tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17310962115713757832024-03-08T00:33:37.282-05:00First TakeMy take on scripture and different issues to help us live a more Christ centered life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-14519596070137747202017-01-01T18:08:00.001-05:002017-01-01T18:14:57.141-05:00A Year of Thanks<p dir="ltr">2016 has been quite a ride. I got engaged, married, had my fiance move out to Altoona with me, participate in ministry with me, moved myself, and a whole lot more. But there has also been a lot of hard times too. I lost a great aunt, I watched my country almost implode over a presidential election, and had numerous celebrity deaths occur. I'm sure there's more but I can't think of anything else. </p>
<p dir="ltr">During the month of November I saw a couple of people on social media do "30 days of Thanks" in honor of Thanksgiving. I saw other people completely skip Thanksgiving and move straight on to Christmas. It's as if we need these holidays to get into a proper mindset for being thankful. I have a problem with this. So I want to change the tone of 2017. Every day I am going to post at least one thing that I am thankful for. No matter what's happening, no matter where I am or what kind of day I'm having I will find something to be thankful. I challenge anyone who reads this to do the same. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Let's have a great and thankful 2017!</p>
<p dir="ltr">#365daysofthanks</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-56085116832966673262016-08-29T12:57:00.000-04:002016-08-29T12:57:01.112-04:00Sometimes Traditions gotta go<div style="text-align: center;">
When you come to appear before me, </div>
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who has required of you</div>
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this trampling of my courts?</div>
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Bring no more vain offerings;</div>
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incense is an abomination to me.</div>
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New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations--</div>
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I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.</div>
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Your new moons and your appointed feasts</div>
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my soul hates;</div>
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the have become a burden to me;</div>
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I am weary of bearing them.</div>
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When you spread out your hands,</div>
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I will hide my eyes from you;</div>
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even through you make many prayers,</div>
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I will not listen;</div>
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your hands are full of blood.</div>
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Was yourselves; make yourselves clean;</div>
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remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;</div>
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cease to do evil,</div>
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learn to do good;</div>
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seek justice,</div>
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correct oppression;</div>
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bring justice to the fatherless,</div>
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plead the widow's cause.</div>
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Quite a while back I did a series on communion. The reason for that was because on a Sunday an elder at the church I was attending got up in front of the congregation to pray for communion, and switched into praying for offering. He was not aware of what he was doing, it was tradition and habit for him. And it caused problems that many of the older congregation laughed off, while the younger generations were displeased with the slip up. Not because of a major reverence for communion like Catholics (which is fine) but because to us, it disrespected God. </div>
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There was a story that I heard about an old church that had a division. They took communion every Sunday, and when they set it up front they placed a sheet of cloth over it. The older people in the congregation made a big show of it, revered the cloth, said that it symbolized the cloth that Jesus was buried in. Finally the pastor had enough of it and started a fight about it in the church. Eventually one of the previous elders was brought in to discuss when and why the cloth was used. He said that back in the 40's they didn't have air conditioning, and so they kept the windows open in the summer. The cloth then was to keep the flies off of the communion things.</div>
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How often do we do things just because "That's the way that they've always been done!" How often do we just follow those in front of us when it comes to religious practices? We forget why we do things and we begin to focus on the wrong aspects. And God hates it when we do that. 2 Corinthians 13.5 tells us to examine ourselves, to see if we're in the faith. Test ourselves. Galatians 6.4 tells us to test our own works. Be mindful of what we're doing and why we're doing it. Never be afraid to challenge why you do something.<br /></div>
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Each week at CSF we take communion. Why? Because scripture says that every time we come together to take it in remembrance of Jesus. On top of that it's to refocus ourselves on why we're here. Not just here as in in CSF but in this world on this campus whatever it may be. It's to remember that Christ died so that we may live, and we must live according to the calling to which we have received. It's an intentional act. Not tradition, not because people before us did it. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-3347323768732799402016-08-03T12:30:00.000-04:002016-08-03T12:30:39.719-04:00What are we called to?One of my favorite quotes of all time is, "If nothing else at least you can be a bad example." We all have a story, we all can teach each other truths about God. This is all in the same train of thought that gives us the phrase, "If God can use me, he can use anyone."<br />
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A lot of the first chapter of Galatians is Paul defending his apostleship, his calling, his message that he preaches. This can be seen in the greeting, and also in verses 11-24.<br />
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First off he makes it known that the Gospel that we preach is not good news that comes from man. Yes, I said we. You're a part of this too. This good news isn't something that man can do; man can't fix the problem between ourselves and God. We're the offending party, nothing we can do will take back the offences we've made. It's only by grace that we can be forgiven and reconciled. This is not something that can be done by man. Paul even writes that he didn't receive it from man, but instead by a revelation from Jesus. This revelation was a calling from God, one given out of his grace.<br />
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How awesome is that? We are called to God, by God, out of his grace. He has no reason to call us to himself, but he does, because he is gracious and merciful. This tells me that God desires reunion with his children over satisfying his wrath immediately.<br />
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Paul writes that he was called to preach to the Gentiles, the undesirables to the Jews, continually telling us God wants all to come to him. What does this mean for us? We are called to desire that all people come to Jesus in repentance and humility that they may receive the same salvation we have. Easy to think about in terms of your annoying neighbor, that kid in your class that smells bad, or even a Patriots fan. you may not think so, but comparatively it is.<br />
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Comparative to what you ask? Kim Jong-Un. God wants him to be reconciled with him too. Too abstract for you? Too distant? What about Putin? Or Donald Trump? God wants them too. Or what about members of ISIS? Terrorists killing Christians in the Middle East? Or what about the terrorists that organized and execute all the attacks in France over the past year? Do you desire that they come to know Jesus? Do you want them to share in the salvation that we have?<br />
<br />
It took Paul three years to come to terms with this idea (I think that's a lot of what his time in Arabia was). It took Peter 3 times to get that it's okay to evangelize to Gentiles. Is it going to take us a long time to realize that God wants us to pray for the evil people of the world? Will we ever? I sincerely believe this is something God calls us to do. And I want to challenge you with it. Right now, I want you to spend 5 minutes to pray for ISIS members to repent and come to God for salvation. No mention of them "Getting what they deserve" or "being vaporized by a missile" or killed slowly and painfully. Instead pray for their salvation.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-20250858224763332652016-08-01T13:33:00.001-04:002016-08-01T13:33:06.355-04:00The only Gospel there isYeah it's been like 4 months since I've written anything on here. I could make excuses, but I just lost my mojo and got lazy and burned out. Starting now though I'm going to be getting more serious about things.<br />
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Part of the problem is I kinda ran out of things to write about. Yes I could talk about politics, social issues, cultural changes, or whatever else. But I don't want to do that because that's not what I'm here for. I think that writing about those things will take focus off Jesus which is the last thing I want to do. I also don't want to do a cop out and just start in a book, and go through chapter by chapter about what's being said. But I think that's a place I need to start now. So be prepared.<br />
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Currently I'm working on my Thesis proposal. I've been reading a lot of different books looking for research, and I came across an interesting topic in one of them: What is to be believed in to be saved? Similarly the question of: What is the Gospel? was also asked. Some scholars and theologians say that Christ Crucified is the gospel and what should be believed in. Jesus himself though says that doing the work of God is believing in the one he sent, that is Jesus. Paul writes in Galatians 1.6-9 the only gospel is that of Christ. I almost wrote Christ crucified there because of notes that I made in my Bible, but Christ crucified I don't think is the gospel message. It's part of it I believe, but not the entire thing.<br />
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The entire gospel then is that of Christ. There is no other gospel besides this. Looking at the book of Galatians, this is one of the first things Paul addresses. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting hi who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ."<br />
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There are some major problems going on in the Galatian church, and I think some of those problems can transition into today (not the Church exactly, but culture influencing church goers).<br />
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First let's understand what the gospel is: It's the Good News. What's the good news? That God died? No. That God died and came back to life? Closer. What about that through Jesus we can have a reconciled relationship with God? Bingo. That is the Good News. That is the Gospel. There is a narrative that explains how the possibility for reconciliation came about, and that's where we get the death and resurrection of God in the form of Jesus. And it's only through Jesus that we can partake in this good news. That's where things get controversial in today's culture.<br />
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Oh there's plenty of ways to get to what someone would consider heaven! That is if you believe in the afterlife. If not, that's alright too! When you die you won't go anywhere. All you gotta do though is be a good person in life and I'm sure you'll get to a positive afterlife. Thanks Oprah.<br />
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The Gospel says something different though. It's not just about "the afterlife." It's about reconciliation with God. It's about peace and love (not like hippy peace and love but peace after a war and reconciliation). And there's only one way to gain this peace and love, and that's through Jesus.<br />
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This is something today's culture does not accept, that there is only one God, and his name is YHWH, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It is only through repentance that we receive his forgiveness, and only out of his grace may we receive his forgiveness. And it is only because of his forgiveness that we can be viewed as righteous and come into a restored relationship with him. This is the only Gospel there is.<br />
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Anyone who preaches a different Gospel, let him be accursed for leading children of God astray. Does this make you upset? Doesn't matter to me. I am here to please God, not man.<br />
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<b><i>Galatians 1.6-10</i></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-49020045788655773482016-04-04T14:25:00.002-04:002016-04-06T14:47:01.993-04:00The PromiseLately I've been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis, but a that comes with the territory of taking a Theology of Lewis class. I've also had the idea of "Promise" on my mind lately. This could be because of the connection to covenant and that I'm getting married in less than 6 months, but I think there's more to it than that. I was asked to speak on Hope a couple weeks ago on campus, which didn't happen because you can't just down right speak on Hope. Hope by itself is nothing, yet connected to everything else it can be considered the key to Christianity. I'm not sure though, that's something I'm still trying to figure out. But while I spent two weeks thinking about Hope I came away that it is no more than just wanting something, but more than that, it's a deep desire for something, usually a specific outcome. In Christianity what do we hope for? That God exists? That we've done the things we need to so we can get into Heaven? That we've received salvation or grace or forgiveness?<br />
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What if we hoped in the Promise of God? The New Covenant? What is the New Covenant? Well Jeremiah 31 has a lot to say about it. God's going to put his law in us, not on tablets but on our hearts. He will be our God and us his people. All will know of God, he will forgive us, and forget our sins against him. I think there's a lot to what is written there, but I also think there's more. Looking at the idea of where the Law is, and adding that to what Jesus preaches his first sermon on in Luke 4, I think a major aspect of the New Covenant is freedom, like what we looked at Monday.<br />
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Imagine if you carried the Law on tablets of stone. That's 613 laws, etched out on stone tablets. That's a lot, and heavy. But in this new covenant, they're written on our hearts. While painful, a lighter burden. But God does not just offer a lighter burden, he also offers a fuller life, one that we can't obtain ourselves.<br />
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Lewis writes in <i>Mere Christianity</i> that evil is not done for evil's own sake, but instead evil is done for something good, some kind of gain or pleasure. No one steals just because they feel like stealing. They may enjoy stealing, but then they're gaining pleasure from it along with whatever they stole. As seen Monday, we're released from that type of action in our freedom, because God wants to give us a great life. God says that he'll be our God and us his people, but he goes more intimate with that in the NT. He uses language relating to adoption, making him not our God, but our Father, and us not his people but his children. And God is the perfect Father. So how does this lead to us having a fuller life? Check out the beatitudes. What do we see God doing there? Reversing fortune. Our God will reverse our fortune, those that mourn will be comforted, those with a poor spirit will be filled. And this is a point that I continually saw in Lewis's writings: God wants to give us the fullest life imaginable. This doesn't mean we'll be devoid of hardships, or that we'll get whatever we want. This is no health and wealth gospel, God, Lewis, and myself are not like Joel Osteen, there may be times where you life downright sucks. But we can take pleasure in our sufferings because compared to the riches we will receive in heaven they are nothing. But more than that, we have the perfect Father that wants what's best for us, and will make sure that we will never go without what we need (Matthew 6). Not want, but need, big difference.<br />
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I challenge you to look through the Gospels and see what it is the Jesus promises, and tell me that God himself is not promising you the fullest life imaginable.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-50134026494174416952016-04-04T13:11:00.001-04:002016-04-04T13:11:19.356-04:00Freedom: A New View<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Lately I've been contemplating freedom. A few weeks ago I began to lose my temper, as I often do, and while standing in church, listening to the worship band play as I drank my coffee, I got to thinking. What followed was a train of thought about how Christ gives us freedom in a completely different way than we usually think he does. That week at CSF I felt called to present this idea to my students. I was still working through this thought process when I talked with them about it, teaching them this new idea that I had. That night after they left at 1 in the morning, I sat down at my computer and wrote what follows. Usually I don't like to recycle things, but I think it's an incredibly important, and interesting topic to discuss and think about. </div>
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What are
we free from? I think this is the first question that needs to be answered.
Initial answers from some people are, “We’re free from sin.” But one of my
students’ first answer was, profoundly and correctly, “I would say sin, but
we’re not actually free from it despite being saved.” And he’s right. I don’t
think we’re free from sin. Look at Romans 7. No matter what, I still sin. Paul
writes “that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives.” But we
have “died to the law through the body of Christ, so that [we] may belong to
another, to him who has been raised from the dead.” So if we die to the Law in
Christ to live in him, and in him is life but the Law death, is the Law sin?
Absolutely not. The Law tells us what sin is! But once we know what it is we
can’t help but recognize that we do it. Then we get into the do-do. “For I do
not do what I want, but I do the very things that I hate.” There are a lot of
do’s following this. But what Paul continually says is that even though we know
the Law we are going to sin, and are more likely to sin because we know it, and
become conscious of sin. Look at Luke 7.36-50 (yes I know it’s a lot, just go
read it). Answer me this: Why was the woman weeping at Jesus’ feet? Got an
answer? It’s because she understood the weight of her sin, she understood that
it separated her from God and was begging for release, for freedom from it. She
wasn’t asking for freedom from sin. She was asking for freedom from the weight
of it. She knew the Law, and because she knew the Law she knew the weight of
sin in her life, and she knew the consequences. And this is where we get to the
point of what we are freed from: The consequences of sin. This, to be fully
understood, has to be taken back to forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
three major aspects that we see in forgiveness:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. Forgiveness
comes from grace (Ephesians 2.8)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. God separates
us infinitely from our sin (Psalm 113.12)<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. God completely
forgets our sin (Isaiah 43.25)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Salvation from our sins can only come from forgiveness.
No action, either good or bad, can ever be taken back, it is marked in time
forever. No matter what we do we cannot make up for the act, the only thing to
make reparations for it would be to either take it back or have it forgiven.
And if we have the actions that caused and offence forgiven, we don’t have to
deal with the consequences of that action (if the consequences stem from the
offended parties action).<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, an
example. Your dog is loud as crap at night and keeps me awake. One day I take it
and drive it an hour away and drop it in a field. You find out. I have now
committed and offense against you. The dog is gone, I can’t get it back. The
consequence would be you take me to court and then they continue on. Or, you
could forgive me. I can’t get the dog back; I can’t make amends for the offence
given. In no way can I earn your forgiveness. But if you forgive me, and forget
the offence (as God does) we then have a completely restored relationship, and
that can only come from grace, unearned favor, or in this case forgiveness. And
because of your grace and forgiveness, we don’t go to court and I don’t go to
jail, or are given a hefty fine, and I am unobligated towards the consequences
of my offence; or sin. Salvation then, only comes from forgiveness, which can
only come from grace. Scripture explicitly says the other points and is better
referenced. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that
we have established that what we are freed from are the consequences of sin, we
can get more into the idea of freedom. Since we have been freed from the
consequences of sin, then why do we still sin? Sin I think can be defined as a
short cut. Why? C.S. Lewis in <i>Mere
Christianity</i> helps us explain that, “wickedness, when you examine it, turns
out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way...no one ever did a cruel
action simply because cruelty is wrong—only because cruelty was pleasant or useful to
him.” When I sin it’s not because I think “Well why not, let’s just be
downright evil.” Even if that was my thought process, it would be me being evil
to take pleasure from being evil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One of
the easiest examples for this is sexuality. Sex is a gift of God and it’s
great. But it’s wrong to have sex outside of marriage. So doing something that
God gave us to enjoy is bad? In the wrong circumstances, yes. Sex is to be
enjoyed <i>fully</i> inside the confines of
marriage. Not out. You can’t fully enjoy sex outside of marriage, you just
can’t. It wasn’t designed for that (Lewis has a lot more to say about this but
it takes us off topic). But to have the pleasure of sex, which is a good thing,
while unmarried is to commit sin; doing an act which is condemned by God in
order to gain something good. But the good that you gain is but a shadow
compared to the good you could have if you wait. And because you sinned there
are consequences to that. STD’s of course, but more than that, you begin to
have a poor relationship with your partner, and if (more likely when from my
experience) you break up with that partner and get another you’ll have a poor
relationship with them. Answer this honestly to yourself: If you know that your
significant other had sex before they had sex with you won’t you question if
they’re comparing you to them? If they miss the other person for their sexual
ability? If they want to break up with you because, “You’re just not as good as
so and so.” These are very real consequences to having sex before marriage. But
boiled down, these are merely consequences of sin which effect relationships,
and are consequences from attempting to gain something in a wrong way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Salvation
then frees us from the <i>eternal</i>
consequences of sin, let me be clear in that. God won’t free us from the
consequences of our actions, only in the eternal (unless there is Divine
Intervention which is an entirely other topic). The eternal consequence of sin
is eternal separation from God, that is, Hell, and that is what we are freed
from. But if we’re freed from the eternal consequences of sin, what about the
acts of sin? As Paul writes in Romans 6.1, “So what shall we say? Are we to
continue in sin so that grace may increase? By no means!” “By no means” is
honestly a poor translation for that term, he is saying “no” in the harshest,
most powerful way possible. Drop “by” and “means” and throw an explicative
before “no.” Now you’re getting a better idea of what Paul is saying. We’re
free from the consequences of sin; therefore we are no longer slaves to sin
itself! But we died to that! We have been set free from sin!<o:p></o:p></div>
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But we
already said that we’re not free from sin, we’ve (I hope) well established that
we’re free from the eternal consequences of sin. Because we’re forgiven we have
a proper relationship with God. And because we have a proper relationship with
God and we’re saved we have every reason to follow the greatest commandments.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor
as yourself.” Love God with all you have, and love your neighbor. Love, like
faith, cannot be true if you don’t act on it (see James 2). So because I love
God, I’m going to act like it; I’m going to act like I’m saved. This includes
following his commandments (John 14.15). What are his commandments then?
Basically to not sin, which we (thanks to Paul) have established that we can’t
do. But, again according to Paul, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord! There is therefore now <i>no</i>
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus<i>!</i>” (Romans 7.25, 8.1; emphasis mine). So because we’re in Christ,
there’s no condemnation against us for our sin? True statement. But because we
love God we follow his commandments, and when we screw up, because we will, it
will be forgiven. Because of our relationship with God, we act like we have a
good one, like we’re righteous. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This
then begins to free us from sinful acts. Like I said, we’re going to mess up.
But we don’t have to sin. While slaves to sin we are obligated to sin, we
cannot defy our master. But we have been freed from that master because we
died. A master cannot keep us in bondage if we’ve died. Think Jon Snow and his
vow to the Night’s Watch: He vowed that he’ll serve until his death, he got
stabbed a lot, died, and (if he is resurrected like we are) he no longer is
held to his oath because we fulfilled it to his death like he was supposed to.
It doesn’t have a special clause in it about those that are resurrected, and
neither does sin. We have no obligation to sin. So why do we? We go back to
sinning to gain something good, or taking a short cut. And this is where I
think freedom can easily connect to hope. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In
salvation we have hope: Hope that God will forgive us come judgment, hope for
reconciliation, hope for retribution, hope for restoration, hope for eternal
life. Because I trust in God I hope that he’ll bless me with a wife. If he
does, then I can have sex (yay!). So I hope in God to have sex with a wife, and
I hope in his promises to give me what I need and more. And if I hope in that,
and trust in that, and expect that, then I don’t need to go about taking the
shortcuts to gain what I want because I trust that God will give it to me.
There is a hope there. And we hope so much that we expect to gain it. So sin is
pointless then. I have no reason to sin if I expect God to give me what I hope
for. And the closer I am to God the more I hope for what he wants to give me,
not just what I want him to give me. This is our freedom from sinful acts. But
there’s another, deeper level here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Christ
says on the Sermon on the Mount that if you’re even angry at someone you’re
liable for the same judgment as if you murdered them. Thoughts and emotions
lead to action. If someone makes me angry, I have an emotional response towards
their actions or words that leads to thoughts of violence towards them. Why do
I want to be violent towards them? Vengeance for the offence they’ve given me.
But I don’t have to fulfill my own vengeance, I believe that, if they have no
repented of their offence, God will give me justice against them. Vengeance is
his! (Deuteronomy 32.35) It’s not ours to take. So I don’t have to waste my
time or energy devising a plan for revenge, I’m free from that. So then what’s
the point of being angry at a person for something they did to me? The anger
will be wasted because it’s not my place to judge them for that or take
revenge. Therefore I have freedom from my anger. God will take care of that
person however he sees fit. If they’re saved, he’ll correct them. If they’re
not, then the question must be asked: Do I really love God if I want an unsaved
person to deal with the eternal consequences of sin because they made me angry?
Was their offence that bad for me to desire them to go to Hell? God didn’t
think so for me and I have more and worse offences against him than they do
against me. If you think you can say that you still love God but want that
person to burn in Hell for cutting you off in traffic, you need to seriously
reevaluate your relationship with God. But if you can say that you do love God,
and you want that jerk that offended you in whatever way to come to know him,
then you don’t have anger towards them, you instead have compassion, and you
are free from those emotions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I guess
I went on quite a tangent here trying to explain this so that it’s more easily
understood. But I think it’s important, but maybe that’s just because as I
write this I have to look internally at myself and say, “That’s me, and God is
convicting me to fix it.” I know I need to, and I know with his help I can. So
if you’re saved, act like it. If you’re saved, quit taking short cuts. If
you’re saved, realize that God will fulfill his promises and your hopes in ways
you can’t imagine. And if he promises that, you can become truly free from
everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-37916505623565980392016-02-17T14:03:00.000-05:002016-02-17T14:03:02.782-05:00Do with IntentLuke 11.27-28: As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"<br />
<br />
I like this set of passages (meaning Friday's will be the next one). Monday was about replacing what you lost, about have a change in character. Today is about doing with intent.<br />
<br />
A woman calls to Jesus that the woman that just took care of him should be blessed. Sure, I can get behind the idea that Mary was blessed. But because of her following God. I don't think we're blessed because we're in situations that God placed us in, I think we're blessed because of how we handle these situations. Do we remain faithful or not? That's the question that needs answered, and I think that's what Jesus is talking about. Mary birthed Jesus and had an obligation to take care of him. I have an obligation to eat, does that mean I'm blessed because I fulfill my obligation? I don't think so. Granted the two aren't exactly equatable, but for the thought they work.<br />
<br />
What I do want to propose though is that in all situations we have multiple choices in front of us. For the past couple of weeks after CSF we got to a local sports bar for food and fellowship. I'm 25, one of our guys is 21, and another is 20. Every week I'm faced with a choice, "Should I order a drink?" It's a bar, I'm 25, I don't think it's a sin to enjoy an adult beverage as long as I'm responsible, and I know my tolerance and limitations. So as I sit in this situation I have a couple choices, to order a drink or not order a drink, that is the question. If I decide to order a drink, I may be showing the people that I'm with that it's not a sin to drink, despite what some Christians say. Or I may seem irresponsible to the people with me, who do think it's not okay for a Christian to drink, which they can have that opinion for themselves, as long as they don't force it on others (see Colossians 2.16-19). My ordering a drink may prompt questions which lead to either good or bad conversation. Or I could <i>not</i> order a drink and handle the situation by seemingly avoiding it entirely. Or I could discuss it with the people that I'm with. Multiple choices in one situation.<br />
<br />
Now which of those choices would lead me to be "Blessed?" What does God's word say? Well it says don't engage in drunkenness (1 Tim. 3.2-3). Okay I know my limits, so I can drink. It also says not to cause a brother to stumble (1 Cor. 8.9). But Paul's reference really only applies to food, so I can order this drink? But then in 1 Corinthians 11.23, "all things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. So would me ordering this drink be helpful or not? The word of God is pulling me back and forth in this decision between Mt. Dew and a beer. I want to be blessed by God but I can't come to a conclusion on this what am I ever to do?! Simplest answer is to just not order a beer. But we're not going for the simple answer we're going to the critical thinking about the entire matter.<br />
<br />
And here comes the idea which is from Monday: What does your change in Character say? Have you struggled with drinking in the past? Avoid the temptation. Those around you, do you know what they struggle with? Avoid becoming a stumbling block. Or what are their views of drinking? Be above reproach. These are the words of God, that we are to do all we can to help those around us, counting them more important than ourselves. We are to be above reproach, giving those around us no reason to think we we are not effective ministers of the Gospel (and that's all of us).<br />
<br />
And the simple truth that all of this comes down to is this: In everything you do, do it intentionally. Every story I tell, every action I do, I do it for a purpose in mind. And I always try to make that purpose for the Glory of God, though I don't always succeed. So, once you have your change in Character, begin to act like that character. Or as I like to say, "Act like you're saved."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-44517899025890662712016-02-15T15:02:00.001-05:002016-02-15T15:28:07.262-05:00Replacing what you LostLuke 11.24-26: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings even other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."<br />
<br />
I'm a firm believer that we all struggle with some type of sin. Usually I just say "something" instead of "some type of sin" but I want to be a bit more clear right now. People that aren't clear give me heartburn and I don't like them for about 3 days. But anyways.<br />
<br />
We all struggle with some type of sin. I've had people try to say that not everyone does, but I can promise you they do. Even Paul struggled with pride. Jesus struggled with different sins as well (and to struggle with it DOES NOT MEAN TO GIVE INTO). I've written about this topic before though. But I just want to establish that to bring it to the above passage. I think we can take this idea of sins that we struggle with and use the term "demons." We all have demons.<br />
<br />
What we see in these few verses is that when we get rid of a demon that we have, it will come back and attempt to take up residence again, and this time it's going to bring its friends, and we'll be worse off then we were before. And that's not good to say the least. After we get rid of a demon, we attempt to put things in order, but we never think of replacing it. And that's what I think the point of this passage is.<br />
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Whatever your demon may be, there is the possibility of it leaving, through prayer, fasting, devotion to God, calling on the name of Jesus. But once it's gone, we tend to think, "Okay, I'm good now. Let's get things in order so I can go about my life." And we do just that. Then in a moment of weakness, a moment of temptation we weren't ready for, we're approached by our demon, the sin we struggle with, and we fall back into worse than we were before. It makes me think of a heroin addict that relapses after being clean for so long. They lost their tolerance, but don't realize it, and try to go back to the dose they were using before and OD. These two are incredibly similar in my mind.<br />
<br />
Let's say you struggle with drinking. You get sober, you're doing well, you got your life back in order, then you just have a really rough day, your first one in months. Work sucked, your boss was riding you all day, you just had a horrible day. Screw it, you owe it to yourself to have a beer right? But then one turns into two, which turns into three, which turns into a 12 pack. The next day you're hungover, and have to go back to the job that was just horrible yesterday, and continued to be so today, so on your way home you grab another 12 pack with the intention of finishing it off. And you do so, and the cycle repeats itself until your worse off than you were before you got sober.<br />
<br />
Why does this happen?<br />
<br />
Because despite getting things in order, you never replaced the demon with something better. There was a vacuum in your life, and what got sucked in was what you got rid of, and it came back worse than before.<br />
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So what am I suggesting?<br />
<br />
Find something to fill the void, to replace the demon. Maybe it won't be one thing that can replace the demon, maybe it has to be a few things, but it needs to be replaced. What to replace it with though? That's up to you. Obviously there are some obvious "Christian" answers that can be given, and I think they should be, such as crack open your Bible that only gets taken out on Sunday's for church. Spend some time just talking to God, letting him know your problems and stresses and life.<br />
<br />
At the risk of sounding like a bad minister, I do want to say those may not entirely help with the void though. Sure they take time, and replace the demon, but sometimes we need other tasks to replace the demon as well, and this is where it's on you. Go for a run, build something, chop down a tree, write a book, read a book, do something fun or relaxing. Over time, you can work to turn what you're doing into worship towards God as well, then bringing together the devotional side of the filled void with the recreational. With this we have a venn diagram looking thing, where one side is "Devotional" the other "Recreation" and in the middle is a mix of the two. The more you do all three, the bigger the middle gets until there's only a little bit on either side. This gives you time for personal devotion with nothing to take away from that, time for your recreation where you can mindlessly do whatever, and in all the other times, you have both.<br />
<br />
What all of this comes to then is a call to a change in character. I think this is the overall message that Jesus is giving here. Something nefarious is gone, something that wrecked your life, something that your entire character was based on. It needs to be replaced, and new character needs to be made, or created, or begat, depending how you want to view it. This is why the need for the Devotional aspect is so great, because if we don't build this new character with God, then something else will be in it. It's the idea that anything can be turned into an addiction, anything can pull you away from God, even working <i>for</i> God, such as church work or ministry, can pull you away from your personal relationship with God. So when the demon is replaced, God needs to be added into the mix in order to create a change in Character.<br />
<br />
These are just thoughts that I have though that may not be articulated all that well, but I do think this is what needs to be said in relation to the above passage. Yes, we all have demons, and we need to get rid of them, but we also need to replace them with something.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-85653260936382585492016-02-01T12:49:00.000-05:002016-02-01T12:49:05.276-05:00Christianity is hardA while back I referenced 1 Corinthians 1.17. Well I'm referencing it again. But with a different focus.<br />
<br />
The message of Christianity is easy. The point of Christianity is easy. The message simply being that God came to earth in human form to provide a way for salvation. The point of being a Christian is, now that we're saved, to spread this message and live as if we're saved, that is, live a life worthy of being called a "Child of God."<br />
<br />
But Christianity itself is hard. The deeper parts of it don't make any sense. It seems to be full of contradictions, misinformation, and theories that our minds can't grasp.<br />
<br />
Lately I've been reading <i>Mere Christianity</i> for class, and C.S. Lewis writes that one of the reasons he believes Christianity to be true is because it's so difficult. The universe itself is difficult, and while other religions may have answers for everything, they still have holes, and come out to be simple. Christianity on the other hand does have answers to everything (though a lot of the time we don't know those answers, but someone else might even if we've never met them), there are no holes, even when it seems like different ideas contradict themselves.<br />
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For example, the idea of faith and works. Paul has an emphasis on faith, while James seems to have more of an emphasis on works. Really looking into what each are saying, they really do come out to contradict each other. But Christianity takes these two opposing views, and makes them work together. This can be called a <i>chiasm</i> or <i>chiasmus</i>. And how Christianity makes these two ideas work together is it says that because of our faith, we do works, which make our faith something real, tangible, see-able.<br />
<br />
And Christianity is full of these. How many times have you read the Bible and went, "Well this is saying A, but if we look here we see it say B. How can this be true then?" This is where context comes in. A could just be how B happened in that particular situation. Or if you take the two and put them together in the context of all of scripture, you could pull out F, which is the mixture of A and B and possibly more ideas.<br />
<br />
What I'm not saying is that you can twist scripture to make it fit what you want it to. What I am saying is that sometimes you need to look at the whole picture to understand how two seemingly opposing ideas or teachings actually work together. Is this hard to do? Yes. But Christianity is not easy. The message and point are, but Christianity itself is not. It calls us to think, critically, rationally, carefully about all aspects of life. What we read, what we see, what we experience. But it will always, eventually, make sense. Even if you can't understand it this side of heaven.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-57165304848791563972015-12-14T15:55:00.001-05:002015-12-14T15:55:37.031-05:00Birth Number OneAfter nine grueling months of silence from Zechariah, John is finally born.<br />
<br />
Elizabeth, the mother, was quite old at the time, no children before, and therefore deemed barren. So when she had her first, and only, child there was obviously a good bit of fuss in the family. And what we see the family say is that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.<br />
<br />
It's interesting to me how much we relate, and yet don't relate to this passage, even these two verses. A miracle has happened, and those surrounding the one that was blessed rejoice with her! And they also acknowledge that God had great mercy on her as well, attributing the miracle to God.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I was at church helping out with the Jr. High Sunday school and we were going around talking about gifts from God in a small group. I had each of the students go around and tell us a bit about gifts they they had received from God that they are thankful for and one student looked at me and said, "He defeated my mom's cancer."<br />
<br />
Completely floored me.<br />
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I've known a few people with cancer, and many more that have been effected by cancer through family members, friends, etc. Yet rarely when that particular person is deemed cancer free or in remission, they are congratulated for beating cancer. Hardly ever have I heard people give the entire credit to God, but only half credit, with the majority of it going to the person that had cancer. There is much rejoicing with the person, but, from what I've seen personally, there has been a lack of recognition that God has shown mercy to them.<br />
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I could go on and on about this, but these are just my initial thoughts. Yes, rejoice with people who have been considered cancer free, but give all the glory to God for it is by his will and the knowledge that he has given the medical world that the cancer was able to be defeated.<br />
<br />
During this holiday season, remember that the gifts that we receive, including life itself, are a gift of God, and never by our own work. And remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus, our only path to salvation, was not something at all that we could ever do.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-14168163068266893142015-12-09T13:55:00.000-05:002015-12-09T13:55:56.856-05:00A Family MeetingAfter Mary found out she was going to have a child, and after she's been told that her barren cousin was as well, she decided to take trip to see Elizabeth.<br />
<br />
What we see happen is when Mary shows up, she greets Elizabeth, and John jumps for joy while in Elizabeth's womb. At this, she is filled with the Holy Spirit and knows that Mary is pregnant and with who she is pregnant with! She had no prior knowledge as far as we can see, but it was revealed to her, by God, through the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth then tells Mary just how blessed she is and how excited she is for what's coming.<br />
<br />
But one thing that she says is, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Yes, this is specifically spoken of about Mary, but that doesn't mean that we can't look at this and apply it to ourselves. We all are promised things from God, just as Mary was promised a son. And just like her, we become blessed by believing there will be a fulfillment of the promise. We see that all throughout the Old Testament. Abraham was promised an inheritance, and great nation for his offspring, and centuries later we see these events taking place with his decedents. He was promised by God, and he believed that there would be a fulfillment.<br />
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And because of that, Mary spends 10 of our verses praising God for what he has done and his magnificence. Spend time reading this passage, and reflect on it while keeping in mind the promise that was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, and also the promises that came with him.<br />
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My soul magnifies the Lord,</div>
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and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,</div>
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for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.</div>
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For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and holy is his name.</div>
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And his mercy is for those who fear him</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
from generation to generation. </div>
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He has shown strength with his arm;</div>
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he has scatted the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;</div>
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he had brought down the mighty from their thrones</div>
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and exalted those of humble estate;</div>
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he has filled the hungry with good things,</div>
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and the rich he has sent away empty.</div>
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He has helped his servant Israel,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
in remembrance of his mercy, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
as he spoke to our fathers,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-52698124690543128912015-12-07T12:52:00.000-05:002015-12-07T12:52:00.235-05:00The Second Gift that was PromisedInteresting to me is how the Christ, the most important person in history, was promised after the one that is basically the one that introduces him. Even more interesting is looking at Revelation 13 we see the exact opposite. In Luke it's the Messenger then the Ruler, and Revelation it's the Ruler, and then the Messenger.<br />
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But while looking at Luke, I am reminded of something that Jesus has said, "The last shall be first." Jesus is promised after John, but Jesus is more important that John, and in this case, the last promised is the first in importance.<br />
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But what we see leading up to this Christmas season is that there is this young girl, promised to a man named Joseph, just going about her day as usual. She's living in a town called Nazareth, which has a pretty crappy reputation, much like Will-kill-yinz-burg in Pittsburgh. When suddenly a wild Angel appears! This being the same angel that visited Zechariah, who, oddly enough, was married to Mary's cousin Elizabeth. This family is obviously looked upon with favor by God. Mary is promised that she will bear a son. She is called favored one, and told that God is with her. She's incredibly confused by this, and probably a bit scared with this super bright being showing up and talking to her. Yet the angel, Gabriel, told her there was nothing to be scared of, because she has found favor with God. And because of that she's going to have a child, and not just a child but a son, and his name will be Jesus, the Greek for Joshua, which means, "YAHWEH is salvation." Alright, this is pretty, normal? I mean a child is given to a mother when she shouldn't be having a child, which we've seen multiple times, Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, this isn't outside of one's imagination. The name was given by the Messenger, alright a bit strange, but not horribly so, if God's giving a child he kind of has a right to give the name as well. They still got the middle name right? But then looking at Luke 1.32-33 we see the purpose of this child, which is a lot different than what we've seen in the past.<br />
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"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."<br />
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Any Jew during this time will hear that and go, "It's about freaking time!"<br />
<br />
Why? Because Gabriel just described what they call the Messiah, also known as the Christ to the Greeks. Properly translated we would call this person The King, or Lord. And yes, The was capitalized intentionally because this is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords that Gabriel is talking about. And he just told this young woman that she's going to give birth to him.<br />
<br />
He's going to be called the Son of God. He's from the line of David, which is in the Tribe of Judah of which Jacob, Judah's father also known as Israel, said that the scepter will never leave Judah. He will rule over Jacob's house, which is the entire nation of Israel. And he's going to do that FOR-EV-ER. And his Kingdom will never end. All of this points to the Messiah, the Christ, The King.<br />
<br />
This is the child that was promised to Mary. This is the birth that we are supposed to celebrate around this time. The coming of the Messiah, the promise of one who's name is YAHWEH is salvation. Who is the Son of YAHWEH, and also the bridge to him, the bridge to salvation. This child is a gift to us, and in him is hope and salvation, given to us by God so that we may be reconciled with him, adopted and brought into the New Israel, and letting his son rule over our lives.<br />
<br />
This is what the Christmas season is all about, the anticipation and excitement of this particular child that was promised to us, and the celebration of his coming. So get excited, get hype, and prepare to celebrate the coming of our King.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-14521386617104669882015-11-30T16:38:00.001-05:002015-11-30T16:38:16.913-05:00The First Gift that was Promised.Well Thanksgiving has gone by meaning <i>now</i> we can start into the Christmas stuff. Never before because we have to remember to be thankful for the gift that is given at Christmas. If I could get away with punching people in the face that start celebrating Christmas after Halloween I would do it. But I don't want a bunch of assault charges against me.<br />
<br />
But since we're in the Christmas season I figured we could start a little series leading up to the reason for Christmas! With this series we'll be looking at the beginning of Luke for a couple reasons. 1) I like the book of Luke. 2) It gives us the most information leading up to the birth of Jesus. And 3) Luke is currently the only gospel I've read through since I started my new reading schedule last year. I'm almost through everything else though so then I get to read the other 3. Anyways, let's get started!<br />
<br />
So starting in Luke 1.5-25, we see a man named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They're old, they don't have any kids, and they've accepted it. They just go about their usual lives of a Priest and his wife. They were devote Jews, worshiping God and following his statues out of love and reverence for him. One day Zechariah goes into the temple to burn some incense and Lo! there's an angel standing there. Of course he's probably all majestic and formal standing there, but I like to picture him leaning against the alter, picking his fingers waiting for Zechariah to come in. When he does he looks up and goes, "Remain calm... Good news! What you want is going to happen! You're going to have a son! Here's all his stats."<br />
<br />
Zechariah just looks at him, probably laughs a bit, then goes, "Na. My wife and I are old. Ain't gonna happen." Well the angel goes, "I'm Gabriel. The messenger for God himself. And because you're mocking God's messenger, and therefore God himself, you're not going to speak until your son is born. Laugh now!" And Zechariah can't speak. Eventually he goes home, and his wife becomes pregnant.<br />
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This is the first major event which leads to the beginning of a new age, a new religion, a new covenant between God and his people. This major event is the beginning of a man who will pave the way for Jesus and his ministry.<br />
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Looking at verses 14-17 we see the characteristics of this person, who will be named John, or as we know him, John the Baptist.<br />
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First off he's going to bring joy to people, because he will be great before the Lord, possibly meaning Jesus himself. He is going to come before Jesus, and will be a great prophet, or messenger from God to the people. He's going to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the message he will give will bring many to God. He'll have the power and spirit of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in all of Israel's history. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.<br />
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But then look at what Gabriel says about John, "...turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." From this I think what we can gather is that there are many people in Israel at the time who are unprepared to meet their God. They're neglecting their children, they have no care for justice or obedience to God. But John is coming to help restore these people to their proper position and calling. To care for widows and orphans, those less fortunate than themselves, to desire justice above all else, to love what God loves and hate what God hates. John is coming then to prepare people to hear the truth from God himself, taking these teachings and putting them into practice, preaching by action, not just words.<br />
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All of which will bring joy to the world, especially those that embody those very attributes because of their relationship with the one who holds salvation.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-872538499496806152015-11-16T15:50:00.002-05:002015-11-16T18:21:37.705-05:00Praying for the Wicked<p dir="ltr">Friday in Paris there were some atrocious acts of terrorism performed by a terrorist group of extremist Muslims.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When I read the headlines it felt like I got punched in the stomach. I was instantly taken back to September 11, 2001 at about 4pm when I came home from school and found out about the attacks on our own soil. I imagined that kind of fear and that insecurity being felt by another nation on the other side of the world.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Friday night I had a Lock-in with the campus ministry I'm a part of, and I was speaking on our theme for the year. Basically our study is a more practical approach to the What Would Jesus Do? movement.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As I was writing the sermon, I was asking myself, how does God feel about these attacks? Obvious he is full of anguish and grief for the loss and the indifference towards human life. I'm sure like many of us when we heard the news, God likewise had a righteous anger towards those that committed these acts of terror and wanted to see them receive the just retribution of their actions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But at the same time, unlike God, we forget that these terrorists are human as well. I know most would say, "People that act like that aren't human, they're monsters. They don't deserve the right to be called human." I in no way am attempting to justify their actions, I gave up attempting to justify sin a while back. But what I do want to do is inform that they believe they are going to bring about the apocalypse, and they act on their faith just as we Christians should act on our faith. This could lead to an entire other lesson, but I'm not going to go that route right now. What we do know is that these men and practitioners of Radical Islam obviously worship the wrong God.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So what we get if we boil it all down, is that the Radical Muslims are worshiping the wrong god and follow a perverted form of Islam. I'm not an expert on Islam, but I'm speaking from what I do know about it. And if we can bring their actions down to them being, in our view, pagans, then they are a people that are out of a restored relationship with God, the true God, who above all else desires a restored relationship with his children/creation. His creation also includes these Radical Muslims many of us call monsters and inhuman.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So Radical Muslims are no different than those that are lost. And their actions reflect their identity of that of a person that does not worship a peaceful and loving god. Again, I am not attempting to justify their sin, or saying that they do not deserve to go unpunished for their actions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">What I am attempting to prove though, is that these terrorists deserve our prayers just as much as the victims of their attacks do. And that is where we get controversial.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Romans 12.14, 17-21: Bless those that persecute you; bless and do not curse. Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals n his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Luke 6.27: But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.</p>
<p dir="ltr">How much more clear could God be? Those that attack and murder are wicked, and their actions are wicked. But they are as in need of salvation as you or I. Even the wicked are called to repentance (Acts 17.30; 2 Peter 3.9).</p>
<p dir="ltr">So what I propose is that we begin to pray for the wicked. They are our enemies, and we are told outright that we are to pray for them. While our view of these people are that they are unworthy of salvation and grace and forgiveness, we must understand that we are too, and that just as God desired us to be reconciled with him, he also desired to be reconciled with them.</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-41387490304524697722015-11-02T13:30:00.000-05:002015-11-02T13:30:01.659-05:00The CovenantNo. Not from Halo.<br />
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The Old Testament surrounds the Old Covenant.<br />
The New Testament surrounds the New Covenant.<br />
The events that fill both testaments follow the establishment of its respective covenant.<br />
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One thing I've been wanting to research recently are the two covenants, are they the same, are the different, is one a physical representation and the other the spiritual truth? These are answers currently above my pay grade. Maybe one day though.<br />
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But what I do want to focus on is that we who profess to be saved are in a covenant with God.<br />
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Covenant is one of those words that has a ton of meaning, but a simple definition. It means a promise. But it has so much more weight behind it.<br />
When two people get married they enter into a covenant.<br />
When parties sign a contract, they enter into a covenant.<br />
When two friends shake hands and make a deal that loser gives up the sticks, they make a covenant.<br />
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God has initiated a covenant with us, through his son Jesus. We have an easy way into this covenant, this relationship, which is faith. And his promise is that in the end we win and we'll receive an inheritance that we didn't earn and we'll be able to be in the presence of God.<br />
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But more than that, we now have God living inside of us. Someone to help us get through anything that comes our way, be it escape, support, or sheer will power. God has made a promise to us, and he will not go back on it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-12231467188152290072015-10-26T17:19:00.001-04:002015-10-26T17:19:31.028-04:00Check Yourself"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"- 2 Corinthians 13.5<br />
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"And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, dong evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard..."- Colossians 1.21-23<br />
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Lately I've been wrestling with the idea of the Old and New Covenant. The premise of covenant itself is quite simple, but the relation between the Old and New is something else entirely. But one aspect of the New Covenant is that we, as sinners, formally alienated from God because of our sin, can be reconciled with him, or brought into a better relationship with him.<br />
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In the Colossians text we can see that by continuing in the faith, we remain reconciled to God. But what does it mean to "remain in the faith?" That's a good question. I think the verse from 2 Corinthians helps us understand that. We need to test ourselves, make sure that we still have relation with Jesus. What is our relation marked by though? Well what is any relation marked by?<br />
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Being "Facebook Official." Talking every day. Seeing each other. Sharing with each other. Sacrificing for each other.<br />
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Looking at the end of the Gospel accounts we can see how Christ sacrificed for us.<br />
Looking at our Facebook we can see our religious preference is set to "Christian."<br />
But what abut talking? Do you honestly talk to Jesus every day? Do you have faith that he's listening?<br />
Do you strive to see God on a daily basis? Do you see how he pours himself into the sunset that words can never do justice for?<br />
Do you share with your Father the concerns, needs, joys and hopes that you have in your life?<br />
Do you sacrifice anything for your relationship and faith? Do you sacrifice time to just spend it in the Word?<br />
What about your reputation to pray over your meal thanking God for providing?<br />
Do you ever even look at yourself, and put yourself to the test seeing what it is that Christ calls you to and if you fulfill that calling?<br />
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Examine yourself, and remain in the faith.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-41213804815975465522015-10-21T12:24:00.001-04:002015-10-21T12:24:21.198-04:00Out of HopeLately two words that I've been using a lot are "manifestation" and "stewardship." Talking about Religion as a verb will do that I guess.<br />
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Our entire theme for this year is about our actions that come from our relationship with God. Just as I act a certain way with my parents because of our relationship, or how I act with my girlfriend because of our relationship, so I act with God and all others because of our relationship.<br />
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My love for God leads for my love for others. And my love for others becomes manifest in my actions towards them and with them. I have been given salvation from God which includes his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his mercy, and I am now a steward of those, and I emulate them towards others.<br />
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But why?<br />
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I do this out of hope.<br />
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Recently I've read a couple different verses pertaining to working out of hope. In 1st Corinthians Paul writes about how we plow fields in hope for a crop. In Colossians he writes how the church in Colossae has faith in Christ and love for all their Christian brothers because of the hope they have for eternal life.<br />
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I have hope that through my stewardship of the salvation that God has given me, and the manifestation of my love for others through my actions they too can share in the joy that I find in my salvation. I hope that one day I can call them brother or sister.<br />
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It is out of Hope that I religion.<br />
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Do you have hope for something? Hope in Christ? Hope in Eternal life? Hope for salvation for all people? Are you acting on it?<br />
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Find out next time on Dragonball Z.<br />
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Or figure it out yourself, and do something about it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-5491353957498524702015-10-19T11:20:00.002-04:002015-10-19T11:20:18.000-04:00Power in SimplicityThings have been quite busy these past few weeks. Check my other blog to see a full recounting of the craziness that is campus ministry.<br />
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Recently I read through 1 and 2 Corinthians. Great books. When I started I read 1 Corinthians 1 and something stood out to me.<br />
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Many accused Paul of preaching "Cheap grace" and how salvation, "Can't be that simple." But I really like what he has to say in vv. 17-18, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."<br />
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From these verses I gathered this truth: The Gospel message is simple. Yet it is powerful. The gospel message is as simple as saying that God put on flesh, came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose again three days later, all for our salvation. Incredibly simple words. Incredibly powerful meaning.<br />
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Everyone can understand the words given about the gospel, and everyone can understand that that is the message of the gospel. For those who have faith there is power in this message. But to those who aren't saved, it makes no sense.<br />
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<i>A god? Became human? That makes no sense. Why would a god do that? And you claim it's the only god there is? The God? Your sovereign God? Your all powerful God? That's stupid to think that.</i><br />
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<i>And he lived a perfect life? No one can live a perfect life. I mean I'm pretty good, but I'm not perfect, especially compared to the standard of living that your "God" gave. Even he failed in that.</i><br />
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<i>He died on a cross? What? What God dies? Willingly even? Or even better, dies that kind of death? That kind of death was reserved for criminals! Those people are cursed and spat upon by all of mankind! That's like saying your God got the chair! It's reserved for murderers and thieves and rapists! Yet your God went through that? Even though he was perfect? Why?</i><br />
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<i>Because he was raised up three days later? No. No one has ever come back from the dead after that long.</i><br />
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<i>For my salvation? Salvation from what? I don't need salvation. I'm a pretty alright guy. Aren't I? </i><br />
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The message of the cross is simple. It holds profound power, power which leads to life, salvation, reconciliation with God.<br />
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Those that don't believe in it see it as nothing but lies. Yet it is a message, that when accepted, changes everything. Take this message to those that need it this week. Give them a chance for life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-49983880001885053672015-09-11T10:46:00.001-04:002015-09-11T10:46:29.988-04:00Remembering the EventSo today is September 11th, 2015. 14 years ago today, I was sitting in 5th grade, doing my usual morning routine. Every morning we had to do a DOL, or daily oral language. I have no idea why they call it oral, when we didn't ever talk. All we had to do was fix the grammatical mistakes in different sentences. After that we got to do a journal entry, I can't remember what it was. Then we had a brain buster is we got done with all of that. I was sitting next to a kid named Dominic. We both got done about the same time, were going through the brain buster which had us name things with holes in them. He calls the teacher over and goes, "A plan few into the World Trade Center this morning so there's a hole in that, can I use that?"<br />
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And that's how I first heard about what was happening in New York. Of course being only 11 years old I didn't think too much of it. As the day went on my class got smaller and smaller as parents left work to grab their kids and bring them home. Finally I remember coming home and my mom being there. At this time she never beat me home, so I was really confused. I walk in the house and CNN is on showing again and again planes flying into buildings.<br />
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Over the years I've heard people say there are some events they will never forget. I remember 9/11 incredibly well. My mom talks about how she remembers the day Kennedy died. Simmons in Transformers 3 says, "They'll ask 'Where were you when the transformers took over?'"<br />
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Throughout our lives we have events that take place that place a deep groove in our mind that stays there. First child, wedding day, traumatic events, random things that make shaped your thought on something.<br />
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For example, I don't like clowns. I'm not scared of clowns, I just don't like them. And this is why: When I was a kid I went to a birthday party. There was a clown there, he was boring, so I started playing with one of the maze things with a ball in it because I thought that was cooler than the clown. Well he saw me, got mad, came up took it away and told me to pay attention. To this day I don't like clowns because of that. Jerk.<br />
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What about our salvation? Sometimes yes, our salvation will seemingly take a while and we can't pinpoint, "That was when I was saved." Others can say, "June 22nd, 2010 is when I was saved." But there was an event, there was a series of events where we look back and see God redeeming us. Maybe bit by bit, chipping away at the block, or just taking a sledge hammer and shattering us with one hit. My question is how often do we look back to these moments? Do we get saved then just move on? Do we continually look back and compare now to then?<br />
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I like to talk about my salvation process and the event where I went, "I know I'm saved now." It weaves together a story for those listening, telling them who I am and where I came from and how I got to where I'm at now. My salvation is the event in my life where I go, "There I truly began to live. There I dedicated my life to whatever ministry God has called me to."<br />
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Look back through your life, look for your salvation event. If you can't find it, then you have a conversation with God that needs to take place. Self examination is a big aspect of Christianity, knowing who you are in this group of believers and also knowing who you are in relation to being a child of God. That event in your life should be bigger than 9/11, the day JFK was shot, the day you had your first child, all because everything else changes in relation to your change in relation to God.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-43182525983217727552015-09-09T12:10:00.001-04:002015-09-09T12:10:37.473-04:00StewardsLast night we had our second CSF and I think it went pretty well. But I guess time will tell. We are still trying to find our groove though. But we'll get it.<br />
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What I talked about last night was what Religion as a verb means, and it's all about our actions stemming from our relationship with God. A part of what this includes is our stewardship.<br />
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What is stewardship? When it really comes down to it, stewardship is taking care of something. In Lord of the Rings we got Denethor who's the Steward of Gondor, he's supposed to take care of Gondor since there wasn't a king. Adam and Eve were supposed to take care of the Garden of Eden, but didn't.<br />
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We as Christians are stewards as well. All of us. Paul calls himself a steward of God's grace in Ephesians 3.2, Jesus makes us stewards of forgiveness in John 20.23, Paul says that we are stewards of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5.<br />
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So what does all of this mean?<br />
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We have been given grace, forgiveness, have been reconciled to God, all by God. He then equips us for ministry (Ephesians 4.12) with different gifts, but also for the stewardship of the grace, forgiveness and reconciliation that he's given us.<br />
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Now we're not just supposed to take care of it. We're not just supposed to work out what it means to be saved with fear and trembling. Yes, we're supposed to do that, but John 20.23 shows us that Jesus gives our stewardship more responsibility than that. We take this gift that we've received, and we're supposed to demonstrate it to the world. We take this forgiveness and forgive those that sin against us just as God forgives us of our sin. We are gracious towards others just as God was gracious towards us. We work to restore the relationship between us and those that have wronged us because God has restored our relationship, he has reconciled us.<br />
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Look through your life and see what God has done for you, and imitate it. Show those around you what God has done in your life by replicating it in theirs, leading them to see your restored relationship with God and therefore leading them to their own.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-24085319790307716942015-09-02T10:55:00.001-04:002015-09-02T10:55:31.124-04:00"Speak, for your servant hears"This morning I was doing my reading, and I usually hate doing things on what I'm doing personally, but I think this is a good one. But I was reading 1 Samuel 3 today, and Samuel is there laying in the temple and three different times he hears someone call him. Each time he thinks it's the priest Eli. Finally on the third time Eli goes, "God's trying to speak to you."<br />
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So God calls Samuel again, and his response is, "Speak, for your servant hears."<br />
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As I read this I noticed a couple of things.<br />
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1) Samuel was kinda a jerk, commanding God to speak.<br />
2) Samuel was really humble, calling himself God's servant.<br />
3) Samuel states that he is listening.<br />
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How often do we hear God speak in our lives? And how often do we ignore his call?<br />
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Sometimes when God speaks to us it's just a simple point.<br />
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"I love you."<br />
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Other times he's telling us what we need to do.<br />
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"Go to Altoona and do campus ministry."<br />
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Or even don't do.<br />
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"Don't move home."<br />
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God speaks to us on a daily basis. Sometimes we think it's someone else telling us to do something. When I was debating if I should come to Altoona or not I had a couple other people telling me I should stay in Pittsburgh, or move back to Columbus, or just get out of campus ministry in general. Each person had a valid reason for their thought, but overall the reason was more selfish than anything else. So as I prayed over my situation I asked God what he wanted me to do. And I head others calling me. But unlike Samuel, I didn't think that they were being a voice for God, I didn't mix them up. I heard each voice clearly, and knew where God was calling me.<br />
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As you go throughout your week, listen for your name. God is calling you somewhere, either to stay, go forward, or back. Listen for God's call, and know when you're being called by others.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-35154160603976416932015-08-31T11:00:00.000-04:002015-08-31T11:00:06.869-04:00A Psalm a day keeps your brain in painI don't REALLY mean that title. But in the same way I kind of do, for myself. Everyone has things they really like in the Bible, while everyone has things they don't. I just read in one of my text books about a possible purpose for genealogies in the Bible. It was short and only an example, but it was in there! Some people like the history in the Old Testament, seeing the changing of Israel over time and seeing God's plan come to completion. Other's enjoy prophets, the imagery, the analogies, the message, the points in the text, sometimes obvious other times less evident. Personally I really enjoy the Epistles. They're full of theology and while reading them I take my time to find out what is really being said in the complicated language that it's in. On the flip side, a lot of people have things they don't like in the Bible. Not that they think it's bad, but they just have trouble with it. For me, it's the Psalms. They're very poetic and I have a hard time with that. So to attempt to remedy this I decided to read a Psalm a day with my other reading taking me to one OT chapter, one NT chapter, and a Psalm. I've been doing this for a while now, but I've had periods of not reading, or skipping some, so today I just read Psalm 57.<br />
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But the one that I want to look at today is Psalm 39. That was one of the days where I actually got a good bit out of it. I encourage you to go read it now, and tell me if you see this outline that I saw.<br />
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This is a Psalm of David, when and why it was written I have no idea.<br />
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But in verses 1-3 I saw David saying this: That he is discontent with God. He kept himself mute, trying not to say anything against God, but his anger grew and finally he spoke to God. Verse 4 shows us what he said, which came down to he wanted to be humbled. "Let me know how fleeting I am!"<br />
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Verses 5-6 have David acknowledging how men are truly nothing compared to the only thing that matters, that is God.<br />
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7-11 shows him confessing that he is absolutely powerless in the grand scheme of things, even in saving himself.<br />
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Which takes us to 12-13 where David begs God for his salvation, peace, and joy.<br />
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Sometimes when we read, things are plain, other times they make no sense. We take them as they come and trust that God is telling us exactly what we need to hear when we need it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-37467225960608162102015-08-24T16:56:00.000-04:002015-08-24T16:57:13.577-04:00Behind Enemy LinesI would have to say that the second biggest OSU rivalry is with Penn State.<br />
My mom went to OSU for a degree.<br />
My brother went to OSU for two.<br />
My dad has worked, and I believe still is working, on OSU's campus for different building projects.<br />
I grew up not 30 minutes from campus. Every Saturday a game was on TV, or the radio if we weren't home.<br />
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One can say that OSU is in my blood. I bleed Scarlet and Gray.<br />
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But now I'm a campus minister in Altoona, PA, an hour south of State College, the main campus of Penn State, at a Penn State branch campus. Whenever I meet someone in this new town one of the first things they ask me is, "Where are you from?" to which I respond, "Columbus" because no one will know where my home town is. As soon as I say Columbus, I get crap about being an OSU fan, and how I'll need to convert to Penn State.<br />
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Where I'm from has given me part of my identity. I am identified here as an OSU fan. Not just a campus minister, or even as myself. I'm the Ohio State fan. And I'm behind enemy lines.<br />
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Recently I had a class on the Doctrine of Salvation, and while we're sitting around a table talking about a lot of big concepts, we get on the subject of atonement. Now before this, I haven't thought a lot about what I believed about atonement theories. But I did come to the realization that I never believed in penal substitution atonement.<br />
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But there's a lot there and I don't want to get into that. Let's just suffice it to say that I don't believe in that form of atonement.<br />
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Instead I believe in Identification Atonement. Or, I identify with Christ, and because of that I am forgiven. And because I identify with Christ, I am counted as righteous as him. I am now his ambassador, a fellow minister with him of the ministry of reconciliation. I am a new creation! And though I am in a world that is broken and full of sin and the consequences of sin, I still identify with Christ. I am behind enemy lines, and I make it known because I am proud of that fact.<br />
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I'm proud to be a Buckeye, and I'm more proud to be a disciple of Jesus!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-65239905206800512182015-08-07T14:51:00.001-04:002015-08-07T14:51:58.489-04:00Communion Part 3- The PartyA month ago today I wrote a post titled, "Sell the Master" which focused on being able to tell others about God because of the great feast we will have at the wedding banquet.<br />
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Well today I want to look at the feast.<br />
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As we've been looking at, communion was instituted during a feast. So it's like we're still partaking in the feast today whenever we have communion.<br />
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Across all cultures the breaking of bread together, the act of eating a meal together is always a time of peace, even if those partaking are enemies. There are of course some exceptions, see Godfather part 1, but overall the breaking of bread together is done with friends, family, people close to you.<br />
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A wedding feast is a celebration with friends and family.<br />
A Passover feast is celebrated among family.<br />
A after church lunch is a time of fellowship with family and friends.<br />
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Communion is breaking bread, with God in his house. He brings us into his home, and asks us to break bread with him. This is what he does for a friend.<br />
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Romans 5 tells us that while we were still enemies Christ died for us, and because of that we now have peace with God. We are no longer in open rebellion or at war with him. And now, having come into the saving grace of Christ, we reap the benefits of his righteousness, and are at peace with God. Because of that he invites us over every week, to come into his house, and take part in the meal that celebrates our freedom from slavery, with which we look forward to our coming resurrection.<br />
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Hopefully this week I've given you a lot to reflect on concerning communion, and when you take it on Sunday you don't sit there and think, "What should I be focusing on?" or "Where am I going to lunch afterwards?" Instead, focus on the salvation that comes from Christ, and celebrate it with the bread and the cup, knowing that you are proclaiming the death and resurrection of God's only son, and because of that your sin has been defeated.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16728442022055654832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731096211571375783.post-54622703296127336872015-08-05T12:56:00.000-04:002015-08-05T12:56:54.068-04:00Communion pt. 2<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">WARNING: GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS AHEAD</span></div>
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At the end of the finale of this past season on Game of Thrones, Jon Snow got stabbed. A lot. All the major sources are saying, "Yes, he's dead. As sure as Winter is coming, he is dead." Everyone is freaking out, thinking that the true hero is gone, but throughout the show we've seen resurrection. </div>
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A note that I've made on some forums about Jon Snow's death is this: You cannot have resurrection without death. This I got from 2 Corinthians 4.10: Always carrying in [our] body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.</div>
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We carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that we can carry his life as well. But how can we carry both life and death? Doesn't death come after life and death is final? No. Because we have the resurrection. And you cannot have resurrection, a permanent state, without death, turned from a permanent state into an non-permanent state because of the resurrection.</div>
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What does this have to do with communion?</div>
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Monday we looked at where Communion came from, and we ended with Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 11.26: For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.</div>
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Connecting this back to what was said on Monday, We proclaim the death of an innocent, a firstborn, we remember the sacrifice made, so that we could have life and freedom from slavery. </div>
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But it's more than that. The Passover celebration is a meal, a feast! Think Thanksgiving for Jews, but kosher, and with lamb. For the Jew's it's a time of celebration and anticipation; celebrating their deliverance, but also looking forward to the coming Messiah. For us, Christians, we take part in the feast every week now, and it's an act of remembrance of the sacrifice made for our deliverance, but ti's also a victory meal, still looking back at our deliverance and Jesus' triumph over sin!</div>
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So while we proclaim his death each time we take communion, we also celebrate his resurrection and his victory. Today I read 1 Corinthians 15. There are four distinct passages there. Three over resurrection proving that one, Christ <i>is</i> risen, we too shall rise with him, and that we will be given new bodies that will not perish. The final passage is about the victory over sin and death, which comes from the resurrection, from Christ's resurrection. If you truly believe in the Risen Christ then this is a cause for celebration! If you truly believe that you were completely condemned to death because of your sin this is cause for celebration! The resurrection of Christ opened the door for us to life! </div>
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And this is what we proclaim every time we take communion. </div>
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We remember where we were in our slavery to sin. We remember the sacrifice and death of Christ, which we proclaim by taking the bread which was broken like his body, and drinking the juice which was poured out like his blood. But we also celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which brings new life to us.</div>
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