Healthy Questions

I came across an article that takes a concise, fascinating look at the theology of C.S. Lewis. I appreciated the brief biography at the beginning: it is easy to see how the mish-mash of his pre-Christian philosophies certainly left their mark on his Christian thinking. The article ends with the author making a compelling comparison between Lewis and the Church at Corinth. http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2000i/townsend2000e.htm The article is obviously aimed at the old question of whether Lewis was an evangelical Christian, but this inevitably draws us into the greater question of what constitutes an evangelical in the first place. For that I recommend a life-long study of and obedience to the Scriptures, and perhaps listening to Don Carson’s lectures on the subject at http://pjtibayan.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/d-a-carson-audio-sermonslectures/ .

I recently heard a friend use the phrase, "I am trusting God for a matter." The matter involved expense, and I was immediately interested to find out what "trusting God" meant in this context. I was raised in an abberant movement which considered faith as being something God could not resist. If I prayed for something and believed strongly enough that God would provide it, God would have little choice but to do so. Too many times we hear folks presuming upon God’s provision, as though they somehow had Him over a barrel. While we have boldness to approach God’s throne in times of need, our confidence is not in getting the thing we want as much as it is in getting the audience itself. This is supreme privilege, and the extent of it is the ability to make known our needs, to cast upon Him our cares. How God responds is for God to decide, and He keeps His own counsel. However, we can rejoice that He hears our prayers and always has our long term good in mind as He lov...

(Romans 8:12-39) Who are God’s Children? It is often said that all of us are God’s children. President Obama recently said as much at a prayer breakfast , and many people say the same: all humanity are children of God. Is this true? Well, in a sense yes: in the sense that God created us in His likeness. Paul says this in Acts 17:28-29 when talking to the Greeks on Mars Hill – he was trying to explain that the true God could not possibly be like their gold, silver and stone idols, if we are in any way like Him. However, the Bible is clear that the only people that can call God Father are those that believe in His Son, Jesus. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," (John 1:12) The fact is that there is only one natural-born son of God: Jesus. God was His Father in every sense of the Word: remember that God, not Joseph, was Jesus’ biological Father. "The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit w...

Today I celebrate the completion of my fortieth year outside the womb. With tongues firmly planted in their cheeks, everyone wants to know how it feels to suddenly become old. I’ve been thinking about that this morning, and a few things come to mind. I am 40 years old. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was a teenager, but now I am 40. In a world of averages, it might be said that I’ve reached the half way point. 40 years is a long time for me – it is the span of my days on this earth so far. I’ve split that time between two different continents, have seen many things – good and bad, have formed my own family, and have experienced the grace of God beyond measure. However, when I consider God; ageless, timeless, pre-existant, infinite and immortal, I quickly see that I am a vapor, a mere breath upon the wind. Like a flower of the field – here today, but gone without a trace tomorrow. In the scope of human history, I am unknown, and my faint trace on this world will be quickly f...

If you read John's account of the life of Christ, you find he uses some words very frequently. For example, "light" and "life" appear throughout his writings. Another keyword for John is "truth." He introduces the term early in the first chapter when he refers to Christ as, "The true light, which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." Here John combines truth and light, which helps us understand his use of "light" when referring to Christ. To turn a light on in a dark room is to show things as they really are. You can see the door, as well as many obstacles that might be misidentified - or even tripped over - on your way to the door. To shed light on on a subject is to bring correct understanding and dispel wrong assumptions. Depending on the situation, it could mean the difference between life and death. The room that Jesus enlightens is the mind of man. To every man that will ever live Christ has explained God - indee...

Early in his ministry (chapter 5 of John's gospel), Jesus heals a sick old man in Jerusalem. At the end of the account, he looks at the man and says, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The healing of this man, though quite miraculous, is apparently of secondary importance. It’s the man’s heart that is the greater concern for Jesus. The same could be said of the woman caught in adultery not much later. After turning away her executioners, his only words to her are, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? I do not condemn you either. From now on sin no more." Today, much attention is given to Jesus’ treatment of the would-be stoners. Accordingly, these religious leaders are the bad guys of the story, ready to judge the poor, defenseless woman. This is both right and wrong. It is right to say that Jesus vilified the hypocrisy of Israel’s leaders. "Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, b...

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19 Our Spiritual Fellowship Part 1 : Singing was a natural extension of Christian fellowship. Part 2 : Spiritual singing should go beyond a pre-planned activity and the domain of the polished singer. In this last part on “Why Don’t We Sing” I want to dig into perhaps the most controversial aspect of this verse. I believe this verse offers a ringing reproof of the nature of our Christian fellowship. Let us Pray I read recently about Charles Spurgeon’s sense of humor. Apparently, it was a good one. He would have a whole room laughing at a joke and then, without missing a beat, say, “Let us pray.” Apparently there was nothing incongruent about this; it wasn’t jarring for him to say this. There was nothing about his humor that was impure or ungodly, and so when the impulse to pray arose, it was natural to take to the task. He didn’t have to clear his throat into religious gear. He didn’t have to gently ste...