Our Daily Bread
A Christmas classic is the movie A Christmas Story. So many funny situations and real life scenarios that we all can identify with. A favorite is when the parents refuse to get the young boy a BB gun because they are afraid he will hurt himself or someone else. The boy things the gun would be the best gift EV-ER!
As Children of God, we know what the best gift EV-ER really was -- our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! And we don't have to worry about putting an eye out with this wonderful gift! ha! The devotional talked about something also mentioned in the Bryan book I talk about below -- condescensio Dei. That is the act of one who deliberately abandons power and privilege, in order to identify with the weak and the deprived. That is what Jesus did with us and for us! Praise you, Lord Christ!
Did you have a parent or are you a parent that stoops down to the level of your children to better understand their point of view? Think about that!
Lord, we thank you for coming down to our level. Please help us love and serve our Savior that gave up so much to live among us and give his life for us AND rise again victoriously!
Teaching Tuesday
The new EFM curriculum schedules some "breaks" in the studies for all the years to share a book. For two weeks, we are reading And God Spoke: The Authority of the Bible for the Church Today by Christopher Bryan. All I can say is "wow!" I have read a lot of books in my life. I really enjoy this one. In Part 1 that we read for last night, Bryan addresses some simple topics like infallibility and authority of the Bible! Wow!
I felt like he described what I have believed for many years, but could not put into words. He believes that, like many other examples of God working with mankind, he uses imperfect humans to produce an imperfect collection of writings. The coolest part to me is Bryan's insistence that the Holy Spirit inspired folks to preserve "all that we need for salvation". Yes, there are inconsistencies that critics point out constantly. The central message is not flawed. God wants to have a relationship with man even though man pushed him away in the Garden of Eden. Perfect God offers a relationship to imperfect man no matter what translation you read or what interpretation slant you want to take!
Lastly, I liked the way he talked about the church as a whole coming to consensus when interpreting the Bible. He said it sometimes takes centuries for us to agree! The example he gave was the topic of slavery. Our attitudes about that have changed a lot in the last two hundred years!
Check out the book on Amazon.com if you want a great, challenging read!
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“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21 niv).
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