It makes sense that we would generally see light as good and darkness as bad. The scriptures often associate light with righteousness and darkness with hidden sin. Light is associated with joy. Darkness often symbolizes sorrow or confusion. But if we look deeper, beginning even with the very first chapter of the Bible, we see a more nuanced depiction of light and darkness.
It’s easy to overlook some of the finer details of this creation poem, especially if we come into it depending too much on centuries of ingrained rationalism. God’s creative work is not limited to the creation of physical things like the sea, land and sky, and the creatures that would inhabit each. He also created seasons and rhythms that still govern our world. Our society, however, seems bent on creating its own rhythms and displacing the seasons God established in his wisdom and grace.
The first chapters of the Bible tell the story of creation. Over the centuries people have looked to these passages for answers to questions like what, when, where and how. However, this text is primarily concerned with answering one question that happens to be the biggest question of all: why?
As you look back on your life as a Christian or as a leader, what are some things that you’ve needed to reframe? In what ways were your beliefs or actions askew from God’s story? How did you come to realize that your beliefs needed to be reframed? How did the Spirit help you see…
Spirituality is how we live out the story. In our faith tradition, we have a tendency to live out our faith with great human effort. Human effort is good.
We are called to hold to (abide) the teaching of Jesus. But Jesus makes it clear that we don’t need to abide alone (we can’t). Rather, he’s given us
the Holy Spirit as a helper so we can live for God and in God.
As we continue our journey exploring the idea of Yahweh and the People, through the Thread Podcast, we focus our attention in this week’s episode on the idea of “Why Story?” Why is it important to understand the story of God in the scriptures and how that may intersect and impact our story?
This week we started a three-year journey where we explore God and man through His three persons, Yahweh and the People, Jesus and the People, and The Holy Spirit and the People. “Our Image of God” focuses on how formative experiences both spiritual, emotional, and physical affect our image of God and therefore can shape…
We never know what life will bring and when. Therefore, we must examine ourselves that our faith is based not on man’s wisdom but on the work of the cross. As humans, we are often more concerned with how we look than with how we worship Christ. As Christians, however, we try to concern ourselves with nothing else but Christ and Him crucified so that none can boast.
As we look at the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 we see that, when we encounter Jesus, our priorities change. This woman who went to the well in shame to get some water during the high noon heat left her water jar behind to share the news of Jesus with her neighbors. Like the Samaritans in the story, when people are truly thirsty for a Saviour, they go from curious to present to changed as Jesus works in their lives. Are you thirsty?
As we embark on our summer let us remember about the holiness of our God. Sumer is not the time to take a vacation from God. It’s time to be even more vigilant about our spiritual lives. Our culture teaches us that we need to ‘domesticate’ our God. Make create gods that are comfortable to worship. Our God is to be revered and honored. Day in and day out. Not when it’s convenient. But every single day.
