Musings of a (Sometimes) Muddled Mind

  Our Sunday School class has been studying Romans and man, Romans is just so dense. There’s a lot in there to unpack. I find myself marinating on it throughout the week. One word that came up recently is found in Romans 3:25. Verse 24 says that we are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is found in Christ Jesus, and then verse 25 goes on to say that God set Jesus forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness. That word “propitiation” is just fascinating. The Greek word Paul used here that is translated “propitiation” is hilasterion, and it’s only used one other time in the New Testament - in Hebrews. But before we get there, we need to do a little background. When God led Israel out of Egypt, He set up the Mosaic law. He gave them instructions for building the tabernacle and all of its furnishings, including the Ark of the Covenant. On top of the Ark was a slab of gold with two cherubim on top. Their wings spread ...

 I heard something earlier today that got me thinking, and here's where that thinking led. Hopefully you'll excuse any scattered thinking here, because I'm pretty much typing this out as I go. Premise 1: Love is not the opposite of judgment. Premise 2: Apathy is the opposite of judgment. Premise 3: Most people who stop and think about it long enough will agree with this, although many might do so very reluctantly - think kicking and screaming. Situation: Imagine you're walking down the street and you see two youths beating and robbing an old lady. If you disagree with my premises above, then the loving response to this situation is, "well, would you look at those little scamps. Lord love them. Boys will be boys, I suppose. Imagine what they're going to do once they learn to harness all that energy." and bob off down the street in your most non-judgmental shuffle.   I submit to you that the non-judgmental response to seeing an old lady beaten and robbed is ...

Psalm 1:1  Blessed is the man        who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,                    nor stands in the way of sinners,        nor sits in the seat of scoffers;              2       but his delight is in the law of the LORD,        and on his law he meditates day and night.              3       He is like a tree        planted by streams of water                    that yields its fruit in its season,        and its leaf does not wither.                    In all that he does, he prospers.  Matthew 7:17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad frui...

  The theology most likely to be correct – at least so it seems to me - is the one that makes Matthew 28:19-20 the most important.  Any theology that downplays the importance of missions would have a very hard time explaining itself to me in terms that made me likely to believe it.  This is true of any area of theology, including eschatology. Any eschatology that makes missions less important seems untenable to me, no matter how sound your arguments appear at face value. This is my main issue with Reformed theology. The entire system downplays the Great Commission. If you asked most Reformed Theologians why do missions matter, the only answer is “because Jesus commanded it.” Now, that’s true, but it rings hollow. If the Elect are going to be redeemed regardless, that removes the urgency to take the message to the uttermost parts of the earth.  But if God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, and the way that happens is by way of faithf...

Matthew 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. I have lately begun turning my attention more and more towards older books.  My reasons for doing so are myriad, but among them are: 1) frugality - most older books can be found very inexpensively.  If you don't mind reading electronic versions, many of them are free.  There are so many very good, meaty, interesting books available for free, why would I want to spend $10 or more on a book that will never be of similar literary quality to any number of books that I can obtain for free? 2) interest - many of my interests are piqued just as well by books written 50 or 100 years ago at least as well as, and often more than, newer books.  3) quality - I have found that many books written within the last 20 years or so are increasingly formulaic, vulgar, and generally full of puffery with very little substance. ...

On my way home from work last night, I listened to someone telling the story of a man who almost canceled a business trip when his two year old son started crying.  The boy realized when he saw airplanes that Daddy was leaving on a trip. Being a dad, I completely understand how much it hurts to hear your child crying.  It is often very difficult to continue on a given course of action knowing that said action is causing your child emotional pain and distress. That said, the father went on his business trip anyway.  The speaker - Joni Eareckson Tada, by the way - was making the point that the father cared about his child's hurt, and that our Heavenly Father cares about our hurt, too. Sometimes, however, it seems a bit hard to understand how God could claim to love us and yet allow us to go through whatever it is we're going through when we have that thought.  It becomes difficult to think of God as loving us when we're suffering.  And when we start wonderin...

Did you ever want to shake someone? No, not literally. Well, okay, maybe literally, but not hard enough to cause permanent damage. Why do I ask? Because I just wanted to shake someone. There I was, scrolling down my Facebook page (yes, I know) when I saw a quote from the Dalai Lama being shared by one of my Christian Facebook friends. Now, before you start in at me about how we can find truth and wisdom everywhere, and that Christians don't have a monopoly on either – yes, I agree. Nobody is always wrong about everything, except for that one guy. You probably know him (or her). But my problem wasn't with the fact that a Christian was sharing a quote from the Dalai Lama. My problem was with the quote itself. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” It took every ounce of my will to not type “no it isn't” and hit the enter key. The only reason I didn't is because I know it would have led to much more heat than light, because, sadly, t...