Tag: Faith

There Were Shepherds in the Field

By Bob Beanblossom

27 November 2017

It seems to me that we don’t give the shepherds who received the message of Jesus’ birth the attention that they deserve. Not because they were special. Far from it. Because they weren’t—they weren’t politicians, theologians, business executives, but just plain folks. In many ways they were like us, not very special in man’s sight, though we hate to admit it; not among the elite, though we sometimes attach ourselves vicariously to successful teams or brands; not among the who’s who directories in our fields, though we are hard working and provide as best as we can for our families; not even among the most faithful in our churches, as examples to our own families. Just average folk. For some reason, God chose these shepherds from all the people in the world to receive the announcement of the most important event of all time–the birth of the birth of God’s own Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Without second-guessing God, and meaning no disrespect to the shepherds, here is a paraphrase that I hope will cause you to go beyond the language to the hearts of these men who lived to protect and raise their flocks that they might in time be sacrificed to the uses of man. I trust the dialect will set a scene, a mood, rather than detract from the message. If you find it offensive, then please go directly to Scripture and read it again there, because it is the story of God’s love for each of us.

There Were Shepherds in the Field

Luke 2:1-20

Out in the country, there were some shepherds watch’en their flocks all night, jus’ like every other night for the last thousand years and more. They gathered in the open hill country to protect their sheep from wolves and other varmints out looking for a square meal. The night was quiet and peaceful. The shepherds talked quietly as men talk around a campfire. All of a sudden, sumthin’ turned the night sky bright as day; it lit up the whole field and they were really skeered. It was a lone angel. Just one, but more than they had ever seen. What was strange was it didn’t bother the sheep at all. He told us to settle down, he didn’t mean us no harm. In fact, he had some really good news: over yonder in the city, a Baby was just borned; not just a baby, but The Baby, the One who would bring a heap of peace and joy to the whole world, even us. This here Baby is the one that God promised the old folks years ago: His name is Jesus Christ, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, greater than Caesar and David and even Solomon. Sounds sorta like something the priests talk about that our great prophet Isaiah said years ago.

That angel told us to go on up to the city and see for yerself. My friends and I will look after your sheep fer awhile. I know it’s crowded over thar with the festival going on and all, but it’ll be worth the walk. He won’t look like much. Just a new baby. He don’t have a great throne and bunches of servants and lots of fine stuff. He don’t even have His own room. There weren’t no rooms left for his folks—jus common workin’ folks–with the festival and all, so they are hanging out in a stable for now. Jus’ then, that angel brought on a whole army of his buddies. Couldn’t even count ’em thar was so many. They sang a song for us, went like, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” He told us to git on now—they’ed welcome us. That sounded good, but those city folk didn’t think much of us shepherds. We kinda smelled like our sheep and didn’t really dress up to snuff for them. Then the angel and his friends jus’ up and left.  Did I tell ya that they just kind’a hung out up in the air—they didn’t walk up on us but jus’ floated around. Jus’ appeared and disappeared. And he told us not to be skeered. Yeah, right. A hungry bear skeers me—me and only my long stick and sling ta change his mind. That’s nothin’ like how that angel and his friends made me feel. Skeered—if you only knew!

Anyways, after they left and it was quiet and dark and all again, we kind’a wondered if we had had a weird dream or somethin.’ But we all saw and heered the same thing, so off we go to King David’s city. Warn’t far. We could see it on the hill with the walls and fine buildings and all. Didn’t see the angel around, but he said he’d watch our sheep. We believed him about the baby, so we believed him about the sheep. After all, angels are from God and He don’t lie.

So, we took off, up the road to town. The gate was open, people everywhere. No one seemed to know anything about this new baby, but we found one of the inns that had a young mother and her husband stuck in their stable, just in from Bethlehem, and just in time to have a brand new baby boy. There they was, sharin’ the stable with the animals. Mary—that was her name—told us that her baby was the Child of God Himself, not of Joseph, her husband. He didn’t seem concerned. He tended to Mary and the baby like all was normal. The baby didn’t look like a king, just a little baby. But there was somethin’ special about Him, just like there was somethin’ special about the whole night. We tole them thanks for lettin’ us see Him, and left out. We tole everyone who would listen about what had gone on that night—what we seen and heard. Some believed us, some thought we wus just drunk shepherds come inta’ town for some action when we shoulda’ been out in the fields with our sheep. But we knew better. We got back down to our flocks and all was well. The angel had looked after them just like he said he would. We wus still kinda’ excited: the angel and his buddies; the trek into the city when we should’a been with our flocks; seeing the Baby and talking with His mother; telling folks all about what had happened. We kinda’ carried on a bit.

Gave us lots to think about. Like whar the priests and those other important folks were? Didn’t see no Roman soldiers. Figured they might be upset when they heered about a Jewish king. Why us—a bunch of shepherds that city folks try to avoid? But it was true. We wus thar. We know. We seen the face of God and He looked us right in the eye. Glory to God in the highest. We ain’t never gonna be the same.

Evolution–Incredible Worldview

by Bob Beanblossomm
27 September 2017
It seems to me that the more I consider evolution, the more confused I am. The evolutionist believes that all life, including man, originated by chance from pre-existing inorganic elements (primarily Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen, but including many more) that somehow got together and combined to form organic lifeforms that could sustain themselves:
1) that could exist in the climatic conditions that existed,
2) breathing the air that just happened to exist, or being able to extract oxygen from the water that just happened to be there,
3) by locating, identifying, and eating whatever ‘food’ just happened to exist (which themselves, had to evolve before they could be eaten),
4) by being able to extract nutrients and disposing of waste from those food sources,
5) by having another of their species readily available, of the opposite gender, that also evolved accidentally with whom to mate so that the species could reproduce (gender confusion would have been species suicide every time evolution produced a new species and the process started all over),
6) and on, and on, and on. 
 
My imagination just isn’t that good. Is yours? Remember–it all occurs by chance: chemicals getting together to form not just complex organic compounds, but essential specialized self-sustaining reproducible systems and highly specialized non-interchangeable organs, ready and able to replicate themselves on the cellular level and on the being level reproducing each “after his kind.,” yet morphing now and then to produce a complete and new species. Just because, I guess.
 
Sorry, I’ll just have to stick with Genesis 1 and 2, and a lot more between Genesis and Revelation. Not to mention observation–just seeing what I see.
 
And we haven’t even considered where that first pile of chemicals (and the earth they occupy and form) came from

On Their Knees

By Bob Beanblossom

25 September 2017

It seems to me that I’m missing something. Again.

I am not a sports fan. I don’t watch sports on TV or follow any teams or players.

That said, it is hard to miss the current hoo-rah over players who fail to show any national pride by not standing for the National Anthem. These, as I understand it, are those guys making millions of dollars for themselves, their teams, and their leagues while playing in taxpayer-subsidized stadiums.

I got the part that they are protesting. After all, I went through the 60s.

The part I am missing is, as usual, responsible, thorough, factual reporting that presents a balanced picture of events. I know. I’m expecting too much of modern “journalism.”

But, what I’m missing is this–and it may well have been reported. How many fans in the stands did not stand for the Anthem? Is this a protest by the populace, or just the elite who are somehow not getting everything they want when they want it the way they want it. You know, the millionaires who spend themselves into bankruptcy before they even retire.

I understand that these players are a minority. Most of us of any color, religion, age, gender, educational level, or whatever, will never have the opportunity to garner the fame (or notoriety) or income that they have achieved. I do wonder if the ability to beat someone else to a pulp legally is a meaningful criterion for listening to their political and social agendas. Their opinion on shoes, maybe. But their considered opinion of the American system that has just had an eight-year black president, black CEOs and other top execs of major corporations, college presidents and tenured faculty, not to mention all sorts of sports idols–well, it seems to be a bit faulty.

Back to the question: How many regular Joes and Janes in the stands refused to honor our National Anthem and the thousands of men and women over far more than 200 years who were sacrificed so they could freely protest and succeed in their chosen field.

This is not to say, of course, that our nation does not need to take to our knees. We desperately need to get on our knees before God and seek His will and leadership in our individual lives and for our nation. These folks, however, don’t seem to be in quite that mode. That just suggests that we need to learn from them and not follow in their ways, but lead our families, communities, and nation in following our God.

The Center

by Bob Beanblossom

10 August 2017

It seems to me that when we begin to think that we are the center of the universe, that everything revolves around us, and that everything should work for our pleasure, we should remember who is really at the center, the heart of it all:

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11).

Imagine that. There is somebody bigger than you and me. And, although we are …part of His eternal plan, we are only a part of it.

Yet we are such an important part of it that He wants us to be a good part of it forever. To that end He provided a solution to reconcile our sinful ways with His righteousness: read John 3:16-17 again: “For God so loved . . .

Got an Answer?

by Bob Beanblossom

30 August 2017

It seems to me that as we, at least occasionally, reflect on our world and the meaning of life, that we can get bogged down in detail and miss the bigger issues. As Christians, we can accumulate a quiver of Scriptural “proof texts” with no idea of the immediate context, the subject of the book, or even the message of the Book.

The Apostle Peter said that we should be ready to answer every man who questioned the reason for our Christian hope (1 Peter 3:15). If we answer tha…t question in one or two sentences, we might be a little shallow. Here study and reflection must join with prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be effective. If our message is against other worldviews while not able to support our own, we have a problem.

A big part of our answer is whether our worldview, as expressed by our lifestyle, matches what we say or teach. As John Valk noted in “Christianity through a Worldview Lens, “‘practicing what one preaches” is an enormous challenge for all humans.”

The answer, according to Valk, comes from “critical and thoughtful reflection, comparisons, and even some audacious assertions.” In other words, it comes from the study demanded in 2 Timothy 2:15, and walking the walk as commanded in Ephesians 4:1-3.

The God-hole

by Bob Beanblossom

9 September 2017

It seems to me that people indeed have a God-hole deep in their beings, one that cries out to be filled one way or another. It is a driving need that can be suppressed, but only by substitution.

If we have not filled this need in the only rational and viable way possible–through accepting the salvation offered by Jesus Christ, then we invent gods to denigrate as we substitute ourselves as supreme beings: rational, wise, and adequate.

The gods we invent and hold up as the g…ods of others are small and petty, inadequate for the task. We, on the other hand, exercise only the purest and noblest rationality as we judge the world from our pedestal in the light of our superior wisdom.

In the end, in those dark quiet moments, the doubts and fears of our own inadequacies haunt us.

The answer is clear but not appealing even in our doubts: surrender our all to the God of Creation. The Apostle Paul even called himself a prisoner of his Lord. In our world that is against the demands of rationalistic Me-ism.

That same Apostle also wrote of one of the benefits of surrendering to God: it brings pease that passes all understanding. The fears of self-doubt are replaced with a deep inner peace that can’t be displaced even in the reality of an imperfect and sometimes devastating world.

The choice is clear: millions of individual Selfs as false centers of the universe (a logical impossibility), or the God who created and sustains everything by the word of His power, and who cares enough about you to provide a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus.

Proof of Evolution

by Bob Beanblossom

12 September 2017

It seems to me that if the best of modern science is not able to create a viable lifeform (a being that can live, grow, and reproduce) from a handful of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen atoms (the components of all organic compounds) that we can draw two complementary conclusions:

1) evolution as creating life from those elements by chance, no matter how much time is allotted, simply is not a realistic option.

2) intelligent design is the only option, and the designer must be mo…re intelligent and better equipped than the best that humanity has to offer.

Since evolutionists promote their worldview as scientific fact, I simply ask for one bit of scientific evidence (not theory or computer simulations) that proves me wrong. Just one.

And, I will stipulate micro evolution that is actually variation, such as the constant adaptation of virus that makes them difficult to control. But even here, with the ongoing adaptation, a virus is still a virus.

Just one verifiable species to species change that is macro evolution. The kind that makes monkeys out of rational men

Science and Reason

by Bob Beanblossom

20 September 2017

It seems to me that my atheist friends who stand on science and reason alone might not have used logic on their own propositions.

Dismissing religion without discussion, they claim that they are totally grounded in fact and reason. No need for faith.

Yet they continually give merchants a piece of plastic believing that the merchant will accept it in lieu of currency, that a computerized financial system will process it as intended, and that by some means the transaction wil…l balance and all will be satisfied.

That’s not faith? What is it? It is not science–there can be no evidence of a future event. It is not reason, for the user does not have all of the details of the process to critically evaluate it.

It is an expectation based upon experience and incomplete knowledge. But, that is exactly what faith is.

The next question is, why would rational people want to deny faith. I can’t answer that one.

Hurting

30 May 2017

By Andrew Murray

Adapted by Bob Beanblossom

It seems to me that God, in His infinite wisdom, lets us share in the relationship He has with another now and then. He shows us that we are not alone.

Are you confused and hurting? Have you suffered a great loss? Here are some words from Andrew Murray, a missionary to South Africa in the 1800s.

Consider, he says:

“First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this strait place (I am suffering this trial, this pain–Bob): in that fact I will rest.

“Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.

“Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.

“Last, in His good time He can bring me out again–how and when (only) He knows.

Let me say I am here,

(1) By God’s appointment,

(2) In His keeping,

(3) Under His training,

(4) For His time.”

In another place, Murray added a fitting conclusion:

“Give yourself time to be silent and quiet before Him, waiting to receive, through the Spirit, the assurance of His presence with you, His working in you. Take time to read His word as in His presence . . . .”

We are still and always human. Grief, sorrow, pain–all are real and poignant, slow to dissipate, never to fully leave.

Murray speaks of a draining of self that is replaced by the filling of God the Holy Spirit. He spoke not from theory but experience. His experience–individual and unique to each of us–repeated countless times daily by those who can follow him in submission to our God. Perhaps “submerge” would be a better word for that action. He says, “Lo, I am with you always (Matthew 28:20a); also, Look for Me first ((Matthew 6:33). My grace (and His alone) is sufficient for you–for all of your confusion, hurting, and sense of loss. Completely sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

 

 

 

Chained Down

by Bob Beanblossom

24 April 2017

 

It seems to me that sometimes we get chained down in a position that we can’t support, trapped before we even know it.  This happens when we start following men (or women) instead of God: we hang our religion on partially or wholly unsubstantiated doctrine or dogma; it often sounds good, and makes sense, but . .

There are great ongoing debates about all sorts of issues within the Christian faith–often dividing those who should not be divided. The Scripture is not as clear about some issues as we would like. This leads legitimately to differing opinions. We often hear that “we stand together on the main issues, but agree to disagree on others;” all the while standing separate, divided, sometimes to the point of declaring that “our” way is the only way: “then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). While we are busy “not” arguing among ourselves, lost souls are dying: “How can ye believe, which receive honor one from another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? (John 5:44). Satan has succeeded in distracting us from our Great Commission, and enticed us to offend some needlessly. Paul taught, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some (1 Corinthians 9:22b). Paul held fast the essentials while not getting hung up in the unknowns or in non-essential issues.

Different–conflicting–understandings are not new. The Epistles, those letters to various workers and churches in the first century, were mostly about actively divisive issues–those Christians were no more perfect (nor less so) than we are. The inspired men who wrote the New Testament always wrote to heal, to bring together under the Word, and not to further divide: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent” (John 6:29).  All issues are not clear. We might prefer a rule book, another set of Commandments chiseled in stone. The problem is, that approach didn’t work. Man could not (and cannot) live up to God’s standards.

He has given us given a new approach , an era of living within and under God’s grace: that amazing, unmerited gift of salvation made possible only and completely through the sacrificial and atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: is its the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8). That same grace sustains us in our Christian walk–to the extent that we allow. There is no limit to His grace, the limit is wholly within us when we fail to act by faith in concert with His will: “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). We fail when we substitute me-me-me for the great I AM.

Now, back to those differences: either Scripture is the primary authority, or whatever exists is simply not Christianity. Some things, such as the doctrines of sin and salvation, are pretty easy to understand, even if not to accept. Others are much more difficult, with the scripture itself making understanding difficult. Here we must remember that we, in our finite beings, cannot fully understand an infinite God: faith is the word given to our submitting our understanding to Him. Given His authorship, these difficulties are no reason for division, for following paths of opinion rather than Scripture. This is in no way intended to discount the value–even necessity–of doctrine derived from the theological study of Scripture by prayerful, God-loving Christians. These will humbly admit and note their shortcomings and questions as they attempt to clarify and organize the Word that we may find it more understandable and applicable to our lives.

Paul, correcting the Corinthian church, admonished: “you saith, I am of Paul; and I am of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? (I Corinthians 1:12-13):  insert your own favorite religious authority here. We must be ever cautious that we are following Christ and the clear word of Scripture, not unsupported doctrinal statements of a church or individual. Some things we just won’t be able understand until our “faith is made sight,” that is, until we see Jesus face-to-face. That’s ok. He wrote the Book. He made us. He understands our weaknesses. In turn, we did not write the Book and cannot fill in the blanks; we did not create Him and should not attempt to explain what He did not; and lastly, the weakness is within us, not Him. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).