Simplified Christianity

"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not let that open to us. He did not intend to." - C.S. Lewis How many great teachers can you name? I am certain there are a few that come to mind when I ask you to think about the educators who invested in making you the person you are today. For some, it could be that third grade teacher who spent extra time making sure you were prepared for the standardized tests by having you and other students arrange for tutoring in the areas where you were struggling (looking at you, Mrs. Stevenson). For others, it might be that fifth grade teacher that caught you cheating, punished you appropriately, and then taught you one of the greatest lessons you have ever heard... "Scott, this is not who you are intended to be... you are made to be something better ...

Read Psalm 46 today... multiple times... In this psalm, God is described in a couple of different ways: 1) A fortress or a protector and 2) A ruler... Too many times in my own personal life I have tried to move God out of the decision making role in my life because I believe that I have a better idea or a better grasp on the things that are happening. The thing is, what almost always happens is that I look back and see wreckage that could have been avoided had I simply followed what I knew to be God's will for my life. The reason I feel that way? Because we serve a God who has promised to protect us and defend us against the wiles or plans of the evil one... The one caveat being that we must follow His rule without question. Here in this psalm we see this played out as God is declared to be our fortress and our helper, but in the end of the psalm (v.10), the reader is reminded by God Himself to be still and know that He is God. Why trust an unknown future to a shaky decision make...