Bridge of Reason

  IRONY - A DEFINITION a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. You may have heard it said that when you point a finger at someone, be aware that three fingers are pointing back at yourself. Jesus, with the same thought in mind, put it this way: ‘ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?’ Matthew 7:3 We can all be guilty of this. We all have our blind spots. We can easily miss the irony in our words and fail to see that the very thing we point out in others can equally be applied to ourselves. As fallen human beings we are sometimes unable, or unwilling, to see the speck in our own eyes. When this happens to me, I usually get a tug from the Holy Spirit pointing out my hypocrisy, with the challenge to retract or repent.  But I want to suggest that this is...

  Image by Andrea Don, Pixabay When Jesus began his ministry it was the kingdom of God that formed the substance of his preaching. ‘ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.’ ( Mark 1:14, 15 ESV) In last week’s Watchtower Wednesday I drew attention to the Watchtower teaching on the Kingdom of God . They use this text to show they understand the good news Jesus preached was the good news of the kingdom. Nothing controversial in this, the message of the New Testament is a kingdom message. They say: 'Jesus Christ said that the Kingdom of God * was “at hand,” or had “drawn near,” because he, as the future King of that Kingdom, was present on the scene.’ The Kingdom The asterisk pulls up a box in which we find their definition of kingdom: ‘ The Kingdom of God is the government in heaven established by God to accomplish his will for the e...

  For feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God: Naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned For want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word Till soul and body sever: For, though all things shall pass away, His Word shall stand forever.— Martin Luther   I Hear Him by Teaching the Gospel and Following the Spirit (Elder Soares) In the last article I showed that what the Mormon’s call ‘The Gospel’, is not the Biblical Gospel. Rather theirs is a gospel that is impossible to follow and powerless to save. Therefore, though Elder Soares claims to hear from God through the teaching of the Latter-day Saint gospel, it can be said with certainty that it is not the God of the Bible that he is hearing from. When considering how they hear from God, Mormons are often driven by their feelings. Elder Soares recalls...

  In my last Watchtower Wednesday we looked at the Watchtower understanding of Romans 10:13 asking, Who is 'the Lord' in this verse? Is it Jehovah? Is it Jesus? How would you talk about this teaching to a Jehovah's Witness? Most Bibles translate, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (ESV) The New World Translation gives us, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.’ Paul here is quoting a text from Joel 2:32, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ (ESV) We know that Joel is referring to Jehovah, but who is Paul writing about? I want to point out four things. T he Name First, t hey give the familiar argument about Jesus using the name: ‘ God’s name was important to Jesus Christ. The very first words in his model prayer were: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified,” or made holy. ( Matthew 6:9 ) Jesus also showed that we must come to know, obey, and love the Person behind that name if w...

  Last time I began to consider an article entitled I "Hear Him" by Aligning My Mind with His Will [1] , by Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Soares claimed that he hears from God via four primary means. In part 1 of this article, I reflected on the first two ‘I hear Him by aligning my mind with Him’ and I hear Him through the Book of Mormon’ . I will now consider his third point and next week conclude with his fourth.                                                               I Hear Him by Making Commitments to the Lord In putting my faith in the Lord’s promises and His gospel, I have made commitments to love Jesus Christ above anything else, to...