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!
e mërkurë, 26 shtator 2007
This week
I am going to be on a super-secret mission this weekend, so the regular study shall be postponed. Maybe all you guys could get together and have a sweet hang-out time or something.
e martë, 11 shtator 2007
Information!!
1) If anyone wants to change the time that we meet for group on Saturdays, please let me know. We're trying to move the meeting time back to about 11 am-3 pm. So if this time change would or wouldn't work for you, please chime in.
2) No reading for this week. You're welcome.
2) No reading for this week. You're welcome.
e martë, 4 shtator 2007
e diel, 2 shtator 2007
Reading for this week...
Judges 1-7. Taking notes will be useful to help you remember all that goes on in these chapters.
e premte, 31 gusht 2007
Looking for some vital signs
I have a question for us. It's a simple, honest-yet-important question:
Why are you guys still Christians? Or: Why do we still claim to be Christians?
Why are you guys still Christians? Or: Why do we still claim to be Christians?
e hënë, 27 gusht 2007
Reading for this week
Oh dang, we are in Joshua already! This week will have a meager 5 chapters of reading: chapters 1,2,6,7,8. Enjoy your week everybody, I hope to see you at the meeting.
UPDATE: Also, if any of you want to, I recommend reading Psalm 105 to see the people praise God for His providence and deliverance. I just read it today and it brought me to worship; I pray it does likewise to you.
UPDATE: Also, if any of you want to, I recommend reading Psalm 105 to see the people praise God for His providence and deliverance. I just read it today and it brought me to worship; I pray it does likewise to you.
e mërkurë, 22 gusht 2007
Forgiveness, Atonement, Intercession, and...Stuff
Without giving away too much of this week's discussion (as if I could possibly know or predict what we will be talking about!), a certain topic hit me today that I'll like to throw up and throw out to all ya'll.
Numbers 18:1-7 is perhaps the most amazing paragraph in the Bible. In this paragraph, God gives Israel a way to save them from Himself. To paraphrase: "I give you a priesthood so that I won't destroy you all."
So...why does God give Israel a priesthood? Why is it significant that God is the one who gives it to Israel? Let me tell you: once you understand the significance of this, then you can understand the gospel, your salvation, even Jesus.
Numbers 18:1-7 is perhaps the most amazing paragraph in the Bible. In this paragraph, God gives Israel a way to save them from Himself. To paraphrase: "I give you a priesthood so that I won't destroy you all."
So...why does God give Israel a priesthood? Why is it significant that God is the one who gives it to Israel? Let me tell you: once you understand the significance of this, then you can understand the gospel, your salvation, even Jesus.
e premte, 17 gusht 2007
Introduction to Numbers
This is a bit of review from last week:
So we are now (not us, but the Israelites) in the second year after the exodus from Egypt (10:11). After the Exodus, Israel went to Mt. Sinai and entered into the Mosaic covenant with God (Ex 19:5-6). This covenant was made with the nation of Israel, and it is a conditional covenant. The blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are now mediated by obedience to the Mosaic covenant; that is, by faithful obedience to God and His law, Israel will be blessed and be given the land God promised to their forefathers. God also gave Israel instructions for building the tabernacle, which was the center of Israel's religious practices. It was primarily God's dwelling place with His people, and religious practices like sacrifices and offerings were done there. So now we are on our way to the promised land!
So we are now (not us, but the Israelites) in the second year after the exodus from Egypt (10:11). After the Exodus, Israel went to Mt. Sinai and entered into the Mosaic covenant with God (Ex 19:5-6). This covenant was made with the nation of Israel, and it is a conditional covenant. The blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are now mediated by obedience to the Mosaic covenant; that is, by faithful obedience to God and His law, Israel will be blessed and be given the land God promised to their forefathers. God also gave Israel instructions for building the tabernacle, which was the center of Israel's religious practices. It was primarily God's dwelling place with His people, and religious practices like sacrifices and offerings were done there. So now we are on our way to the promised land!
e mërkurë, 15 gusht 2007
Meeting this week
After much head-scratching and thumb-twiddiling, a plan for this week's meeting has come about. We have tentatively planned on meeting at Sir Johnny the Buff's house around 3:00 in the afternoon, heading down to San Dimas to do a little hike, and then head back to Johnny's for some pizza. But that's not all! The real "meat" of the meeting is what we will be doing during the hike/meal.
We have given this meeting the theme of "conversation." We would like to use this meeting to stir up intentional, meaningful conversation amongst us. So, if this is not asking too much, it would be cool if we all could come with different things you'd like to talk about. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but we would like to hear what things in your life are confronting you, and we'd like to hear about them and talk about them (either events, issues, problems, back pains, etc.). You don't need a 12-page set of notes, complete with PowerPoint, but come ready to share and talk with others about what interests them. And please keep this night in prayer, as well as each of us.
We have given this meeting the theme of "conversation." We would like to use this meeting to stir up intentional, meaningful conversation amongst us. So, if this is not asking too much, it would be cool if we all could come with different things you'd like to talk about. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but we would like to hear what things in your life are confronting you, and we'd like to hear about them and talk about them (either events, issues, problems, back pains, etc.). You don't need a 12-page set of notes, complete with PowerPoint, but come ready to share and talk with others about what interests them. And please keep this night in prayer, as well as each of us.
Tear...
The saddest verse in the entire Bible (thus far)...
Numbers 14:4 "So they said to one another, 'Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.'"
Any thoughts?
Numbers 14:4 "So they said to one another, 'Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.'"
Any thoughts?
e hënë, 13 gusht 2007
For this week...
There will be no required reading this week. We will still meet, but it will be a night with a different focus. However, if anyone wants to start reading early, the reading for next week is Numbers 11-14, 16, 18:1-7, 20, 25. Also, if you are not going to be able to make it to this week's meeting (or any meeting for that matter), feel free to let me know so that we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for any new info!
e martë, 7 gusht 2007
Exodus study #3
I don't have all the chapters picked out yet, but I'll give you what I have now.
Read: chapters 16, 17, 19, 20, 23:20-33, 40:34-38. These chapters are subject to change, but these are good for now.
Read: chapters 16, 17, 19, 20, 23:20-33, 40:34-38. These chapters are subject to change, but these are good for now.
e hënë, 6 gusht 2007
Remember
At the last meeting, one of the major themese I tried to stress was "remembrance." God wanted Israel to remember their deliverance from Egypt, so He set up a couple of festivals they would hold yearly to remember what God had done for them. Sweet.
There was a side point I wanted to add to the discussion that I felt was very pertinent to the discussion. In my reading last week, I came across a passage that takes the concept of remembrance and really drives it home for us Christians. See the passage below, 2 Peter 1:2-9:
"2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."
I hope that if you understood what Peter is writing about, you nearly choked like I did. Could it be that I am not being spiritually formed because I have forgotten my salvation, my cleansing of sins? C'mon Pete, you can't be serious! But really, could it be that we do not fully understand our salvation, what we have been saved from, and what we are heading towards?
There was a side point I wanted to add to the discussion that I felt was very pertinent to the discussion. In my reading last week, I came across a passage that takes the concept of remembrance and really drives it home for us Christians. See the passage below, 2 Peter 1:2-9:
"2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."
I hope that if you understood what Peter is writing about, you nearly choked like I did. Could it be that I am not being spiritually formed because I have forgotten my salvation, my cleansing of sins? C'mon Pete, you can't be serious! But really, could it be that we do not fully understand our salvation, what we have been saved from, and what we are heading towards?
e premte, 3 gusht 2007
Contact (not that lame movie)
Like I promised at the last meeting, here's the post where we can post all of our "other" contact info (AIM, MySpace messenger, etc.). I can be reached on AIM under the name theekevy (I'm not creative). Please add yours so we can hassle you more often!
e martë, 31 korrik 2007
Don't Be Vague; Name Your Plague!
Hey guys -
What's you're favorite plague? I've gotta say, something about killer golf-ball sized hail just makes me shake my head in wonder. It must have been a warzone in Egypt.
How about you?
What's you're favorite plague? I've gotta say, something about killer golf-ball sized hail just makes me shake my head in wonder. It must have been a warzone in Egypt.
How about you?
Abonohu te:
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