Stephanie’s Musings

          He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

          My last post talked about meditating on God’s Word. What exactly does that mean?

          All About Spirituality.org has a detailed definition of meditation and various ways it has been practiced in different cultures. In fact, All About Spirituality.org has a lot of information about many things related to spirituality. Each article gives plenty of information and continually leads back to the truth that true spirituality comes from a relationship with the Lord Jesus. I recommend this site if you want to explore the meaning of true spirituality.

          Back to biblical meditation. What is it? Short answer: focused thinking about what the passage teaches and how it applies to my life.

          I’m renewing the habit of meditation and would like you to join me. I’m calling it a Meditation Meander. That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? If meditation is focused attention, how can you meander through it? Meander seems to indicate an aimless wandering.

          But consider: A meandering trail is much longer than a trail straight from point A to point B. A meandering walk through the forest gives a person maximum time in that forest. Time to enjoy the sights and sounds and smells of the forest. Time to see and experience details that would be missed during a more purposeful journey. Time to really get to know the forest. A meandering walk is a walk whose focus in not on destination but on experienced moments.

          Meditation Meander. A journey through Scripture; a focus on Scripture’s Author.

          Each week (or so), I’ll chose a verse or short passage. First I will memorize it (or re-memorize, if I already know it). Throughout the week, I will consider what it means and how it can be applied to my life. I will also search my Lord’s Word for other verses that teach the same truth. This is a huge task. There are sure to be multitudes of verses that touch on at least one aspect of my target verse. Obviously I won’t be able to exhaust that search. I’m not even going to try. That’s not the goal. The goal is to meander through His Word, to investigate and discover His teachings, to immerse myself in His truths and to delight in Him.

          I’d love for you to join me. I’ll post my focus verse each week. Sometime during the week, I will post few of the similar verses I’ve discovered and any thoughts that have occurred during my meditations. Feel free to tell me about any verses or insights you glean as you meander through His Word.

Many years ago I was shown these passages from Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

and Joshua 1 (emphasis mine).

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:7-8

          There is a promise here. A promise I have trusted and seen fulfilled in countless ways for decades.

          If I meditate on the law of the Lord, if His Word is my delight, I will prosper. As I meditate on God’s Law, I become like a tree planted by a stream. My life prospers, I bear fruit, I have success, I flourish.

          Some could corrupt that to mean I’ll have a lot of money and material wealth. That’s not what those verses say. That belief cheapens and tarnishes the truth. These verses are talking about true prosperity, a prosperity of soul. A prosperity that has little to do with possessions and much to with a life well lived .

          A prosperous life is one filled with fulfilling tasks and life purpose. A prosperous life includes an ability to find joy and purpose in each day. A prosperous life is rich in relationships, both as mentor and disciple. A prosperous life encompasses each moment of each day, layering it with richness and vibrancy and fulfillment. A prosperous life has little to do with money and possessions and much to do with living.

          The Bible teaches that if I meditate on God’s Word, I will prosper. So I will meditate. Join me!

          What does your new year hold? My 2010 included a lot of changes, which will continue into the new year.

          I’m also making plans, sometimes called resolutions. But not the typical resolutions. Not the resolutions that are forgotten by February. At least that’s my plan.

          This blog is my feeble attempt to share with anyone who will listen the glorious truth of a life lived for, with and through my wondrous Lord. Feeble because there are so many things I want to share, so much I want to say. I write, but my attempted posts become too long, too serious, too full. Or I swing back the other way and they become too trivial. So I don’t post anything. And this blog sits empty. Doing little except reveal my failure to be consistent.

          It’s time for that to change. I will post something to this blog at least twice a week.

          I’m still floundering, trying to decide exactly what to write. Do I write about my writing? Or my hobbies? (Which ones?) Or homeschooling? Or being a wife and mom? Or what? I have many interests, many thoughts . . . and many doubts. (Who really wants to hear what I have to say? Anyone?)

          Even so, I will post something at least twice each week. I will do that for the next two months. In February, my domain name is due to be renewed. If I have not posted to this blog on a regular basis by mid-February, I think it wise to let the domain expire. Whatever happens, whether renewed and regular blog postings or termination of a useless and unused blog, this year will be a year of following my wondrous Lord wherever He leads.

          Won’t you join me?

          Life has changed drastically! The Lord does that fairly often. At least in my life. While there are some with a higher level of uncertainty in their lives, I’ve had more than my share of “We’re moving in x-weeks” experiences.

          This time I had 13 days to pack and prepare for a trans-Atlantic move! Talk about stress inducers and the potential for a lot of bad, or at least not-so-good. I could have spent so much time dwelling on the negatives of this trip. The hurrying to pack and forgetting things I wanted to take; leaving my children, grown though they may be, to go live on the other side of the world for who knows how long; missing my deployed son returning to the States by 1 day (!); long travel times and waits in airports and train stations surrounded by a strange culture with no knowledge of the language; forced to find and outfit an apartment in said strange culture with limited money; thrown into a full-time teaching job with little knowledge of what to expect; etc, etc, etc. I could have dwelt on any or all of those negatives and been miserable.

          Had I done that, though, I would have missed out on so much my Lord did and is still doing. Instead, I trusted that this was His plan and I went forward in faith. After decades of living as His child, I know

“. . .that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

          Instead of focusing on the negatives, I intentionally made note of the positives.

          Fortunately, I did not have to pack up a house. Those staying in our house while we are overseas will benefit from my household supplies, furniture, books and whatnot. I did have to pack up all of my clothes and personal effects. Some (very little) came with me, some went into storage, but much was given away. No reason to hoard what I won’t be using and won’t need when I return. (Which could be years from now.)

          Both my husband and myself have full-time jobs in a time when many don’t. A true blessing after two years of odd-jobs and depleted savings accounts. (Although those two years were a true trust experience in their own right, with the Lord providing so much more in many miraculous and “coincidental” ways.) We are teaching English as a Foreign Language in a training center in China. In a country whose schools have 50-100 students in each class, teaching in a center which limits class size to 10 is a joy. As is being surrounded by students who want to learn instead of those forced to attend.

          Another, more relevant to this blog, bad that could become a good is my unreliable Internet service. Upon arrival here, I learned that many sites, like Facebook and YouTube, are permanently blocked. Others, like Wikipedia, are periodically blocked and even when not blocked, service is often unreliable. I’m rarely able to access this site. Which is why I haven’t updated it in so long. (And here you thought it was just because of my usual procrastination issues. )

          While on the surface, this seems to be a bad thing, there is potential to transform it into good. I just may be propelled out of my typical procrastination and into efficiency. Since I never know when, or for how long, I will be able to access this site, I’ll have to plan my uploads efficiently. That means writing blog posts and having them ready to upload. And that is just what I will do.

          I’m writing posts as often as possible (my new environment is giving me a lot of material to talk about!). When I am able, I will upload as many posts into the scheduler as possible before service is disrupted. It may occasionally sound as if something was written months before it is posted. It probably will be. But this inconvenience is, in fact, a golden opportunity to make this blog more consistent. I plan to live in the opportunity.

          How has the Lord changed bad into good in your life? How are you participating in that?

          Nine years ago today, America experienced a tragedy. Lives were forever changed. No matter what your opinion of current events, that fact has not changed. I want to honor them today, not add more furor to today’s controversial topics.

          I will pray. I will lift up to my loving Father those survivors of the 9-11 attack who lost dear ones. I pray they have rebuilt their lives, finding joy and comfort in both future joys and past memories. I pray that as they traversed through that difficult passage to the other side of grief, they have lived a lasting legacy of hope to all those around them. For those still caught in those debilitating tentacles of grief and depression, I pray for comfort. And for the rest of us, I pray we never forget the people, even as we wrestle with the issues.

This is part of an ongoing series that establishes the foundation of my faith. It may seem a little academic to some, too light for others. I have endeavored to strike a balance in order to provide clear reasons and support for each belief. The bottom line of my faith is that I believe the Bible has a message from God, the Creator of all life. That message is one of truth and love, justice and forgiveness and above all, an invitation to abundant life.

Adam was created perfect, without sin or any fault; He chose to rebel against God.

Because we are descended from Adam, we bear his guilt, propensity to sin and condemnation.

          This is probably one of the most significant premises in my belief system. Everything else radiates from this one truth. Instead of believing we are all inherently good, I believe what the Bible teaches, that we have an inclination to do evil. Because of the rebellious choices made by the first man and woman (see Genesis 3), all their offspring have that same propensity toward rebellion, violence and cruelty. In theological terms it is called a sin nature. In practical terms, it means that every one of us is capable of great depravity.

          Before Eve and Adam chose to disregard God’s instruction, life was idyllic. There was no death, no destruction, no unhappiness. With that one act of disobedience and rebellion, they condemned all of mankind to a battle with a dark nature. Only divine intervention could negate the consequences of their choice.

……………………..Supporting Scripture……………………….

• Genesis chapters 2 and 3.
• Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12 NIV)
• We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22 NIV)
• Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? (Proverbs 20:9 NIV)
• for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23 NIV)
• For the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23a NIV)
• As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10 NIV)
• Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. (Romans 5:14 NIV)

This is part of an ongoing series that establishes the foundation of my faith. It may seem a little academic to some, too light for others. I have endeavored to strike a balance in order to provide clear reasons and support for each belief. The bottom line of my faith is that I believe the Bible has a message from God, the Creator of all life. That message is one of truth and love, justice and forgiveness and above all, an invitation to abundant life.

          God created the world, the planets and stars, the entire universe.

          There are multiple Scripture references to God creating the world. You can find a few at the bottom of this post. Because I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, I believe it when it says God made the world. Interestingly, though, so many of the physical aspects of geology, archeology and anthropology corroborate what the Bible says. Renowned scientists admit there has to have been some design to the world’s creation. It does not take rejection of science to believe the Bible when it says God made the world.

          Again, I’m not capable of answering all the arguments against believing the world was created. I’m not a technical, scientific type of person. I’m a creative. Get too deep into the technical and scientific explanations for anything, and my brain glazes. I am intelligent, though, with a reasonable ability to logically observe and evaluate others’ arguments, explanations and suppositions. While I may not totally comprehend all the facts and nuances of origins, the facts seem to more clearly indicate the world was designed and created than that everything happened by chance.

          Of course, not everyone believes that. That’s fine. As Paul said, “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” (Philippians 3:15b) I’m not trying to persuade anyone. I’m organizing and verbalizing my beliefs so readers will understand my perspective as they read my posts. If you would like to know some of the facts and evidences that point to a created world, sites like Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis are great places to begin your search.

……………………..Supporting Scripture……………………….

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
• For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:18)
• the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful for ever. (Ps 146:6)
• “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand—I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ( Isa 51:12-16)

This is part of an ongoing series that establishes the foundation of my faith. It may seem a little academic to some, too light for others. I have endeavored to strike a balance in order to provide clear reasons and support for each belief. The bottom line of my faith is that I believe the Bible has a message from God, the Creator of all life. That message is one of truth and love, justice and forgiveness and above all, an invitation to abundant life.

The Bible is the infallible, powerful word of God

The internal, external and bibliographic tests (referred to in a previous post) verify that the Bible is a substantially accurate rendering of the original documents. As the internal and external tests demonstrate, it is reasonable to believe the historical accounts the Bible details are true. It takes no leap of faith to do that. The Bible has more historical proofs than any of the other ancient writings we accept as fact.

That authenticity does not verify it is God’s Word, though. The internal assertions and prophecies, when evaluated, make an almost irrefutable argument for the existence of God, or at least someone with an extensive knowledge of the entire span of time, past and future and the ability to interact with people on any point of that time-span. It does not, however, present an irrefutable argument that God inspired this book, that God communicates through it with whoever will read it. That takes faith. A choice to believe what is written in it is true.

I have so chosen. I choose to believe the Bible is a letter, if you will, written by God to His creation. My reasons for so choosing include its many assertions that it is the Word of God, its track-record of fulfilled prophecies, the miraculous way it has been preserved over the centuries (as though He is protecting and safeguarding that letter, ensuring it will be available to future generations), the wealth of practical wisdom I find in it and the seemingly supernatural help it gives through the joys and tragedies of my own life. I read what is written in the Bible, the stories, the warnings, the teachings and I find Him. I discover His truths, most particularly the truth that He wants me, and everyone else, to believe Him. I discover when I do believe Him, He gives me even more understanding, which compels me to read more, learn more, experience more. Ultimately, though, I believe the Bible is the Word of God because I choose to believe the Bible is the Word of God. .

I’m not going to try to convince you, though. I am not capable of convincing anyone to believe. That is an issue between you and God. I do know that if you look for Him, if you truly seek to know and understand Him and His Word, He will reveal Himself. Then it is your choice to believe. Or not.

Throughout this statement of faith, I give Scripture to back up what I say because that is the highest “proof” I have. I believe what I say is true because God said it. If God said it, it is true. That is my faith. Of course it is always possible I’m not understanding what He’s saying at times. That almost goes without saying. After all, I’m not God. I’m certainly prone to misunderstanding and deceiving myself. But, again, Scripture is full of encouragement and explanation. If I am misunderstanding what He is saying, and if I continue reading and studying His Word, I will come to a clearer, more accurate understanding in time.

So, for me at least, the foundation of all truth rests on the Bible. The Bible, in my mind, is the foundation of truth, the well-spring from which all understanding, discovery and exploration must grow. It is the standard to which to compare my thoughts, desires and plans. It is the infrastructure of my entire life. That belief, that assumption will permeate everything I write. It is inevitable.

……………………..Supporting Scripture……………………….

• but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (1 Peter 1:25a)
• Every word of God is flawless. (Proverbs 30:5a)
• For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
• As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. (2 Samuel 22:31a)
• For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (Psalms 33:4)

This is part of an ongoing series that establishes the foundation of my faith. It may seem a little academic to some, too light for others. I have endeavored to strike a balance in order to provide clear reasons and support for each belief. The bottom line of my faith is that I believe the Bible has a message from God, the Creator of all life. That message is one of truth and love, justice and forgiveness and above all, an invitation to abundant life.

I believe the Bible

          The first, most basic foundation of my belief system is that I accept the Bible as true. I have chosen to believe the Bible is the Word of God. I could use the traditional hot-button words like inerrant, infallible, Word of God and more. That isn’t my style, though. While I like and use precise “dictionary” words, I really prefer talking in a way that others easily understand. The bottom line is that I believe God inspired every word, every truth written in the Bible and then protected that Word throughout the centuries so that what we have now is substantially the same as what He originally inspired. Any differences are minor and inconsequential to the main message contained in the Bible.

          Granted, on one level that belief is faith, something that each person must choose in their own heart and mind. It is not a faith without a basis, though. The fact that the book we have today called the Bible is substantially the same as what was available thousands of years ago is well-documented historically. In fact, the Bible is the most thoroughly documented historical document in existence today.

          Historians use several criterion to evaluate the authenticity of historical documents. Those documents are subjected to internal, external and bibliographic tests by archeologists, historians and other scholars. The Bible has undergone those tests. There are no conclusive internal contradictions; the external data available corroborates, or at the very least, does not contradict the Bible, and the Bible passes the bibliographic test (the amount of ancient copies that can be compared and the length of years before the first copy was made) better than any other historical work of its time.

          Instead of duplicating work already done in numerous places on the Web, I’ll send you to a few websites which do an excellent job presenting informative explanations and examples of these tests. I’m sure you can find even more by googling “Bible authenticity,” or “bibligraphic tests Bible,” or some such phrase.

Know Truth

Grace Bible Church

Christian Research Institute

Apologia