I am inspired to write on a topic that has been playing in my mind daily as I sit sometimes watching people in coffee shops shuffling about. Dragging their laptops to a table grabbing their rather hot but comforting cup of coffee and bringing it to their lips. Conversation bursts out on one side of the room, silence and then everyone then returns back to their own little worlds. Me...well I still keep watching..
What happens next... I am a blood, bought born again, holy ghost filled, on fire, running with the the desire of my father behind me leaving a trail blazing behind me christian. Okay that was done on purpose. I am a Christian. Simple. Paul said rather humorously he was not the "Super Apostle" some had made him I believe to be. Humility comes with that but then must come realization. Of all the men who could call himself a SUPER APOSTLE surely it would be him? Well.. I would say so. He was beat, stranded and killed for the Gospel. But what is the purpose?
I sit in this coffee shop rather waiting for coffee and realizing this is not a day I can share in such a thing but something is pondering its knocking at my door if you will about Paul. Paul the intellectual. Prior to his encounter with Damascus. Where was his heart. How did he see the world? Prior to Damascus Paul was the Scholar. Paul was the Religious among the religious. He held the keys to the heart of the religious men of his time. He held the key to the mind of the intellectual of his time. He was fighting for God (or so he thought) he was persecuting Christians in the desire to please God. I think its a very amazing story indeed but more purposeful to this writing I think it is important to realize PAUL not only believed he was right he was also encouraged by his fellowmen that he was. It was not till one faithful day he is thrown from his Horse he is blinded and then a prophet comes to help him see again that Paul is transformed.
As an atheist everyday I spoke against God. I convienced myself I knew I was right. There was something inside me and in those around me that said it was okay that I persecuted the church and even when I became a christian I felt it was also okay for me to persecute or criticize the church. I felt that once I had a revelation that at one time it was mine to share with the church where it went wrong. This is no just me its many others. People who feel a certain kind of music, message or way church should be done. Though some might night be as verbal about it it is clear people see church how it "should" be done. It's no different that the times Paul went to persecute the church or when the Pharasis accused Jesus men of being unclean because they did not do "ceremonial" rituals of cleansing. Jesus's response to this religious leaders and men of his time is that they cleaned the outside but not the inside. This is a reminder to us all. Though I believe he was directly speaking to religious men of that time I also believe he was speaking to the religious bone we all seem to get now and then. We will deny it because we are not perhaps going to church every Sunday, perhaps we are not praying all the time or God is not always on our heart so we believe that this is the definition of the religious. Truly the religious people of that time where people who felt by doing something in God they would also receive. They felt by going to ceremony or doing rituals they would gain favor with God. This was religious. These were people who felt they were better than others. People who set laws they themselves could not follow and many times they would separate themselves from adhering to their own laws
I think this is important to understand this because many people see a man of God who is speaking God's word and sharing the revelation of the Gospel and immediately think that if this man does not follow precisely like these other "religious" men that he has no testimony or vise versa that a man who is perfect (i use that word lightly) in all his ways that surely he must be righteous. The word of God warns us that NOT ONE MAN IS RIGHTEOUS. NOT ONE (Romans 3:10) It does however share to us that through Jesus we can be righteous or in right standing with God. It does not matter what ceremony or ritual you go forward with the word of God says this. It even does not matter what words we use. His word says that his name was on their lips but their heart was far from him. This perspective when seeing the intellectual or seeing the intellectuals of that time as well is now is that many believe they have found the answer. They believe that through "troubleshooting" that they can come to a conclusion. They believe that by asking questions that surely the more they ask will bring them more clarity even if those questions are already biased to begin with.
I have taken the journey of the intellectual and have found one thing. If you are really looking for an answer you will find one. However if you indeed find the answer and you deny the resolution by preference you are committing intellectual suicide. You are allowing your preferences to get in the way of your personal findings. When you do this you are perpetuating a lie. You are standing in the face of science and in truth and saying. I refuse to pass this on. Like a blockage to enlightenment to revealing truth you are saying no I will continue moving in the way I am in light of my own comfort. Imagine if you will a litmus test. They test is to test Alkaline and Acids and different chemicals. Red means acid another means non acid based chemical. So red means acid and blue means "non-acid". Are you going to further your knowledge by simple ignoring the blue or the red and saying clearly that blue is red or red is blue because you want it to be? Yet this how we live life?
All of our lives we seem to be seeking truth none seems to be so clear as to the desire of the meaning of life, love and God. Why is it when the most crucial things are brought into our lives they move to back burner of the mundane of life? In other-words we are more interested in the distraction than the answer. Imagine if Franklin was more interested in flying his kite than actually realizing the power of electricity, or Edison simply carried his light bulb in his pocket never showing it to another living soul? Would not we still be in darkened homes? If Franklin never said anything about electricity would Edison have created the light-bulb? What if Alexander Graham Bell was so involved in his discovery or distracted that he kept it to himself? With discovery comes the desire to share. Most Christians are told if you speak all the Time of God people will think your Crazy but imagine this great discovery of life and others seeking some great truth but never finding an answer. Are you willing to share it. Luther shared his great discovery of Solo Scriptura and at a great risk to his life, the lives of others so people would live according to the word of God and not the religious empirical power of that time. Today we still have religious empirical power. We sometimes without realizing it I believe Christian, Unchristian alike go into places of denial. Where we say we are looking for truth but we are really sometimes just looking for a security blanket. Sometimes in Faith that blanket can be religion and in the world it can be intellectualism or personal philosophy but clearly from both sides of this great pendulum one does not make the other better.
There is no more clarity in the man who is trying live for God who is religious in his ways. Nor is there a man who is seeking truth in the world but simply and utterly denying the existence or the most important part of the world? God himself. It really boggles my mind that in such times we are living in that people will still ignore the invention "the discovery" and simply play with the string and kite. That we are more willing to live in darkness and UN-discovery to simply protect our own thoughts wills, emotions and sins. The amazing part about all of this is that God is kind, loving and forgiving. He is compassionate and his knows our every ill, fear and thought. Yet many times we set ourselves outside thinking that we will loose something? How could we possibly loose when connected to the great creator of all things. For those who don't believe in GOD how can we possibly by having less answers, less discovery be more intelligent?
This writing is not to simply explain the Gospel in its simplicity but is a revealing of what we sometimes don't realize we are doing ourselves. We are clearly being very very illogical, very uninformed and very ignorant if we decide to ignore simple truths. If we decide to embrace science but not the creator of that which is Science we are surely going to be in darkness. We will grasp partial truths but our own preference will blind us from complete truth. The bible says that no one can gain more understanding by more knowledge of darkness but Darkness cannot shine upon light but light can shine upon darkness. This to me is such a great picture because what it is saying is not only natural to our understanding it also explains the platform in which this writing has been comprised.
If I refuse to look, to engage and to discover. Am I being intelligent? If I've had past bad experiences will I still let that get in the way of discovery. Thomas Edison when failing many time to make the light bulb kept moving forward to discovery. Many might say Thomas was approached by many false light bulbs and many decoy truths and many counterfeit looking light bulbs that were in all without truth. Yet he knew there was a true lightbulb. He did not ignore fundamental truths of science. He did not close himself from others who had other truths. No he simply realized there was a truth and he seeked it till ultimately he found it. This is my plead in this age. The pea to seek truth above preference. To seek wisdom, and love and not to simply find love but to know what love is and not to simple know what it is but to find out where it came from. It's a complete discovery. What you will find is what I have found and though I do not want to shipwreck your journey by telling you mine you will find that there are many things that will deal with the symptoms of life. That you can seek Nirvana in hopes of peace and tranquility, that you can find your own planet ultimately if this is what others say you can have or you can continue chasing after wind but ultimately you are made for a purpose and in that purpose you will find that there is an ultimate truth and there is a universal truth, not only is there universal truth, there is absolute truth and as much as you deny your denial simply implies truth.
To deny or have choice gives us understanding there is choice and when there is choice there is right and wrong and then there is right and there is wrong there is truth. Truth is not, debatable when found. Truth does not fancy our wants or our desires and Truth is not a moral dilemma. Truth is.
What happens next... I am a blood, bought born again, holy ghost filled, on fire, running with the the desire of my father behind me leaving a trail blazing behind me christian. Okay that was done on purpose. I am a Christian. Simple. Paul said rather humorously he was not the "Super Apostle" some had made him I believe to be. Humility comes with that but then must come realization. Of all the men who could call himself a SUPER APOSTLE surely it would be him? Well.. I would say so. He was beat, stranded and killed for the Gospel. But what is the purpose?
I sit in this coffee shop rather waiting for coffee and realizing this is not a day I can share in such a thing but something is pondering its knocking at my door if you will about Paul. Paul the intellectual. Prior to his encounter with Damascus. Where was his heart. How did he see the world? Prior to Damascus Paul was the Scholar. Paul was the Religious among the religious. He held the keys to the heart of the religious men of his time. He held the key to the mind of the intellectual of his time. He was fighting for God (or so he thought) he was persecuting Christians in the desire to please God. I think its a very amazing story indeed but more purposeful to this writing I think it is important to realize PAUL not only believed he was right he was also encouraged by his fellowmen that he was. It was not till one faithful day he is thrown from his Horse he is blinded and then a prophet comes to help him see again that Paul is transformed.
As an atheist everyday I spoke against God. I convienced myself I knew I was right. There was something inside me and in those around me that said it was okay that I persecuted the church and even when I became a christian I felt it was also okay for me to persecute or criticize the church. I felt that once I had a revelation that at one time it was mine to share with the church where it went wrong. This is no just me its many others. People who feel a certain kind of music, message or way church should be done. Though some might night be as verbal about it it is clear people see church how it "should" be done. It's no different that the times Paul went to persecute the church or when the Pharasis accused Jesus men of being unclean because they did not do "ceremonial" rituals of cleansing. Jesus's response to this religious leaders and men of his time is that they cleaned the outside but not the inside. This is a reminder to us all. Though I believe he was directly speaking to religious men of that time I also believe he was speaking to the religious bone we all seem to get now and then. We will deny it because we are not perhaps going to church every Sunday, perhaps we are not praying all the time or God is not always on our heart so we believe that this is the definition of the religious. Truly the religious people of that time where people who felt by doing something in God they would also receive. They felt by going to ceremony or doing rituals they would gain favor with God. This was religious. These were people who felt they were better than others. People who set laws they themselves could not follow and many times they would separate themselves from adhering to their own laws
I think this is important to understand this because many people see a man of God who is speaking God's word and sharing the revelation of the Gospel and immediately think that if this man does not follow precisely like these other "religious" men that he has no testimony or vise versa that a man who is perfect (i use that word lightly) in all his ways that surely he must be righteous. The word of God warns us that NOT ONE MAN IS RIGHTEOUS. NOT ONE (Romans 3:10) It does however share to us that through Jesus we can be righteous or in right standing with God. It does not matter what ceremony or ritual you go forward with the word of God says this. It even does not matter what words we use. His word says that his name was on their lips but their heart was far from him. This perspective when seeing the intellectual or seeing the intellectuals of that time as well is now is that many believe they have found the answer. They believe that through "troubleshooting" that they can come to a conclusion. They believe that by asking questions that surely the more they ask will bring them more clarity even if those questions are already biased to begin with.
I have taken the journey of the intellectual and have found one thing. If you are really looking for an answer you will find one. However if you indeed find the answer and you deny the resolution by preference you are committing intellectual suicide. You are allowing your preferences to get in the way of your personal findings. When you do this you are perpetuating a lie. You are standing in the face of science and in truth and saying. I refuse to pass this on. Like a blockage to enlightenment to revealing truth you are saying no I will continue moving in the way I am in light of my own comfort. Imagine if you will a litmus test. They test is to test Alkaline and Acids and different chemicals. Red means acid another means non acid based chemical. So red means acid and blue means "non-acid". Are you going to further your knowledge by simple ignoring the blue or the red and saying clearly that blue is red or red is blue because you want it to be? Yet this how we live life?
All of our lives we seem to be seeking truth none seems to be so clear as to the desire of the meaning of life, love and God. Why is it when the most crucial things are brought into our lives they move to back burner of the mundane of life? In other-words we are more interested in the distraction than the answer. Imagine if Franklin was more interested in flying his kite than actually realizing the power of electricity, or Edison simply carried his light bulb in his pocket never showing it to another living soul? Would not we still be in darkened homes? If Franklin never said anything about electricity would Edison have created the light-bulb? What if Alexander Graham Bell was so involved in his discovery or distracted that he kept it to himself? With discovery comes the desire to share. Most Christians are told if you speak all the Time of God people will think your Crazy but imagine this great discovery of life and others seeking some great truth but never finding an answer. Are you willing to share it. Luther shared his great discovery of Solo Scriptura and at a great risk to his life, the lives of others so people would live according to the word of God and not the religious empirical power of that time. Today we still have religious empirical power. We sometimes without realizing it I believe Christian, Unchristian alike go into places of denial. Where we say we are looking for truth but we are really sometimes just looking for a security blanket. Sometimes in Faith that blanket can be religion and in the world it can be intellectualism or personal philosophy but clearly from both sides of this great pendulum one does not make the other better.
There is no more clarity in the man who is trying live for God who is religious in his ways. Nor is there a man who is seeking truth in the world but simply and utterly denying the existence or the most important part of the world? God himself. It really boggles my mind that in such times we are living in that people will still ignore the invention "the discovery" and simply play with the string and kite. That we are more willing to live in darkness and UN-discovery to simply protect our own thoughts wills, emotions and sins. The amazing part about all of this is that God is kind, loving and forgiving. He is compassionate and his knows our every ill, fear and thought. Yet many times we set ourselves outside thinking that we will loose something? How could we possibly loose when connected to the great creator of all things. For those who don't believe in GOD how can we possibly by having less answers, less discovery be more intelligent?
This writing is not to simply explain the Gospel in its simplicity but is a revealing of what we sometimes don't realize we are doing ourselves. We are clearly being very very illogical, very uninformed and very ignorant if we decide to ignore simple truths. If we decide to embrace science but not the creator of that which is Science we are surely going to be in darkness. We will grasp partial truths but our own preference will blind us from complete truth. The bible says that no one can gain more understanding by more knowledge of darkness but Darkness cannot shine upon light but light can shine upon darkness. This to me is such a great picture because what it is saying is not only natural to our understanding it also explains the platform in which this writing has been comprised.
If I refuse to look, to engage and to discover. Am I being intelligent? If I've had past bad experiences will I still let that get in the way of discovery. Thomas Edison when failing many time to make the light bulb kept moving forward to discovery. Many might say Thomas was approached by many false light bulbs and many decoy truths and many counterfeit looking light bulbs that were in all without truth. Yet he knew there was a true lightbulb. He did not ignore fundamental truths of science. He did not close himself from others who had other truths. No he simply realized there was a truth and he seeked it till ultimately he found it. This is my plead in this age. The pea to seek truth above preference. To seek wisdom, and love and not to simply find love but to know what love is and not to simple know what it is but to find out where it came from. It's a complete discovery. What you will find is what I have found and though I do not want to shipwreck your journey by telling you mine you will find that there are many things that will deal with the symptoms of life. That you can seek Nirvana in hopes of peace and tranquility, that you can find your own planet ultimately if this is what others say you can have or you can continue chasing after wind but ultimately you are made for a purpose and in that purpose you will find that there is an ultimate truth and there is a universal truth, not only is there universal truth, there is absolute truth and as much as you deny your denial simply implies truth.
To deny or have choice gives us understanding there is choice and when there is choice there is right and wrong and then there is right and there is wrong there is truth. Truth is not, debatable when found. Truth does not fancy our wants or our desires and Truth is not a moral dilemma. Truth is.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
No comments:
Post a Comment