Tag: God

A glowing double helix DNA strand merging into a bright spiral galaxy surrounded by stars

A World Designed for Discovery

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“The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. By his knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew.” (Proverbs 3:19-20 CSB – Read the chapter)

When Charles Darwin first proposed his ideas about human origins, our understanding of the complexities of life was pretty rudimentary. Of course, we didn’t think that at the time. The mid-19th century through the early days of the 20th century were marked by incredible confidence in human knowledge—a confidence we now recognize as a rather wild overconfidence (even as we fall into the same trap ourselves about our own knowledge). What we have come to understand since is that life is vastly more complex than Darwin could have imagined. Not only that, but the universe itself is complex almost beyond all description. To borrow the phrase that is commonly used to describe it, we live in a finely tuned world. It takes a great deal of wisdom to manage such a world. Fortunately, that’s the nature of the God we serve. Let’s talk about it.

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The Secret to Happiness

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“Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding, for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold. She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy.” (Proverbs 3:13-18 CSB – Read the chapter)

There are many things we are taught to pursue in this life. Money, celebrity, and power are chief among them. These, we are told, are the kinds of things that will make us happy. When we can afford whatever we want, when everybody likes us, and when we can get our way, all the bad feelings associated with not having those things will disappear. Perhaps…but the greater likelihood is that they will just take a different form. The Scriptures offer something else as the real pathway to happiness. It doesn’t look or work the same as what the world offers, but its success rate at achieving its ends is far higher. Let’s talk about what it is.

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When Straight Paths Turn Hard

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“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:9-12 CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the uniquely American contributions to religion around the world is the Prosperity Gospel. This is an insidious, heretical movement that masquerades as a kind of Christianity. The truth, though, is that it has little to do with the Gospel, but instead uses Gospel concepts to inflame greed and envy. Mammon is the real god it worships. It is one of the more cunning deceits the devil ever created to keep people out of God’s kingdom. The challenge is that verses like these exist which seem to give credence to its central claims that God wants us to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Let’s talk about what we should do with sayings like this in the Bible, and why taking things fully in context matters so much.

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Knowing You Are NOT Wise

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8 CSB – Read the chapter)

Men are infamous for not wanting to ask for directions. Personally, I hate not knowing where I am, but I also don’t like getting directions from another person. But this is because I need to see a map. Verbal directions are mostly meaningless to me. If I can see it, I do much better. My weakness is that if I actually do think I know where I’m going, I can be pretty stubborn about it. It’s easy to convince ourselves we know where we are going when we really don’t. That’s true on the road, and it’s true in life. Solomon has some wisdom here for the latter. Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: Philippians 4:15-20

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“And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Last time we looked at one of the premier examples of a verse that gets the bumper sticker theology treatment in all of the Scriptures. As it turns out, we find another one here. Philippians, for such a small letter, has more than its fair share of verses like that. This one is all about God’s provision. We see many affirmations in the Scriptures that God provides for His people. That is a good and encouraging thing, but what does it actually look like? How does He do it? Can the process be interrupted? Let’s take a look at this passage that ends with Paul’s emphatic affirmation of God’s provision today, and that will just about bring us to the end of this journey.

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