My Online Faith Journal

     When I was in college, I was reading a book called "Billy Budd".  I hated that book.  More than just hate it though, I didn't understand it.  It was confusing and I might as well of been reading French or some other language foreign to me.  I complained to a friend's mother about it and she took pity on me and bought me a copy of the cliff notes for the book.  Largely because of those cliff notes, I was able to make enough sense of it to pass.      And that is largely how I would approach most subjects.  I feel like I am intelligent enough that if I simply study hard enough and work hard enough then I can figure it out.  Many people approach trying to read the Bible and understand spiritual things in the same way.  But, the Bible declares that we need to not only have intelligence, but to be spiritual appraised in order to understand God's Word.  In fact, it says regarding the natural man and the Bible that:   "But a natural man does not accept the th

    I don't know if you've had the pleasure of reading any of the work of Dr.Larry Crabb.  I had to read about his counseling model for a class last fall and now I am reading one of his other books on my own called "Inside Out".  It is about how God desires to change us from the inside out.  To be honest, Dr.Crabb is a deep thinker and I'm not sure I understand all that he is saying, but one of the things that he talks about is that as people we tend to seek out things that will fill our needs with things and stuff instead of God.  Dr.Crabb calls this part of who we are the crucial part of our person.  And he says that nobody can fill this area of our life except for God.     He points out how often Jesus referred to himself as water or living water.  But, he also shares this passage in Jeremiah 2:13 "For My people have committed two evils; They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, that can hold no

    So, I was reading through 1 Peter 1 and I noticed a word in verse 2.  The word is "sanctifying".  The word "sanctification" is an interesting word.  In Baker's Evangelical Dictionary it says that this word means "the state of proper functioning" in other words to sanctify something is to set it apart for its intended use, the purpose for which it was made by its creator.  I thought that was an interesting idea, that God sanctifies us in Christ, so that we can fulfill our intended purpose.     In examining this further, I looked at passages to see how this word is used.  The first time this word is used is in Lev 22:32.  It is the Hebrew word Qadash (verb) and it means to be "set apart, dedicate, be seperate, to be hallowed".  In this chapter, it is mentioned in terms of the priests.  God says to them, "So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord. And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified amo

    Recently, I was visiting a forum where a person asked if it was okay to ask for a sign from God or a prophetic word.  I can relate to this question because there have been times when I have really desired a word from God.  Maybe something written across the sky or something that would help me to know God's will.  I say this, knowing that often God's voice is much more subtle than that.  It often takes us time and it takes prayer.  How does God speak to us today?    In Hebrews 1:1-2 it says, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."  To me, this means that Jesus' message still speaks to us today and it is where our focus should be.  Not on seeking additional revelations, but on obeying what He has already said.     There are times I realize when we may want a specific word about wha

  In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts."        One of the most important books besides the Bible to me is a book written by J.I. Packer called "Knowing God".  It is a profound book about the nature of God.  You might think that it is not that important to consider the nature of God, but I believe for the christian it is one of the most important issues.  Frankly, it seems to me that for most christians God is in all practicality nothing more than a good friend who does magic tricks rather than a transcendant, holy and loving God who is all together different in the way he conducts himself.       Packer says this about knowing God, "knowing god is a matter of persona dealing, as is all direct acquaintance with personal beings. Knowing God is more than knowing abou