In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. (John 1:1)
It is the same Word, or Logic, that spoke the world into being in Genesis 1.
The same Logic, or Testimony, is one that he ordained in Jacob as a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children (Psalm 78:5), and again, (Psalm 119:88), Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
It is the same Testimony, or Witness, spoken of in John 3:33, He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
The Witness, or Truth, of which Jesus said: Ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:27)
That Truth, or Faith, that is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And in John 17, when that Logos, that Word, speaks: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And again: For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
That Faith, or Knowledge, for which the Apostle Paul said: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
That Knowledge, or Love, which is God: for he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).
And that Love, for which the Apostle Paul said: We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
And that love, that knowledge, that faith, that truth, that witness, that testimony, that logic, that word…they are actions. Our obedience declares these truths. We love Jesus because He first loved us. We seek to know Him so that we might understand the power of His grace. We faithe in Jesus because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We bear testimony of that which we have witnessed: the Truth of what He has done in our lives, the lives of those around us, and the lives of those past, revealed to us by that Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete. We do not believe blindly. We do not take 'leaps of faith'. We believe because of the Logic of His ways and of His words, for His ways and His words are the life and light of men (John 1:4).
It is the same Word, or Logic, that spoke the world into being in Genesis 1.
The same Logic, or Testimony, is one that he ordained in Jacob as a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children (Psalm 78:5), and again, (Psalm 119:88), Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
It is the same Testimony, or Witness, spoken of in John 3:33, He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
The Witness, or Truth, of which Jesus said: Ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:27)
That Truth, or Faith, that is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And in John 17, when that Logos, that Word, speaks: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And again: For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
That Faith, or Knowledge, for which the Apostle Paul said: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
That Knowledge, or Love, which is God: for he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).
And that Love, for which the Apostle Paul said: We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
And that love, that knowledge, that faith, that truth, that witness, that testimony, that logic, that word…they are actions. Our obedience declares these truths. We love Jesus because He first loved us. We seek to know Him so that we might understand the power of His grace. We faithe in Jesus because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We bear testimony of that which we have witnessed: the Truth of what He has done in our lives, the lives of those around us, and the lives of those past, revealed to us by that Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete. We do not believe blindly. We do not take 'leaps of faith'. We believe because of the Logic of His ways and of His words, for His ways and His words are the life and light of men (John 1:4).
5 comments:
Camille,Very nice post.Seen on the news about the flooding in Tennessee.....hope you and your family are ok.My prayers are with you all.Really enjoyed your last concert in Columbus,IN and hoping to see you all again soon.By the way,Dan W was very honored to be asked to play at Annie's wedding and I am sure you will be blessed as we are each Sunday.God Bless You all.Sincerely,Randy
We certainly do bear testimony of that we have witnessed; and God’s ways do make so much sense. Nevertheless, it is amazing how many of God’s principles do not necessarily make sense until you actually obey and enact them. For instance, Jesus said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. If you had only ever focused on getting and not giving, it would be difficult to imagine how giving away something could make you happier than getting something. You could try to figure out if that really made sense. Then maybe your own logic would falsify the statement. It takes the decision and effort to say, “Okay, God knows what He is talking about….just do what He says. ‘Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men’” 1 Cor.1:25a. Once you feel the anticipation and joy of giving, you realize the truth and a small part of the great principle of reaping and sowing that affects each day of our lives. The same goes for Mt.16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” A lot of times there are extra benefits or “perks” for obeying God’s statutes that are only discovered after obedience. Health is greatly benefited by trusting, resting, and forgiving; while so many of the medical ailments are caused by fear, anger, bitterness, sinful lifestyle, etc. The commandment to “Praise the Lord” could seem to have a purely God-sided benefit; however, when you praise the Lord (especially if you don’t feel like it) there is and instant attitude change and you are happier because of it. It makes you think, “Hey, wait a minute! God might have said that as much (or more) for our benefit as His. God’s laws show His great love for us in the fruit that they bring.
It reminds me of a time when I was three or four years old. Gradually understanding that “Mommy really knows what she is talking about and I should listen even if I don’t understand it all.” There was the famous “iron pill” story in my life. Mom had two beautiful, shiny, green, tantalizing, iron pills sitting up on the ironing board. “ What are those?” I asked. “Those are iron pills, Preshy (my nickname - short for precious). “They’re yucky. Don’t eat them.” Yucky? Those beautiful little candies? And green to boot ( I have a sort of elvish delight of shiny green things.). “That cannot be true. They are too beautiful,” I thought. I reached for one of them. “Presh, they’re yucky,” she said again. Well, maybe she thought that they were yucky, but I was taking my chances that they were as wonderful, or at least half as wonderful as they looked. In went one gorgeous iron pill, and a couple, or maybe one crunch later…. Oh yeah, it was yucky all right. It was REALLY yucky!!! (If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try one.) After that day (which was sort of a climax of “Mommy saying, and it coming to pass”), when I was about to do something that Mom said not to, all she had to say was, “Preshy, remember, iron pills.” That memory was usually enough. God loves us and knows exactly what is best for us. All that stuff He tells us not to do is just “iron pills” in the end.
Tell your family “Hi” for us. We are praying that everything goes well as you take your tests. What is everyone’s major?
Randy: Thank you very much for your comment! I'm so glad that you enjoyed seeing us in Columbus. We are looking forward to getting to hear Dan's beautiful organ playing. It is very rare to find such a skillful organist in a culture where the organ is becoming a lost art. Many blessings to you!
Briana: Your story of the iron pills was so funny! I know exactly what you mean. So much of the time we never trust somebody until we've actually witnessed what they're telling us, and know them to be true. Of course, God would have us trust Him and obey Him before we make mistakes, so that we won't have to bear the fruit of them, but, unfortunately, so much of the time our own pig-headedness gets in the way of His words. I suppose we must just pray for the 'mind of Christ' every day, so that our 'natural inclinations' will be transformed for what God would will us to be and do. Thanks so much for commenting! I so do enjoy keeping in touch with you and your family. God bless!
I was thrilled when I saw that you wrote another post. Yes, “they are actions” if we truly love God we will seek to know Him with all of our heart. Reading and meditating on His word is a part of getting to know God. We should “add to (our) your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in in you, and abound, that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten he was purged from his old sins. 2 Peter 1: 5-9 As we grow in the Lord we should become more and more like him every day. It is easy to be influenced by a friend. In our household there is more music resonating than before we met a “certain” family. : ) Sometimes it is hard to find a room that is not being used for practice. You also might find a dictionary and thesaurus laying around, to aid in the use of a more descriptive vocabulary. You have inspired us.
Jesus is the best friend that we could ever have. Jesus called us friends if we do whatsoever he commands us, then in the next verse, second part, He says, “ I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” John 15: 14&15 It is exciting to know God. I like what Moses said to the children of Israel, “ And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord and his statues, which I command thee this day for thy good? Deuteronomy 10:12&13 those words are still true today.
Thank you for taking the time to post!
Amen, Katie, to all you said! It is so very true. We are made in the image of God, and therefore, as we get closer and closer to the afterlife, we should strive to become more and more like Jesus.
Thanks so much for commenting! I hope that you and your family are doing very well. We are extremely busy here, but hopefully the tide of things to do will ebb in a bit :) Many blessings!
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