SIMPLE STUFF FOR SIMPLE MINDS

Howdy all of you Intellectual Giants. The brain is an amazing thing. The capacity for what we can store in our noggins is amazing. Thing about all of the trivial things rolling around up there...and then factor in personal, meaningful stuff...along with the knowledge of the ages. With all of this knowledge... we must be on the brink of greatness...we must be on the edge of eradicating every disease known to mankind (until another disease pops up its ugly little head)...we must be on the verge of intellecutally, scientifically, moralistically, politically, humanistically, religiously, answering the question...WHAT IS LIFE.
What does it all mean? How can I be a better person? I keep 6 out of 10 Commandments....that's 60%. NOTE: If you are walking across a gap.. and you start at one side and build it to 60% completion...you still fall short of the 100% mark.

Sometimes we become so complicated that we miss the simplistic. The former persecutor of the Christians...Saul...later becoming who he persecuted...Paul...wrote of how this thing called the gospel...D.B.R... death, burial, resurrection...would confound the wise...the intellectuals, and actually become a stumbling block...or something that would trip up their mental prowess.

"For the word of the CROSS is to those who are perishing FOOLISHNESS...but to us who are being SAVED it is the power of God. For it is written...I will destroy the wisdom of the WISE, and the cleverness of the CLEVER I will set aside. Where is the WISE man? Where is the scribe? Where is the DEBATER of this age? Has not God made FOOLISH the WISDOM of the world? For since in the WISDOM of God the world through its wisdom did not come to KNOW God, God was well-pleased through the FOOLISHNESS of the MESSAGE (D.B.R.) preached to SAVE those who BELIEVE. For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for WISDOM, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a STUMBLING BLOCK and to Gentiles FOOLISHNESS, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the WISDOM of God. Because the FOOLISHNESS of God is WISER than men, and the WEAKNESS of God is STRONGER than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many WISE according to the flesh, not many mighty , not many noble, but God has chosen the FOOLISH things of the world to shame the WISE, and God has chosen the WEAK things of the world to shame the things which are STRONG, and the BASE things of the world and the DESPISED, God has chosen, the THINGS THAT ARE NOT, that He might nullify the THINGS THAT ARE, that NO MAN should BOAST before God. But by His doing you are IN CHRIST JESUS, who became to us WISDOM from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that just as it is written, Let Him who boasts, boast in the Lord. And when I came to you brethren, I did not come with SUPERIORITY OF SPEECH or of WISDOM proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to KNOW nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him CRUCIFIED."
(I Corinthians 1:18 to II Corinthians 2:2)

"You can go to your college...you can go to your school...but if you don't know Jesus..you're and educated fool...and that's all."
(Demomination Blues)

The illustration at the start of this Rambling is from The Navigators. It takes a simple verse...Romans 6:23...and lays out all you need to know about life...real life...not what we call life as we try to survive the spinning ball of confusion that we live on...but eternal life. I stepped in the streams of this eternal life back in 1970...and whoa...talk about a ride on the rapids.

For the Wages: What you earn...what you deserve...what's owed you.

Of sin: An attitude of your nature that is expressed in a many ways

Is death: Cause and effect of what you have been working towards

BUT: A sharp contrast is being made to this deathtrap that you earned

The (free) Gift of God: A gift...is not what you earned or deserved, but is based on the heart of the Giver

Eternal Life: On one side of a cliff is Death...on the other side of the cliff is life...and there is a large gap inbetween with no bridge. You may try to cross by various means...good works...not smoking, cussing, and fussing, giving money to charities...but everything falls short

In Christ Jesus: The bridge between death and life is the Cross. You walk across this bridge...not by intellect, not by piety, not by heritage (there are no grandchildren in the kingdom...just children)...but you walk across by mercy and faith.

Our Lord: The word Lord means...boss...and I don't mean Bruce Springstein...but Jesus. The one who calls the shots.

There you go...The Gospel...the Good News...laid out in a simple format. I know...I know...the mind, the emotins, the rationale side of your intellectualism says that's too simple...BUT...That's the way it is.

You can either use this as a STUMBLING BLOCK...or STEPPING STONE.

Love and Simple Kisses
Rod "King of the Simple Minds" Boyd