Spiritual Ponderings

I am recording notes from what feels like the front lines of my training boot camp, if there is such a mix of metaphors. There is no doubt God is training me in lessons of faith, not only by considering the circumstances surrounding me presently but because I have repeatedly asked Him to do so. I do not want negative thinking to continue to infect and inhibit my growing faith and trust in Him, so I am trying to pay more attention to the constant messages He sends me and apply them to my own thinking and spirit. One concept that keeps asserting itself in my mind is the idea of context. I have learned how vitally important context is to properly understand and apply the Word of God. But now He is reminding me that in a very powerful and life-changing way, each one of us shapes the context of our perception of reality in which our relationship with Him is shaped. I am coming to realize more clearly that the fundamental problem all of us have to deal with is our perception of God –...

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. (Romans 2:1) The truth of this verse finally began to sink into my understanding a number of years ago when I carefully examined the context to find the real meaning for myself. It comes immediately after a long list of descriptions about aberrant behaviors that Christians love to condemn. Paul was well aware of the religious penchant for scorning others while piously assuming a role of righteous indignation and superiority. I believe that is why he baited this trap in the way he did so as to expose the diabolical nature of how hypocritical religion can blind us to our own faults while thinking to condemn the faults and sins of others. The reason this came back to my attention this morning is because I find myself facing situations in the next few days where I will again have to grapple with how to proper...

Is it wrong to be vulnerable? Your reaction to that will reveal some basic assumptions about which system of society you embrace. True love requires openness, transparency, vulnerability at a very deep and intimate level. To put up barriers to protect your own vulnerability is to pull back from allowing love into your heart. Any system that discourages vulnerability is a system or society based on the wrong DNA. To be vulnerable is not the problem from heaven's viewpoint. The problem is with those who exploit vulnerability. The Bible speaks of this as taking advantage of nakedness. You see, in the Bible being naked or vulnerable is not the problem so much as those who take advantage of other's nakedness and vulnerability. One who is vulnerable may not be physically naked at all, and most often is not. But in heaven's eyes the great sin is exploiting anyone's vulnerability; for to exploit someone, to take advantage of another's weakness and vulnerability...

Science has come a very long ways in recent years in the study of DNA and has developed tests by which all sorts of things can now be accurately identified using DNA testing. Amazingly even very old tissue from bones or hair can be DNA tested and compared with descendants generations later to determine if they are related to people living today. But have you ever considered that there might be a way to test spiritual fruit to determine if it came from the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? I am starting to sense that very possibly God may want us to test DNA of current fruit to identify which Tree it descended from. And one way that occurred to me that we might test ideas is by asking two simple questions: Is it life-giving only? Or does it operate on the dualism principle of Good and Evil? You can argue all you want in favor of the dualistic system and convince yourself or others that it is of heavenly origin. But there is only one representative ...

Rights. Sounds very patriotic doesn't it? Some Americans are very much into defending their rights. Right now there is a raging debate in this country over whether people have a right to own and carry weapons or not. I'm not going to weigh in on that subject, other than to say that I see faulty reasoning on both sides of the arguments. Yesterday I listened to a group study where the teacher strongly questioned whether there even is such a thing as rights. He contended that he could not see how we had any rights, only privileges. Obviously he has not spent much time in the debate about the difference between rights and privileges. But it did force people to begin thinking about this, myself included. This man felt that possibly all we have are privileges granted to us by authorities, but possibly no rights. Something about his assertion didn't sit well with me. Not because I am a rabid patriot, though I am quite familiar with that movement and have much sympathy ...

Contrary to widespread public opinion, Jesus was very possibly not a carpenter. Why do I think that? For at least a couple of reasons that I find compelling. First, I have been told that the word translated 'carpenter' actually would better be translated as a builder. Yes, Strong's concordance says it means a craftsman in wood, but Strong's is not always totally reliable in every detail as many experts will assure us. One reason to doubt the emphasis on wood inherent in carpentry is that buildings in those days were seldom made out of wood like we are used to seeing in other parts of the world. Wood was not that common of a commodity while stone was far more accessible and useful for buildings. Thus, while Jesus and his father may have had some experience with wood, it is more likely that they may have been stone masons helping to erect buildings and houses of stone which is still a very common building method in Israel today, though now it is more likely t...

How we view God, and in turn what we think sin is determines what we think about the solution to sin. There are two main competing views of sin and God in Christianity. The most pervasive and entrenched view is the legal approach, where God makes the rules and everyone else is expected to obey them. If we do not we expect Him to mete out appropriate punishments. In addition, there are rewards offered for those who do well and will be given proportionately to their achievements. This model is based on a reflection of how the world operates in all of our systems of government and society. It is based on the control paradigm where those in power decide the rules and rely on force, fear and intimidation to impose those rules on everyone else. This is so familiar to our thinking that it is impossible to escape its influence on everything we assume about reality. But just because something is extremely familiar and feels normal in no way proves that it is right or reflects the w...