Living Unfiltered for God

This is not going to be the typical type of piece that I share. It’s a little longer (please be patient and humor me, and read all the way through) and maybe a little more “preachy” (again, please be patient…)  I was inspired to write this toward the very end of our church service this morning. It has taken me a while to sort out what exactly is supposed to be conveyed in and by these words – I pray that I get it right. It is no surprise to anyone that our world is in a strange kind of place these days. I can honestly say that they are unlike any of my previous fifty-plus years on this earth. For most of the last four months, this has been deeply concerning to me. But recently (and even more-so in the moments as I type this), I have started to have a little bit of a different take… Maybe, just maybe, all that we have been experiencing is not really about “them” taking away “our” freedoms, or “those people” not doing what “they” should have done years ago or “us” finally getting...

Lately, I've started reading parts of the Bible with a little more intentionality.  It's so easy to see a verse somewhere and just take it at face value. Usually it's fine, but I've found that, as with so many other things, context is king. And what's interesting is that while, sometimes, reading what takes place before and after  the verse of interest actually changes the interpretation, more often, reading the context makes the point even stronger. And frequently, there is an entire other lesson (or two... or more!) living in and among the surrounding verses! For me, this is part of the reason reading scripture is so fascinating. This happened recently while looking at John 14:6 (NIV), " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  This is a very popular verse that many people can at least say that they have heard before, even if not able to quote it. As I read around it, though, it became like the proverb...