Are we as good at showing grace as God would have us? Probably not. However, it's time we start putting off the old and putting on the new. (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 2:15) We can no longer be the people who make others run from the church screaming. In times of desperation "the lost" should be able to run into the arms of the body of Christ and find peace, not judgment. In times of joy they should be able to run to the body and find rejoicing, not dissecting to see if indeed this is from God.
Read John 9
One major thing that strikes me about this is the Pharisees discussing if Jesus sinned because he healed a man on the Sabbath. Is it not funny that God was present before them and they could not see it because they were too caught up in rules,regulations, and traditions?
Ask God if you failed to see Him because of these reasons. I know I have.
Notice too the man's parents were called to the temple, but they failed to answer boldly because they knew of the backlash that would come if they did. I see a striking parallel with this church and the church of today.
The Pharisees called the man to them again, and when he spoke the truth (John 9:25-33) they cast him out. How many have we turned away?
We have to have a heart for the world. We cannot expect a Godless world to abide by Biblical standards.(Luke 23:34)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Separate from others?
Read Romans 8:1-17
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
I wondered for sometime if Christianity was different from other religions. It seemed different, but I couldn't put my finger on it, until I read a story about C.S. Lewis. It was about a group of scholars that were in a large hall debating the difference between Christianity and other religions. These scholars debating for hours until C.S. Lewis finally showed up and asked them what the were debating. When they told him he said; "Oh that's easy. It's grace." then he walked out. The rest of the story is unknown, to me at least, but I can't imagine there was a whole lot to talk about after that. The notion that we as Christians only have to believe that He died on the cross (John 3:16-17) for us is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. We as humans want to complicate and over analyze....what a waste of time.
This life is not for sitting around waiting for something to happen, or feeling guilty about past transgressions, or fighting about the rightness and wrongness of what we think Christianity should be. It is about Christ dieing for us and us receiving the grace we don't deserving.
Questions:
1. What other religions apply grace?
2. Are you receiving grace?
3. Are you showing grace to others?
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
I wondered for sometime if Christianity was different from other religions. It seemed different, but I couldn't put my finger on it, until I read a story about C.S. Lewis. It was about a group of scholars that were in a large hall debating the difference between Christianity and other religions. These scholars debating for hours until C.S. Lewis finally showed up and asked them what the were debating. When they told him he said; "Oh that's easy. It's grace." then he walked out. The rest of the story is unknown, to me at least, but I can't imagine there was a whole lot to talk about after that. The notion that we as Christians only have to believe that He died on the cross (John 3:16-17) for us is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. We as humans want to complicate and over analyze....what a waste of time.
This life is not for sitting around waiting for something to happen, or feeling guilty about past transgressions, or fighting about the rightness and wrongness of what we think Christianity should be. It is about Christ dieing for us and us receiving the grace we don't deserving.
Questions:
1. What other religions apply grace?
2. Are you receiving grace?
3. Are you showing grace to others?
Monday, November 3, 2008
Translation buffet part Dos
Reread Matthew 4:4-10
The first part of this scripture is quite the smack in the face if I do say so myself.
4You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
Being the world’s friend is being an enemy of God? Ouch! Is it not easy as Christians to become complacent? Don’t we long to be accepted by our peers, or even admired? I am guilty of wanting this for myself. I wish my first thoughts were always to God, but they are not. I know that with the recent political buzz in the air Christians are torn on who to vote for. This is baffling to me because I don’t see a gray area. It is not OK for us to allow the abortions of anymore babies in this country. One candidate says it’s fine; one candidate says everyone deserves life. I agree with the latter and this is NOT well embraced by the world. Is it OK for a Christian to say; “well the president has nothing to do with that subject so I am voting for the one who is pro-choice anyway.” I am sorry NO. We cannot serve two masters.
How can we ask God for forgiveness when our heart is in the world? I don’t believe we can. The proud try to balance the sides by having a foot in the world and a foot in the kingdom. Little do they know they don’t have any place in the kingdom. God’s word clearly states; God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it). (B) James 4:6. I don’t know if anyone has noticed how hard it can be to say sorry to someone, it is a very humbling experience. I think that as Christians we have gotten away from feeling that our sins grieve the heart of God so we are moving further away from humbling ourselves. The world justifies sin, and so do we. We are not justified in sinning against a God who put himself on the chopping block to save us from eternal hell.
Thankfully God is a God who slow to anger, and abounding in love, Psalm 103:8, we can put our hope in Him who give grace to us.
The first part of this scripture is quite the smack in the face if I do say so myself.
4You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
Being the world’s friend is being an enemy of God? Ouch! Is it not easy as Christians to become complacent? Don’t we long to be accepted by our peers, or even admired? I am guilty of wanting this for myself. I wish my first thoughts were always to God, but they are not. I know that with the recent political buzz in the air Christians are torn on who to vote for. This is baffling to me because I don’t see a gray area. It is not OK for us to allow the abortions of anymore babies in this country. One candidate says it’s fine; one candidate says everyone deserves life. I agree with the latter and this is NOT well embraced by the world. Is it OK for a Christian to say; “well the president has nothing to do with that subject so I am voting for the one who is pro-choice anyway.” I am sorry NO. We cannot serve two masters.
How can we ask God for forgiveness when our heart is in the world? I don’t believe we can. The proud try to balance the sides by having a foot in the world and a foot in the kingdom. Little do they know they don’t have any place in the kingdom. God’s word clearly states; God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it). (B) James 4:6. I don’t know if anyone has noticed how hard it can be to say sorry to someone, it is a very humbling experience. I think that as Christians we have gotten away from feeling that our sins grieve the heart of God so we are moving further away from humbling ourselves. The world justifies sin, and so do we. We are not justified in sinning against a God who put himself on the chopping block to save us from eternal hell.
Thankfully God is a God who slow to anger, and abounding in love, Psalm 103:8, we can put our hope in Him who give grace to us.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Translation Buffet Part Uno
In reading James 4:4-10 I decided that I wasn't fully understanding the context of what I was reading, so on Bible.com I read a few different versions. This is so helpful because I am able to see the scripture in a bigger way...I wish I could understand the King James version, but I am not quite well read enough to even know what "doth" means. If anyone does know what this word means by all means send me a note. :) So I have put a few different translations of James 4:4-10 below.
1. Amplified Bible
4You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
5Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?(A)
6But He gives us more and more grace ([a]power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).(B)
7So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.
8Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
9[As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].
10Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
2.New Living Translation
4 You adulterers![a] Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?[b] 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”[c]
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
3. The Message
4 -6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."
7 -10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
OK! Are your eyes crossing? I had to present at least three, because there are two words that really stick out to me that do NOT get lost in translation. The first, of course is grace, the second is humble. Look back on 4:6 all three translations use those two words. Let's look at humble, in order to receive grace we must be humble. What does humble mean? The definition that I found was: meek. Great! Lets look at what meek means: easily managed or handled. Is that bringing into context Matthew 5:5? "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" If we allow ourselves to be "easily managed or handled" by God than we will easily come under His authority and His grace. If we are proud of our sin can we be forgiven? The answers is clearly no.
1. Amplified Bible
4You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
5Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?(A)
6But He gives us more and more grace ([a]power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).(B)
7So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.
8Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
9[As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].
10Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
2.New Living Translation
4 You adulterers![a] Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?[b] 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”[c]
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
3. The Message
4 -6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."
7 -10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
OK! Are your eyes crossing? I had to present at least three, because there are two words that really stick out to me that do NOT get lost in translation. The first, of course is grace, the second is humble. Look back on 4:6 all three translations use those two words. Let's look at humble, in order to receive grace we must be humble. What does humble mean? The definition that I found was: meek. Great! Lets look at what meek means: easily managed or handled. Is that bringing into context Matthew 5:5? "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" If we allow ourselves to be "easily managed or handled" by God than we will easily come under His authority and His grace. If we are proud of our sin can we be forgiven? The answers is clearly no.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Labor pains
I saw this video and I could not believe she was singing this well while in labor! I am soooooo impressed. I started wondering what this could do with grace. It came to me as I watched it a second time. Looking at her face it's clear she is having a contraction yet her voice is so steady. In pain, but relying completely on God to get her through. Isn't that what His grace does? It gets us through that pain. Knowing that His grace is there is not a reason to sin, but it is the reason to be victorious over sin. Just like we become victorious at the end of child birth. Is that a stretch? I hope not. There's a lot of pain and transition in this life. Sometimes there are breaks in the pain, she keeps singing, so should we, the pain comes and stays awhile, but she keeps singing, so should we. At the end there is joyous celebration at the arrival of this little soul...Isn't it the same with our Heavenly Father? When we arrive in the presence of Him the rejoicing of our homecoming will be tremendous. But why? Do we deserve it? No. However His blood covers us and because of that we do.
Pause my music on the bottom and listen to her sing!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Grace smells good?
Read Exodus 30:23-25 & 30:34
As I have found throughout my studies into grace there is Biblical Numerology that I was quite unaware of. Or course I knew that 3 & 7 were good, but I didn't quite understand why. I had heard that the number 8 stood for "new beginnings" and it does, i.e. 8 people on Noah's Ark (2 Pet. 2:5); circumcision on 8th day (Gen. 17:12); God made 8 covenants with Abraham. It struck a personal chord because when Micah was born he weighed 8lbs 8oz. Little did I know at the time my heavenly Father was still trying to show me His grace even though I was giving birth to a baby out of wedlock, and living with a man who did not have a biological relation to my son.
I have found that the number 5 represents grace. So here's what it says: Not only did Israel come out of Egypt 5 in rank (Ex 13:18), David picked up 5 stones to fight Goliath (1 Sam. 17:40). I have also come across the fact that anointing oil and incense were both made up of 5 ingredients. The incense was made with 4 sweet spices and 1 part salt, the oil was made 4 parts spices and 1 part oil. This is important because if you look at the number 4 it is the number of creation, the number 1 is the number of unity(one Lord). If the 4 ingredients did not have the 5th component they would not bind, and would be useless. I know the same is true for us. Where would we be without the Lord? Where would we be if He didn't cover us with His grace? I'm sure that I don't ever want to know, but I thank Him for allowing me to look back on my screw-ups and not cringe as much as I used to. I'm not completely at ease with who I was, but I am with who I'm becoming in Him. We no longer have a need for oil and incense like they used to, but it can't hurt to go back and look at how precious these were to those who loved the Lord. It was something tangible that was worth quite a lot. Have we gotten away from seeing Him as so precious because we don't have an offering to give that is as worth as much as a years wage? Do we take Him for granted because He gave us the ultimate gift and asked nothing in return?
OK so I may be taking bunny trails, but I am hoping all this will be a start to thinking about the complexities of the Lord, and just how truly amazing His grace is.
As I have found throughout my studies into grace there is Biblical Numerology that I was quite unaware of. Or course I knew that 3 & 7 were good, but I didn't quite understand why. I had heard that the number 8 stood for "new beginnings" and it does, i.e. 8 people on Noah's Ark (2 Pet. 2:5); circumcision on 8th day (Gen. 17:12); God made 8 covenants with Abraham. It struck a personal chord because when Micah was born he weighed 8lbs 8oz. Little did I know at the time my heavenly Father was still trying to show me His grace even though I was giving birth to a baby out of wedlock, and living with a man who did not have a biological relation to my son.
I have found that the number 5 represents grace. So here's what it says: Not only did Israel come out of Egypt 5 in rank (Ex 13:18), David picked up 5 stones to fight Goliath (1 Sam. 17:40). I have also come across the fact that anointing oil and incense were both made up of 5 ingredients. The incense was made with 4 sweet spices and 1 part salt, the oil was made 4 parts spices and 1 part oil. This is important because if you look at the number 4 it is the number of creation, the number 1 is the number of unity(one Lord). If the 4 ingredients did not have the 5th component they would not bind, and would be useless. I know the same is true for us. Where would we be without the Lord? Where would we be if He didn't cover us with His grace? I'm sure that I don't ever want to know, but I thank Him for allowing me to look back on my screw-ups and not cringe as much as I used to. I'm not completely at ease with who I was, but I am with who I'm becoming in Him. We no longer have a need for oil and incense like they used to, but it can't hurt to go back and look at how precious these were to those who loved the Lord. It was something tangible that was worth quite a lot. Have we gotten away from seeing Him as so precious because we don't have an offering to give that is as worth as much as a years wage? Do we take Him for granted because He gave us the ultimate gift and asked nothing in return?
OK so I may be taking bunny trails, but I am hoping all this will be a start to thinking about the complexities of the Lord, and just how truly amazing His grace is.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The unfairness of grace?
Read Matthew 20
This parable of the workers makes me cringe to be quite honest with you. I am a person who likes fairness. Not in the way of revenge, but in the way that when you work hard you get what you deserve. It's only fair, right? If you read this story literally you might see that not only is the owner of the vineyard a terrible business man, he really could care less that some workers have been slaving in the sun all day long. It's seems a little odd. However Jesus was not trying to give us a lesson in economics, as the first sentence states, (which I overlooked the first time I read through this) he was trying to show us the kingdom of heaven.
Look at it this way: The landowner went out in the early morning seeking people to employ, parallel that with Jesus being in constant pursuit of us. The landowner did not tell the people they had to work for him, he offered them work, again paralleling that Christ forces us to do nothing we choose Him out of our own freewill. Some people go to work for the landowner early in the morning, and others are called throughout the day, all the while being promised to be paid a denaruis. Side note: a denarius was a common day's pay for the time of Jesus. If we look at the lives of those who have chosen to follow Christ they do not all start at the same time. Some are young and work for Him their whole life, some do not receive him till the 11th hour and yet none of that matters to Him, all are welcome to spend eternity with the Savior. At the end of the day all the workers received the same pay, and the end of our lives we will all be in the same heaven.
In my humanness I struggle with this. Oh it's so easy to say I can't wait to see my grandpa in heaven and meet my ancestors, but I do struggle with the notion that murderers, molesters, rapists, and "major sinners" have full access too. His grace covers all of it. I wondered if this was fair, but then I look at it from a parental point of view. Could I allow one of my kids into heaven and not the other just because one was more naughty than the other? No, and God is the same. As long as Jesus becomes savior and lord of our life we will be with Him. John 14:6 Redeeming, unfailing, beautiful grace.
Please know that the scripture I just referred to goes way deeper than I let it. I don't think God is stuck on us seeing things only one way, He's just too big for that.
This parable of the workers makes me cringe to be quite honest with you. I am a person who likes fairness. Not in the way of revenge, but in the way that when you work hard you get what you deserve. It's only fair, right? If you read this story literally you might see that not only is the owner of the vineyard a terrible business man, he really could care less that some workers have been slaving in the sun all day long. It's seems a little odd. However Jesus was not trying to give us a lesson in economics, as the first sentence states, (which I overlooked the first time I read through this) he was trying to show us the kingdom of heaven.
Look at it this way: The landowner went out in the early morning seeking people to employ, parallel that with Jesus being in constant pursuit of us. The landowner did not tell the people they had to work for him, he offered them work, again paralleling that Christ forces us to do nothing we choose Him out of our own freewill. Some people go to work for the landowner early in the morning, and others are called throughout the day, all the while being promised to be paid a denaruis. Side note: a denarius was a common day's pay for the time of Jesus. If we look at the lives of those who have chosen to follow Christ they do not all start at the same time. Some are young and work for Him their whole life, some do not receive him till the 11th hour and yet none of that matters to Him, all are welcome to spend eternity with the Savior. At the end of the day all the workers received the same pay, and the end of our lives we will all be in the same heaven.
In my humanness I struggle with this. Oh it's so easy to say I can't wait to see my grandpa in heaven and meet my ancestors, but I do struggle with the notion that murderers, molesters, rapists, and "major sinners" have full access too. His grace covers all of it. I wondered if this was fair, but then I look at it from a parental point of view. Could I allow one of my kids into heaven and not the other just because one was more naughty than the other? No, and God is the same. As long as Jesus becomes savior and lord of our life we will be with Him. John 14:6 Redeeming, unfailing, beautiful grace.
Please know that the scripture I just referred to goes way deeper than I let it. I don't think God is stuck on us seeing things only one way, He's just too big for that.
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