I've thought that wishing someone luck was pointless for a Christian. You're about to take a hard test and someone wishes you luck. Well, if God's in control, there really isn't such a thing as luck. I wonder though, if God controls even those kinds of things. The question of whether luck exists or not is somewhat inconsequential but it begs a deeper one, just how much control does God have? You say God predestines everything, well within that, is it just the end result is the same, but are there multiple paths toward that? Does God really control what college we go to, what job we have, perhaps even small things like what we eat for breakfast? Is breakfast too small a thing, but then at what point do we draw the line? You say it's common sense, I say a meal changed the course of history when Esau sold his birthright for some food. If we have different standards for how we treat different things, what defines that? College is a huge thing so God must control that. Is it really? I hear a study done that people who made it in life (had lots of money) had more in common in their character than in the schools they went to.
We pray and we agonize over large decisions, but in the short term, the seemingly unimportant stuff, we do whatever we want (and everyone's definition of large and unimportant is different). I think it would do me lots of good, every hour, if I asked God, "God, how should I spend this next hour?" I think that in itself will solve a lot of our problems in the Christian walk. But is that what God expects of us? When we give our lives to Jesus, that means not just our soul and our material things, but our time as well, what we spend it doing. Perhaps, being constantly in prayer is how you pull something like that off. If you're in constant contact with the Father, then you'll always be connected to His mind and heart for you and people.
Regardless, wishing someone luck is kinda a dumb thing when you could say "Go with God" or "God be with you" or "praying for you." I guess those things are weird to say sometimes... Perhaps people think that it's not such a big deal that it needs prayer. I've got that reaction before when people are like "I'm okay, you don't have to pray for me" kinda thing. Are there some issues that are too small to pray about? The more I think about this, the more I say no because we don't know how things are gonna turn out. You eat one wrong thing and that gets you sick, which sets off a whole chain of events that you have no idea how it'll turn out (Maybe God uses it for good, but you don't want to get into bad situations just for that). All in all, perhaps better to just bless people instead of wishing luck. Can't go wrong with the former.
Test Case
Me: What's up man?
Friend: Got a crazy hard test today.
Me: aww man good luck on that.
Friend: thanks I'll need it
Me: What's up man?
Friend: Got a crazy hard test today.
Me: aww man... Go with God
Friend: thanks I'll... wait what did you say?
or something like that? haha regardless, maybe I'll start saying that anyway.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Why I think "The Message" is a bad translation
(Psalm 23:1-4)
King James Version
1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
New International Version
1. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Message Bible
1. God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
2. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.
3. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
4. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.
Verse 3: You exchange restoration of the soul, paths of righteousness, and for His names sake for Your word is true, catching breath, and sending in the right direction. I believe the Hebrew word for soul can also mean a breathing animal so I'm assuming restore soul = catch breath, but I think there is something profound that you lose when you change it. Both infer rest, but the restoration of soul goes beyond just the physical. It implies a spiritual restoration as well. Paths of righteousness = right direction. Righteousness implies something very specific, that is, the association with that word are the upright and the ones who please God and live by faith. You lose that connotation when you just say the right direction. God doesn't just direct us in the right direction, He does, but it's more than that. Righteousness implies a moral uprightness that is in direct contrast to sin and that those who are righteous are on the other end of the spectrum of sinners. Right direction doesn't say that. For His name's sake = True to your word? The Hebrew I looked up says that those words mean something like "on account of His honor" but that seems to be more true to the For His name's sake. It changes the meaning too, why does God restore us? Not because of us, but because of Him.
Verse 4: I will fear no evil = I'm not afraid. I think it's very significant what you're fearing and to leave out the fear of evil changes the meaning a lot. We can fear many things, I mean we're supposed to fear God, but it's a very different fear than fearing evil. One shows faith while the other shows lack of faith and that distinction is lost in the Message translation. Also, it clearly leaves out the rod (which was used to hit the sheep) and only includes the staff or crook that was the more gentle form of getting the sheep to do stuff. It waters down the nature of God, yes we have gentle God forgiving and loving to the thousandth generation, but wait, what about God who strikes out against injustice and oppression? The God who's anger flares out against sin, who's wrath no one can stand.
(Psalm 24:3-4)
New International Version
3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. [or swear falsely]
The Message Bible
3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.
Verse 4: The idea of lifting up your heart to an idol is very different from not cheating or seducing. Are both of those forms of idol worship? I'd say they can be, but the thing is, we can forgo cheating and seducing, but still worship idols. This translation leaves out a lot and you lose so much in these changes.
One more thing, I've not seen a Message Bible that includes the footnotes that Bibles normally include, such that all the references to the Old Testament disappear and those are key for the context of the quotation being used. These are just a few examples of what I think is probably a trend throughout its texts (more examples will be examined in later posts)
The thing about the Message is that it does a lot of the interpretation for us already, which I think is dangerous in its own right. Don't get me wrong, I think there are a lot of parts of The Message that are good accurate translation and do a good job of displaying the message in contemporary language, but you lose too much for me to ever consider using it for any kind of Bible study. In fact, the things that do a good job most of the time are the hardest to point out as being bad. But it's in those details, which turn things from truth into lies. Because a partial truth is no truth at all.
King James Version
1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
New International Version
1. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Message Bible
1. God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
2. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.
3. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
4. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.
Verse 3: You exchange restoration of the soul, paths of righteousness, and for His names sake for Your word is true, catching breath, and sending in the right direction. I believe the Hebrew word for soul can also mean a breathing animal so I'm assuming restore soul = catch breath, but I think there is something profound that you lose when you change it. Both infer rest, but the restoration of soul goes beyond just the physical. It implies a spiritual restoration as well. Paths of righteousness = right direction. Righteousness implies something very specific, that is, the association with that word are the upright and the ones who please God and live by faith. You lose that connotation when you just say the right direction. God doesn't just direct us in the right direction, He does, but it's more than that. Righteousness implies a moral uprightness that is in direct contrast to sin and that those who are righteous are on the other end of the spectrum of sinners. Right direction doesn't say that. For His name's sake = True to your word? The Hebrew I looked up says that those words mean something like "on account of His honor" but that seems to be more true to the For His name's sake. It changes the meaning too, why does God restore us? Not because of us, but because of Him.
Verse 4: I will fear no evil = I'm not afraid. I think it's very significant what you're fearing and to leave out the fear of evil changes the meaning a lot. We can fear many things, I mean we're supposed to fear God, but it's a very different fear than fearing evil. One shows faith while the other shows lack of faith and that distinction is lost in the Message translation. Also, it clearly leaves out the rod (which was used to hit the sheep) and only includes the staff or crook that was the more gentle form of getting the sheep to do stuff. It waters down the nature of God, yes we have gentle God forgiving and loving to the thousandth generation, but wait, what about God who strikes out against injustice and oppression? The God who's anger flares out against sin, who's wrath no one can stand.
(Psalm 24:3-4)
New International Version
3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. [or swear falsely]
The Message Bible
3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.
Verse 4: The idea of lifting up your heart to an idol is very different from not cheating or seducing. Are both of those forms of idol worship? I'd say they can be, but the thing is, we can forgo cheating and seducing, but still worship idols. This translation leaves out a lot and you lose so much in these changes.
One more thing, I've not seen a Message Bible that includes the footnotes that Bibles normally include, such that all the references to the Old Testament disappear and those are key for the context of the quotation being used. These are just a few examples of what I think is probably a trend throughout its texts (more examples will be examined in later posts)
The thing about the Message is that it does a lot of the interpretation for us already, which I think is dangerous in its own right. Don't get me wrong, I think there are a lot of parts of The Message that are good accurate translation and do a good job of displaying the message in contemporary language, but you lose too much for me to ever consider using it for any kind of Bible study. In fact, the things that do a good job most of the time are the hardest to point out as being bad. But it's in those details, which turn things from truth into lies. Because a partial truth is no truth at all.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Thankfulness
Why am I so blessed? When I think about people that are thankful to me, I am always amazed. I don't think there is any feeling like gratitude to you. I don't think there is any feeling like being indebted to someone. But it amazes me, when people are thankful to me. It's not like I don't expect people to be thankful, but just not for things I've done or who I am. I don't think I've ever done anything really large for anyone and perhaps the things that I feel like people should thank me for, no one has, but the things which I pass off as meaningless have been the most meaningful.
Put simply, I don't feel worthy of it.
I think it makes me feel guilty. Of what though? I don't do much... Shane Claiborne says that to start making the world better, we do small acts with a lot of love. I don't feel like I have a lot of love. Perhaps that's what they mean when they say the love of God is reflected in you whether you like it or not haha. People used to say that I cheered them up without meaning to. I guess that kind of things still happens a lot haha.
I gave a cheeseburger to a man lying in a pile of trash and then prayed for him. He also prayed and thanked God for me and when I opened my eyes, I saw tears in his. Guilt... I see what I did, and then I see what I could have done... what Jesus would have done and I see the vast difference. I see so much potential in my friends. I think one reason for guilt is that I've never been able to be honest with a lot of that. I believe in them so much and I feel like I've never been able to express that correctly. haha but maybe because I believe in them, it comes out in my actions. Jesus was right when He said the overflow of the heart is our actions. Perhaps more than just our actions, but the way we're perceived is affected by it too.
I'm thankful to so many people. I'm a bit embarrassed about some of it because I think it's such a small thing that I would be so grateful for. Perhaps I should let them know more often. I wish I could help people more. I can't, but God can. I wish I trusted in God enough to tell people with confidence that He is the way. If God can't do it, then there's no hope. If my God can't do it, then I need to get a new God, the Christian God who can. Will I ever understand how much He's done for me? Thankfulness. To be thankful at all times.
I've come to the conclusion (mentally) that I should be dead right now. You see many cases of God striking down someone for doing one sin. Uzziah putting his hand on the Ark, Ananias and Sephira lying to Peter, Aaron's sons offering false fire on the altar, Judas betraying Christ (although I wonder if these acts were just a culmination of bad living). The wages of sin truly are death and if that's how it is, I should have been struck down long ago. 22 years of borrowed time, time that I shouldn't have lived. Am I in debt? Or should I be thankful? Right now I feel a bit of both, but knowing I've received mercy is something good.
Thankfulness. I think it's a good reminder that people rely on me, but also when I am thankful to God, it reminds me that I rely on Him. I wish people wouldn't thank me, but thank God instead. He's the reason I am who I am. I wish I had the courage to say that more often. When I hear people say that sometimes, it comes off really fake sounding (but perhaps that says more about my heart than the other person). Every second I live is a gift, something I don't consider very often. I'm thankful that people are thankful to me and for other people. I'm thankful for what God has done for me. That's a good place to start.
Put simply, I don't feel worthy of it.
I think it makes me feel guilty. Of what though? I don't do much... Shane Claiborne says that to start making the world better, we do small acts with a lot of love. I don't feel like I have a lot of love. Perhaps that's what they mean when they say the love of God is reflected in you whether you like it or not haha. People used to say that I cheered them up without meaning to. I guess that kind of things still happens a lot haha.
I gave a cheeseburger to a man lying in a pile of trash and then prayed for him. He also prayed and thanked God for me and when I opened my eyes, I saw tears in his. Guilt... I see what I did, and then I see what I could have done... what Jesus would have done and I see the vast difference. I see so much potential in my friends. I think one reason for guilt is that I've never been able to be honest with a lot of that. I believe in them so much and I feel like I've never been able to express that correctly. haha but maybe because I believe in them, it comes out in my actions. Jesus was right when He said the overflow of the heart is our actions. Perhaps more than just our actions, but the way we're perceived is affected by it too.
I'm thankful to so many people. I'm a bit embarrassed about some of it because I think it's such a small thing that I would be so grateful for. Perhaps I should let them know more often. I wish I could help people more. I can't, but God can. I wish I trusted in God enough to tell people with confidence that He is the way. If God can't do it, then there's no hope. If my God can't do it, then I need to get a new God, the Christian God who can. Will I ever understand how much He's done for me? Thankfulness. To be thankful at all times.
I've come to the conclusion (mentally) that I should be dead right now. You see many cases of God striking down someone for doing one sin. Uzziah putting his hand on the Ark, Ananias and Sephira lying to Peter, Aaron's sons offering false fire on the altar, Judas betraying Christ (although I wonder if these acts were just a culmination of bad living). The wages of sin truly are death and if that's how it is, I should have been struck down long ago. 22 years of borrowed time, time that I shouldn't have lived. Am I in debt? Or should I be thankful? Right now I feel a bit of both, but knowing I've received mercy is something good.
Thankfulness. I think it's a good reminder that people rely on me, but also when I am thankful to God, it reminds me that I rely on Him. I wish people wouldn't thank me, but thank God instead. He's the reason I am who I am. I wish I had the courage to say that more often. When I hear people say that sometimes, it comes off really fake sounding (but perhaps that says more about my heart than the other person). Every second I live is a gift, something I don't consider very often. I'm thankful that people are thankful to me and for other people. I'm thankful for what God has done for me. That's a good place to start.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Beginning of the Universe
When I think about it, I've always been fascinated by astronomy. Space, the great unknown, the last frontier. It's marvelous, it's awe inspiring, it's big beyond anything else. The universe. The earth spinning around the sun with nothing to support it. Well the Bible tells you that the earth hangs on nothing (see Job 26) haha, we didn't have to go out into space to figure that one out. There are so many mysteries with space, so many unknowns. What's up there? What's beyond the observable universe? Heaven perhaps? Another dimension? (is that Biblical?)
An interesting article I looked up on google talks about what Astronomers say about the beginning of the universe. The interesting thing is scientists don't have an answer to what happened before then. Or rather they don't have an answer that science can prove.
I've always said two people can look at the exact same thing and walk away with totally different conclusions. I'm sure there are people that say the big bang either supports or disproves religion. Talk to me about sentience, how is it that we come to think, to speak, to live. You gather up all the different elements that make up the human body, compose flesh, even organs perhaps, but how do you make it live? Life breeds life, humans can't create life from death, but God can. The interesting thing is where science doesn't have an answer, religion does. It may not be an answer that satisfies all, but it still answers the question.
Where did everything come from? God made it.
Where do life, sentience, and living come from? God breaths life into people.
Where did God come from? He was always there.
That doesn't make sense, something had to create God. Well no, He isn't restricted by the rules of this existence. Things like conservation of energy and mass, gravity, life, death, nature, etc. He exists, but not as we know existence. (what's interesting is that in the man Jesus, God subjected Himself to His own creation, it boggles my mind to think about that).
It may be a question that I'll never have the answer to. At least not on this side of eternity. Eternity is a really long time. In fact it's forever. It makes me wonder, why are things the way they are now? The child starving in the streets doesn't have time to ponder these things. He's concerned about surviving. The soldier fighting a war doesn't have time to ponder these things. He's concerned about surviving. The man on his deathbed, perhaps wishes he had pondered these things earlier in life and had lived according to eternity.
In a billion years, a lot of things won't matter. Money... Fame... Popularity... Positions... Grades... Jobs... Pleasure... Pain... Friends... What will last? Treasures in Heaven? What does that mean? One thing, I know God keeps in Heaven, the prayers of the saints. He doesn't keep your church attendance, He doesn't keep your preaching, He doesn't even keep your good deeds. (He keeps record of these things though). What causes a celebration in heaven? It's not when we get our dream job, or donate millions to charity or missions, or even when we overcome our sin. When the lost are found, when the dead come to life, that causes Heaven to celebrate. Even then, this life shouldn't be focused on evangelism, but on knowing the Father's heart, which leads to evangelism, but the latter without the former is powerless and meaningless.
A billion years is a long time... Eternity is even longer... It's really scary actually. I'm betting my eternity on this Christianity thing, no, on Jesus Christ. I've gone all in for Jesus, but at the same time, I hold back in this life. What is it to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul. We'll settle for little pieces of the world in exchange for our soul. Is it worth it? If we could see in light of eternity would we make a different choice?
An interesting article I looked up on google talks about what Astronomers say about the beginning of the universe. The interesting thing is scientists don't have an answer to what happened before then. Or rather they don't have an answer that science can prove.
But what happened before the Big Bang? That stops Astronomy Chair Craig
Hogan dead in his tracks. "What, you're not greedy or anything, are you?," he asks with incredulity that anyone would not be satisfied to know what happened over 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang.
And then he pauses, thoughtfully: "What happened before?," he muses. "No one could really know. All memory of that time is lost, everything from then is forgotten. That was a period of such catastrophic instability that it just doesn't remember what came before it. We probably could never find out, either. There just isn't any information left over from it."
Margon has addressed this question, too. As he told the Washington Post last
year, "One would think that if someone has trouble reconciling religion with physics,
they would like the Big Bang. It has beautiful elements of ultimate mystery."
What happened before the Big Bang is a very good question, even an important question. But because there’s no possibility of physical evidence from this period, it’s not a question that science can address.
I've always said two people can look at the exact same thing and walk away with totally different conclusions. I'm sure there are people that say the big bang either supports or disproves religion. Talk to me about sentience, how is it that we come to think, to speak, to live. You gather up all the different elements that make up the human body, compose flesh, even organs perhaps, but how do you make it live? Life breeds life, humans can't create life from death, but God can. The interesting thing is where science doesn't have an answer, religion does. It may not be an answer that satisfies all, but it still answers the question.
Where did everything come from? God made it.
Where do life, sentience, and living come from? God breaths life into people.
Where did God come from? He was always there.
That doesn't make sense, something had to create God. Well no, He isn't restricted by the rules of this existence. Things like conservation of energy and mass, gravity, life, death, nature, etc. He exists, but not as we know existence. (what's interesting is that in the man Jesus, God subjected Himself to His own creation, it boggles my mind to think about that).
It may be a question that I'll never have the answer to. At least not on this side of eternity. Eternity is a really long time. In fact it's forever. It makes me wonder, why are things the way they are now? The child starving in the streets doesn't have time to ponder these things. He's concerned about surviving. The soldier fighting a war doesn't have time to ponder these things. He's concerned about surviving. The man on his deathbed, perhaps wishes he had pondered these things earlier in life and had lived according to eternity.
In a billion years, a lot of things won't matter. Money... Fame... Popularity... Positions... Grades... Jobs... Pleasure... Pain... Friends... What will last? Treasures in Heaven? What does that mean? One thing, I know God keeps in Heaven, the prayers of the saints. He doesn't keep your church attendance, He doesn't keep your preaching, He doesn't even keep your good deeds. (He keeps record of these things though). What causes a celebration in heaven? It's not when we get our dream job, or donate millions to charity or missions, or even when we overcome our sin. When the lost are found, when the dead come to life, that causes Heaven to celebrate. Even then, this life shouldn't be focused on evangelism, but on knowing the Father's heart, which leads to evangelism, but the latter without the former is powerless and meaningless.
A billion years is a long time... Eternity is even longer... It's really scary actually. I'm betting my eternity on this Christianity thing, no, on Jesus Christ. I've gone all in for Jesus, but at the same time, I hold back in this life. What is it to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul. We'll settle for little pieces of the world in exchange for our soul. Is it worth it? If we could see in light of eternity would we make a different choice?
Friday, August 1, 2008
Evangelism
It's a hard thing to do. God knows, I've never been able to do it right. All my non-christian friends still aren't Christian. I feel like I've driven people away from Christ more often than helped them find Him attractive. My life doesn't exemplify what I believe it means to have faith. In my discouragement, sometimes I'm too quick to give up on people, and worse yet to give up on God. It's something I need to work on, not just in the reaching out aspect.
Will God do it? I think that's the wrong question to ask. At least with the heart that says, if no, then I won't bother with them, or if yes, then I don't need to do anything more.
Can God do it? And if the answer is yes, then we can never give up. If the answer is no, then you need to find a new God who is capable of saving people. Find the Christian God, the one Jesus talked about.
You see in America our God is about a foot tall. And you look around and you have friend that are 5'2, 5'6, 6'0. Our Tv's are 27 inches our computers are 19 inches. What kind of metaphor am I trying to make? How about this? We make people bigger than God, we make entertainment bigger than God. The worst thing is we make the devil bigger than God. We're so scared of failing and messing up and getting sick and getting hurt... forget it. When are we going to realize how big God is? The apostles had a decent sized God. They turned the Middle East around in a matter of years. They didn't have money, publicity, big name speakers or musicians, but they had God. We have all the rest, but we don't have God. I heard a pastor once say "If you know God, you don't need to know anyone else. If you don't know God, then you need to know everyone else."
I like one of our IV staff workers because he has a good sized God. He quotes this passage in talking about God.
Isaiah 42 reads:
13 The LORD will march out like a mighty man,
like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.
14 "For a long time I have kept silent,
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up the pools.
I wish I believed the Bible more. What does it say changes the heart of a man? Us? God? Both of us working together? Miracles will make a person look twice, but love will change their hearts. If Christians loved others like we've never loved before, then people would take us seriously, then we'd be taking God and His Word seriously. I think the nature of evangelism has to be love.
We love the people we evangelize.
We evangelize by loving people.
We do it because we love God and to serve Him.
I may not know how people change, or at what point they change, but I can't stop trying, I can't stop praying. When we give up, nothing will happen. But in some sense we need to give up trying to do it ourselves because nothing will happen then either. It seems that love goes into everything. Or at least you need love to do everything right. That's probably a good place to start from.
Love More.
Will God do it? I think that's the wrong question to ask. At least with the heart that says, if no, then I won't bother with them, or if yes, then I don't need to do anything more.
Can God do it? And if the answer is yes, then we can never give up. If the answer is no, then you need to find a new God who is capable of saving people. Find the Christian God, the one Jesus talked about.
You see in America our God is about a foot tall. And you look around and you have friend that are 5'2, 5'6, 6'0. Our Tv's are 27 inches our computers are 19 inches. What kind of metaphor am I trying to make? How about this? We make people bigger than God, we make entertainment bigger than God. The worst thing is we make the devil bigger than God. We're so scared of failing and messing up and getting sick and getting hurt... forget it. When are we going to realize how big God is? The apostles had a decent sized God. They turned the Middle East around in a matter of years. They didn't have money, publicity, big name speakers or musicians, but they had God. We have all the rest, but we don't have God. I heard a pastor once say "If you know God, you don't need to know anyone else. If you don't know God, then you need to know everyone else."
I like one of our IV staff workers because he has a good sized God. He quotes this passage in talking about God.
Isaiah 42 reads:
13 The LORD will march out like a mighty man,
like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.
14 "For a long time I have kept silent,
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up the pools.
I wish I believed the Bible more. What does it say changes the heart of a man? Us? God? Both of us working together? Miracles will make a person look twice, but love will change their hearts. If Christians loved others like we've never loved before, then people would take us seriously, then we'd be taking God and His Word seriously. I think the nature of evangelism has to be love.
We love the people we evangelize.
We evangelize by loving people.
We do it because we love God and to serve Him.
I may not know how people change, or at what point they change, but I can't stop trying, I can't stop praying. When we give up, nothing will happen. But in some sense we need to give up trying to do it ourselves because nothing will happen then either. It seems that love goes into everything. Or at least you need love to do everything right. That's probably a good place to start from.
Love More.
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