Category Archives: Chrisitian Philosophy

Blogs in this category deal with Christianity not from a religious perspective, but from a philosophical viewpoint.

Why we should study the Bible (Part 1)

Posted on September 24, 2012 by | Comments Off on Why we should study the Bible (Part 1)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

I have always enjoyed the process of learning.  As a child, I remember enjoying going to the school’s library and checking out books on dinosaurs, astronauts, and anything dealing with science.  My love of learning did not stop there but continues even today.  I enjoy reading, studying, and expanding my mind about the world around me.  Although I have been a Christian since 1988, I never made the effort to study the word of God – the Bible – the way I have other subjects until about seven years ago.

While in the process of preparing for my preliminary exams for my Ph.D. program, I began what every other Ph.D. graduate student has done in the past.  I met with my adviser and committee members, I made a list of what I thought could be possible questions, and read books off of reading lists that had been prepared by my committee to help me prepare for the exams.  Over the next six months, I read the books, discussed the readings with the members of the committee, and prepared my responses to the list of questions I had earlier prepared with the help of the committee.

About halfway through my preparations for the exams, I began to realize the truth about my own seriousness about my faith.  I claimed to be a Christian, I did read my Bible nearly every day, and regularly attended church services, but rarely did I ever study the Bible with the intensity that I was doing in preparation for my preliminary exams.  It was at that time that I truly began to realize what Paul meant when he wrote those words to Timothy: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

As a part of our spiritual growth, it is important that we study the Bible.  Just as an athlete increases their strength and endurance by working out, and just as a chef refines their talents by continued practice, as Christians, we must strengthen our faith through personal Bible study, prayer, and active service within a local church.  We should do this not because our faith requires it, but because we desire closer fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  I decided to do it not only because I felt it was what I should do, but because I wanted to as well.

To be honest, there is no right or wrong way to study the Word of God.  It is a matter of what works best and provides the results you want.  If you are intense with your study, you’ll not only get a better understanding of your faith, but will find yourself drawing closer in your relationship with God.  What works for me is a bit of quiet time – like when my two-year old daughter is napping.  I simply get out my Bible, a notebook, a pen, and a good concordance, such as The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.  Each day, I read one chapter from the book of Proverbs, and then follow a system that will allow me to read the Bible through at least one time each year.

As I do my daily readings, I will make a note of any verse or phrase that seems to stand out at the time I am reading it.  Once I have finished doing my reading, I then grab the concordance and will begin to look up key words within the scripture references I wrote down.  Some of what I learn ends up here on this site while other things are more personal and either shows me areas of my life where I need to change some things, let some things go, or where I need to pay closer attention to God’s leadership.  Over the past seven years I have seen my relationship with my Savior deepen and become more meaningful and purposeful.  Over the next few posts, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned about the importance of meaningful daily Bible study.

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Lessons from my daughter

Posted on August 23, 2012 by | Comments Off on Lessons from my daughter

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

My wife and I are proud parents of an almost two year old girl.  As the parent of a toddler at the age of 42, the entire experience has taught me important lessons about myself and my relationship with God.  One of the lessons that she has taught me this week is that we need to seek God’s wisdom, guidance, and help when we face difficulties.

Earlier this week, on Monday morning, my daughter was trying to get one of her toys from under the glider-rocker that is in her room.  Normally, when she tosses a toy and it lands somewhere she can’t reach it, she will come and get me so that I can help her.  Monday was different.  Instead of coming to get me, she managed to get her head stuck between the seat and the base of the glider-rocker. I was getting things ready for my Tuesday afternoon class when I heard her cries and screams for help!  

Since I made the decision to accept Jesus as my personal Savior, I would love to say that I have continually sought his guidance in all areas of my life including the problems I have faced.  Just like my daughter, occasionally I still try my own way first rather than asking for help from God.  When the apostle Paul wrote For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, he was reminding Christians that at the time of our salvation and afterwards, we have a special relationship with God that allows us to call upon him as a child calls for his or her parents (Romans 8:15).

We all know Jesus’ teaching about the wise man that built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand.  This teaching also applies here – when we turn to our own understanding and reasoning in solving problems, we actually begin to build on sand.  This is why so many times in my own life that I have come up with solutions and quick fixes for problems only to see it all unravel.  The apostle Paul wrote to the early church at Galatia But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage  (Galatians 4:9)? When we pause to consider what this can imply: when we try to solve problems the way we did before we were saved, we are willingly putting ourselves back into bondage.

Consider what David, a man that God describes as being after His own heart, said about the peace that God provides:  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake(Psalms 23:1-3).  If there is ever any passage of scripture where God reveals his desires for his children, it is this passage.  He doesn’t want us to experience difficulties and hardships of our own making, but wants to provide us a place of spiritual comfort and restoration.  Even Jesus taught in his earthly ministry to Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:29).

It’s a hard lesson to learn and even harder to remember when we are standing toe to toe with life’s problems.  One of my favorite hymns, Solid Rock, tells us to “cast our every care on the Lord…” Although my daughter’s loss was only a toy, it was her toy; and in her mind, her solution was going to work. For us, our loss can also seem just as large as a child’s toy is to them – whether it is a financial difficulty, the loss of a job, a family problem, or even a health problem – to God, it is as he reminded Abraham and Sarah, Is any thing too hard for the LORD (Genesis 18:14)?

On a personal note:  My daughter was not hurt and was just fine after I got her out of the glider-rocker.   Since then, she has had a couple of other toys end up under it, and each time, she has come to me and asked for help.  I, too, am doing the same thing with the problems our family is facing – asking God to provide for our needs.  Please keep us in your prayers.  

 

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Difficulties and Trials

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A challenge from Paul – act as if you work for God

Posted on May 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on A challenge from Paul – act as if you work for God

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

 It’s the end of another semester at the local community college where I teach.  I enjoy the challenges that each semester brings, meeting new students, and watching the social trends that manifest themselves.  There is one social trend that almost everyone has been guilty of at some point in their lives and is a continual struggle to overcome – it’s doing the most minimal effort to get by.  Although it seems like a good idea at the time, it often causes more problems than it would have if we had just done our best to begin with.

Imagine, if you will, that whatever job you have – if it’s working at McDonald’s, 5/3 Bank, or even Wal-Mart – God was your employer.  Would it change how you did your daily tasks?  Would you go the extra mile to make sure you met all the expectations your employer set before you the day you were hired?  Would you make an extra effort to be on time each morning?  Would you gossip about other employees or your employer while on the clock?  Would you hear God tell you at the end of the workday as you clocked out, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things...” (Matthew 25:21).

Paul, in our highlighted passage for today, is reminding us that as Christians we are to do all things as if we are doing them for God.  With God, there is no “good enough for government work” standard. Paul wrote to the Colossians that whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men (Colossians 3:23).  Everything we do when we are at work we are to do it as if we are doing it for God; while in prison for his faith, Paul called himself an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly (Ephesians 6:20).  When others know we are Christians they have a tendency to watch us more closely, scrutinize our actions, and will judge our professed love for Jesus Christ by what they see us do.  If our work does not reflect the best that we can do then we are damaging our ability to be an effective witness for Christ!

As Christians, we should strive to serve Jesus Christ in all that we do.  This means we should not divide our existence between our Christian service and our everyday lifestyle – the two should be one and the same.  Our faith in Jesus Christ should be a very present factor in what we do at work, who we listen to for entertainment, and in our decisions at the ballot box.  Even during Jesus’ earthly ministry he taught about making a conscious choice about what we let become our “master.”  We can either choose and dilligently seek after the things of God or we must make the choice to be bound to the will of man (Matthew 6:24).  Even the apostle John warns Christians that If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: in other words, if we claim to be a Christian and our day to day life does not bear witness to what we profess, we are not demonstrating our faith (I John 1:6).

In a world where taking shortcuts and doing the bare minimum, doing your best can not only bring peace to your soul, but can bring about other benefits as well.  Solomon, a man gifted with wisdom that can only come from God, wrote that He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding (Proverbs 12:11). Although there are those that will claim this verse just applies to agriculture, this concept should be applied to whatever it is that we do for employment – whatever your job is that provides you with what you need to live.  If you are still a student, then do your assignments as you would do them for God.  If you are self-employed, conduct your business as you would conduct it for God.  If you work for another, then work for your boss as you would perform the same job for God.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living, Standards

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