12/9/11

Philosophers all...


Over the past few months I have been reading about Adolph Hitler, as I have been interested in "The Third Reich" and the causes of the second world war.  So, when I saw Nietzsche on this little sign it peaked my interest.  Then when I saw "Kant" and finally "Sinatra", I chucked.  I kept asking myself what Sinatra (the famous singer of the 40's and 50's etc.) had to do with these two famous philosophers..??  Then, I saw it and laughed out loud this time. Nietzsche emphasized man, his ascendancy, his superiority over everything (humm, remember "God is dead" and the "superman" of the National Socialist Party???).  Kant (if you can get by the complexity of his thought processes in the Metaphysics of Reason) emphasized the analytical characteristics of the mind.  And then we come to that great "philosopher" Frank Sinatra.  I was never fortunate enough to have met him, but he left his mark on society through the songs he sang.  His crooning affected millions upon millions of people and something inside all of us will never quite be the same again.  Michael Bluble' has recently done a lot to revitalize interest in the songs of that era, so once again the work of "old blue eyes" is current.  Right about now you are probably asking yourself:"what all this has to do with the Scriptures"? Consider, for a moment, all the religious error that has occurred because we do not understand God??? Humanists emphasize mankind, great theologians make complex analysis of God (using their great minds) and the world is just interested in what makes them happy.  Each is fine, but quite wrong.  And so, we come to the Scriptures...

WEB: I Thessalonians 5:23. 
May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

WEB: Genesis Chapter 1
[26] God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [27] God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

WEB: Jeremiah Chapter 31
[31] Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: [32] not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh. [33] But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: [34] and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

Three seemingly unrelated scriptures, yet together, they form something very interesting.  Human beings are made in the image of God, in other words, they reflect his makeup.  They are body, soul and spirit.  And if we are to know God, we should look at ourselves.  Jeremiah says that "...they shall all know me".  I wonder, does this mean even someone who is very young or aged or how about the slow of mind???  Of course it does.  We know God through the complex nature of our makeup.  Our understanding of God should be balanced according to our design.  Mental, emotional and spiritual understand should be used together as a "composite" to achieve a true picture of God.  Therefore everyone has the capacity to "know" God.  God is available for us ALL!!!  You don't have to be a genius like Nietzsche or Kant to understand the almighty or to reason intelligently, you just need to be yourself and seek him.  Start with learning the Scriptures, applying them and letting Jesus mold your heart.  You will do just fine, remember, be yourself and let God do the rest.  So, we come to Frank Sinatra and the great wisdom of "do be do be do".  Anybody out there feel like singing...???

The Works of the Lord are Great by Mark Copeland

http://executableoutlines.com/text/ps111_2.htm

Another view into the beauty that is the Psalms.... Gary