Job 37:5–God's Mighty Voice

Job 37:5–"God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things that we cannot comprehend."

This is a great verse.  It speaks of God's majesty and His holiness.  It talks about His great and mighty voice and the sheer incomprehensibility of His deeds.  This is not to say that we cannot assess what God does, only that we are unable to truly understand all the vastness of His works.  He creates by the power of His Word, and He sustains us from moment-to-moment by that same method.  This is a profound truth and mystery.  And it deserves our reverence, our interest, and our investigation, all wrapped up[ in the sincerest faith and devotion.  Let us then meditate on the reality of this verse today!

A Note to Self

As odd as it may seem, this particular blog is a note to myself.  I need to be reminded to read the Scripture everyday.  So, my very simple and straightforward note today is to read the Scripture, engage the Word of God, and seek after His guidance provided for us in His holy Word.  I have very little else to say, just an encouraging challenge that you (I mean the future me too) would set apart time today to look in the Bible and pray that God would reveal Himself by His Word.  That about covers it.  Amen!

Love is not a Word

Love is an entirely overused word in our vocabulary.  We throw it around for food or for a pair of shoes.  But in reality, love is something different altogether, something bigger.  To talk of love with a sort of flippancy would be to do a diservice to the depth and breadth of love, namely, God Himself.

It is not enough to think of love as merely any other vocabulary word.  No.  Love deserves its own category.  God and what He has done for us in Christ is everything about love.  Whenever we say love, or we think about, we need to remembering that we are but referring to God and to Christ Himself.

Love is always something more.  Let us, then, always treat it as such.

The Discriminating Factor in My Life

When I became a Christian, that is, when I gave my life over to Christ Jesus as my Savior and Lord, my attitude towards the Bible changed drastically.  What was once an ancient history book of myths became a lively, vibrant, powerful revelation of God.  I read the Word as if I found a jug of water in the desert; I became obsessed.

This obsession led to a diet of Scripture and prayer which forced me to a major turning point, an unmissable fork in my life's road.  As I read the Scriptures and I began to see more and more of God in Christ, this grace and love spoke to me in my core and convicted me with a choice.

I had to make a serious decision that would have certain ramifications for my life: I was either going to trust God and to trust His revelatory Word which is the Bible or I wouldn't.  There was no middle ground here.  If God actually did speak to mankind through the Bible and through His Son Jesus, either this would be the foundation of my life or I would force myself to ignore it.

It became clear after reading the Scriptures that I couldn't ignore it: God had revealed Himself to mankind and this mattered to my life.  There was no escaping the reality that God's Word, because of its nature it forced me to address it with sobriety and seriousness.  At the final analysis, I determined to make the Bible the foundation for my life.

This could seem like a nice Christian sentiment or a platitude of dogmatism, however, making the decision to live in submission to Holy Writ has ramifications.  Not only would every category of thought and life need to be dramatically transformed by the revelation of Scripture but, and this is where it hits the road, I had to submit to the Word of God especially when I did not want to.

What I knew about the Bible was that it does not discriminate: all people are made in the image of God and have turned away from Him in sin, no amount of effort will overcome that sin, and, ultimately, only God can save from sin because only He sees it as it truly is.  This all points to the cross of Christ, where God took on Himself the sin of the world and showed grace and love.  But this love is not cheap and is not free; it demands my very life.

Now, every decision, every thought, and every element of my whole life must be held captive in submission to Christ.  And there is no middle ground; this submission is exclusive, it's discriminating.  But I know, as I have known from the moment I repented and turned to God in faith, that God has made me for Him and I would not be complete if I neglected this truth.

Musings on Joy

Joy is one of those sincere pleasures of this human experience.  It is something more than mere happiness, for happiness is contingent upon what happens.  No.  Joy is something more, like a certain contentment, a profound satisfaction that propounds from the deep and overflows throughout ever cavity of person.  It is, in some ways, ineffable in that it lies beyond language's ability to convey it accurately because it is so sweeping, so radical.

But the experience of joy is real, the residuals are recognizable.  And though the experience of joy is a temporal, fleeting phenomena, the joy itself is something more, something lasting.  Think of the simplicity of a sincere smile, maybe the smile of a 1-year-old.  When a baby smiles, there is no questioning the joy as genuine and pervasive.  There is an honesty to this joy, a bona fide joy that stems from the depths.  And, although some external stimuli may initiate the response of joy, the joy is an internal well that pours in various form(s); a smile in the case of the baby.  But from where does this seemingly-bottomless wellspring of joy bubble from?

It is this, the source of joy that is worth talking about.  God.  God is the source of joy.  To be in His presence is joy (Psa 16:11).  The commandments of the Lord are joy (Psa 19:8).  And it is in obedience to the Lord that humans can experience the fullness of joy (John 15:10-11).  Understanding that joy is not something that is dependent upon the scenarios of circumstance or the happenings of life, but that it is solely a gift from God will keep us secure lest we begin to misconceive of joy as mere happiness or worse, pleasure.

In a Foreign World

1 John 4:4-6: "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

A couple of years ago, my mother and father went on a long awaited trip to France and decided that a little linguistic preparation was in order.  My mother went to Barnes & Noble and purchased one of those "Speak French in 30 days" tapes programs.  The first training session (if that's what you could call it) resulted in more laughs than actual words spoken.  They listened to the tapes whenever they were in the car together, with no perceivable growth in either recognition of French or of understanding it at all.  

When the time for the trip approached they resolutely boarded the plane for their adventure.  The laughs they had enjoyed during their linguistic preparation was replaced with the petrified experience of the first 10 minutes after leaving the airport in their rental car as they endeavored to travel from the Charles DeGualle to the French countryside.  They were strangers in a new world.

How easy it is for us to forget that we are to be foreigners in this world but not of this world.  When we hear others speaking the words of the world we feel the need to try to speak their language.  The longer we complacently allow ourselves to be fed food from that which isn't of God, we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be polluted in a way that may cause death.  

We, joint heirs with Jesus, must not underestimate the determination of the Anti-Christ or forget that the world as we know it was given over to him and his evil devices (by God Himself).  If we forget, we are not only aiding and abetting the enemy with complacency but we will also neglect that we should be preparing ourselves for victory -- not our victory but a victory that has occurred through the loving actions of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Thank you to my mother, Teresa, for much of this blog...

Training in the Word of God

Imagine you were a soldier ordered into battle by your commanding officer.  However, amidst the orders being given and the tussle to grab supplies, your base is fired upon and attacked.  During the scuffle, you realize that your weapon has gone missing and, apart from terrifying you due to your apparent impotence, you find your self defense-less and without any weapon to handle the oncoming attacks.

Or imagine that you were a doctor entering the emergency room to perform surgery.  Yet after you wash your hands, put on your cap, and pull the rubber gloves over your wrists you find that not only are their no scalpels to be found but you do not even remember how to do the surgery either.

Needless to say, both of these scenarios would be terrifying and are to be avoided at all cost.  But for some Christians, this is exactly how they live their lives.  Scripture states explicitly that the Word of God is the a two-edged sword, the offensive weapon of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12).  Therefore, when Christians neglect reading and studying the Holy Scriptures, they are like a soldier going into war without a gun or a doctor trying to perform surgery without a scalpel.

It might be most accurate to say that the Christian who does not study the Word of God is like a headlining professional musician who has never learned how to play a single note: an utterly preposterous proposition.  Instead, Christians should fulfill the exhortations of the apostle Paul, who writes, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...(Col. 3:16)."  To conclude, let us look to the word of Paul again in his first letter to his friend Timothy:

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17)."

Let us then treat the Word with all the respect and reverence that it deserves, acknowledging that it is the very power and truth of God Himself, and the authority for our very lives.

Turning Around in Life like in the Woods

As I've said before, I grew up in a motorcycle family.  When I was a kid, my father and I would spend nearly every weekend burning gas in a two-wheeled machine in remote woods somewhere in Minnesota.  Although we would often ride for the fun of riding, I can not remember a single time when we rode through the woods without a destination in mind.

Whether it was a course, a fixed track, or just finding our way through the woods, the intent was always specific, the goal was always set and determined.  Often times, the only indication that we were on the right track were the small, bright orange arrows that were stapled to trees.  However, when speeding through the overgrown woodlands of Minnesota in the middle of summer, it can be all-too-easy to rush past the trail markers and quickly find oneself off the trail and lost.

In this case, there is one and only one surefire way to get back to the trail: turn around.  When riding in the middle of the woods this is an easy decision.  For if you do not turn around as soon as you realize that you are off the trail, you will most definitely find yourself lost and miles away from where you want to be in no time at all.  In fact, turning around under such circumstances seems not only reasonable but right.  Why shouldn't we think of our life in the same way?

The Word of God, the Bible, is a sort of trail map for life.  Not only is it useful for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it also reveals that flaws in our lifestyle as well as giving guidance to how we should live.  In other words, life is like riding a motorcycle fullblast through the woods and the Word of God is the trail marker that keeps us on the track.  

Isn't it just like humanity to be so focused on getting through this world as fast or as successfully as possible that, without fail, we can blow right off the trail?  When this happens, like racing through the the woods on a motorcycle, turning around is the only answer to remedy the predicament.  This is what repentance is all about: turning around to get back on God's path.  Let us then look to the Word of God and keep our eyes fixed on the trail markers, but when we find ourselves lost, let us repent and turn around back to God as soon as possible!

Contextual Considerations for Interpretation

Interpretation does not happen in a vacuum.  Every action, every statement, every occurrence is interpreted behind filters.  These filters are cultural, familial, relational, economic, linguistic, and a slew of others that affect how we receive and comprehend the world around us.  For instance, think about when someone says, "Could you turn off the lights, please?"  We interpret that message and decipher its content through a litany of lenses that help us to make sense of what is actually being communicated.

Whether it is listening to the fall breeze blow outside your window, watching a television commercial, or discussing the plans for the weekend's events with a friend, interpretation is essential to life as a human.  In many cases, how accurately we can interpret any specific message or phenomena is dependent on how well we can be aware of the interpretive lenses we are using to interpret.

This is especially important when talking about the Bible.  The Bible is an ancient anthology of ancient literary pieces.  The various books of the Bible each were written at a specific time in a specific historical context with its own set of rules and its own way of writing that is firmly grounded within its own era and context.  However, we, as interpreters, inevitably live in a wholly different, modern context.  This means that the first step of biblical interpretation involves an intentional process of learning both about our context as well as the distinct context of the book under examination.

While this may sound abstract or conceptual in nature, the point is incredibly practical.  Our goal as interpreters of Scripture has been, is, and will always be to get the most accurate interpretations of Scripture that we possible can.  And one of the essential tasks to accomplish this is for us to look beyond our contextual lenses so that we can engage Scripture on its terms instead of trying to make Scripture contract to our terms.  Let us then take time when interpreting to understand where we are coming from so that we can understand where the Bible is coming from as accurately as possible.

Scripture: the Light for our Paths

It is a not an uncommon occurrence to need to search for something in the dark.  Think of hunting along the wall for the seemingly hidden light switch.  Or looking through the darkened garage when the light is out.  Or even foraging through the junk drawer for a candle and match during the most tempestuous of storms.  As anyone who has ever gone camping can attest, a light can be the most useful thing amidst darkness.

Life is full of darkness.  The bleak blackness and dark gloom of this world falls like a pall over life.  Fortunately, God has not left us without a bright and shining light to illuminate every step and to shimmer its godly glow to light out paths.  This heavenly light is the Word of God, the Scriptures which is to protect us from harm (Psa. 119:105; Pro. 6:20-24).

While the aforementioned verses are often memorized and quoted for their beauty, it is more important that we would live by the truth therein then to simply acknowledge it as true whilst neglecting the application.  If we are to apply the truth that God's Word is to light and guide our way, then there are some important things that must be pointed out.

First of all, if the Scriptures are to light the path of the Christian, then the Christian must be acquainted with them.  A flashlight is useless if the person does not know how to turn it on or if they fail to put the necessary batteries in it.  In other words, the Word will fail to be the light to our paths if we neglect learning how to wield it.

To be sure, this is all about Bible Study.  Unless we are in the Word, studying the Word and memorizing it, our paths will forever remain dark and shadowy.  But when we have sufficiently immersed ourselves in the Word and allowed it to permeate into the depths of our hearts, we will be sufficiently prepared and equipped for God's Word to light our life.

Additionally, letting the Word take its rightful place as the light to our paths is all about humility and submission.  For the Scripture to guide our every step, we must submit ourselves to its authority in our lives.  This is fundamental, foundational, and necessary.  Unless we turn over our very volition to that of the Word of God, we will continue to struggle in the darkness for lack of a sufficient light to our paths.  Let us then determine to depend on the Word and make it the very basis for our lives!

Just like Josiah

Imagine finding something earth-shatteringly important.  Like when looking through old paper work, you discover that years ago you inherited a mansion, or that you had a twin brother that was taken away at birth.  What would your reaction be?  Would you seek that thing out with every bit of energy you possess?  How far would you go to make sure that you had the information correct?  To what lengths would you go?

Something like this happened in ancient Israel.  For years, the kings of Israel had been drifting farther away from the Lord and towards syncretism, idolatry, and sin.  The kingdom that David had established had been divided after the death of Solomon and, while the northern kingdom had always been sinful, overtime, even the southern kingdom fell away from what God had desired of them.

In fact, the people had become so idolatrous and sinful that even the Torah, the Book of the Law, which was the foundation for all of their faith had been lost.  Not even the priests, the keepers of the Law, knew where the Book had gone.  Throughout the Book of the Kings (1 & 2 Kings), Israel and Judah become increasingly apathetic and apostasy, eventually being deported at the hands of the Assyrians, and later the Babylonians.  It is at this point in the nation's history when a young, God-fearing king ascends to the throne.  His name is Josiah and his story is told in 2 Kings, chapters 22 and 23.

Eight years old when he begins his thirty-one years reign in Jerusalem, the Word says that Josiah, "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left (2 Kings 22:2)."  He was a good, godly king.  In the eighteenth year of his reign, he decides to spend some money and for some much needed repair of the Temple.  It is at this time that while doing the repairs, the Book of the Law is found.

Although it is both shocking and appalling to think that the Israelites had become so idolatrous that they had actually "lost" the Book of the Law, what is remarkable about the story and about Josiah is his response to the Book's finding.  Josiah does two stunning things in reaction to discovering the Book of the Law that have immediate contemporary applications for us.

The first thing that Josiah did was to have the Book read in its entirety both to himself and to the whole nation.  Josiah understood immediately that the Law was God's Word for Israel and, though their forefathers had abandoned it, he intended to reinstitute it as the Book for Israel's faith.  He didn't do this half-heartedly.  No, he knew that God's Word demands full allegiance with no hint of turning.  Moreover, Josiah was excited and energetic to do this.  We should take a mind like this when we consider instituting God's Word in our lives.  And we should do so with as much fervent intent and energy as Josiah.

The second thing he did was to destroy all the idol worship that had pervaded Israel.  He destroyed altars, killed priests, and purged the nation of the sin of idolatry.  This is huge.  Think of the effect of such a decision.  Not only was his move bad for the economy, as idol worship was big business, but also it challenged all of the Israelite idol worshipers to get their act straight.  We should do this same thing, definitively purge the idolatry and sin both from within ourselves and from within our churches.  While we should do so with grace and gentleness, we are commanded to take seriously God's call to purity and holiness.

Again, the Old Testament should not be neglected for its antiquity but studied for its usefulness and worth.  All of Scripture speaks to the glory of God and Christ Jesus.  Therefore, we need to put on our miner's hats and interpreter's tool-belts to dig into the Scripture for the endless worth thereof, both practical and theological.  Let us then be like Josiah, exalting the Word of God and striving with all passion to live it out!

Jeremiah: Necessary History

Christians have a tendency towards the New Testament.  This is a natural reaction to the fact that our faith is based on the life and work of Christ, which is chronicled in the Gospels and applied in the letters of Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude, etc.  However, as per Jesus' own words, He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to complete them (Matt. 5:17).  And if we, as Christians, are to have a greater understanding of Christ, we need to be willing to mine through the books of Old Testament for their worth, both in practical matters as well as theological.  The book of Jeremiah is one such book worth studying.  It is not only valuable for its significant contribution to prophecy about Christ but also for the history of Israel and Jeremiah himself.

Called to be a prophet as a young boy (1:6), Jeremiah grew up in a time in which Israel was in a maelstrom of tumult and turmoil (around 590 BC).  More than a century earlier, the northern kingdom, which included 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel, was conquered and taken into exile by the Assyrians.  The southern kingdom, however, based in Jerusalem, was protected by God.  The people responded in haughtiness, believing that God's providential hand could never be removed because of their covenant, despite the prophesies made by Isaiah indicting them for their sin.

As a result of such arrogance, the "prophets" of Jeremiah's time looked superciliously at the words of Jeremiah, which were prophesies of judgment to come at the hands of the Babylonian empire, newly revitalized under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar.  As a result of such disdain for his work, Jeremiah was ignored, mocked, beaten, and even thrown in prison.  Despite such harsh treatment, Jeremiah stayed perseverant to the call that God had given him and, in the end, his prophesies were proven when the Babylonians finally sacked Jerusalem, first in 597 and definitively in 587.

Jeremiah's contribution to the corpus of Scripture is twofold: first is in regards to judgement; second, in regards to redemption.  Jeremiah preached repentance to Judah in order to maintain the covenant that God had provided for them.  He prophesied judgement because of their increasing sin and lustful sin.  However, Judah turned in pride and self-delusion away from God and was punished justly for their conceited unbelief.  But that is not the whole story.  In Jeremiah 31:31-34, Jeremiah prophesies of a new covenant that God will inaugurate that surpasses the old covenant in its scope and its effect.  As Christians, we know this new covenant to be made in the blood of Christ and introduced at the Last Supper.

To be sure, this has been a brief introduction, a cursory synopsis, of some of the important points of note in regards to the book of Jeremiah.  The purpose has been to show the significance for Christians to study and to examine the books of the Old Testament because they speak of God, and of Christ Jesus.  We should be eager to learn more about them, then, because in doing so we will be growing in our knowledge of God.  Let us then dig into the Word so as to dig into God Himself!

Understanding the Holy Spirit

Throughout the Church, there seems to be much teaching and doctrine about the Father, and certainly the Son, but the work of the Holy Spirit is oddly neglected.  To be sure, it is challenging. For however many and eloquent words we might employ to depict and discuss the Holy Spirit, we are inevitably left using material and human words to describe an altogether un-human being.  This leaves us inclined either to dig deeper into the Scriptures for clarification or simply to ignore teaching about the Holy Spirit entirely for fear of doing Him injustice.  Needless to say, the latter is unacceptable.  Instead, we should look at the opportunity to learn about God, His Holy Spirit, with joy and energy.

At the onset, the Holy Spirit is unique to Christianity.  Only Christianity teaches that God Himself, in His Holy Spirit, will actually descend upon and indwell believers.  This should excite us to know that God desires to indwell us with His very person so as to guide, to teach, and to grow us from the inside-out.  Because we are discussing a Spirit, we should be sure to consider a couple of points of clarification: we are referring to the Spirit not a material substance; we are talking about One who indwells within believers not everyone; and there is an emphasis in the New Testament, particularly Acts, for a baptism of or being filled by the Holy Spirit.  These three basic assertions form a trifecta of foundations supported and supplemented by the Word, specifically the New Testament.

While the Holy Spirit plays a major role in nearly all of the New Testament works, none more so than that of the Gospel of John and Acts.  More than any other writing does John chronicle Jesus specific teaching about the Holy Spirit.  For starters, people are to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33), which equates to be born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  This can seem both odd and confusing, and has sparked much debate over what amounts to this baptism.  Luckily, Jesus does not leave us without reference about this, as chronicled by Luke throughout Acts.

In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, "He said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"  Jesus, quite clearly, tells the disciples that, though they had already been baptized with water and were believers, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, just before Jesus ascends, in His final words to His disciples, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)."  The event Jesus prophesied is Pentecost (Acts 2:4), accompanied by the physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit, namely speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Much destructive and unbiblical teaching has been done on this subject, to the effect that the Church seems polarized.  In an effort to keep true to the Scripture and reserved, we can point out a couple of clear things about this.  For one, believers are to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.  These being two things, they do not necessarily mean two separate occasions; they could be simultaneous.  Secondly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of God.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit, we could believe all the right orthodoxy but never bear fruit.  In this far-too-normal scenario, we need to earnestly pray to receive the Holy Spirit who guides, counsels, teaches, helps us grow spiritual fruit and is the medium of worship (John 4:23; 14:15-18, 25-26; 16:4-15).

The other, and most controversial, aspect of the Holy Spirit that should not be neglected for fear of disrupting our denominational doctrines or sensibilities is in reference to the "sign" gifts: healing, miracles, prophecy, visions, and tongues.  In an effort to let the Word determine theology as opposed to the dire case of the reverse, it must be said unambiguously that these gifts are still in effect today.  We still live in the age of grace, and God still empowers believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit with these gifts and He still works in these ways today.

In the end, understanding who the Holy Spirit is, how He is received, and what He does within believers is essential teaching.  Certainly, it is challenging teaching that can convict and push us in unforeseen ways but this should not allow us to neglect it.  In closing, Paul indicates that the Holy Spirit "seals" our inheritance in the Father, and is a "guarantor" of our eternity (2 Cor.21-22; Eph. 1:13-14).  The purpose of this article has not been an exhaustive or comprehensive teaching on the Holy Spirit, but just a taste of the more important things that Christians need to be aware of.  Let us then pray to be baptized by the Holy Spirit so as to be empowered by God Himself!

Don't be Fooled by the Speech of Fools

A mechanic is an expert in automobiles.  He or she has been trained in the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and has gotten sufficient experience for them to be considered mechanics.  As a result, they are trusted for their study as experts in their respective field.  Because of this, it would seem utterly asinine and idiotic for someone without any prior education or experience to tell that person what they "think" or "believe" to be the cause of their car troubles.

Or consider a medical doctor.  After having spent years of arduous study and rote memorization, coupled with years of hands-on experience in dealing with various types of patients and their syndromes.  Yet, inevitably, the patient will offer their arm-chair diagnosis with such gusto as if they themselves had done the schooling and they might know better or with more fullness what was actually going on.

However ludicrous the aforementioned examples may seem in their context, this principle is done with relative regularity and astonishing amounts of confidence in matters of faith and religion.  Truly, just like everyone who tries to offer their own diagnosis of car troubles or health, the unrepentant unbeliever will often make up his or her own story about truth and about God, with no care nor reference to the work and study done by believers and theologians who have given their very lives to the task of pursuing God and His truth.

Moreover, the unbeliever who would assert their own unfounded theological systems, tend to do so in such a relativistic way that warrants any discussion of true truth, that is to be found solely in the One who IS truth, is made impotent by their babbling.  Thus, the discussion is left unresolved because to the unbelievers unwillingness to hear the truth of God, due to their hardness of heart.

Strangely enough, Solomon spoke about such useless and foolish babbling several centuries ago.  He writes in Proverbs, "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, only in sharing his own opinion (Pro. 18:2)."  He writes also that, "The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near (Pro. 10:14)."  Thus, the man who continually airs his own opinion with no regard for transformational understanding is a fool.

This also brings to light the essential importance of humility in any theologizing.  If we are to be people of wisdom, then we need to be slow to speak and quick to listen in these matters (James 1:19). The challenge is that this principle, though easily asserted for its merit, is far-from-easy to implement.  However, if we remember that a fool will expose himself by his many words, if we simply listen attentively we will be in much better positions to address the fool with the truth that will pierce his foolishness: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let us then take heed the work done by great Christians of the past and those of the present who dedicate their very lives to pursuing God.  For they are the spiritual doctors that are studied and trained in the things of God and should be thought of as such.  Praise be to God that He would not leave us autonomous but that He would commission a body of believers with various gifts and callings to advance His Church and His Kingdom!

The Good News of the Gospel

An emotionally-spent struggles to sleep.  For the past two years her son, a marine, has been deployed overseas.  Everyday the mother watches the reports, praying that she will not hear her son's name listed among those soldiers who had lost their lives in battle.  She is strained and worn from worry, having been for several months since her son's last correspondence.

Early one morning, before the sun dawns its brightness over the horizon, the mother hears rustling in the kitchen.  She gets herself dressed and walks down the stairs with reservation.   When she gets to the doorway of the kitchen, tears begin to wrench from her eyes as she is startled to see her son making her breakfast.  He had returned stateside days earlier and wanted to surprise her with good news.

Good News, that news which is a salve to our hearts and an encouragement to our lives.  The Word of God speaks of the greatest news to ever be received, which is the Gospel of Jesus, the story of sweet salvation.  The Gospel, the good news of Jesus, is the story of God's grace, the redemption from sin, death being conquered, and the reception of life eternal through the torn flesh and shed blood of God's Son, Christ Jesus.

Although the whole of Scripture speaks to the Good News of Christ Jesus, perhaps the most concise verse is the oft-quoted John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life." The richness of this well-known passage is its theological density and literary precision.  John, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is indicating that at the heart of the Gospel of Christ is nothing less than God's very love for us!

Moreover, the Gospel, the Good News of salvation brought about by God through Jesus, is story that took centuries to write.  The Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) prophesy of it (Rom 1:2-3; Heb. 1:1-4).  Profoundly, the Gospel was a centuries-long preparation of God for the redemption of humanity by the work of His Son, Christ Jesus.  This is certainly Good News.  Let us not eschew our passion for this news but let us, like the mother in the above story, weep tears of joy at the joyfulness of the Good News of Christ Jesus!