Short and Memorable—the Life of Blaise Pascal

"I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." ~ Blaise Pascal, 1657

I love this Pascal quote because I write one-minute devotions. And my writer friends and I agree that it often takes more time to write something short and meaningful than to write something long and meaningful.

Pascal was a 17th-century genius who loved Jesus and encouraged other intellectuals to seek Jesus with their hearts, not simply their minds. 

He's most well-known for "Pascal's Wager": If the gospel is true and you accept Christ, you have everything to win. If it's not true, you've lost nothing. 

This wager isn't completely true because a person must sincerely seek God to find Him (Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7). But most of what Pascal wrote was biblically sound, emphasizing salvation by grace, not human merit.

He was a man who fully used his God-given skills, writing about theology, science, and mathematics, and inventing the calculator, syringe, hydraulic lift, and wristwatch. 
 

Before his death at age thirty-nine, he experienced enormous health, financial, and spiritual challenges, but he didn't let them stop him from impacting his world for the Lord.

God had purposes for Pascal's life, and Pascal made the most of the skills and opportunities God gave him (Ephesians 2:10). God has purposes for our lives as well. We may not be famous theologians or scientists, but let's do our best to fulfill God's purposes (Ephesians 5:15-16)!

Well, I could write more, but I've taken time to make this short. 😊

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I encourage you to read Great Creation Scientists. For more encouragement about God's purposes for your life, see Andrew—A Behind-the-Scenes Christian and Slip On Your Own Shoes.

Additional sources from Got Questions: Impact of Blaise Pascal and What is Pascal's Wager?  

Image: Public domain

Check out the Wisdom for Life devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word: Wisdom for Life. Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. Find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. You can read the first four devotions in the book by clicking "look inside" on Lifeway or Amazon.

 

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Bible Love Notes

Something You Might Not Recognize as Pagan

Syncretism in the Modern Church explains how paganism is damaging modern culture. And today's devotion discusses one of the most evil pagan practices.

“In Pagan Rome, abortion was commonplace, performed by a variety of surgical and medicinal methods and taken for granted by philosophers.… The standard archaic Pagan position on the value of the lives of infants is reemerging today.”  (The Pagan Roots of Abortion Extremism)

With rallying cries like “my body, my choice,” politicians claim killing babies is a woman's right. But it's not the woman's brain that is crushed or her body torn limb from limb without anesthetic in late-term abortions promoted by our current government (Pain of the Unborn).

 

An early advocate for women's rights, Alice Paul, authored the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, and she insisted, “Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” (Source)

 

Abortion is like pagan child sacrifice, killing the child for personal benefits.* (Source)

Dr. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., was an outspoken abortion advocate who proudly admitted to having two abortions. But when she found Christ, she was able to divide truth from pagan lies and she said, “A woman has the right to choose what she does with her body. Absolutely. The baby's not her body; where's the lawyer for the baby?” (Source) 

 

Abortion is a pagan practice corrupting culture, bringing unimaginable evil into people's lives. Let's heed the warnings in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. There can be no fellowship between darkness and light, paganism and Christianity. 

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* Just as children were offered to pagan gods for some personal benefit, the majority of abortions are done for selfish reasons: e.g., to save the mother's or father's reputation, to prevent financial difficulties, to prevent an interruption or delay of educational and career opportunities, or simply to make life easier. 

  

See the Bible Love Notes Collection The Value God Places on Human Life. I especially recommend Abortion Victims which explains that the baby is not the only victim.

💙 Be sure to check out the Bible Love Notes devotional Wisdom for Life. 

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Bible Love Notes

Sin Stinks...Literally

Exodus 16:21-30 offers an interesting illustration of disobedience.

God told Moses to tell the people of Israel to collect manna daily, never keeping it overnight. But one day a week, they could collect a double amount for the Sabbath.

Some of the people obeyed. Others thought they were wiser than God. They decided their lives would be easier if they only had to collect manna once or twice a week instead of every day. 

However, when they did this, their leftovers were “full of maggots and began to smell.” 

What a good illustration of disobedience. It stinks!

People today also think they are wiser and more reasonable than God. They ignore God's warnings about immoral lifestyles, thinking their lives will be easier if they fit in with culture.

However, they will one day find out that their sins stink worse than the manna.

God's purpose in the daily collection of manna was to teach the people the importance of obeying His Word: 

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

That truth was repeated by Jesus during His earthly ministry:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

So let's trust God's Word, not our human wisdom, and let's repent in any areas where we've ignored His warnings (1 John 1:8-10).

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To read another one-minute devotion about spiritual food, see Vibrant, Healthy Christians Eat Right. It compares spiritual junk food with spiritual health food. 

💙 If you enjoy Bible Love Notes one-minute devotions, 

I think you'll enjoy my hardcover devotional Wisdom for Life.  

 

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Bible Love Notes

The Light Makes Everyone Happy, Right? Wrong!

I once shared Christ with a friend who told me she was hungry to hear about my faith because she’d observed the love between me and the ladies in my Bible study. 

Christians are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that [we] may declare the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We're “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), and when we're shining, everyone is going to respond like my friend, right? Everyone is going to find our faith attractive, right? 

Wrong. 

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

Light brings comfort to those who are seeking it, but we sometimes forget that it offends more people than it comforts (Matthew 7:13-14).  

As Christ explained, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.… I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-25).

Jesus warned us about the powerful and persuasive hatred of darkness but directed us to keep shining (Matthew 5:14-16). 

So let's ignore the voices that tell us to “lighten up” about biblical truths because they're really telling us to “darken up.” 

Dear remnant Christians, let's shine! 

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I encourage you to read Wholesome Speech: Shining Like Stars in Our Fallen Culture. And if you have a few more minutes, do the Bite Size Study Does Your Speech Reflect the Light of Christ?

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or re-read Day 38 to reinforce the truths in this devotion. 

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD. 

Bible Love Notes

Syncretism in the Modern Church

When we read about God’s people in the Old Testament, we wonder how they could reject God's loving protection and follow the pagan practices of the nations around them (e.g., 2 Kings 17:7-17).

We usually think of paganism as something obvious, but Satan subtly draws us into his pagan lies (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-14; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

I imagine the Israelites thought they could enjoy some pagan practices without being affected. Perhaps they renamed them and redefined them to make them sound more biblical. But paganism can't be sanctified. It captures hearts, minds, and souls.

When they started, I doubt any of them imagined that one day they'd be sacrificing their children on pagan altars. 

 

Similarly, many people today who were raised in Christian homes are seeking to combine culture with Christianity. This is called syncretism, and there are obvious examples such as yoga and less obvious examples such as the teachings of secular psychology.

That's why 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (see below) so strongly commands us to reject anything that draws us away from God's truth and purposes (1 John 2:15-17).

Professing Christians daily decide whether to stand firm or compromise our faith, knowing that syncretism will make us more popular with the world (John 15:18-25). Each day we choose whom we will serve in little ways and in big ways (Joshua 24:14-15).

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:12-13).

 

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There are many forms of syncretism, and I encourage you to read Something You Might Not Recognize as Pagan to hear about one of the most serious examples. 

But in this devotion, let me highlight two that are currently affecting the faith of Christians. These beliefs/practices don't always destroy a person's faith, but they always damage it. The concepts behind them would have been easily recognized as pagan in centuries past, but syncretism blinds people to the truth and eventually leads them to have a strong loyalty to the practice/belief.

 

I am always amazed at the anger and ungodly attitudes I encounter from professing Christians when pointing out the errors in yoga and Boundaries. I see how thoroughly these false practices can capture people's hearts as surely as Baal worship captured hearts in Old Testament times. 

Please note that one yoga quote and one Boundaries quote below come from someone who promotes these false teachings, but their statements serve as a warning to Christians.

⮞Yoga: See the Bible Love Notes Collection Examining Yoga Biblically.

“The growing acceptance of yoga points to the retreat of biblical Christianity in the culture.” Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (source)

 

A Hindu explains that yoga will corrupt Christian faith:

“Hinduism is the soul of yoga ‘based as it is on Hindu Scripture and developed by Hindu sages. Yoga opens up new and more refined states of mind, and to understand them one needs to believe in and understand the Hindu way of looking at God.… A Christian trying to adapt these practices will likely disrupt their own Christian beliefs.’” Sannyasin Arumugaswami, managing editor of Hinduism Today (source)

⮞Secular psychology, specifically Boundaries teachings: See the Bible Love Notes collection Are Boundaries Biblical?

“A huge amount of Scripture is quoted throughout Boundaries, and thus it appears to the undiscerning reader that the conclusions of the authors are biblically sound. Unfortunately, interpretations of Scripture are bent to fit preconceived psychological theories.” (Christian Discernment)

 

Even though he uses and misuses multiple Scriptures in his teachings called Boundaries, this is Henry Cloud's attitude:

“Looking for answers that work, and not finding them in the church, [many Christians] turn to psychology. Often psychological methods succeed, and hurting people find relief.… As a Christian, a psychologist, and a fellow struggler…I have tried the ‘standard’ Christian answers for others and myself and have come to Job’s conclusion: they are worthless medicine.” (source)

Cloud admits his beliefs are built on “clinical psychodynamic ego psychology and Object Relations theory” which originate in unbiblical Freudian teachings. (source)

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’”

Bible Love Notes

Proverbs 23:7 Probably Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means!

 
Say it often enough and people will eventually believe it. This is a scientifically proven fact (ABC News).

Even among Christians, repeated errors are eventually accepted as truth. One notorious example is Proverbs 23:7, highly popular among self-esteem advocates. 

Whole doctrines are based on these words: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” 

This phrase is often used to claim that our thoughts about ourselves determine who we become. Therefore, we should think highly of ourselves. But to have this meaning, this verse must be: 

• cut in half 
• taken out of context
• quoted only in KJV

In reality, Proverbs 23:6-7 is speaking about the thoughts of a stingy person and has nothing to do with who we become. This is the NIV translation:

“Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”  See these verses in five other translations at the bottom, including the KJV in context.

Feelings of inferiority or superiority are based on false views of self. They don't change the facts. 

I might think I'm another C.S. Lewis,* but that doesn't make me one.

It's so important to check out popular Christian teachings, making sure they're accurate and in context (Colossians 2:8). This is especially true when a single phrase is used to create a doctrine. Perhaps the worst and most popular example is the way “Judge not” is taken out of the context of Matthew 7:1-5. (See Judging Biblically) 

So let's check out popular teachings, dear Christians, and make sure phrases and verses are used in context.

For a more in-depth article on Proverbs 23:7, read "Do We Become What We Think?"
 

* BTW: I don't think I'm another C.S. Lewis! 😄

Proverbs 23:6-7 in other leading translations:

NLT: “Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. They are always thinking about how much it costs. ‘Eat and drink,’ they say, but they don’t mean it.” 

KJV: “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” 

NASB: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish person; or desire his delicacies; for as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink!’ But his heart is not with you.”

ESV: “Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. ‘Eat and drink!’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” 

AMP: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates]. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink,’ yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].”

I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word: Wisdom for Life. Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. And find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. You can read the first four devotions in the book by clicking "look inside" on Lifeway or Amazon.

Bible Love Notes

Are You Still Feeding on Pablum?

Have you ever heard of “pablum”? It was the name of a baby food given to sick children in the 1930s. Even though it contained good nutrition, the name became a popular way to describe something overly simple, infantile, or empty.

Lately I’ve thought of this term when reading or listening to Christian teachings. When we first come to the Lord, we need pablum. We’re sick from sin and worldly philosophies. Scripture tells us: 

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). 

But many in the modern church refuse to move beyond pablum. Paul addressed this problem in Hebrews 5:11-14: 

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” 

So let’s never be content with the basics, dear Christians. Let’s press on to maturity (Philippians 3:12-14). 

For more encouragement, see Aggressive Mind Renewal and Christians Are Lifelong Students of Jesus.

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or reread Day 8 to reinforce the truths in this devotion. 

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.

Bible Love Notes

Sticks and Stones Can Break Your Bones

Whoever said “Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you” was wrong.

Words can leave scars deeper than knife wounds.

They can also bring euphoric joy.

Words can be deceptive or honest … overlooked or emphasized … obvious or between the lines … exclaimed or whispered … screamed or prayed.

As a writer, I love words. I write and delete them, remove and repeat them, stretch them and squeeze them.

But some words are in a category of their own—those that are God-breathed:

“All Scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed] and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We don't need to change any of the truths in God's Word. They're always relevant, always "up-to-date," always true and life-changing (Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 4:12).

Whoever wrote the words about sticks and stones didn't know what they were talking about, but God knows all things and speaks only truth!

Let's thank God today for His Word, and let's make sure that we handle it correctly! (2 Timothy 2:15).

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And speaking of words, take a few minutes to read 9 Tips for Leaving Kind Comments. I share some things I've learned from online comments.

💙 Be sure to check out the Bible Love Notes devotional Wisdom for Life. It's discounted on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD. 

You can also sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes one-minute devotions HERE.

Bible Love Notes

A Note from Michael and Gail

We have a special message today instead of our regular one-minute devotion...

If you look at the Bible Love Notes archives, you'll find just about every type of devotion you can think of, many of which are purely encouraging, focusing on things that aren't particularly difficult. (Devotions by Subject 1, Devotions by Subject 2, Devotion Series)

There's nothing wrong with that kind of devotions. And we'll continue to share them from time to time.

But the last few years, my husband and I have felt that God has been laying stronger, harder messages on our hearts, letting us know that the church is heading for trouble if we don't prepare for the battles raging around us.

At times I find myself in tears because of what is happening in our world. Not grieving simply because something has affected someone I know, but burdened in a general sense for the world and the church.

I'm deeply grieved about the evil being promoted and accepted in our world. I'm deeply grieved over the way remnant believers are being silenced and criticized inside and outside of the church. And I'm grieved by the false teachings being accepted by more and more ministries and churches that once held solidly biblical beliefs.

You'll still get a variety of devotions on Bible Love Notes, but our focus is preparing ourselves and our readers for the increasing tide of evil, persecution, and censorship we are facing. We'll address sources of compromise even if they are found in extremely popular books, movies, songs, or mini-series, even if they contain more good than error. Why? Because whenever we accept errors, we open ourselves up to further deception and compromise. Some will call that being petty, but we believe God calls it being faithful in small things so we can be faithful in bigger things (Luke 16:10).

We never address strictly political issues, but we'll address moral issues that are tied to politics, moral issues that involve clear biblical truths. Why? Because we can't remain neutral when politics involves things that break God's heart.

We know these things are not as light and easy to digest as purely encouraging devotions, but we believe they are what we need and what our readers need if we are going to fight the good fight and hold onto the faith (1 Timothy 6:12).

My husband and I are not ashamed of the focus of the Bible Love Notes ministry, and we wanted to take this opportunity to explain our calling and purposes to our readers.

In Christ,

Michael and Gail Purath

Bible Love Notes

Prepare for Battle—Don't Remain in Your Easy Chair

If we want to be prepared to face our increasingly hostile, anti-Christian culture, we need to quit focusing on ourselves.

Sadly, some of the most popular Christian books, sermons, and Bible studies do just that.

I recently heard a teaching that claimed God loves everything about us so we shouldn't let anything or anyone make us feel bad about ourselves. 

Not true. God doesn't love anything sinful, and if we think everything about us is godly, we need a reality check.

 

God's love purifies us as we “put off” our old sinful nature and conform ourselves to God's purposes and principles (Ephesians 4:22-24).

 

Teachings that downplay sin are influenced by culture. They encourage us to sit in an easy chair staring at ourselves in a mirror while spiritual battles rage around us.

We must reject these teachings and prepare to fight the good fight, holding onto our faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:18-19).

 

That means speaking up about sins that damage people's souls and dealing deliberately with our personal sins. Just as we prepare ourselves to be physically fit, we must prepare ourselves to be spiritually fit.

“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:11-12).

 

I encourage you to read the one-minute devotion 5 Ways to Stop Consorting with the Enemy. 

 

Bible Love Notes