Our God is a Jealous God  

Posted by Craig S. Ferguson

I was profoundly struck today at the realization of how strongly God desires our presence with Him. Scripture tells us that our God is a jealous God. What does this mean that God is jealous? What is He jealous of?


I didn't have to look far or think too long to have a myriad of answers. My life is rife of things with which God must daily battle for my attention and affection. What an image that brings to mind! The creator of the universe, filled with such desire to have a mere moment of time that He constantly calls after one who consistently ignores Him. How fortunate we are that one such as He loves us so dearly. If only I would listen and heed His call.

Instead, I have put the business of the day, the worldly desires of my heart, and the pride of my eyes ahead of the better portion that patiently waits to be recognized and accepted. Instead of bearing the burden of the Cross, I have chosen the weight of the world. Instead of accepting the love and forgiveness of Christ, I have chosen the false promises and accusations of humanity. Instead of accepting the vision of God and His purpose of my life, I've chased after delusions of grandeur that so frequently pass in and out of my vision like wisps of smoke. How long will I chose to run away from the waiting arms that long to embrace me and the loving hands that formed me in my mother's womb? How can I see the glory of God through the dense fog of my flesh and this world?

The answer is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God's love made manifest. As such, I see Jesus as God's love perfected. As I was meditating on this, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 came to my conscious. I quickly found the passage and read it. I reread the passage except this time I substituted the name of Jesus in the passage wherever love was previously written. The following was the result:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Jesus, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Jesus, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Jesus, I gain nothing.

4Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. 5He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. 6He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Jesus never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus. But the greatest of these is Jesus."

What an incredible gift! The answer is now clear. God seeks a relationship with us. This relationship is impossible without Jesus. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life. In order to have a relationship with God, we must have Jesus. Thanks be to God and His infinite grace that Jesus will have us.

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Shadows and Dust  

Posted by Craig S. Ferguson

Plato in his work, The Republic, mentions an allegorical story about two groups of humans who live in a cave. In his story, one group of people spend their entire lives chained hand and foot, forced to face a blank wall in this cave. The cave itself is lit by rather large fire that is situated behind the prisoners. The other group of people in the cave stand between the prisoners and the fire casting shadows on this blank wall. To the prisoners chained in the cave, these shadows are their reality. After all, they have seen nothing else. 


Plato then goes on to describe how one of the humans escapes to the outside world and soon realizes that the shadows of the cave are nothing but illusions. This former prisoner sees the sun for the first time and begins to quickly acclimate to his new surroundings. He comes to learn and understand the passing of the seasons, the weather, and nature. He begins to appreciate his freedom and enjoy. However, the former prisoner is also reminded of those he left behind and he thinks to go back and free them as well. Plato goes on to suggest that there would be some among the prisoners who would not appreciate the offer and would prefer to watch shadows on the wall of the cave rather than being free. In fact, some of the prisoners would be so angry with the idea that the shadows were nothing but illusions that they would seek to kill whoever suggested it.

Recently, I have been trying to determine why I seem so distant from God. I've come to realize that I too have been living in a cave, watching shadows on a blank wall; distracted from the reality of God and His presence. I have chased after illusions and fantasies, not realizing that what I thought was reality, was nothing but shadows and dust.

I truly want to be like the freed prisoner. I want to see the sunlight and experience the joys of freedom, to be able to see truth and reality. So, how does one do this? The answer is really quite simple, Seek the truth. Choose to follow the source of the true light that never fades, that never dims, and never casts false shadows.

Whenever I was meditating on this idea, the following scripture came to mind.

"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Jeremiah 2:13

What a powerful statement! Even as I read it again, I'm stuck at how often I do this. I seek after sustenance from a source other than God when it is God himself who is the ultimate source! My creations are inadequate and faulty. God's are perfect and everlasting. Why is it so hard to see that and choose Him?

Focus.  It seems that my issue comes from lack of true focus and discipline. I must learn to empty myself of all my illusions and allow God to be my reality. I must make a conscious effort to seek Him at all times. And, I must be fully aware of the existence and the true nature of the shadows that dance before me.




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Sibling rivalry or just a kick in the "A-double snakes"? You be the judge...  

Posted by Craig S. Ferguson

So, my sister has recently got on me about my lack of posting to the blog. It seems my endless search for perfection knows no bounds. To be perfectly honest, I have been working on the next post. Well, off and on working. At any rate, I have made a goal to have it posted sometime this week. Please be patient, it will be worth it!!!

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And so it begins  

Posted by Craig S. Ferguson

Actually, it started a few days ago.  Lately, my wife has been thinking about blogging.  Being that she is an outward processor, we've talked about her starting one.  Being that I'm an inward processor, I did alot of thinking.  However, in the course of those conversations and the subsequent pondering afterwards, the thought of me jumping into the blogosphere never really crossed my mind.  That is, not until today.  


I was helping my mom out with her blog and somewhere during the course of scanning through the HTML code,  I developed a desire to start a blog of my own.   During the "rock kickin' phase" (that's when a person is seriously considering a course of action, but is unsure of taking the first step), I decided that I wanted there to be specific purpose for me writing.  I didn't want to write a blog just to have a blog.  And I didn't want it to be about me per se.  I now realize that I want to share the events that I've experienced and will experience both good and bad, the lessons I've learned and the ones I'm still learning,  and talk about what God is doing in my life or at least what I think He's doing.  In doing so, I hope to pass on what wisdom I've gathered and gain some back from the readers who feel led to post.

It's really about community and building each other up.  God is moving in all of our lives.  It's time we all recognized it, fell in behind Him, and helped others do the same.  Please pray for me and my family.  We'll be praying for you.

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