Meditating on Miracles

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Friday, January 18, 2019

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.  I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.  Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!  No one can measure his greatness.  Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.  I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.  Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.  Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.   Psalm 145:1-7(NLT)

Every now and then I read something that pushes back against my long and closely-held beliefs.  It’s not a bad thing to touch base with why you believe something, and not something else.  That gives you the opportunity to have your heart reassured that the anchor is still there.  Or, it gives you ample reason to reexamine something you may be questioning.  Either way, it is not wrong to use reason to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (as Scripture[2] urges). 

This is very Wesleyan, part of the Quadrilateral’s methodology to determine how we shall interpret a Godly approach to life.  Scripture is our keystone, the bedrock authority, and it is supplemented with reason, experience, and tradition of the church.  By “supplement” we strongly mean just that.  Scripture is God’s Word; reason, experience, and tradition are human thought.  Considering the nature of God (who does not lie or make mistakes), and humans (who frequently lie, especially in any branch of government, and make huge, stupid mistakes), it is a good practice to have a bedrock belief that, when your thoughts contradict God’s Word, the default ought to place faith in what God has declared, rather than human imagination.

I love reading about the founding fathers of our nation, particularly the presidents.  I’m currently reading a huge volume on James Madison, who, as a young man, was instrumental in constructing the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  His was a brilliant mind, and although quiet by nature, had such a discipline and studious way about him, that he steered the Constitutional Convention and subsequent First Congress through the ratification process to successfully unite the states from 13 nearly separate countries into what we now enjoy as a strong and vital federally-governed, constitutional republic.

James Madison’s good friend and Revolutionary-era ally was Thomas Jefferson.  Their friendship included many brilliant discussions on freedom, government, and life in general.  Among the views they shared was a distinct unbelief when it came to the supernatural or miraculous.  It is a commonly held piece of history that Jefferson created his own “Bible” by cutting out favorite passages of the New Testament which depicted or explained the morals and exemplary character of Jesus and pasting them together in a notebook.  It is usually called The Jefferson Bible, and it has no trace of anything supernatural.

One author expressed it this way:

The most interesting, and disappointing, aspect of the Thomas Jefferson Bible is the fact that, as a naturalist, Thomas Jefferson did not believe in the supernatural. He therefore removed virtually all the miraculous events recorded in the Gospels. While some references to angels, heaven, hell, and a future eternal life remain, the accounts of Jesus’ miracles, allusions to the deity of Christ, and the story of Jesus’ resurrection are absent.[3]

The resurrection? Mr. Jefferson; Mr. Madison…REALLY?  From a purely theological basis, what part of Christianity makes any sense whatsoever without the resurrection of Christ?  Yet, Jefferson (and his close friend Madison) did not think supernatural events, being unexplained by natural science, were worthy of holding close.  But Christianity is entirely faith-based.  Scripture[4] declares that we walk (live in Christ) by faith, not by sight.  You do not need the brilliant mind of a Jefferson or Madison to have faith in Jesus from the virgin birth to the resurrection; just a little humble trust in God.

For You Today

With all due respects to our founding fathers, if all Jesus was is summed up in his morals and ethics, how is he the savior of our souls?  Have a little faith, Thomas!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com

[2] Philippians 2:12

[3] Darrell L. Bock, Rediscovering the Real Lost Gospel (quoted on GotQuestions.com)

[4] 2 Corinthians 5:7

Grace That Leads to Joy - Part 2

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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Philippians 4:23^(NLT)

Yesterday I told you about the 22 year old boy named Ricky who died in an accident, and how, in the face of terrible pain, there was joy – peace that passes understanding. 

I can imagine that was something like the joy Paul felt, sitting in a Roman jail.  He and Ricky had similarities; both were educated, energetic, and ambitious.  In their respective fields they were tops! 

But Paul had lived his life, accomplishing much for the cause of Christ, and now he was in prison, in danger of being executed as a common criminal – all because of his faithfulness!  And in the middle of all that, Paul would say joy. 

I want you to know, beloved; there is only one thing in this entire universe that can make a person joyful in the midst of that kind of circumstance:  It is the grace of Almighty God. 

Grace makes you joyfully grateful

 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.  Philippians 4:14^(NLT)

For others' participation

            Paul was grateful for the gift brought by Epaphroditus.  None of the other churches had shared in the financial needs of his ministry, and Paul was joyfully grateful because the Philippian church had a proper sense of why they were giving. 

It was not just for Paul's sake; they knew they were ministering with their gifts.  With the gifts God gives each of us, as Maxie Dunham wrote ...we act on behalf of each other, knowing that we are acting for the sake of God."^[2] 

In the daily arena of life God provides that which we cannot do for ourselves.  Margaret Trudeau, wife of Canada's Pierre Trudeau wrote in her autobiography of meeting Britain's Queen Elizabeth:

I was wearing a brand-new haute-couture suit and very high-heeled shoes.  I was extremely nervous.  As I sank into a deep curtsy, it became crystal clear to both of us that I was not going to make it up again.  Without altering her expression by as much as a flicker, the queen strengthened her grasp, tensed all the muscles of her right arm, and drew me up to my feet with a grip of iron, smiling steadily all the while.^[3]

For God's purpose

Paul was working to see the gospel spread; that was his call from God.  The circumstances were not wonderful, but he could see the purpose of God being worked-out, even in his misery. 

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.  Philippians 2:12^(NLT)

Paul could see.  That means he was able to look past the circumstances, and see God's hand at work.  Often I am blind in this area.  I sometimes seem to live my life succumbing to the principle that it’s tough to remember you were sent to drain the swamp when you are surrounded by alligators.  What I SEE is the circumstance – great big green, saw-toothed, nasty gators.  What I really need to remember is that those circumstances are often what God has to work with, considering the material (me) He has to start with.

Even more important is that, those circumstances which He allows to pile up in my face are there by His design to accomplish His purpose.  I can trust better when my will is surrendered to His purpose. 

I can be joyfully-grateful that He loves me that much!

For You Today

Are you joyfully-grateful for some of the tough things you’re facing?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image: By Meghana Kulkarni from Pune, India (Happiness), via Wikimedia Commons

[2]Dunham, Maxie D., THE COMMUNICATOR'S COMMENTARY VOL. 8, (Waco, Word Inc., 1982), 320

[3]Trudeau, Margaret, BEYOND REASON, (Paddington Press, As quoted in Reader's Digest)