Trust

The verb form of "faith" really means "trust."

When we understand this, then we can consider the grammatical variant "faith of Jesus" (versus "faith in Jesus") in Romans 3:22, 25, 26; Galatians 2:16,20; 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; Philippians 3:9. We can consider that Jesus' statement on the cross "into your hands I commit my Spirit" near the time He said "why have you forsaken me?" demonstrates His trust (the "faith of Jesus") which is the kind of "faith" that "saves" us.

If you are yawning and wondering why I would care about this . . . . here are the implications of this realization:

turns kingdom reality from future to present;

turns life from religion to relationship;

turns focus from me to God;

turns issues from head to heart.


And when I try to get God to give me guidance on the "big decisions" of life, He always seems to shrug in indifference and lead me back to this.

Can't Read

People often ask me if I've read anything good lately. I used to be armed and dangerous when somebody asked that question!

But since I've been required to read thousands of pages of court cases every semester for the past two and a half years, I've found my desire to read other stuff has dwinded. This is coming from the same guy who used to average about a book a week related to church, theology, spirituality, and just life in general. I still do some Bible reading, and occassionally I skim through a book that trusted friends tell me I really should read.

But even during this four-week school break, I haven't found that reading is what renews me right now. I need other forms of renewal during this season of life.

So if you have read anything particularly life-changing and inspirational, please be sure to tell me about it . . . in the fall of 2007.