Vol 4 No 35 - What Does the Bible Say?

An old friend of mine pops up last night in my IM window with the following question: "What ever happened to the other brother in the 'Prodigal Son' story?"  After all, we know the story of the father who welcomed home the son who had taken his inheritance early, blown it, and yet returned home to be celebrated by his father.  (Luke 15:11-32)

As we talked further, I had to admit to my friend that the scriptures just don't answer that question.  Frustrating on one hand because we treasure knowledge and understanding in an age where 'everything has an explanation', this reminds us that in many situations where we find ourselves frustrated by the scriptures it's simply a matter of us looking for something that is not there.

A similar situation came up last week when I was asked by someone how we as Christians account for the existence of dinosaurs since they are not mentioned at all in the creation stories of the Bible.  Again, it's something that many people have tried to use from time to time to disprove the Bible's reliability, when in reality the Bible never addresses the subject one way or another.

All this begs the question: For what do we look to scripture?  Is it a guide for living the Christian life?  Yes.  Is it a recounting of God's creative and redemptive work in all of creation, from beginning to end?  Yes.  Is it essential to living as God intends?  Yes.  Does it tell you where to go for lunch?  Not necessarily.

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 4 No 34 - I Know this Already...

I've heard it before.  I know it by heart.  Do we really need to cover this again?  We all know what happened, whose fault it is, and the consequences thereof, so why not move on to something a little more obscure, a little more interesting, a little more challenging?

Admittedly, this was part of my attitude as I approached the first session of our latest Bible study, Introduction to Genesis.  After all, one of the more universally known things about the Bible is the story of Genesis 1-3.  The creation of the world and the distortion of that world by humanity being disobedient to God's command.  Pretty basic stuff, found on the 'baby food' aisle of Christianity.

But then, reading and processing these passages with our Sunday night crew and our Tuesday morning crew reminded me that there is always something more to be gleaned from the scripture, and it is essential for our growth in the faith and in our knowledge of scripture to never take for granted what we think is in there.  Not to give away the story, but I would urge you to take a moment and do the following:

1. From memory, without opening your Bible, write down how the fall of humanity went, with as much detail as possible.

2. Go read Genesis 3.

3. Note any differences?  (and remember, details are important)

Moral of the story:  Christianity is an active, not passive, lifestyle.  Don't rest on what you already know to keep you from discovering more, and growing in the faith as a result of that discovery.

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 4 No 33 - I Didn't Know...

"I didn't know because no one told me."

Ever heard that one before?  Ever missed out on something because you weren't told?  I thought about this yesterday as I heard from a childhood friend on Facebook and found out that her father, a man I knew and respected, had passed away suddenly in 2005.  Of course, I had no way of knowing because we'd lost touch over the years, but it got me to thinking further about this idea.

This week's message is brief, for I want you to think about this:  

How many people do you know that you have not shared how Christ has made a difference in your life?

How sad would it be for you to find out that someone you know and love has not responded to Christ's offer of grace because, "No one had ever told [me]."

I promise you it's a higher number than you think; and that you have a golden opportunity to share it with them.  Not by preaching to them or 'guilt-tripping' them, but by sharing how Christ has made a difference in your life.  But then again, that leads to one final piece of food-for-thought:

Has professing the Christian faith made a difference in your life?

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 4 No 32 - Writer's Block

Writer's block.  A phenomenon that anyone who has spent time in any sort of school environment has hit at one time or another.  That time where you know you have to write something, but have no idea what to say or how to say it in a way that would cause any interest on the part of the reader/hearer (not to mention you.)  It has been my experience that many times writer's block comes along when composing thoughts or words about subjects you know well.

I've been thinking a great deal about writer's block lately, for I wonder if part of what faces the Christian is the idea that we've said all there needs to be said; to quote from the Eucharist, "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again."  Or, for a lengthier version, the contents of the Apostle's Creed or the Nicene Creed do nicely to sum up what we have to say.

And there's the rub.  In a society where we are bombarded with thousands of messages (large and small) every day, it can be tempting at times to attempt to change our message in a continual quest to be relevant, when the fact of the matter is that the message we give, the message of grace and peace through the Lordship of Jesus Christ, is one that we must be diligent about repeating.

We are never at a loss for something to say, for ours is not to come up with something to say, but simply to share what Christ has already said.  Don't let anyone try to fool you into thinking otherwise. 

See you Sunday!

Lamar