Category Archives: Chrisitian Philosophy

Blogs in this category deal with Christianity not from a religious perspective, but from a philosophical viewpoint.

Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 1)

Posted on September 14, 2017 by | Comments Off on Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 1)

restingResting and waiting upon the Lord. Sometimes the smartest thing we can do is to stop, wait, and rest. It is while we are resting when God can truly become the Lord in our life. It is easy to carry on a life full of worry and restlessness instead of allowing our Lord to truly reign in our life. But this is opposite of what the Bible tells us to do. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7). This is an easy verse to read. It is a hard verse to put into practice.

A three-part verse

This verse lends itself to be divided into three parts. The first part is what I will focus on for this particular entry. It reads, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him… The picture above is of my now six-year-old daughter. For the longest time we made her take time after her busy day of Kindergarten to rest. One particular afternoon she refused to rest until I made her lay quietly on the couch. The agreement was, since she was not tired, that she had to simply lay still and quiet for fifteen minutes. Within five minutes of our agreement, she fell asleep.

I almost forgot I took this picture of her until I was cleaning out the synchronized camera folder. It seemed to be the perfect image to share with this post. Just as I had to force my daughter to rest, there are times we also need rest. And there are times the Lord will put us in a place where all we can do is rest.

Resting in the Lord and waiting patiently on Him

Within the scriptures there are several places where the idea of resting and waiting are tied together. The idea is simply there are times when we need to take a step back. It is a matter of our faith and trust in the Lord which is being tested. The question we must ask ourselves is “do I love and trust Jesus enough to let Him lead me in handling this situation?” The prophet Jeremiah wrote, Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein (Jeremiah 6:16).

Within this verse, we see the Lord giving Jeremiah instruction that His people are to stay firm in the old path. We know this old path is the plan that God put into place back in the Garden of Eden – that we should love Him with all our being and love others as we love ourselves. The Lord also tells us if we follow His plan we will find rest for our souls – something I know that I need desperately at times. We all have days when nothing goes right. The trouble we face on those days can eat at our very soul. We cannot find the rest our souls need because we are not willing to let the Lord to do the work He desires to do.

He is to be our rest and expectation

David understood this more than most people will ever understand it. He wrote in Psalms: My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved (Psalms 62:5-6). By the time David is writing this psalm, he has reached the stage of life where he has learned he can depend upon the Lord. This is why we read, my expectation is from him. David has put his complete trust and confidence in the Lord. He expected the Lord to intercede in any difficulty he faced.

David also acknowledged that the Lord was his rock and salvation – and this is what we, as Christians, must also understand. Our salvation is not about what we can do. It is about what Jesus has done. When we come to understand the fullness of salvation that Jesus offers us it will bring us to a place of rest we’ve never known before. If we trust Jesus’ offer for salvation, then what exists where we cannot put our complete trust in Him?

Continued on the next page.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Increasing Faith, My Walk

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Bible study: looking at the scriptures for guidance

Posted on July 11, 2017 by | Comments Off on Bible study: looking at the scriptures for guidance

Bible study Bible study. Just those two words mean so many different things to Christians everywhere. For some, this is what happens at the mid-week service or maybe even Sunday evening. Others prefer studying the Bible on Sunday morning as the preacher reads it. Both of these groups rarely read the Bible outside a church setting. Therefore, within their life, their Christian faith remains weak. Little spiritual change has happened since they received Christ as their Savior. Bible study is an ongoing process for God’s children to learn directly from the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament Principle

For those who have read my sharing from the beginning, you know that 2006 was when I received Jesus as my Savior. It was not John 3:16 or Ephesians 2:8 that drew me to the Lord. It was this verse written by the apostle Paul: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Being in graduate school, I prided myself in my ability to study documents relating to foreign policy. The Lord challenged my pride by bringing me to a point where I wanted to study the Bible for myself. It was through serious Biblical inquiry – Bible study – where the Lord led me to salvation.

What Bible study is not

This sounds pretty funny for the topic the Lord has laid on my heart. But before I share the importance of Bible study, I feel led to share what Bible study isn’t. Bible study is not a function of the church. Yes, we have men’s and women’s Bible studies, mid-week Bible studies, and so forth. But these are not where the bulk of learning is to come from. The bulk of our learning about the Lord Jesus Christ happens in our own daily personal devotions and Bible study.

Bible studies cannot be clouded by other tasks. It’s not something we do as we are waiting on our doctor or for the mechanic to finish. It isn’t to be something we do to pass the time while waiting. Bible study is just that – studying the Bible as you would study materials that are job related or as a school subject is studied. The focus shouldn’t be the songs

What Bible study should be

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he is writing that Timothy needs to personally study the scriptures. At that time, the only scriptures that were written down and easily accessible were select books of the Old Testament and the letters he had written for the apostle Paul. This guidance was not written in a letter to the Christians in Corinth or Ephesus, but to a young man named Timotheus. Paul’s desire was for Timothy to know the scriptures as well as any tradesman knows his craft. Imagine the difference Christians could make in their homes and communities if they knew their faith as well as they know what their employer expects while they are on the job!

Compare personal Bible study to the method used to teach a musical instrument. Yes, the technique is taught in the weekly lesson. The instructor uses the weekly appointment to fine-tune the techniques, to introduce more challenging content, and to measure progress of the student. But it is the daily practice at home where knowledge and talents are developed. This is the perfect picture of what our Bible studies are to be. We participate in the studies at church as a means to fine-tune our faith. But it is in our daily Bible reading where we are taught about our faith.

Continued on the next page.

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Posted in Bible Study, Chrisitian Philosophy, Discipleship

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When life seems unfair, remember a simple lesson

Posted on March 24, 2017 by | Comments Off on When life seems unfair, remember a simple lesson

unfair“It’s so unfair!” I’ve heard myself say that in prayer to the Lord many times. There are times it is still a struggle to not allow this kind of spiritual bitterness settle within my heart. It’s easy to become bitter when we see others who are being blessed with things we think we deserve. Sometimes it’s a promotion at work or maybe some other sort of recognition. Maybe it is because someone bought a new car, a new house, or anything else we feel should be ours, there are times it is hard to keep a biblical perspective.

Unfair! God does show mercy on the lost

The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors (Proverbs 26:10).

Last week, while doing a daily Bible reading, I read this verse but what the Holy Spirit began to do in my heart was amazing. Normally, I’ve read over this verse with the thoughts of Yeah, that’s right… you’re going to get yours some day. And yes, that’s the context that we are most often familiar with. But I was led to another passage that really began to change my way of thinking:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16-18)

Unfair: Seeking and saving those who are lost!

Even when Jesus walked on this Earth, civilization was already ready to stand in the righteous judgment of God. Had God decided to judge what humankind was – sin was openly praised and encouraged. God’s plan for mankind, the Law that pointed for the need of grace and mercy, had been corrupted by those seeking religious and political power over others. God’s own chosen people had turned their back on Him, refusing to hear His message and to accept Him as their King. And in spite of all this, He chose to come to this world anyway. In Him came healing, forgiveness, and salvation. 

Why? We see in the passage above Jesus explaining this to Nicodemus. And if we have any doubts, the gospel of Luke offers this clarification: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). He didn’t come because we deserved to receive Him. Jesus came because He wanted to be a blessing to all who would hear and accept His message. He decided to give sinners a blessing so they might come to know Him.

Unfair: The Lord’s plan has always been to offer redemption

In Isaiah there’s a verse that ties nicely into all of this: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). In the gospels of John and Luke, the Lord clearly says He desires that all may come to trust in Him. The invitation is still open to all: O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him (Psalms 34:8).

Each of us who have come to put our trust in the Lord had to be pursued by the Holy Spirit. We have to be brought to the place where we have no other hope but to look towards the Lord. Each of us were touched in a different way by the Lord to get our attention. Some came to know Him because of unmerited blessings. And others came to know Him because of the testimony of His grace through a loved one. And some, like me, had to be broken to where the Lord was the only one offering mercy and love. The Lord will do what it takes to get us to make a choice.

 Continued on the next page.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Responsibility, Our relationship with God

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