Though we believers are commanded to love the Lord with all our mind, God is so great, there is a limit to how much we can understand.
A. W. Tozer:
God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, "O Lord, Thou knowest." Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.
A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 68
Tozer quote
All verses (NASB)
Deut 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Matt 22:37
And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
Job 5:9
Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.
Job 26:36
“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.
Ps 145:3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
1 Corintians 2:10-13
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
Ephesians 3:18-19
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Job 37:5
“God thunders with His voice wondrously, Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.
Ernie Haase:
If I could understand everything that He was doing, that wouldn’t be a God I would want to serve.
[Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, FaceBook, April 17, 2020, 7:30m, accessed May 19, 2020]
Tim Tebow:
If we can understand everything about the God we serve, what kind of god would that be?
(Tim Tebow, A. J. Gregory: Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity In the Midst of Life’s Storms; Crown, 2018, p. 42)
Dwight Lyman Moody:
If everybody could understand everything the Bible said, it wouldn't be God's book ...
(Dwight Lyman Moody: The New Sermons of Dwight Moody, 1880, p. 190, Google Books, accessed May 19, 2020)
Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.
[Imagine, the one man who had been gifted with the greatest wisdom finds out there is a limit to his knowledge, even after much work and thought].
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Friday, January 31, 2020
Different Cultures Are Glorifying To God
Rev 7:9 (NIV) After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Culture is not the result of sin; culture, though, is influenced by sin.
In Genesis 11, is the story of the Tower of Babel. The people in ancient history had united behind building a tower that could reach the heavens. However, God caused them to speak different languages, thus, giving them reason to separate. Their unity was based on seeking a god in their own way. God, instead confused them by making them speak in several new languages. This caused the people to separate and spread out over the earth.
The people, by concentrating their occupation of the earth in one spot, Babel, were disobeying God’s command to Noah:
Genesis 9:1 (NIV)
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
By spreading out, peoples would naturally become different from other peoples. Gradually, people would speak with different accents, then languages. Foods, crafts, design, art and music would be different. God desired mankind to spread out, and, as a by product, to have diverse cultures.
God, as a designer, works with a diverse creation yet united in commonality (DNA, golden mean proportions). There are different kinds of trees, fruit, climates, and rocks. So, different cultures and languages are not wrong. However, sin has influenced people and cultures. Arts and music, philosophies, and governments have been influenced by God-less or man-only perspectives.
In the end, in Revelation, sin-less nations, different cultures, all worship the one God. The sinful part of those differences have been eliminated, leaving the differences that are glorifying to God.
Culture is not the result of sin; culture, though, is influenced by sin.
In Genesis 11, is the story of the Tower of Babel. The people in ancient history had united behind building a tower that could reach the heavens. However, God caused them to speak different languages, thus, giving them reason to separate. Their unity was based on seeking a god in their own way. God, instead confused them by making them speak in several new languages. This caused the people to separate and spread out over the earth.
The people, by concentrating their occupation of the earth in one spot, Babel, were disobeying God’s command to Noah:
Genesis 9:1 (NIV)
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
By spreading out, peoples would naturally become different from other peoples. Gradually, people would speak with different accents, then languages. Foods, crafts, design, art and music would be different. God desired mankind to spread out, and, as a by product, to have diverse cultures.
God, as a designer, works with a diverse creation yet united in commonality (DNA, golden mean proportions). There are different kinds of trees, fruit, climates, and rocks. So, different cultures and languages are not wrong. However, sin has influenced people and cultures. Arts and music, philosophies, and governments have been influenced by God-less or man-only perspectives.
In the end, in Revelation, sin-less nations, different cultures, all worship the one God. The sinful part of those differences have been eliminated, leaving the differences that are glorifying to God.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Is “All I Need Is Jesus” True?
Hillsong United:
“All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord”
Heritage Singers:
“Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need
I need no other friend
I need no other one
Jesus is all I need”
I am well aware of the poetic use of hyperbole, exaggerating in order to make a point. We see Jesus using this in the Bible when he declares we must hate our parents (Luke 14:26), or cutting off ones hands to prevent sinning (Matt 5:30). These can be explained better elsewhere. So, a song such as “He is everything to me” can make sense, in the spirit of that ‘bigger than life’ saying.
However, it is not necessarily true that God is everything. That is another worldview, not Christianity. Hindu, I believe, sees God or god as all encompassing. In Christianity, God is Creator of all creation, but He is not created but is self existing, and set apart - holy.
A. J. Swoboda, in his book, The Dusty Ones, is quite outspoken about the use of the phrase.
“Only a perverted form of Christianity would say that all one needs is God and nothing else. Nobody actually believes that nor is it even close to being true. I could have God but no food and I would die. Such a theology departs entirely from the life of Jesus, God in the flesh. Jesus himself modeled the life of needing. As Christians, in this time and place we have been provided a kind of script. The script, whether we are aware of it or not, is one of complete self-completion and needlessness. Again we may or may not be conscious of it but we all need but we all read from this script.
“This conception of faith - of being people without needs - raises a bunch a perfectly legitimate questions. Is faith really about self-fulfillment? Is Christianity about making people who don’t need others? If so, isn’t this different from the way Jesus lived his own life?
“A disciple must learn the lesson that God isn’t primarily in the wants business. Hopefully, reexamining the life of Jesus - a life marked by real needs - will help the age old belief that all we need is God retreat into the obscurity it so deserves”.
from The Dusty Ones, A. J. Swoboda, Baker Books, 2016, pp 116-117
As an amateur songwriter, I am concerned about the words I use, and whether they are biblically true. I look to other Songwriters and their songs for examples. Gloria Gaither is one of the top Christian Songwriters. Here is how she explains what she thinks about this familiar phrase.
“When I was young we would sing “Jesus is All I Need.” I never really like that song much. I argued In my mind whenever we sang it, Well, I, for one, need a lot more. I need someone to love me. I need a warm body, a friendly face, someone to talk to at breakfast, and, more than that, someone who will talk back. I need quiet walks on the beach and a good cup of coffee with a friend to whom I don’t have to explain myself.
“How shallow I was. Over the years I have come to notice that in the Gospel accounts, whenever someone had a need, Jesus answered with the ancient God words: “I AM.” And life is teaching me why Jesus answered with the words “I AM”.
“I can hear his disciples. Around the campfire on the Sea of Galilee, they’re singing the chorus, “Jesus Is All That I Need,” and Peter says—-in his typical blurt-it-out fashion—-“Well, that’s all well and good, but I for one need some supper!” And Jesus answers simply but with a certain finality, “I AM the bread.”
“There is the woman at the well. As she lifts to the surface the heavy bucket brimming with sweet water, she thinks, How lovely to have this deep well that has survived all the generations. I may be an outcast, but it least I have this well. I need this water. Suddenly the stranger who has just Asked for a drink says, “If only you knew, you’d ask Me for a drink. This well is temporary, but I AM the Water that never runs dry, and I quench thirsts that no water can satisfy.”
from page 55 and 56 of Something Beautiful by Gloria Gaither, FaithWords, 2007
Not only is Jesus the Bread of Life to Peter, or is He giving Living Water to that woman at the well, but Gloria also mentions that He is the Resurrection and the Life to Martha, “I AM” the Way to Thomas, and “I AM” the King and the Truth to Pilate.
However, if given enough thought, I believe that Jesus is saying that the need for Him and God, in general, is paramount but not the only needs we have. It’s like the diagrams for evangelism that show a circle with God’s throne in the center, and all the other needs within the circle, but to the sides. I think the “I AM” statements referred by Gloria Gaither mean instead that God is the LORD of our needs. While our need for God is big, we also have other needs. God does supply our needs, as He promised, but these are in addition to our basic need for Him.
In certain areas of the world, it might not be as needy as in other areas. We must not diminish people, whose needs seem to be more, by dismissing their physical needs by saying, ‘God is all you need’. Yes, we are His hands and feet, and He can use us to meet others needs. The incarnate Jesus had real needs, and He also supplied His disciples with fried fish for example. Jesus never said He was our only need. But those who know Him, know Him as Lord.
Here are some other articles:
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Keith and Kristyn Getty - Songwriters
I picked up the new book, Sing!, by Keith and Kristyn Getty, and I was amazed what it said about their songwriting. Back towards the end of the book, in Track Four: Songwriters and Creatives it mentions Keith’s productivity. It says that for the last 17 years, he has written between 500 to 1000 songs a year, but 95% of them are not public. Wow! That’s about 2-3 a day. I wonder how far he gets with each song. Words? Chords? Kristyn, likewise, collects word ideas for songs.
In an article, Modern hymn writers revive lost art of Christian music
Keith tells that he writes 5 musical ideas per day. This does not seem to be the same as the songs mentioned above. This would be the tunes picked out on guitar or keyboard, that seem interesting. I think it is from these that the 2-3 songs a day are developed.
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I only pick out about one interesting tune a month (this year, anyway), and all these get to be songs.
Blessings,
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Let Heaven and Nature Sing
1 Chronicles 16:31-34 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! ESV
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Resolving Bible Contradiction: Wait Onshore Until Dark?
There seems to be a contradiction in the bible between Matt 14 and John 6. This is the passage between the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water. After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus sends the disciples away, and then after dismissing the crowd, goes up the mountain to pray alone. This time alone goes past sundown and into the night. During the night, Jesus sees the disciples rowing out on the lake, and He comes to them, walking on the surface of the water.
Between the miracles of feeding the 5000 from just a few loaves of bread plus a few fish, and the miracle of walking on water, is a small detail almost missed. John 6 seems to say that Jesus told the disciples to go to the lake shore and wait for him, but after dark, they went ahead and crossed the lake by boat. Matt 14 and Mark 6 seems to say that Jesus sent His disciples to go in the boat and cross the lake.
To reconcile these passages, the reader would have to guess that Jesus told His disciples to wait for him by the lake shore until sunset, while He went away to pray. Then, if He didn't come to them by dark, they were to start to row the boat across the lake towards Bethsaida.
Now, the reader knows not to add to scripture or put words in Jesus' mouth (like some popular Christian books do). So, the contradiction must be left as is. Yet, the reader also expects God not to contradict Himself. So, we are left with an educated guess that Jesus' disciples would obey him, waiting for Him on the lake shore until sunset, and then, if He didn't show up by then, casting out from shore and rowing across the lake.
This is a small example of a bible contradiction that can be resolved. This one is easy. However, there are many passages that seem to conflict. There are aspects of God which seem to be at odds. How can one resolve God's holiness with His mercy, His loving kindness with His sovereignty, His omniscience with His listening to our prayers? All I can say is if one little contradiction can be resolved, then the harder ones are possible, too.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1corinthians13:12&version=NLT
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1corinthians13:12&version=NLT
John 6:16-17
That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him.
But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john6:16-17&version=NLT
Matthew 14:22-23
Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.
After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew14:22-23&version=NLT
Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.
After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew14:22-23&version=NLT
John 6:16-17
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john6:16-17&version=NIV
This contradiction shows up in the New Living Translation, and in the Living Bible. It doesn't seem to show up in John 6 of the NIV and other bible versions.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john6:16-17&version=NIV
This contradiction shows up in the New Living Translation, and in the Living Bible. It doesn't seem to show up in John 6 of the NIV and other bible versions.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
'Amuse' Is NOT "to not think"
There are several web sites, mainly Christian, which redefine the word 'amuse' as "not thinking". This is unfortunate and wrong.
I don't think that the word 'amuse' is the opposite of 'muse'. I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it came from French. So, the 'a-' is not meaning 'Not' like in Greek (e.g., a-millennial means 'not millennial'). The 'a-' instead means 'at' or 'to'. So, the French meaning is more like 'at thinking' or 'cause to think'.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=amuse
Now, I understand that there is a tendency for people to sometimes seek too much diversion, and thus to not think too seriously. But on the other hand, sometimes people can worry too much. I think Jesus was 'amusing' (getting the people to think straight) His listeners with the truth when he mentioned the lilies of the field and the birds of the air (Luke 12:27).
I believe there is a wrong assumption that serious thinking can only be good, and thus, non-serious thinking is bad. However, not only worry, but also, anger, fear, pride, and guilt are certainly serious but not necessarily good. In the bible, it mentions that God laughs or is amused (Psalms 2:4). Smiling and laughing is part of human nature. There is a time to laugh and cry (Ecc 3:4). Amusement can lead away from God or it can lead to clearer thinking.
So, not all amusements are wrong. It's just that there is a tendency in fallen human nature to escape, to pursue vain glories. The need to be amused is exaggerated because of the effects of sin. Laughing at somebody or something other than ourselves temporarily relieves our consciences or our worries.
However, laughing at ourselves seems to be healthier. That kind of amusement happens when personal issues are dealt with. The humility here is real and lasting, not the temporary relief with distractions. Instead of escaping to minor attractions, we find our strength outside ourselves, and we can learn to lighten-up in a more lasting way. I'm not talking about hero worship, which is also temporary. What I mean is dependence on God. God's yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30).
I also wonder how the word 'music' has to do with 'muse' and thinking. Doesn't 1 Samuel show how David's harp playing helped King Saul draw his mind away from his despair of his deselection as king and his jealousy of David? Except, with Saul, the music acted more like a drug, and the evil thoughts came right back when the music went away. Perhaps, it was not just the music, but also the presence of a godly David that cheered Saul. Saul had lost the presence of God, and had gained evil thoughts. David spelled 'relief'.
So, I think the word amuse actually means to stimulate thought that is more balanced, a diversion from ones own perspective. One just has to enter "amuse" and "to not think" in a search engine to find quite a few web sites which try to redefine the word 'amuse'. However, that word is suppose to mean "to cause to think". It is my hope that people will have a reason to rethink what amusement means, not to assign it off as merely wasting time.
I don't think that the word 'amuse' is the opposite of 'muse'. I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it came from French. So, the 'a-' is not meaning 'Not' like in Greek (e.g., a-millennial means 'not millennial'). The 'a-' instead means 'at' or 'to'. So, the French meaning is more like 'at thinking' or 'cause to think'.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=amuse
Now, I understand that there is a tendency for people to sometimes seek too much diversion, and thus to not think too seriously. But on the other hand, sometimes people can worry too much. I think Jesus was 'amusing' (getting the people to think straight) His listeners with the truth when he mentioned the lilies of the field and the birds of the air (Luke 12:27).
I believe there is a wrong assumption that serious thinking can only be good, and thus, non-serious thinking is bad. However, not only worry, but also, anger, fear, pride, and guilt are certainly serious but not necessarily good. In the bible, it mentions that God laughs or is amused (Psalms 2:4). Smiling and laughing is part of human nature. There is a time to laugh and cry (Ecc 3:4). Amusement can lead away from God or it can lead to clearer thinking.
So, not all amusements are wrong. It's just that there is a tendency in fallen human nature to escape, to pursue vain glories. The need to be amused is exaggerated because of the effects of sin. Laughing at somebody or something other than ourselves temporarily relieves our consciences or our worries.
However, laughing at ourselves seems to be healthier. That kind of amusement happens when personal issues are dealt with. The humility here is real and lasting, not the temporary relief with distractions. Instead of escaping to minor attractions, we find our strength outside ourselves, and we can learn to lighten-up in a more lasting way. I'm not talking about hero worship, which is also temporary. What I mean is dependence on God. God's yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30).
I also wonder how the word 'music' has to do with 'muse' and thinking. Doesn't 1 Samuel show how David's harp playing helped King Saul draw his mind away from his despair of his deselection as king and his jealousy of David? Except, with Saul, the music acted more like a drug, and the evil thoughts came right back when the music went away. Perhaps, it was not just the music, but also the presence of a godly David that cheered Saul. Saul had lost the presence of God, and had gained evil thoughts. David spelled 'relief'.
So, I think the word amuse actually means to stimulate thought that is more balanced, a diversion from ones own perspective. One just has to enter "amuse" and "to not think" in a search engine to find quite a few web sites which try to redefine the word 'amuse'. However, that word is suppose to mean "to cause to think". It is my hope that people will have a reason to rethink what amusement means, not to assign it off as merely wasting time.
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