Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Eastern Europe in 1473. He grew up, as a mathematician and scholar, in an age when "everyone knew" the sun revolved around the earth. He studied astronomy in Krakow, and probably began to take it seriously in about 1497 (five years after Christopher Columbus's famous voyage). He began tracking the movements of the moon, planets and stars, becoming more and more convinced that common knowledge was wrong. Finally, in 1543, just at the end of his life, his book showing mathematical proof of the sun as the center of our galaxy was finally published. Today, we take his ideas for granted, but Nicolaus studied for nearly 50 years to understand, refine and publish a revolutionary idea.
We all have ideas, like the one Copernicus overturned, that aren't correct. In order to change those ideas, we need to spend time studying the truth and learning to re-order our thinking processes. It may not take 50 years, but it will take time and effort. Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 to 'let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.'
Jesus himself said in John 8:32, "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Which truth did he mean that would set us free? He also said "I am the truth" in John 14:6, so I believe that he was talking about himself, and truth dealing with himself -- not mathematical or theoretical truth, or merely memorizing a set of Bible verses.
So the question is, how can we learn that truth? We Christians believe the Bible is our spiritual guidebook; and we also believe that Jesus Christ is the full, complete and perfect revelation of God (John 14:9, for instance). So as we read the word of God, we will know the truth about Jesus and thus about God's plans for us and the way he provided for us in Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 says "We do this [endure in the Christian life] by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."
There are many warnings in the Bible to not be deceived, distracted and hurt by focusing on things that don't profit. So for us, the way we can keep our focus, and know the truth, is to focus on Christ and learn about him. There's a lot in the Bible about him; I think you'll find that the entire Bible focuses on him. So as we focus on him, study about him, and see the truth revealed in him and through him, God will "change the way we think" and we will know the truth. Let's get to it! Need help? Just ask!
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Leaves
The Lovely Joanne and I have spent parts of our day off, the last couple of weeks, raking leaves. (It's that time of year!) We only have a few medium-sized trees in our yard, but the lady down the street has this enormous maple that has shed about 20 bags so far and still going strong.
So who cares about leaves? I mean, won't they just decompose and add to the soil? That's what they do in the forest, right? We could all save a lot of effort. True, but surburbia isn't a forest. We have this thing about green grass, and lots of it; and lawns that look like the top of a billiard table don't grow in the middle of a forest. Those take lots of water, fertilizer and sunlight, which means keeping the leaves off. Besides that, there are sidewalks and mail carriers and neighbors to consider. Wet leaves get slippery, and there's no sense getting your ankle twisted when there's all that snow to shovel this winter.
Those who have followed this series for long know there's a spiritual point in here somewhere. And you'd be right! The scriptures show that we should 'be careful where we walk' (Psa. 119:59, Prov. 14:15, etc). They also show that God directs our steps (Prov. 15:9, 20:24) and that we should also follow the example of Jesus himself (1 Pet. 2:21) and 'walk as he walked' (1 John 1:6-7). So one could argue that keeping 'spiritual slippery leaves off the sidewalk' would be a good course of action. Watching out for sin, and actively putting God's word into our minds would help us avoid the buildup of sin.
And keeping an eye out for the dead leaves of sin or wasteful habits building up in our lives would be helpful too. Consider a similar thought in Mark 4:18-19 in the parable of the Sower: "The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced."
Make no mistake: our best efforts to understand and follow God in his word do not create or maintain our salvation. But the mind of Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit in us, helps us be aware of what's coming into our minds, and what's coming out of our mouths and in our actions. We ought to be responsive to that Spirit. We can have a truly fruitful spiritual life, and a happy one, or we can get lazy and let the leaves build up all over the place -- using leaves as the analogy for sin and unhealthy spiritual habits -- which leads to problems in our lives instead of the fruit God would have us bear.
God will sometimes get out the leaf rake of discipline (Heb 12:5-11) to help us see where we've slacked off in following Jesus. That just clears the way for more growth, even though at the time it's painful. If you want to meditate on that whole idea while you rake some leaves, I have a rake you can borrow.
So who cares about leaves? I mean, won't they just decompose and add to the soil? That's what they do in the forest, right? We could all save a lot of effort. True, but surburbia isn't a forest. We have this thing about green grass, and lots of it; and lawns that look like the top of a billiard table don't grow in the middle of a forest. Those take lots of water, fertilizer and sunlight, which means keeping the leaves off. Besides that, there are sidewalks and mail carriers and neighbors to consider. Wet leaves get slippery, and there's no sense getting your ankle twisted when there's all that snow to shovel this winter.
Those who have followed this series for long know there's a spiritual point in here somewhere. And you'd be right! The scriptures show that we should 'be careful where we walk' (Psa. 119:59, Prov. 14:15, etc). They also show that God directs our steps (Prov. 15:9, 20:24) and that we should also follow the example of Jesus himself (1 Pet. 2:21) and 'walk as he walked' (1 John 1:6-7). So one could argue that keeping 'spiritual slippery leaves off the sidewalk' would be a good course of action. Watching out for sin, and actively putting God's word into our minds would help us avoid the buildup of sin.
And keeping an eye out for the dead leaves of sin or wasteful habits building up in our lives would be helpful too. Consider a similar thought in Mark 4:18-19 in the parable of the Sower: "The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced."
Make no mistake: our best efforts to understand and follow God in his word do not create or maintain our salvation. But the mind of Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit in us, helps us be aware of what's coming into our minds, and what's coming out of our mouths and in our actions. We ought to be responsive to that Spirit. We can have a truly fruitful spiritual life, and a happy one, or we can get lazy and let the leaves build up all over the place -- using leaves as the analogy for sin and unhealthy spiritual habits -- which leads to problems in our lives instead of the fruit God would have us bear.
God will sometimes get out the leaf rake of discipline (Heb 12:5-11) to help us see where we've slacked off in following Jesus. That just clears the way for more growth, even though at the time it's painful. If you want to meditate on that whole idea while you rake some leaves, I have a rake you can borrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
