Mustard Seed Faith

Which matters more? The intensity with which we believe something or the object of that faith?

I dont know who first said:
"it is possible to sincerely believe and be sincerely wrong" but it is truth.

The truth about truth is .. it doesnt matter what you think/believe about it.. it is still true and it still has an impact on you.

Playing with fire

We can not have a relationship with God on our terms. We have to have a relationship with Him on His terms, because of WHAT He is.

What do you think happens when you are in contact with "a consuming fire"? What can be burnt up will be.

Deu 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Hbr 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Re-reading the gospels

Jesus didnt just refer to God... he deferred to Him

People will tell you what they think about God.

All we have to do is listen.

Evil is not inert.

Darkness is a black hole, sucking in light, blinding the eyes.

The birds will come and down and eat the good seed sown.
The enemy is a roaring lion.

We cant live in fear of this, but we can not ignore this either. What do we do?

Defining the Standard

Lets use the concept of lies and being a liar.

What would you think of a God that was a flippant liar?
Would you like to serve a lieing God?
OF course, NOT.

Now lets say that God is the perfect guy we believe Him to be.
The concept here is a judgment on "lieing" or (fill in the blank),
anything that are not consistant with God.
Lieing is wrong because it is not consistant with God.
Sin is what is not consistant with God.

He is the standard.

Items of same murkiness

It is good thing that God has taken it upon himself to be the judge of our intentions.

As a catagory, I would put good intentions in with all things of our inward life: feelings, beliefs, motives, thoughts. In the past I have bailed at this point, thinking that since the judgment of our inward life is wisely left to God, it would mean that even comprehending these areas was not possible. But inquirying minds want to know. Answers to human inward life confusion is the subject of nagging questions. Time has come (for me anyway) to meditate more on this.

A beginning thought would be: humans judging the inward life of another humans would generate the best possible odds of 1 out 7, that is if we can be sure to discern 1+2=2+1. Otherwise, the odds could double. If personal "resting" time is not jeolously guarded, the odds become murky indeed. If first things are not in place, forget it!

Good intentions

Should sympathy be given for "I didnt mean to hurt him/her."? If at the end of the day, we really didnt accomplish anything, should we console ourselves that we meant to be productive?

Does good intentions profit anything? How can I ever "do good" if I dont heartily intend to do so? That is... good is not going to just happen, is it?

On the other hand are good intentions ever evil? If I can "sell all my goods and give them to the poor, and it profits me nothing without love", how much less if I just desire to be able to be so magnimous, courageously noble in mind and heart?

Should we slap a "DONE GOOD" sticker on each person buying the livestrong bands? (Please! I am not picking on Armstrong or his cause, it is a convenient in-the-news metaphor) I am quite sure each person feels good about themselves for contributing. Hey, maybe I need to get me one of those!

Jackie

What we assume about "goodness"

The angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest." This was the beginning of their song. And it was after this that they sang of "good-will" towards man. This, too, must be the great principle governing all our testimony and our work. We cannot give "glory to God" without doing good to men. And there is no real good-will for men which does not spring from a desire to glorify God.

The rapid declension, which is the great mark of these last days, comes from an ignoring of this great principle. God is shut out, and man is exalted. Hence "the gospel of God" (Rom 1:16) is being rapidly and almost universally superseded by the gospel of man, which is a gospel of sanitation, and indeed is now openly called "Christian Socialism." But it is a socialism without Christ. It does not begin with the glory of God, and it will not and cannot end in any real good to man. It begins with man; its object is to improve the old nature apart from God, and to reform the flesh; and the measure of its success is the measure in which man can become "good" without "God." - Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance by E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913)
From: http://philologos.org/default.htm

Have you heard about Livestrong bracelets? Do you have one? Over 50 million yellow Livestrong wristbands have now been sold, raising millions for charity. The rubber bands, launched by top cyclist Lance Armstrong a year ago, are being sold to raise money to help people and their families fight cancer.

Do good.