daily values

Life is about continual choices.  Choices are determined by  priorities of value and worth.   It is vital to place value on what is truly valuable.  Life is about choices based on priorities.   Christ always demonstrated proper priorities in His choices.   Mark1:21-39 gives the account of Jesus ministry on a Sabbath day in Capernaum. Jesus teaches in the synagogue, casts out a demon in the synagogue, heals Simon's mother-in-law and then heals and casts out demons late into the night.   Jesus was busily ministering as the Servant of God.  Verse 32 and 35 provide dual statements depicting the late night and the early morning of Jesus.  Jesus served late and then rose early the next morning. His purpose in rising early while it was still dark was to depart into a solitary place to pray to His heavenly Father.   The word pray is the general term connoting talking to and worshiping the Father.  Following a tremendously busy day Jesus does not choose physical rest and recovery but chooses personal time of spiritual fellowship with God. The reality is most are not busy serving God and others.  Most are busy serving themselves.   Most are making choices that value themselves. How often have you heard or said "I just don't have time to spend with God."   Regardless of self service or service to others Jesus example demonstrates the necessity and priority of making time to spend with God.  What is it that is of more worth than spending time with God?  Sleep? Friends? Work? Pleasure?   May we see that time with God is one of the most valuable things we can do in a day. God help me honor you in my days!

Better Bible reading: Part 1

There are numerous Bibles that are out there to aid the Christian in His personal Bible study.  Apologetic Bibles, Chronological Bibles, Daily Reading Bibles, Archeological Bibles, and a host of General study Bibles.  Yet I have found there is tremendous advantages in just reading the plain old text.   All of these study Bibles are helpful and I strongly encourage a good study Bible such as "The MacArthur Study Bible", or the "New Scofield Study Bible".   They aid in "non inspired" insights into the text.  They provided insights with paragraph breaks, notes, and cross references.  These detailed notes are helpful but at times I find it tremendously helpful to return to just the plain text apart from notes, and paragraph breaks.   Doing so provides a number of advantages. 1. It forces the reader to follow the flow of thought which is many times lost in paragraph breaks.  2. It forces the reader to grasp the scenario and situation rather than simply following the paragraph heading.   I believe a reading of the plain text apart form the paragraph breaks is a more close rendering of the original. ( I have been unable to find a Bible without verse divisions.)  I encourage a good study Bible for help and insights yet I also encourage the reading of the plain text for personal diligence and a return to the closer original format.

Knowledge of God is foundational to obedience to God.

God desires obedience from His creation.  But many times as followers of God we can miss a crucial foundation  in obedience to God.  A knowledge of the person of God is foundational to pleasing, serving and obeying God.   Judges 2:7-11 depicts  the story of Israel two generations.  One generation knew God and His works and as a result served God ( vs 7).  Though they did not perfectly serve God they did serve only Him.   The following generation however did not know God or His works.  Their resulting actions were displeasing and evil in the sight of the Lord (vs 10-13).   They forgot the Lord and served false gods (3:7). The key to obedient pleasing lives was their knowledge of the person of God.  By knowing God and His works one generation  obeyed, served and enjoyed the blessing of God.   By forgetting God and His works one generation disobeyed, forsook God and His truth  and followed their own philosophy of "doing right in their own eyes"   (17:6, 21:25)   This path ended in God's judgment and religious and moral destruction. Our view of God affects our actions!   Generations later having received God's judgment in the Babylonian captivity Israel was determined to obey God and not be punished again.  Yet the Israel of Jesus day similarly did not know God.  They did not know God the Father or God the Son!  They had misplaced priorities.   A foundation in life without the knowledge of God leads to error either in idolatry or legalism.  We must make our pursuit to know God through His word!   As we know God we will then obey and properly serve Him!  A knowledge of the person of God is foundational to obedience to God. Are you seeking to obey and please God, whom you do not know?   Do you care about knowing and pleasing God?  Judges demonstrates the sad reality of lives lived without know and obeying God.  May we seek to know God and then serve Him!

What place does philosophy have in Christianity?

           Philosophy is a rationale system of thought regarding a topic.  I.e. what is your philosophy of horse breeding. Throughout history mankind has had numerous philosophies regarding everything.  Watch politics and you will see various systems of thought.   But how does secular philosophy and Christianity relate?  Should Christianity utilize concurrent human philosophies for the defense, advancement and betterment of Christianity?  Without seeking to address every aspect of the discussion I would like to consider I Cor1.

            In I Corinthians 1 Paul is addressing the carnal church in Corinth.  Paul begins by providing a theological insight of God's past, present and future grace in their lives (1:3-9).  Following these insights Paul quickly confronts their partisan divisions. The Corinthians were obsessed with following men.  Paul explains the Lordship of Christ in Christianity (vs 12-17), his own blamelessness and then addresses the root problem of their partisan divisions in vs 17.  The Corinthians had a man centered philosophy.  They exalted the position of men, magnificent oratory and human wisdom.  Corinth was just up the road from Athens in Greece.  They possessed a Hellenistic philosophy.  This was fleshed out in their partisan divisions.  Paul says your fruit, divisions by following men, is wrong (1:10-17) and your thinking, man center philosophy, is wrong (1:17-2:16). In I Cor 1:17, Paul powerfully confronts the Corinthians with the reality that their philosophy, wisdom of words, was contrary to the nature of the gospel!  Wow that would grab your attention!  In I Cor 1:17-2:16 Paul explains the wisdom of God demonstrated in the gospel. In vs 18, Paul declaratively states God's divine intentions for the proclamation of the gospel.  I Cor 1:18,"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." In vs 19-20 Paul states God's opposition to human wisdom. God seeks to destroy it! In vs 21-23, God intended for people to not know Him through human wisdom! In vs 24, God’s calling not human orientation/wisdom is the revelation of Christ, as the power and wisdom of God. Also in vs 24, Christ is declared to be the wisdom of God.  In verse 25, Paul declares the superiority of God's wisdom over man's wisdom.  God’s purpose for His superior wisdom revealed to be for His glory in 1:26-31. 
 

              From I Cor 1 we recognize God's opposition to human wisdom!  Therefore it is foolish to use something God is opposed to! The palatalizing of the gospel to human ears and minds is compromising to the gospel! In I Cor 2:1-5 Paul explains that the simple proclamation of the gospel lays the proper solid God honoring foundation. Using secular philosophy lays a weak foundation on man's wisdom. The gospel is simple.  God the Son died for human sins, buried, and rose again victoriously.  The forgiveness of sins is gained by faith in Jesus work.  To make that message acceptable to unbelieving ears compromises the message.  God did not intend for us to make the gospel more acceptable!  God intended for us to declare the simple message and He would work (I Cor 1:24).  

          Church history testifies to examples of utilizing worldly philosophy and the resulting detrimental consequences. Origen utilized an allegorical method to defend Christianity and damaged Biblical Bibliology.  Modernism accepted Rationalism as authoritative over Scripture and departed from God.  Evolution seeks to account for existence and creation excluding God. 
  

          As Christians there is freedom in believing the Word of God.  We do not have to make our message acceptable to the world.   We are simply to declare it.  We are to declare it well and clearly but without compromise.