It's crazy how we read words and hear them the way our brain chooses to process them. Depending on our mood or our level of trust in who the message is from can make a major difference in the interpreted meaning of the words we read and how we hear them in our brains.
Last Sunday in church, we were reading from Matthew 14 about Peter stepping out of the boat. The words that Jesus spoke when Peter began to sink are the ones that best reflect - to me anyway - how our brains hear the words we read in a completely different way than they were meant.
Jesus said," You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
How do you hear these words of Jesus?
- Was he scolding Peter?
- Were they the sympathetic and understanding words of a savior?
- Were they light hearted and said with a smile and with a hand held out for a friend in need?
I don't really know but my best speculation is that they weren't said in a scolding way. This was the SAVIOR and his friend was in the water - sinking. I doubt that our savior would scold his friend in a desperate moment!
Before these thoughts, I'd always "heard" the words that Jesus said to his friend as much more harsh and scolding than my savior would have ever done.
Think about it!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Current Reading
Currently reading a book called – “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist” and it is an incredible book that will strengthen the faith of anyone that might already be a Christian and would certainly make a non believer question a lot of their own beliefs.
I am convinced that most of us that call ourselves believers would be strained to defend our own faith with someone if they happened to question us about why we believe or even the exact details of what we truly believe. I don’t want to fall in that group. Right now I could tell you why I believe, what I believe, how I came to become a believer, but, I am not sure if I have a ready defense of the truths that I know are really true.
To a non-believer asking questions, “The bible says so” isn’t a good enough answer. We need to use the evidence that is all around us to be able to defend what we already know to be. I’m only about 1/2 way through this text and have already learned more about the creation and the evidence of God’s fingerprints that surround us than I knew existed. I’ve learned ways to defend my faith when I run into folks that believe that truth is “relative” or that there are “many paths to heaven”.
The copy of the book that I am reading belongs to my wife and she already told me that I am to absolutely not loan it to anyone. That is how important it is to her.
Well, I think that this is the first time I’ve recommended a book in by blog but, I’ve gotta say that this is truly worth the read.
By the way, when you think about this title, it really takes incredible faith to be an atheist. Here are just a few of the things that you’d need to believe –
You would need to believe that something can come from nothing. Yep, you would believe that long long ago before time, the universe exploded from nothing and time began.
You would be forced into believing that life came to be from non-living things.
You would need to have faith that intelligence came from non-intelligence.
Order came from disorder.
The list could go on and on but, - just get a copy of the book and we can share the thoughts.
I am convinced that most of us that call ourselves believers would be strained to defend our own faith with someone if they happened to question us about why we believe or even the exact details of what we truly believe. I don’t want to fall in that group. Right now I could tell you why I believe, what I believe, how I came to become a believer, but, I am not sure if I have a ready defense of the truths that I know are really true.
To a non-believer asking questions, “The bible says so” isn’t a good enough answer. We need to use the evidence that is all around us to be able to defend what we already know to be. I’m only about 1/2 way through this text and have already learned more about the creation and the evidence of God’s fingerprints that surround us than I knew existed. I’ve learned ways to defend my faith when I run into folks that believe that truth is “relative” or that there are “many paths to heaven”.
The copy of the book that I am reading belongs to my wife and she already told me that I am to absolutely not loan it to anyone. That is how important it is to her.
Well, I think that this is the first time I’ve recommended a book in by blog but, I’ve gotta say that this is truly worth the read.
By the way, when you think about this title, it really takes incredible faith to be an atheist. Here are just a few of the things that you’d need to believe –
You would need to believe that something can come from nothing. Yep, you would believe that long long ago before time, the universe exploded from nothing and time began.
You would be forced into believing that life came to be from non-living things.
You would need to have faith that intelligence came from non-intelligence.
Order came from disorder.
The list could go on and on but, - just get a copy of the book and we can share the thoughts.
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