Invisible Bonds

"God's method of binding souls to obedience is similar to His method of keeping the planets in their orbits--that is, by flinging them out free.  You see no chain keeping back these shining worlds to prevent them from bursting away from their center.  They are held in the grip of an invisible principle...And it is by the invisible bond of

Love

Love to the Lord who bought them--that ransomed men are constrained to live soberly and righteously, and godly."~William Arnot

Who is the Pharisee?

I've had this post rolling around in my head for a long time.  It is a delicate issue and has taken a lot of thought to be able to express in words.

There are a few "buzz-words" in Christianity that are ill-defined.  One of them is legalism.  When we think of legalism in the Bible, we almost immediately think of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees were a religious group that were extremely adamant about keeping all aspects of the given law.  Despite that point, Jesus pointed out that they were lacking, or lost.  I think that the idea of the Pharisees can not only cause us to stumble, but can also divide us greatly.   We know that Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but rather fulfill it but Salvation by grace alone through faith alone doesn't give us free-license to do whatever we want to do--I think we can all agree on that!  Jesus wasn't condoning adultery when the he stood up for the woman the Pharisees dragged before Him.  He confronted their hearts (aka motives) and then dealt with her by telling her to turn form her own sin.    Like the Pharisees, we can be very focused on God's Word and what it teaches--and that's a good thing.  But like the Pharisees, we can also do it for the wrong reasons and without love.  That's a bad thing.  But there is something else is far more successful at dividing the Church: judging the heart.

A few Sundays ago as I was sitting in church listening to a sermon about the attitudes of the Pharisees, our pastor made a statement and the first thing that flashed through my mind was:  I wish ________ (insert name here) could have heard that!  I have a feeling that I am not alone.  If you tell me that you have never sat in a sermon thinking: "I wish so-and-so could hear this!" then, well, I don't believe you.  We've all done it.  I recognized the irony in my thought almost immediately and felt ashamed.  And then my mind wandered to the many times that I felt anger or "judged" by someone else's convictions.  For instance,(and please excuse me for this illustration, it simply seems to be the most obvious) my mind will say that so-and-so always wears dresses so she must be judging me for wearing pants.  Logically, that is not true, yet my sinful mind wants to convict that person of judging me when chances are, they haven't.  It is possible that this person does it because it is what she believes God desires from her, yet she doesn't see pants as wrong.   I actually know many women who believe that way.   Paul addresses this issue in his letter to the Romans.  Evidently, the Roman church was struggling with judging the convictions of others.  Notice I say the convictions....not the sins!  Big difference!  The Bible instructs us to judge sin and deal with it.  It even gives us clear instruction on how to search our own hearts before confronting the sins of others.  (Matthew chapter 7)  But it never condones judging the heart.  That is for God and God alone!  No one but God can see into your heart and know the motives for what you do.  I believe that this is what Paul was addressing in Romans chapter 14.  How beautiful it is to be able to sit alongside another believer who had different convictions than you and be in perfect unity despite it!

That brings me back to the Pharisees.  The things they did were good.  Yet Jesus, who was qualified to judge their hearts, addressed the motive behind their obedience.  Why did He do that?  Was it so that we could recognize a Pharisee when we see one?  Um, well....no.  If you have followed my logic, you will see that the only ones qualified to address YOUR heart and YOUR motives are you and God.  More than that, when we think of others who hold different convictions as "Pharisees" we committed a great irony.  Since you are not qualified to judge the intentions of others, you have labeled them with a title that you yourself deserve.  Being a Pharisee is about judging the heart.  Ouch.

I started thinking about Nicodemus.,  He was a Pharisee, yet he had a desire to know what Jesus was teaching and to know whether or not it was truth.  When I read his story, I have a hard time believing that he was that terrible of a person-Pharisee or not.  Nicodemus was the one who eventually stood up to the Pharisees and asked the question:  Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?  John 7:52  Nicodemus got it.  After his encounter with Jesus, he understood what it meant to judge someone without knowing all of the facts!  Eventually, he reappears in chapter 19 providing spices with which to embalm his Savior.  He is a changed man.  Thank you Jesus for not dismissing him or giving up on him!


I have a feeling that a little bit of pride-lovin' Pharisee lives in each of us.  I wonder, however, how the Body of Christ would look if we could all do what we can to kill our inner Pharisee?  I wonder, if we could simply accept the convictions of others without feeling judged, or better yet, just sit and talk with them and attempt to understand them.  Get to know them.   I am sure it would take us moving far out of our comfort zone, but God never instructed you to even build a comfort zone!  It isn't horribly important that we all agree on everything, but the proper response to feeling conviction would be to search it out for ourselves and find what we believe to be true according to God's Word.  We also need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in the matter.  If we are firm enough in our own convictions, then we really shouldn't feel judged by what others believe (unless they admit that they are judging us then in reality, it is more their problem than yours!)


How different would we be if we understood that the only one we are qualified to judge as a Pharisee is ourselves?  

Love, Correction, and Discipline: My Interview wtih Suzanna Kamphuis

 My wonderful friend Suzanna was another person that I sent my interview questions to.  She was very gracious to reply, despite being at the very end of her pregnancy!  Suzanna has the wonderful ability to draw people out in conversation and make them not only feel welcome, but also to think.  And I love her dearly!

1.  Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m a stay-at-home, sometime-homeschooling, sometime-not mom with hands in many pies, seldom

(much to my husband’s chagrin) a literal pie.

2. How would you define love?

I’ve been thinking a lot about love these days, reading I Corinthians 13 over silently to myself and aloud to my children.  I enjoy reading the King James Version, and in that version the term “charity” is used instead of “love.”   The Jacobeans, the society that produced the King James Version, were incredibly public minded, interested primarily in Biblical virtues as they affected society.  Thus, they used a term which brought to mind the social form of the Greek original, “agape.”  Conversely, today, many people tend to think of love as a private, heart-chosen, out-of-our-control emotion.  As Woody Allen infamously expressed, “The heart wants what it wants.” 

I grew up in a conservative church that sided with the Jacobeans in this debate.  Love was not about how you felt, but rather about what you did—the public effect was primary.  If and when you didn’t feel it—you were advised to “fake it ‘til you make it,” because “feelings follow actions.”  But in real life, sometimes feelings don’t follow actions.  Sometimes my heart strays while my hand holds to the plow.  Does God care whether I feel love or whether I just find a way to express something loving in spite of my feelings? 

Just to prove to you what an idea nerd I am, for my wedding,  I chose the song “Something That We Do,” by Clint Black to express this idea.  I know; so romantic!  The lyrics have a lot to say about what love isn’t, “Love’s not just something that we’re in…Love isn’t something that you find.”  But what if love is something that found you.  The greatest love I have ever know has quietly but consistently searched me out not for public effect but to minister to my private need.  In my depravity, when the hopelessness of my case is right before me, the miracle of Christ love is poured out on my parched earth. 

I John 4  tells me that it is not the Christian’s job to manufacture love, not even for the Saviour himself, “We love him because He first loved us.”  Just as He is the author of our Faith, He is the author of our love.  And yet He does have some requirements.  He literally commands us to share.  We are not to be cisterns—taking and storing; we are to be aqueducts—passing the love along.  I try to think of the words of Christ as they would have sounded to Old Testament ears.  “If ye love me keep my commandments.”  Think of how that must have sounded to people under the law—how freeing!  “I don’t have to earn God’s favour, God’s favour and the love that it has inspired in my heart is there to propel me forward.”  And where is forward?  Several verses later Christ tells us, “And this is my commandment that ye love one another.”  This is truly a New Covenant.  Receive the love of Christ, feel it, and give it to someone else. 

3.  Biblically, we are called to correct, instruct, and encourage one another to righteousness.  In what circumstances should we do this?  How do we balance this with our call to love?

I Corinthians 13 speaks explicitly about the superiority of love.  The gifts God has given us “to correct, instruct, or encourage one another to righteousness” in this life lack clarity.  “We know in part…We prophecy in part.”  In contrast, charity (or love) “never faileth.”  It is the one tool in our arsenal as Christians that literally is guaranteed to work every single time. 

I’m sad to say that I have been on both the giving and receiving end of correction, instruction, and encouragement in righteousness that was not grounded in love.  It’s not a pleasant experience to get beaten up by another person’s “gift.”  In fact the word “gift” seems a bit of a misnomer when your eyes are getting poked, your hair is getting pulled, your ears are being boxed by your beloved brother or sister in Christ, who then proceeds to pray that you will receive their words in a spirit of love.  A gift to who?  Not to me.  Even when the words are true, it is hard to learn when you feel attacked.  As Paul says in I Corinthians 12, “There is a more excellent way.”

Following I Corinthians 13 is…drum roll please…I Corinthians 14.  In I Corinthians 14 we are instructed to desire spirituals gifts, such as prophecy…as they flow from love…and as we can understand their limited usefulness because of our limited selves.  At this time, we are working in pretty murky water; we do not yet see “face to face.”  Ah, the blessed humility of knowing that my “insights” are often misguided, my feelings frequently interfere with my spiritual sight.  And yet, just as God does not despise my frailty, He does not despise my pursuit of spiritual gifts.  I am not called to be a limp fish or a door mat, but to be fully me, led by His Spirit in a unique way to serve His kingdom.  BUT…my gifts need a regular bath, or they will start to stink maybe not to my nose but to the noses of those around me.  Humility and love scour my gifts and make them acceptable to company. 

4. The big phrase you hear today is "don't judge me!"  The Bible instructs us to judge not, lest we be judged.  What does this passage mean to you?  Is there ever a circumstance where we are called to judge?

 I once heard a Biblical scholar explain that this phrase from the Gospels simply means that one shouldn’t get into the business of judging unless you yourself are prepared to be judged.  Not being a Biblical scholar myself, I jumped on the explanation in my usual enthusiastic way. 

I think there certainly is a time and a place within the parameters set by I Corinthians 13 to speak an honest question into someone’s life.  “Love seeketh not her own.”  The love of Christ does not flatter or seek ego fulfilment in the eyes of the beloved.  But for me, judgment involves a sentence, a statement of determination.  I find that to be antithetical to the definition of love in I Corinthians 13.  “

Book Review: Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper

I wasn't really looking for this book.  It found me.  I had another title by Piper in mind when I casually strolled into the garage sale that day.  Two dollars?  Really?  At a garage sale?  Oh well, if I were to buy it on Ebay for a quarter, I would at least pay that in shipping.  Why not?

Turns out, it was what I needed. 

I love to think.  That doesn't make me smart.  It is just a natural part of me.  Sometimes I think that I think too much.  I have even had people tell me that I think too much!!  Sometimes it is frustrating because I don't have all of the answers that I THINK I need NOW! 

In the times in which we live, there is often discouragement for the thinking Christian.  I have asked questions to my elders and spiritual superiors only to get a:  you don't need to worry about that-it doesn't matter. That answer is like sandpaper to the thinking soul.  If it doesn't matter, then why doesn't it matter? 

In addition, there can often be resistance to the teaching of doctrine.  Doctrine is said to divide and not really matter.  I appreciate Piper's response to this issue.  He relates that what he has learned by thinking tough issues through is a deeper understanding of who God is, thus cultivating a deeper love for Him.  Just because something doesn't make sense to our human thinking doesn't mean that we should attempt to discard or discredit it. That's what this whole book is about.  Thinking about the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of man.  Discarding the man-made ideas that we have about God and simply believing what He says.

The other important topic that Piper touches on is what it means to "receive Christ."  He insists that we must make clear what that actually means:

There are so many people who say they have received Christ and believed on Christ but give little or no evidence that they are spiritually alive.  They are unresponsive to the spiritual beauty of Jesus.  They are unmoved by the glories of Christ.  They don't have the spirit of the Apostle Paul when he said, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all thinks and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Phil 3:8)  This is not their spirit, yet they say they have received Christ.  It looks as though it is possible to "receive Christ" and not have Him for what He is.  

I have the personal opinion that this is a BIG problem in our world today.  We were raised in the church, but have no idea what saving faith really means.  We can go door to door and present facts to people and pray with people, but that doesn't guarantee that that they really get it.  Piper talks about the nature of saving faith as one that demands more than facts as a ground.  He explains it as not merely receiving the facts of the old, old story, but also receiving Christ Himself:

..as the one who died for us and rose again, and is infinitely glorious, wondrously beautiful, and supremely valuable.  Therefore the grounds of such faith must be the spiritual sight of such glory and beauty and value.

and..

Because our hearts now see Christ as infinitely valuable, our resistance to truth is overcome.  Our thinking is no longer the slave of deceitful desires, because our desires are changed.  Christ is now the supreme treasure.


Piper goes on to establish why the relativism of today's religion is absurd.  This is where the ability to think logically becomes of the utmost importance.  It also seems to be the crux of the matter in the book: who are we going to trust in, ourselves or God?  And in the matter of thinking, who does our thinking serve and glorify?  Ourselves or god?  And how did Jesus respond to the relativists of His day?  (Matthew 21:23-27)  In order to not only refute relativism, but also to detect it in our own ideas, thinking deeply about God is imperative.  I loved the visual picture that Piper gave to bring thinking and logic into the process of salvation:

A logical presentation of the gospel of Christ is like wire along which the electricity of spiritual power runs.  Wires do not make the lights go on; electricity does.  But in the providence of God, electricity runs through wires.  And in the design of God, the use of our minds in knowing, ordering, and presenting the truth of Christ is the normal way that the eyes of the blind are opened and belief in Jesus in awakened.  

I can testify in my own life that thinking through hard doctrines and Biblical truths has drawn me closer to Christ.  I can't explain it, especially because I don't understand all of it.  But I know that God's word is so very alive.  And beautiful. Maybe in a way, it has given me the wisdom to simply let go and let God be who He is rather than who I want Him to be, or what seems fair or right to me.  I believe that is what careful study of the word can do for us.  And in the process, it makes us more dependent on Him.  It opens our eyes to the richness, beauty, and worth of Jesus.  I recommend this book for all of you thinkers out there.  It will encourage you to continue to think, but about the wisdom of God, not ourselves.  I recommend it for those who don't like to think deeply.  It can simply give insight and maybe an appreciation for those who do.  

Words of Love

If you don't have anything nice to say-don't say anything at all.

How many times has your mother said that to you?  Just the other night I was having a discussion with my girls about etiquette.  I told them that a general rule of thumb (for which they giggled and giggled at the idea of a thumb ruling)  was that if a comment about someones appearance was edging it's way out, evaluate it to see if it is something positive or negative.  If it's negative, smash it down and smile and say something positive.

These days, with Facebook and other social media, our thoughts can be broadcast within seconds to over 300 people.  What one or two people might have normally heard becomes an announcement for the masses.    What we say, and how we say it are locked into cyberspace forever.  Over the last few years, I have learned much about what to say and what not to say.  Oh, I am not perfect (anyone that knows me knows that) but I have learned some important lessons. 

I want to share this with you all, and I want you to know that I am not condemning anyone, I am simply sharing what God has taught me.  (I dream of a world where we can do that and no one gets offended--maybe in the millennium...)

I believe that for Christians, our words should be dripping with love.  Why?  Because God has poured out His love on us.  We are really no more deserving than anyone else to receive His favor.  I remember telling my daughter that God loves Osama Bin Laden-even if Osama never returned His love.  God loved Jeffery Daumer (I didn't tell them about him!!) Even if Jeffery Daumer never returned that love.  The truth is, in order to love one another, we need to get over the idea that these people were or any worse than us in the eyes of God.  When we realize the depths of our own sin, and what Jesus did to redeem us from that~THAT is when we can begin loving others.  We don't deserve to be loved.  Period.  But we are.  Praise God!

This is not a dissertation on whether or not one sin is greater than another.  That's a deep subject and I am not going there.  The point is simply this:  before we trust Christ, we simply cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6)~every bit of righteousness is compared to a pile of filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  Then along comes this beautiful Savior and we learn, much to our relief,  that our pile of filthy rags don't matter because it's not about that.  It is about His sparkling white robe that He graciously clothes us with.  It's about grace.  It's about being loved when we are unlovable.  It, in return makes us want to love the unlovable~simply so that they can see the grace that Christ extends to us.

There are ideologies that are bad.  I believe that Osama had bad ideologies.  If fact, I believe that our own president has some bad ideologies.  Is it okay to discuss the difference in ideologies?  Okay~and essential for preserving what we have fought for in America.  But underneath those ideologies lie souls.  Eternal souls that have been wounded by sin.  Just like me.  And you. 

We are adept at using the grace card when we want to do something that we think God might not approve of.  "It's not about what I do!" we exclaim.  "It's all about grace-so don't judge me!"  But when we are quick to exclaim what others deserve we unwittingly make it about works instead of grace.  Bin Laden deserves to rot in hell.....hmmmm..

...so do I.....

But I won't.  How amazing.  How utterly amazing.

So, for what it might be worth to you, if I have ever been unloving to you I humbly seek your forgiveness.  And if you ever see me forget and start ranting about a person (not an ideology) then I expect you to let me know.  Remind me.  It's okay.  I am human and I forget.  But we are here to hold each other up.  To exhort one another to righteousness.  

I love you!

Misguided Faith is no Laughing Matter

It's so easy for us to poke fun at people we think are crazy.  Maybe it's the way we deal with strange ideas that don't resonate with us.  I tend to joke and tease about many things-that's "just me."  But I have to tell you that I was quite convicted these past few weeks of how people (including myself) made light of a very serious situation.  I watched satan steal my testimony to those caught up in rapture mania.

No one likes to be mocked.  I know I don't.  I have had my faith in Jesus Christ mocked many times.  If you have never been in that position, I guarantee you--it's not a fun place to be.  So what would make me think that poking fun at Camping followers thinking the rapture would happen on a certain date would be a good idea?  Just caught up in the teasing maybe.  Not realizing the potential damage it could do.  Forgetting that Jesus Christ is love.  Could you imagine your young child coming to you and asking you to discern whether or not a faerie tale is real--and you laughing at him and poking fun at him until he disappears in shame--no longer to seek your guidance for the fear of ridicule?   I didn't think so.
The last thing I would want would be to push someone away from real faith in Christ for fear or ridicule or shame!

It's easier to make light of something when we don't personally know anyone with that particular belief system.  When we actually know people eternal souls who have fallen for lies, it becomes more personal.  When we stop and realize the weight that such a false teacher has on the church and the lost--and how satan is convincing believers to mock and ridicule and destroying our testimony of faith--then we might be able to see it in a different light.

I have repented of this sin.  I was right there along with them in the beginning, and now I grieve my actions.  Will you join me in turning from this sin and loving them for Christ?

G.O.S.P.E.L

I can't tell you how much I love this video.  It makes me want to stand and cheer, sing and shout.   This is TRUTH  please watch!

Being a Good Person is NOT Enough

My Dear Friends~

There have always been difference of beliefs and styles of worship or dedication in the Christian Church.  Many of these differences are unimportant.  Some of them, however, are critical.


Jesus made clear in His teachings that there would be self-proclaimed Christians who didn't really know Him.  Matthew 7: 21-23 says:


"Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
 


It is critical to realize the Jesus is not speaking of the atheist here.  Nor is He speaking to those of other faiths who follow false gods.  He is speaking to those who profess to know Him.


How can we be sure that He is not speaking to us?  How can I know that my faith is genuine?


Saving faith in Christ does not hinge on what church you attend.  You do not have to be a Baptist, Pentecostal, or Catholic to be saved.  The Bible does not teach it.  As a matter of fact, you can attend any one of these denominations and still be lost in sin.


Saving faith is Jesus comes only when we come to a place of humility before God.  The Bible says that our righteousness is like "filthy rags" compared to the righteousness of Christ.  We can spend our lives serving others and giving to charities and still be lost.  That is all works.


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." Titus 3:5

When we recognize that we are sinners and there is nothing we can do to redeem ourselves, we then begin to see our need for a Redeemer.  It is at that point, when we realize that we have nothing to give to God, that his work of grace can begin in us.  


This past Sunday, our preacher preached a sermon on Hebrews chapter 4.  It was all about "Entering into God's rest."  For many years, I believed in Christ, but I did not have that rest.  I found out later in life that belief was not enough.  Today, I am trusting only in Christ's atoning work on the cross to save me.  I don't trust in the fact the I go to a Baptist church.  I don't trust in the fact that I read my Bible and take my kids to church.  I do not trust in the fact that we listen to Christian music only.  I do not trust in the fact that I was baptized or confirmed into a certain denomination.  This is not what the Bible teaches.

If you are trusting in your own goodness or works to bring you to God, then you are on the wrong path.  I would be delighted to talk with you more and explain how you can know Jesus rather than just knowing about Him.  You too, can enter into God's rest.  Rest from trying to be good enough.  Rest from trying to save yourself.  Rest in Jesus.


"Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

A Level-Headed Debate

http://creation.com/genetics-geographical-distribution
As you know, from some previous posts, I am big into intellectual honesty.  I think it is okay to "debate" things that someone might not necessarily agree with--as long as it is done in a manner that does not demean, and as long as we are able to admit the limits of our own knowledge and abilities.  I read this conversation today and it warmed me to think that there were people out there having discussions like this.  Enjoy!

Did God Create Evolution?

The ongoing discussion of creation versus evolution is of great interest to me.  It has forced me to think about what I believe, what others believe, and what I want my kids to believe.

The thoughts that I will try to convey here are simple, yet they are not simple.  In trying to personally describe what I am about to say to a friend, I either failed miserably, or he didn't read it too well.  I am personally not sure which.  But I will try to outline it clearly here, because I think it is of the utmost importance for those who admit belief in a God.

First of all, I believe that to many, evolution needs God.  The attempts to explain it without Him have fallen short.  Why?  Because the continuing anthem of an evolutionist is that you can explain (prove) evolution with science, but that the idea that God created man in His own image is contrary to how we interpret the fossil record.  Not an idea that I agree with, but I will indulge you for the time being.  An evolutionist can look at the fossil record and make assertions based on what he sees.  He can classify Australopithecus as a transitional organism with great confidence in his ability to make scientific connections.  But, he cannot explain the big bang, or the assembly of nothing-into-DNA because it has never been proved, duplicated, replicated, etc.  Thus, he needs one of two things 1) The faith to believe that the answer to this quandary will appear someday or 2) an intelligent designer to set the process in motion.  It is a fact of science that we have never seen DNA assemble itself without the help of a designer.  Maybe in another million or two years we will see it, but in the meantime, it remains an unproved theory. 

So, upon examination, it would be much easier just to say that God used evolution to set His creation in motion.  But I will attempt the explain the flaw in logic that I see in that.  As I see it, you have 3 options:

Option 1:
God is a powerful God who is able to create something out of nothing, and used evolution to set creation in motion yet He hides from us who He really is, and leaves it up to us to decide what He wants from us. 

Option 2: 
God created us in His image and loves us.  He is powerful enough to communicate who He is to us through the writings of men that He has inspired.  Since He is powerful enough to create an orderly universe and man, He is also powerful enough to give us a glimpse of who He  is through His Word.

Option 3:
There is no god.  We are just floating here by chance.  We are animals that have evolved from slime.  Morals are relative because there is no one to be accountable to but ourselves.  Someday we will figure it all out.

I will attempt to explain why I believe that only options 2&3 are valid.

Option 1:
If we say, "I believe in God, and that He used evolution to set the world in motion, but I do not believe that there is any one religion that holds truth," (because all writings are of men and essentially flawed),-- then we are saying that God is powerful enough to create all of this, but He is not powerful enough to communicate to us who He is.  Or maybe you would argue that God hides from us who He is so we can figure it out ourselves.    The same way He hides the order of science from us?  I think not.    If we look at all of the world religions today, we can plainly see that they cause more strife among men that any other idea.  Most of the religions contradict one another.  People kill each other over their faith.   Yet we continue to assert that God, who created an "orderly" system of science, left us with a disorderly idea of why we are here, who He is, and what is right or wrong. 

Option 2:

If we say that an orderly God explains an orderly universe, and He gave us an orderly system (Scriptures)  for knowing Him and why we are here, it makes much more sense. It would make sense that one of the many world religions would hold the truth, or that one of the Holy Scriptures that man claims to have been inspired by God might just be true.

Option 3:
We can say that there is no God.  We don't know how DNA made itself and we can't prove that the big bang occurred. You are a highly evolved animal. 

Options 2 & 3 are more valid.  I will explain why I believe that.

Option 1 says that the nature of God is orderly, but only in science.  He then becomes a bit more disorderly when it come to Himself.    If we say that we believe in God, yet we know very little about Him, other than He created an orderly system of science, then essentially we have no one to be accountable to.  When we  are open to interpret God however we want, then we "make for ourselves god"  or AKA and idol.    This basically elevates ourselves above God and makes him nothing.  You can say this if you are Buddhist, because Buddhism is nothing more than a watered down version of atheism.  If god is in everything, and everything is god, then there is no god.  But can you say that you are a Christan and make those claims logically?  Is not Christianity based on the Bible?  Is the God of the Bible powerful enough to create the universe, yet impotent to pass a God-inspired Book of writings to you?  Why even believe? What about Jews? Or how about a Muslim?  Do they not believe their Scripture to be god-inspired and flawless?   Are they leaving god open to interpretation?  Not the Muslims I know.  Most certainly not. 

When we elevate ourselves to the position of God, we are essentially saying that there is no God. 

How do we know right from wrong?  What keeps us from just slaughtering the neighbor who's land we want for ourselves?  If we are simply evolved animals, there is really nothing.  Now god is open to interpretation and so are right and wrong.  Yet the God of the Bible tells us that He has written it on our hearts.  I would propose to you that option 1 is no more than a cop-out.  A mere attempt to remove any kind of accountability to anyone but ourselves.  An illogical attempt to say that God is logical with His science, but when it come to Himself, He is the author of utter confusion. He will just spend millions of years letting His children "war it out" and kill one another over who He is.

When we remove one authority that the Scriptures might hold (creation) then we can logically remove any other authority that it might have over us. (right from wrong) 

There are really only 2 sides to this fence.  I find it much more honest to say either God is all-powerful, or that He doesn't exist and we are just not fully "evolved" enough to figure it all out yet.  Either way, we are admitting limits to our human knowledge and that is honest. The first option attempts to wedge ourselves into the place of god and only use him when he is convenient to our argument.    It assumes that everything we think we know is correct, and that there can be no other option.

It isn't really a valid option, because it is option 3 in disguise.  If you are god, then he is not.

What do you believe?

My Eulogy

Have you ever thought about what you want people to say about you after you are gone?  I know it sounds a little morbid, but it is something to think about.  Our Sunday School teacher was reading a portion of "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan this past Sunday.  It was a story of a 14 year old girl who's life ended tragically early, but she left behind an incredible legacy of love and living out the Gospel.  At 14.  Amazing.  I started to think this week about what people might say about me when I am gone.  No, not a selfish thing, an introspective thing.  If people were really honest, what would they say about you?

I think it might be helpful to us to think about what we would like to "be," so I put some thought into it for myself.  I figure I have the rest of my life to live up to it.

My Eulogy~

Lori was first and foremost a lover of Jesus.  She craved truth.
Even at the expense of her own pride or prejudices.
She wanted to be everything that He wanted her to be.
She was never one to be ashamed of the Gospel,
Even in the face of intimidation and persecution.

Lori spent her life learning how to be a better wife and mother.
She loved her husband very much.
She also poured her life and energy out into the training of their children.
She was passionate about teaching them truth, discernment, knowledge,
But most of all....love. 

Because of her deep joy and contentment in the Lord,
Lori brought joy to everyone she touched.
She had a deep desire to see the same joy and peace in everyone she knew.

She wasn't afraid to "give until it hurt."
She understood that nothing in this life really belonged to her,
Rather all things belonged to the Creator.
She lived her life with the intent of storing up her treasures in heaven-
Rather than on earth.
She opened her home, talents, and wallet to anyone in need.

Lori's deepest desire is now fulfilled as she rests in the arms of the One who says:

"Well done, thy good and faithful servant."

Teacher Teaching Theory of Intelligent Design Silenced

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8028588

The whole creation/evolution debate amazes me.  One theory can be taught, the other discredited as religion.  The religion of secular humanism is so strong and people are so blinded to the fact that their faith in science is merely that:  FAITH.  The overwhelming need for these people to silence any other theory speaks for itself.

"The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism."  ~Sir William Osler