I got this idea from a catalog item that personalizes a bible verse with your birthday. Like mine is 1-25, so I guess they pick out a nice verse that matches. So I decided to see what I could find. Here are my favorites:
1 Corinthians 1:25
"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." KJV
Genesis 1:25
"God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good." KJV
Deuteronomy 1:25
"They took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, "It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us." KJV
Proverbs 1:25
"but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;" WEB
Isaiah 1:25
"And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin" KJV
Ezekiel 1:25
"And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings." KJV
Luke 1:25
"Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." KJV
Romans 1:25
"For they had bartered the reality of God for what is unreal, and had offered divine honours and religious service to created things, rather than to the Creator -- He who is for ever blessed. Amen." WEY
(Probably the best bible verse website I've found is Bible Browser. It's very quick and easy to use.)
Since I didn't do a Sunday Sermonette yesterday, maybe I'll do just a bit of Monday morning sermonizing.
The Mind and Heart of God
"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men." I like that, and I think it's very true, especially in light of my recent rather perilous journeys into the Mind of God. It is very easy to become overwhelmed and disoriented in the vast, infinite really, expanse of possibilities within God's Mind. In order to keep from becoming completely lost one must have very special tools, a very good internal compass, and/or a guide.
"For they had bartered the reality of God for what is unreal, and had offered divine honours and religious service to created things, rather than to the Creator." Man must be careful not to rely too much on the creations of his own mind, for the human mind is susceptible to error and misjudgment. In the Mind of God we can see many things that are possible but not necessarily real and realized. In God all things are possible, and by extension since we are created in God's image we can create many things in our own minds. But just because it's possible to create them in our minds does not mean that they are real or realizable. When faced with all of these possibilities one must rely upon his special tools, internal compass, and/or guide to know the truth.
So what are these special tools? They are the Laws of Nature which keep those who know them on a path of reality. And what is this internal compass? I think it is our heart knowledge. This comes from God and not from our own minds. Incidentally, yesterday I did hear a little bit of a sermon on TV about how God often speaks to us through our hearts instead of our minds. This is the source and expression of faith. Faith lives in our hearts and comes straight from the Heart of God. We must learn to listen to our hearts and have faith in that heart knowledge because it comes from God. "And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin." What that means is that when we have faith in the Heart of God he will purge away the "dross and tin" (falsehoods and impurities) that our own minds have created. And if we think our hearts are foolish, we should remember that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."
Most people cannot rely only upon their tools and compass. They need a guide to the Mind and Heart of God. Jesus is the guide for many people. There is more to say about this than I am able, "but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof."
Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we humans aren't infallible. We make mistakes because we listen to our minds instead of our hearts. But in the infinite Mind and Heart of God we can find our way to the Truth when we have our tools, compass, and a guide - whether it is Jesus or another gift from God.
And that's this week's sermonette.
6 comments:
I think this needs to be taken a step further, though, Rae Ann. While the heart God does provide our moral compass, and agreeing that our minds are often deceived, we can't rely solely upon our hearts. While listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we must also test them with the scriptures to make sure. 1 John 4:1 says, "1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this ye know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ hath come in the flesh, is from God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not from God. And this is that spirit of antichrist, of which ye have heard that it should come; and even now already it is in the world." Bible in Basic English
Thanks for the sermonette. And also for the link to that great bible reference on-line.
My birthday verse came from Proverbs:
"A fool shows his annoyance the same day."
Good one!
dh, yeah, I was kind of getting there. It's true that we can't always rely on our hearts and that's when we need our 'guide'. You know, I'm not a good Christian. I never have been, though I've tried. But I know in my heart, and from God's Heart and Mind, that I'm okay. I get in these religious moods sometimes when these issues take up much of my mental energy. I'm glad you enjoyed the sermonette even though I'm not at all qualified to sermonize. ;-) And isn't that a great bible resource?? Some of the other sites I tried were very frustrating.
sierrabella, that is a great one!
Wow. I wasn't saying you're not a good Christian. That's between you and the Lord. If that's what you think I was saying, I'm sorry. I think it's great that you're thinking the way you are. It shows God is working on your heart. :-)
dh, it's okay. I wasn't thinking that you were saying that. I was just confessing my own struggles. And yes, God is working on my heart *and* mind. ;-)
Just last night I was trying to get into the "mind of God." I was thinking about whether or not God is satisfied with only a mental or mind/heart relationship with us. Maybe it's not really necessary to God that we make great displays of devotion or make sacrifices in God's name. Maybe it's purely a human need to have some physical expressions of our love. That seems like a natural result of our being physical beings and not just spirits. Maybe this human need for physical things is partly responsible for our general dissatisfaction with God and the mind/heart-only relationship. Of course, one could say that by giving us this wonderful world to live in, God has provided us with that physical relationship. Well, I don't know. We humans are never satisfied, and that's why we ate that Fruit in the first place.
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