Sherlock Holmes and C.S. Lewis
What do the two men named above have in common? They both make sense. -_-;; yeah, that was kinda lame.
I went to alpha course today. By myself. And guess what... I didn't get lost~! I assumed then that God had a lesson prepared for me. (Only intervention by God could explain my not getting lost, when I drove without a map.)
At first I made what I can only call feeble attempts at being outspoken, but as time went on I became quieter and quieter. During the small group discussion I was completely silent. It was an awesome discussion, with people being open and brave and honest about an issue that deserves such attitude: Jesus Christ, Son of God. I think my silence gave the wrong impression, as in, the majority of the people in the small group assumed I was a nonbeliever. But their opinion of me was the last thing in my mind during the discussion.
The whole time, I was too busy listening to what they were saying, to how it compared to my own thoughts and convictions and experiences. I never spoke out. After the discussion, I was talking with the group leader, and that's when I realized how I must have looked. Offended? Withdrawn? Confused? Definitely not Christian. As I drove home, I had kind of an insight about the lesson God wanted me to learn. Pride. I realized that my life as a PK, my peaceful, mellow, uneventful life led me to believe I was a good Christian, worse yet, a "better" Christian. So that I turned a deaf ear to any of the comments that I did not agree with, and argued without consideration nor respect (even if only in my head, which is even worse because they can't argue back).
How do you know you're a Christian? How do you know what you know is what you believe? I should put that in quotes. How do you know what you "know" is what you "believe"? When it brings about changes. You know there is a God? Worship Him (for God is the only one worthy of worship). You know the Bible is Truth? Read it (for without truth, you have no life). You know a tsunami is coming? Evacuate (for otherwise you shall die). You know you are a sinner? Repent (for without repentance, there is no salvation). You know God is Almighty? Throw away your pride! (for pride, pride is the sin of all sins, the Great Sin). You know Jesus is God? Follow in His footsteps (for.. John 14:6)
As C.S. Lewis so simply and brilliantly put it in his book Mere Christianity,
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (p. 52)
The pastor quoted Sherlock Holmes today. I don't remember it exactly, so I'll semi-paraphrase it.
"If you eliminate all that is impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Jesus is Christ, Son of the living God. Almighty Creator. Who holds up his/her head in pride in the presence of the Almighty King? All sin and fall short from the glory of God.
Forgive me my foolishness, forgive me my pride. Lord, make me like you, humble and meek, loving and gentle, wise and brave. In your precious name I pray. Amen.
PS: if you looked up the passage above, God bless you~!
What do the two men named above have in common? They both make sense. -_-;; yeah, that was kinda lame.
I went to alpha course today. By myself. And guess what... I didn't get lost~! I assumed then that God had a lesson prepared for me. (Only intervention by God could explain my not getting lost, when I drove without a map.)
At first I made what I can only call feeble attempts at being outspoken, but as time went on I became quieter and quieter. During the small group discussion I was completely silent. It was an awesome discussion, with people being open and brave and honest about an issue that deserves such attitude: Jesus Christ, Son of God. I think my silence gave the wrong impression, as in, the majority of the people in the small group assumed I was a nonbeliever. But their opinion of me was the last thing in my mind during the discussion.
The whole time, I was too busy listening to what they were saying, to how it compared to my own thoughts and convictions and experiences. I never spoke out. After the discussion, I was talking with the group leader, and that's when I realized how I must have looked. Offended? Withdrawn? Confused? Definitely not Christian. As I drove home, I had kind of an insight about the lesson God wanted me to learn. Pride. I realized that my life as a PK, my peaceful, mellow, uneventful life led me to believe I was a good Christian, worse yet, a "better" Christian. So that I turned a deaf ear to any of the comments that I did not agree with, and argued without consideration nor respect (even if only in my head, which is even worse because they can't argue back).
How do you know you're a Christian? How do you know what you know is what you believe? I should put that in quotes. How do you know what you "know" is what you "believe"? When it brings about changes. You know there is a God? Worship Him (for God is the only one worthy of worship). You know the Bible is Truth? Read it (for without truth, you have no life). You know a tsunami is coming? Evacuate (for otherwise you shall die). You know you are a sinner? Repent (for without repentance, there is no salvation). You know God is Almighty? Throw away your pride! (for pride, pride is the sin of all sins, the Great Sin). You know Jesus is God? Follow in His footsteps (for.. John 14:6)
As C.S. Lewis so simply and brilliantly put it in his book Mere Christianity,
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (p. 52)
The pastor quoted Sherlock Holmes today. I don't remember it exactly, so I'll semi-paraphrase it.
"If you eliminate all that is impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Jesus is Christ, Son of the living God. Almighty Creator. Who holds up his/her head in pride in the presence of the Almighty King? All sin and fall short from the glory of God.
Forgive me my foolishness, forgive me my pride. Lord, make me like you, humble and meek, loving and gentle, wise and brave. In your precious name I pray. Amen.
PS: if you looked up the passage above, God bless you~!
posted by Debora at
10:33 PM
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