Friday, April 29, 2016

Yeah, I thought so

         “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last." Job 19:25
         What will you stand up for no matter what? What is ultimately what you will stand on? What will you never give up, never give in about?
         Yeah, thought so.
         I'm not here this morning to debate anything, except, except I would love to know what is the rock-solid belief you will not give up on no matter the circumstances.
         Yeah, thought so.
         In my home state, they're arguing over flags and bathrooms. Let me repeat, flags and bathrooms. In other words, while their children are starving and leaving school at a laughingly sad rate, they're ready to fall on a metaphorical (I think) sword over flags and bathrooms and/or wedding cakes.
         Yeah, thought so.
         Look, it is easy to make fun of some things that the "other side" believes. But eventually, as time crawls past, there will come a point where the ultimate rock-solid belief will be hit and that's when the stuff hits the fan.
         I'm not sure we're not zeroing in on it right now.
         If you're a Christian, I suspect you're wondering what that point might be. 
         Let's do some searching.
         Tell me what you can throw away as unnecessary.
         Do you believe in God?
         I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
         Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
         I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
         Notice very carefully that we’ve been saying this stuff for hundreds upon hundreds of years.
         Now, some would say there is another way to read scripture, and in doing so negate some of the arguments we’re undergoing in the present. They say you can’t pick and choose in scripture, taking and trying to apply what we feel is necessary and, well, leaving the remainder alone.
         No slavery.
         No human sexuality.
         No quiet women.
         Absolutely no stoning.
         I went a couple of decades not believing much of this, till I ran headlong into God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
         What I’ve decided, after much prayer and pondering, is I’m not smart enough to eliminate things Jesus said from the red-lettering in one of my old Bibles.
         I’m just going to have to continue to pray and ponder.
         Yeah, thought so.


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