God told me that Jesus asks nothing of us which he himself did not do. I argued that Jesus, though he experienced all of temptation, did not experience the effects of sin in one's life. God came back with this: of course Jesus didn't deal with his sin, because he had none. He dealt with everyone else's. It's funny, but sometimes part of me wants to sin just to see clearly afterwards. I wish I could see clearly before hand. God has said that I will, and I just have to trust Him. He still delights in me, and it's almost unbelievable. The one who had no sin took my own and everyone else's upon his back, followed his Father's heart to his death, spent two days in Hell, and came back. There's not a whole lot to say, in fact, there's nothing to say. He is love, I cannot comprehend it.
Posted by A. Whipple at 11:26 PM
I must admit, God has really been beating me over the head about what I said about the Bible not being His word. My agnostic opinions and dispositions came out when I took the fact, that God speaks to me through other things besides the Bible, to it's logical end. But then, God doesn't fit inside my logic. The Bible is definitely the Word of God. God speaks otherwise through the Holy Spirit, but the Bible is the Word of God. I'm so easily distracted, and when I stay distracted for a while, it's difficult to get me back on track, because I want to cling to that which distracted me.
Posted by A. Whipple at 12:21 PM
"He was a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering." (Is. 53:3) Some versions say 'disease' instead of 'suffering.' Funny thing: that's the way that God looks at sin. A sort of cancer that is constantly fought and battled with throughout our lives. "Surely He took up our infirmiries." (53:4) "...there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man, and his form marred beyond human likeness." (52:14) When you look at Christ as He carries our crosses (yeah, that's plural; I guaruntee that the two theives' burdens did not equate to our Savior's), He is barely even recognizable. His body is flayed from the Roman whip, which gave not forty lashes minus one, as the Jewish law states, but whipped until (as the Roman requirement dictated) the flesh hung from his back. He has had a forty-pound beam placed upon his shoulders, and he struggles to carry the weight of our sin up to the Hill of the Skull.
Yet the Weight of Sin is not so great as the Weight of Glory. The Glory of God itself is even so great as to frighten the Devil, whose power is only limited by that of God. I am a failure, plain and simple. And in my failure, I have very little to say (which is funny, because I tend to run my mouth a lot). Nothing can be said, save that my Saviour must be my Lord as well, and when I stumble, I must not give up and go running back down the mountain. God is more real than anything here. Don't really try to live for the world as the world dictates. Live to God and love the world with His passion.
Not that this has any bearing on anything I've said (as if anything I've said has any bearing), but I thought it was really funny. "You can't really be very well 'adjusted' to your world if it says you have a devil and ends by nailing you up naked to a stake of wood." -CS Lewis, The Four Loves
Posted by A. Whipple at 4:54 PM
Kat and I went to see Andrew Peterson at New City Cafe on Thursday (Sept. 11). The joy that fills my heart at the honesty and glory of God revealed in his music is always something which I want to imitate in my own songwriting.
Posted by A. Whipple at 4:24 PM
It is amazing the reality of God. Despite all the changing faces of emotion and circumstance, despite all the stupid stuff I do, He's there and He's the same. Not only does God love us, He likes us. He delights in us!
There are a few people in the world that I delight in, though we should treat all as Christ would treat them. But when you delight in someone, your face lights up when they enter the room. If they sin against you, it hurts not because it was an ignoble thing to do, but because a heart full of love will endure such things and continue to love, no matter how much hurt is caused. I wish that I could convey to you the full weight of things which have been shown to me recently, but either it is not within my capacity to say it in words, or it is too personal to share. God continues to make this a church instead of a band. We rely on each other as sisters and brothers more now than ever before I think. It's difficult to maintain these relationships at a level of deep involvement during school, but it's something that we must do if we are to be the Body of Christ. Also, we must reach out, and I hope that we will begin to do that soon. Any failure to seek out those that need help is my own, and I thank the Lord that He is always calling.
It seems like my Father is always just around the bend on this mountain trail of my life. Occasionally I get brief glimpses of His heels, soled in righteousness and glory unimaginable. As He goes ahead of me, preparing the way for me to get to Him, He calls. It sometimes sounds more distant than it is, since I tend to think way too much for someone who's supposed to have faith. I'm glad He's in control though. There is far less emotion in a life where He has control. But there are also many more of the seeds of joy. I want more. I want to be ever-full but ever thirsty, for He is new every moment, and He is endless, which is such an inconceivable thing for me. His Name alone is worthy of Glory and Honor.
Posted by A. Whipple at 4:19 PM
My God is gracious. My God is full of Love Divine. He draws the pearls out from the pigs where demons reside within. He calls His dirty and crooked children to Him and washes their hearts and feet. He is great and mighty, and His hand gives freely to all without finding fault.
Posted by A. Whipple at 1:40 PM
The nature of blindness is that is leaves you once that for which you were made blind is done. The nature of blindness is that there is one ray of light protruding through the darkness. That one ray of light is the quiet and peaceful words of our Father. That one ray of light is what we must cling to if we are to stay focused through the worst attacks that the devil will employ against us. This excuses no behavior that is contrary to the will of the Father, lest we lie to ourselves and say "The devil made me do it." Such a claim is blindness in of itself, for to think that we are wholly not responsible for our actions is to be ignorant of the first gift of God: free choice. Blindness is a bondage that is followed by the bondage of guilt, for once blindness leaves, and vision sets in, the first reaction is shame and a search for justification. And that is a net that many are never untangled from. Only God has the power to save from such things, but it is usually up to us to relinquish control and guilt to Him. Our sins, even the greatest ones (as if there were actually a scale) are nailed to the Cross of Jesus Christ, the One whose Love covers all.
Posted by A. Whipple at 1:29 PM
God doesn't ramble. And it's an awesome thing. Otherwise, we might eventually get tired of hearing Him go on and on, just like you will get tired of hearing me (I don't talk a lot or anything).
Posted by A. Whipple at 12:12 AM
I guess it's time to tell you guys about this. This is something that God showed me a several days ago. It is about the part of Ephesians 6 that talks about the Armor of God, but it doesn't begin in Ephesians.
It starts out in good old Exodus. In chapter 3, verse 5, God tells Moses to take off his sandals, for he's standing on holy ground. I wondered what it was about taking off the sandals that made it possible for Moses to stand on holy ground. I didn't know if it was to be more in connection with the ground (since it was holy), or if it was some Hebrew custom I didn't know about. But that was irrelevant. The other place that I remembered the Bible talking about shoes was in Ephesians and the Armor of God passage. I'm sure there are other passages and verses, but that was the first one that came to mind. In Ephesians 6:15, Paul says this:
"[Stand]...with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace."
Two words stand out to me: "readiness" and "peace." Remember now, that since the Fall of man, the entire world has been upside-down from what we expect it to be. That's the devil's big lie in the entire scheme of things. So readiness, in the sense that we think of it, is probably not what Paul is talking about. Let me give an example. At the end of every semester, all music majors do a jury on their principle instrument, whether it's voice or piano or whatever. If you told a music major to get ready for their jury, the first thing they would do is start freaking out. The second is that they would rush to prepare to the best of their ability. That is the worldly readiness. To gather things and gather ideas and gather wits and do one's best. To be ready in a heavenly sense is to be open in heart - in a sense, to take off one's sandals. To take off the worldly anxiety and put on the peace of God. An open heart has no idea what's going to happen next, and it's ok with that. An open heart entrusts the future to God. It may make plans, but it knows that in the end, God is supreme.
That was the beginning. He went on to show me the belt of truth. Now if you know me, you know that I like to use the truth as a weapon to cut down those who do not live by it. The problem with that is, that such actions do not coincide with living by the truth. If you read the passage in Ephesians, truth is equated to a belt. A belt, in Roman armor, held other pieces of the armor together. In our day, the belt holds up your pants. Both metaphors are applicable. If you take off the belt to use it as a weapon, your armor flies apart and your vulnerable. Plus your pants fall down, so now your vulnerable, naked, and falling down. So, in short, truth is a belt. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time with my pants down. It is what holds all things together, and it causes those who do not live by it to stumble and be exposed. If you live by the truth, you have nothing to hide.
Next part: the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs from injury. I was not exactly sure what righteousness was, so I began to search. Through a footnote in a bible, God showed me that righteousness is appropriate Christian behavior. Behavior is an outward revelation of an inward character. So, since we cannot see if people truly love the Lord (unless we are given Spiritual vision and the ability to recognize such things), righteousness is limited to two things. Basically, love your fellow man and be self-controlled in order to honor God with your actions, body, and mind. This is the breastplate of righteousness, and it protects that which is vital from evil. Think about it, if you focus on truly loving someone, you will go out of your way not to harm them, indeed to even lift them up, and you will not think of your own reward for all this. Thus, you will not be given to selfishness, which is the human root of sin. Also, though we cannot see it in others, if you love the Lord, He will protect your heart as well. This is part of the breastplate that we must make sure of in ourselves.
I've already written about the readiness that is the Peace of God, so next is the Shield of Faith. In a book in the Apocrypha, the Wisdom of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 19, he says that the Lord's shield is His Holiness. In Ephesians 6:16, Paul say that our shield is faith in the Lord. So, if we have faith in our Father to save us, then the impenetrable Holiness of God Himself will be our shield.
After that is the Helmet of Salvation. Salvation protects the mind. The best way that I can show you this is by an example from my own life. I had been saved for about five years before coming to Carson-Newman. If I had not been saved when I came to Carson-Newman, and I had heard all the wacky ideas that some professors use to make you come outside your box, I would have formed all sorts of ideas about God that were not right at all. I fully believe that the Salvation from God kept my mind where it should be, and led me on the course that I have run (not that I'm done by any means!). Though I've screwed up so many times that I've lost count, my God loves me, and I can take Joy in that. He has still guided my path and kept me on His path, calling me when I've strayed.
The last thing is the Sword of the Spirit. Paul says that this is the Word of God. Now, here, in order to give you the full truth in this matter, I am forced to present an idea to you which might not be so palatable for some people. I don't know how else to say it without beating around the bush, so I'll just go ahead and say it. The Bible is not the only Word of God. The Word of God is the Word of God. If you read in the Bible in the beginning of John's record of the gospel, this is quite evident, through one of Jesus's closest followers. Granted, we should read our Bibles as Christians, but even in the Bible, it is evident that the Bible is not the only thing to read. Paul says in 2 Timothy that "all Scripture is God-breathed," not "all that is God-breathed is Scripture." He also says, "[Scripture] is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." So, the Bible is a record of the Hebrew people, the Gospel, and those in the early church, and God speaks through this book very often. Please read your Bible! It is part of the training that God wants you to have, and He will speak to you through it! Remember Elijah in 1 Kings 19:7. "Get up and eat" is the principle that Katrina and I try to live by. God will feed you through the reading of Scriptures. It is the central book of our faith, but the Bible is not all that God has to say. He is not silent. He has indeed spoken many times and through many circumstances, books, songs, paintings, and other things since the last part of the current Bible was canonized. Now, that being said, I must tell you that the Sword works on the same basis as the Shield. If you have faith in God, He will fight for you. Remember in Exodus 17:11 where as long as Moses held up the staff, God went before the Israelites? That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Sometimes He'll even fight through you, like He did through the Israelites in that same battle against the Amalekites. But know that "It is mine to avenge; I will repay" (Deut. 32:35). Notice also that this is the ONLY offensive thing, and it is up to the Lord. If you take the belt of truth off and try to use it as a weapon, your pants are going to fall down. You'll be exposed and you'll fall down. Remember, I'm not saying not to read your Bible. You should indeed do that, and do it daily. But it is not good for us to use the Bible as a weapon against the failures of the children of God, who are our brothers and sisters (since we all have failures and the best that we can give is worthless, but for the grace and power of God). We must open our hearts to what the Father has to say to us. Live to love and let the Father fight for you.
The other thing I wanted to mention (in case you haven't cursed me for a heathen and stopped reading by this point), is that none of these things are inherent in our bodies. The Truth is not in us. Salvation is not in us. The Sword of the Spirit is not in us. None of the armor is in us, it must be taken up each day. Thanks for listening. Please forgive any arrogance I've had (I am indeed human), and let the Father speak to you.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. -David, Psalm 34:8
" 'At present your business is to see. Come and see. He is endless. Come and feed.'". -CS Lewis, The Great Divorce
Posted by A. Whipple at 4:05 PM
To think that the voice that speaks in the power of distant thunder speaks love to my heart! Sing out, my soul, for you are a home to the One whose Name is Beyond Understanding!
Posted by A. Whipple at 2:11 PM
// John 5:30 // we are the pen; God is the author
Miscellaneous apparitions
no concerts
Correspondence
Brenda -
tcshanx@yahoo.com
Elissa - elissakeck@hotmail.com
Adam - adamwhipple@hotmail.com
Accumulated paraphernalia
Caedmon's Call
Derek Webb
Bethany Nobles
Katrina's Website
New City Cafe
Joe Mayfield's Site
Andy Vandergriff's blog
Andrew Peterson
Many
moons
ago
