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?

A Trinity of Help

Just read Romans 8:26-27: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

That's a familiar passage of comfort, but upon closer look with the help of a commentary...man, this passage has a depth of comfort that I have overlooked!

1. Intended translation: "God helps our weaknesses." He doesn't just help periodically when we need it, the idea is that we are weak consistently, and He is there to consistently help.

2. "Weaknesses" refers to physcial, emotioan, and spiritual needs. God's help is well-rounded and wholistic.

3. The Spirit "makes intercession for us with groaning" and the Father "knows what the mind of the Spirit is." This wordless exchange really shows the intimate intricacy of the Trinity. To complete the picture, the Son also intercedes for us (v.34).

How amazing is it that the entire Trinity is at work in helping me!

So often, I end up trying to live life alone in an attempt to please God. Instead, I need to realize that the Triune God is right there with me every step of the way--enabling a weakling like me to live strong for His glory.

Dirty Hands Can't Serve Anything. . .

This passage is traditionally thought of as the "I gotta go out and serve more passage" but I have a little bit different angle on this one.
John 13:1-17
. . . 4 So Jesus . . . began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” . . . 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. . . .

We need to allow God to "wash" us first before washing others feet. This washing is not only accepting his salvation, but also accepting his cleansing of our hearts on a daily basis. The simple fact is the more we allow him to cleanse us of, the better we are able to help serve others through biblical encouragement, prayer, loving attitudes, service with a joyful heart, etc. Our hearts more free of our selfish ways and desires when we are cleansed. So if we want to be the best servant leader we can be, as Jesus has commanded us, let us start with accepting and asking for His "washing" each morning of everyday. Then we can truly go out and wash other's feet--without dirty hands. Lord, thank you for cleansing, and help me to remember to accept and allow you to cleanse my heart everyday, Amen.

Hope

Romans 8:22-25

We were saved in hope of being adopted and of having a redeemed body. The word hope gives us a clue that it hasn't fully happened yet, because it goes on to say that you don't hope for something that you already see or have. That helps me make sense of the futility issue from earlier in the passage. Sure, there's futility--but we also have the hope of exchanging our fallen, futile body for a redeemed one!

One more word on hope that I recently learned in chapter 5 of Romans...it is not intended to be the flimsy word we use today: "I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow!" There is nothing uncertain about the Biblical use of hope--it is characterized by a confident trust that what has been promised WILL happen in time. That is why we should "eagerly wait" for our redeemed body with "perseverance."

The Hope of Futility

Romans 8:18-21

Whenever I had previously read about "creation being subject to futility", I only thought of inanimate creation...that's why trees die, that's why glaciers melt, that's why earthquakes and forest fires happen. This morning it struck me that I am also creation, and I am also subject to futility. Hmm...that makes sense given the frustrating last two weeks of my life. Cheater notes say that futility refers to the inability of all of creation (including me, I take it) to entirely fulfull God's original purpose because of man's sin. So three thoughts to carry with me into this day:

1. I should not be surprised when life seems completely futile--it's part of the effect of sin and under God's control (v.20). That realization can help stop the snowballing effect that Scott mentioned last night.
2. I should not lose heart when life is futile--v.18 reminds me that the sufferings of the present can't compare with the glories of what God will reveal (both in heaven and on earth). Realizing life's frustrations should immediately trigger the counter-thought of the glories God has in store.
3. In contrast to the "bondage of corruption" from sin...there is "glorious liberty" in being a child of God (v.21).

Fuel

This morning in the midst of my week of avoidance and snowballing laziness, I pulled away to reluctantly give God 5 minutes of my time as I ate a bowl of cereal. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening from the morning of August 28th stemmed from Exodus 25:6, "Oil for the light." Basically, the idea is that we need fuel from the Holy Spirit to shine brightly for God in this world. Spurgeon's last sentence resonated with me and definitely gave me the fuel that I needed for this day:
"Truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, love, these are all beams of the sacred light, but we cannot give them forth unless in private we receive oil from God the Holy Ghost." I desperately want to be a source of truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, and love in my daily life...but I can never do it on my own.

"God, help me to draw daily from the fuel of the Holy Spirit, that I may be equipped to bring You glory in every decision I make. Amen."

Thoughts from John 15

John 15
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 -8 . . . 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14-17...

Thought 1) God is the source of all true "fruit" in our lives. Fruit being personal growth on all fronts, as well as fruit in evangelism and increasing his kingdom in that way.

Thought 2) Obedience leads to overflowing joy. Why do I struggle with obedience then? Heartcheck on aisle 7. . . . how's my loving sacrificial service going?

Isaiah 55:10-11

The reading that I have been doing recently hasn't really done anything for me. I'm going into these times, not with a heart of doing it out of duty, but seeking wisdom. Unfortunately I'm not receiving the wisdom that I seek; at least not in the manner I expect to. This verse is encouraging to me that although I'm not getting the wisdom that I seek, I am soaking up knowledge that will be of use later.
Who knows better than God what I'll need in the future and prepares me for that need ahead of time.

I miss blogging

It's great to be back! I don't know why I can waste hours on the internet and not find my way to blogspot to post for 5 minutes. To me, that shows the power of spiritual blogging (splogging?). More often than not, things that are worth doing are not easy to do, especially from a spiritual perspective.

Romans 8:14
Although the contrast in Romans 6 about being a slave to God now that we are not slaves to sin makes sense, it feels like a concept that could use a sweater (creds to Waldo for the clever saying). Romans 8 brings the warmth by showing that we are actually adopted by God, and in a position to intimately call Him "Father." What a great picture. In a healthy father-son relationship, there is definitely an element of obedience and submission to authority, but it is not to the level of bondage or slavery. How great to know that that is our position with God--not a slave, but a son!

Did sleeping until evening help this man?

2 Samuel 11:1-2
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

This passage shows me how dangerous it can be to become idle or lazy. Not that it's bad to have downtime, but as David did here, it can be very dangerous for us to be lazy or bored in our lives. Often times it's these bored times that we get tempted and often as David did take the next step toward sinful destruction. His sin with Bathesheba led to murder, the death of their first born, and a curse upon his household. Lord, pray that we learn our lesson from this. Lord,
help me not to be lazy or idle in times where I should be active for you. But, if I do find myself in this state help me to resist the temptations that may come my way. In your name, amen.

God is faithful

I had a post about Deuteronomy 8:17-18 typed up for yesterday but it felt too forced, it felt false.
Today I'm not really thinking about any particular verse, I'm just thinking about following God's lead. Following Him when he tells you to do something, not telling you what you'll receive when you do it.

Psalm 3

My focus was mostly in the area of 3-5 but I read the whole chapter. Today I am feeling as though I took a misstep with God and these verses encourage me. The truth is I did what I felt led to do by God, so my feelings are misleading. That is the trouble with following your feelings, they can be manipulated and faked.
By acknowledging that the Lord is a shield around me I am acknowledging that I need protection. Just like salvation it is a free gift, however I feel as though you should still be aware of you need for protection so that you don't take it for granted. There are so many things in my daily life that I am protected from without my knowledge. It seems so trivial then when I whine and complain that I feel left alone and unprotected without knowing how much He truly is protecting me from.
Thank you God for protecting me against the unknown.

My plans vs. Gods plans

Jeremiah 29:10-14
There are actions and decisions that I look back on and wonder why. It seemed like such a good decision at the time, but looking back with clearer vision it blows me away on how wrong I was. Most of these decisions are the result of implied urgency. So, as opposed to going to God or seeking wise counsel, I decide with my human wants; Wanting to be liked, wanting to be a part of the group, to be on the inside. As opposed to taking a stand for what I would know is right, given time to think it over.
Verses like those I read today give me comfort in knowing that despite all my bad decisions, God still has a perfect plan for me. Plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future. We should all rejoice knowing God has these plans for us.
Lord, remind me daily to seek your plan for me. Encourage me in my search for that plan. Thank you God.