1+1+1=1?

     The concept of the Trinity is probably one of the most confusing things in Christianity. It is more than the limited human brain can comprehend. As a Christian, I can tell you that I know that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three, yet one. I cannot tell you, however, how this is possible except to say that God does not exist within our limited understanding. God created man, so it stands to reason that there are things God knows and understands that we don’t.

One argument I see consistently against the Trinity is mathematical. 1+1+1 does not equal 1. This argument has always frustrated me, because it is man trying to use a man-made process to explain God. But I was thinking about it today, and in purely mathematical terms, this statement is correct. 1+1+1 cannot equal 1. This argument is correct. It does not, however, disprove the Trinity. All this means is that you cannot express the existence of God as 1+1+1=1.

How about 1³? That’s 1x1x1=1. Three individual numbers, yet when they are correctly applied, they come out to 1. This is “1-cubed”, or “1 to the third power”, or “1 to the power of 3″ (which I think is my favorite for this analogy). Jesus and the Holy Spirit do not add anything to God. Instead, they magnify Him.

Now, am I saying this mathematically proves the Trinity? Of course not. I’m just saying, if you’re going to compare God to mathematics, this one fits better than addition.

“God was not bound to provide us a Saviour, nor to open us a door of hope, nor to call us to repent and turn when once we had cast ourselves away by sin. But he has freely done it to magnify his mercy.” ~Richard Baxter, A Call to the Unconverted

Hateful Christianity?

Why is it that so many non-Christians see Christians as hateful and judgmental? We have to ask ourselves this question. The world of the internet, especially, opens up a large variety of views, but one that seems to be at the forefront is that Christians are hateful. Why is that? My answer may not be easily taken, but I believe it’s the truth: the most vocal people of the Christian world are the people who are hateful and judgmental. There are certain organizations that give all Christians a bad name. I won’t call out anyone in particular. I am not judging them. I don’t know why they act the way they do. I don’t know what causes the hatred they feel. All I know is it is not scriptural. It saddens me that Christians are so hated, not because people hate us, but because it causes them to hate Jesus, hate God, and close their ears and hearts to anything we might have to say.

The problem with organizations like the ones I mentioned above, and the people who share their thinking, is that they tend to focus on one sin as more sinful than others. Sin is sin. Anything that separates us from God is sin. This comes across as hatred of a particular group of people.  Another problem that arises is that instead of sharing the Gospel with love, they spew hatred and judgment. Judgment is not ours to hand out, and Christ called us to love everyone, even our enemies.

Does God hate sin? Yes! Why? Because sin separates us from Him and we were created for fellowship with Him. Does God punish sin? Yes. He forever separates us from Himself and, in the end, we go to Hell. I’m not going to focus on sin and Hell too much here, because this is not a call to the unsaved. It’s a plea to anyone who calls themselves “Christian.”

The Bible does NOT say “Go and tell the world I hate them.” No, the Bible says “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor 5:18-21). If we are speaking for Christ we need to ask ourselves, would Jesus have said what I am going to say?

Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest…….

I still find myself amazed at the way the Holy Spirit sometimes reveals things to me, using the simplest things in such small, gentle ways. As I was doing some things around the house the song “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast” popped into my head, so of course… I started singing it! Well, when I reached the lines, “Life is so unnerving for a servant who’s not serving. He’s not whole without a soul to wait upon,” I felt such a strong impression and thought, “Of course! Christ calls us to be servants!” This simple little line from this song about enchanted domestic servants brought my focus to the word of God. I did a topical study and want to share some of the verses that I found.

Ephesisans 6:5-8
Colossians 3:17
1 Peter 2:13-15, 17-21
Psalm 116:16
Galatians 5:13
Luke 22:26
John 13:5, 13-15

Of course our greatest example is Christ himself. Everywhere He traveled people asked Him for “favors” for lack of a better word. He often stopped during His journey to heal the sick and perform other miracles. He performed the task of  servant/slave when he washed the feet of His disciples, including Judas whom Jesus knew would betray Him. And scripture reminds us that we are not to serve man for worldly praise, but every task we perform should be done as if we are doing it for God himself, and God alone. If we look at serving in this way then we will be willing to serve, even those who ridicule or abuse us, because we are not serving man… we are serving God. And that is what we are called to do. When we serve in this way we find comfort and peace, and we are indeed whole.

God at work

I feel God working in me more than ever. I’ve developed a longing for Him and Heaven that I’ve never had before. I’m at my happiest when I am studying His Word or listening to praise and worship music. This peaceful joy can only come from God. As a believer, you can hear about these experiences, and you can believe that people have them and that you can have them… but until you have them you can’t fully comprehend the feelings they involve. I’ve said many times before (maybe not here on this blog, but other places) that God often confirms things for me. He’s doing it again. This is probably the most He’s ever done along these lines, and that’s probably because it is so important.

Looking back, I believe that it started when I was reading “Revolution in World Missions” by K.P. Yohannan (Gospel for Asia). Brother K.P. has such a burden for reaching the lost souls in countries throughout Asia… Countries where preaching the Gospel of Christ can get you killed, or worse. And yes, there are things worse than death. I shared in his burden while I read this book. I prayed that his work to reach the lost would bring people to Christ by the hundreds of thousands and beyond. He and those native missionaries who risk their lives to proclaim the Gospel will be rewarded so greatly in Heaven… and there it is. Heaven. It didn’t really hit me until I finished the next book I read: “The Slumber of Christianity” by Ted Dekker. This book challenges us to reset our focus on Heaven. Everyone looks so hard to find something to make them happy on this earth, and we always come up empty. Happiness here is temporary. Mood, emotions, circumstances… these can take our happiness away. Dekker says we should focus on our goal (Heaven – our Eternal Home) and realize that all the pleasures of this earth are just a foretaste of what Heaven holds for us. If we take this perspective, our happiness will not be based on the things of this world, but on the hope of Heaven.

Now, somewhere in the middle of this I read an article online that led to me writing my last post, “Eternal Hell or an Unconscious Death?” I did my own research to find out if the statements made in that article were Biblically sound. I found that they weren’t. At least not based on what I was finding in scripture. It got me thinking a bit… what really would Heaven be like? Could we ever really know until we got there?

Fast-forward a bit… I was still reading Ted Dekker’s book when I found Randy Alcorn’s book “Heaven” on sale along with the study guide. I ordered it, it came in, and I put it on the shelf. I would get to that one later… maybe after a few of the other books I had purchased but not yet read.

Once again, in the middle of all this…. every Sunday morning a local pastor (Jesse Duplantis) has a 30 minute tv spot. The past few Sundays (this morning was the final one) he has been showing a teaching he did on Heaven, based on a personal experience he had. This teaching is not new. It is several years old and I have seen it before. But it caught my attention in a new way. One night while reading Dekker’s book, it hit me… I was being bombarded with Heaven. It was coming at me from all directions. After finishing Dekker’s book, the questions I had about Heaven had become more urgent in my mind… I had to know. I began reading Alcorn’s book that same night. I am nowhere near finishing that book yet, but Alcorn’s research is so detailed, offering scripture for his statements, that I am already getting answers to questions I had and confirmation for the things I already believed about Heaven. Only now, what I believe is less vague. It has more substance. I can’t wait for Heaven… I’m longing for it. I want to see more believers long for Heaven. More importantly, I want to see the lost come to Christ so they can long for Heaven… and one day get there.

If you have never proclaimed Jesus as your Savior and asked forgiveness for your sins, and you have made through to the end of this post, I beg you… yes BEG you… to do it. Seek Christ and you will have eternal life in the presence of God, receiving all the desires of your heart. I want to meet you in Heaven one day. If you are already a Christian… re-examine… where is your heart? I urge you to read Ted Dekker’s “The Slumber of Christianity.” And I urge everyone, believer or not, to read Randy Alcorn’s “Heaven.” It will open your eyes to what Heaven really is… not the free-floating, transparent, angels-in-the-clouds-playing-harps kind of Heaven so often portrayed in literature and movies, but the real Heaven!

Humbled and Convicted

I have been reading a book called Revolution in World Missions, by K. P. Yohannan. He is the founder of Gospel for Asia, a non-profit organization whose mission is to sponsor native missonaries in countries throughout Asia where there are millions who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the book he tells how he started out being a native missionary himself at the age of 16. He would later come to America to study the Bible and God would move amazingly in his life and ministry. As I was reading tonight I found myself feeling convicted that I do not live my life fully for Christ and His commission to share the Gospel. It’s very common to find ourselves humbled or convicted during our walk as Christians, and while it can be painful emotionally (sometimes even physically) I think it is a necessary part of our faith. If we are not humble, we are proud. If we are not convicted, we are vindicated.

According to Webster’s dictionary, pride is “ delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship.” Pride is usually felt because we feel we are deserving of the recognition that we did this act, or are able to have this possesion or relationship. Pride is always of the self. But this is not how God wants us to live. We are to have a servant’s heart, and to be humble. Webster’s has two fitting definitions of “humble.” The first shows the opposite of pride: “ not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive.” The second is “ reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission.” This is how we are to respond to God when He calls. We are to serve Him with a humble spirit, submitting to His will.

And then there is vindication. Webster’s defines “vindicate” as “to free from a charge of wrongdoing.” If we are innocent of a crime this is a very good thing. By God’s Law, however, we are all guilty. Webster’s defines “convict” as ”to find or prove to be guilty” or “to convince of error or sinfulness.” Writing this I’m realizing that the conviction of our sins and humbleness go hand-in-hand. It is the conviction of our sins that humble us enough to realize that we need Jesus in the first place. We should not be surprised then that God would continue to convict the things in our lives hindering our obedience to Him, stopping us from humbling ourselves to submit to His plan.

The question then becomes, what will you do about it? We still have our God-given free will. God is not a dictator, He gives us a choice. His way, or our way. He wants us to willingly submit to His way, and trust that it will turn out better than we could have ever imagined. It may be a hard road. There may be days we want to quit. There may be days we think we know better than God and try to throw our own plans into the mix. But if we follow in God’s way, the end result will always be good. So here’s what I ask myself today: What will I do about it? How far am I willing to go? Can I die to myself each day, giving myself and all I have to God for His purpose?

Just a sinner…

I was going over some study notes, and I was reminded again of something that God shows us over and over again: He uses sinners for his work. Fathers of our faith and Bible heroes… they were sinners just like us. We sometimes put them up on a pedestal, “God chose them, they must be special,” but they were just like us. Abraham, Noah, Jonah, Jacob, Isaac, David, Solomon… all men of God who fell short in some way. Adultery disobedience, deceit. But God used them anyway. So why do we feel that we’re not good enough for God to use to do something wonderful? Why do people feel the need to “clean up their act” before they come to God? We are not perfect, we never were and we never will be (not on this earth). Human perfection died when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. The only human in history who can claim to be perfect is the one who is God, come to this world in human flesh so that we might know him and he could take our place, and that is Jesus Christ. And I thank God for that path back to Him. If it weren’t for Jesus I would die just a sinner, but through Him I am a child of God, grafted into the vine.