To know Jesus is to sit under his teaching.
To know Jesus is to follow his teachings.
To know Jesus is to be Jesus to others.
To know Jesus is to serve others.
To know Jesus is to rise up others.
To know Jesus is to lose self importance.
To know Jesus is to live.
To know Jesus is to know God.
The great mystery in knowing God is found in knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus begins with a step in faith.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
With Us
2 Chronicles 15:26b
The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
God is with us when we are with Him. When are we with God? We are with God when we gather together for worship. We are with God when we study His word alone and in private in order to hear His voice and will. We are with God when we act upon the things He has taught us in those moments. We are with God when we love Him as we should. We are with God when we love others through serving them and meeting their needs. We are with God when we take care of widows and orphans and don't allow ourselves to be corrupted by the world. We are with God when we pursue Him and His will, when we act upon His will we are with Him. God avails Himself to us when we seek Him, and when we seek Him we will find Him.
The opposite is also true, if we choose not to seek him, if we choose not to follow His ways, we will be rewarded with that pursuit also. Our reward will be our own folly. God won't abandon us or forsake us until we abandon Him first. Scripture tells us of His love for us. He loved us so much that he came seeking us. He made Himself available to us, that whoever, anyone, who believes in Him will not perish. He came seeking us first.
God is with us. We have to individually decide if we are going to be with Him. The choice to follow Him is an easy one, yet it seems so hard for many. Avail ourselves to Him, and in his grace and mercy we will be found.
When we seek Him we will find Him.
The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
God is with us when we are with Him. When are we with God? We are with God when we gather together for worship. We are with God when we study His word alone and in private in order to hear His voice and will. We are with God when we act upon the things He has taught us in those moments. We are with God when we love Him as we should. We are with God when we love others through serving them and meeting their needs. We are with God when we take care of widows and orphans and don't allow ourselves to be corrupted by the world. We are with God when we pursue Him and His will, when we act upon His will we are with Him. God avails Himself to us when we seek Him, and when we seek Him we will find Him.
The opposite is also true, if we choose not to seek him, if we choose not to follow His ways, we will be rewarded with that pursuit also. Our reward will be our own folly. God won't abandon us or forsake us until we abandon Him first. Scripture tells us of His love for us. He loved us so much that he came seeking us. He made Himself available to us, that whoever, anyone, who believes in Him will not perish. He came seeking us first.
God is with us. We have to individually decide if we are going to be with Him. The choice to follow Him is an easy one, yet it seems so hard for many. Avail ourselves to Him, and in his grace and mercy we will be found.
When we seek Him we will find Him.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Obstacles
In Romans 14, Paul tells us to make up our minds to not put any stumbling blocks or obstacles in our brothers way. Interesting choice of words. Make up your mind to not do something, means we are naturally inclined to do the very thing we don't want to do. We must make a conscious choice to do the right thing.
Anything we do deliberately that causes someone to unjustly feel pain, or suffer, or to otherwise negatively impact them is a stumbling block or obstacle. Here's an application of what we should do.
When it is in our power to encourage, we encourage.
When it is in our power to do good, do good.
When it is in our power to help, help.
When we do these things, we use our lives to point others to Christ. We become stumbling block and obstacle removers.
Anything we do deliberately that causes someone to unjustly feel pain, or suffer, or to otherwise negatively impact them is a stumbling block or obstacle. Here's an application of what we should do.
When it is in our power to encourage, we encourage.
When it is in our power to do good, do good.
When it is in our power to help, help.
When we do these things, we use our lives to point others to Christ. We become stumbling block and obstacle removers.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Theory and Reality
Proverbs 2
If you accept my words...
If you call out for insight...
If you look for it...
Then you will understand the fear of the LORD...
Then you will understand what is right and just...
Then you will walk in the ways of good men...
Romans 7:15
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Wisdom is there for the taking. Solomon laid out the path and the steps we need to take. Accept the words of God, live the teachings of Jesus and we will have wisdom. Call out for insight. Seek wisdom as a treasure hunter would pursue a long lost fortune, go on a quest for wisdom.
Look beyond self, look past personal importance, seek the greater gift to be shared. Then and only then will wisdom be found.
Remember, times and seasons of life come when we won't do the things we know we should do. We will hate what we do, and when that happens:
Accept His words...
Call out...
Search for it...
The we will:
Understand the fear of the LORD
Understand righteousness and justice
Walk with God and good men
When we forget, keep searching, we will find.
If you accept my words...
If you call out for insight...
If you look for it...
Then you will understand the fear of the LORD...
Then you will understand what is right and just...
Then you will walk in the ways of good men...
Romans 7:15
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Wisdom is there for the taking. Solomon laid out the path and the steps we need to take. Accept the words of God, live the teachings of Jesus and we will have wisdom. Call out for insight. Seek wisdom as a treasure hunter would pursue a long lost fortune, go on a quest for wisdom.
Look beyond self, look past personal importance, seek the greater gift to be shared. Then and only then will wisdom be found.
Remember, times and seasons of life come when we won't do the things we know we should do. We will hate what we do, and when that happens:
Accept His words...
Call out...
Search for it...
The we will:
Understand the fear of the LORD
Understand righteousness and justice
Walk with God and good men
When we forget, keep searching, we will find.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Three Things
Your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope. Faith produces works, love results in labor, and hope leads to endurance. These three, faith, hope, and love all come to us through Christ. When we obey, these three flow through us.
Faith in Jesus produces good works in us. Love from Jesus and for him prompts holy and righteous labor. Hope in Jesus results gives us the endurance to continue on.
As a Christ follower, the goal for me is to learn all I can and to grow all I can so that I may be available for the work God has prepared for me in advance. I don't grow for the sake of growing, I grow so that I may be useful in pointing others to Christ. Being a Christ follower means to do as he did.
He came, he healed, he taught, he died, he rose. He did that all out of love. He was and is the chosen one, the messiah. Never once did he deviate from his divine mission. He gave love because he is love. He gave hope because he is hope. He is faithful, and because of that we have faith. When we love God and love others we are love, hope, and faith to the world.
Faith in him leads to faith in others, love from him leads to loving others, hope in him brings hope to the world. Faith, hope, and love, three reasons we grow.
Faith in Jesus produces good works in us. Love from Jesus and for him prompts holy and righteous labor. Hope in Jesus results gives us the endurance to continue on.
As a Christ follower, the goal for me is to learn all I can and to grow all I can so that I may be available for the work God has prepared for me in advance. I don't grow for the sake of growing, I grow so that I may be useful in pointing others to Christ. Being a Christ follower means to do as he did.
He came, he healed, he taught, he died, he rose. He did that all out of love. He was and is the chosen one, the messiah. Never once did he deviate from his divine mission. He gave love because he is love. He gave hope because he is hope. He is faithful, and because of that we have faith. When we love God and love others we are love, hope, and faith to the world.
Faith in him leads to faith in others, love from him leads to loving others, hope in him brings hope to the world. Faith, hope, and love, three reasons we grow.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Trust
What is it that I and others trust in? Do we trust in the power of money? Do we trust in the power that we think money will provide us with? Do we desire the power we think money will provide? Recent economic circumstances have reduced fortunes great and small to shadows of their former glory. The answer is clear, wealth alone does not last and cannot be relied upon or trusted in.
Do we trust in our government and elected officials? This too seems to be folly, our leaders are no different from us. Vanity and ego's get in the way of potential, theirs and mine. We are more like than unlike, that makes trust tough. What then, is left to trust in? For me it's not what is left to trust in, it is who is left to trust in.
God is who he says he is. "I am who am." God does what he says he will do. God calls us to him. Do we listen for his voice, can we recognize his voice?
The Pharisees and Sadducee's were amazed by Jesus. They marvelled at his teachings and miracles. After they marvelled, scriptures tell us they left him and went away. (Mt 22:22) It's possible to marvel at Christ without following him. It's also possible to marvel and follow after him, trust this truth.
Do we trust in our government and elected officials? This too seems to be folly, our leaders are no different from us. Vanity and ego's get in the way of potential, theirs and mine. We are more like than unlike, that makes trust tough. What then, is left to trust in? For me it's not what is left to trust in, it is who is left to trust in.
God is who he says he is. "I am who am." God does what he says he will do. God calls us to him. Do we listen for his voice, can we recognize his voice?
The Pharisees and Sadducee's were amazed by Jesus. They marvelled at his teachings and miracles. After they marvelled, scriptures tell us they left him and went away. (Mt 22:22) It's possible to marvel at Christ without following him. It's also possible to marvel and follow after him, trust this truth.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Prayer
Prayer is an implicit part of the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. There are powerful mighty prayers in the text. Solomon dedicates the temple in prayer and celebration. His prayer goes on for 29 verses it is a prayer written and delivered by the wisest man who ever lived.
Examine the gospels, make a note on how many times Jesus went off to pray. He does it frequently, often, and with out end. His dying words were a prayer. "Forgive them Father." The disciples implored him to teach them to pray. Paul says to pray without ceasing.
Why then is it so hard to pray? The Pharisees would pray often, yet it seems the only benefit to their prayers were people thought them holy. They had daily prayers one which was something like this: Thank God I am not woman, slave, or gentile (non-Jew/sinner). That doesn't seem like much of a prayer.
Is it possible prayer is confused with a shopping list for God we say in desperation? Please God, don't let him/her/my parents find out what I've done. Please don't let me be pregnant, please don't let the drugs show up on the test, please hide my failings without consequences. Almost as if we want God to hide our misdeeds from those they will hurt so we will not be forced to deal with the damage the truth will cause.
Prayer is difficult. It confronts us with a Just and Holy God, whom we have nothing in common. He is perfect we are flawed. He is righteous we are unrighteous. He is just and we are unjust. Prayer brings us into a holiness we do not deserve to enter into. In prayer we pray for patience, we don't get it though. Instead God gives us situations to be patient in so that we mature. We ask God to change someone, he says no, you're the one who needs to change. We say yeah but look at them, they need to change. God says let me take care of them.
Prayer causes flaws to be illuminated. We are allowed in His presence by grace, that grace is given freely. His presence is where prayer takes us. In his presence we are confronted with two truths. We see the truth about us, more importantly we see the truth of Him. If we are truly listening all prayers are always answered, sometimes we don't like the answers, yet they are answered.
Prayer allows growth.
Examine the gospels, make a note on how many times Jesus went off to pray. He does it frequently, often, and with out end. His dying words were a prayer. "Forgive them Father." The disciples implored him to teach them to pray. Paul says to pray without ceasing.
Why then is it so hard to pray? The Pharisees would pray often, yet it seems the only benefit to their prayers were people thought them holy. They had daily prayers one which was something like this: Thank God I am not woman, slave, or gentile (non-Jew/sinner). That doesn't seem like much of a prayer.
Is it possible prayer is confused with a shopping list for God we say in desperation? Please God, don't let him/her/my parents find out what I've done. Please don't let me be pregnant, please don't let the drugs show up on the test, please hide my failings without consequences. Almost as if we want God to hide our misdeeds from those they will hurt so we will not be forced to deal with the damage the truth will cause.
Prayer is difficult. It confronts us with a Just and Holy God, whom we have nothing in common. He is perfect we are flawed. He is righteous we are unrighteous. He is just and we are unjust. Prayer brings us into a holiness we do not deserve to enter into. In prayer we pray for patience, we don't get it though. Instead God gives us situations to be patient in so that we mature. We ask God to change someone, he says no, you're the one who needs to change. We say yeah but look at them, they need to change. God says let me take care of them.
Prayer causes flaws to be illuminated. We are allowed in His presence by grace, that grace is given freely. His presence is where prayer takes us. In his presence we are confronted with two truths. We see the truth about us, more importantly we see the truth of Him. If we are truly listening all prayers are always answered, sometimes we don't like the answers, yet they are answered.
Prayer allows growth.
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