I Believe...the Wayfarer 7/22/16

I Believe
  7/22/16

John 3:16-21 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

²¹ But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Belief requires both acceptance and rejection, belief of truths, and rejection of falsehoods that present themselves as truths.

 It is through these acceptances… and rejections as well that true belief is established.

What is deemed as acceptable, allowable, must reaffirm belief, or deny the very basis of that belief, negating it, relegating it to the realm of mere noise, affirming nothing.

Though the hymn used as title for today’s dissertation is quite beautiful, quite uplifting, it does not present the unique requirements of belief, in and of itself, thereby failing to present the gospel of Christ Jesus in the entirety presented in the opening scripture through the words of Jesus so often quoted, so often not quoted in their entirety, so often failing to present the total context of what was said by Him.

I Believe

I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows
I believe for everyone that goes astray
Someone will come to show the way
I believe
I believe
I believe above the storm the smallest prayer
Will still be heard
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
Hears every word
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry
Or touch a leaf
Or see the sky
Then I know why I believe
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry
Or touch a leaf
Or see the sky
Then I know why I believe

Politicians, and would be politicians mouth belief in the truth of their promises, tout the promotion of ideas and ideals that, on the surface seem uplifting, seem to represent progress toward the betterment of nations and the world.

Hidden within those promises is the reality of what is being promised, the reality of goals being pursued, the reality of the cost of the attainment of those goals.

Acceptance and rejection of both the goals and the costs that come with their attainment establish what is truly believed by that acceptance or rejection.

Matthew 6:19-24 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Acceptance or rejection, one or the other, not in part, but in totality.

Treasures sought will be those found, only if the seeker truly seeks the treasure that holds the most importance to him and is not distracted from it by false treasure along the way that would prompt cessation of the search.

I ACCEPT the totality of the TRUTH offered in the scriptures given us beginning with the book of Genesis and continuing through the book of Revelation to include all portions of that “middle meat” as it was so eloquently defined by a friend of mine long ago.

I ACCEPT the completion offered in the WAY offered only through what was and is given through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus to establish and make clear that WAY that brooks no other way, and allows for no other means of attaining the only treasure worthy of being pursued.

I ACCEPT that the LIFE that is offered through that WAY, comes only through that TRUTH, and is eternal…. As is the reward that is that LIFE itself.

I ACCEPT both halves of the gospel given through the scriptures, made manifest through Christ Jesus that include both the promise of that LIFE, and the warnings that come with that promise of the alternatives that come with rejection.

I REJECT the call to hear the promises of men that negate the promise of LIFE as they reject the very requirements of the attainment of that LIFE.

I REJECT the prosperity and false peace that are touted as possible if only portions of the warnings that negate those promises go unheeded.

I REJECT those lies offered in place of the only TRUTH that exists, that given by Christ Jesus.

I pray with all my heart that each and every man, woman and child accept the TRUTH and reject the lies substituted for it.

I pray that each accept the WAY despite the effort required to remain within it, and the necessity of bearing the hardship of endurance that is the only means of remaining therein.

I pray that LIFE be found to be the treasure to be most important, and that LIFE be seen for what it is.

I Believe!

2 Timothy 1:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer