Thoughtful

I am currently reading a book that I'll be reviewing later.  In the introduction, the author reminds us that truth, especially scriptural truth, does not just belong in classrooms and discussions.  It belongs in life.

For truth to fulfill its purpose, it needs to be part of everyday life.

A great example of this is 1 Corinthians 13.

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails."  1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NASB)

You can read this passage three times a day.  You can memorize it.  You can study the Greek translation of every word.  You can debate Paul's meaning by choosing one word over another.

But if you aren't living a life that's loving, you're missing the point.

Theological study and discussion have their place.  Bible reading and memorization are important.  But you must be living out those things in your daily life for it to make any difference.


In what ways do you try to live out the truths of scripture?

Deliver Us from Evil by Don Basham was an interesting book about a Christian man's journey from believing that the devil and demons did not exist and had never existed to recognizing the influence of them in our world.  The tag line of the book is "A Pastor's Reluctant Encounters with the Powers of Darkness."  It is really an apt description.

At the beginning of this story, Mr. Basham was a minister at a church that was in the midst of revival.  They had regular prayer meetings.  People were being healed, and miracles were happening.

But he, and many or all of the church members did not believe that the demonic had any influence in the lives of people.  They didn't even believe they existed.  Demons were just an old, archaic way of explaining the sinful nature of man.

Mr. Basham soon found himself in multiple situations where the demonic was evident, but he still didn't want to admit this was real.  He decided to conduct an experiment where he chose to assume they did exist and see what happened.  Before long, he was convinced, both by his Bible study, conversations with other Christians, and his experiences.

The book tells about many of his experiences with the demonic, but I think one of the most useful parts of this book is his notes.  Throughout the story he will explain how he processed his thoughts and experiences.  Often, he made lists and notes which he included in his book.  Seeing how he came to believe these things is beneficial for those who are already convinced and those who are not.

Because this book begins with a person who is at stage even earlier than the skeptic, this book is useful for those who are curious or who have had experiences they can't explain but doubt that demons exist.  It is also useful for the one who is already convinced but wants to learn more.

If you want to read this book, it is available on Amazon as a paperback.  If you decide to read it, I hope that you'll use my affiliate link above or here to order.  Your ordering experience will not change, nor will your price, but Amazon will compensate me in a small way for introducing you to this book.

I recieved a complimentary copy of this book from Chosen in exchange for my review.

Saturday night, I found myself across town with about 30 miles worth of gas in my car.  My husband had told me he would get gas in the morning, so I headed toward home.  I knew there was enough gas to get home and to the gas station in the morning, but I asked God to help us extend that gas a little farther by helping me not have to stop at any red lights.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that it didn't take a great amount of faith to ask this because it had happened before, but it was an uncommon occurence, considering the number of stop lights involved.

And the only stoplight I had to stop at was the one where I tried to slow down a bit, way in advance, expecting the light to turn at any minute, with the intention of giving the light time to turn yellow, red, and back to green before I reached it.  Once I realized I had miscalculated, I sped up again, hoping to make it through, but the light turned yellow too soon, so that I had to stop rather than try to make it through the intersection before it changed to red.

I apologized to God there in the car, for trying to take care of it myself, and I did not have to stop at another light.  There were a couple close calls, and there were a couple I had to slow down coming up to them, but I didn't have to stop and wait at any light the rest of my way home.


The whole thing reminded me of the story of Abraham, Sarai, and Hagar.

Honestly, any time I try to make my own way, I am reminded of this story.

God had promised Abraham an heir, more specifically, a son.  And Abraham grew frustrated and decided that God must be needing his help to get this accomplished.  Sarai (later to be renamed Sarah) offered her servant Hagar to have a child with Abraham in her place.  This was a common practice in that day, though not necessarily something God approved, particularly in Abraham's case.

A child was born and caused no end of trouble, especially once Isaac, the child God has promised was born to Sarah.  I've talked about this story in the past, so I won't go any further into the story, but I simply want to make the point that we as humans have a tendency to *help* God along, when He doesn't need our help, and sometimes our help is even a hindrance.

I would love to hear about a time that you tried to help God and the lesson you learned from it.  Please leave your comments below.  I would love to turn one or more of the comments into an opportunity for some of you to guest post here, so I hope you'll tell me your stories!

It's been a while since I've shared a sermon with you, and it's been a while since I've listened to one from my alma mater, so I knew it was time to find something worth listening to and worth sharing.

I was pleased to find one about David, since I've been reading so much about him lately.  (You can see my posts about that here and here.)  This is a great look at David, Bathsheba, and Nathan.  I hope you'll listen and share.

There is also an audio only version here.