Journey to The Journey

Cody has admitted throughout his teaching on Acts that he would describe himself as a naturally skeptical person. This doesn't mean that he doesn't believe in miracles in general or that he believes miracles do not occur. He would be quick to affirm that God's work in salvation is clearly miraculous in nature! However, I believe he and I would agree in saying that miraculous sign gifts like we see in the scriptures do not appear to be the normative way in which God chooses to act in the world, both now and throughout history. After all, even within scripture they only "commonly" occur during unique periods in redemptive history. In other words, they have always served a special purpose in the outworking of God's plan of redemption and salvation. Therefore, skepticism (or at minimum, proceeding cautiously) related to claims of miraculous signs and wonders is a reasonable, and even biblical response. Allow me to explain why.

When we neglect God's word, we cut ourselves off from its life giving power. Jesus says without his bread and his water, we will perpetually suffer from persistent hunger and thirst (John 4:13-14, John 6:35). However, spiritual malnourishment and dehydration are just the tip of a much larger iceberg. This is what we can see, but there is much more that lies hidden beneath the surface and threatens to sink us like the great vessel, Titanic.

When we think about the price we all must pay, our minds inevitably wonder to thoughts of persecution and suffering. We often think that's all Jesus himself had in view when he called us to "take up our cross." However, sometimes walking in obedience to Christ will cost us in ways we never imagined or considered.

Reason is defined as "thinking that is coherent and logical." Could this be any further from how Christianity is viewed in our increasingly atheistic culture? Professing faith in God is often, at best, viewed as antiquated and at worst, outright stupidity. God however has never desired for people to follow after him blindly, but rather he desires to engage both our hearts and our minds. We are encouraged, and clearly expected to think critically about what we believe. So why has Christianity gotten such a bad rap?

The story of Ephesus is a mirror to the soul of sinful men. We were created to worship, but instead of worshiping our Creator, God, we worship that which he has created. Instead of pursuing the eternal Giver of every good thing, we devote our hearts and our minds to the pursuit of that which is perishable. We follow after men, gods, and idols, instead of walking in obedience to the Almighty King. We revel in chaos and disorder, and reject the Prince of Peace. This is who we are.