(no subject)
Two things today:
First some profound wisdom stolen from the funny papers.
"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Of course, nobody recognizes him so it's pretty lame."
Second, have you ever wondered why the Bible tells us to believe on Jesus Christ and not in Him? I know that I always thought it was just a fancy, shakespearian-english way of saying in Him because that just makes more sense. It's easy to believe in things, we do it everyday; but believing on something? Well, it is not just a fancy way of saying in. In fact, it's probably the most literal (and certainly the most important) truth you'll find in the Bible.
To believe on Christ means to make Him the foundation of your every belief. What you believe about life, about practicing religion, about your friends, about love, about yourself should all be based... rather should all be built upon your belief in Jesus Christ. Because the simple truth is this: all those other beliefs are completely irrelevant. You can build yourself a house of cards with the most whimsical and idiotic beliefs you could possibly imagine and in the end when it all comes tumbling down you will still be there firmly upon the solid rock foundation of Jesus - which is the way He wanted it to begin with. Christians don't look to the Bible for our little checklist of beliefs, we look to it for inspiration and information about the Rock upon which we build our beliefs. The truth of the matter is that if you truly base your every belief upon that Rock, you won't build yourself a house of cards; you'll find it nearly impossible because Jesus Himself will see to it that you believe according to His purpose and His truth. And that may very well mean that you have different beliefs from other Christians. God, through Jesus, gives each of us the beliefs we need to serve His purpose in our lives. Did you think that all the changes in the Church doctrine over the last 2000 years were somehow beyond His control? That Christians were just a little mistaken to begin with but now we've figured it out? Do we have it right now? Do we know Jesus better? Of course not. Every single change, both good and bad, that the Church has made has been at the behest of the Bridegroom Himself. Those changes all served his purpose; they all combined to create the perfect environment for your life; to put you in the perfect set of circumstances to serve your purpose, right up to and including your reading this right now. Are you juggling a set of beliefs in your life and trying to make Christ one of them? He can be a very heavy burden to bear if you insist on juggling Him or carrying Him around in your back pocket, but if you make Him the foundation, the very Rock upon which you build or juggle your every other belief you will find the rest and peace the Bible speaks of. You will find that you don't have to juggle or constantly change your beliefs to fit new information. You can rest and enjoy them, build and tear them back down, all the time confident that the Rock upon which you believe can never be moved or changed.
I pray the peace of the Lord be with you.
First some profound wisdom stolen from the funny papers.
"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Of course, nobody recognizes him so it's pretty lame."
Second, have you ever wondered why the Bible tells us to believe on Jesus Christ and not in Him? I know that I always thought it was just a fancy, shakespearian-english way of saying in Him because that just makes more sense. It's easy to believe in things, we do it everyday; but believing on something? Well, it is not just a fancy way of saying in. In fact, it's probably the most literal (and certainly the most important) truth you'll find in the Bible.
To believe on Christ means to make Him the foundation of your every belief. What you believe about life, about practicing religion, about your friends, about love, about yourself should all be based... rather should all be built upon your belief in Jesus Christ. Because the simple truth is this: all those other beliefs are completely irrelevant. You can build yourself a house of cards with the most whimsical and idiotic beliefs you could possibly imagine and in the end when it all comes tumbling down you will still be there firmly upon the solid rock foundation of Jesus - which is the way He wanted it to begin with. Christians don't look to the Bible for our little checklist of beliefs, we look to it for inspiration and information about the Rock upon which we build our beliefs. The truth of the matter is that if you truly base your every belief upon that Rock, you won't build yourself a house of cards; you'll find it nearly impossible because Jesus Himself will see to it that you believe according to His purpose and His truth. And that may very well mean that you have different beliefs from other Christians. God, through Jesus, gives each of us the beliefs we need to serve His purpose in our lives. Did you think that all the changes in the Church doctrine over the last 2000 years were somehow beyond His control? That Christians were just a little mistaken to begin with but now we've figured it out? Do we have it right now? Do we know Jesus better? Of course not. Every single change, both good and bad, that the Church has made has been at the behest of the Bridegroom Himself. Those changes all served his purpose; they all combined to create the perfect environment for your life; to put you in the perfect set of circumstances to serve your purpose, right up to and including your reading this right now. Are you juggling a set of beliefs in your life and trying to make Christ one of them? He can be a very heavy burden to bear if you insist on juggling Him or carrying Him around in your back pocket, but if you make Him the foundation, the very Rock upon which you build or juggle your every other belief you will find the rest and peace the Bible speaks of. You will find that you don't have to juggle or constantly change your beliefs to fit new information. You can rest and enjoy them, build and tear them back down, all the time confident that the Rock upon which you believe can never be moved or changed.
I pray the peace of the Lord be with you.