Friend of a Friend

My reading of Scripture has changed over the years. First, it was a collection of the stories of unknown people who lived long ago. Eventually, those 'strangers' became friends, sharing with me what they had experienced. Then Scripture became a place for me to meet God myself, my friends providing the structure and space for that connection. Now, after many years of coming to know God, these writings have become a place to relate, to say, "I have experienced this too!"

Sowing Fake News

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⏤ 2 Corinthians 11:3

Some other nations have an interest in manipulating the American public through social media. Often, they promote contradictory, false accounts to different groups, aiming to divide us. It works, just like when the devil sows lies and confusion to unsettle us and undermine our faith.

By Degree

North and south are directions. There are poles, but few of us wind up there. North-ness and south-ness are measured by degree. In politics and religion, degrees aren't allowed; we're pushed to poles: conservative or liberal. For Christianity, this relates to our approach to God's Word. How much authority does his Word carry in my actual lived life? So I ask myself, how many degrees am I from the North Pole of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Great Commandment, Great Commission, and his other teachings? Does the answer to this question make me more conservative? Or more liberal?