Common Sense Theology: "DEAR GOD, YOU SURE DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE"

"DEAR GOD, YOU SURE DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE" - Day 52

Day 52 – God in Jesus Christ

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. –the gospel of JOHN

When in former times God spoke to our forefathers, he spoke in fragmentary and varied fashion through the prophets. But in this final age he has spoken to us in the Son... He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature. –the New Testament book of HEBREWS

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. –JESUS, to his disciple Philip

The personal testimony of millions is that God two thousand years ago “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate. Through Jesus, God “descended” to our level to reveal what He is like and to restore the fullness of the divine-human relationship. It is a claim so amazing—divinity and humanity joined in one man in one geographical region in one brief period of time—that I can understand why some people have a hard time comprehending it. Listen to Philip Yancey, one of many struck by the incredulity of the incarnation, as he reflects on what happened in Bethlehem years ago:

It is almost beyond my comprehension too, and yet I accept that this notion is the key to understanding Christmas and is, in fact, the touchstone of my faith. As a Christian I believe that we live in parallel worlds. One world consists of hills and lakes and barns and politicians and shepherds watching their flocks by night. The other consists of angels and sinister forces and somewhere out there places called heaven and hell. One night in the cold, in the dark, among the wrinkled hills of Bethlehem, these two worlds came together at a dramatic point of intersection. God, who knows no before or after, entered time and space. God, who knows no boundaries, took on the shocking confines of a baby’s skin, the ominous restraints of mortality.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,” an apostle would later write; “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” But the few eyewitnesses on Christmas night saw none of that. They saw an infant struggling to work never-before-used lungs.

Could it be true, this Bethlehem story of a Creator descending to be born on one small planet? If so, it is a story like no other. Never again need we wonder whether what happens on this dirty little tennis ball of a planet matters to the rest of the universe. Little wonder a choir of angels broke out in spontaneous song...¹

I am aware that some of you do not agree that Jesus was “God in the flesh.” You’ve heard this from Christians and dismissed it long ago as wishful thinking. You are confident that nothing I say will convince you otherwise. You cannot envision a scenario that would lead you to embrace Jesus as God incarnate. In fact, you may feel so insulted that I broached the subject that you have just about lost any desire to continue on.

My reply to you is that I have inserted the incarnation at this time as an example of my own personal testimony about the nature of God. A sizeable population has come to believe that God can best be known by focusing on Jesus, and I happen to be one of that populace. I would be remiss if I failed to mention here the focal point of my faith—the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The depth of my devotion compels me to make mention of him, even at the risk of offending you. But let me add that I do not intend to elaborate on the subject now. No attempt will be made to argue my point or proselytize you. Not until the fourth leg of our journey will we explore the life of Jesus. In the meantime, I urge you not to feel uneasy if certain aspects of my personal testimony differ from yours. In the same way, I promise that I will not be upset if yours differs from mine. The crucial point at the present is that we stand together among the masses of theists facing and opposing the atheists. We as one testify that God has impacted our lives.

My suggestion, therefore, is that we put aside our differences about Jesus and the incarnation and continue our journey together. Admittedly, we are disagreeing over a pivotal issue. This picture of Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God is central to my faith and foreign to yours. But we have come too far to let even this issue separate us. I urge you, my friend, to stick with the group. If in the end you remain unconvinced about Jesus, you will be in the same position as now. You will still hold to your present beliefs, perhaps even more firmly. If along the way you embrace Jesus as the incarnate God, you will consider your position improved. You will see in Jesus “the stamp of God’s nature.” You will “behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”²

So please accept my invitation to remain with the group. Truly, you have nothing to lose and so much you could gain. You will be none the worse if you continue on and deny Jesus; forever the better if, as you continue, you believe in him. The most important thing right now is that you continue.

¹Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 44-45.

²Second Corinthians 4:6

Daily Quotation

Nicholas Wolterstorff, “The Grace That Shaped My Life,” in Kelly Monroe, Finding God at Harvard (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 157.

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PICK YOUR TOPIC: click the date in the BLOG ARCHIVE above to read any of these 50 posts

Abraham - March 15
agnosticism - Mar 14
Barnabas - Mar 13
compassion - Mar 12
David - Mar 11
faith and science - Mar 10
faith and tension - Mar 9
Genesis: the main point - Mar 8
God as Three in One - Mar 7
God is One - Mar 6
God's existence: 5 Reasons to Believe - Mar 5
God's holiness - Mar 4
God's incarnation - Mar 3
God's justice - Mar 2
God's love - Mar 1
God's nature and the Bible - Feb 28
God's omnipotence - Feb 27
God's omniscience - Feb 26
God's sovereignty (Parts 1-2) - Feb 26 and 25
God's transforming power - Feb 24
God's will - Feb 23
Jacob - Feb 22
Jeremiah - Feb 21
Job (Parts 1-3) - Feb 20
John, Simon, and Judas - Feb 19
life after death (Parts 1-2) - Feb 18
Luke and Demas - Feb 17
many maps, one treasure - Feb 16
miracles - Feb 16
moral relativism - Feb 14
Moses - Feb 13
parable of the disobedient brothers - Feb 13
parable of the four organizations - Feb 11
parable of the helpful atheist - Feb 10
parable of the pick-up basketball game - Feb 9
parable of the sculptors - Feb 8
parable of the ten hikers - Feb 7
parable of the website visitor - Feb 6
past, present, and future people - Feb 5
prayer - Feb 4
Ruth - Feb 3
sin and choice - Feb 2
sin and God's love - Feb 1
sin and the ER - Feb 1
sin's reality - Jan 30
sin's remedy - Jan 29
sin's separation - Jan 28
soul and body - Jan 28
suffering: a called meeting - Jan 26
suffering's positive side - Jan 25
women at the tomb - Jan 25

5 REASONS: Why I Still Believe in God

Have you ever wondered if the atheist could be right? If so, you are not alone. Standing behind you at the supermarket, teeing off ahead of you in your weekly foursome, and (as stange as it seems) singing along with you at your local church are people just like you. Too embarrassed to ask questions, they do not know where to turn for answers. Randy Stewart, with refreshing candor, reveals in these pages his personal history of doubt; then he traces his steps back to faith. Along the way he uses his medical and religious background to present some old concepts in fresh and understandable light. Written with the non-theologian in mind, this book should be helpful to anyone asking questions or anyone needing to give answers.

DEAR GOD, YOU SURE DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE

If God is "I AM", then Who Am I?

BEFORE THE TRUMPET SOUNDS: When Jesus Came to the Tennessee River Valley

The Word Made Fresh: 1000 Bible Questions

The Bible is worth knowing but is not well known. This book is the author's attempt to acknowledge the former and remedy the latter. Studying this overview of the Bible and answering the questions should help reverse the unfortunate trend today toward Biblical illiteracy. Those already familiar with God's Word may also benefit from this well-organized, balanced, and creative review. The author, Dr. Randall Stewart, acknowledges the areas of debate in present-day scholarship but does not attempt to take sides, urging his readers to do further study and form their own opinions. With no conservative or liberal agenda, this introduction to the Bible should be useful to a wide spectrum of people - young and old, believer and non-believer, novice and teacher, laity and clergy.

THIS WEEK'S COMMON SENSE

9/23/2013 - 9/29/2013

TWO UNLIKELY PARTNERS

Jesus' disciples included a tax collector (Matthew) who worked for the Roman government and a zealot (Simon) who hated anything Rome. He took these two diverse individuals and united them through his love, message, and mission. So should we today in church, despite our differences, join hands as we follow Jesus.

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COMMON SENSE from previous weeks...

WHERE ATHEISTS AND CHRISTIANS DIFFER ABOUT JESU

Even atheists, if they are intellectually honest, must admit the following:

(1)
that a man named Jesus lived in first century Palestine

(2)
that he acheived fame in the region as a healer and religious teacher

(3)
that he was crucified on a Roman cross

(4)
that his followers proclaimed after his death that he had risen from the grave

(5)
that a new religion arose and spread throughout the Roman empire, proclaimimg him Messiah and Lord.

The key historical fact is #4. Regarding the resurrection, atheists believe that the followers of Jesus were mistaken, were misunderstood, or were malicious liars. We Christians, however, believe that the atheists are the ones who are mistaken. We believe that the most sensible explanation for the five historical facts above is a resurrected Savior and Lord.

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COMMON SENSE from previous weeks...

EXCLAIMING THE GLORY OF GOD

Early typewriters did not have an "exclamation point" key. To create this punctuation mark, you first had to type a period then backspace and type an apostrophe over it. Keyboards today have an "exclamation point" key. This is one of the reasons exclamation points are so commonly seen today, perhaps overused (e.g. BFF!!!! Wow!! Ouch!!!!).

Our world always seems to be in exclaiming mode, with one notable exception: Sunday worship. Why is it that we act in church as if we are typing the rhythms of our souls on old typewriters? Isn't beholding the glory of God in face of Jesus Christ something worth exclaiming?

The King James Version of the Bible, published long before typewriters or keyboards, has 1492 exclamation points. Apparently the Biblical writers and the English translators were excited about God's message. What an example to us today!!

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DIGGING DEEPER IN BIBLE STUDY YIELDS WONDERFUL TREASURES!

The best way to study a particular Bible book or passage is to read it as if you were a part of the original audience. This requires some preparation, but it is well worth the effort. To do so, you have to learn the reason the book or passage was written and to become acquainted with the mindset of both the author and the recipient(s). But if you do such hard (and enjoyable) work, you will imagine yourself as one of those recipients and will understand the book or passage better. For sure, you can glean truths from the Bible without such preparatory study, just as a native of Japan can glean truths from Gettysburg without studying beforehand. But just as that Japanese cannot experience the true depth of Gettysburg without first becoming acquainted with the American Civil War, you cannot experience the depth of a Bible book or passage without first understanding its roots. If you learn when, why, and to whom scripture was originally written, rich treasures await you.

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ELIMINATING PRAYER

Atheists may succeed in banishing public prayer. Yes, our government may one day arrest men and women caught bending and bowing the knee. But never will anyone succeed in eliminating prayer. Prayer is more private than public, more inward than outward, a bending of the heart more than the knee. Atheists and governments may succeed in removing public prayer but never private prayer, including those private prayers offered in public. If we pray in such a way that no one else knows except God, we will approach God's throne and at the same time be unapproachable to those who seek to eliminate prayer.

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A BIG DEAL

If there is no God, people can go on living as they do now, for morality is no big deal. But if God does exist, it matters greatly what they do. A Creator God in the universe changes everything, just like royalty entering a room changes everything. A citizen of God's Kingdom should act differently because he or she is always in the presence of the King. Morality is a big deal, simply because He is a such big deal.

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GENESIS ONE AND SCIENCE

The story of Creation in the first chapter of Genesis is not a scientific treatise. Instead, it is a theological proclamation. Its main purpose is not to show how the universe was formed but to relate who formed it. That theme is summed up in verse one: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

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SOME TIME MANAGEMENT ADVICE

Consistency and persistence are characteristics of Christians who accomplish much in life. They continue to work on important projects even when other things stand in their way. They realize that daily diligence, even for short periods of time, will in the long run yield huge dividends.

Consider this time management fact: if you spend just fifteen minutes daily on a task for one year, you will put over ninety hours into the project.

So...

Plan big but work small.

Be consistent and persistent.

It's a recipe for success.

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GOD OWNS YOU.

CHRIST ORDERS YOU.

2 Facts you should never forget:

(1) You are God's possession.

(2) You are Christ's servant.

3 detours you take when you do forget:

(1) doubt about God

(2) distance from God

(3) despair apart from God

2 prayers that will end that despair:

(1) "God, I am yours!" (fact #1)

(2) "Jesus, use me!" (fact #2)

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COMPASSION DEFINED

The Greek word for compassion is splanchnizomai, found twelve times in the New Testament. It is derived from the Greek word for bowels or intestines. Compassion, then, is not superficial emotion nor sentimental attachment. It is love at the gut level. Similarly, the Hebrew word that is often translated compassion is rachamim, found 131 times in the Old Testament. It comes from the root word rechem, meaning womb or uterus. In this context, compassion is similar to a mother's feeling for a child in her womb.

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TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

The man who jumps into the water of his own accord and the gentleman who does so after much coaxing from family and friends are equally wet and have their own selves to blame. Our society must rid itself of the notion that someone else is responsible for our bad choices.

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GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY SIMPLIFIED

The simplest way I have found to understand the sovereignty of God is to remember this phrase: “It’s His choice!” God’s sovereignty, reduced to its simplest expression, involves just that—His freedom to make the choices He deems appropriate, whether or not we happen to like them or understand them. It is not in any sense a loss of ultimate power but, quite the opposite, is power ultimately expressed. It is God being God and acting as God, regardless. So when the subject of God’s sovereignty comes up, my advice is to remember the phrase: “It’s His choice!” This should eliminate over half the confusion and argument about the subject.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AFTERLIFE

Life after death is no small matter. If you doubt its importance, ask one hundred people on death's doorstep whether they wish to continue as an individual or be absorbed into nature. It would be the rare person who would choose the latter. Then ask one hundred mothers and fathers whose children have died before them if it matters whether or not they will someday interact with their son or daughter in a personal way. I cannot fathom one parent who would not immediately and joyously embrace the prospect of such a reunion.--------------------

When we come to theology, knowledge can take us only so far, never to the point of certainty. Our subject is God, and our knowledge of Him is incomplete. Yet we are forced to act on the knowledge that we have. This educated leap in the dark is what defines true belief. It is action taken in the midst of uncertainty. This is why the Bible says, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
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OUR OPINIONS AND GOD'S NATURE

I sometimes imagine a time in the future when we all will stand in the presence of God and know, more than ever before, that He is and who He is. If it turns out He is different than we had imagined, it will be a matter of small consequence. We will know then what we should know now: God determines His existence and nature; we do not determine them ourselves. On that day, God will be very real and His nature, however aligned with our preconceptions, will be nonnegotiable. He will be to us what He was to Moses years ago: “I AM THAT I AM.” Our only choice will be to retreat in denial and fear (Moses’ initial response) or to bow in acceptance and awe (his ultimate response).

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THE DIVINE PARADOX

For us to know God, God must relate to us. In this sense, God is personal and immanent. Yet there are aspects of Him that will always elude us. So, in another sense, God is Wholly Other and transcendent. He is both near to us and far from us. We surely know Him; yet, just as sure, we know Him not. He comes to us from “beyond,” but still He remains beyond us.

As to the purpose of this divine revelation, listen well (for the
paradox continues). God initiates this relationship with us so that we might relate to His initiative. He seeks us first, that we might seek Him at last. If we seek Him, as scripture says, with “heart and mind and soul and strength," we will find Him. When we find Him, we will lose ourselves in Him. And, in that loss, we will gain everything.

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JESUS AND THE STICK MAN

Imagine a stick man, existing completely in a two dimensional world. His whole reality is height and width; he has no idea that depth exists. As you gaze at the piece of paper on which he is drawn, he does not know that you are there. You can place you nose a quarter of an inch from him, and he still would not be aware of you, for you are in a dimension (depth) that he cannot perceive. Even if you pressed your nose against the paper so that he could sense you, he would see only a large dot or circle, a far cry from what your nose is really like. Because he lives in two dimensions, he cannot fathom any other dimensions or, at best, can fathom them incompletely.

Atheists claim that we humans live totally in a physical or natural world. They assume, because they cannot sense a spiritual world, that it does not exist. But does this mean that a spiritual dimension cannot exist? Could God be a quarter inch from them and they not know it?

Other people, unlike the atheists, claim to have sensed God's existence. But they are still physical beings living in a physical universe. Isn't what they are seeing just a vague glimpse of who God really is?

But what if God, the spiritual, took on physical form? Wouldn't we humans then be able to understand Him, relate to Him, and reverence Him as never before? Behold, the beauty of the incarnation! God became flesh so that we could know Him better. (Wouldn't a stick figure understand you a lot more it you became a stick figure yourself?)

Common Sense Theology

"DEAR GOD, YOU SURE DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE" - Day 52

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