My thought is that in a quest to evaluate accuracy by scientific methods or means, I run the risk of failing to consider the context of the author, as well as the context of the intended original readers, and potentially miss the intended meaning of the text.  While my own context is subject to the time in which I live in addition to sociological and cultural influences, I feel that in order to come to an understanding of the text I’m reading, I must contemplate the biblical passage, for instance, from the writer’s perspective as much as I am able.

As I was writing this entry, Psalm 8 came to mind

1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

If I read these verses solely from my own perspective, I find myself reflecting on my faith in the infinite nature of God that has created all that we can see, and all that remains unseen to my own eyes.  God is more than my mind can conceive yet still wants care for God’s creative human beings.

If I go back in time and consider the psalmist, was the psalmist talking directly to God?  Was it a prayer or meditation on creation?  Was the psalmist praising God not only as creator, but the God of Israel and the people of Israel?

Instead if my reading was focused on whether this passage was scientifically accurate, I could easily become lost in considering all of the scientific thought, unanswered questions, and controversies, associated with creation, our universe and humanity overall, and thereby completely lose the beauty, praise and God’s love for humankind from the psalmist’s perspective.

Here, there’s an early morning schedule synchronization each day. This isn’t a bad thing at all. It feels rather free flowing; kind of like a river…going where the current takes you. Routine is not the norm; in fact, there isn’t much of a routine at all. This has thrown my habits off and my sense of self-discipline is not so…well…disciplined.

The cool thing is that I’ve been reading various passages in the Bible and contemplating them as prayers. Some of the writings were intended as prayers, others not so much so. Regardless, it’s been helping me to create a quite place of reflection during my sometimes hectic days.

Here’s one that I’ve been contemplating:

Psalm 103 (The Message)

A David Psalm

1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!

3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.

God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;he rules over us all. He’s the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.

Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.

Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
everything and everyone made by God.And you, O my soul, bless God!

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

a thought that was shared was that it reminded one of my friends of when he was younger and had a scrape/scab. he remembered how the scrape wouldn’t heal so long as he picked or irritated it. but when he left it alone, it healed. he reminded us that sometimes spiritual wounds are sometimes more apt to heal if we just stopped messing with the wound. maybe the best thing to do is to just leave it alone so the Great Healer can heal us.

When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right,"
I didn’t believe a word they said.
3 I remember God–and shake my head.
I bow my head–then wring my hands.
4 I’m awake all night–not a wink of sleep;
I can’t even say what’s bothering me

one of the things that bothers me the most is when i can’t put my finger on why i’m feeling the way i’m feeling. i just want to get past ‘whatever-it-is’ and move on. with that said, i’m reminded of my friend and the scrape that won’t heal…

5 I go over the days one by one,
I ponder the years gone by.
6 I strum my lute all through the night,
wondering how to get my life together.

this was pretty much skimmed over–we know God is with us…thinking about this now, when we walk through the desert we may know God is with us–sometimes though, God’s just really quiet.

11Once again I’ll go over what GOD has done,
lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
12 I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,
and give a long, loving look at your acts.

this brought us back to talk about Moses back in Exodus (check out the blog on Exodus 7). we talked about how Moses must have been in so much pain over the slavery and oppression of his people. even so, "Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron, You (God) led your people like a flock of sheep."

God is action. God ‘makes things happen.’ the Bible is filled with stories of ordinary people, weak people, broken and messed up people that put their agendas aside and gave themselves over to the God that has such plans for us…if we would just give the keys to the car over to The Only Driver that has the directions and roadmap for a life worth living. no matter what kind of trouble i find myself in, God can pull me out–God has the map to take me out of the desert. i just need to give God the keys and get out of the driver’s seat.

© 2005 ginny rogers

This is the reason for the existence of humanity, the church…The thirst for a transcendent moment, to touch the glory, to find the eternal. Every hunger, every desire, every friendship, every romance, every achievement, every task, in everything we do, we seek connection with the divine. It is built into us. Some of us design our own way. Others submit to the way of Jesus, the way of the cross. A counter intuitive way where one loses to win. Jesus gave up the whole world to save our souls. I don’t know about you, but I am thirsty.

E

First of all, what type of happiness are we talking about? The top two definitions of happiness as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary include:

1. Characterized by good luck; fortunate.
2. Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.

To be honest, I don’t like either one of the above definitions verbatim, so I’ll give you a hybrid version. For me, happiness is characterized by recognizing that one is fortunate so that one can experience joy in any circumstance.

“the more religious person will be a little less sad” Does that mean that life is perfect? No.

As I started on this faith journey, I used to wonder if the Christians I knew were for real. I mean, they seemed to have it all together; and they seemed…well, too happy. Then I got to know a few. I found out that a number of them were without jobs and struggled to make ends meet. So what did they do? In between looking for work for themselves or scrimping to make it through college, a bunch of them would go downtown to feed, bring clothes and just talk with some homeless folks in the area. When they did this, did their circumstances change at all? Nope. They just decided to focus on others that had much less than themselves, and in doing so, they experienced the joy of giving; they didn’t succumb to their circumstances. BTW…they’re still collecting coats for the winter.

“If you believe there’s a God watching out for you, that’s profoundly comforting.” Does that mean that things will always be easy? No, again.

Knowing that God’s watching out for you doesn’t mean that you’re every wish is His command. It just means that no matter what, God’s got your back. A few years ago I had the opportunity to travel to China and met people that have faced unbelievable circumstances just defending their faith and belief in God. These courageous people were shackled, beaten, sent to years of extremely hard labor, and separated from their families…basically, they faced the most difficult challenges imaginable. When a few of us asked one how he endured such hardship, the answer was clear and strong–he knew that God was watching out for him.

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? –Psalm 118:5-6

“Like all research that’s based on surveys, studies of faith and happiness depend on the candor of participants.” As a Christian, is a ‘happy’ or ‘joyful’ life for real? You bet.

For me, it’s not about having all the answers or having everything I ask for. It’s about gratitude for what I’ve been blessed with, and being okay with where I am–right now. In fact, according to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, in many cases the Greek word for “happy” and “blessed” are interchangable throughout the Bible. The way I see it, happiness comes out of gratitude, and gratitude leads to deeper happiness. And when I think about this in this way, I can’t help but realize that whether I consider myself ‘happy’ or ‘blessed,’ this state of being has little to do with me, and everything to do with things that I have absolutely no control over–you know, the big God-sized things. I’m just grateful for being able to contemplate that there are big God-sized things; that makes me feel happy.

© 2005 Ginny Rogers

As I was thinking about this verse, I thought about how before I became a Christian I didn’t really quite understand what it meant to be in a relationship with God. I’d heard Christians often talk about their relationship with God in addition to asking me if I had a relationship with God. The first time someone asked me about this, I thought to myself, “What does it mean to be in a relationship with God?”

In this verse, God is looking at the human race to see if anyone has real understanding of what it means to seek God. The only way that I can understand the concept of being in a relationship with God is by thinking about what’s important to Him. Throughout the Bible, God reveals His heart for His people. God tells the Israelites over and over again to be His people, to be with Him. I believe that this is because God knows that if we are focusing on Him and what’s important to Him, we will love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34)–that’s what God wants. God wants our love–it’s the first commandment; and then, God wants for us to love one another as an expression of our love for God.

© 2004 Ginny Rogers