Bible on Trial

At Castle Air Force Base, Atwater, California, when Major Kenneth W. Linsley, the Head Judge Advocate, approached the base Chaplain about starting a Sunday morning Bible study at the base chapel, the chaplain’s response was, “Teach the Bible? Who wants to study something so irrelevant? Now, I will give you space to teach something like The Passover Plot.”

 
The next Sunday, Major Linsley opened the base courtroom to more than a dozen people who wanted to study the Gospel of John. Some of the attendees came from the brig in chains and handcuffs to hear God’s Word from the same military attorney that incarcerated them for their crimes. Much to the Chaplain’s chagrin, the "Courtroom Bible Class" became a place where the Bible was put on trial and declared relevant enough to transform many into “born again” believers.

(From unpublished Linsley Family Narratives)

Related reading: You Must Be Born Again; Astonishment at the Doctrine of the Lord by Kenneth W. Linsley; Alice Williams Linsley

C. S. Lewis on Worship

 

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." - C. S. Lewis

Worship in Spirit and Truth

 

Hope Ellen Rapson

“I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1.

Two dictionary definitions of worship are (1) honoring or showing reverence for a divine being or supernatural power, and (2) regarding someone or something with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion, The first one applies to God; the second applies to man. Together they reflect what Jesus taught as the two greatest commandments---to love God with all you heart, mind, and spirit, and to love others as one loves themselves.

However, the question most asked is “How?” Jesus told Photini (the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well) that we should worship God “in spirit and in truth.” 

How do we do that? By developing a lifestyle that is focused on honoring God in all we do and serving others in ways that show that God has continually loving thought toward them. An excellent example of that was Brother Lawrence.

Brother Lawrence, author of Practicing the Presence of God, lived a simple monastic life focused on doing whatever he was called upon to do in the presence of God for the honor and glory of God. He wrote, “We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king.”

Consider the following questions:

• Do I start my day with the goal of giving honor to God through all the duties or demands or distresses that might come whether they seem insignificant or considerably important?

• Do I review my day asking forgiveness for when I did not reflect his glory and honor Him in what I thought, did, or said, and asking for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to better honor Him during the next day?

Praise, thanksgiving, and commitment to Almighty God in the mornings partnered with confession, supplication, and submission in the evenings is a practical pattern framework to follow in developing a lifestyle that demonstrates the worship of the Lord “in spirit and truth.”

Grace is God Being God

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

The standard understanding of grace is "unmerited favor", and most preaching on grace focuses almost exclusively on salvation (Eph 2:8, 9). However, grace is multi-faceted. Sometimes it is expressed as God’s sanctification of humans and their enablement for service.

I believe that grace is simply God being God!

In the beginning there was but nothingness and nothingness has no merit. God's very nature seeks to fill all things. Creation was to exhibit God’s glory (Ps 19:1-6). 

All creatures came to be by God's grace. God's power to generate life is expressed in their diversity and complexity. 

Grace is expressed in the steps and processes to make earth inhabitable. Even the angels owe their existence to God's grace.

And even now, Jesus is creating eternal homes in grace. He could have cleaned up this earth, but by grace He will create a new earth and a New Jerusalem for those who have trusted Him.

By His grace those who suffer and diligently serve Him (Matt 25:21-23; Rom 8:17) will receive blessing upon blessing and life everlasting.

God shows mercy even to the unmerciful that they might come to know Him. 

Grace reflects God's majesty.

What can we claim that is not an expression of His grace? All that we have, we have by God's grace. 

Related reading: Faith That Overcomes; On God's Terms; By Grace Through Faith (poem)