Leading By Circular Logic

Friday, October 20, 2023

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches.  I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ.  And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world.  As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:  Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you.  Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.  Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.  And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.  In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.  And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  1 Peter 5:1-5

Apostle Peter addresses elders, leaders in God’s church, with instruction on how to lead.  This instruction is mostly about the attitude of a leader.  Note the words the big fisherman uses about the tenderness with which a church leader leads the flock entrusted to him:  care…watch over…lead by example.  And then Peter closes the door on the matter with the fact that humility covers all of it.

There are two caveats we must add to this leadership seminar of Peter’s:

1.    Leaders cannot lead this way unless followers follow this way.

2.    True followers will follow if leaders lead this way.

Every instruction God ever gave is predicated on the truth of God’s creation.  Those upon whom God places His call to lead in the church must respond to God’s call by leading selflessly, caring for the flock without pursuing personal gain.  Those who follow must respond, expecting to follow.  It’s a form of “circular logic” and requires trust (faith) in all directions.

Circular logic (or circular reasoning) is most often defined in a pejorative, or belittling sense.  With those for whom logic is the only acceptable pathway, the idea of faith must never cloud the issue.  That person would say about God, prove to me that God exists.  Believers answer that without faith (defined as a blind-leap without proof) it is impossible.  But if you believe (trust) He is real, you will have all the proof you need.  Another way to express that is from the atheist view:

An atheist says:  I won’t believe in God until I see Him.

A believer responds:  You’ll never see Him until you believe.

This same issue is true in the Leader/Follower issue Peter presented in his epistle:

Skeptical Christian:  I won’t trust or follow unless that leader is proven worthy

God’s Word replies: Have faith and by your faith I’ll make that leader worthy.

For You Today 

Is faith a form of circular logic? 

Absolutely!  

It begins with:  

In the beginning God…

It flows through:  

For God so loved…that He gave…

It ends full circle with:  

Even so, come Lord Jesus…

Circular logic may make the hair stand up on the back of a scientist’s or philosopher’s neck, but faith begins in the heart of a human being, created by God, for His glory and our good.  It won’t float in this world’s view, but for those who respond in faith, they will see God face to face.

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

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image Pixabay.com  Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

The Evolutionary Accident

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!  Your glory is higher than the heavens.  You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.  When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?  Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.  O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!  Psalm 8:1-9

In an Advent sermon (Advent - Facing God in the Face of Nothingness), Dr. Stanley Hauerwas[1] shared a message so desperately needed today in our world, stuffed-full of nihilism, emptiness, vanity, the sense of zero purpose and meaning.  Here is an excerpt from that message:

Christian humanism is not based on the presumption that our humanity is self-justifying.  Rather Christians are humanists because God showed up in Mary’s belly.  We are not an evolutionary accident.  We are not bubbles on the foam that coats a stormy sea.  We are God’s chosen people.  We have been given good work to do in a time when many no longer think there is good work.  What an extraordinary claim.  What extraordinary good news.

The Psalmist shares Dr. Hauerwas’ point, that God’s presence fills the earth, stretching even further than the heavens, to that unknown “above”.  The Psalmist also touches the nerve every human experiences:  WHY…why am I here; is there any purpose to my existence, or am I an extraordinary, albeit meaningless accident, produced by the chance collision of matter with a black hole?  Indeed, we all ask:  What are we…who, and what am I?

The opening remarks of Hauerwas’ sermon quotes William James, a late 19^th century Harvard professor and philosopher, who called the earth and its universe a local accident in an appalling wilderness of worlds where no life can exist.  Let there be no question about James; as an atheist, he would have us believe that God is simply the figment of imagination…we create Him because we need something to cling to in all the emptiness we inhabit, devoid of any sense of hope.

For William James the age of (so-called) enlightenment proclaims the light of the heavens is merely a scientific reflection of man’s glory, an ode to the human ability of observation.  According to divinely-revealed truth, the heavens and earth are God’s invitation to explore the wonder and majesty of God’s glory, not a reflection of man’s genius, produced by a clumsy-collision of atoms and anti-matter.  All of life, the very existence of humankind, and the deepest question of the ages calls to the deepest part of that unanswered question, who am I, and what am I doing here.  In Christ alone we find the truth:  you are my beloved, and in me you will know your worth and purpose.

For You Today 

Questions call for either hypothetical guesses, or reasoned evidence.  Both take a measure of faith.  So, did we make God in our own image to stifle an uneasiness with an unsatisfactory answer, or are we created in God’s image to be His glory?

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

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image(s) courtesy of Marci Joines Macha on Facebook                   

Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Stanley Hauerwas is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law at Duke Divinity School and Duke Law School. 

So Many Questions - Only One Answer

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:  “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?  Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.  “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?  What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.  I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.  Here your proud waves must stop!  Job 38:1-11

For 37 chapters Job has heard no answers from heaven about why his children died, why his reputation in the community died, and why his wealth crumbled, and why his wife lost faith in him and advised him to curse God for all of it, lie down and just die.  You can certainly believe it; Job had questions…a lot of them.  And from the tone of Job’s voice, while debating with his well-intentioned dragons, the neighbors who feigned deep concern, but had already made up their minds that Job must have had closet sins which were the reason God was punishing him, you can deduce that Job figured he was entitled to some answers! 

Finally, God does give an answer to all those questions.  And they all had the same answer…a question, really; God asked Job:  With so little understanding, my dear child, how did you even manage to lace-up your sandals this morning?

God’s commentary followed, describing for Job how he couldn’t possibly understand God’s thought process for allowing Satan to sift through Job’s life and create such chaos.  That commentary was about the creation, starting with the DNA of the tiniest creature, to the great Leviathan beasts roaming the open seas.  He described assembling the foundation of the earth, and teaching the stars to sing, while arranging all the majestic splendour of life, physical and metaphysical. 

Gods’ answer continues for another chapter and a half, but it’s still one answer, a description of God’s majesty, displayed in creation, and how Job, a latecomer to time and eternity, really doesn’t have enough brain power to even begin understanding God’s ways, let alone instructing God in His responsibilities.  Here’s how the conversation finishes…God says to Job:

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?  You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” 

Then Job replied to the Lord, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?  I will cover my mouth with my hand.  I have said too much already.  I have nothing more to say.”  Job 40:2-5

Finally…Job lays-hold of an intelligent thing to say to an Almighty, Sovereign God!

For You Today 

There exists in our world an arrogance which is as old as Satan prancing into heaven and challenging God to this battle with Job’s soul as the prize.  It is the arrogance that we humans have judging God for the bad stuff that happens.  We charge God as scapegoat for all the misery we have created by ignoring His love and righteousness.  We choose destruction over the plan of God for good and holy living.  And then, in our pride, we blame him for our choices.

Approach God in your day today…listen much, say less…let Him love you.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Wondering About the Big Stuff Series:  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  and We Mortals

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The Many Faces of DIVERSITY

 

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.  Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.  Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.  1 Peter 2:11-12

Diversity is one of those words which, when properly used, can lend itself to a holy perspective.  When used to settle an argument from a narrow, agenda-driven perspective, it leads to a divisive, and often violent end.  A preacher, for instance, could get fired just for bringing-up the subject.

There is, without question, a pervasive sense of diversity in every nook and cranny of God’s creation.  All plants share some relationship, yet even in tribes of elm trees, no two are the same.  In human beings there is a connection that sentient life shares, including the diversity of personality, shade of skin color, textures, abilities, and reactions to what they experience.  Consider the fingerprint, are they all not unique?  Yet, in their alikeness they match only one of the beings God created among billions.  We are each unique, and each alike, according to God’s creative choices.

Now, if that is the foundational truth about God’s creation, which, by-the-way, He decided was good…very good…then what is all the “rub” about?  It’s not much of a well-kept secret, the tempest in our human teapot is a matter of human judging of other’s worth.  It is no small thing that we do judge others, considering God has reserved that to Himself.  ^{Read Matthew 7}

There is a difference between judging another person’s character or intent, and simply observing differences.  When making a judgment as to WHY someone has behaved as they do, we take upon ourselves the mantle of God; that job is already filled!  On the other hand it is, without exception, patently-inaccurate to declare that all diversity is in accord with God’s intention.  The mutation of human body tissue by cancer is hardly a welcome diversity.  The desire to participate in serial murder or sexual attacks cannot compare to enjoying a spring day on a walk through the park with birds calling-out the morning songs of life. 

Of course there are shades of gray, where good and evil tend to blend.  The current deification of diversity for the purpose of advancing one culture’s power over another culture which has controlled the power, is hardly what God had in mind for human unity.  This is the battle Apostle Peter calls the war of worldly desires against [our] very souls.  Calling-out sin for what it is merely speaks truth; cancelling the worth of other people’s lives in the process is reckless murder.  Has it ever been that two wrongs add up to being right?  It is a very thin line a would-be prophet crosses when pointing the finger at another.

For You Today 

While there is hardly room in all the books of all the libraries to outline a reconciliation of the obtuse natures of prejudice and cancel culture, for a believer/follower of Jesus Christ, we must try, must think about it, must address both in our own lives and walk with Christ.  To do less is to kiss goodbye any chance we have to (as Peter wrote) live properly with honorable behavior among today’s unbelieving culture.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Honorable Behavior - Part 1  and  Honorable Behavior - Part 2   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©