Jack’s Winning Words 3/2/15
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt.”  (Rene Descartes)  A NY Times’ Best Seller is Rob Bell’s book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God.  In the book he challenges what we think we know about God.  He must have been a fan of Descartes, who believed that every “truth” had to be challenged in order to get to the real truth.  It is in the searching that we find.        ;-)  Jack 

FROM HONEST JOHN:   Sometimes it is in the searching that we are found. ====JACK:  Somehow, I'm not surprised that you're the first to respond.  I'm grateful for our professors who assured us that there is no "sin" in searching.====JOHN:   My mother was very open minded and taught me to be so.   And then my Dad was an inventor and was always open to new ideas.

FROM TARMART REV:  Interesting dialogue between Bell and Oprah in recent times on same-sex marriages: Rob Bell was asked by Oprah when the church was going to embrace same-sex "marriage," to which he responded, "We're close," with Kristen (his wife) adding, "I think it's evolving."  Rob then explained, "Lots of people are already there. We think it's inevitable, and we're moments ... ," at which point Oprah chimed in, "Moments away from the church accepting it?"
Rob's reply: "Absolutely ... I think culture is already there, and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense. When you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other, and they just want to go through life with someone."  I guess its time to tear some more pages out of that irrelevant Book . . . its getting more complicated all the time with whose voice are we seeking for relevancy . . . It is as if, "go with the culture, stay 'relevant,' dismiss the outdated biblical evidence and listen to our emotions."  A close friend of mine posted the following on Facebook the other day . . . "The Less Scripture I Read the More He Fills Me Up!  When I read very short sections of scripture and meditate on it for days and weeks - He seems to reveal so much more of Himself!" I do believe Bell's definitely in tune with today's culture for the relevancy of God's Word.====JACK:  WOW!  I didn't expect a sermon-long response, but your remarks only underscore how people are searching for a truth.  In my beginning search for religious truth, I tended to read the Bible literally.  Then, I was led to ask, "What does this mean?" and "In what context was this written?"  This, then, led me to ask, "How does this apply to the world in which we are now living?"  Aside from this...The story is told of someone stopping a man on the street and asking, "Have you found Jesus?"  The man responds, "What?  Is he lost again?"  The search for God and his will for us continues.====REV:  Not so much as a sermon on my part as a personal reflection of where I am with what I'm facing at this point in my spiritual walk . . . I always remember the illustration of the old gentleman homebound because of sickness, but always receiving a tape of the Sunday sermon each week. Eventually a young minister came to the church and brought the more relevant Word from the pulpit each week. One day the pastor was called to the bedside of the old gentleman who was about to die. He asked for the man's Bible to read him some Scripture which was in the drawer next to his bed. When the young pastor reached in and picked up the old man's Bible, he noticed pages torn and sometimes whole chapters rip out. "What happened to your Bible? asked the minister. "Every time you would mention in one your sermons that what was written as not relevant for today, I would rip it out." I'm just struggling on which portions to rip out and which are to stay?!?!====JACK:  Do you remember the words of the Gospel song..."We'll understand it better by and by"?  Life is a continual search...until by and by.====REV:  Yes Sir, I do...and in my selfish ways I respond, "Even though, come quickly Lord Jesus!!"

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  yikes! i am definitely an overachiever because i question everything. no wonder i am exhausted!!!====JACK:  Are you sure your name isn't Renee?  It's said that the original Rene wasn't allowed to be buried in a Catholic cemetery because of his questioning.  The place of his burial was not necessarily a sign of God's judgment.

FROM RJP IN NAPLES:  Is it true that CS Lewis was a non believer until he began to search and verify his non belief and in fact discovered God instead????====JACK:  I think that was true about C.S.  From what I've read, that was true about Descartes, too.  I tend to be suspicious of people who seem to have all of the answers.  I'm more comfortable with "seekers."

FROM SB IN MICHIGAN:  One of my book clubs is reading Rob Bell’s book as our March selection. I heard him speak last fall at an Oprah Winfrey event at the Palace of Auburn Hills. ====JACK:  Well, after listening, what do you think?

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  This brings me back to Oscar Wilde's succinct comment, "The pure and simple truth is rarely pure, and never simple"!  But who has not doubted in his life?!  And as we resolve these doubts to our satisfaction, our belief is stronger. Most of us want to "know" for ourselves...It's the nature of the beast, so to speak. We are naturally curious. Good WW from Rene!! ====JACK:  Have you ever sung the hymn, There's A Wideness In God's Mercy?  One of the stanzas has these words..."If our faith were but more simple,  We should take him at his word,  And our lives would be all sunshine  In the sweetness of our Lord."

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Gary and I just started a Bible study.  It's on truth.  So many people have such unreal ideas of truth.  Even those in the Christian church.  The quote you used today was perfect.  By the way, we believe God has and is the Truth.