dating, waiting, and Virtual Game by R.L. Copple

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My good writer friend, R. L. Copple, recently published his bazillionth book. OK, maybe it’s his 7th, 8th, 9th? I haven’t read all his books (yet), but I have all the books in the Virtual Chronicles, including between-the-book short stories and I love these characters and their story world. 

Virtual Game, released in November, is Book Three in The Virtual Chronicles. I’ve interviewed RL Copple, and reviewed Mind Game (#1), and Hero Game (#2) previously. While I suppose you could read it on its own, I don’t see why you would. The whole series is stellar (it takes place in space, after all), so if you haven’t read any of them, go back and start with Mind Game. You can read one of the in-between short stories for free at RL Copple’s site.

Jeremy, his best friend Mickey, and his sister Bridget, have a knack for being in the wrong (or right) place at the wrong (or right) time, depending on how you look at it. They’ve saved worlds from extinction and currently moonlight as super heroes when they’re not in public school. This time, a military organization is after their virtual technology and their lives hang in the balance. And so does Jeremy and Mickey’s friendship…all because they both like the same girl.

I don’t know how old you were when you started dating. I think I was around 16. There are some rules you learn pretty early when it comes to dating, if you’re smart. You don’t date your BFF’s boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend. You agree beforehand what happens when you’re both interested in the same guy. You break the rules, and your friendship suffers. It’s unlikely he’s “the one,” but if he were, would that make dating him OK? 

I have friends that married their high school sweetheart (and they’re still married). I have other friends who married the first person they dated (and they’re still married). But for the rest of us, we’ve navigated the waters of dating. Here’s my question/thought for the day:

When do you think people should start dating? My current hypothesis is when they’re ready to get married. (I have daughters). :) My reasoning behind it is because our culture is so permissive that the physical side of dating is too much for teens trying to navigate romance. And I even have biblical support for my view:

Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
not to awaken love until the time is right. – Song of Solomon 8:4

I’m wondering if there are benefits to dating that I’m overlooking? Learning to fall in and out of love? Learning to balance friends and boyfriends? Learning about lying, cheating, betrayal, and trust?

In Virtual Game, Mickey and Jeremy both face relationship struggles when they fall in love with the same girl. If they weren’t dating exclusively, would there still be an issue? Or is dating as a teen sort-of an inoculation for dating as an adult? I’m very curious to hear what you guys think about this!

If you could be a prophet, would you?

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I just finished a wonderful book. I’m so glad I did, or what would I have to post about? The “being thankful” thing has already been done ad naseum this month. ;)

After my last post on prophets and fiction, I started Prophet by RJ Larson. It’s been sitting patiently in my Kindle since…August 2012 (I just looked it up) along with a lot of other great books that I have yet to read. I’ve committed to not purchasing any more books (or trying really hard not to) until I’ve read the ones I already have. It’s like an early New Year’s resolution, or really really late one. But on to the story…

Ela is asked by the Infinite (love, love, love this name for God) to be His Prophet. She accepts, even though it means leaving home and placing herself in danger. “A greyed haired prophet is a failure,” according to the people of Parne, Ela’s country. Ela goes through a series of assignments as she seeks to convey the Infinite’s words to the countries around her.

I loved this book. I would already be reading the sequel if I was allowing myself to buy books.

The thought that came to me while reading Prophet was if I could be a prophet, if God would speak to me directly, would I want to do it?

I have to tell you, the idea of hearing directly and clearly from God is very appealing. It would be so much easier to follow Him if I knew for sure what I was supposed to do. Being close to Him, being able to ask Him questions, being used directly by Him, being someone like Ela…it all seems so appealing.

Prophet by RJ Larson, does a great job of imagining what it might have been like to be God’s prophet. Being asked to do things that others think are crazy. Having everyone disbelieve you. Having people hate you and try to kill you. Having people mock you. Have people finally believe you, but too late. Knowing what’s going to happen and being powerless to prevent it. 

And then I think, if I listened closer (by reading my Bible, meditation on the word, spending more time in prayer), wouldn’t I have the relationship with God that I desire? Hearing from Him clearly, being close to Him, asking Him questions, being used by Him. If I paid more attention to the Holy Spirit’s leading, if I focused on Christ, wouldn’t I have all those things and more?

Because really, I image being a prophet is an uncomfortable profession. The bearer of bad news. The only one to know the future before it happens. Instead, I think I will be grateful for what I have today. Friends, family, faith, time to read, time to write. It is, after all, a time for thanksgiving. ;)

So, what about you? Would you be a prophet if you could?

A wasp, a shoe, a window = typical Lisa

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Today we’re taking a break from theology and books and just having some fun at my expense. Enjoy!

We’ve recently moved closer to my husband’s workplace. What used to be a 45 minute one-way commute is now 8 minutes. So, on occasion, I have the pleasure of seeing my husband at lunch.

Our story starts a beautiful fall day two weeks ago. My husband and I are sitting across the kitchen table, staring fondly into one another’s eyes, connecting soul-to-soul through small talk about daily happenings and the weather when a buzzing comes from behind me and flies over my right shoulder toward my husband. I have no idea where the wasp came from. The windows and door were shut. It was like he metamorphosed from thin air.

photo credit: VonShawn via photopin cc

photo credit: VonShawn via photopin cc

After our heart rates returned to normal, we finished lunch and my husband was about to head back to work.

“Wait!” I said. “You have to kill the wasp before you leave.” That’s what God gave us husbands for, right?

So my husband goes over to the sink and picks up a full roll of…paper towels. I mean really, was this guy serious?

“What are you going to do? Pillow it to death? Give me your shoe.” (I was barefoot, plus I normally wear Tevas, and those are too flexible to be any good at killing a wasp.)

I should stop at this point and explain that I have never been stung by a wasp, bee, hornet or what-have-you. I have a secret suspicion that I’m allergic and will die if I’m ever stung. This will help explain what happens next…

My husband takes off his shoe and hands it to me. No questions asked. The only thing he says to me is, “Don’t break the window.”

What has successfully worked for me in the past in my wasp-killing career is to wait until they’re on the window, close the blinds, then whack the guts out of the wasp through the blinds. That way, even if you miss the first time, it’s caught and you can keep whacking until the job is done.

photo credit: KWDesigns via photopin cc

photo credit: KWDesigns via photopin cc

Did I mention that we had moved into a new house? Our new windows are made up of individual panes, roughly 11×14 inches. Instead of the nice, thick Anderson windows that we had at our old place, the glass is no thicker than glass in a picture frame. To top it off, my husband sees that I’m about to whack the wasp through our vertical blinds, and tells me, “Don’t do that. It won’t kill him.”

I’m firmly convinced that if I hadn’t interfered with my husband or he hadn’t interfered with me, things would have been fine. Unfortunately, we sabotaged each other. I picked up my husband’s shoe by the toes (remember, he gave me his shoe without protest), and I swung at the wasp with all my might. And I missed the wasp, but I hit the window pane just fine and it shattered.

So Mr. Wasp sits down on the broken pane happy as can be. Since the window is already broken, it doesn’t hurt for me to swing again, right? Me, shoe, whack…and this time I miss both the wasp and the window. And then the strangest thing happens…the wasp flies out the broken window never to be seen again.

And what does my husband do? He says, “When you go to Home Depot to get a new window pane, I’m going to need some silicone too.” He’s awesome like that. Able to laugh at my hare-brained destruction of our new home.

So a week later, we’d bought 4 different window panes before we got the right size. The pre-cut ones at Home Depot were both too small. Then we measured a window pane from the top half of the windows (11-1/4 x 13-1/4 inches) which happens to be different than the ones on the bottom half of the window (10-5/8 x 14). Go figure.

My husband, ever the pragmatist, tells me, “I would have stunned the wasp with the paper towels, and then I could have stepped on him.”

To which I replied, “But I had your shoe!”

So why did I tell you this story? No reason. Just because I thought it was pretty funny and it gives great insight into the type of person I am: a girl with really, truly bad aim.

If you’ve read this far down, there’s another chance to win a copy of Kerry Nietz’s Amish Vampires in Space over at the group blog I share with my writer BFF’s.

So let me here from you: Do you have any great insect killing or window breaking stories? Or some other crazy thing you’ve done that didn’t work out as expected? I’d love to hear it! C’mon, make me feel better. ;)

modern day prophets, imaginary friends, and mockingbirds – what do they have in common?

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photo credit: Miladysparis via photopin cc photo credit: alles-schlumpf via photopin cc photo credit: TexasEagle via photopin cc

photo credit: Miladysparis via photopin cc
photo credit: alles-schlumpf via photopin cc
photo credit: TexasEagle via photopin cc

Do you believe certain people still have the gift of prophecy?

There were many prophets in biblical times, but are there still?

After Jesus and the disciples, is there still a need for prophecy?

Honestly, I can’t answer your question. I’m not sure anyone can definitively. Some believe there are those who have the gift of prophecy today. Some believe that miraculous gifting (prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues) stopped at the end of the apostolic age (after the original disciples had passed).

But that’s not really what I want to talk about today. Not exactly. I wanted to share with you this amazing book I finished over the weekend. When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey.

The book is about 9-year-old Leah who is a social pariah because of her severe stutter. Her parents move her to a new town, a small town of only ~7000 people, and invite the whole town to her birthday party. It’s the worst birthday gift she can imagine, since she’s no good at making friends and has huge anxiety issues. But what do you know? She makes two new friends at her birthday party: a sweet girl her age who reminds me of Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and Rainbow Man. But no one else can see Rainbow Man, including her new BFF. And Rainbow Man knows things about people and about the future. Things he tells to others through Leah. Good things and bad things. Some believe, some don’t. 

I loved this book. Parts of it were laugh-out-loud funny, literally. But the thing I liked best about it was that it made me think about the prophets in the Old Testament. You remember those guys…Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor prophets like Joel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Haggai, Obadiah, Zechariah, Malachi… OK, I’ll stop. Now I’m just name dropping.

Anyway, these guys were cool. God told them things and their job was to convey His message to whomever He specified. It’s easy to look back and respect these men who were the mouthpieces of God. We knew they were prophets, but the people at the time didn’t.

When Mockingbirds Sing made me think about prophets from another perspective. If you didn’t know for sure that these men were prophets of God and they were running around doing crazy things like marrying prostitutes, living naked in the wilderness, lying outside their tent on one side for like 300 days and on the other side for 70, and all sorts of other things, would you believe what they said? Have you ever seen street preachers yelling for you to Repent! because the end is near? Do you take them seriously?

Or what about Jesus? People in His home town rejected Him. He even told His disciples “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.” ~Luke 4:24

Back to the book…I’m not going to tell you whether little Leah is a modern day prophet. I’m not going to tell you whether the Rainbow Man is real or good. That would spoil the book, and you really want to read this one. But what I will say is that people have a tendency to like and follow God when the future looks bright. When things turn dark, when the call is to repent and watch your ways, to obey before it’s too late, that’s when people had a tendency to dismiss the prophets. Everyone likes to receive good news, no one wants the other kind.

It’s not so different today. As Christians, we know what’s going to happen. We know how the world will end. We just don’t know when. But it doesn’t take a prophet to know that each day that passes is one day closer to Jesus’ return.

So, what do I think, you ask? Are there still prophets today?

I don’t think there are any Prophets today. There isn’t a need for them. Jesus and His disciples gave us the prophecy that we need in the Bible. Does that mean people can’t prophecy today? Sure they can, if God wants them to. In the end, it’s up to Him. And it’s up to us whether or not we believe the person claiming to prophecy. Just like it was up to every character whether to believe Leah in When Mockingbirds Sing.

So what do you think? Do people still prophecy today? Is there a difference between a Prophet and a prophet? Ever known anyone to prophecy and it to come true? or not come true? Tell us! Inquiring minds want to know…

The Holy Spirit…He, She, or It?

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photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc

photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc

We’ve spoken about the Holy Spirit before, a rather nebulous topic (pun intended). Recently, the question has come up regarding the Holy Spirit’s gender. On a past post is the Holy Spirit a person of God’s force? NewHeavenOnEarth commented “I experience Holy Spirit as the feminine Spirit of the Most High God, an Intelligence that is Invisible but very present and active and living and in my body and life!” She offers the basis of her belief, if you’re interested to go back and read what she has to say.

At the same time, I was reading a fantastic children’s book that drips with allegorical theology called The Violet Flash, a sequel to The Blue Umbrella both by Mike Mason. In it, the allegorical Holy Spirit is a woman, heard but not seen, the wife of Eldy, the God figure, mother of Sky Porter, the Christ figure. And then there’s The Shack by William P. Young, where God is an African American woman (for most of the book), Jesus is a Middle Eastern carpenter, and the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman.

Now, I know it’s fiction and we have to allow some latitude for creativity. I was OK with the Holy Spirit character in both books being being a woman, but the leap to God’s wife and Christ’s mother made me realize that a lot of people believe the Holy Spirit is feminine and if He is a She, then what does that do to our concept of the Trinity?

Part of it, I think, goes back to Genesis 1:26-27 when God said

“Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”

God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.

Of course, many (including me) believe the us and our in Gen 1:26 is an early reference to the Trinity. If so, then verse 1:27 suggests that part of God, or part of the Trinity, might be female, otherwise, how could women be created in the image of God?

Tracking with me so far? Well, we know that when Jesus came to earth, he came as a man, and he called God his Father. So if two persons of the Trinity are male, then many believe that leaves the Holy Spirit as female. And if female, why not Mother? Well, that’s an interesting theory, but this argument is full of circumstantial evidence, isn’t it? While don’t we put a pin in it <ping> and move on for now.

You know what’s most interesting about this topic? That Wikipedia actually has a whole page dedicated to it. #Crazy! Anyway, some of the confusion comes from grammar. Imagine that–grammar being cause for confusion. :p Anyway, if you’ve ever studied a foreign language aside from English, you’ve probably come across nouns with grammatical gender. In English, we don’t have this issue because everything is the: the shoe, the rose, the car. But in other languages, there is a masculine, feminine, and neuter form of the. (And people say English is confusing!)

The shoe: el zapato (masculine, Spanish), le sabot (m., French), der schuh (m., German)

The rose: la rosa (feminine., Spanish), la rose (f., French), die rose (f., German)

The girl: la chica (f., Spanish) la jeune fille (f., French), das Mädchen (n., German)

And here’s one where they’re all different:

The car: el coche (m. Spanish), la voiture (f., French), das auto (n., German)

OK, language lesson over. But do you get the point? The gender of an object’s article (“the”) doesn’t determine the gender of the object itself. Shoes aren’t male, cars aren’t male/female/neuter, anymore than a girl is neuter. [And once a cat or dog is neutered, it doesn't turn into an it. ;)]

So one of the popular arguments that the Holy Spirit must be female is because the original Hebrew article used with the Spirit is feminine. Hopefully you can see why I don’t find that a convincing argument. 

As far as I can tell from my research, and I’m no expert by any means, orthodox Christianity, whether Protestant or Catholic, agrees that the Holy Spirit is a He. While I’m not Catholic and disagree with many of their doctrines (sorry if you are, ask me and I’ll tell you more), I think this stance on the gender of the Holy Spirit encapsulates the argument best:

“Though the three Divine Persons are distinct from one another, God is nonetheless one (cf. Catechism, nos. 253-54). Although God “transcends the distinctions between the sexes,” He has revealed Himself as Father (no. 239). Since the Holy Spirit reveals the Father, as well as the Son (masculine) and the Three Persons are one God, the Church also refers to the Holy Spirit as “He.” At no time has the Church referred to the Holy Spirit as “She” when speaking of the person of the Holy Spirit.” http://catholicexchange.com/is-the-holy-spirit-male-or-female

If you’re interested in reading more about this subject, http://www.makestraightpaths.com, an apologetic against a cult know as The Family, has a fairly thorough article on the issue.

OK, so let’s back track to our <pin>. If God created us in His image, and the Trinity is male, where do women come in? Here’s my idea. It’s our spirit (soul) that is created in the image of God, not our bodies. Taken together, both male and female, all of our traits–our spiritual gifts–when made perfect and combined are similar to God’s attributes. That’s why as a church we form the body of Christ, and it takes all of us working together to be His body. The reason why we are male and female is (1) because God decided it wasn’t good for man to be alone, and (2) for species propagation. If we were all men, there wouldn’t be a whole lot of babies running around unless God formed us to be like bacteria.

For me, I will follow tradition and call the Holy Spirit a He because that’s the orthodox stance. I could equally see where the Holy Spirit might not have any gender, since He’s a Spirit. That would be OK too. But I can’t see referring to the Holy Spirit as a She, much less God’s wife and Christ’s mom.

And now, let’s hear from you. I’d be interested to know your religious affiliation and whether you believe the Holy Spirit is a He, She, It, or other (force). Or anything else you’d like to discuss on this post. I value all of your comments. :)

mental illness, demon possession, and crazy dangerous by andrew klavan

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photo credit: Idhren via photopin cc

photo credit: Idhren via photopin cc

There are several accounts in the Bible of Jesus casting out demons from people. Some of the demon-possessed were mute and/or blind (Matthew 9:32-24, 12:22). Others were incredibly strong, violent, and prone to self-injury (Mark 5:2-20/Luke 8:26-39/Matthew 8:28-34), another poor boy suffered from convulsions to the point he would fall into the fire or water because the demon was trying to kill him (Matthew 17:14-20/Mark 9:14-29). The latter was an especially difficult case where the disciples were not able to cast out the demon(s) and Jesus had to do it.

I have a dear friend who works with severely autistic children in public school. I’ve seen the bite marks and bruises left on her by a tween girl who became incredibly violent and was also prone to self-injury. She often was forced to wear gloves and had to be bound to prevent her from hurting herself. Why would a child be afflicted like this from childhood? Is it a chemical problem in the brain outside the understanding of medicine and science? So far, yes, because they have yet to find an effective treatment for her. But I’ve often wondered whether certain cases of mental illness, especially when the parallel Bible symptoms, could be more spiritually than physically based.

Last week I read a fantastic novel by Andrew Klavan called Crazy Dangerous. Part of the story is told from the POV (point of view) of a girl that can hear demons speaking and sees things that no one else can see. This ability appears to be linked to prophetic warning visions. You spend the book, along with the main character, wondering about the basis for her visions. Andrew Klavan connects to dots for one way demons and metal illness might be compatible. I’m not going to tell you what it is, because that would ruin the book for you and it is certainly a book worth reading. 

So what are the implications of demon possession on mental illness. I don’t have an answer for you and I’m only going to dip my toe in the waters of speculation because I am not an expert on this subject. Not at all.

What I will say is that in Bible times, demons caused a variety of physical symptoms including muteness, deafness, violence, and convulsions. Some mentally ill people still experience those same symptoms today. Does that mean they are demon possessed?

I think the parents of a profoundly autistic child would take umbrage with the notion their child was demon possessed. So would the parents of a child that suffered from epilepsy, particularly if the epileptic was a believer. If the Holy Spirit resides within us, we’re safe from demon possession.

So where does that leave us? If it’s in the Bible, then there is a possibility that demon possession exists today–possibly more than a possibility. Many people believe that miraculous gifting (healing, prophecy, visions, speaking tongues) ceased at the end of the apostolic age. It could be that demon possession ceased then as well. God knows and I do not. What I do know is that medical professionals should be consulted. Medicine is part of God’s grace to us. I would suggest involving a certified Christian counselor. I would also recommend lots and lots of prayer. Nothing is impossible with God. He is the Great Healer.

Alright, I’m opening up the floor? What do you guys think? 

Are the members of the Trinity co-equal?

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iStock_000014594385MediumWell, if I were Phineas and Ferb, I’d say, “Yes, yes they are.” But that probably won’t satisfy you if you’re reading this post wanting to know the answer. So (deep breath) here it goes…

One of the sticking points that JW’s have with the concept of the Trinity is the co-equality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They see God the Father as the one and only Almighty God, Jesus as God’s Son, and the Holy Spirit as God’s force. We’ve already covered those misconceptions in other posts, so let’s look for evidence in the Bible that the members of the Trinity are co-equal, and what, exactly, we mean by co-equal.

First things first, a definition: co-equal in the sense of the Trinity means “having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections” or “possessing equally all the attributes of deity.”

What does that mean, exactly? It means that the nature and attributes of God the Father are the same as those of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In other words, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the same type of beings.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~2 Cor 3:17

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ~Heb 1:3

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)~ Romans 8:9

I know, it’s a hard concept. Perhaps this will help. Let’s consider marriage for a moment.

“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. ~Gen 2:23-24

A husband and wife are both human. When they marry, they become “one” (Gen 2:24). Can you see it? God does nothing by accident. He could have just created Eve like he did Adam and all of the other creatures, but He didn’t. Instead, He created Eve from part of Adam. United, they become “one”, a single functional unit (a married couple). Sure, Adam is a man, and Eve is a woman, but they are both human. They both equally possess all the attributes of humanity.

It is the same with the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all equally possess the same divine nature and attributes. When they are united together as a functional unit, they are the Godhead, or simply God. 

“The Father and I are one.” ~John 10:30

God the Father is not Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not the Father. Just like Adam is not Eve and Eve is not Adam. Each member of the Trinity is separate, His own “person” but they unite into one.

Before we leave this subject, there’s one other important topic on the question of equality.

But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. ~1 Cor 11:3

Again, just like with marriage, or biblical marriage anyway, there is a hierarchy. A rank. God, then Christ, then husband, then wife. The Father and the Son are both divine, but God ranks higher than Christ. 

Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. ~ John 14:28

Just because someone is greater than me, doesn’t mean they are a higher being. Is your boss greater than you? How about the President? People can be greater in rank, but that doesn’t change their nature or attributes, their humanness.  

Christ and the Father are equal in nature (John 10:30), though Jesus is functionally under the Father’s headship (1 Cor. 11:3). – Ron Rhodes from The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions

The Trinity. Equality with order. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Am I messing with your head yet? Thoughts, comments, concerns, epiphanies?

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

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Submerged has been sitting on my shelf since I won it in a giveaway on a friend’s blog (thanks, Nancy!). While I loved the cover and thought the book sounded interesting, other things kept pulling me away but I finally picked it up last week when someone on my Facebook page recommended it again (thanks, Laura!).

The thing is, I’m romance-novelist phobic. Sure, I like romantic elements in any story, but if all the story is only romance, then…

I read for story. I want to be entertained. I want the book to be so good I don’t want to put it down. I want a story that will keep me guessing. Guess what? Submerged did all those things. There’s suspense, some history, a great setting, and characters that you wish existed in real life because they’re the sort you’d like to befriend.

The other thing that Submerged has is a message. The main character, Bailey Craig, made mistakes in high school. Hers were big and obvious and garnered her a reputation as “easy” in a small town of ~7000. So she leaves town to reinvent herself and finally finds peace: she accepts Jesus and gets to start life over with a clean slate. Isn’t Jesus wonderful?

But here’s the thing, just because we’ve been forgiven doesn’t mean that we’ve forgiven ourselves. Or that our past has no hold on us. When Bailey’s beloved aunt dies, she has to return to small town, Alaska and face her past. Have you ever noticed that sometimes God sends us through situations we’d do anything to avoid in order to set us free of the lies holding us in bondage? That’s just what happens to Bailey Craig.

And now I’m going to do a promo spot for a dear friend’s blog. :D Beth Steury believes strongly in abstinence until marriage. Her stories and her blog seek to encourage the non-married (primarily youth) to stay faithful to their future spouse even before they’ve met. Counter-culture, I know!!! And for those that have slipped, she offers a solution: renewed abstinence. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean that you need to compound it, like Bailey Craig did. So if this is a topic that interests you, or you know of someone that would benefit from it, please send them her way: http://bethsteury.wordpress.com/ where waiting matters because YOU matter. 

So tell me, what’s the best book you’ve read lately?

 

is the Holy Spirit a person or God’s force?

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photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc

photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc

Great question, isn’t it? I think this is one of the tougher Trinity questions to understand. So bear with me while I try to logic this out for us.

We’ve already seen that Jesus places the Holy Spirit on the same level as the Father and Himself (Matthew 28:19). To me, it doesn’t make much since that Jesus would tell his disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if the Spirit were just a force of God.

#1. The most compelling Bible verses that show the Spirit as a “person” and not are force are Jesus’ words in John 14:15-17,25-26

If you love me, you will obey my commandments. Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you…I have spoken these things while staying with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.

Notice Jesus says “another Advocate.” The Greek word for another in this case means another just like Jesus. So someone like Jesus will come to the disciples. If the Holy Spirit is God’s force, the He is God’s force in the same way the Son is God’s force.

#2. Here are two more verses that show the Spirit as separate from God and acting of His own volition.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. ~Romans 8:26-27

If the Spirit were only God’s force, why would He need to intercede for us to God? Personally, I’m glad the Spirit searches my heart and interprets my groanings because there are a lot of times when I don’t know what to pray. We are blessed to have Someone who knows us better than ourselves and can interceded for us.

#3. Here, the Spirit is credited as the one who decides what sorts of spiritual gifts we receive. Notice that all members of the Trinity are discussed in the first line (verse 4).

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. ~1 Corinthians 12:4-11

#4: And the story of Ananias and Sapphira has always been an interesting one to me.

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land? Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God!” ~Acts 5:3-4

If lying to the Spirit is the same as lying to God, we can assume that the Spirit is someone that can be lied to. (You wouldn’t lie to a force like the wind). And lying to the Spirit is the same as lying to God. (Which is another proof the Spirit is on the same level as the Father and Son.)

There are so many more Scriptures that we could discuss, but I think I’ll stop here. While there are many passages that make it seem like the Spirit is no more than an extension of God’s will, that shouldn’t be surprising to us. The Father sent the Son to us, and He has also sent the Spirit. The problem in understand lies with us. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around the Spirit because He is something we can’t see or touch. 

the surprise attack of jabba the puppet by tom angleberger

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Filed under book reivew, middle grades

Do you like Star Wars?

Have you attending public school (elementary, junior high, or high school)?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then let me recommend a book series to you: The Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger.

Here they all are so you can see how clever the titles are:

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Darth Paper Strikes Back

The Secret of the Fortune Wookie

And now, The Suprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett.

We order these books pre-release so we have them when they come out. So yes, that means we are eagerly anticipating the newest book, Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!

We fight over who gets to read them first (me, my husband, my daughter).

We laugh and laugh and laugh.

And then we cry, because the book is over and our lives are not as bright without the Origami Yoda characters. So we watch all of the Star Wars movies again just to make ourselves feel better.

And if you like origami, you’re in for a treat because each book comes with directions to make the origami character on the cover of the book.

Now, I have to warn you…these books are not without controversy. The students have issues with the school administration. Some people condemn this as anti-establishment. But really, it’s anti-stupid-rules. It’s not school administration that is the butt of the Origami Yoda jokes, but the illogical and uncreative way that student behavior and standardized test scores are handled.

Another caution, in the current book, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet, the language was rougher than the earlier books. Instances of cr@p and @$$ bothered me as a parent. I don’t talk like that, my kids don’t talk like that, I wish they didn’t have to read it in books. This is the only reason I would hesitate to recommend this book in the series. So, be warned.

Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the ride, kid. And may the farce be with you.

Anyone read this series? If so, which book or character is your favorite? If not, what is your favorite book for tweens?