I must take a break from Acts to write about something that has been on my mind in one form or another for several years now. A crisis of sorts—not significant, thankfully—has brought me to this point. But more about that in a moment.
For several years I have been praying off and on for God to enable me to care about the things that really matter and not to care about the things that don’t matter. I have asked Him to give me an eternal perspective and to help focus my attention on things of eternal significance.
Following are some verses I have memorized to help me become eternally minded.
Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:2-3
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Despite the fact that I have been praying about it and thinking about it for some time, I still struggle desperately in this area. I am far too easily entangled in and encumbered by the things of this world. I especially struggle with (1) being controlled by my circumstances and (2) by materialism. I also have a strong tendency to obsess over a particular interest until I wear myself out over it. Hence, the crisis that has prompted this post: THE KNITTING OBSESSION HAS GOTTEN OUT OF HAND AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.
I don’t want to stop knitting, but knitting and related activities (such as reading knitting blogs and magazines and looking at patterns) are taking up way too much of my time and mental energy. This evening, I ripped out a project because it wasn’t PERFECT. This is the type of crisis that usually gets my attention and enables me to adjust my perspective.
A few months ago, God revealed to me the obsessive nature of my interests, and I shared this realization with my small group. I told them that now that I understood this about myself, I wanted the Word to be what I obsessed over, not other temporal things. Once again, I have gotten off track. It reminds me of one of the verses from Come Thou Fount:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let they goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart. O take and seal it;
Seal it for thy courts above.
If the Spirit brings it to mind, please pray for me in my efforts to “set my mind on things above” and to “lay up for myself treasure in heaven.” I would be glad to pray the same for you.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Reflections on Acts, Part I
This spring, our small group studied Acts using Kay Arthur’s New Inductive Study Series. Being a “doctrine girl,” I was afraid I would get bored, and although there were times it dragged a little for me, the study was much more of a blessing than I anticipated. Following is the first of three planned posts highlighting some of the things that stand out from the study that I have thought about and that we discussed as a group during our last meeting.
God is Working His Plan
God has a plan, and He will carry it out, and He usually does it in ways that are completely unexpected (Isaiah 55:9). First, growth of the church and the spread of Christianity were prompted by persecution that began with the stoning of Stephen (8:1). Jesus told the disciples in 1:8, “and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Persecution was the means God used to relocate the first believers so the gospel would spread.
Persecution as a catalyst for the spread of the gospel reminds me of our recent missions conference. Carmen Hale from Elam Ministries spoke to us about their work in Iran. She told us that when the Shah was in power and there was religious freedom in Iran, no one was interested in the gospel, but since Islamist fundamentalists have been in power the church has been growing. Several Iranian pastors have been martyred in recent years, and people are now flocking to the churches. A new translation of the New Testament into Farsi (Persian) was recently completed and published. Carmen showed us a video of the clandestine arrival of the new Bibles, and you have never seen more beautiful, joyful people as those who were waiting expectantly for their new Bibles—in the knowledge that their presence at this event could cost them their lives.
A second observation about God working His plan relates to Paul and his intentions to go to Rome. Romans 1: 9-17 and Romans 15:20-33 make it clear that Paul planned to stop off in Rome en route to Spain NOT to spend several years imprisoned there. However, God in His infinite wisdom provided the circumstances for Paul to author Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, Philippians, and II Timothy through Paul’s imprisonment. (Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome. First, from ~60 A.D. to 62 A.D. and, then, from ~63 A.D. to 64 A.D.)
God Keeps His Promises
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” A brief online search gives an approximate date of 2147 B.C. for God’s calling of Abram. More than 2,000 years later, we begin to see this promised fulfilled in Acts chapter 10 with the Roman Centurion Cornelius’s conversion.
This brings to mind 2 Peter 3:8-9: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
I am someone who often FEELS (herein lies the problem) that God is not moving quickly enough for me. I would do well to remember His word and how He has worked in the past.
Next time, I will examine the first church as presented in Acts.
God is Working His Plan
God has a plan, and He will carry it out, and He usually does it in ways that are completely unexpected (Isaiah 55:9). First, growth of the church and the spread of Christianity were prompted by persecution that began with the stoning of Stephen (8:1). Jesus told the disciples in 1:8, “and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Persecution was the means God used to relocate the first believers so the gospel would spread.
Persecution as a catalyst for the spread of the gospel reminds me of our recent missions conference. Carmen Hale from Elam Ministries spoke to us about their work in Iran. She told us that when the Shah was in power and there was religious freedom in Iran, no one was interested in the gospel, but since Islamist fundamentalists have been in power the church has been growing. Several Iranian pastors have been martyred in recent years, and people are now flocking to the churches. A new translation of the New Testament into Farsi (Persian) was recently completed and published. Carmen showed us a video of the clandestine arrival of the new Bibles, and you have never seen more beautiful, joyful people as those who were waiting expectantly for their new Bibles—in the knowledge that their presence at this event could cost them their lives.
A second observation about God working His plan relates to Paul and his intentions to go to Rome. Romans 1: 9-17 and Romans 15:20-33 make it clear that Paul planned to stop off in Rome en route to Spain NOT to spend several years imprisoned there. However, God in His infinite wisdom provided the circumstances for Paul to author Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, Philippians, and II Timothy through Paul’s imprisonment. (Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome. First, from ~60 A.D. to 62 A.D. and, then, from ~63 A.D. to 64 A.D.)
God Keeps His Promises
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” A brief online search gives an approximate date of 2147 B.C. for God’s calling of Abram. More than 2,000 years later, we begin to see this promised fulfilled in Acts chapter 10 with the Roman Centurion Cornelius’s conversion.
This brings to mind 2 Peter 3:8-9: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
I am someone who often FEELS (herein lies the problem) that God is not moving quickly enough for me. I would do well to remember His word and how He has worked in the past.
Next time, I will examine the first church as presented in Acts.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I'm a "Crunchy Con"
I've finally found out that there is a demographic group out there to which I belong: "crunchy cons". Crunchy, as in granola, and con, as in conservative. The term was created by Rod Dreher, who wrote an article in National Review that received tremendous positive response, which lead to a book, Cruncy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, ... America (or at least the Republican Party). Dreher also has a blog that I have really been enjoying. In fact, it has replaced Albert Mohler's as my favortie in this genre. (I also read a few knitting blogs.)
I haven't read the book yet, but from what I've read by Dreher and reviewers, in a nutshell, you are a crunchy con if you wear Birkenstocks, shop at Whole Foods, are concerned about the environment and the poor (all generally associated with liberals) AND you are pro life, churchgoing, and tend to vote Republican.
It's always good to know you're not alone.
I haven't read the book yet, but from what I've read by Dreher and reviewers, in a nutshell, you are a crunchy con if you wear Birkenstocks, shop at Whole Foods, are concerned about the environment and the poor (all generally associated with liberals) AND you are pro life, churchgoing, and tend to vote Republican.
It's always good to know you're not alone.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Considering Christianity? Try the Tao
…the attempt to practice the Tao is certainly the right line. Have you read the Analects of Confucius? He ends up by saying “This is the Tao. I do not know if any one has ever kept it.” That’s significant: one can really go direct from there to the Epistle to the Romans.
—C.S. Lewis, from a letter to Sheldon Vanauken
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
I am currently reading A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. It’s the autobiographical love story of the author’s relationship with his wife, but the most significant aspect of the story is that the couple converted to Christianity while in graduate school at Oxford in the 1950s. Their conversion was the result of an intellectual inquiry into Christianity in an effort to be “fair." Following is a quote that demonstrates Vanauken’s philiosphy: If minds like St. Augustine’s and Newman’s and Lewis’s could wrestle with Christianity and become fortresses of that faith, it had to be taken seriously. I writhed a bit at the thought of my easy know-nothing contempt of other years. Most of the people who reject Christianity know almost nothing of what they are rejecting: those who condemn what the do not understand are, surely, little men.
In the midst of his study and many questions, Vanauken decided to write a letter to C.S. Lewis, who was teaching at Oxford at the time and whose books Vanauken had read extensively. In the first letter to Lewis, Vanauken asks a number of questions including ones regarding Eastern religions. The quote above is from Lewis’s response. When I read it, I shouted, “Yes!” If it isn’t obvious to you (and it hasn’t been to several people I have read it to) the point Lewis is making is that if you are considering Christianity, a good place to start is by attempting to live by the moral code of an Eastern religion such as by the Tao. Even Confucius basically said that it can’t be done. Such an exercise will demonstrate your sinfulness as explained by Paul in his letter to the Romans. One you are aware of your sinfulness and your inability to live up to God’s standards, that only viable alternative for salvation is faith in Christ.
I have read several of Lewis’s books, but the content of the eighteen letters excerpted in A Severe Mercy makes me want to read more of his nonfiction. I was impressed with Lewis's character as demonstrated in his letters and his relationship with the Vanaukens. Not only was Lewis instrumental in leading them and others to Christ, but he also continued to pray for them daily for years, and his letters ministered greatly to Vanuaken after his wife’s death.
If you’re interested in reading A Severe Mercy, I must warn you that the first chapter is a little hard to take. The pagan exultation of romantic love and “The Shining Barrier” were bizarre to me. But once the story shifted to England I loved it. I have a couple of chapters left to read. If there’s anything else I feel compelled to share, you will see it here soon.
—C.S. Lewis, from a letter to Sheldon Vanauken
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
I am currently reading A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. It’s the autobiographical love story of the author’s relationship with his wife, but the most significant aspect of the story is that the couple converted to Christianity while in graduate school at Oxford in the 1950s. Their conversion was the result of an intellectual inquiry into Christianity in an effort to be “fair." Following is a quote that demonstrates Vanauken’s philiosphy: If minds like St. Augustine’s and Newman’s and Lewis’s could wrestle with Christianity and become fortresses of that faith, it had to be taken seriously. I writhed a bit at the thought of my easy know-nothing contempt of other years. Most of the people who reject Christianity know almost nothing of what they are rejecting: those who condemn what the do not understand are, surely, little men.
In the midst of his study and many questions, Vanauken decided to write a letter to C.S. Lewis, who was teaching at Oxford at the time and whose books Vanauken had read extensively. In the first letter to Lewis, Vanauken asks a number of questions including ones regarding Eastern religions. The quote above is from Lewis’s response. When I read it, I shouted, “Yes!” If it isn’t obvious to you (and it hasn’t been to several people I have read it to) the point Lewis is making is that if you are considering Christianity, a good place to start is by attempting to live by the moral code of an Eastern religion such as by the Tao. Even Confucius basically said that it can’t be done. Such an exercise will demonstrate your sinfulness as explained by Paul in his letter to the Romans. One you are aware of your sinfulness and your inability to live up to God’s standards, that only viable alternative for salvation is faith in Christ.
I have read several of Lewis’s books, but the content of the eighteen letters excerpted in A Severe Mercy makes me want to read more of his nonfiction. I was impressed with Lewis's character as demonstrated in his letters and his relationship with the Vanaukens. Not only was Lewis instrumental in leading them and others to Christ, but he also continued to pray for them daily for years, and his letters ministered greatly to Vanuaken after his wife’s death.
If you’re interested in reading A Severe Mercy, I must warn you that the first chapter is a little hard to take. The pagan exultation of romantic love and “The Shining Barrier” were bizarre to me. But once the story shifted to England I loved it. I have a couple of chapters left to read. If there’s anything else I feel compelled to share, you will see it here soon.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Beloved Disciple Study Completed
…His name is called the Word of God.
Revelation 19:13
Last night, my group finished Beth Moore’s Beloved Disciple study focusing on the life and writings of John. It was my first experience leading a Bible study, and God taught me as much through teaching as He did through the study itself. When I think of this study, I will always remember what God taught me about the Logos and rhema (See “Logos and Rhema” in the February 2006 archives.), but just as important is what He taught me about how the Holy Spirit works through the Word. If you are not diligently studying the Word, you are limiting the opportunities for the Spirit to work in and through you.
I have also been overwhelmed by the love and encouragement expressed by the study participants. If any of you are reading this, thank you for your kind words, your enthusiasm, and your faithfulness in your participation. And thank you for the lovely oil lamp you gave me last night as a parting gift of appreciation! (See photo above.) I will treasure it always.
I have been hesitant to study Revelation because, frankly, it makes me uncomfortable. I think one reason is because my eschatological leanings differ from the majority of Christendom and from my denomination in particular. My general feeling about eschatology (the study of last things) is that it is somewhat pointless when we will never be able to figure out what prophetic writings really mean, and there is so much Scripture that is perfectly clear in its teaching. I don’t know about you, but I will spend the rest of my life learning to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).
Preoccupation with last things is a distraction in the body of Christ. Just watch Christian television for five seconds and you will understand what I mean. What we do know is that Jesus is coming back, and that the bride (the church) should be making herself ready (Revelation 19:7). However, instead of making herself ready, she is spending too much time trying to figure out when he is coming back. This is bewildering to me in light of I Thessalonians 5:2: For you yourselves know full well that they day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
But, as usual, I digress. Despite my hesitancy to study Revelation, I truly enjoyed and was blessed by the last three weeks of Beloved Disciple. Rather than concentrating on the potentially controversial aspects of John’s Revelation, Moore examined the general truths that could be gleaned. She is blessed with an imagination that enables her to draw lessons from imagery that I would never come up with. (At least, I don’t think I would. But now that I’ve seen the Spirit work in teaching preparation, there’s no telling what I may come up with in the future.)
When I read Revelation 19:13, …His name is called the Word of God, I experienced something akin to butterflies in my stomach. The Logos again. It’s all about the Logos.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sola Scriptura
It’s been several weeks since I completed Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace by James Montgomery Boice, but I’m just now making the time to sit down and report on it. As you might guess, my favorite chapter was “Scripture Alone,” referred to as “sola Scriptura” by the Reformers. Following are two of my favorite passages.
The Reformers wanted scripture to stand alone as the church’s true authority. Today, at least in the evangelical church, that is not our chief problem; we assert biblical authority. Rather, our problem is in deciding whether the Bible is sufficient for the church’s life and work. We confess its authority, but we discount its ability to do what is necessary to draw unbelievers to Christ, enable us to grow in godliness, provide direction for our lives, and transform and revitalize society. …in the sixteenth century the battle was against those who wanted to add church traditions to Scripture, but in our day the battle is against those who would have us use worldly means to do God’s work.
Referring to Romans chapter six: Paul’s “method” for sanctification is biblical doctrine. That is, to live as Christians we must know what God has done to us in making us Christians. We must know what has happened, and the only way we can know what has happened is to know the Bible. …This has nothing to do with either a method or an experience. It has everything to do with knowing and living by the sufficient Word of God. Is it not true that one reason we see such immature and even sinful behavior among Christians today is that they have not really been taught what God has done to them and for them when he saved them? And aren’t our churches immature precisely because the pastors are not teaching Bible doctrines?
I thank God that since my conversion I have been in churches that preach Biblical doctrine!
I could sit here and type for the rest of the day and not include everything that I want to share with you. I highly recommend this important book.
The Reformers wanted scripture to stand alone as the church’s true authority. Today, at least in the evangelical church, that is not our chief problem; we assert biblical authority. Rather, our problem is in deciding whether the Bible is sufficient for the church’s life and work. We confess its authority, but we discount its ability to do what is necessary to draw unbelievers to Christ, enable us to grow in godliness, provide direction for our lives, and transform and revitalize society. …in the sixteenth century the battle was against those who wanted to add church traditions to Scripture, but in our day the battle is against those who would have us use worldly means to do God’s work.
Referring to Romans chapter six: Paul’s “method” for sanctification is biblical doctrine. That is, to live as Christians we must know what God has done to us in making us Christians. We must know what has happened, and the only way we can know what has happened is to know the Bible. …This has nothing to do with either a method or an experience. It has everything to do with knowing and living by the sufficient Word of God. Is it not true that one reason we see such immature and even sinful behavior among Christians today is that they have not really been taught what God has done to them and for them when he saved them? And aren’t our churches immature precisely because the pastors are not teaching Bible doctrines?
I thank God that since my conversion I have been in churches that preach Biblical doctrine!
I could sit here and type for the rest of the day and not include everything that I want to share with you. I highly recommend this important book.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Evangelicial Climate Initiative
The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
Psalm 24:1
Those of you who know me well are familiar with my granola leanings. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to see an ad for the "Evangelical Climate Initiative" in the most recent issue of Christianity Today (CT). For me, concern for the environment is a stewardship issue, and apparently, there are plenty of belivers out there who agree with me. Please go to the website and read their statement and see the signatories. There's also a list of ways we can help solve the global warming problem: http://www.christiansandclimate.org/action.
My prayer is that Christians who have claimed that there is no global warming problem will examine the evidence for themselves and change their minds. See this editorial from the August 2005 issue of CT.
The world, and those who dwell in it.
Psalm 24:1
Those of you who know me well are familiar with my granola leanings. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to see an ad for the "Evangelical Climate Initiative" in the most recent issue of Christianity Today (CT). For me, concern for the environment is a stewardship issue, and apparently, there are plenty of belivers out there who agree with me. Please go to the website and read their statement and see the signatories. There's also a list of ways we can help solve the global warming problem: http://www.christiansandclimate.org/action.
My prayer is that Christians who have claimed that there is no global warming problem will examine the evidence for themselves and change their minds. See this editorial from the August 2005 issue of CT.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Was Job Sinless?
…that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
Job 1:1
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks after God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.
Romans 3:10-13
My Sunday School class is reading through and discussing the book of Job. This past Sunday, when we came to chapter 9 verse 23, our teacher asked for our thoughts on “He (God) mocks the despair of the innocent.” I responded that what comes to mind is that no one is innocent. One can only be declared righteous by God and that is based on one’s faith in the substitutionary death of Christ. Another person in class whose opinion I respect replied, “But it says in chapter one that Job was blameless. In fact, God says so Himself (Job 1:1, 8).” I resisted the urge to respond, but now I think I should have because whether or not Job was sinless has extremely significant implications.
What immediately came to mind were the verses in Romans 3 quoted above. Paul maintains that all have sinned and that no one is righteous. In fact, in verses 10 through 13 Paul is quoting David in Psalms 14 and 53, so on the face of it, it is not simply Job verses Paul but Job verses David and Paul, and if I were a betting person, I would put my money on David and Paul over Job any day. If scripture doesn’t contradict scripture (which I believe it cannot), then Job can’t be blameless in the sense that he was sinless because if Job was sinless, then man is capable of attaining moral perfection on his own, and there is no need for God’s grace—no need for Christ. I figured that it all hinged on the Hebrew word for blameless, but of course I didn’t have a concordance and Hebrew dictionary with me. (I’m thinking of carrying them with me from now on.)
I suffered through worship and lunch at my in-laws itching to get home to my computer and books to determine what blameless really means. The Hebrew word for blameless used in Job 1:1 and 1:8 is “tam.” It is actually translated in the King James Version as “perfect.” Strong’s defines it as follows:
1) perfect, complete
a) complete, perfect
1) one who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc.
b) sound, wholesome
1) an ordinary, quiet sort of person
c) complete, morally innocent, having integrity
1) one who is morally and ethically pure
So when the writer used “tam” to describe Job, it is likely he meant that Job was a person of integrity. However, I knew that Katy Sammons’s opinion on the matter wouldn’t carry much weight, so I continued researching.
Matthew Henry explains “perfect” as: “not sinless, as he himself owns (ch. ix. 20): If I say I am perfect, I shall be proved perverse. But, having a respect to all God’s commandments, aiming at perfection, he was really as good as he seemed to be, and did not dissemble in his profession of piety; his heart was sound and his eye single. Sincerity is gospel perfection. I know no religion without it.”
The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary says: “Perfect—not absolute or faultless perfection (compare Job 9:20, Ec 7:20), but integrity, sincerity, and consistency on the whole, in all relations of life (Ge 6:9, 17:1; Pr 10:9; Mt 5:48). It was the fear of God that kept Job from evil (Pr 8:13).”
The New Geneva Study Bible (R.C. Sproul, General Editor) includes this comment: “blameless and upright. This ordinary language does not mean that Job was sinless.”
How did we get to chapter nine without addressing what “blameless” really means? Based on my knowledge of scripture and understanding of doctrine, I suppose I simply assumed that blameless could not possibly mean sinless and that everyone else thought the same way I did. The lesson I gain from this is that there can be no assumptions. I must be diligent to “accurately handle the word” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Job 1:1
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks after God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.
Romans 3:10-13
My Sunday School class is reading through and discussing the book of Job. This past Sunday, when we came to chapter 9 verse 23, our teacher asked for our thoughts on “He (God) mocks the despair of the innocent.” I responded that what comes to mind is that no one is innocent. One can only be declared righteous by God and that is based on one’s faith in the substitutionary death of Christ. Another person in class whose opinion I respect replied, “But it says in chapter one that Job was blameless. In fact, God says so Himself (Job 1:1, 8).” I resisted the urge to respond, but now I think I should have because whether or not Job was sinless has extremely significant implications.
What immediately came to mind were the verses in Romans 3 quoted above. Paul maintains that all have sinned and that no one is righteous. In fact, in verses 10 through 13 Paul is quoting David in Psalms 14 and 53, so on the face of it, it is not simply Job verses Paul but Job verses David and Paul, and if I were a betting person, I would put my money on David and Paul over Job any day. If scripture doesn’t contradict scripture (which I believe it cannot), then Job can’t be blameless in the sense that he was sinless because if Job was sinless, then man is capable of attaining moral perfection on his own, and there is no need for God’s grace—no need for Christ. I figured that it all hinged on the Hebrew word for blameless, but of course I didn’t have a concordance and Hebrew dictionary with me. (I’m thinking of carrying them with me from now on.)
I suffered through worship and lunch at my in-laws itching to get home to my computer and books to determine what blameless really means. The Hebrew word for blameless used in Job 1:1 and 1:8 is “tam.” It is actually translated in the King James Version as “perfect.” Strong’s defines it as follows:
1) perfect, complete
a) complete, perfect
1) one who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc.
b) sound, wholesome
1) an ordinary, quiet sort of person
c) complete, morally innocent, having integrity
1) one who is morally and ethically pure
So when the writer used “tam” to describe Job, it is likely he meant that Job was a person of integrity. However, I knew that Katy Sammons’s opinion on the matter wouldn’t carry much weight, so I continued researching.
Matthew Henry explains “perfect” as: “not sinless, as he himself owns (ch. ix. 20): If I say I am perfect, I shall be proved perverse. But, having a respect to all God’s commandments, aiming at perfection, he was really as good as he seemed to be, and did not dissemble in his profession of piety; his heart was sound and his eye single. Sincerity is gospel perfection. I know no religion without it.”
The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary says: “Perfect—not absolute or faultless perfection (compare Job 9:20, Ec 7:20), but integrity, sincerity, and consistency on the whole, in all relations of life (Ge 6:9, 17:1; Pr 10:9; Mt 5:48). It was the fear of God that kept Job from evil (Pr 8:13).”
The New Geneva Study Bible (R.C. Sproul, General Editor) includes this comment: “blameless and upright. This ordinary language does not mean that Job was sinless.”
How did we get to chapter nine without addressing what “blameless” really means? Based on my knowledge of scripture and understanding of doctrine, I suppose I simply assumed that blameless could not possibly mean sinless and that everyone else thought the same way I did. The lesson I gain from this is that there can be no assumptions. I must be diligent to “accurately handle the word” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Saturday, February 25, 2006
So Many Books
…excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
—Ecclesiastes 12:12
So many books, so little time,
So many hunger, so many blind
Starving for words, they must wait in the night
To open a Bible and move towards the Light.
—Michael Card
I am very tired this afternoon. Indeed Solomon was correct when he wrote “excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body” because my devotion to reading Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace by James Montgomery Boice has kept me up late the past several nights in a row. I will provide a complete report when I finish the book, but for now, my being tired and the arrival of my Amazon.com order this afternoon prompted me to write this post.
My Amazon.com order included When Life and Beliefs Collide by Carolyn Custis James and Encountering John by Andreas J. Kostenberger. Beth Moore mentions both of these books in Beloved Disciple, and despite the fact that the stack on my bedside table is getting out of hand (see photo), I ordered them anyway. It’s easy for me to justify buying books that relate to the Word or that contribute to spiritual growth.
From looking at my bedside table it may be difficult for you to believe, but I actually buy far fewer books than I used to when I was employed outside the home. Back then, I bought books almost indiscriminately. If I wanted it, I bought it. Thankfully, about the time I stopped earning a paycheck, Georgia Library PINES (Public Information Network for Electronic Services) became operational, and now, instead of ordering books I’m interested in, I USUALLY check PINES first. If a book is available in the system (which includes most of the public libraries in Georgia), I request it, and it is sent to my local branch. When the book arrives, one of the librarians calls me, and I go pick it up. With this approach, I can at least review a book thoroughly before buying it, and there are many fewer instances of buyer’s remorse.
I can’t remember the exact moment, but at some point during the past several years, God convicted me of obsessive reading as a result of a thirst for human knowledge. I was spending too much time with books other than the Word. I have not been moved to read only the Word or Christian books as a relative has, but I am much more discriminating than I used to be, and I prioritize Bible study over reading. My reading is pretty much limited to an hour or two before bed time, while time during the day is devoted to Bible study. I am now capable of actually leaving Barnes and Noble empty-handed.
When I’m tempted to get off balance in my reading and study habits, I remember Colossians 2:3—in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Mudhouse Sabbath
Earlier this week, I read Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. I was introduced to Winner through a Christianity Today review of her first book, Girl Meets God, which I read and enjoyed immensely. Girl Meets God recounts Winner’s conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, and Mudhouse Sabbath continues her reflections by examining how Jewish rituals inform and enrich her Christian experience.
She says in the introduction:
…I miss Jewish ways. I miss the rhythms and routines that drew the sacred down into the everyday. I miss the Sabbaths on which I actually rested. I have even found that I miss the drudgery of keeping kosher. I miss the work these practices effected between me and God. … Jews do these things with more attention and wisdom not because they are more righteous nor because God likes them better, but rather because doing, because action, sits at the center of Judaism. Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity. This is not to say that Judaism doesn’t have dogma or doctrine, It is rather to say that for Jews, the essence of the thing is a doing, an action. Your faith might come and go, but your practice ought not waver. (Indeed, Judaism suggestions that the repeating of the practice is the best way to ensure that a doubter’s faith will return.)
This reminded me of what I love about liturgical worship. To me, saying the Lord’s Prayer, Apostle’s Creed, corporate prayer of confession and other regular aspects of a liturgical service, better enable me to focus on God, and they are especially beneficial on the increasingly rare days when my heart’s not really in what I’m doing. It has been almost eight years since I’ve worshipped regularly in this manner, but I still miss it. Reading Winner’s thoughts on “practice” enabled me to better articulate what I appreciate about this type of worship.
Here are some of Winner’s thoughts on the Sabbath:
…my Sunday was more an afternoon off than a Sabbath. It was an add-on to a busy week, not the fundamental unit around which I organized my life. The Hebrew work for holy means, literally, “set apart.” In failing to live a Sabbath truly distinct from weekly time, I had violated a most basic command: to keep the Sabbath holy. … In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him. Exodus and Deuteronomy make this clear when they say, “Six days shall you labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” To the Lord your God.
On hospitality:
To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to the God who made a home for us. … We are not meant simply to invite people into our homes, but also to invite them into our lives. Having guests and visitors, if we do it right is not an imposition, because we are not meant to rearrange our lives for our guests—we are meant to invite our guests to enter into our lives as they are.
On fasting, a former rabbi once told her, “When you are fasting and you feel hungry, you are to remember that you are really hungry for God.” She later adds, “When I am sated, it is easy to feel independent. When I am hungry, it is possible to remember where my dependence lies.”
Unfortunately, one practice that Winner does not write about in Mudhouse Sabbath is studying the Word. However, her discussion of her studies of the Torah and the Talmud in Girl Meets God is fascinating. I highly recommend both books. Check the library.
She says in the introduction:
…I miss Jewish ways. I miss the rhythms and routines that drew the sacred down into the everyday. I miss the Sabbaths on which I actually rested. I have even found that I miss the drudgery of keeping kosher. I miss the work these practices effected between me and God. … Jews do these things with more attention and wisdom not because they are more righteous nor because God likes them better, but rather because doing, because action, sits at the center of Judaism. Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity. This is not to say that Judaism doesn’t have dogma or doctrine, It is rather to say that for Jews, the essence of the thing is a doing, an action. Your faith might come and go, but your practice ought not waver. (Indeed, Judaism suggestions that the repeating of the practice is the best way to ensure that a doubter’s faith will return.)
This reminded me of what I love about liturgical worship. To me, saying the Lord’s Prayer, Apostle’s Creed, corporate prayer of confession and other regular aspects of a liturgical service, better enable me to focus on God, and they are especially beneficial on the increasingly rare days when my heart’s not really in what I’m doing. It has been almost eight years since I’ve worshipped regularly in this manner, but I still miss it. Reading Winner’s thoughts on “practice” enabled me to better articulate what I appreciate about this type of worship.
Here are some of Winner’s thoughts on the Sabbath:
…my Sunday was more an afternoon off than a Sabbath. It was an add-on to a busy week, not the fundamental unit around which I organized my life. The Hebrew work for holy means, literally, “set apart.” In failing to live a Sabbath truly distinct from weekly time, I had violated a most basic command: to keep the Sabbath holy. … In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him. Exodus and Deuteronomy make this clear when they say, “Six days shall you labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” To the Lord your God.
On hospitality:
To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to the God who made a home for us. … We are not meant simply to invite people into our homes, but also to invite them into our lives. Having guests and visitors, if we do it right is not an imposition, because we are not meant to rearrange our lives for our guests—we are meant to invite our guests to enter into our lives as they are.
On fasting, a former rabbi once told her, “When you are fasting and you feel hungry, you are to remember that you are really hungry for God.” She later adds, “When I am sated, it is easy to feel independent. When I am hungry, it is possible to remember where my dependence lies.”
Unfortunately, one practice that Winner does not write about in Mudhouse Sabbath is studying the Word. However, her discussion of her studies of the Torah and the Talmud in Girl Meets God is fascinating. I highly recommend both books. Check the library.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Taking Issue with Beth Moore
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am leading a Bible study for women entitled Beloved Disciple: The Life and Ministry of John by Beth Moore. First, I must say that I have been blessed tremendously by Moore as I have completed most of her studies, the first of which sparked my passion for studying God’s Word nearly seven years ago; and I have the utmost respect for her calling and her love for teaching the Word. That being said, in the course of this week’s study, I encountered something that caused me to nearly come unglued.
The third sentence of the fourth paragraph on page 107 in Beloved Disciple reads as follows: “They [God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] knew that equipping people with their own will would necessitate a plan for redemption, because they would ultimately make some very poor choices.”
My first reaction was to write in the margin: “Yikes! Ephesians 2:1!” I was able to calm myself down enough to complete the day’s lesson, but I was really disturbed, and I didn’t know what to do. My husband suggested writing to her, and I think I will, but at the time, my primary concern was how to handle this situation with my students. I didn’t want to appear to be criticizing Moore, but I knew that it had to be addressed. As I prayed and thought about it over the next few days, God lead me to prepare a handout that included the diagram below and other comments. I reviewed the handout during class and then asked the students to place it in their books between pages 106 and 107.
The problem with Moore’s statement is that it is a completely inadequate explanation as to why a plan of redemption was needed. Our relationship with God is never about what we do (“poor choices”); it is about who were are—our condition. And how bad we are cannot be overemphasized. To say that we need redemption because God knew we would make poor choices is fundamentally incorrect. We need to be redeemed because we are separated from God, condemned to hell, and spiritually dead. Following is the diagram I prepared.
We are not lost because we sin; we sin because we are lost. And we are not saved because we do good works; we do good works because we are saved. It sounds simple, but I believe much of Christendom doesn’t really get it. Many people recognize that they are sinful and that they need forgiveness, but they look to Christ as a way to help them get to heaven rather than as the means to redeem them from a state in which they are utterly incapable of doing anything to earn God’s approval.
Moore states that her goal for weeks five and six is for us to have “more.” She wants us to be satisfied in and to have an abundant life in Christ. We cannot have this kind of relationship with Him if we do not fully apprehend and appreciate what he has done for us. Only an understanding of our complete inability to earn favor with God apart from God’s gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8) through Christ’s atoning death on the cross can motivate a love for Christ that enables us to live an abundant life of obedience wherein our purpose is to glorify God.
The third sentence of the fourth paragraph on page 107 in Beloved Disciple reads as follows: “They [God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] knew that equipping people with their own will would necessitate a plan for redemption, because they would ultimately make some very poor choices.”
My first reaction was to write in the margin: “Yikes! Ephesians 2:1!” I was able to calm myself down enough to complete the day’s lesson, but I was really disturbed, and I didn’t know what to do. My husband suggested writing to her, and I think I will, but at the time, my primary concern was how to handle this situation with my students. I didn’t want to appear to be criticizing Moore, but I knew that it had to be addressed. As I prayed and thought about it over the next few days, God lead me to prepare a handout that included the diagram below and other comments. I reviewed the handout during class and then asked the students to place it in their books between pages 106 and 107.
The problem with Moore’s statement is that it is a completely inadequate explanation as to why a plan of redemption was needed. Our relationship with God is never about what we do (“poor choices”); it is about who were are—our condition. And how bad we are cannot be overemphasized. To say that we need redemption because God knew we would make poor choices is fundamentally incorrect. We need to be redeemed because we are separated from God, condemned to hell, and spiritually dead. Following is the diagram I prepared.
We are not lost because we sin; we sin because we are lost. And we are not saved because we do good works; we do good works because we are saved. It sounds simple, but I believe much of Christendom doesn’t really get it. Many people recognize that they are sinful and that they need forgiveness, but they look to Christ as a way to help them get to heaven rather than as the means to redeem them from a state in which they are utterly incapable of doing anything to earn God’s approval.
Moore states that her goal for weeks five and six is for us to have “more.” She wants us to be satisfied in and to have an abundant life in Christ. We cannot have this kind of relationship with Him if we do not fully apprehend and appreciate what he has done for us. Only an understanding of our complete inability to earn favor with God apart from God’s gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8) through Christ’s atoning death on the cross can motivate a love for Christ that enables us to live an abundant life of obedience wherein our purpose is to glorify God.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Why the Bible is Not My “Favorite Book”
If you have looked at my profile, you will have seen that I have listed my favorite books as being Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Personally, this is interesting because I actually read more nonfiction than I do fiction with biography being my favorite genre by far. (The best biography I have read is John Adams by David McCullough, in case you’re curious.) In light of the fact that the focus of this blog is the Word, you may have wondered why I didn’t include the Bible among my favorite books. The answer is simple to me. Just as I would never name the Person in whom the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelled (Colossians 2:9 KJV) as being the greatest man who ever lived, I cannot bring myself to call God’s revelation to man my favorite book.
Referring to the Bible as a favorite book has for a long time not set well with me, even when I was at a loss to explain why. When I was in my early twenties and not walking with God, a Christian woman whom I knew at work was selected for the employee profile in the company newsletter. She listed the Bible as her favorite book. I admit at the time that I probably felt a certain amount of embarrassment for her as my division was rife with intellectual agnostics and atheists, but it was more than that. Favorite book? It’s the Word of God. I knew that long before I fully comprehended what it meant.
Now that I am studying John (see "Logos and Rhema", below) and have been a faithful student of the Word for some years, I can say with complete confidence that to name the Bible as my favorite book would be a gross understatement and misrepresentation. The Word is my reason to get up every day and keep walking. It is my life.
Referring to the Bible as a favorite book has for a long time not set well with me, even when I was at a loss to explain why. When I was in my early twenties and not walking with God, a Christian woman whom I knew at work was selected for the employee profile in the company newsletter. She listed the Bible as her favorite book. I admit at the time that I probably felt a certain amount of embarrassment for her as my division was rife with intellectual agnostics and atheists, but it was more than that. Favorite book? It’s the Word of God. I knew that long before I fully comprehended what it meant.
Now that I am studying John (see "Logos and Rhema", below) and have been a faithful student of the Word for some years, I can say with complete confidence that to name the Bible as my favorite book would be a gross understatement and misrepresentation. The Word is my reason to get up every day and keep walking. It is my life.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Morning Prayer
On page 90 in Beloved Disciple, Beth Moore recounts a difficult time in her life when she began every morning with Psalm 90:14. I have reworded the Psalm in the form of a prayer to begin each day in the expectation that God will satisfy me with His unfailing love so that I will not go searching for satisfaction elsewhere.
Lord, satisfy me this morning with your unfailing love that I may sing for joy and be glad today.
Lord, satisfy me this morning with your unfailing love that I may sing for joy and be glad today.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Logos and Rhema
I am currently involved in two Bible studies. My small discipleship group is studying Acts, and I am leading a women’s study on Wednesday evenings at my church. The study I am leading is Beloved Disciple: The Life and Ministry of John. The ten-week study includes five lessons per week to complete independently and a weekly 50-minute video to watch as a group. Beth Moore is the author of the study and the speaker on the videos.
The way I’ve been preparing is to complete the five lessons for the week a day or so before Wednesday. Then, on Wednesday mornings (“Mother’s Morning Out”), I prepare for a thirty-minute discussion to precede the video. As I prepare, I pray for God’s direction, and I look back over the week’s lessons at the passages I’ve highlighted and the notes and prayers I have recorded in the margins. So far, God’s direction has been very clear as to what He would have me discuss, and everything I have covered so far has taken almost exactly thirty minutes. As I make notes for our discussion, scripture is constantly coming to mind to back up the points I want to make. I usually know the book where the verse is found, but I don’t always know the chapter and verse. This is where the Blue Letter Bible comes in handy.
As I was preparing for this week’s meeting, God directed me to share a brief testimony with the group about my preparation process. The purpose of the preparation testimony was to demonstrate how the Holy Spirit applies knowledge of the Word. I shared with them how verses constantly come to mind. I never have to search for a verse to back up what I want to say. Rather, a verse initiates a point. I wanted them to understand that if they will commit to studying and knowing the Word, the same thing would happen for them. The Holy Spirit would bring verses to mind when they need them. I shared that I can’t take credit for it because my memory for the mundane has diminished significantly in recent years, but my knowledge of the Word has not. The explanation is found in John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
I never watch the videos in advance but I do usually go ahead and complete the Video Response Sheet using the leader’s handbook in case Beth goes too fast and we miss a point; but this week, I didn’t think to do it. So going into the video, I knew very little about what to expect, and it certainly didn’t inform my preparation for the discussion. The first part of the video discussed divine inspiration of scripture—doctrine about which I am well-informed and agree with completely. Part 2 was titled “Grasping God’s Primary Intention through His Inspiration of John’s Gospel.” Following is an excerpt from the completed Video Response Sheet (Week Five, page 92):
1. One of the overriding themes in the Gospel of John is presented from the very first verse: Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John wanted his reader to know and to recognize the Word.
2. The Greek term for Word is Logos. Basically, it refers to the expression of God revealed to man. God revealed Himself through His Son and His Word.
3. The only way we will ever really know the Word, both the Person and the print, is to know His words. Both of these verses [John 15:7, Ephesians 6:17] employ the Greek word rhema.
As Beth was reading John 15:7,—If you abide in Me, and My words [rhema] abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.—God spoke to my heart as clearly as any human being in the flesh has ever spoken. Something to the effect of “Katy, as you demonstrated in your testimony earlier, My words [rehma] abide in you. You know the Word [Logos]. It’s time to stop living in defeat and short-changing the work I have done in you.” It was all I could do not to jump up, pause the video, and testify.
To use a phrase my pastor likes to use, I was “freed up.” I tend to be extremely self-critical and to dwell on my sin and short-comings. I also have always been hard pressed to understand exactly what people mean when they talk about their relationship with Christ. It sounds so touchy feely. But later that evening, as I was reflecting on what God was teaching me, I wrote the following words in my journal: “Just as I was wrong to think that walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16) would result in some supernatural spirit/energy/ability-not-to-sin boost, I was also wrong to think that my relationship with Christ would be touchy feely. Why would He have a touchy feely relationship with me when I am NOT a touchy feely person?! Your relationship with me was designed for the way you created me!”
It is really hard for me to express exactly what I have grasped here and what it means to me. The bottom line is I have known for a long time that I am saved, and I also recognized that I have a better-than-most knowledge and understanding of Scripture. But now I can say with complete conviction that I know the Word, and because of faithful study, He has gifted me with knowing His words. Now I am prepared for Him to do far more abundantly beyond all that I ask or think according to the power that works within me (Ephesians 3:20).
The way I’ve been preparing is to complete the five lessons for the week a day or so before Wednesday. Then, on Wednesday mornings (“Mother’s Morning Out”), I prepare for a thirty-minute discussion to precede the video. As I prepare, I pray for God’s direction, and I look back over the week’s lessons at the passages I’ve highlighted and the notes and prayers I have recorded in the margins. So far, God’s direction has been very clear as to what He would have me discuss, and everything I have covered so far has taken almost exactly thirty minutes. As I make notes for our discussion, scripture is constantly coming to mind to back up the points I want to make. I usually know the book where the verse is found, but I don’t always know the chapter and verse. This is where the Blue Letter Bible comes in handy.
As I was preparing for this week’s meeting, God directed me to share a brief testimony with the group about my preparation process. The purpose of the preparation testimony was to demonstrate how the Holy Spirit applies knowledge of the Word. I shared with them how verses constantly come to mind. I never have to search for a verse to back up what I want to say. Rather, a verse initiates a point. I wanted them to understand that if they will commit to studying and knowing the Word, the same thing would happen for them. The Holy Spirit would bring verses to mind when they need them. I shared that I can’t take credit for it because my memory for the mundane has diminished significantly in recent years, but my knowledge of the Word has not. The explanation is found in John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
I never watch the videos in advance but I do usually go ahead and complete the Video Response Sheet using the leader’s handbook in case Beth goes too fast and we miss a point; but this week, I didn’t think to do it. So going into the video, I knew very little about what to expect, and it certainly didn’t inform my preparation for the discussion. The first part of the video discussed divine inspiration of scripture—doctrine about which I am well-informed and agree with completely. Part 2 was titled “Grasping God’s Primary Intention through His Inspiration of John’s Gospel.” Following is an excerpt from the completed Video Response Sheet (Week Five, page 92):
1. One of the overriding themes in the Gospel of John is presented from the very first verse: Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John wanted his reader to know and to recognize the Word.
2. The Greek term for Word is Logos. Basically, it refers to the expression of God revealed to man. God revealed Himself through His Son and His Word.
3. The only way we will ever really know the Word, both the Person and the print, is to know His words. Both of these verses [John 15:7, Ephesians 6:17] employ the Greek word rhema.
As Beth was reading John 15:7,—If you abide in Me, and My words [rhema] abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.—God spoke to my heart as clearly as any human being in the flesh has ever spoken. Something to the effect of “Katy, as you demonstrated in your testimony earlier, My words [rehma] abide in you. You know the Word [Logos]. It’s time to stop living in defeat and short-changing the work I have done in you.” It was all I could do not to jump up, pause the video, and testify.
To use a phrase my pastor likes to use, I was “freed up.” I tend to be extremely self-critical and to dwell on my sin and short-comings. I also have always been hard pressed to understand exactly what people mean when they talk about their relationship with Christ. It sounds so touchy feely. But later that evening, as I was reflecting on what God was teaching me, I wrote the following words in my journal: “Just as I was wrong to think that walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16) would result in some supernatural spirit/energy/ability-not-to-sin boost, I was also wrong to think that my relationship with Christ would be touchy feely. Why would He have a touchy feely relationship with me when I am NOT a touchy feely person?! Your relationship with me was designed for the way you created me!”
It is really hard for me to express exactly what I have grasped here and what it means to me. The bottom line is I have known for a long time that I am saved, and I also recognized that I have a better-than-most knowledge and understanding of Scripture. But now I can say with complete conviction that I know the Word, and because of faithful study, He has gifted me with knowing His words. Now I am prepared for Him to do far more abundantly beyond all that I ask or think according to the power that works within me (Ephesians 3:20).
Logocentric
After creating this blog, it occured to me that perhaps logoscentric was a real word, and that I may be using it incorrectly, so I went back to dictionary.com to find out. There was an entry for "logocentric" (no "s"), which means "excessive attention paid to the meanings of words or distinctions in their usage." Interestingly, I could be described as logocentric. Thankfully, "Logoscentric" will remain the title of my blog.
Raison D'Etre
In light of the infrequency of my posting to my other blog, on the face of it, it doesn't seem like the best idea to begin another one, but it wasn't my idea. I have been compelled (2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV).
Why the title "Logoscentric"? Well, "Walk in the Spirit" and "Walking in the Spirit" were not available, so I had to come up with something unique. You will see in a future post why "Logos" is on my mind right now. "Logos" is the Greek form of "word" that is used to refer to Christ in John 1:1. The suffix "-centric" is defined as follows at dictionary.com: Having a specified object as the center: geocentric. The specified object I want to be at the center of my life is the Word, Jesus Christ, hence the title "Logoscentric." I hope my writing encourages the same desire in you.
Why the title "Logoscentric"? Well, "Walk in the Spirit" and "Walking in the Spirit" were not available, so I had to come up with something unique. You will see in a future post why "Logos" is on my mind right now. "Logos" is the Greek form of "word" that is used to refer to Christ in John 1:1. The suffix "-centric" is defined as follows at dictionary.com: Having a specified object as the center: geocentric. The specified object I want to be at the center of my life is the Word, Jesus Christ, hence the title "Logoscentric." I hope my writing encourages the same desire in you.
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