What we can learn from Socrates

Just read this passage from Plato's Apology:


"And I think that no greater good has ever befallen you in the city [Athens] than my zeal for the service of god. For I go about doing nothing else than persuading you, both young and old, to take no care either for the body, or for riches, prior to or so much as for the soul, how it may be made most perfect, telling you that virtue does not spring from riches, but riches and all other human blessings, both private and public, from virtue." - Socrates via Plato, The Apology



My question for you is, "What concerns you most?" Can you say like Socrates, that you care about that which is eternal more than that which is not? Do the things that really matter get priority in your life? How important it is for us to realize that more stuff is not going to make us more virtuous; rather, blessings come from virtue. Now, where does virtue come from? Although we can be moral beings and yet unbelieving, complete virtue can only be realized by trusting in Christ. That's because our moral compass is repaired by God via our relationship with Christ, so that our orientation is gradually changed from ourselves to Him, resulting in completion and a final transformation when He makes all things new on that Last Day.

Pretty exciting when you think about, isn't it?

Holy-Zombie Land

Matthew 27-28 contain some amazing content, particularly the first, and only resurrection, recorded in history (of course I'm talking about Jesus' resurrection). But this morning what grabbed my attention was the passage found in Matthew 27:51-54. These are the events that occur immediately following the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and are incredible (in the new sense of the word) to say the least.

When Jesus dies, Matthew tells us that 1) the brightest part of the day, i.e. 12:00 Noon through 3:00 P.M., is actually dark, and that this darkness covers the entire land. Now, perhaps this was due to a natural event, such as an eclipse; we don't know, because the Bible doesn't tell us. But even if it was, what are the chances that this would happen naturally on the very day that Jesus is crucified? They have to be very slim indeed. This leads me to believe that God was letting us know something about the nature of Jesus and His death. But I think a casual reading of the text inclines us toward that anyway.

Matthew also tells us that 2) the curtain in the temple that veiled the dwelling place of God was torn in two from top to bottom. Why would Matthew tell us this? Because now by the death of Jesus we have access to God individually, because He is our great High Priest.

The third and most extraordinary thing to happen following Jesus' death (except His resurrection) was the resuscitation of, yes, you read it correctly, many of the saints, i.e. believers in Christ/pre-Christ faithful. So yes, the Bible has zombies in it... sort of. I suppose that technically a zombie is a reanimated corpse, and that here we actually have resuscitated persons. But just think of that day in a snapshot: the sky grows dark at high noon, there's an earthquake, the holy of holies is opened, and if that's not crazy enough, there's a very good chance that while you are walking around Jerusalem you might meet someone you knew to be dead just minutes before. I love the Scriptures; they are utterly unique, and full of wonder. Like C.S. Lewis once said, they are just strange enough to be true. If I was going to make something up and try to convince someone to believe it, I'm not sure I'd start with eclipses, earthquakes, and zombies followed by a resurrection and Pentecost.

Breakfast for Dinner

Ronda and I made b'fast for dinner tonight, and it was even South Beach approved. We made brown rice flour pancakes (taste just like the real thing) and topped them with thawed frozen berries. Our syrup was made from butter and 1 pack of Truvia (Stevia). We also had low-fat turkey sausage and bacon paired with scrambled eggs and low-fat sharp cheddar cheese. It was great.

In God's word this A.M.

Got into several passages of Scripture this morning, and they all challenged and enlightened me, but in different ways. If I wrote it all down, it would take me the entire day, so I've decided to hit the highlights in bullet format. Here are some thoughts on the passages I read:

1) Being a Godly Man (Psalm 15) - God desires fellowship with all of us, but He wants us to be holy as He is holy. Consequently, He asks us to participate in the sometimes painstakingly slow process of becoming more like Him everyday. What does the Godly man look like? This Psalm gives a good synopsis. When we come through it to the place where He would have us be, we will be standing firm on solid ground, immune to the uncertainty that plagues those who don't have that strong foundation.

2) God loves Justice (Psalm 45) - God hates, hates wickedness and wrongdoing. That's bad news for us, largely because we like to do that stuff a lot of the time. The good news for those in Christ is that we can know that Christ has covered our sin, and is making us new even as we speak. One day all the wrong will be gone, and we'll have perfect peace as we're covered in perfect love, enjoying perfect fellowship with a perfect God.

3) Pride is the anti-God state of mind (Psalm 75) - C.S. Lewis penned this phrase, and I couldn't help but think of it when I read this Psalm. Something else worth noting: it doesn't matter how hard you strive to put yourself on a pedestal; God will exalt whom He will in His proper time. That's because His plans get priority in His book, and if ours don't match up, well, tough cookies for us.

4) God is faithful, and active in our lives (Psalm 105) - This Psalm is a synopsis of the story of how Israel came to be in Egypt, how they were made captives, and of how God set them free and eventually gave them the Promised Land. A really powerful example and reminder of how God is faithful, even though his time table is not ours. Israel was in Egypt for 400 years; I wonder how many generations it would take us to doubt the promises of God? I wonder if we would even make it 40 years...

5) God deserves our praise and blessing (Psalm 135) - The author of this Psalm lists all of the things God did for Israel, and consequently makes a case for why He deserves the praise and blessing of His people. Other gods are just trinkets made by the local gift shop. Our God is the God who rescued Israel from Egypt, gave her the Promised Land, and whose name is everlasting.

6) Marriage is forever, and it's better that way (Matthew 19:1-12) - The Pharisees once again try to trap Jesus into giving an unpopular answer to a controversial subject: divorce and remarriage. Not much has changed in the 2,000 years since Jesus gave us the answer found in this passage - we still argue about this topic. I've come to firmly believe that there really is no exception clause here that allows for divorce. Let me explain. If you look at vv. 4-9, Jesus affirms that man and woman are one flesh once married, and that God has done this. Therefore, let no man try to separate what God has made one. Furthermore, the only reason divorce happened in the first place is because God allows for man to choose wrongly, and in the hardness of our hearts, divorce our spouses. All things may be permissible, but not all things are profitable. Now for v. 9. Is there an exception clause? I don't think so. The only thing I think we can correctly draw from this verse is that except in cases of adultery/immorality, if you remarry you're committing adultery against your former spouse. But this does not mean that it is thereby o.k. to get a divorce in the first place. It just means that if you are cheated on by your spouse, and you divorce the offending spouse, you're not committing adultery if you remarry. I have my thoughts on why that's the case, but that's another topic for another day. The point is, that even if your spouse hurts you by being unfaithful, God still will hate your decision to get divorced, if that's the route you take. And if our orientation as followers of Christ is love Him and the Father through obedience, while being led by the Spirit, how can we really ever say that divorce is something that brings Him honor and glory? I just don't think we can.

7) The Gospel according to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-30) - Recently I've been pondering about just what the Gospel is. What I mean by that is not that I don't understand that Christ died for me, that His death and resurrection are the only means by which my relationship with God can be made right again, and that I have to turn away from my other gods (i.e., my sin, my self, etc.) and trust that He knows best what's best for me, and actually follow Him through faithful obedience. No, what I mean when I say I've been thinking about what the Gospel is, is that I've been wondering about what Jesus said it was. When I was reading Matthew 19 this morning, I found this passage in which Jesus shares with us the core of the Gospel. Jesus meets a rich young ruler that has tons of money, prestige, and piety. He has property, status, and according to Jewish standards, a great spiritual walk. But there were two things he was unwilling to do: sell everything he had, and follow Jesus. Why? Because there was something ultimate in his life, but it wasn't Jesus; it was his money. Later Jesus tells the disciples that those who have given up everything for Him will inherit much, much more in the Kingdom to come. But the key here is not that we give up everything; Jesus is not calling us to abandon everything we have for the sake of being poor. What Jesus wants from us is the willingness to give up everything if He asks us to, because such a willingness reveals that He is our ultimate object of devotion, and nothing else comes close. So how do we know if Christ is our God? We should ask ourselves the following question based upon the following proposition: Call whatever you love the most in your life (other than God) x. Now ask yourself this: If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was asking me to give up x, to the point that I would never see, experience, hold, enjoy, etc., x again, would I be willing to leave x behind, and run behind Jesus to the wherever He was taking me? That is the gospel according to Jesus in Matthew 19. I think it's one of the most challenging passages we can read, when we really begin to understand just what He might ask us to give up for the sake of knowing Him. But the great thing is that once we do give it up, we will be able to say with Paul that we can count all things as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

8) There is no place for egos in the building of God's Church (1 Corinthians 3) - There's too much to post here at one time, but one of the things that really struck me was just how foolish it is for us attribute any importance to any particular person in the process of doing the work of the Gospel. It is all up to God! God is the one who does the growing! Why do we try and give praise to men?!?!? And furthermore, let us be faithful in our proclaiming of the Gospel, so that when our work is revealed and tested in that final day, ours will stand as a testimony to the greatness of God, rather than be consumed as a testament to the poor quality that comes from a lack of faithfulness to the task at hand.

Working Late

Well, it's 12:09 a.m. Sunday morning, and I'm at the front desk of the Sleep Inn. I have now been at the hotel for roughly 26 hours, and have to say it's been mostly enjoyable. It's kinda nice sleeping in a king sized bed, eating free breakfast, and watching Kentucky basketball.

Around 3:00 p.m. yesterday Jamie and Ronda came over and brought me some snacks. I thought they were crazy for walking in the ice and snow from their house, but truthfully it wasn't far, and they both said they were sweating by the time they made it to the hotel. It was also nice because it meant I got to see my fiance in person, and not just on my jabber webcam chat.

So, I'm not sure exactly what I'll do the rest of the night, but I most likely will read Darwin and/or Berkeley. My laptop tells me it's a chilly 21 degrees Fahrenheit outside. It's supposed to drop to 14 sometime around 6 a.m.

It's funny what you think of at times like this. I just remembered that once-upon-a-time I began writing a short story about monsters that came with a snow storm. The story was largely influenced by Stephen King's short story "The Fog," which was later made into a movie. I never saw it; anyone know if it was any good? At any rate, I never finished the story, but it had a catchy opening: "While James slept, outside the monsters of his dreams ravaged the earth." Pretty creepy, huh? I'm really glad I quit reading Stephen King. His stuff truly goes against the advice of Paul in Phillipians 4:8.

Hope everyone is able to stay warm tonight. Goodnight, and may God bless.



~ Reid

Let It Snow!

Well, looks like the weather men were right. I found this picture on the web and thought it was appropriate. The only thing is, today is Saturday and, well, it's not really a Snow Day for teachers or students.

In other news, I had to spend the night in the hotel last night because I had to work this morning. When I woke up, I heard rain on the windows. But I knew it was too cold to be raining, so I was a tad perplexed. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was in fact sleeting, so when I got down to the desk @ 7 A.M. I checked the local weather. Looks like the High today is 25 :( That means that the low is 13. I might be here all day... but at least I get free breakfast :)

Meditations on Psalm 118

I began reading Psalm 118 this morning after having read Psalms 28, 58, and 88. Although I read all of the Psalms of the day devotedly, I've found that God usually speaks to me through one in particular on any given day. Today that Psalm was 118.

Because there is so much to say, I'm not sure where I should begin. But in the interest of time (I don't have much to spend here, and I'm sure anyone reading doesn't either), I'm going to share just a few verses that pierced my soul (in a good way :) ).

I say here that the Psalm pierced my soul, so let me briefly explain what I mean. As I was reading, God's word seemed to literally puncture the layers of indifference and self-centeredness that often characterize my life. It went straight to my heart, and as a consequence it came to life before my very eyes. I can attribute this to nothing other than the result of the Spirit opening my eyes to His word upon my faithful submission to His truth. Today it was particularly vivid, and it allowed me to grasp more fully what is meant by the author of Hebrews in his 4th chapter, verse 12: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

I don't believe that it's an accident that Hebrews 4:12 came to my mind, largely because it points to another passage that uses the imagery of a sharp, two-edged sword: Revelation 1:16. There Jesus is described as one who has a sharp, two-edged sword proceeding from His mouth. I take this to mean that out of Jesus' mouth comes the word of God continually, and this makes sense, since He is, well, God.

I say all of this because Psalm 118 is primarily about Messiah, and I believe with all of my being that Jesus is Messiah, the promised Christ. Look at verses 15-18. Verse 15 says that "The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous...", after which verses 17 & 18 say, "I shall not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD. The LORD has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death." It seems to me that these verses are speaking of the joy that is my salvation because of what Jesus did on the cross. Look at the next group of verses.

Verses 19-21 speak about God opening the gates of righteousness so that "I shall enter through them...This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it." These verses recall for me Psalm 24, in which the King of Glory comes through the everlasting doors. Who is this King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Let's look further at what Psalm 118 has to say about this King.

What, you may ask, are the verses that follow 19-21? Their content is what Peter preaches on in Acts 4:11, calling everyone to put their faith in Jesus. That is because He is "The stone which the builders rejected...", who "Has become the chief corner stone." Who did this? Verse 23 tells us that "This is the LORD's doing." I believe this is a reference to God's raising Jesus from the dead, given the context provided by verses 17 & 18.

But the apex of the Good News preached in the Psalm is verse 27. It says, "The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." This verse makes me think of John 1:4, which says, "In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men." We have light, we have hope, because Christ came into our darkness, to bring us life - His life. And the next part of Psalm 118:27 tells us how we may have that life, which is never-ending. We may have life because Jesus was and is and will always be the perfect sacrifice that was offered in our place. Though we deserve to die, He took our death sentence and made it His own. In light of this, what other response should we give than what is found in Psalm 118:29 - "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting."

As I close on my meditations of Psalm 118, this last verse brings to mind another Psalm. Psalm 73:28 tells me that "The nearness of God is my good." How much nearer can God come than when He came as a Man to lay down His life for me, His friend? There just can't be a greater love than that, and that is why He, Jesus Christ, will always and forever be my savior, my friend, my Lord, and my God. I could live for other things, and they often do capture my heart for brief periods. But my heart always comes back, seeking the One for whom it was made, and I really don't want it to be any other way. That is no testimony of my goodness; it is an acknowledgment of His.


~ Reid