Category: Bible

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Grace

“If you meet a person who cannot get over your past, you meet a person that doesn’t understand the love of Jesus Christ.”

That’s a powerful statement.

Over the past few years, I’ve been in situations that, if I were honest, have in some ways skewed my view of God. It wasn’t intentional — the people involved didn’t mean for it to happen the way it did and I didn’t look at the situations as being something that would shape my view of Him. It just happened. Lots of things can cause this in life: things don’t turn out the way we think they should, people say things that are incorrect but we take them to heart, the list could go on and on. The quote I lead this post with is from a teaching series I’ve recently listened to on dating (side note: I was actually opposed to listening to it but glad I listened, as I discovered a lot of truth outside of dating) but it’s completely valid outside the dating scope. None are perfect, all have fallen short of the glory of God. I think that quote can be read quickly, liked my many, and never taken to heart.

I’ve heard it said that we always want to receive grace (from God, friends, family, etc) but we’re pretty reluctant to give grace. I’m noticing that a lot of the times my lack of certain gifts of the Spirit (like love, joy, peace, and patience) really has a lot to do with grace. I’m not going to really develop that further other than to say that we’re called to be examples of Christ (Christ-like), showing his heart for people. When we’re not walking in the Spirit, it shapes other’s view of who God is. Even those who have a strong walk, and especially if they aren’t plugged into life-giving people can be affected.

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Why Did the Nations Rage?

I read Psalm 2 tonight, and then it was crossed referenced with Acts 4:23:31. Using the NKJV this time.

And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.’

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

The Amplified says, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.” Earlier in the prayer it says with full freedom to declare God’s message. That is what I want, full freedom and boldness. Christ has called us to proclaim His name, and spread his love and glory everywhere. There are those in other countries literally laying down their lives, and we’re often times too scared about what a classmate or coworker may say if we proclaim Jesus name. We have to become knowledgeable about the things of God — ignorance is no excuse, especially since we have the Word of God.

We need a passionate army for Christ.

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Encouragements

I've been pretty silent on The Da Vinci Code debate. It honestly doesn't interest me that much. If it was historically accurate it does sound like it'd be interesting (although how can you make something that far out accurate?). Honestly, just reading 1st and 2nd Kings is some of the best reading in the world. It's awesome. That's besides the point I'm getting at though. One of the largest reasons why I do not wish to read this book is the fact that is tries to confuse fact with fiction. This is actual a great tactic for governments trying to brainwash someone. If you can confuse someone about what is good and what is evil, your job is MUCH easier. For example: say you wreck your car and it was the other persons fault. Three years later someone writes a fictional book about a situation almost identical to yours but blames it on themselves. The reader knows he was not at fault before the read, but at the end he's confused as to whether or not he was really blameless. Bad example, perhaps, but it works.

The book is number one on Facebook. Aside from the fact that this probably isn't "scientific", it does include a great majority of college students (or once college students). The Bible is number three (below Harry Potter). I'm not too sure how the whole "don't go see this movie" campaign from a large majority in the church went, but honestly it drew a lot of attention to it — good and bad. The church needs to proclaim the authenticity of the Bible (it's authentic, and there's a lot of proof to back it up). I watched something tonight that said the majority of people are ignorant to church history. I couldn't agree more. We've got to know the church history. It's incredibly interesting too. I'm think we'd be surprised at the amount of people who do not know what Protestantism is. That's not even the largest part (in modern church history, I'd say it's close to number one, if not number one). I don't know near as much church history as I'd like.

One side note on this, why isn't many people defending Leonardo Da Vinci? Talk about slander. Everyone who thinks of him now thinks of this book [of lies] as something he thought up. Not good.

I'm thankful for those who are there that give encouragement. Everyone has bad days (weeks, and months), and we all need people here to encourage us. Sometimes I feel like I'm not reaching anyone, but then I'm proven wrong. A few weeks (or months) ago I was wondering if E-Blah even reached anyone with the credits. Not too much later, I got an e-mail from a guy who said that it planted a seed. Even if it didn't do much, it led to something.

We should all be encourager's. I want to be an encouragement to people. Someway. Somehow. I love just listening to people, maybe that's some encouragement to someone. It encourages me sometimes when I've got something going on. I love just helping people. Several weeks ago we had an in class assignment that I knew and understood pretty well. I could have left 30 minutes early or so, but instead decided to stay and help the those that sat around me that did not understand it. I'm not saying that for credit, but this is what we, as Christians, should do. If we have a talent, we should use it … sometimes it causes discomfort. We are supposed to live selfless lives. Would I have really missed those 30 minutes? Not really. I would have got home that much sooner. Lame excuse for not helping someone, I think.

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Class, Phone, Church, Food, and Holiness

My classes are all set.  I guess.  I'd really like to change the Lit II class to Lit I, but I'll keep trying.  Perhaps one of the 26 people will drop the class.  Perhaps.

I got a cell phone yesterday.  One step closer, I 'spose.

I start work on Monday, 15 May.  Ah, I can't wait to hear all those wonderful discussions like I did last year.  Those always gave me something to write about.  They did last year anyway.  Hopefully I'll tag along more this year.

I've got to go to the church tomorrow and … do something?  I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do just yet.  We laid carpet yesterday and put an air vent in the nursery today (ok, I watched more).  I'm technical.

Next week marks the last days of the Spring semester.  One year of college is gone.  It went by incredibly fast.  I think this was just a breeze year.  Next year just looks hard, maybe it won't be.

I went to the commissarry yesterday and helped pick out groceries.  It's not too bad, because I get to pick what I like.

I found this really good quote tonight:

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket–safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable. – C.S. Lewis

"Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark…" – Isaiah 5:20 (NIV)

I added the last quote 'cause I like it.  I heard it on the radio on Wednesday and really liked it.  The sad part is this: if we're making evil moral and moral evil, there's coming destruction because we're doing exactly what this verse says.  Ah, we've got to get back to holiness.  Psalm 93:5 says, "your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O LORD." (NIV)  We've got to "worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness" (Psalm 96:9 NIV).  We've got to understand what Isaiah spoke:

And a main road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-hearted people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, and there will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will follow it. – Isaiah 35:8-9 (NLT, emphasis added)

We've got to get on that Highway of Holiness. All other ways are traveled in vain. This doesn't mean that roads already traveled that are void of God are sometimes used by God for something good though …

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The Fine Line Between Good and Evil

We, as Christians, are not called to tolerance. We're not. We're not called to tolerate sin. Love the sinner, hate the sin. We're supposed to love the sinner. WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO tolerate the sin. It burns me up every time I hear the word tolerance used in this context. We're not suppose to tolerate sin — especially in the church. The Bible speaks DIRECTLY against homosexuality. It speaks directly against murder (abortion IS murder). It speaks directly against many other evils, also. We're not supposed to hate the sinner, but love them.  That CANNOT be interchanged with sin.  We're not suppose to tolerate the sin.  Period.  We're not suppose to tolerate it.  There is a line between good and evil, and tolerating sin is not right.  It's a lie — from the enemy. Evil. We, as Christians should be producing fruit.  The Bible says that we should have the fruits of the spirit in our lives (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control — hint: that's 8 items, learn them, know them, grow in them).  One fear of mine is that we've became so politically correct — so blinded — that we can't see truth right in front of our faces. There is a line between good and evil — how many see it?  How many are blinded?

I need to make one note: this is mainly within the church, not outside so much.  By no means should we harm anyone because of their beliefs (such as what happened in the Selam Witch Trials, etc). 

Finally, remember that people are watching you no matter what you do as a believer.  A stern warning from Jesus: "… If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6 NIV).

Last note: this was written around noon Saturday and I'm just cleaning it up before posting.  I wanted to get a reader to check this before posting this time.  Oh, and I have spell check now … perhaps it'll help?

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The Stand

Tonight while I was praying, I had this thought come to my mind … We, as Americans, watch a lot of TV, movies, whatever. I've pretty much resigned myself from almost all forms of media (big reason is that I do not really have the time). Here's an analogy (I think that's what it is) — if you have someone you care for very (very!) deeply and you see them hurt, what would your reaction be? The first thing that comes to my mind is how a man is (or should be) protective of his wife. If someone calls her an ugly name (or they disrespect her and/or her name) for most guys they would be very displeased (aka: very angry!). So here's the analogy — so very often we're doing the same thing to God! So often we go and do things that disrespects Him and His name. Instead of being angry about it, we just sit by and are basically saying, "Oh well, that's just how the culture is". That's how the culture is, perhaps. That's NOT how we, as Christians should live though. We're not supposed to be of the world. We're called to be what the world calls radical. Am I saying live in ignorance to the world around you? No. Just because you've not watched a movie, DOES NOT make you ignorant (maybe "deprived of culture"). If you're called to the media industry — great. Do what God has called you to do, BUT make sure you help build HIS Kingdom not your kingdom (because it will fade away — you're going to die!). When you stand before God — would you have a life without any lasting stain or blemish (sure, there's sins — but we're supposed to be trying to become like Christ!).

This can be taken further too. Even with video games. I spent 30+ hours over a 30 day period (maybe it was closer to 15 days). That, truely, was a total waste of time. I got temporary joy and fulfilment out of it. It's not badin moderation (an hour or two every week or two, perhaps?). If that's someone's ministry and it's fruitful and is what God called them to do, then that's great (this is NOT an excuse for going and playing a game though, if that's an excuse it's no more than foolishness and God can see right through it). So many times, I went and played that game hour upon hour when I could have done ANYTHINGbetter than that. There's a world out there going to hell. Plain. Harsh. Truth. I was literally spending hour upon hour doing that when I could have been praying for those people (intersession). They NEED Christ! That's all I want. Until my entire city is shouting "The Stand" from the rooftops — I can't give up. We can't give up. That's the plain simple truth. If it means giving up everything we have, we've got to do it. There may not be much time left. In an split second we could be wiped off the face of the earth and put into eternity. One blink of an eye. Eternity. Stroke. Car wreck. Gunshot. Sudden unexplained death. An instant. What will people remember you by? Will they be able to say, "S/he was the one who was radical for God. They did nothing else but stay in constant worship and prayer"? "Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away." (Psalm 144:4) A shadow that passes away. Just a shadow. In the span of time (speculating it's around 8,000 years), our lives (speculating we'll live to be 80 years) accounts for about 1% of the entire timespan of all life. One percent. And for a lot of us, we won't live as long as 80 years. A lot less than 1% of the entire span of earth life time. In a moment — gone.

The truth is — if I don't do what He has called me to do (if it's just to pray), God will find someone else to do it. God found someone else to lead His people when King Saul disobeyed God (countless times). God came to the little nobody — the man after God's own heart — David — to lead his people. The linage of Saul was severed. David was a nobody, the least of his family, yet through his linage came Jesus.
Something to think about …

"The Stand", Hillsong United: United We Stand:

You stood before creation
Eternity in Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand
So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart oh God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand
So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart oh God
Completely to You

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrender it
all I am is Yours

I want to credit this blog with the lyrics.

Also, I wanted to add this: "Eternity", Misty Edwards

Eternity's eternal song, is calling me,
Is drawing me away, it's calling me away

All flesh is grass, fading away.
Only You last, only You remain the same,
You never change.
Holy, holy, holy, You are fairer than then sons of men

Surely man is like the flower of the field,
And life is but a vapor, at best but a vapor.
Surely man is like a flower of the field,
And the fragrance but a vapor, at best but a vapor.

But you O God, are better than a thousand blooms.
Hallelujah Amen!

Ah, longer than I wanted this to be, and later than I wanted to go …

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The Life of Change … without Complaining!

On Friday I painted. Needless to say, my room is very different. I got a bluish paint. Since I had to move just about everything in my room around, I decided to also rearrange my room. I changed where my bed and chair is. I now have more room (or it seems that way, not sure if I really do). Here are some pictures of the "new look":

My Room My Room My Room

I like the paint color. I wasn't that sure I would like it as much as I do.

Last week, I went to a movie with my brother and two cousins. We saw Ice Age 2. It was pretty good. It was the first movie I've saw in theaters since Narnia back in January. I'm positive I've not missed much with staying at home (and not going to movies). So far the only other movie I'd like to see this year is Cars. From the previews I've saw, there's really not much coming out of Hollywood worth spending the time to watch (much less the money). I try to support the movies that are actually okay and would like to see more of, though.

The parents got Narnia on Tuesday. I watched it again (it was either the fourth or fifth time). Why can't authors make a story thatgood anymore? Narnia and Lord of the Rings have been the best movies of my lifetime — hands down. The funny thing is, out of all the movies nominated for "best picture" last year, Narnia got more money than all of them (and wasn't even nominated). Something to think about. It was the first movie I've ever seen that still had a slightly-crowded theater — a month after it's release.

Jumping subjects: complaining is bad. Over the past few weeks, I've observed several people complain over just anything. From the stupid little things (ie: food) to the big things (ie: cars). Oddly enough, my Bible reading went through Numbers. The Israelites complained to the Lord about their hardships after the Lord had brought them out of Egypt. Because of this Numbers says, "his [The Lords] anger blazed against them" (Numbers 11:1). The Lord burned the outside of the camp because of their complaining (until Moses prayed to the Lord for it to stop). Later they complained about the manna that God was providing them. So, in Numbers 11:18-20the Lord said to Moses to tell the people that He would give them meat to eat for an entire month — until they were very sick of it. They didn't put their trust in God. They were, in essence, telling God that they knew better, when in reality God knew that they were better off trusting in Him (and that he would provide for them). They weren't thankful for what God had done for them. This makes me wonder: how many times do I complain instead of just being thankful for what God has given to me. Throughout the book of Numbers the Israelites stop trusting in God. How many times do I stop trusting God? God told the Israelites the land of Canaan was theirs, yet only two of the twelve scouts that went to the land trusted that God had given it to them and they, through the help of God, could conquer it.

God has given us things (food, places to live, families, etc) — but so many times, we aren't thankful and do not trustGod's leading in our life. I think that the way we can trust God more is to pray and fast. By reading and praying the Word. I believe can help us trust God more. Looking back at what God has already done for us can help us look forward to what more God wants to give us, and to trust in Him. When we're depressed about something, perhaps if we THANKGod for what he has already done for us, instead of complaining to Him about where we are, we'll learn to trust Him more. When we trust Him, then He'll be able to lead and guide us to where He wants us to go.

A few more tidbits before I go …

I added the podcasts that I recommend (and listen to), to the side of my blog now. I recommend everyone to listen to them. I got the older CD by Misty Edwards, "Eternity". It's good, and I recommend it (it's on my recommended list for a reason). Also, I recommend the new Passion album, "Everything Glorious".

… and now I must go.