Sorting Beans

The Art of Thinking

Jonathan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:18 +0000

Years ago, belief vs. consistency was a concept that never entered my mind.

But something happened to me. Something I never really considered. What was it? It was thinking about the beliefs I had, and whether or not they conformed with reality. From what I’ve learned, this used to be a common practice.

But it seems as though we have lost the art of thinking. I’m not saying that people don’t think, I’m saying that we as a culture don’t put serious thought into the consistency of our beliefs.

Instead, we have largely replaced sensical belief with emotional preference.

But there should be no division.

A consistent belief system should provide the greatest emotional pleasure. Contrarily, an inconsistent belief system should cause serious questioning, major doubts, and emotional instability. That is, if you take the foundations of your belief system seriously.

Every belief system that I have encountered promises results if the believer’s actions are consistent with the doctrines. The problem is that when a belief system has flawed foundations, actions can never be consistent with the belief. The result should be obvious.

You have to change your belief.

With most (all?) religions save for Christianity (not a religion), the promise of a better life to come is for all who behave according to its doctrines. Work for God’s favor, or work to produce good karma, what have you, and you reap the blessing!

Its earning salvation. And here is the big problem with those religions and their belief systems: all of them acknowledge the fallen condition of humanity to some regard. In other words, everyone knows people aren’t perfect. Therefore, how could an imperfect creature produce perfect results?

Near perfect isn’t good enough. You need to get it right. There’s only assurance for those who get it right. There’s no assurance for those who fall short.

Only the Christian worldview can provide such assurance.

The reason is because it is not based on formulas, diagrams, will-to-power, or self-perfection, but it is based on ultimate reality. It is not merely existential (though it provides existential purpose) but instead is transcendental. Its doctrines are not based upon human reasoning, but on the Creator’s.

Christian belief doesn’t assert that you need to be perfect, or that you need to get everything right.

In fact, says that you must first acknowledge your own personal falleness. The only thing you need to get right is not what you need to do to earn salvation, but Who it is that has already provided it for you.

Jesus is that person.

He is the transcendent God who made the rules. He is the ultimate reality that all things are properly understood through. And He is the one who loved His creation so much that He would come to earth and provide a way for you and I to be saved.

And He did it to the death of His body.

It’s not by our works, not by our own goodness, but by His ability alone. Why? Because He’s the God of the universe and He doesn’t need our goodness. No amount of moral goodness could impress Him. What do you or I have, or what can we do, that He is not entirely supreme in?

He wants our trust. That way He can work HIS goodness through us.

This is one of the most consistent Christian beliefs.

Its foundation supports it, and it conforms to ultimate reality. It seems that we’ve lost the ability to think about these things. We’ve become oblivious to the obvious.

Don’t be a conformist. Think about what you believe and consider its consequences with regard to reality. And be honest, both intellectually and emotionally.

What are some things you think could be challenging for a person to evaluate his or her beliefs?

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On The Job Providence

Jonathan — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:35:14 +0000

Below is a video I took while at work… in the soaking, wet, cold, very unpleasant rain.

Through my petty, momentary discomfort, God gives me perspective of His greater providence. Perhaps someone out there needs to hear this.

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SortingBeans on Facebook

Jonathan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:07:16 +0000

Hey, did you know that SortingBeans has a facebook page?

You didn’t?

Silly me… I should have told you!

If you haven’t noticed, there is a facebook link on the right side of this page, just above the box that says Subscribe to SortingBeans.

So, if you haven’t already, head on over there and “like” the SortingBeans facebook page! If you do this, it will help me get more of the Gospel message in front of more people – those on YOUR facebook timeline.

I plan to incorporate more content through that page, and hopefully learn of what I can do with it.

It’s all about proclaiming the great message of the salvation of God in Jesus Christ!

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Making My Gain Worth It

Jonathan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:47:06 +0000

This past New Year weekend I was given the opportunity to preach as a fill-in for my pastor. Sometimes, when he’s out of town, I will get asked to give the message.

I always say yes, I always enjoy it, and I am always grateful. I try to record a message whenever I get the chance. Check out my Sermon Page for a complete list of sermons [that I'm willing to put on this site!].

The title of the sermon is “Making My Gain Worth It: Counting All As Loss.” It’s about counting all as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. The apostle Paul had a lot under his belt as a religious leader. He was the man. Yet he said that he counted all as loss for the sake of knowing Jesus.

Have you done that?

What does it look like for you to count all as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus?

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photo credit

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Social Media & Soap Operas

Jonathan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:07:24 +0000

I remember when facebook first rolled out. Actually, it was the oddest sounding name for a website I’ve ever heard of. I mean, think about it, “face-book.” What’s that?

And then Twitter showed it’s “face,” but in just a miniature way. I remember it being described as the “miniature facebook.” At first I wondered why in the world would someone want a facebook AND a twitter account. After all, I was still sporting my famous MySpace music page!

It was inevitable.

Social media has become such a big part of today’s life. It’s not just something you compartmentalize. You don’t simply reserve facebook for a certain part of your day. No, it has become a blanket application for all areas of life.

Where ever you go, if you’re involved in social media, you will be thinking about how you can tweet this, or “facebook” that, all the while checking the status updates of everyone else you follow.

Social media is like a real-time Soap Opera.

Get this. Remember being forced through those horrible shows your mom watched when you were a child? They were about people’s lives that you had no idea about… it was like peering into someone’s life without them knowing. Wait a second… I think some of you still watch those things. Yikes!

See, with Social Media (like facebook and twitter), you get into the lives of others, and they’re actually real people in real situations. We love peering into other people’s lives!

Want to know how my girls are doing with our efforts in homeschooling? Just check my updates from time to time and I’m sure you’ll find out!

Want to know your friend’s (or those whom you admire) latest thought about the latest thing they’ve lately been up to? You’re bound to find it. Just keep checking.

I’m not removed from this.

I’m keep up on social media just like everyone else, and even more so than some. I was asked by one person, in a sarcastic way, if I wanted to be a facebook pastor. Ugh. That’s just a weird thought.

When ever I’m doing work on my computer, writing, or whatever it is, sure enough I will have facebook open in the back ground, or my faithful tweetdeck app ready and waiting.

I think this points to our obsessive interest into other people’s lives. In an effort to feel some sort of significance from the people we admire, or to feel included, we social stalk and build our list of “friends.”

We were meant for so much more.

Facebook and twitter and Myspace and—whatever else you use—fails terribly in providing real-life, real-time relationship needs. We were wired with an innate sense of community and relationship-driven lives. Social media cannot replace that. But, it can be useful in our walk through life.

What is the latest thought you’ve had about the love of God? Or about His goodness? What about His judgement? And what Jesus, specifically? How has God saved you? What’s the big deal with your faith, anyway? Share it, tweet it, facebook it… a lot.

There’s so much about your life that you can share that’s much more interesting than photos of your cat sleeping on the couch, or posts about every decision your making, etc. We don’t want to know everything about you and your personal life, in all honesty.

But don’t get too “Christian.”

In other words, be real, be you, be relational, but be intentional. Use these tools for the glory of God and the pleasure of being influential for Him. Tweet about that fantastic deal you got at Target the other day, about that sports team who crushed the rival team, or even about that delicious cinnamon roll you cheated your diet on.

But remember to share God’s goodness, His Word, and your testimony so people can see the real you, who Christ has made you to be. If I were to watch a Soap Opera, that’s the one I would watch.

How has social media changed the way you communicate, or witness? Am I missing something? Leave your comment below!

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