hide from God, but He is merciful when I come to Him with my doubts and sin. I pray very regularly, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
I want you to know that I am not frightened by the questions you pose, and hope this is not what you said you may not "write here again." I am firm in my faith, so you do not have to worry about shaking it or taking it from me. And I do not think that you are trying to convince me that I am wrong. I see you as someone who is honestly seeking answers, just like I once did. I am thankful that you have chosen to engage with me. I wonder if it would be more easily done through email, only because sometimes the formatting of the blog poses problems in how I would like to line by line answer your questions. I certainly am not suggesting this to get you to reveal yourself to me or to "hide" your thoughts from my readers. I think it is healthy for Christians to know the very real struggle that so many have in coming to faith. I have family members in this same struggle. I wish I could hand my peace over to you and have it be that simple. For you to consider, you can email me at bloggingtobless@hotshepherd.org.
I am not sure I will be able to get through all of your questions today. The girls are napping right now but there is no guarantee how long that will last. Regarding the Native Americans and any that grow up in a culture different than ours- I want to first say that accepting belief in Jesus Christ does not mean you are condemning them. I know that this is what it feels like. I place my trust in a good and gracious God and can only trust in what He tells me. The rest I leave up to Him. Do I think that you must believe in Jesus in order to be saved? Yes. I think there is a reason that this makes me feel uneasy when I consider those that don't believe- some my own siblings, relatives, friends. If I did not feel uneasy about it, I would not be encouraged to tell the gospel to them. We are continually reminded of the urgency in sharing the Gospel in the Bible. I believe there is a wrong way and a right way to do this. We are also told that the Gospel will offend some. It is not always an easy truth to hear.
I do not support solely the reading of the King James Bible. I have read that as well as other versions of the Bible. I am confused when you refer to the "Jesus of the King James Version of the Bible" as though He is different from the other translations of the Bible. The message from Bible to Bible is Jesus saves. It is not like the King James was the first copy of the Bible. It was the first English translation of the Bible, but the Bible was written in Greek and Hebrew originally. We have many original texts that our current English Bibles have been translated from. I have to touch on the oral history as well. I want you to consider how important it was to a culture to properly recite an oral tradition before the age of writing. It is not like our current culture of telling stories where details get lost or distorted. They valued that knowledge more than we can understand in our age of media.
Regarding the Sabbath, the early Christians starting gathering on the first day of the week to commemorate the day when Christ rose from the dead, which was Sunday. The Book of Acts describes this transition. I don't think God cares what day we set aside for Him, as long as we are setting aside a particular time to worship Him. Romans 14:5-6 touches on this. Galatians 4:8-10 also discusses the difficulties the early Christians faced in following the law in a legalistic sense versus following it in a faithful sense. I believe that it is good for me to set aside time in my week to worship God and to draw closer to Him, but I do not believe it is necessary for my salvation. The Law was always a guideline to lead us to faith. There was never an opportunity where a man could follow the Laws of God to perfection and hence "win" salvation. That is where Jesus came in. He is the answer to the sin, the imperfection we all face in our life.
You said you admit you are "ignorant, flawed, selfish, sinful, boastful." We all are. Recognizing that is the first step to rectifying that. I know that I can not lead my life in a way that will always be pleasing to God. God can not ignore the sin in my life. If He were to draw a line and say, "All sinners who have only sinned thus many times under thus many circumstances will be considered righteous, all others condemned," where would he draw that line? God's salvation is not exclusive. It is offered to everyone sinner, even the worst kind. Paul was a murderer of Christians. David murdered so He could have the wife of another man. But God does not limit His forgiveness. It is offered to anyone, even those who once denied Him.
Colette is up so I have time to address one more question and the others I will get to shortly. You asked, "If I agree that a rich man getting into Heaven is easier than a camel passing through the eye of a needle, what should I do about any pursuits of wealth?" God does not look down upon the wealthy, in fact, He often blessed the faithful with riches. The intent of these riches are to bless others. My husband and I tithe (as well as support other charitable organizations) not because we believe it will earn us anything, but because we believe we have been blessed so that we can bless. I know that God continues to bless us because we continue to be faithful in blessing others. There was a period of time when I was out of work and my husband was only working one day a week. We had to decide if we would continue to tithe during that time. We decided that our faith had taught us that God would provide for us and we continued to tithe. Faith is about exercising! It's not just about what I believe, but how that belief leads me to action. If I say I have faith and have no works, my faith is useless. I have found that every time I put my faith into action, God proves Himself to me. When we decided to tithe, we were scared about our decision, but we went to God with that fear and told Him that we were trusting in Him. This is what He wants from you. He wants you to come to Him with your doubts and with your sin and step out in faith.
My friend, you are in my prayers. I know what a powerful thing that is.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Response to Comment
This post is in response to yesterday's comment on the blog post "He Didn't Do It For Nothing."
When I left high school and went off to college I had not been attending church for awhile. I still claimed the Christian faith and did not see church as a bad thing, but whether confessed or not, I saw it as an unnecessary thing. I was not reading the Bible either. I was doing exactly what most of my peers were doing. I was trying to find success, trying to find happiness, and trying to do good for myself.
During this time, I started struggling with my faith, without even realizing it was a struggle. I thought I understood my God. He was loving. I was always able to accept that. So then I started reasoning- If God is a loving God, how could He condemn anyone to Hell? Well, certainly He must not was my resolution. And if there was no Hell, no need for a Devil then either. I was on a slippery slope to determining that there must not be a problem of sin, but never seemed to go there. Maybe it's because that always seemed to be prevalent and obvious in my own life- my selfish greeds and lusts and laziness. Yet, I hung on to the belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I don't know what I thought He was saving me from at that point because there was no Hell in my mind. I suppose I thought He was saving me from myself, showing me a better way to live life by serving others. But I wasn't even doing that. I was just looking to serve myself- be comfortable with myself, my beliefs, my happiness.
Slowly, my reason became my God. Whatever I could not reason with my finite mind, was tossed out as irrelevant or unnecessary to be understood. No Hell, no devil, no false gods, no wrong beliefs. I started developing a theology based solely on my reason. When I did read the Bible on rare occasions, I came across other "issues" that didn't meld well with my reason. Noah's Ark seemed laughable to me. All of those animals were not fitting on one boat. Clearly this did not happen. And then there was the problem of the story of Creation versus Evolution. Creation could not have taken place in 6 days when science tells us it was millions of years of evolution. And so the Bible became this odd source of wisdom for me where I would pick and choose what made sense and what didn't. If something made sense, I accepted it as truth. If it didn't make sense, then clearly it was untrue.
The Bible told me God was a loving God. I believed that. The Bible said Jesus healed the sick, the lame, the blind, and raised Lazarus from the dead. I believed that too. And as I said, I continued to believe in Jesus as a savior of some sort. At one point, I started reasoning that maybe death was not the end of life here on Earth. I wanted to hold on to this belief that Jesus was going to get me into Heaven, but in doing so, I knew that it caused some problems of exclusion for all of those people who didn't believe. I had to reason a way for them to get into Heaven so I decided that when we died, if we hadn't found our way to Jesus yet, we would be reincarnated and given another opportunity. This fit well for my belief that there was no Hell and no God willing to condemn anyone. So I guess, though my thought process never specifically lead me there, I would have to believe that Adolf Hitler was wandering around in someone else's body looking for Jesus.
My theology started to fall apart on me when I had trouble reasoning something. I would look to the Bible for wisdom, but I had rejected half of the philosophies it held. I realized this made it an unreliable source. My theology had been built on the idea of a loving God. This "fact" that I wanted to accept was in the Bible. My foundation was crumbling. Was God a loving god and did He even exist? I didn't feel like I could go to the Bible anymore for answers, so I went to God. I prayed for God to reveal Himself to me. I prayed that He would help me with my belief in Him and my unbelief in Him.
For the first time ever, I read the Bible straight through. It was amazing. I think the turning point for me was when I read the story of Noah's ark. What I had skimmed over every other time I had read it was the measurements that God instructs Noah with for building. Every other time this had seemed unnecessary and boring, but now I realized those measurements were there for me and my doubting mind. Studies have been done to prove that it was very possible for all of the animals to fit on the boat. What this spoke to me was that I had been ignoring the signs that God was giving me to come to a solid belief in Him. I wasn't going to God for explanation on my doubts; I was depending on my own intelligence which has been proven to falter.
Have you read the Bible cover to cover? If not, take that journey.
So often we want to reason our way to faith in God, but that is not faith at all. Faith is trust in the unknown. What I encourage those lacking in faith to do, is to stop reasoning and step out in faith with a prayer to a God- a God that you are not even certain is there and ask Him to reveal Himself. Be honest in your unbelief. Then ask Him to help you with it.
You asked, "Can you believe in your God without having to believe anything else is 'false?' Is that possible?" My answer is no. Because the God that I have come to know through my faith says that there is one way to Him. I accept the whole Bible as truth. I can't cover every reason why in this one blog entry, but there are many reasons. This blog is the story of my faith.
Your example about the book and the many interpretations that can be derived from the same material being read, leaves something out. I think that those interpretations can be wrong. Let's not forget that there was an author with an intent in mind when the book was written. As an author, if someone drew a conclusion from one of my writings that I did not intend, it does not make that person's interpretation true. I understand that good and captivating creative writings leave open opportunities for the reader's interpretation. I do not believe the Bible was written with that intent. I believe that it was God-breathed, His very word, handed down to man. I believe that He knows that in it the words of life are contained. I believe that He gave it to us to lead us to Him.
So what of those that don't believe? Yes, I do believe that they need Jesus to be saved. It makes my heart ache. You asked, "Once we've identified who is wrong, what do we do with them? My guess is, we start by telling them they are wrong." It is not a popular belief, but yes, it is mine. But we tell them in a loving manner and out of love. It is offensive to hear we are wrong, but don't we need to hear it when we are? In the world of law, we have a duty to protect each other from harm. This is why we have lawsuits of negligence because someone did not properly inform another of possible harm. Are you willing to accept any religion as "true" for that person- even ones that are cultish and regarded as crazy by the general public? If you have to draw the line somewhere, where is that line? Are you willing to accept that a belief that there is no God will lead that person to the same place of a person that believes in a God? If you believe that there is a God at all, no matter how undefinable, wouldn't it be right to help the atheist at least come to belief in that God? If there is a God, what should He do with those that don't believe in Him? Force them to believe? Give them no opportunity for doubt by revealing Himself?
If there is a God, what would you expect of Him? Some guidance on who He is? Would you expect love from Him? Or is your creation the only thing you gained from Him? If He exists, what would you have Him do with the people in this world that turn their back on Him? What would you have Him do with those that are evil? What would you have Him do with the ones that just don't care about anything but themselves or the ones that aren't trying to be a better person but just trying to enjoy life?
This is what I believe- I believe that God created us out of love and He desired us to love Him. In order for it to be real love, a decision of our own, He had to give us the option to not love Him. I believe He is deeply saddened when we don't love Him because He knows the gifts He has to offer us if we would love Him. I believe that He demonstrated this opportunity of choice to love by placing the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. I believe that Adam and Eve chose not to follow God by eating from this tree. I believe that God still loved them and all of those who fall away from Him. I believe that I fall away from Him everyday. I believe that I make decisions that He does not desire for me and that lead to sin and separation from Him. I believe that I am separated from my God because He is a holy and just God and He can not look at my sin without addressing it. I believe that the wages of sin is death which is an eternal separation from God. Yet, I believe that He desires to have me return to a relationship with Him like He had with Adam and Eve in the garden where He walked with them. I believe He wants me to discover His great love for me and to help others discover it too because it is a sad thing to miss out on it. I believe that the answer to my sin was in the gift of Jesus Christ who died on the cross as payment for my sin and yours and that if we do not accept His payment for our sins, then we have to pay for it ourself.
Why else would I write this blog? If I believe that there are other ways to Heaven, who am I writing for? Why would I care for the Jew, for my brother, for the Christian falling away from faith, for the atheist, for the undecided, for the Muslim? I write because I care, because I love, because I have this awesome peace in my heart that I want you to have too. I write because I can not deny what my faith has called me to do, to lead the lost to their Savior.
When I left high school and went off to college I had not been attending church for awhile. I still claimed the Christian faith and did not see church as a bad thing, but whether confessed or not, I saw it as an unnecessary thing. I was not reading the Bible either. I was doing exactly what most of my peers were doing. I was trying to find success, trying to find happiness, and trying to do good for myself.
During this time, I started struggling with my faith, without even realizing it was a struggle. I thought I understood my God. He was loving. I was always able to accept that. So then I started reasoning- If God is a loving God, how could He condemn anyone to Hell? Well, certainly He must not was my resolution. And if there was no Hell, no need for a Devil then either. I was on a slippery slope to determining that there must not be a problem of sin, but never seemed to go there. Maybe it's because that always seemed to be prevalent and obvious in my own life- my selfish greeds and lusts and laziness. Yet, I hung on to the belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I don't know what I thought He was saving me from at that point because there was no Hell in my mind. I suppose I thought He was saving me from myself, showing me a better way to live life by serving others. But I wasn't even doing that. I was just looking to serve myself- be comfortable with myself, my beliefs, my happiness.
Slowly, my reason became my God. Whatever I could not reason with my finite mind, was tossed out as irrelevant or unnecessary to be understood. No Hell, no devil, no false gods, no wrong beliefs. I started developing a theology based solely on my reason. When I did read the Bible on rare occasions, I came across other "issues" that didn't meld well with my reason. Noah's Ark seemed laughable to me. All of those animals were not fitting on one boat. Clearly this did not happen. And then there was the problem of the story of Creation versus Evolution. Creation could not have taken place in 6 days when science tells us it was millions of years of evolution. And so the Bible became this odd source of wisdom for me where I would pick and choose what made sense and what didn't. If something made sense, I accepted it as truth. If it didn't make sense, then clearly it was untrue.
The Bible told me God was a loving God. I believed that. The Bible said Jesus healed the sick, the lame, the blind, and raised Lazarus from the dead. I believed that too. And as I said, I continued to believe in Jesus as a savior of some sort. At one point, I started reasoning that maybe death was not the end of life here on Earth. I wanted to hold on to this belief that Jesus was going to get me into Heaven, but in doing so, I knew that it caused some problems of exclusion for all of those people who didn't believe. I had to reason a way for them to get into Heaven so I decided that when we died, if we hadn't found our way to Jesus yet, we would be reincarnated and given another opportunity. This fit well for my belief that there was no Hell and no God willing to condemn anyone. So I guess, though my thought process never specifically lead me there, I would have to believe that Adolf Hitler was wandering around in someone else's body looking for Jesus.
My theology started to fall apart on me when I had trouble reasoning something. I would look to the Bible for wisdom, but I had rejected half of the philosophies it held. I realized this made it an unreliable source. My theology had been built on the idea of a loving God. This "fact" that I wanted to accept was in the Bible. My foundation was crumbling. Was God a loving god and did He even exist? I didn't feel like I could go to the Bible anymore for answers, so I went to God. I prayed for God to reveal Himself to me. I prayed that He would help me with my belief in Him and my unbelief in Him.
For the first time ever, I read the Bible straight through. It was amazing. I think the turning point for me was when I read the story of Noah's ark. What I had skimmed over every other time I had read it was the measurements that God instructs Noah with for building. Every other time this had seemed unnecessary and boring, but now I realized those measurements were there for me and my doubting mind. Studies have been done to prove that it was very possible for all of the animals to fit on the boat. What this spoke to me was that I had been ignoring the signs that God was giving me to come to a solid belief in Him. I wasn't going to God for explanation on my doubts; I was depending on my own intelligence which has been proven to falter.
Have you read the Bible cover to cover? If not, take that journey.
So often we want to reason our way to faith in God, but that is not faith at all. Faith is trust in the unknown. What I encourage those lacking in faith to do, is to stop reasoning and step out in faith with a prayer to a God- a God that you are not even certain is there and ask Him to reveal Himself. Be honest in your unbelief. Then ask Him to help you with it.
You asked, "Can you believe in your God without having to believe anything else is 'false?' Is that possible?" My answer is no. Because the God that I have come to know through my faith says that there is one way to Him. I accept the whole Bible as truth. I can't cover every reason why in this one blog entry, but there are many reasons. This blog is the story of my faith.
Your example about the book and the many interpretations that can be derived from the same material being read, leaves something out. I think that those interpretations can be wrong. Let's not forget that there was an author with an intent in mind when the book was written. As an author, if someone drew a conclusion from one of my writings that I did not intend, it does not make that person's interpretation true. I understand that good and captivating creative writings leave open opportunities for the reader's interpretation. I do not believe the Bible was written with that intent. I believe that it was God-breathed, His very word, handed down to man. I believe that He knows that in it the words of life are contained. I believe that He gave it to us to lead us to Him.
So what of those that don't believe? Yes, I do believe that they need Jesus to be saved. It makes my heart ache. You asked, "Once we've identified who is wrong, what do we do with them? My guess is, we start by telling them they are wrong." It is not a popular belief, but yes, it is mine. But we tell them in a loving manner and out of love. It is offensive to hear we are wrong, but don't we need to hear it when we are? In the world of law, we have a duty to protect each other from harm. This is why we have lawsuits of negligence because someone did not properly inform another of possible harm. Are you willing to accept any religion as "true" for that person- even ones that are cultish and regarded as crazy by the general public? If you have to draw the line somewhere, where is that line? Are you willing to accept that a belief that there is no God will lead that person to the same place of a person that believes in a God? If you believe that there is a God at all, no matter how undefinable, wouldn't it be right to help the atheist at least come to belief in that God? If there is a God, what should He do with those that don't believe in Him? Force them to believe? Give them no opportunity for doubt by revealing Himself?
If there is a God, what would you expect of Him? Some guidance on who He is? Would you expect love from Him? Or is your creation the only thing you gained from Him? If He exists, what would you have Him do with the people in this world that turn their back on Him? What would you have Him do with those that are evil? What would you have Him do with the ones that just don't care about anything but themselves or the ones that aren't trying to be a better person but just trying to enjoy life?
This is what I believe- I believe that God created us out of love and He desired us to love Him. In order for it to be real love, a decision of our own, He had to give us the option to not love Him. I believe He is deeply saddened when we don't love Him because He knows the gifts He has to offer us if we would love Him. I believe that He demonstrated this opportunity of choice to love by placing the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. I believe that Adam and Eve chose not to follow God by eating from this tree. I believe that God still loved them and all of those who fall away from Him. I believe that I fall away from Him everyday. I believe that I make decisions that He does not desire for me and that lead to sin and separation from Him. I believe that I am separated from my God because He is a holy and just God and He can not look at my sin without addressing it. I believe that the wages of sin is death which is an eternal separation from God. Yet, I believe that He desires to have me return to a relationship with Him like He had with Adam and Eve in the garden where He walked with them. I believe He wants me to discover His great love for me and to help others discover it too because it is a sad thing to miss out on it. I believe that the answer to my sin was in the gift of Jesus Christ who died on the cross as payment for my sin and yours and that if we do not accept His payment for our sins, then we have to pay for it ourself.
Why else would I write this blog? If I believe that there are other ways to Heaven, who am I writing for? Why would I care for the Jew, for my brother, for the Christian falling away from faith, for the atheist, for the undecided, for the Muslim? I write because I care, because I love, because I have this awesome peace in my heart that I want you to have too. I write because I can not deny what my faith has called me to do, to lead the lost to their Savior.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
He Didn't Do It For Nothing
He did not have to. There were other options. He had plenty of time to change his mind. He knew exactly what I would do; how I would not deserve it. He knew you would never deserve it either, that none of us ever would, but He did it anyway. As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
This is the beauty of my God. This is what sets Him apart from all of the false gods of other religions. He did not ask me to be worthy- He knew I never could be. He does not require me to work my way to Heaven because I would never get there. The only perfection He needs from me is through the reflection of His Son; I just have to accept the gift.
God knew there was no way I would ever deserve the sacrifice He made, but He died for me anyway. Me! And what did I do but give Him one more reason to suffer? Christ loved us despite everything He knew we would do that would cause Him suffering, and He gladly took up that cross for us.
Why would Christ have loved us? Why would He have offered Himself up for those that had rejected Him? Were we anyone to be loved? Did we seek to glorify Him in our actions? Not in the least! But Christ's desire is for us to know Him and have an eternal relationship with Him. He made Himself and His love known to us in His selfless act of dying on the cross to suffer and die for the sins we had committed. God made the first move and not because we were desirable, but because we needed Him. It is because Christ first loved us that we love Him.
We were lost without Him, and we were lost because we rejected Him. We separate ourselves from God when we sin, because we are choosing something other than His Will. Like Adam and Eve, we are a creation trying to survive without our Creator, and it's not working. Why do so many still not recognize what Christ has done for us? Even some Christians will say that Christ is not the only way to Heaven, as true Christian doctrine teaches.
Well I'm not willing to accept that. You can not tell me that my Jesus died for nothing. When we are willing to accept there are other ways to Heaven, we are in essence looking Christ in the face- the face that was spit on, beaten and bloodied- and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll do it my way."
As a young Lutheran there was a part of our liturgy that always confused me. During our confession we say, "Oh most merciful God, who has given Thine only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins." I never understood why for "His (Christ's) sake" my sins should be forgiven. I knew that it was for my sake and for my sins that Christ died. I thought we should say, "For my sake, forgive me my sins," because I knew that without Him and His suffering and death, I would perish.
It was many years before the beauty of those words became clear. In an age of relativism when everyone picks the religion that "works" for them, where everyone just strives to be a "better" person and that's good enough, I realized why it was for Christ's sake that we plead for forgiveness. Christ died that we might live. He didn't do it for some; He did it for all. He didn't do it as one means for us to become right with God; He did it because it was the only way. Christ died for us because His love for us would let Him do no less.
Don't let what Jesus did be for nothing! This is what I am pleading to God in confession. God has given me the power of leverage, because if I call on what Christ did for me on the cross, God will surely not reject me. Christ did not do it for nothing. He suffered and died for me, that I might be forgiven. For the sake of what He has done, for the sake of His sufferings, for the sake of His death, Lord, do not let it be for nothing, but forgive me my sins!
When Christ died on the cross for the sin of the world, He knew He was dying for a world that had rejected Him and would continue to reject Him 2,000 years later. He died knowing He was dying for a world of sinners, but He did it anyway. He did it knowing that some would still think that just trying to be good would be good enough. When we think that being a "good" person is good enough, we make what Christ did worthless. But it was not worthless. In fact, it is the only thing that gives us worth. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Most of us are willing to admit that we aren't perfect, so what level of imperfection is still "good enough?" We can't make it there on our own, but Christ's death for our sins is the only way we can become pure again in the eyes of God.
Not in this life will I ever fully understand why Christ did what He did for me, a poor miserable sinner, but I know that He didn't do it for nothing and for His sake, I'm taking Him up on His offer and accepting His gift to me.
This is the beauty of my God. This is what sets Him apart from all of the false gods of other religions. He did not ask me to be worthy- He knew I never could be. He does not require me to work my way to Heaven because I would never get there. The only perfection He needs from me is through the reflection of His Son; I just have to accept the gift.
God knew there was no way I would ever deserve the sacrifice He made, but He died for me anyway. Me! And what did I do but give Him one more reason to suffer? Christ loved us despite everything He knew we would do that would cause Him suffering, and He gladly took up that cross for us.
Why would Christ have loved us? Why would He have offered Himself up for those that had rejected Him? Were we anyone to be loved? Did we seek to glorify Him in our actions? Not in the least! But Christ's desire is for us to know Him and have an eternal relationship with Him. He made Himself and His love known to us in His selfless act of dying on the cross to suffer and die for the sins we had committed. God made the first move and not because we were desirable, but because we needed Him. It is because Christ first loved us that we love Him.
We were lost without Him, and we were lost because we rejected Him. We separate ourselves from God when we sin, because we are choosing something other than His Will. Like Adam and Eve, we are a creation trying to survive without our Creator, and it's not working. Why do so many still not recognize what Christ has done for us? Even some Christians will say that Christ is not the only way to Heaven, as true Christian doctrine teaches.
Well I'm not willing to accept that. You can not tell me that my Jesus died for nothing. When we are willing to accept there are other ways to Heaven, we are in essence looking Christ in the face- the face that was spit on, beaten and bloodied- and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll do it my way."
As a young Lutheran there was a part of our liturgy that always confused me. During our confession we say, "Oh most merciful God, who has given Thine only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins." I never understood why for "His (Christ's) sake" my sins should be forgiven. I knew that it was for my sake and for my sins that Christ died. I thought we should say, "For my sake, forgive me my sins," because I knew that without Him and His suffering and death, I would perish.
It was many years before the beauty of those words became clear. In an age of relativism when everyone picks the religion that "works" for them, where everyone just strives to be a "better" person and that's good enough, I realized why it was for Christ's sake that we plead for forgiveness. Christ died that we might live. He didn't do it for some; He did it for all. He didn't do it as one means for us to become right with God; He did it because it was the only way. Christ died for us because His love for us would let Him do no less.
Don't let what Jesus did be for nothing! This is what I am pleading to God in confession. God has given me the power of leverage, because if I call on what Christ did for me on the cross, God will surely not reject me. Christ did not do it for nothing. He suffered and died for me, that I might be forgiven. For the sake of what He has done, for the sake of His sufferings, for the sake of His death, Lord, do not let it be for nothing, but forgive me my sins!
When Christ died on the cross for the sin of the world, He knew He was dying for a world that had rejected Him and would continue to reject Him 2,000 years later. He died knowing He was dying for a world of sinners, but He did it anyway. He did it knowing that some would still think that just trying to be good would be good enough. When we think that being a "good" person is good enough, we make what Christ did worthless. But it was not worthless. In fact, it is the only thing that gives us worth. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Most of us are willing to admit that we aren't perfect, so what level of imperfection is still "good enough?" We can't make it there on our own, but Christ's death for our sins is the only way we can become pure again in the eyes of God.
Not in this life will I ever fully understand why Christ did what He did for me, a poor miserable sinner, but I know that He didn't do it for nothing and for His sake, I'm taking Him up on His offer and accepting His gift to me.
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