I don’t mean, Does God inflict pain on anyone?  I mean, Does God feel pain?  My Sunday school class was discussing it the other day, and the teacher commented that when we sin as believers, it hurts God.  It got me to thinking.  The Biblical writers are free to project onto the Almighty human characteristics, like love, anger, hurt, and compassion.  They always leave out fear.  But, seriously, who or what could God be afraid of?

Biblical scholars, preachers, teachers and lay leaders all say that God can feel these emotions because we are made in His image.  But don’t we feel those things simply because we’re human?  I can see God loving us, even having compassion.  But can He really be hurt?  If you are hurt, it is usually because someone has exercised unwanted control over you, by word or deed.  Who could exercise such control over God?

And what about God’s wrath, or anger?  Is it a controlled anger?  Is He frustrated because He gave us freewill?  Can He get mad, since He is the one who has created us and knows ahead of time what we are going to do?

Jesus wept.  (John 11:35)  The shortest verse in the Bible.  Why did He weep? Was it His human side that identified with how death affects humans?  And what about His anguish in the garden before His own death?  Do we identify with Father and Son better if they display human characteristics?

I want a God who will never have the opportunity to “lose it” because of anger or grief.  He is my Rock and my Fortress.  Rocks and fortresses don’t cry.

How much do we really know about God?

I’m sure it’s true what they say about men.  They won’t ask for directions (I’m not lost), and they won’t ask for help (I’ve got this).  Are men worse than women in both categories, or just the directions part?  I think at some point or another we all tend to not want to ask for information, directions or assistance. Is that a pride thing?

It could be that we’re embarrassed to have the other person find out that we don’t know the answer. And we don’t want someone else to appear more skilled at anything than ourselves.  Of course there are those who will constantly ask for help to either get out of doing it themselves, or they’re too lazy to want to learn how to do it.

But isn’t asking for help, in a way, blessing the helper?  Haven’t you ever felt good after helping someone with a problem?  I admit, though, that there a few who have a sort of smugness about them when they realize that you are indebted to them, so to speak.  But that’s no reason to refuse to ask for any help.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would help you. (John 14:16)  Now, while He represents the mind of God, I doubt if He gets involved in helping you with that plumbing problem, or show you how to get to Poughkeepsie.  What He will help you with is how to sort out the meaning of life.  His office is open 24/7 for counseling, encouragement, comfort and even warning.

Can the Holy Spirit help you with your pride, which prompts you to shun help?  Have you asked?  Praying out loud is optional.

How do you remember to do things each day?  What devices help you to remember?  Some people have Blackberry’s or computer programs.  Others write on their calendars or use sticky notes.  What is so important that you need to remember it?

Here’s a few:  taking your pills; important appointments; to-do list for around the house; car maintenance; etc..  Most people who use daily reminders do so because they have missed deadlines or failed to do things simply because they didn’t remember.  Daily reminders cover all aspects of our lives. But wouldn’t you feel more free if you didn’t have these constant checklists hanging over your head?

Maybe you feel a sense of security in having these things to keep you in check.  Does God care that we remember things?  The Apostle Peter said that it was important for believers to remember the things of God so that they would be fully grounded in their faith. (2 Peter 1:12-14)  But does prayer and reading your Bible show up alongside the dentist appointment on your list?  Or have they become routine instead of reminder?

Sometimes we notice things in our daily lives that remind us of a past hurt, joy or concern.  Can the Holy Spirit be counted on as a daily reminder?  He certainly is concerned with those things regarding spiritual growth.  You have needs, wants, worries and doubt.  Can you remember to bring them before God?

What’s in your life?

The words are almost synonymous.  Mystery is something hidden, and wonder is wanting it to be revealed.  Wonder can also be a state of awe at the mystery itself.

I’m reading a mystery novel.  I wonder who the murderer is.

How many other populated planets are out there is a mystery, known only to God.  I look up into the clear night sky and wonder.

What do you wonder about?  How much of your wonderment is divided between this life and a spiritual life, or the next life?  It would be hard to imagine a human being who never questioned the meaning of life or thought about what happens after death.

I’ve met people over the years who appear to have a genuine connection with God.  And we’ve all heard stories of near-death experiences that seem so real.  Is it just our minds accommodating the need for addressing what can’t be explained, or is there more than this life?

Why does God use an almost clandestine approach to communicating with us in the here and now?  We have the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Jesus.  Isn’t that enough?

I am impressed by the mysteries of our ecosystem and the magnificence of our solar system.  I would have great difficulty believing that it all just happened.

And then there’s hope.  A person who is healthy and wealthy, or who lives in peace and security tends to live for the day.  Those that have experienced sickness, who have witnessed a death or have been exposed to the cruelty of man are more likely to hope for tomorrow.  Can the self-made man hope?

It’s a mystery that we even wonder.

Are you okay with the name your parents gave you?  Did they put a lot of thought into it?  My dad and I have the same first names, so my mom called me by my middle name in order that we may know who she’s calling for. Some people hate their names, and others take steps to legally change it.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, added the “w” in his name in order to disassociate himself with his great great grandfather, who was a judge in the Salem witch trials.  What would it take for you to change your name?

The Scottish judge, Lord Jeffrey, said, “A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one.”  While your name may be quickly forgotten after death, it would seem that you would want it to be respected in this life. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”  Would you rather have the riches?

Does God care about your name?  Or is He more likely concerned with what you have made of your name? It seems that promoting your name by your achievements would have some pride in it.  Is it possible that, when people see us, God wants them to associate us with the name of Jesus?

Maybe you should Google your name and see what others think about you, if they think about you at all. Either way, God loves you, and your name is written in His Book of Life.  Isn’t it?

Evangelist John Wesley (18th century) had some suggestions.  In what later would be called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (1964) Wesley said that there are four areas in which we can learn of our Creator and what he wants from us:

SCRIPTURE – He was referring to the Bible.  The Old Testament makes the assumption that God gave out His information through the Jews.  The New Testament centers on God’s son, Jesus, who sacrificed His life for us.  Can we get any more from scripture than how to live our lives?  Is there a plan of salvation clearly outlined for us?

TRADITION – Wesley said that not only the writings of the church fathers, but religious traditions in place today should carry some weight in securing what we believe.  But what if the church fathers got it wrong?  Is it possible that the belief system of the masses could have some holes?

REASON – This one could be used on the other three.  Wesley saw reason as a way to correct interpretation of scripture or proper examination of religious teachings.  But what about “God’s ways are higher than our ways?”  Don’t we have to take a lot of things on faith, even though they don’t make sense?

EXPERIENCE – What is working for you?  Do you feel peace and freedom?  Are you secure in the destiny of your soul?  Then maybe it’s working for you.  But what if you’re wrong?

John Wesley fought for the free will of man working in conjunction with the leading of the Holy Spirit. He taught that these four tools must be used in balance, that over-emphasizing one would be detrimental to our spiritual growth.

Which one is the most important to you?  Can you balance them and come out alive?

There was a fellow being interviewed by Fox News today.  He is the national security advisor for the Christian Action Network.  Who are they, and what do they do?  Well, a former editor for Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority Report” started the CAN group.  His name is Martin Mawyer, and he said that the organization was “created to protect America’s religious and moral heritage.”

Does our religious heritage need preserving?  And how do you protect it?  I guess you could remind everyone over and over that we started out as a “Christian” nation, but there will always be those who will challenge that fact, because most of our forefathers believed substantially different things from what our Christian churches teach today.

And why do Christians need a national security advisor?  Don’t we have God? Won’t He protect us?  Or does He only help those who help themselves?  What about helping the helpless?

This group also promotes CPA’s.  No, not certified public accountants. Christian Political Activists. What do they do?  From what I’ve read their goal is to take over America for God.  That is, they want to put fundamentalist Christians in all levels of the government, so that all laws can be in complete alignment with God’s Word — the Bible.  I personally don’t see how you can get the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to agree on “Christian” laws.  Is it doable?

Neither Jesus (in the gospels) nor his followers (in the letters) seemed to advocate Christian political activism.  Why should we?  How about our daily walk with Christ?  How we relate to family and friends. How we relate to enemies.  Do we really need to pour our money and time into forcefully wrenching our government from the sinners?

Maybe we should pray about it.  What’s that?  We already did?  I wonder if God just isn’t into this movement.  Or maybe we didn’t get the answer we were looking for.  So it’s up to us.  Or is it?

Inspiration is the antithesis of apathy.  Action is preferable to inaction.  The spark within us is what makes life interesting.  It not only gives us hope, but puts feet on our faith.  So where does that spark come from?

Some would argue that it is all cause and effect.  We react to stimulus.  Someone begs us to do something, the weather is perfect for …, or a new revelation prompts us to share it with others.  Any number of sensual signals can start our inspirational engines.  Inspire is from the Latin, meaning “to breathe upon or into.”

The Bible says that “all Scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16)  Does that mean just the Old Testament, since it was written in the New Testament?  Or do we Christians have the right to include the canonized Bible (both Testaments) as the God-breathed Word of God?  Is it really infallible?  If it’s truly inspired, could the men that wrote it have put their own spin on some things?

We are all created by God.  Our minds contain the seat of the soul, the very connection to Him.  So can’t we say, as George MacDonald writes, that “the inspiration of the Almighty alone gives understanding?”  Is all inspiration more or less a pay-it-forward from God?  That is, when we inspire others, isn’t it God (or God’s Spirit) inspiring us to inspire others, and so on?  Or can evil be inspired, either by Satan or selfish people?

I like the association of inspire to breathing.  Breathing is necessary to life.  So is inspiration.  Some people have good “breath,” and others have nasty “breath.”  What is our role in generating or receiving inspiration? Do we just let it happen?  I feel inspired to write these articles.  I constantly have thoughts and ideas going through my mind, but there are many times when I have to force myself to put them in writing.  So, am I just manufacturing inspiration, or am I just too lazy sometimes to harvest the fruit?

What — or who — inspires you?  I’d like to know.

Teach.  Or so the saying goes.  Meaning that people who can’t master their given field can always fall back on teaching about it.  I don’t believe it’s true.  At least I hope it’s not true.  But it may be true for some.  I would rather believe that teachers are called to teach.  That is, they have an inner desire to open minds to learning, and that they look forward to seeing students mature and become successful, knowing that they had a part in the process.

The Christian faith is much the same.  Where would we be without our teachers?  Sure, God uses the Bible, but wasn’t that written by teachers?  And are teachers always right?  Even if they’re not always right, do we dismiss them as teachers when they’re wrong sometimes?

Teachers, if they are any good, stimulate us to think.  Great teachers love questions.  But should the goal of a teacher be to make you think like he or she thinks?  Wouldn’t it be better to lead students to seek the truth, even if they’re not currently on the same page as the teacher?  Can Christian leaders trust God to eventually bring the student around to the truth, or must they force their truth into the students, they themselves being God’s instruments?

I wonder how much teachers of Christianity fear that they will be held accountable for the failure of their students to learn the real Truth.  (James 3:1)  Is it hard for teachers to be humble?  Do they see it as failure to admit that they don’t know an answer?  How much does pride play into the teaching equation?

Learning is a necessary part of our existence.  Teachers are necessary tools for the learning process. Some do it professionally.  But shouldn’t we all be ever learning, as well as ever teaching?

God is the great Teacher.  From Him all teaching flows.  What we do with it is up to us.

Or is it?

Many people find that doing things for those who ask is easier than following orders.  There’s something about the fact that when a person commands something (rather than suggesting), it makes them look superior.  But isn’t society always required to have leaders and followers?  Or could we ever realize a Utopian world, where imperative instruction is not necessary?

What about our relationship to God?  It seems that the only way we can really get to know Him is to obey. What does He ask of us?  Well, the ten commandments come to mind.  But they’re so negative — THOU SHALT NOT.  What does he ask us to do that’s positive?  Does he communicate to us outside of the Bible?

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, who would teach and convict us.  (John 14:26)  So, is that voice in your head the Holy Spirit, or is it just your conscience?  Or are they one and the same?  Do you ever get to think for yourself?  It’s obvious that you have the responsibility to act, no matter who is suggesting, encouraging or commanding.  Do we need to be absolutely sure of the truth before we follow?

It would be great to know what we ought to do, or ought not to do.  But I think what gets us into trouble is when we determine what others ought to do, or not do, and forcefully exhort them in that manner.  Both testaments of the Bible speak freely of righteousness, the act of doing right in the eyes of God.  Can we ever really know what is right?  Many Christian advisors say, “When in doubt, leave it out.”  Is that good advice?

So which is better?  To be the master or the servant?  Jesus, who is the Master, said it is better to be the servant.  The Apostle said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:10)  Will that work in today’s world?