Have you ever had to answer the call of nature? This phrase is a euphemism for bodily functions that you have to do on a regular basis. Yet could it have another valid meaning more in line with what the terms suggest? Do you spend most of your time in buildings, in vehicles, and on roads that are man-made? I would not deny you the use of these conveniences, but does it leave you with a hunger to be restored in the natural world of direct creation? You may think of this as the call of nature as real as your bodily functions. Go outdoors and see and partake of what I have done and I will meet you there.

The Bible says that not many wise and not many noble are called. Have you noticed that this is true of the authors of the Bible? Luke and Paul were well educated by the standards of their day. Most of the others were ordinary people who had god encounters. Paul had both, so he was in a position to compare the two. How does he regard his academic credentials after his encounter with God? After giving an impressive list he counts them all as ‘fecal material’. This is strong language and should not be considered an argument against education, but rather an endorsement of God encounters.

Do you see the world in black and white? You know what this means, and you also know that the world is in color. You have met people who insist on forcing all things into two categories even though reality does not support that. I had to deal with the same issue. Do we kill this woman caught in adultery or not? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? These seemingly innocent questions were meant as traps for me, but I avoided them by reframing the questions. Do the circumstances of your life seem to present you with dilemmas between a limited number of unacceptable alternatives? Keep looking and ask of me and I will give you transcendent answers to your problems as I did for these.

My word says of itself that it is sharper than any two-edged sword. Christians have seized upon this image of the Bible as a weapon and use it freely, although in the context of the passage cited it could be considered more scalpel than weapon. Have you ever used the Bible as a weapon against others? How effective were the results you obtained? Have you ever had it used this way against you? How favorably did you respond? You may get better results thinking of my word as a scalpel for performing necessary surgery on your own heart. Judge yourself and remove the log from your own eye, then you will be able to minister to your brother.