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An Anchor (It’s Not a Square Peg)
When I was a kid, I didn’t really understand any of the things shown to me in the Bible. I was too young, and I really just didn’t care to understand, to be honest. Let’s face it, I was a kid. Years later, however, after finally understanding and accepting Christ, I began to see Scripture for the truth it is, and time and again I could see God’s faithfulness shine through those powerful words, from beginning to end.
Over time, I began to truly see Jesus in Scripture, learning the reality that Jesus is indeed the Word of God John 1:1-3, and statements such as “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,”
John 14:6 began to make more sense when I understood that no one can come to know God the Father except through “the Word of God.” And that the “Word of God” is the way, and the truth, and the life. -
Show Me Your Glory
Have you ever asked God to prove himself to you? Have you ever demanded a sign that He might reveal Himself to you in a way that was tangible, not just invisible, so that you might have more—or any—faith?
I have. Perhaps “demanded” is too strong a word, but I’ve definitely strongly suggested He do so. If you’re anything like me (or nothing like me, for that matter), you’ve likely prayed at one time or another for God to help you believe more, or at all.
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Mary, Did You Know?
Mary, did you know that the Three Wise Men never made it to Bethlehem that night?
The Christmas Story, along with the Nativity scene (however ethnically incorrect those participants may be), always tells the story that includes the three wise men, or “magi” as the later translations of the Bible write it. So let’s take a look.
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Hope Is Peace
I was recently in Houston with my family, and on our last day of our trip, we were planning to visit the NASA Space Center there.
Early that morning, I went out for a walk to engage God in conversation. During that time, I began considering and praying for all those involved in the Space Program, from the beginning until now, those who have lived and for those who have given their lives to the adventure of discovering the truth through space exploration.
Like so many adventurers before them, in so many different ways and purposes, each individual on this earth who has pursued the unknown with the hope of discovery, has unwittingly preserved and encouraged the idea and the need for hope in this broken world.
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Who Moved My Fog?
There have been, are, or will come difficulties and hardships in our lives; this is sure.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 For those that choose to face their problems alone—whether that choice is motivated by fear, shame, or pride—they will fail to move past them once they’re over.
If we do not walk with God through the course of a trial, and allow Him to share our heartache and pain—with prayers, tears (and sometimes some yelling)—our hearts will grow some callouses with the pride of having conquered that problem on our own.
If we’re not careful, we can allow such things to define us, and instead of moving through it, we may ultimately bring it with us, into the present; and into the future. If we don’t let that thing go and allow it to become a part of God’s bigger story—in which we have important roles, we will ultimately hold onto it as an anthem to be replayed again and again.
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The Science of Speaking Truth
When my kids were teenagers, there were times when each had presented me with a need for help with algebra problems that were complex and based on mathematical formulas I hadn’t seen or used since high school.
At those times, I would try to conjure up some distant memory that might allow me to show the depth of my parental wisdom and knowledge, and impress my child by quickly demonstrating the solution. But the reality was always much more humbling (or humiliating), and I would quickly realize that I often (not always) had no ability to retrieve from my mind any methods for solving the problem at hand. Instead, I was forced to confess that I had no idea of how to solve that specific type of problem.
So what could I do when I didn’t remember the exact logic of the appropriate formula, or, more frequently, couldn’t remember the formula at all? How could I go about helping them in solving this complex equation? And most importantly, how could I ensure that I didn’t misguide them by giving them direction or suggestions that could hinder their ability to solve the problem on their own?
Too often, our own pride and the desire to have a meaningful impact on the world around us affect our objectivity, and we find ourselves providing more opinion and subjective narrative than we do truthful insight and objective perspectives.
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No One Left Behind
It should be pretty clear by now that being a follower of Christ is an active process. You see, Jesus is never standing still; he is always in motion: healing, loving, turning over tables, sharing the Good News, walking on water, and performing miracles. And it was these actions, in concert, that demonstrated his love for others and for us, providing numerous examples of just how we might “love our neighbors as ourselves.”
Jesus is (and has always been) God’s Word in action. That’s why his ministry kept him moving all the time. He rarely stayed in one place for very long; but when he did—and while he was traveling along the way—he was expressing his love through those actions.
It may be interesting to note that in every example Jesus ever gave us of loving others, he never told us to say “I love you” to others. His examples and teachings were always about demonstrating love through our actions.
“What is written in the Law?” [Jesus] replied. “How do you read it?” [The man] answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10:26-28 -
Undermining Our Foundation
When we “mine under” something, we mine, drill or excavate, ultimately removing the material that supports the foundation something is built upon. As a result, the foundation itself loses the integrity it needs to support the structure on which it stands.
Typically, we don’t pay much attention to the foundation once it’s been laid. Since the foundation is typically immovable, we usually don’t expect it to shift or change over time.
Ironically, however, experience tells us that foundations do shift over time, because the earth beneath it is ever-changing. Since the planet we live upon was created from kinetic components (even the hardest rock is made up of moving particles), it’s silly to think it would never move.
In the same way, regardless of the material used to lay the foundation of our relationships, the ground on which it was laid continues to shift and settle. How much more, then, does that ground change when more dramatic forces are applied to it? How often do we see images of homes tumbling down the hillside after torrential rains? At these times, it’s not the foundation that fails, but the earth beneath it that can no longer bear the weight.
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Pick Up Your Cross
Jesus said that only when something dies can it create new life. I know that in this context he was talking about himself, alluding to his own necessary death on the cross so that New Life might be accessible to all.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.”
John 12:24 NLT But I see that we, too, can only create new disciples—bear new fruit—when we truly die to ourselves. Only if we can really let go of what this world has to offer, and embrace only what God offers us, will there be the humility required to impact the hearts of others. Because Jesus continued:
“Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”
John 12:25-26 NLT Only when we die to ourselves, and humble ourselves so that we can serve others and serve God, are we living a life that’s worth living. For only then, can we bear fruit in others, because only when we die to ourselves can others see the Lord. As long as “we” are alive, God is hidden from their view.
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Knowing the Word
Often we find ourselves in a place where we understand, at a rudimentary level, a need for knowing God’s Word, in one degree or another, for a number of reasons. But ultimately, there is no way to really do that without actually reading His Word, whether visually or audibly. Everything we want to know about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, comes from His Word. But for many of us, that Word only comes to us via a sermon or Bible study.
When we allow the Spirit to convict us in this, it stirs the desire to “want to” develop a habit of reading His Word with greater frequency. Yet not just for the benefits that He has already proven come from doing so—such as peace, understanding, and spiritual growth—but because we do desire to better our relationship with Him.
