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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Theology

  • Kittens and Birth – Theology of conversion

    Kittens and Birth – Theology of conversion

    litter of kittens

    Watching the litter of kittens being born made me ponder the miracle of birth. That led me to recall a conversation. During a discussion on theology, I was asked whether I believed that salvation, “conversion” to Christianity was a process or a sudden event. My answer was yes.

    “Now wait a minute,” my friend said. “I gave you an either-or choice. It cannot be both.”

    Technically, both positions are correct. You see, along the way, the Lord is preparing our hearts for conversion. That is done through people and circumstances in our lives that point us in His direction. It is that uncomfortable feeling that we need something more. It is the gradual realization that we cannot do it on our own. It is the prompting and calling of the Holy Spirit, beckoning us towards salvation.

    There comes a point when that process reaches a head, and we accept Jesus. Whatever your theology —Calvinist, Arminian, or something completely different —we agree that there comes a point when we cross the threshold , a conversion, a born again experience, and Christ becomes our Lord. 

    Theologians debate the ordo salutis. That’s a fancy Latin term meaning “order of salvation”. It refers to the sequence of events in salvation, outlining how God saves us. It includes stages such as election, calling, regeneration, faith, justification, sanctification, and glorification, though interpretations in differing schools of thought.

    I find such topics fascinating to think about. However, we look at the moment of conversion, whether you agree with my thoughts that the rebirth is both a process and a sudden thing, or not, the fact remains that we must be born again. Jesus made that clear when speaking with Nicodemus (John 3:1-8)

    Jesus is our only hope.

    Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

    Have you been saved from your sins, been born again through Christ? If you have praise Him for His mercy. If you haven’t, run to Him in repentant faith.

    Until next time, may you be genuinely born again.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

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  • How Big? The Wrong Question

    How Big? The Wrong Question

    As I was pondering what to write, I rolled a piece of blue  kneadable eraser into a small ball. I often fidget with whatever is close at hand or doodle when I’m thinking. It used to get me in trouble in school, but now kids have fidget toys, and it’s pretty acceptable behavior.

    I looked down and realized that in my hands was a little blue ball, which reminded me of the planet Earth. My hand dwarfed it. Then I thought about how small the earth is in God’s hand. We say that the Lord holds the entire universe in his hand. He didn’t even have to roll some material up; He just spoke it all into existence.

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3 ESV

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 ESV

    I thought about the immense size of the created world, all the galaxies known and yet to be discovered. The size of it all dwarfs my ability to comprehend. It’s safe to say the universe is greater than I can imagine.

    Then I wondered, “How big is God?” In some ways, He must be even bigger than all of that, so God is bigger than I can imagine as well.

    Yet, that also isn’t true. God is spirit, and as a non-material being, he has no size and takes up no space.

    How big is God? The question is nonsensical because God isn’t big. No material metric can measure him. God isn’t tall or short, heavy or light, large or small.

    God is undeniably great. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (all-present). He is infinitely just, righteous, holy, loving, and merciful. He is perfect in his wrath.

    He is the eternally preexistent creator and sustainer of all things. He is without beginning or end.

    The Lord transcends space, time, and matter and can step into or out of them at will.

    Many terms can be used to describe the majesty of God, but big is not one of them.

    The question of “How big is God?” is unanswerable. The closest we can come is that He is big enough to have oversight over everything and small enough to know every detail.

    Even though we cannot answer the question, pondering it should give us plenty of reason to praise His holy name.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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