Why start a blog? It is not because I am bored and have nothing else to do. I am a pastor, father, husband, and these roles keep me extremely busy as you can both relate to and understand. It is not because there is a severe lack of blogs in the world. The explosion of the blogosphere is changing our culture.
I am starting my own blog because of the need to communicate. Today's world is filled with information, but very little communication. The internet is filled with information, both good and bad. We are inundated with information. People forward emails with information, but seldom do they communicate. Technology has exploded and fuels the exchange of information. People text and twitter, but seldom communicate.
Technology allows us to see and hear people who talk and write. We can get on the internet or satellite/cable television and watch politicians, preachers, and pundits opine. What is clear is that they do not communicate. Words have become meaningless because they no longer communicate specific meaning. The current political climate contributes greatly to this phenomenon. Politicians use words to hide who they are and what they stand for instead of clarifying their beliefs. Preachers are not helping. They use meaningless symbols and speak only of niceties so people feel good. They salve emotions but do not challenge actions and philosophies. Television and traditional print media outlets have lost most of their credibility because they broadcast but no longer communicate in a truthful or credible way.
Never before has the importance of actually communicating been more important. Communication is presenting an idea or fact that is clear and credible, enabling the listener to comprehend it and make a choice whether to believe it or reject it. Therein lies the problem. Those who are speaking in today's world have other agendas. Leaders such as President Obama, Joel Osteen, Chris Matthews, etc. want you to accept and follow them without knowing where they are actually going to take you. They recognize taking a clearly articulated position will cause some to reject and some to accept. The goal is not communicating, but their own position and power. So they use words to obfuscate and create the illusion of intellect and trust rather than to clarify and articulate. Those who have chosen lifestyles outside of the mainstream of life - Hollywood "stars", homosexuals, far-left liberals- use words and images to criticize and degrade. They do not want to communciate, but to justify themselves and their choices. They also seek to avoid criticism by employing the old truism "the best defense is a good offense." They attack rather than be attacked.
I will attempt to communicate. I will make things clear. I recognize people will accept or reject (based upon the gargantuan risk of presuming someone might actually read what I have to say) what I communicate. But I will do my best to communicate. Jesus said very clearly, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." I want to communicate so the truth is clear because that is waht ultimately makes a difference in people's lives.
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hello Pastor Greg and blessings to you as a "proclaimer" of the good news of our Messiah/Christ. You want some words that communicate? Yeshua has stated, "the words I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life". I had no idea of the power of His words especially when spoken by the Messiah who was/is G-d incarnate. Let's return for just a brief moment to Genesis and see what happened "when G-d spoke". Fill in the blank here- "and G-d spoke and there was..." is a repeated pattern. And look at the prophets of the old covenant revelation, "and the word of the LORD came unto ____.. Our faith today is our response to what G-d says. Either in obedience resulting in His smile or in our disobedience resulting in His sorrow and our sin,suffering, and separation. All of our choices come with consequences either to the good or to the bad. We have found YWYH says what He means and means what He says. We are the children of light (clarity), not the children of confusion. I have found in my own journey upward (Aliyah)- the Bible is a goldmine when we use a Hebrew shovel to dig. There is so much "hidden" in the Hebrew. The mind of Christ is a Hebrew mind and according to "it is written", we have the mind of Christ. As far as this "Obamanation" we are witness to today, something "big" is headed our way. "Barak" in Hebrew is "blessing" and it also has a dual meaning (as many words in Hebrew do) and also is translated as "bow the knee." We the disciples (learners) today need the same thing as the original twelve- "LORD, teach us to pray." The teacher will show up when the student is ready.
ReplyDeleteGreat word! God spoke to illustrate the power of communication. He could have created in any way, but chose to speak. When He affirmed Jesus He spoke to do so. In I Corinthians 1 we are reminded that He chose the "foolishness of preaching" to proclaim His gospel. We are to speak in the same manner that He does: with love, with power, and with clarity. We are able to respond to Him because He speaks this way. We learn because He speaks this way.
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