e hënë, 29 tetor 2007
e hënë, 22 tetor 2007
Choice time
Ok guys, here's the deal: We were invited over to Danny Shibley's house (you guys remember him?) this Saturday for food and a movie. I don't know what time yet, but we've been invited. Is this something you guys will be able to go to, or should we still have the usual group/study time? PLEASE reply with your input.
e shtunë, 20 tetor 2007
Hell and why I don't have to go there.
This will be a (hopefully) brief reflection on forgiveness, centered on Ephesians 2:4-7 -
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trangessions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Please take the time to read the above verses; otherwise, the following thoughts really have no meaning.
I am very distraught, friends. I did it again: I looked at something online I had no right to look at. I have to ask myself questions like, what is wrong with me? and it really begs the question why do I claim to serve Christ? and what could He possibly see in me?
I've lost my edge; I'm a dull blade lately. I can feel compassion, caring for others' spiritual lives, fire for God's will, ebbing away. My mind is centered around conquests: money, art project, looking good, impressing others, tv shows, owning things.
How embarrassing I'm telling all of you this. I thought I was walking with God, you guys were relying on me, I had a future in Christ. Now, I'm running on 6 months of undefeated sin and downhill slope. And I wonder, is it too late for me? Am I a lost cause, a man who will never fall under God's order and work for the coming kingdom?
It's a little hard to believe right now, but God's word tells me otherwise. If you read all of chapter 2, you will discover that we used to live as I live now: we were dead in our sins. This provides a background for verse 4 which begins, "But God..."
When I'm dead in my trangressions, the first person to make a move is God. Read on.
"...rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...":
Yes. You read right. Rich in mercy toward the dead men. A great love for transgessors.
In verse 5 "made us alive together in Christ":
He gave us life in Christ. Let's put this on hold for a second.
Verse 6 "...raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus...":
Putting aside that Christ died to save us, we must note that Christ in God's eyes is the apple of His eye, the perfect son who obeyed his every wish. To be seated next to the son of honor, to share his company, this is the greatest acceptance the Lord could give. It would be like inviting the man who killed your wife to her funeral. It's unthinkable.
7 "...so that in ages to come...":
And this kind of good treatment never ends. It's a future-planned future-oriented relationship. He has more of His love in store for us, forever and ever et al.
Why me?
I said store away "alive in Christ," so here's one possible idea for that meaning: alive in Christ s as in awoken to His spirit. When my own life, my own actions, my own thoughts are of such imprisoning evil, and I cry out to Him, He saves me, breathes life in. He dwells inside me, o wretched man that I am. He graces me with His presence, His thoughts, His strength, His love.
So much for brevity. Thank you all for your prayers and friendship. If you can, leave me a message this week and let me know you are praying for me. I will do my best to do the same for you.
God bless.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trangessions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Please take the time to read the above verses; otherwise, the following thoughts really have no meaning.
I am very distraught, friends. I did it again: I looked at something online I had no right to look at. I have to ask myself questions like, what is wrong with me? and it really begs the question why do I claim to serve Christ? and what could He possibly see in me?
I've lost my edge; I'm a dull blade lately. I can feel compassion, caring for others' spiritual lives, fire for God's will, ebbing away. My mind is centered around conquests: money, art project, looking good, impressing others, tv shows, owning things.
How embarrassing I'm telling all of you this. I thought I was walking with God, you guys were relying on me, I had a future in Christ. Now, I'm running on 6 months of undefeated sin and downhill slope. And I wonder, is it too late for me? Am I a lost cause, a man who will never fall under God's order and work for the coming kingdom?
It's a little hard to believe right now, but God's word tells me otherwise. If you read all of chapter 2, you will discover that we used to live as I live now: we were dead in our sins. This provides a background for verse 4 which begins, "But God..."
When I'm dead in my trangressions, the first person to make a move is God. Read on.
"...rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...":
Yes. You read right. Rich in mercy toward the dead men. A great love for transgessors.
In verse 5 "made us alive together in Christ":
He gave us life in Christ. Let's put this on hold for a second.
Verse 6 "...raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus...":
Putting aside that Christ died to save us, we must note that Christ in God's eyes is the apple of His eye, the perfect son who obeyed his every wish. To be seated next to the son of honor, to share his company, this is the greatest acceptance the Lord could give. It would be like inviting the man who killed your wife to her funeral. It's unthinkable.
7 "...so that in ages to come...":
And this kind of good treatment never ends. It's a future-planned future-oriented relationship. He has more of His love in store for us, forever and ever et al.
Why me?
I said store away "alive in Christ," so here's one possible idea for that meaning: alive in Christ s as in awoken to His spirit. When my own life, my own actions, my own thoughts are of such imprisoning evil, and I cry out to Him, He saves me, breathes life in. He dwells inside me, o wretched man that I am. He graces me with His presence, His thoughts, His strength, His love.
So much for brevity. Thank you all for your prayers and friendship. If you can, leave me a message this week and let me know you are praying for me. I will do my best to do the same for you.
God bless.
e diel, 14 tetor 2007
Let's have seconds of 1 Samuel, shall we?
For this week, we are blessed with reading 1 Samuel 15; 16; 17 (David vs. Goliath!); 24; 28; 31.
**Scheduling conflicts seem to be our new motto. How is everyone's schedule looking for this Saturday? Please reply with your timeframe for meeting this week.
**Scheduling conflicts seem to be our new motto. How is everyone's schedule looking for this Saturday? Please reply with your timeframe for meeting this week.
e hënë, 1 tetor 2007
The moment we've all been waiting for....
READING FOR THIS WEEEK!
Wipe the dust off your little Bibles, we're getting back to the study! This week we are going to be in 1 Samuel. We are going to go through chapters: 1, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13:1-14. We're planning on meeting sometime around 5:00 in the afternoon, which is a bit later than usual. It might do ya'll some good to read the other chapters once or twice to get a better flow for what goes on; if you don't, that's ok, I'll post later in the week with a summary of the events in the other chapters. Let's do it!
Wipe the dust off your little Bibles, we're getting back to the study! This week we are going to be in 1 Samuel. We are going to go through chapters: 1, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13:1-14. We're planning on meeting sometime around 5:00 in the afternoon, which is a bit later than usual. It might do ya'll some good to read the other chapters once or twice to get a better flow for what goes on; if you don't, that's ok, I'll post later in the week with a summary of the events in the other chapters. Let's do it!
Abonohu te:
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