Weekly Thought – March 22. 2016
Fred never entered into active politics, but he understood those who did. He gave the entire process much thought and analysis. The one time he engaged was for the unsuccessful gubernatorial run of Maxey Jarman in Tennessee. Even then he had great vision and profound grasp of the principles involved. “You ran against the other party’s opponent before you secured your own party’s endorsement. You ran the wrong race.”
Thank you for your consistent and continual support. We are less than one month away from our BWFLI events at Lindsey Wilson College and Alice Lloyd College – both in Kentucky. Lift up the teams as they prepare, travel, and engage on these campuses. If you would like to join us in praying for Christian higher education, please come together with us in the BWFLI Prayer Network.
Spiritual Scattershooting (thoughts on various subjects from January 2, 1964)
C.S. Lewis observed that the most fertile soil for infiltration of Marxism will be within the field of religion, because religious people are the most gullible and will accept almost anything if it is couched in religious terminology. This may be a bit broad-brushed, but sadly when it is only religion and not spiritual relationship this blindness occurs. It is also true that many orthodox, fundamental Christians block out truth which is not clothed with religious terminology. I like the think of this as the difference between ritual and reality. Sometimes the vestments hide what is behind them. And sometimes truth resides there – sometimes not.
That is why we are warned to guard against believing someone is “the Christ” just because they have the demeanor, the language, and the outward expressions. The Spirit must witness to the truth – not the terminology, language, place, ritual, or even organization.
Christianity sacrifices its power when it is no longer personal. Change religion and God into a vague, indefinable, universal force and the wilderness ensues. God must be personal.
Too many clergymen have apparently come to regard their jobs as being formulators of public opinion on social problems. They ask the government to be a modern day Robin Hood, taking money legally away from one group and redistributing it to another.
In today’s pulpit we hear ministers with two solutions to the problem of sin: spiritual rebirth or social, governmental activity. When they focus on the second and ignore the first they are doomed to failure.
Only the impossible is adequate in the spiritual life. God is bigger than man’s understanding of Him. It is tragic to think of God being reduced down to man’s best thinking about Him. When Jesus chose His disciples He didn’t tap the intellectual elites, but men whose finite minds were open to infinite ideas.
This week think about: 1) When I am just scattershooting about God, what comes to mind? 2) How can I think more consistently about scripture? 3) Who models “thinking Christianly” in my life?
Words of Wisdom: “Change religion and God into a vague, indefinable, universal force and the wilderness ensues.”
Wisdom from the Word: “The law of their God controls their thinking; their feet do not slip.” (Psalm 37:31 NET Bible)