I have come up with what I like to call Yo-Yo Theology. This frame of mind should be no surprise to anyone who saw my Hamster Theology piece. Consider the following quote from Toy Story 2:

[Woody explains his newfound past to his old friends]
Woody: Oh, you should have seen it. There was a record player. And a yo-yo. Buzz, I was a yo-yo.
Mr. Potato Head: [to Hamm] WAS?

Consider the design of a basic yo-yo. You will notice that it has four parts to it. It is comprised of two disks, an axle and string. For this discussion, the disks represent a person's outward personality. The axle represents a person's inner self. The string represents faith. I'll discuss the outer disks as an introduction to this fresh and exciting new thought process. (My tongue is firmly in my cheek here)

Deuteronomy 5:32
So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Depending on your leanings, you have held either, or both, of these concepts in dispute to varying degree. We all have. Whether you see all things as good in all situations or you try to hold yourself and those around you to impossible standards, you err. It's like removing one of the two disks from a yo-yo. It just doesn't work. In fact, with this loss of balance, a yo-yo becomes quite useless. Trust me, I tried it just to say that I had!

Romans 14:20
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

A balance in many matters is crucial, legalism vs liscence is only one example. If we lean too far in either direction, the yo-yo of our faith will eventually stop spinning and we will wonder what happened. This is one example of how I define being sober minded in our lives. It is the ability to maintain an even keel without having to stop your motion.

Anyway, you can take this new and emergent theory to help explain many, but not all aspects of life. Having said that, I just admitted that my new Yo-Yo doctrine wouldn't pass the test of time. It does, however, provide some conversation about a topic that most would never expect to come up!

Yours in Christ,

Today's Reading is found in Philemon 1:1-25 and Phillipians 1:1-2:11.

Philemon was a friend of Paul's, and the master of a slave by the name of Onesimus. Apparently, Onesimus had wronged his master somehow, perhaps by stealing from him and running away, but the issue really isn't explained in full for us. Onesimus and Paul got together, which was no coincidence. Paul was in a large city and a chance encounter with the runaway slave of a friend sounds unlikely. As a result of their encounter, Paul shared the Word with Onesimus and a slave to a man became a slave to Christ. Paul sent him back to his master with a letter, urging him to accept his slave again as a brother in the Lord, even asking that any wrong that would be held against Onesimus be transferred to Paul for payment.

There are some real lessons within this short letter from one friend to another. Mankind started out as slaves to God, happily doing His bidding and tending to His garden. We betrayed His trust as the common ancestors to us all ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that sinful nature from Adam (A.K.A. original sin) has stayed with us ever since that day. Only by a miracle are we allowed back into good standing with God. Within this miracle, all of our transgressions are debited to Jesus' account. But first comes the very miracle of finding God within the busy city of life and seeing wonder in this encounter.

Imagine Paul by this time. He had lived a full life and was getting up in years. He was likely very scarred from the stonings, riotous mobs, and other dangers he had faced in his life. Once again, he was imprisoned and again he was using his position to spread the Gospel and speak with those who were guarding him about the wonder of salvation. His life was closer to the end than the beginning, and he could feel it. He was at a point in his life where he wasn't sure what he wanted. If he were to die, he knew he would stand in the glory that is God. To go on living, he could assist the church's progress as he had thus far. It takes a big man to admit that the temptation of a blissful rest is rivaling the joy of working the vineyards of his redeemer.

Today's Reading is found in Philippians 2:12-4:23.

Perhaps my mention of Paul's age yesterday has this tone at the forefront of my mind today. This message reads like the last words of a Godly man as he instructs his children with their last lessons of life that their father will ever speak to them. He tells his readers that they are to be men of truth, clinging to God in their difficulties. For men who think that earthly position is important he reminds them that he had power to hunt down the followers of Christ at one time, and was considered to be a man of great standing.

But all of that was worthless compared to the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.

Today's Reading is found in James 1-3.

The brother of Jesus, James, devoted his life toward winning Jews to Christianity and smoothing the transition from their earlier system of Laws. This letter was addressed to Jewish believers around the world in the hope of doing just this while providing instruction to further their spiritual walk with God. He started with a call to rejoice in their trials, for a test of faith develops perseverance. This is similar to a muscle in your body. Testing the limits of your strength will make your muscles stronger and your faith will be more resistant to temptation as it is subjected to the trials that are in our daily lives. I'm not saying to go out and open yourself to a harmful situation. I'm just saying that as you pray through the trials that come up, you learn to face future difficulties.

Here's a question: where does temptation come from? Some would say the devil, some would say the evil people that aren't hard to find. James took this issue and made it more personal. Our own evil desires provide quite enough temptations to put us in unfavorable circumstances without any nudging!

Paul spoke at great length that faith in Christ is what matters, not anything else. At a first glance, this matter of acting on your faith seems to be a bit contradictory, but that is not so. James was likely referring to people who took Paul's epistle and abused its message. As James points out, if you believe in God and what the Bible teaches us, that is a good thing, but the same can be said for any demon, so what good is faith if it doesn't lead you to Jesus?

Throughout the Bible, we have read that a quick response to another person is a dangerous thing. Angry words have destroyed households and separated friends and churches for eons. A sharp tongue can also undermine the message you're trying to spread. People judge the group you profess to represent every day. If they know you attend church and are "one of those Christians" and then see vulgarities and spite come from your mouth, you have done a tremendous disservice to your God and to those who are gauging all of God's people by you. That is why I labor to maintain a working vocabulary that is free of profanity. I don't always succeed, but it is a worthwhile goal.

Today's Reading is found in James 4-5 and 1 Timothy 1-2.

Selfish desires come from bad motives and causes arguments. That's not too hard to digest, is it? How about this? There are people that will ask and it will not be given to them. They will seek but find nothing. This isn't blasphemy at all! These people I'm referring to are those who are seeking what they desire, not what God desires. They are acting on improper motivations. Full submission to the Lord's will is the best way to remain properly motivated! Once again the phrase "Thy Will Be Done" is shown to be the most powerful prayer that we can say. Thank God for changing our hearts so we can change our minds!

Next we have a letter to Timothy. Paul was forever grateful that God appointed him into service. Throughout his life, he pointed out that he had been the worst of the worst, and yet he was allowed to serve God through the unbelievable grace of Christ. This mercy to one so vile is proof positive that anyone can be saved through the everlasting love of God for the worst of sinners. After all, making something good out of nothing is what He's been doing all along.

Today's Reading is found in 1 Timothy 3:1-6:10.

Isn't this passage a strong showing that God's word proves to be true over the test of time? People across the world have been abandoning the faith to follow false teachings. To see evidence of this, just go to any bookstore!

The truth that we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing from it is very well known. This passage can be used to remind oneself that where you find your joy is indicative of your stance in the only eternally important matters. The tough road one must travel toward riches is often dangerous. Your eyes no longer are upon God when they look down to the money that can be gathered. And taking your eyes from your savior to petty things that last only for an age is a terrible injustice to yourself and to those who look to you for inspiration. Seek ye first the kingdom of God!

Today's Reading is found in 1 Timothy 6:11-21, Titus 1:1-3:15 and 2 Timothy 1:1-1:18.

Crete had many false teachers who claimed to be of God, but preached falsities. These men had disrupted the churches there many times and their power to cause trouble was growing. Paul pointed out to Titus that the best way to contradict their lies was with truth, not with the force of violence. Another way to strengthen the value people placed on the truth of the believers was for them to show the power of the Lord in their own lives in their servitude. This is a great way to silence critics, as they soon have no true charges to bring against a believer who is living a Godly life.

And what are we to do once we have debated an accuser? Once a reasonable attempt has been made to correct them, they are to be avoided. That seems to sound like an evangelist is giving up on this person, but that is not so. One's own heart is to be guarded first. In a debate with such a person, you can proclaim the truth until you are blue in the face, but if they are not going to realize their error, your efforts are better served by moving on. You cannot force someone to believe in the truth, as desperately as you may try.

Today's Reading is found in 2 Timothy 2:1-4:18.

In school, Ben sings "I'm in the Lord's Army" every so often and he thinks it's cool, because he gets to act like he's marching like a soldier. He has the idea that being a soldier means fighting against the bad guys and being a hero like GI Joe. In many ways, I agree with that assessment. He hasn't read this letter from Paul to hear more about the broad role of a soldier. As a rule, a soldier is supposed to do everything they can to please their commanding officer. That's the job title of just about everybody, though. My job isn't to service members of the insurance company where I work. My job is to make my supervisor look good. I do this by serving the customer. We need to remember that the only commanding officer we have is God. We serve Him by serving others and by growing in Him. Any side goal we have is secondary to our prime objective for we are in the Lord's army. Who have you served recently? If you have an answer to this question, then I salute you, good soldier!

This reading gives us a pretty good picture of today's world, doesn't it? Everywhere you look, people are chasing the almighty dollar and any short-lived joy they can find. We all claim to be seeking the truth, but what a fallen human nature seeks is for truth to match desire. Truth humbles a boaster. Unless the Lord works a miracle "heart transplant" people don't enjoy any teaching that comes from sound doctrine.

Weekly Link The White Horse Inn The White Horse Inn is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger and Ken Jones. The show, which has been on the air since 1990, features a regular roundtable discussion on Christian theology and apologetics. This site has a weekly column that is generated out of a discussion of theologians. Pretty musty stuff to many, but I enjoy it immensely! That's why I have decided to share it with you. http://www.whitehorseinn.org/

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