Evil is a complicated topic. There is much disagreement on the details of it.
I will be attempting to open the topic up to reflection and discussion on April 30th. (Bethesda EC Church, Reedsville, 9:30am)
To learn more or prep yourself for the class, you can read a few posts I’ve already done on the topic, here, or this one on hell here. You can read the information wikipedia has offered, and click here.
Even more interesting (and NOT a promo piece for the book) is Wright’s response on Hell. About 3:16 minutes.
On April 30th, we’ll encounter “Theodicy”, also known as the topic of why a good God allows evil, and these such questions:
• What or who is evil?
• What is the point of evil?
• Why does God let evil happen?
• What should we do about it?
So, I’m putting those tough questions out to you. Maybe you’ll help me prepare for the class a bit better. What is a “must” to include in my lesson? What bit about “understanding” evil has been most helpful to you?
Let’s see…Get water from a fresh mountain spring (living water), or take a slip from someone else’s canteen from that spring? Okay, and imagine they just ate broccoli.
I think one of the worst things we can do, spiritually speaking, is try to get someone to drink from our spiritual canteen. We contaminate the message. That’s right, backwash. I’ve been guilty of this, and maybe you have been too.
We try to be convincing in our position, hoping the other person sees it our way, which just has to be the right way, because we just somehow “get it”. Then, we get surprised sometimes that they don’t like the message, or the messenger.
What’s the answer? What works?
Helping someone find the spring itself. Letting them feel the invigorating water for themselves, splash some of it over their fatigued body, and drink deeply from the Source. Not everyone will follow us there, but we can still tell them about what they can experience for themselves. We can think of ourselves as guides, not debaters. We can’t expect that anybody wants the stuff we kept in storage.
The same is true for us, and we can’t forget it! If we don’t fill up our spiritual canteen for ourselves, often, we’ll putrefy our pathetic container. We can’t settle, and get used to our stale, overstored water. Seriously. We’ll make ourselves sick.
While we make our way to the Spring, to engage in regular, honest intimacy with God, we can bring some weary travelers along with us. Nothing else will do.
Nothing quenches like water…from the source.
When was the last time you spiritually “drank from the Source”? AND What do you do to make sure the Living water doesn’t get stale in your spiritual canteen? I’d like to hear your ideas. Thanks for reading this today. Live Blessed.
Did Jesus get ashed on Ash Wednesday? Um. Nope. Duh…
This day in the Christian calendar has marked the beginning of the season of Lent for way over a thousand years. But, yes, it can be “observed” even if we don’t show the signs of charcoal. But, why bother? It’s pagan, right? It’s not in the Bible, right? It’s just kooky works-righteousness thing, right?
Well, here’s the thing. Let’s think about this. If something is not in the Bible does that mean it’s rendered useless and meaningless from Christian devotional practices? I doubt it. From the beginning God used known culture practices to help his people remember things in a physical/visible way that were connected with the the invisible Reality of him. Have you heard of circumcision? Of (Israelite) cleansing before temple participation? How about Baptism? Well, then you see what I mean.
Do you ever celebrate Christmas or Easter? Then, you’ve enacted what I mean.
Pagan Egypt (used for God’s purposes)
Nationally, Egyptian cultic practices were incorporated with the Israelite’slife of worship of the One True God. The Egyptian priestly practices, in particular, were employed. (Israel was a KINGDOM of priests. Quite an upgrade from slave status, right?)
God wasn’t threatened by the use of Egyptian priestly rites and rituals, the Israelites were familiar with, to help them remember and worship the Living God. On the contrary, God encouraged it. God commanded it. Similar sorts of things can help us today as well.
Still, we mustn’t ever forget–It’s not about the intricacies of the ritual itself, it’s about the condition of one’s heart. We can avoid false religion when we ask ourselves, “Does this practice draw me into relationship with the Living God?” If it does, keep it. If not, scrap it. You might want to read that again. It could be life-changing.
Just for you. A LENTEN SPIRITUAL EXERCISE:
Challenge yourself, by asking God to reveal himself to you, to minister to you, and to awaken you in a new way in the days leading to Easter. What might God want you to look at more closely? What might God wish to make more like him in your life?
This could be very personal, and private, but I encourage you to share what findings you’d like to. It will help all of us journey together through this time of Lent, toward the great joy we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday! (a.k.a. Easter)
Thank you for coming here today! Blessing this holiday season.
-Lisa
I met with my spiritual director today. In our time of prayer and reflection with God, the image came to mind of being seated among colored shards of glass. And I sensed God’s direction to let him put them together into a beautiful mosaic. How less beautiful would the work of art be without his Light to shine through it?
I don’t know how to put the broken pieces of my heart or my life together. But, I can hand them over to my Artist to make a masterpiece. The design, intention, and artisanship, of a Creator changes the useless into his glorious creation. I’m “in progress”, and when he’s done, I won’t just be mended, but I’ll be his lovely work of art.
Help me, dear God.
Do you feel like a mosaic in-progress? What places need to be mended in your life?
