The Bible Tells Me So

 Consider This  No Responses »
Oct 252012
 

Our grow group at church has been going through “The Truth Project” material from Focus on the Family.  It is very good material that teaches a Christian worldview on a variety of topics such as science, politics, work, social order, etc.  At the foundation of the class is the assumption that the Bible is the authoritative source of truth.  I accept that premise, however I have lately been thinking about why I do so.

I know there are many reasons people give for believing the Bible is true.  Frankly, most of the ones I have heard are not very good, involving circular reasoning or some other “proof” that is not acceptable to Christians when used by “the other side” to prove their point of view.  So, why do I believe the Bible is true?  There are in fact some very good proofs out there, but for me, the greatest one can be summed up in a little song.  “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so . . .”

Some may believe life is about collecting stuff.  Others may believe life is about doing stuff.  Or becoming famous.  Or powerful.  When I consider what gives life purpose and meaning, I come up with a different answer.

I believe we were created to commune with God.  He created us in His image to love and be loved by Him.  To share in a bond that transcends anything we can comprehend.  I believe God has revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  I guess that’s the part that has to be taken on faith.  You know faith has to figure in the picture somewhere.   Many years ago, I decided to take that step of faith and accept Jesus as Lord.  Once a person takes that step of faith, the rest can fall in place.

To know Him and live for Him is my goal.  I may not always stay true to that goal, but sooner or later, everything in life comes back to that.  It’s all about Jesus, the only thing that gives life meaning.  Life is about knowing God the Father through Him who is God’s earthly expression of Himself.  Therefore the Bible is important, the Bible is relevant, the Bible is true, because it is the book that tells His story.  Everybody bases their actions, decisions, goals on something.  Everybody has to have something at the foundation of their life.  What better foundation can there be but that of Jesus Christ, and the book that tells His story?

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
  -1Corinthians 3:11

Midlife Musing

 Consider This, Poetry  1 Response »
Sep 292012
 

Below is a poem I wrote more than ten years ago and sent to poetry.com.  I have hesitated to post it on my blog because, quite frankly, it’s a little embarrassing.  Despite that, I have decided to swallow my pride and post it for several reasons.  First, I have felt like I should for a while now.  Second, I need another post for this month.  (I try to at LEAST do three a month.)  And finally, since I am not feeling this way at the moment – hopefully learning a few things since then – you don’t have to feel sorry for me or be amazed at my pity party.  I am VERY blessed, as are many of us.  However, my guess is that some others have felt this way at times, so maybe you can relate.  If I am the only one that has ever felt this way, don’t tell me.  It will just make me feel bad.  😉

—————————–

Midlife Musing

Life is hollow.
Striving, Reaching, Struggling.
Close, but never there. Grasping.
Not quite good enough,
Not quite quick enough,
Not quite old or young enough.
A life full of not quite enough money,
Not quite enough time,
Not quite enough talent.
A life of almost good enough,
Almost correct and almost right.
Hoards of I-wish-I’d-done-thats.
Regrets scattered everywhere.
Success seems scarce, Yet blessings abound.
Self pity is sickening.
The end of life. A talk with God.
The unimaginable happens.
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Nothing else will matter at all.

– JMS

 

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
              — Matthew 25:23  NKJV

There is no such thing as leftover bacon

 Consider This, Misc.  3 Responses »
Sep 192012
 

There is no such thing as leftover bacon.  I have never seen it and I am convinced it does not exist.  In researching the topic, I have discussed the issue with several people.  They have all agreed.  Leftover bacon is a myth.

At first, this theory may appear to defy logic.  Every other food is capable of producing leftovers.  At our house, for example, spaghetti is particularly adept at this.   English peas and rice are also very leftover prone.  We once had three or four dates that sat in a small container in the back of the fridge for almost a year before I finally consumed them and put them out of their misery.  But never bacon.  Bacon is just too good to be left unconsumed.  The demand always meets the supply.

When I die, I don’t want to be like spaghetti or English peas.  I want to be like bacon.  One hundred percent shared out.  Every crumb given away.  Every bit consumed.  Nothing held back.  No leftovers.

He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
-Math 10:39

Exploring Mars and Finding God

 Consider This, Misc.  2 Responses »
Aug 092012
 

I admit it.  I am a science geek.  So, it is no wonder that I have been watching the progress of NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover mission with great interest.  I’ve been checking web sites, watching videos, reading news and comments, and studying the earliest little grainy pictures.

A picture from Mars

Just a couple of days ago, I read a comment that was posted under a video of the Mars rover landing.  Most comments were very positive, praising NASA for a successful landing and an exciting mission.   However, one particular comment, negative in tone, caught my eye.  It was complaining about all the money that was being spent on exploring Mars when ” . . . all we need to know can already be found in the Bible.”  I think the comment was both sad, and wrong.

How could one book possibly contain all we need to know about an infinite God and His unfathomable expansive creation?  Sure, the Bible contains what we need to know about God, salvation, and foundational truth.  But it can’t contain everything we can know, because there is always more to know.  I am grateful for a medical doctor who reads the Bible, but I hope his knowledge also includes some details about the human body that have been discovered since the Bible was written.  On this hot summer day, I am thankful the chemists and physicists felt the need to understand atoms, molecules, and the principals of heat, cold, expansion and contraction.  Without that knowledge, no one would have invented my air conditioner.  The Bible is more than a book.  It is the foundation of knowledge and truth about our Creator.  However, the Bible itself says “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork .”

There is so much more to know.  So much more to be discovered.  I say, let us explore.  I am not afraid of what we may find.  Those with a godless world view may use the discoveries to invent theories, trying to erase their subjection to an all powerful God.  Where they are determined to find no god but themselves, they will see with clouded eyes, exactly what the are looking for, finding emptiness and meaninglessness in the process.

Those of us who eagerly accept there is something greater than ourselves, will find evidence of His existence throughout the universe.  Just as an artist endows a painting with a small bit of himself in every brush stroke, so our omnipotent creator has left His “DNA” throughout his creation.  The wonders of creation reveal the mysteries of the creator.  It’s out there.  He’s out there.  Let’s go exploring.

 

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
   – Psalm 19:1

 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead . . .
  – Romans 1:20

The Troublesome Tree

 Consider This, Misc.  1 Response »
Jun 042012
 

The messy, beautiful tree in our back yard

There is a tree in our back yard that makes a mess.  It covers our deck and fills our pool with gooey dead blooms.  It drops little bitty leaves like confetti, and occasionally lets go of entire dead branches.  It grows super fast, sticking its branches in unwanted places, like into the side of my house, above the chimney, or right over the pool.  It causes so much shade in places that it nearly kills the grass.

It is a troublesome tree.  I have to trim it back every year, yet I still tolerate it.  I tolerate it because I love it.  I planted it when it was just a baby.  I have watched it grow into a giant shade tree that makes a wonderful cool shade in the hot summer.  Its blooms provide a colorful splash of pink against the sky, drawing hummingbirds to the big dinner table above the rooftops.  Below it is my wife’s garden bench, a place to sit and rest a while.  A swing hangs from one of it’s large branches.  I love the tree, despite it’s faults.

Except for one who walked this earth over 2000 years ago, nothing in life is perfect.  Not a tree, not a person, not a church.  Too often I concentrate on the faults and problems and ignore the beauty in life.  I could cut the tree down and save myself some mess and trouble.  I could move to a place where there are no trees.  I could spend my life trying to rid myself of anything that causes me pain.  But I would miss a place to hang my swing.  And the beauty of the tree.

Just Me

 Consider This, Misc.  1 Response »
May 212012
 

I wish I were a brave man of action like David the warrior.
I wish I were a wise decision maker, like Solomon the king.
I wish I were a humble leader, like Moses the deliverer.
I wish I were a loyal follower, like John the disciple.
I wish I were a mighty missionary, like Paul the apostle.

But I’m just me.
God already had a David.
God already had a Solomon.
God already had a Moses.
God already had a John.
God already had a Paul.

God wanted something unique.
His love is too big for monotony.
So He made me.

But by the grace of God, I am what I am . . .
   I Cor. 15:10

Easy Does It

 Consider This, Misc.  1 Response »
May 152012
 

I took our big new truck through a narrow place today.  It was a little scary but I made it through just fine.   I went very slowly, folded in the mirror, and proceeded with caution.  I had to watch closely and be very careful so as to avoid damage.  That’s the way it is when you are taking precious cargo through a narrow place.  You be careful, watch where you are going, and keep moving in the right direction.  Wide places are for the reckless.

Enter through the narrow gate.   For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
   Matthew 7:13-14

 

Some Good Words From George MacDonald

 Consider This  No Responses »
Apr 012012
 

I would like to share something I read this week.  It’s from George MacDonald’s book, “The Hope of the Gospel.”  The language and style might be a little archaic, but the message is wonderful.  He is quoting what a true child of God might say about Jesus and the Gospel . . .

'But to believe in such a man,' he might go on to say, 'with such a
message, as I read of in the New Testament, is life from the dead. I
have yielded myself, to live no more in the idea of self, but with the
life of God. To him I commit the creature he has made, that he may live
in it, and work out its life--develop it according to the idea of it in
his own creating mind. I fall in with his ways for me. I believe in him.
I trust him. I try to obey him. I look to be rendered capable of and
receive a pure vision of his will, freedom from the prison-house of my
limitation, from the bondage of a finite existence. For the finite that
dwells in the infinite and in which the infinite dwells, is finite no
longer. Those who are thus children indeed, are little Gods, the divine
brood of the infinite Father. No mere promise of deliverance from the
consequences of sin, would be any gospel to me. Less than the liberty of
a holy heart, less than the freedom of the Lord himself, will never
satisfy one human soul. Father, set me free in the glory of thy will, so
that I will only as thou willest. Thy will be at once thy perfection and
mine. Thou alone art deliverance--absolute safety from every cause and
kind of trouble that ever existed, anywhere now exists, or ever can
exist in thy universe.'

If you want to read more, you can find a free copy of the book for your Kindle on Amazon, or you can download it in various formats from here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14453

My Way and the Highway

 Consider This, Misc.  4 Responses »
Mar 182012
 

Our dog Charlie died.  It is a sad time at the Spruill house, but I knew it was coming.  He wouldn’t stay in the fence.  He wouldn’t stay on the run.  He escaped from most any collar.  If he pushed his way out the door, he would take off running, ignoring our calls and whistles.  He seemed to enjoy being defiant and running away.

We would call for him, but he wouldn’t come.  He would run all over the neighborhood.  On more than one occasion, we chased him through the neighbors’ yards, trying to get him to come home.  We would run after him and he would take off when he saw us coming.  He was about the least obedient dog I have ever owned.  And I knew that someday, it would get him killed.  Two nights ago, he escaped out of the house and ran off.  It was dark, so Tammy couldn’t see well enough to even attempt to find him.  Nor could the driver see soon enough to avoid him when he dashed across the highway.

Obedience would have saved his life.  Staying within the boundaries would have saved his life.  All the fences, chains, collars and schemes we worked to try to keep him safe certainly did prolong his life.   But in the end, he kept insisting on having it his way, and it caught up to him.  It always does.

God, if there are dogs in Heaven, let Charlie be there.  But just so I don’t meet him there too soon, please, keep the fences high, help me stay obedient, and don’t give up on me, no matter how dark it gets.

Mine!

 Consider This  2 Responses »
Feb 102012
 

On most Wednesday mornings I drag myself out of bed a little earlier than usual so I can meet with two or three other guys from church.  We sip coffee, discuss a book we are reading, talk about our lives, and pray for each other.  The other day, we started talking about jealousy.  If jealousy is a bad thing, then why does the bible say God is a jealous God?

I remember when I was in college, dating my wife.  We hadn’t been together very long, and she had a guy back home that wouldn’t give up.  Even while I was dating her, he would send her flowers.  I think he even asked her to marry him.  It made me jealous.  Who did he think he was, trying to steal my girl?  She’s MINE!  A few months later, she went home for the summer.   The guy had given up.  I was glad.   Even so, Tammy called one day to ask if I cared that she go out with a guy she was friends with.   It wasn’t a “date.”   Just two friends going to hang out together.    I told her . . . Yes . . . I mind.   She didn’t go.  I was glad.   And still jealous.

So what does it mean when God is jealous?  I think it means something different than when we are.  I was jealous for some of the right reasons and perhaps a few wrong ones.  I loved Tammy.  I didn’t want to lose her.  I didn’t want anyone else to have her.  I wanted what was best for her, but I also wanted to hang on to what I thought was best for me.  I was jealous because I didn’t want her to give to someone else the attention that I thought belonged to me.   I didn’t want to lose what was MINE.   I cared for myself, and my “possession.”   My jealousy has a since of selfishness in it.  My jealousy has me claiming as mine, another person.  Tammy is not mine.  She belongs to God.

God is jealous for all the right reasons.  He is jealous when other things pull us away from Him. He is jealous when we put other things above Him, not because He has some sort of ego, but because He loves us and wants what is best for us.  He loves us so dearly that He jealously looks after us.  When evil would try to stake a claim on us, He scoops us to Himself, jealously guarding His prized possession.  When Satan sends his evil on the attack, my Lord whose name is Jealous sweeps his arms around me and declares “MINE!”   He is jealous because we really are His.  And because what is best for us, is Him.

 

.  .  . for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God . . . 
               – Exodus 34:14

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?   
               – James 4:5

 

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