Wisdom

The Lord by His wisdom has founded the earth. Who are we, that He would allow us, much less exhort us, to seek any measure of this wisdom for ourselves, and then reward us when we gain it? (Inspired by Proverbs 3) 

In Which TUS Returns to College!

 You know, my life is fairly predictable. I like the rhythms of simple days ("make it your ambition to lead a quiet life," 1 Thess. 4:11, is a verse that makes me smile), and I can honestly say that very little has happened in my life so far to throw me for a major loop or send me spiraling in whole new directions. Other than, of course, meeting Jesus at the age of 27. 

Recently, though, I got an entirely unexpected chance to go back to school. 

From time to time, I'd thought about a master's degree, but I never thought it would happen and didn't particularly care. I mean, how would I ever afford it, when would I have the time, what job would it lead to, who'd mind the kids, and what would I even study? Every year my recall of my BS math curriculum faded a little more, and the idea of an MBA to build on my second major (business) left me cold. And speaking of cold, the cold hard fact is that I'm not terribly career oriented and never have been. At least, not in the wear-work-clothes, leave-the-house, make-a-meaningful-salary way. In the write-teach-edit-from-home, sketchy-income way, things worked well enough. 

But this past spring, God spoke. 

Opportunity and finances aligned. There will be no debt accumulation; I wouldn't do this if there were. I won't be obliged to seek employment to earn my investment back (as if I'd get hired at my age); I wouldn't do this if I were. This will be, in the broadest sense, equipping for personal ministry. Put another way, some people travel in their dotage; perhaps TUS goes to school.

I asked the Lord if just kind of wanting a master's degree for the sake of having one was reason enough to pursue it. He said, immediately, "Just entering a master's program at your age will be a conversation starter." And that is already proving true. Over the following couple of months, He opened my mind to understand that the people I'll most often be led to will be the type of people who respect a degree. 

So, tonight is my first class! If all goes as planned, I should graduate in spring 2027 with a BA in biblical studies, and with the MA in spring 2029.

And perhaps the takeaway here is that no matter what decade of life you're in, no matter how steady your life has been, that doesn't mean God won't step in and shake it up with something you never expected, or wake up a thought you'd long since put to bed. As long as we're still here and breathing, He's not done with us yet.   

Inspired by the Inspired

 

God inspired Scripture so perfectly that it is perfect. 

Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God's will, both publicly and privately--behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, AMP 2015). I like how the Amplified expands on what Scripture accomplishes, but the two main points are (a) all Scripture is from God, and (b) Scripture is sufficient to equip us for every good work. Is it exhaustive of all knowledge? No; for example, it won't substitute for an auto mechanic's manual, nor is it even a complete record of everything Jesus did, as John directly states (John 21:25). It won't teach me how to troubleshoot my WiFi, but it will teach me what attitude to take while doing so. What the verses are saying is that the book we call the Bible can fully counsel us on how to relate to others, worship God, or handle any dilemma, with Godly character. Whatever we're facing, there's hope, direction, encouragement, discipline, or guidance for us somewhere in its pages. 

Rabbit trail alert: Some months ago I was asked how we know the Bible is true. Well, it's not unlike how we know God is God. If anything outside of God needed to verify God, then would God be God? No--that other thing, that verifying party or accrediting body, would be God. In a group I was in, someone once asked, in all seriousness, "Who made God?" But it's a nonsensical question. If someone made God, then that maker is the real God, and if someone made that maker, then that maker is the real God, and...you see the issue. God is self-existent because by definition He has to be. Similarly with His word, which is an extension of Him. But didn't men write the Bible? Yes, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). But didn't some committee decide which books (and authors) belonged and which didn't? Yes, but if the Holy Spirit can inspire the writings in the first place, and then decide not to inspire the compiling of the canon, does that make any sense? No; what's operating here is our sneaking lack of faith that says this time, for sure, God dropped the ball. Besides, since the OT was established before Jesus' day, we have the Messiah signing off on that portion, and since Peter calls Paul's writings Scripture as early as 64-66 AD (2 Peter 3:16), that covers the majority of the NT epistles as well.

Let me veer back to my point. If the Holy Spirit inspired select human writers so well that they wrote God's word perfectly in the original languages, if these men had such a personal relationship with the Father, either knowing Jesus (NT) or looking ahead to Jesus (OT), that they could be carried along by the Holy Spirit to the point they were pure, clear vessels in His hand, nothing more and nothing less--what does that mean for us? If we pursue our relationship with Jesus to the uttermost, how much closer can we come to doing works for Him that are undistorted? To getting out of our own way and His, becoming nothing but that dedicated instrument, so that what's produced is all Him? And, since He's the one doing it through us, completely in His will for us? To me, that sounds a lot like losing your life to save it. What if we pray, "Lord, bring me to a place where I can be carried along by the Holy Spirit to complete Your assignment with undistorted results"? 

I'm going to. Join me? 

Summer

 

Too soon the summer's over, so they say;

pack shorts and swimsuits up and put away.

"It's fall," they say, convinced this thing is true,

though temperatures are stuck at eighty-two.

The seasons of our lives should not be rushed,

lest God be missed, his Holy Spirit hushed.

Consult your calendar and rightly reckon:

it lasts until September twenty-second.