Bogor, Indonesia 2006: What does this picture mean? The Bible has much to say about everything. Of course, unspiritual men continually reduce, simplify, sterilize, and generalize the incredibly vast richness of God’s word and God’s creation. May you join us in not shortchanging God any more in any way.

From Trent Ling:

In this ministry, and on this website, we disciples address a wide array of subject matters, happenings, and controversies.  It may seem odd, inappropriate, misguided, or worldly for us to do this.  However, rest assured that what we address God began long ago to address.  Perhaps only recently God has gone so far as to place the matter on the rooftops for all to see.  We merely help you know what you’re seeing on those very public rooftops.

Speaking of Jesus, the bible proclaims:  “For by him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”  Colossians 1:16.

In a world of dwindling understanding, it remains popular and convenient to dust off and try the old ostrich-head-in-the-sand trick while verbally claiming a relationship with God and an almost proud ignorance to the world God has created and/or allowed to burgeon.  Of course, ostriches have a brain the size of a pea, while people are called to the heights of the Scriptures.  So, the trick doesn’t really work.  Rather, we are called to know what’s going on and to hear and join the bible’s take on all of it.

“The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment.”  1 Corinthians 2:15.

Disciples of Jesus follow Jesus’ lead in assessing, and yes, judging, all things.  Like Jesus, we have to be awake, learn and know something, get our hands dirty, and acknowledge and speak salty truths.  The examples are many.  Jesus did not hesitate in sharply drawing and quartering the essence of King Herod in referring to the politician as “that fox.”  Luke 13:32.  Jesus showed himself aware and awake in calling his disciples to recognize and appropriately honor the image and coinage of Caesar.  Matthew 22:17-21.  The Spirit accounted for the revelation received and uttered by the unnamed and assumedly hardened centurion standing before the cross.  Mark 15:39.  God even reported of the hysterical antics and ultimate spiritual sifting of the self-promoting yet fraudulent sorcerer, Simon.  Acts 8:9-24.  And, the gummed-up, expensive, noisy, ailing machinations of government are explained throughout the Scriptures, and yet surprisingly retained in the Scripture’s deference to those ground-down institutions to do what they were limitedly designed to do.  (Romans 13:1-7).

In reality, the bible is chock-full of accounts, anecdotes, stories, occurrences, histories, events, biographies, and people’s reactions and spiritual gains and growths as a result of them all.  We people are called to learn from the ant, the chick, and the dog.  We are called up to the mountains and out of the valleys.  We are shown great wonders and we are supposed to be infused with awe and insight.

This ministry of disciples gratefully shares in the “nourishing sap” from the “olive root” of Jesus.  Romans 11:17.  The world knows no nutrition like it.  It is out of this world!  We have freely received, and so we freely give to you the chance to become more than you are (like we have) and know more than you know (like we have).  Every day in this ministry, we witness the incalculable divide and difference between those of us who undeservedly partake of this nourishing sap of Jesus, and those of others who partake of mere talkers who do not have the Spirit.  We long to cross the chasm for your benefit!

So, in all of this, it may appear that we are off the customarily bland pace of “church” by our addressing and judging and assessing all things.  However, we dare suggest that it is you who have broken off the yoke God fitted for you, and have settled for knowing little, having less, giving nothing, yet claiming everything with not much more than tongues of folly, redundancy,  and shallowness to show for it.

When you wonder, “what’s this got to do with the bible,” take a moment and let the bible answer that question for you that you may be ushered into an understanding becoming of an actual person.  As always, we’ll help you with all of that if you let us.  There’s plenty of spiritual nutrition to go around.

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