On becoming "MORE NOBLE".
"Acts 17:11 - Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessaloni'ca, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. "
Several dear friends and brothers in Christ have suggested that we have a dedicated blog for discussion purposes on matters of spiritual interest. I tried a half dozen names and finally my 7th choice worked for a blog spot. I took the name from the above verse. I want to be more noble. How about you?
I believe that truth is a personality. That personality was revealed in Jesus Christ who was both fully human and divine. That is a paradox. I find many paradoxes in faith. For example:
Deuteronomy 6: 4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD".
Yet, in the New Testament we have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. My logical mind wants to do a computer model that says 1=3; but, that does not work in my arithmatical model. Yet I believe that both statements are true.
How do you approach the paradoxes of faith?
posted by Bradford L. Stevens @ 2:28 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I logged on this morning expecting to find dozens of posts; and, perhaps it is paradox? Lots of people who want to read, but no one who wants to comment? Perhaps paradox is part of God's sense of humor? Rather make things so that only the intelligent smart people can figure them out; or, to take away the advantage of wealth and power, the gospel is given to those who possess a child like point of view of a simple trusting faith. Jesus said it was harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Peter, who by our standards as a fisherman would not be considered wealthy then asks, "Who then can be saved?" The answer gives us hope that with God all things are possible. Yet, how many of us secretly wish we could win the lottery? If we really learn to love and trust the one who made us, we would quit wishing for material wealth and seek the treasures that can be laid up in heaven where neither rust nor moth can destroy our good deeds. The greatest paradox is that if a person wants to live, one must first discover that one has to die.
I love this topic, A few years ago I preached a sermon on "The paradoxes of our faith," I used some of the below examples. I DON'T say this for shock value, Do you ever wake up some mornings and wonder why you even believe...I do. I believe authentic faith ALWAYS produces sincere doubt. (is that a paradox?)
God of the Universe - God of humanity
God creates man - God creates the serpent
God creates paradise - God creates a tree we can’t touch
Jesus was God - Jesus prayed to God
Jesus is divine - Jesus is human
Jesus is the Son of God - He was born in a barn
Important to live a Godly life - God’s grace
Work out our salvation - Seventy times seven
Message of James - Message of Romans
To be strong - We have to be weak
To save our lives - We have to lose them
Pain is the - path to Joy
To become mature - We have to become like children
To receive - We have to give
Human free will - God’s sovereignty
“Ask anything in my name...”- Times we experience God’s silence
James command for Elders to pray over the sick and they will be healed – Example after example of this not being the case
Peter shown the ultimate grace by Jesus - 2 weeks later he shows no mercy to Ananias and Saphira
God All-loving - Problem of evil and suffering
To live - We have to die
Klint
What a good list of paradoxes! I have read that Martin Luther wanted to delete James from the canon because of its statements that, on the surface, seem so at odds with what Paul wrote to the Romans on faith vs. works. All in all it shows that our understanding is so limited by our finite minds that we cannot grasp the mind of God. That is why what we do know is by way of revelation. We could never figure it out on our own. One might look at nature and deduce that there is a die to live principle at work in creation. Indeed many tribes and cultures in history have included human sacrifice as part of worship, whether it was Baal worship, Molech, the Aztecs and Incas or African animism. How did all those different cultures come to the conclusion that blood was needed to appease an angry God? The answer to many of these questions, I believe, can be found in God's revelation of his Word. That Word (logos) is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. That creative force, the spoken Word by which God spoke the world into existence, became flesh and dwelt among us in the form of a man. That is why I believe that truth is a personality. The funny thing about a personality is that it has contrasts, or in other words, paradoxes.
I am so glad that I could at least get my son-in-law to take the time to comment! Thanks Klint! You make your father-in-law proud. Perhaps we can get some others to join in?
One of the goals of this blog is to discover that many of us are fighting the same battles. When I read that a Kay Gasser feels that somedays she needs to redouble her efforts, it makes me feel "better" to know that she shares my struggles! Paul put it this way:
" 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer."
Suffering is the lowest common denominator of our humanity. I hope this blog will allow us to share our struggles and sufferings in a proactive way that helps us to offer comfort to others!
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