Q. "What is truth? (John 18:38a)"
There has been a lot of discussion about this around here lately. Can we claim to know the truth? Can we overthink the truth? Can we oversimplify the truth?
Pilate's question to Jesus may have been merely a cynical dismissal of Christ's claims about himself. Or it may have been the honest query of a heart on the horns of a moral dilemma.
Nowadays, the question might be asked as a prelude to a reminder that it is the height of arrogance to claim to know the truth.
A. "I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6a);"
This is Jesus speaking of himself.
"I tell you the truth."
Jesus utters this phrase 78 times in the New Testament (NIV; "verily,verily" in the KJV; "truly, truly" in the ESV). In John's gospel, he frequently uses this phrase when making statements about himself.
If we believe Paul's assertion that all scripture is God's inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16), then we hold the answer to Pilate's question in our hands.
I've gotta say it seems simple to me. Maybe that's because I spent years and years pursuing alternative truths. That's the philosophical equivalent of running down a series of blind alleys. In the dark.
Are you a Christian? What are you going to believe? The biblical signposts seem clear:
"To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. (Isaiah 8:20)"
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
John Nash Loses It and Why
Short answer. God's will.
Not like you're thinking, though there is that.
I was thinking more of string theory. Not that John Nash was involved with that (he wasn't, was he?) But could a person not get lost in the numbers when that's all you see. As the underlying basis of everything, I mean.
Like that episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes 3D. Or Tron.
As I understand it, string theorists suppose that everything in the universe is held together by these tee-iny little wiggly elastic strings. That you can't even see. See Acts 17:28, Job 12:10, etc. for more on that (God's will, in case you don't have your Bible nearby).
John Nash's deal was probability theory (I think). Kinda the same thing in a way. He went crazy. Waddya think the chances of that woulda been, John?
Me? I just prefer faith.
That God will continue to hold things together. That He will continue to hold the future in His hand.
It's what I've been given and life is simpler that way. Right?
Or am I just crazy?
Not like you're thinking, though there is that.
I was thinking more of string theory. Not that John Nash was involved with that (he wasn't, was he?) But could a person not get lost in the numbers when that's all you see. As the underlying basis of everything, I mean.
Like that episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes 3D. Or Tron.
As I understand it, string theorists suppose that everything in the universe is held together by these tee-iny little wiggly elastic strings. That you can't even see. See Acts 17:28, Job 12:10, etc. for more on that (God's will, in case you don't have your Bible nearby).
John Nash's deal was probability theory (I think). Kinda the same thing in a way. He went crazy. Waddya think the chances of that woulda been, John?
Me? I just prefer faith.
That God will continue to hold things together. That He will continue to hold the future in His hand.
It's what I've been given and life is simpler that way. Right?
Or am I just crazy?
Thursday, March 8, 2012
In a Dry and Thirsty Land, Where no Water Is
I have several Christian friends who hate their jobs.
I can relate.
I have prayed many a prayer to be delivered from what I felt was an
awful situation. Funniest personal prayer: I prayed Psalm 91:3 for a
year to be delivered from working at Tyson's!
It can be and IS oppressive, I know, and not so funny. I think part of this discomfort may be explained by Revelation 18:3. The world system, as typified by Babylon in scripture, is a place of idols . Power, money and control are the things sought after and worshipped.
As David sought the presence of God in a dry and thirsty land, so our souls cry out for deliverance from a place where Mammon is god.
But Brother Lawrence taught me something about God's presence. There, in the kitchen, with the dirty pots and pans, he began to understand that God is everywhere, where there is a believing heart.
Paul showed me that even in the Roman dungeon, there are people who need me. Or rather what God has so graciously given me: the joy of His salvation.
So it seems to me I have been given a job; not just to earn money for my bread (though God did mention that to Adam). But to shine the light I have been given in a place where the idols of Babylon are worshipped.
In the meantime, I look forward to the time when I shall hear, when WE shall hear, the words: "Come out of her, my people...."
I can relate.
I have prayed many a prayer to be delivered from what I felt was an
awful situation. Funniest personal prayer: I prayed Psalm 91:3 for a
year to be delivered from working at Tyson's!
It can be and IS oppressive, I know, and not so funny. I think part of this discomfort may be explained by Revelation 18:3. The world system, as typified by Babylon in scripture, is a place of idols . Power, money and control are the things sought after and worshipped.
As David sought the presence of God in a dry and thirsty land, so our souls cry out for deliverance from a place where Mammon is god.
But Brother Lawrence taught me something about God's presence. There, in the kitchen, with the dirty pots and pans, he began to understand that God is everywhere, where there is a believing heart.
Paul showed me that even in the Roman dungeon, there are people who need me. Or rather what God has so graciously given me: the joy of His salvation.
So it seems to me I have been given a job; not just to earn money for my bread (though God did mention that to Adam). But to shine the light I have been given in a place where the idols of Babylon are worshipped.
In the meantime, I look forward to the time when I shall hear, when WE shall hear, the words: "Come out of her, my people...."
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
I Am My Beloved's, My Beloved is Mine
Intimacy is something we all seek. That experience of knowing and being known. This may sound outdated; but to belong to someone.
It is easy to agree with the above statement, but maybe very hard to understand it, in all the fullness of its meaning. There's implications.
Take for instance, the notion of the Church as the bride of Christ. For a guy like me, this seemed a little bit odd. Jesus as my bridegroom. Hmmm.
I mean, I was the seeker, the initiator. Problem is, I stopped with physical intimacy. So I rode the merry-go-round. With each new love would come the initial euphoria of discovery.
But always, at some point, the newness wore off and I would begin to take note of the flaws (never mind my own), to be annoyed by them, and finally to resent the person so marred by them.
Seek and you shall find, it is said. Sometimes, the best things seek us out. God is all-wise and He knows what is best for us even when we don't.
So He sought me out. I did not want Him. He wanted me though.
I once told a friend that I was fond of my wife, but I didn't love her. That, as it turns out was a lie, told to provoke his reaction.
Here's the thing I've found about marriage. God made it and gave it to men and women. To fill the earth, to provide the basic unit of human society. But it's something better than that.
In heaven, we will know as we are known. Perfect knowledge. Perfect intimacy. So I think that marriage is God's gift to us. Our foretaste of heaven.
Jesus loves me with a perfect, self-sacrificing love. We cannot love that perfectly (not yet). But the intent of the heart, to love another person more than you love yourself, to give all you have for their happiness. And to be loved that way in return.
Meanwhile, I take joy in the love of another and loving her in return. I look forward to the day when that love will be perfected in Christ.
Happy Valentine's Day
It is easy to agree with the above statement, but maybe very hard to understand it, in all the fullness of its meaning. There's implications.
Take for instance, the notion of the Church as the bride of Christ. For a guy like me, this seemed a little bit odd. Jesus as my bridegroom. Hmmm.
I mean, I was the seeker, the initiator. Problem is, I stopped with physical intimacy. So I rode the merry-go-round. With each new love would come the initial euphoria of discovery.
But always, at some point, the newness wore off and I would begin to take note of the flaws (never mind my own), to be annoyed by them, and finally to resent the person so marred by them.
Seek and you shall find, it is said. Sometimes, the best things seek us out. God is all-wise and He knows what is best for us even when we don't.
So He sought me out. I did not want Him. He wanted me though.
I once told a friend that I was fond of my wife, but I didn't love her. That, as it turns out was a lie, told to provoke his reaction.
Here's the thing I've found about marriage. God made it and gave it to men and women. To fill the earth, to provide the basic unit of human society. But it's something better than that.
In heaven, we will know as we are known. Perfect knowledge. Perfect intimacy. So I think that marriage is God's gift to us. Our foretaste of heaven.
Jesus loves me with a perfect, self-sacrificing love. We cannot love that perfectly (not yet). But the intent of the heart, to love another person more than you love yourself, to give all you have for their happiness. And to be loved that way in return.
Meanwhile, I take joy in the love of another and loving her in return. I look forward to the day when that love will be perfected in Christ.
Happy Valentine's Day
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Mother's Day
Has it really been three years since she passed away? Seems as if so much has happened, doesn't it?
This is not about that, though. This is for the living. This is for Deb, and Rod and me and also for all our babies and their babies and so on through the generations. The extended Tolar clan, I guess you might say.
Have you often longed, these past few years, to enjoy her company again? To sit in conversation in her living room or at her table? You may have imagined what that conversation would be like and the things you both would say.
Imagine this. I know (for she told me many times, especially when I was still an infidel) that she lifted me up in prayer. Daily. It is not hard to realize (as if you didn't already) that she did the same for you. Each of you. Or to understand that she prayed for God to preserve you. Body and soul.
So I imagine that if you could talk to her, she might ask, "Do you know Jesus?" "Are you serving Him with all your heart, soul and mind?"
Today is our Mother's day. Will we honor the day (and her) by honoring the God she loved and served?
This is not about that, though. This is for the living. This is for Deb, and Rod and me and also for all our babies and their babies and so on through the generations. The extended Tolar clan, I guess you might say.
Have you often longed, these past few years, to enjoy her company again? To sit in conversation in her living room or at her table? You may have imagined what that conversation would be like and the things you both would say.
Imagine this. I know (for she told me many times, especially when I was still an infidel) that she lifted me up in prayer. Daily. It is not hard to realize (as if you didn't already) that she did the same for you. Each of you. Or to understand that she prayed for God to preserve you. Body and soul.
So I imagine that if you could talk to her, she might ask, "Do you know Jesus?" "Are you serving Him with all your heart, soul and mind?"
Today is our Mother's day. Will we honor the day (and her) by honoring the God she loved and served?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
For He Spoke and It Came to Be
Even when I was an infidel, I had a sense of God.
I would drive the ten or fifteen miles to Bear Creek Lake every Sunday morning in the summer, look out on the sparkling water and let the sights, sounds and smells fill my senses. A lot like Emily Dickinson worshipping in her garden, I suppose.
In the winter, I would shoulder my .410 and take off across the fields. The exertion of walking across the rough ground, made uneven by the fall's harvest machines, would quickly dispel the chill of the winter air, and I would contemplate the bleakness all around me and understand the beauty and necessity of rest, in that even the very earth must have her season of quiet.
Paul says that since what may be known about God is plain to all men, their foolish hearts are darkened by their denial of Him and their refusal to worship Him. What a blind and foolish heart was mine!
Yet, Isaiah speaks of God pouring out his Spirit, like water on dry and thirsty ground , upon his people. And Jesus told Nicodemus that that same Spirit must effect rebirth before one can even see, much less enter into, the kingdom of heaven.
Psalm 33 says that God spoke, and it came to be. My eyes give evidence of this. How much more so this reclaimed and regenerate heart.
Praise be to God!
I would drive the ten or fifteen miles to Bear Creek Lake every Sunday morning in the summer, look out on the sparkling water and let the sights, sounds and smells fill my senses. A lot like Emily Dickinson worshipping in her garden, I suppose.
In the winter, I would shoulder my .410 and take off across the fields. The exertion of walking across the rough ground, made uneven by the fall's harvest machines, would quickly dispel the chill of the winter air, and I would contemplate the bleakness all around me and understand the beauty and necessity of rest, in that even the very earth must have her season of quiet.
Paul says that since what may be known about God is plain to all men, their foolish hearts are darkened by their denial of Him and their refusal to worship Him. What a blind and foolish heart was mine!
Yet, Isaiah speaks of God pouring out his Spirit, like water on dry and thirsty ground , upon his people. And Jesus told Nicodemus that that same Spirit must effect rebirth before one can even see, much less enter into, the kingdom of heaven.
Psalm 33 says that God spoke, and it came to be. My eyes give evidence of this. How much more so this reclaimed and regenerate heart.
Praise be to God!
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
It was with surprise and a little dismay that I learned, awhile back, that there are those in the Reformed community who have not seen The Passion of the Christ. And would not see it.
Their reasoning runs like this: no visual representation of the crucifixion could portray what actually happened on the cross. Jesus took my sins upon himself. He literally suffered the agonies of hell.
Read Spurgeon's commentary on the 22nd Psalm: http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps022.htm
I'm sure that all Christians understand this as a "psalm of the cross." But Spurgeon does us the great service of rendering a phrase-by-phrase examination of this vivid description of the horrors of hell.
Most truly does the Apostles' Creed speak of Christ as having "descended into hell."
Having seen The Passion several times, I can understand this view. What I saw, however, impressed upon me an idea (however incomplete) of the suffering that was done on my behalf. Those of you who have seen the film will recall the utter shock with which you left the movie theater. And the events shown were only the prelude to the cross. I can say that I needed to have these things forcefully impressed upon my heart.
So I would say, view the film, if you haven't. Then get "the rest of the story (the most important part)." Read Psalm 22 and meditate on its description of Christ's suffering. I recommend reading Spurgeon's in-depth comments on the psalm.
He also said this, in his introduction to the 23rd Psalm: "It is only after we have read, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!' that we come to 'The Lord is my Shepherd.'"
Only when I can comprehend the wrath of a Holy God against sin, that was poured out on the Suffering Servant, can I be truly grateful for the salvation that has been mercifully, graciously given to me.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Their reasoning runs like this: no visual representation of the crucifixion could portray what actually happened on the cross. Jesus took my sins upon himself. He literally suffered the agonies of hell.
Read Spurgeon's commentary on the 22nd Psalm: http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps022.htm
I'm sure that all Christians understand this as a "psalm of the cross." But Spurgeon does us the great service of rendering a phrase-by-phrase examination of this vivid description of the horrors of hell.
Most truly does the Apostles' Creed speak of Christ as having "descended into hell."
Having seen The Passion several times, I can understand this view. What I saw, however, impressed upon me an idea (however incomplete) of the suffering that was done on my behalf. Those of you who have seen the film will recall the utter shock with which you left the movie theater. And the events shown were only the prelude to the cross. I can say that I needed to have these things forcefully impressed upon my heart.
So I would say, view the film, if you haven't. Then get "the rest of the story (the most important part)." Read Psalm 22 and meditate on its description of Christ's suffering. I recommend reading Spurgeon's in-depth comments on the psalm.
He also said this, in his introduction to the 23rd Psalm: "It is only after we have read, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!' that we come to 'The Lord is my Shepherd.'"
Only when I can comprehend the wrath of a Holy God against sin, that was poured out on the Suffering Servant, can I be truly grateful for the salvation that has been mercifully, graciously given to me.
Soli Deo Gloria.
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