The Soul Remedy

 

In October of 2014, our small group at church was reading and discussing a book by John Ortberg called Soul Keeping.  I posted some of my thoughts about the soul here.   I am currently reading Dallas Willard's The Great Omission, and this week's chapter discussed the relationship between the soul and the Holy Spirit.  His words reshaped how I visualized my soul in 2014.  Willard describes the soul as the control center for our mind, will, and emotions.   He used the analogy of a computer controlling components of a larger manufacturing process.  If that computer goes down or has a hiccup, the output of the manufacturing process will be limited or shut down completely.  The computer is the soul.  It is intended for good, but it can also go bad.  I extended the analogy in this way.   When the computer malfunctions, you have a choice in how to address it.  You can ignore the problem and hope that it was just a glitch that will correct itself.  You can apply a bandaid fix using inexperienced in-house resources, or you can spend more time and money and invest in the one who built the system and has intimate knowledge of how it is supposed to work.  Recognizing the One who made us and trusting that He knows best how we should operate allows the Holy Spirit to set up shop permanently in our soul so that we can grow ever closer to operating just as our Creator intended.

Heavenly Home

 

Our family suffered a great loss this week.  My daughter Lizzy is married to Trey.  Trey's mom, Ann, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer in May of this year.  She passed away on Sunday night in Brunswick.  Lizzy, Trey, and their three daughters were there to say goodbye.  Lizzy's middle daughter, Blakely, told Ann, "When you get to heaven, you are going to have a beautiful home."  - an amazing sentiment from a 7-year-old.  Caroline and I saw Rocky and Ann regularly, mostly at family events or holidays, but this photo captures how I remember Ann - with grandkids in her lap.  They loved her deeply and will miss her, but they know that they will see her again in her beautiful home in heaven.

Carved In Stone

 

I was born in 1961.   Before that year, thousands of Bible skeptics claimed that Pontius Pilate was a figment of the imagination of the gospel authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  These skeptics believed that the four of them must have colluded to create a story about Pilate's involvement in Jesus' crucifixion.  Some skeptics who acknowledged Pilate's existence claimed the gospel authors were wrong about Pilate's title.  The gospel authors described him as a prefect, but the skeptics claimed historical evidence showed he was procurator.  In 1961, archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old tablet with the words "Pontius Pilate, Prefect."  As it turns out, during the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Pilate's title was prefect, but sometime later, the title for those in his role was changed to procurator.  Today, 65 years later, no credible historians question the existence and title of Pontius Pilate.  Why is this so important?  The same four guys that wrote about Pontius Pilate also wrote about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  And if Jesus arose from the grave, I also believe He must have been the son of God.  I pray that people who might not believe like me, will start to consider that Jesus died and rose for them as well.

Preparing For Battle

 In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he states: "what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want".   This might seem to be a pretty bleak outlook.  It's almost like there's a battle going on between the Spirit and the body, and that would be true.  We constantly face temptations that demand a response.   Our fallen world prevents us from escaping temptation or consistently responding appropriately.  Our bodies can either indulge in temptation or resist it, but relying solely on our strength in the moment is a recipe for failure.   We must prepare ourselves for the battle, which involves constant attention to the spiritual disciplines including Bible reading, prayer, meditation, service, and fellowship with other believers.  Not blowing up at someone who cuts me off in traffic requires me to have thought about the fact that every human is created in the image of God so much, that it is ingrained in me.  How well I have done that in the past dictates my response.  I want to spend time thinking about that today.

My thoughts today were inspired by Chapter 8 of Dallas Willard's, "The Great Omission".