The Sermon on the Mount

Focusing in on Matthew 5:3 I needed to be reminded of this today. In some ways I am at the end of my rope, I do rate myself as insignificant, I am weak in spirit. The application of this verse is going to be the real struggle with me. I can see that I am in a place for serious application, I just cannot see how to apply.

1 Peter 4 Points

1 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.[a] 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. . . .
7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Vs1- When we daily decide to obey God in a fallen world, and pick up his cross daily, we are essentially deciding not to live in sin today. Lord, help us to be disciplined in focused in maintaing this. Vs7- Prayer discipline is important to our walks with Christ. Vs10&11- God's given us a gift, let us exercise it for his glory with strength and energy, with passion. let's not hide our light, but use it. AMEN

Ashamed?

Romans 10:11 pulls a hybrid quote out of Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 49:23: "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." That's cool...but why do I often feel shame as a Christian? It's easy for me feel ashamed when my lifestyle is so different than that of my unbelieving friends. However, if I stop and think about it, it's NOT that I'm put to shame for believing on Christ, it's that I am ashamed of Christ. How ridiculous. When I am ashamed of Christ, it's because my focus is on pleasing man and not pleasing God. If I go about my life with a God-centered, eternal perspective, I will have no reason to fear and no reason to be ashamed. That doesn't mean that others will always love me and never criticize me, but it means that my hope is placed in something that will not let me down, that will not shame me. When my life on earth is over and I stand before God, I won't be put to shame because I have believed in Christ!

Some Hebrews 4 Takeaways

HEBREWS 4:12-16
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Several good reminders here. 1) In vs. 12, a good reminder of the importance of reading God's word consistently, to tap into his power, to understand him and also our OWN THOUGHTS AND DESIRES. Much like a dating relationship is like a mirror into ourselves, I believe really studying the word of God can be that for us as well- exposing our true selves and our need for a savior on a moment by moment basis. 2) In vs. 16, encouragement in realizing how our High Priest wants to be intimately connected to us. He understands us, and wants to continually give us mercy and grace WHEN WE NEED IT MOST, especially. Amen. Think about that and really let that soak in. Praise you Lord for your word, and for your Great High Priest, AMEN!

Unsettled but undaunted

I haven't been blogging my recent quiet times because I haven't been able to wrap my arms around them. Reading through Romans 9 with a deeper study has actually been disturbing. Trying to understand how God can predestine people to accept or reject Him doesn't fit with what I want to believe...that people choose to accept or reject God on their own. However, that is a dangerous view, because it gives too much power and authority to man. Maybe one of the lessons that God has for me in all of this is to enlarge my view of Him and shrink my view of myself. So, while it's been frustrating to not "get" all that I'm reading, there are some things that have been clear:

1. I do not believe that I, nor anyone else, will fully grasp the infinite concepts of an eternal God's prerogative with our finite, carnal minds.
2. I do not believe that my inability to understand everything about God's character and actions jeopardizes my salvation or my determination to follow what I do understand--that my main goal is to bring glory to Him.
3. I have less time to focus on myself and my silly earthly distractions when my mind is occupied with trying to understand the eternal God! For that, I'm thankful.

The Mystery of God's Blessing

So often I try to tie God's blessing to my actions: "if I do good, God blesses; if I do bad, God withholds blessings." I tend to micromanage this down to, "I did good this week, that's why God blessed me with a good weekend." I'm sure at some level this principle works, but today's passage really opened up my eyes to the fact that God's blessing on a global scale is up to His sovereignty, NOT our merits. Romans 9:10-12 makes it clear that God chose to bless Jacob in a way that he did not bless his brother Esau--not, because of their merits, but because that was how He had planned it.

Who can understand why God would chose to bless one brother and not the other? Does this make God some cosmic bully? No, I'm sure the context of the passage will show otherwise. Yet, it did really put me in my place this morning: my life is less about "me" and my decisions than I often think. My life is in God's hands. He allows me to participate and make choices and bring glory to Him; but on the whole, He has planned and prearranged the whole of my life by His own choosing.

I don't feel that I can fully grasp this concept--God's ways truly are higher than our ways. However, what I can understand is my need to have a smaller view of myself, a bigger view of God, and a thankfulness for all He has chosen to bless me with--not because I'm a good guy, but because He's a gracious God.

A reminder of who and where I am in Christ

1 John 2:28
It'll never replace run your race to the finish for me, but the reminder that I am a child of Christ and I need to continue with him, not the other way around, is always a good thing. I'd like to appear unashamed before my Savior at His return, and I'd like to see you guys there too.

Crazy or Christ-like?

In Romans 9:3, Paul basically says that he would rather be condemned to hell by Christ in place of his unbelieving friends and relatives. Wow. I've heard of being willing to die for someone else, but this seems to take it up a notch...to be willing to be separated from Christ, to be willing to spend eternity in damnation. Is he crazy for saying this? Does this expose some sort of weak love of Christ that is overpowered by his love for fellow man? Or, is he Christ-like at this pinnacle of self-sacrifice? What Paul is "wishing" for is really what Christ did for us--He was condemned in our place.

Although the switch isn't possible, maybe this is the heart attitude that it takes to truly be an effective witness for Christ...to love others and want to spare them from condemnation so much, that you'd be willing to take the hit for them. Again with the wow. Would I honestly be willing to make that switch for the sake of an unbeliever?