hey everyone! i know i havent been writing on this blog, but that is going to change. Im going to be honest, ive been having a hard time keeping up with my bible studies, i've been doing some but not all, and i wanted to share this story with you. Well first of all you guys need to know that it seriously hurts me that i have not been keeping into his word and have just been going back to my old ways of a repetitive prayer but tonight at 10:30 i had finished my homework and i was exaughsted because ive been up late doing homework lately, and a song came on my itunes when i was getting ready to go to bed. And i know a lot of you know it because everyone sang it while we were at camp. Its called How He Loves by Kim Walker, and towards the end of the song she stops and she just talks about how the love of god is "thick and tangible" and i honestly just stood in the middle of my room and closed my eyes while tears ran down my face, i was angry at him because i felt like he was touching the hearts of some of my close friends more than me and it was frustrating because i had fallen behind. God broke me tonight and im so glad he did so. I literally sat on the floor for 45 minutes and just poored into his word, and i cannot belive how amazing he worked in my life tonight. I read Acts 10 and in verse 34 it says "i see very clearly that God shows no favoritism". How crazy is that? He doesn't love one person more than another. He loves everyone no matter what! Tonight he knew what was on my heart and all it took was 1 verse in his word to reassure me. God's love really is thick and tangible.
if you guys could pray that i just keep my relationship growing with God that would be awesome.
i love and miss you all!
sam wolf
Monday, August 31, 2009
Acts 7
i know this chapter was a few days ago, but i can't get over it still. Reading Acts 7 just now and reading the account of OT history that Stephen gave, with his boldness and fervor in front of the council about how they were to be compared/associated with the Israelites who opposed God in the time of Moses and Joshua...i mean, that is BOLD. To basically call out the council and high priests and say, "You are just like they were! Turn your ways around..." and their anger caused him to be stoned. But Stephen took it just like Jesus did. The things he said as they were stoning him and the way he humbly received it, suffering for Christ's sake, it was a beautiful thing to read. I felt like something hit me in the chest.
I want to be bolder. I feel that God has caused me to get outside of my comfort zone in a lot of areas, such as with dance team girls or girls in my classes, but even with the dude that's riding in the elevator with me, or the girl across the hall I have yet to meet. I don't know what I'm waiting for. Why do we hesitate so much to be like Christ? What holds us back? My prayer is to learn to love like Him and be His hands and feet. In our hallway, our names are on our doors either on cut-out handprints or footprints. Today I was walking by and it's like God was saying, "See, be my hands and feet to these people." Man, God has the coolest ways of speaking to us (lingo!).
I want to be bolder. I feel that God has caused me to get outside of my comfort zone in a lot of areas, such as with dance team girls or girls in my classes, but even with the dude that's riding in the elevator with me, or the girl across the hall I have yet to meet. I don't know what I'm waiting for. Why do we hesitate so much to be like Christ? What holds us back? My prayer is to learn to love like Him and be His hands and feet. In our hallway, our names are on our doors either on cut-out handprints or footprints. Today I was walking by and it's like God was saying, "See, be my hands and feet to these people." Man, God has the coolest ways of speaking to us (lingo!).
ANSWER!?
Hey quest heres a question for you. in 2 kings 5, it talks about how Elijah told this man, with leprosy to go and wash in the Jordan 7 times and your skin will be restored. my question is, why did he have to do it seven times? why couldnt he just have done it once?? i want your opinion! please!
i love you! and praying for you, also i love how hayley put what she needed us to pray for, if you could tell me how i could start praying for you in specific ways that would be so awesome. i want to know how i can pray for you!
-love you lots
MADI!
i love you! and praying for you, also i love how hayley put what she needed us to pray for, if you could tell me how i could start praying for you in specific ways that would be so awesome. i want to know how i can pray for you!
-love you lots
MADI!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
dear quest,
so, lately I’ve been reading all of y'alls blogs- wow! everything you say really affects me and my day and it's just awesome. great job guys. anyways, i'm gonna give you the low-down on the Holy Spirit like I did with the angels- it’s a lot of information, but it’s good to know so bear with me and take it in! Holy Spirit. i'm so sorry it took me so long. i've been getting caught up in school, sports, drivers ed, and just feel like i've been failing a lot lately. i'm kind of confused about the Holy Spirit since i found so many different thing and it's been hard nailing it down, so PLEASE give me feedback, any more that you know or have experienced with it would be amazing.
1. So, to begin with, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Acts 5:3, Matthew 28:19, John 4:24 I believe it is one of the Trinity (the Holy Trinity is, well, I guess a way to describe it is that the word Trinity is pretty much a title that describes the fact that God is a unity of three different ''people''- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While I was writing this, and researching, I realized that I can't really explain what exactly the Trinity is to begin with, thoughts please? I found this awesome picture that pretty much describes how I think of it even if I can't explain it though-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.png )
It is referred to as the “Spirit of the Lord” or the “Spirit of God” or the “Holy Ghost” or the “Holy Spirit”.
3. Anyways, the Holy Spirit is basically a connection with God in you- the part of your mind that’s joined with the Mind of God. 1 Corinthians 6:17 It's that voice you hear in the back of your head when you're doing something wrong- your conscience. The Holy Spirit is a part of God’s children, but also technically God- it’s not separate from you, and is part of you so that’s why it’s crazy important to listen to it. In Matthew 11:15, the Bible says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” I think that I need to be more aware of Holy Spirit through my thinking, then correcting my sinful thoughts, recognizing that voice in the back of my head, and then sharing that voice with others. Does that make sense? I mean, like, for me, I need to work on listening to that voice and recognizing that guilt I feel in the back of my mind whenever I’m doing something wrong, then stop doing whatever I was doing that wasn’t right. But yeah, I believe that people who haven't heard of Jesus can still hear that voice, and know morals and ethics even if they haven't read the Bible or been affected by the modern world. That’s what I believe but can I have your feedback? What are y'alls thoughts on that?
4. The Holy Spirit is in each of God’s children and can’t be taken out. I Corinthians 3:16. It’ll be with you forever. It’s a part of you that sees you and knows who you truly are since it is God and He is all knowing. Whenever I want peace in life, whenever God isn’t on my mind, and I remember the Holy Spirit, and that it knows who I am, and that it’s in me no matter what, waiting to join me up with the Lord, it brings me so much comfort and peace.
5. The Holy Spirit is referred to through metaphors and symbols. For instance, water signifies the Holy Spirit’s role in Baptism. 1 Corinthians 12:13 John 19:34 1 John5:8. It is referred to as fire, in the form of tongues ‘as of fire’; the Holy Spirit came into the disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to speak many languages Acts 2. The Holy Spirit comes to the Virgin Mary and Luke 9:34-35. It came in the form of a dove Matthew 3:16. It also comes in the form of wind. John 3:8, Acts 2:2-4.
6. The Holy Spirit is kind of how men receive power from God, through Jesus Christ bringing into fellowship with God. Acts 1:8
One more point I was gonna make was why the Holy Spirit was here, but I'm not so sure. I've tried peicing things together but haven't been able to come up with anything. Answers?
Anyway, here are some more verses just about the Holy Spirit, where it has occurred in the bible, and what it is. I’m not sure how to explain them so any help with that would be awesome.
Luke 3:16: John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Mark 1:7-10: And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.
John 1:32-34 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.
7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Acts 2:33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Roman 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (What does this mean??)
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (So...how does a spirit hover? Is it being literal??)
Isaiah 32:15 Til the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
The divine source of all life; a special manifestation of God’s divine Presences.
Anyways, one more thing- lately I feel like I’ve been failing- a lot (from school grades, to sports, to my driver’s ed test, to waking up wanting to praise the Lord, to struggling with sleeping and depression again) and am really nervous about starting a Bible study at my school. I’m starting it this Thursday and am really stressed. The Bible tells us “do not fear” so so many times, but it’s just been really hard to not be scared of failing or not being good for these people who I’m gonna be leading so I ask for your advice and prayer over this group? I love y’all so much!
2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
some of this information came from here: http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/holy-spirit.html
so, lately I’ve been reading all of y'alls blogs- wow! everything you say really affects me and my day and it's just awesome. great job guys. anyways, i'm gonna give you the low-down on the Holy Spirit like I did with the angels- it’s a lot of information, but it’s good to know so bear with me and take it in! Holy Spirit. i'm so sorry it took me so long. i've been getting caught up in school, sports, drivers ed, and just feel like i've been failing a lot lately. i'm kind of confused about the Holy Spirit since i found so many different thing and it's been hard nailing it down, so PLEASE give me feedback, any more that you know or have experienced with it would be amazing.
1. So, to begin with, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Acts 5:3, Matthew 28:19, John 4:24 I believe it is one of the Trinity (the Holy Trinity is, well, I guess a way to describe it is that the word Trinity is pretty much a title that describes the fact that God is a unity of three different ''people''- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While I was writing this, and researching, I realized that I can't really explain what exactly the Trinity is to begin with, thoughts please? I found this awesome picture that pretty much describes how I think of it even if I can't explain it though-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.png )
It is referred to as the “Spirit of the Lord” or the “Spirit of God” or the “Holy Ghost” or the “Holy Spirit”.
3. Anyways, the Holy Spirit is basically a connection with God in you- the part of your mind that’s joined with the Mind of God. 1 Corinthians 6:17 It's that voice you hear in the back of your head when you're doing something wrong- your conscience. The Holy Spirit is a part of God’s children, but also technically God- it’s not separate from you, and is part of you so that’s why it’s crazy important to listen to it. In Matthew 11:15, the Bible says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” I think that I need to be more aware of Holy Spirit through my thinking, then correcting my sinful thoughts, recognizing that voice in the back of my head, and then sharing that voice with others. Does that make sense? I mean, like, for me, I need to work on listening to that voice and recognizing that guilt I feel in the back of my mind whenever I’m doing something wrong, then stop doing whatever I was doing that wasn’t right. But yeah, I believe that people who haven't heard of Jesus can still hear that voice, and know morals and ethics even if they haven't read the Bible or been affected by the modern world. That’s what I believe but can I have your feedback? What are y'alls thoughts on that?
4. The Holy Spirit is in each of God’s children and can’t be taken out. I Corinthians 3:16. It’ll be with you forever. It’s a part of you that sees you and knows who you truly are since it is God and He is all knowing. Whenever I want peace in life, whenever God isn’t on my mind, and I remember the Holy Spirit, and that it knows who I am, and that it’s in me no matter what, waiting to join me up with the Lord, it brings me so much comfort and peace.
5. The Holy Spirit is referred to through metaphors and symbols. For instance, water signifies the Holy Spirit’s role in Baptism. 1 Corinthians 12:13 John 19:34 1 John5:8. It is referred to as fire, in the form of tongues ‘as of fire’; the Holy Spirit came into the disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to speak many languages Acts 2. The Holy Spirit comes to the Virgin Mary and Luke 9:34-35. It came in the form of a dove Matthew 3:16. It also comes in the form of wind. John 3:8, Acts 2:2-4.
6. The Holy Spirit is kind of how men receive power from God, through Jesus Christ bringing into fellowship with God. Acts 1:8
One more point I was gonna make was why the Holy Spirit was here, but I'm not so sure. I've tried peicing things together but haven't been able to come up with anything. Answers?
Anyway, here are some more verses just about the Holy Spirit, where it has occurred in the bible, and what it is. I’m not sure how to explain them so any help with that would be awesome.
Luke 3:16: John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Mark 1:7-10: And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.
John 1:32-34 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.
7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Acts 2:33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Roman 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (What does this mean??)
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (So...how does a spirit hover? Is it being literal??)
Isaiah 32:15 Til the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
The divine source of all life; a special manifestation of God’s divine Presences.
Anyways, one more thing- lately I feel like I’ve been failing- a lot (from school grades, to sports, to my driver’s ed test, to waking up wanting to praise the Lord, to struggling with sleeping and depression again) and am really nervous about starting a Bible study at my school. I’m starting it this Thursday and am really stressed. The Bible tells us “do not fear” so so many times, but it’s just been really hard to not be scared of failing or not being good for these people who I’m gonna be leading so I ask for your advice and prayer over this group? I love y’all so much!
2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
some of this information came from here: http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/holy-spirit.html
Quest, I have a question...
First of all just want to let you guys know that this morning I really was not feeling reading my Bible... but then I got on the blog and reading your posts made me excited again to dive in and let the Lord speak to me. So sweet.
OK so my question is: Why is there so much healing in the life of Jesus and in Acts in crazy awesome ways and why are these types of miracles not as prevalent in my walk and journey with the Lord. I will admit I have never personally seen anything like any of these disciples did. Don't we have the same power as they do? What is going on here?
OK so my question is: Why is there so much healing in the life of Jesus and in Acts in crazy awesome ways and why are these types of miracles not as prevalent in my walk and journey with the Lord. I will admit I have never personally seen anything like any of these disciples did. Don't we have the same power as they do? What is going on here?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
falling asleep & beautiful feet
So I caught up tonight by reading Acts 7 & 8, and I can't wait to read chapter 9 - Saul's conversion to Paul, one of my favorite parts of Acts. :]
I loved the history that Stephen the martyr went through before he was stoned... a good summary of a good chunk of the OT for sure! Stephen's last words as he was being stoned paralleled so much to the last words of Christ: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," and, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Jesus spoke words very similar when He was being crucified, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit," and "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Sound familiar? :]
I never really understood why Luke wrote in Acts 7:60, "And when he said said this, he fell asleep" in reference to Stephen's death. I mean, why not just say he died? I looked at my commentary on this verse and read that the phrase "fell asleep" is a Christian expression for death, which reflects assurance of a future resurrection. Wow! I don't know about y'all, but that definitely struck a chord. There are so many other instances in Scripture where someone's death is referred to as "falling asleep," but we know that the death we die is temporary, for we will be resurrected with Christ and reign on earth with Him in the end! SO COOL. So, when we die, we will be merely "falling asleep," to awaken when Christ returns and we reign with Him. Thoughts on this?
In chapter 8, I love the part about the Ethiopian eunuch ("treasurer" or trusted royal servant, probably a God-fearer, a Gentile who worshiped God but had not become a full convert; as a eunuch, he would have been barred from the inner courts of the temple) and Philip. Philip is so obedient to the Spirit's leading in this situation - the Spirit tells Philip to go join the eunuch as he is reading from Isaiah 53 (did it look familiar to y'all? hope so! :))
Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch says, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" What a perfect opportunity for Philip to witness. This part reminds me of the passage in Romans 10:14-15: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
The eunuch asks Philip who the passage is referring to, so Philip opens his mouth and tells him about the Good News of Jesus Christ! Upon seeing some water as they are traveling together, the eunuch simply says, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" (8:37) so Philip baptized him. Wow. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It reminds me of Behind Closed Doors and how we talked about atheism. It's nothing of our own accord that converts people, but it's the Holy Spirit inside of us that does the work. The Spirit will use us (our words, actions, etc.) but ultimately the Spirit must change the heart of a nonbeliever. It's so cool to see the Spirit's work in the eunuch. It says that after the baptism and after Philip was taken away, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. It was a genuine change of heart for him.
Anyway, just a few things to share. :] Praying for y'all - keep seeking Him and being bold for His name!
I loved the history that Stephen the martyr went through before he was stoned... a good summary of a good chunk of the OT for sure! Stephen's last words as he was being stoned paralleled so much to the last words of Christ: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," and, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Jesus spoke words very similar when He was being crucified, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit," and "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Sound familiar? :]
I never really understood why Luke wrote in Acts 7:60, "And when he said said this, he fell asleep" in reference to Stephen's death. I mean, why not just say he died? I looked at my commentary on this verse and read that the phrase "fell asleep" is a Christian expression for death, which reflects assurance of a future resurrection. Wow! I don't know about y'all, but that definitely struck a chord. There are so many other instances in Scripture where someone's death is referred to as "falling asleep," but we know that the death we die is temporary, for we will be resurrected with Christ and reign on earth with Him in the end! SO COOL. So, when we die, we will be merely "falling asleep," to awaken when Christ returns and we reign with Him. Thoughts on this?
In chapter 8, I love the part about the Ethiopian eunuch ("treasurer" or trusted royal servant, probably a God-fearer, a Gentile who worshiped God but had not become a full convert; as a eunuch, he would have been barred from the inner courts of the temple) and Philip. Philip is so obedient to the Spirit's leading in this situation - the Spirit tells Philip to go join the eunuch as he is reading from Isaiah 53 (did it look familiar to y'all? hope so! :))
Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch says, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" What a perfect opportunity for Philip to witness. This part reminds me of the passage in Romans 10:14-15: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
The eunuch asks Philip who the passage is referring to, so Philip opens his mouth and tells him about the Good News of Jesus Christ! Upon seeing some water as they are traveling together, the eunuch simply says, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" (8:37) so Philip baptized him. Wow. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It reminds me of Behind Closed Doors and how we talked about atheism. It's nothing of our own accord that converts people, but it's the Holy Spirit inside of us that does the work. The Spirit will use us (our words, actions, etc.) but ultimately the Spirit must change the heart of a nonbeliever. It's so cool to see the Spirit's work in the eunuch. It says that after the baptism and after Philip was taken away, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. It was a genuine change of heart for him.
Anyway, just a few things to share. :] Praying for y'all - keep seeking Him and being bold for His name!
prayer in numbers
hey quest, can you do me a favor? if you get a chance, please please please pray for my best friend. i know that her faith is so, so strong, but she's going through some hard times in her life right now, and some prayers would be greatly appreciated. thank you, my sky ranch family. (: hope you're all having a great start of the new school year.
-haley
-haley
Friday, August 28, 2009
Rejoice
Acts 5:39-42
"They were convinced by him, and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus the Messiah."
The apostles were flogged = brutally beaten for teaching in Jesus's name...and they REJOICED that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name!
For one, let's look at the word rejoiced: v. intr.
1. To feel joyful; be delighted: rejoiced at the news; rejoiced in her friend's good fortune.
2. To fill with joy; gladden.
[Middle English rejoicen, from Old French rejoir, rejoiss- : re-, re- + joir, to be joyful (from Vulgar Latin *gaudīre, from Latin gaudēre; see gāu- in Indo-European roots).]
ok, so the apostles were filled with JOY and exuded that joy when they left the temple after being flogged by the high priests.
then, the word worthy: –adjective
1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value: a worthy successor.
2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving: a book worthy of praise; a person worthy to lead.
the apostles found it a cause to rejoice that they were worthy enough to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus Christ. have you ever thought "man, am i worthy/deserving enough to receive this punishment right now"? that's basically saying that you have to earn or be deserving enough to be punished...and the disciples were rejoicing that they were found deserving enough and worthy enough to suffer for CHRIST.
let this be a lesson to us all, that when we suffer for the sake of Christ, it is something to be rejoiced over...that we were found worthy enough by God to suffer for His name's sake.
yesterday i had dinner with a guy named Mike. Mike is a big man on campus and does a lot of business-y things and entertainment stuff for his fraternity and for students at TCU. I always thought he was kind of a heartless fraternity prick, and didn't ever take the chance to get to know him. we ended up doing Frog Camp alongside each other and I saw Mike for who he is, and not what others or I think of him from just a surface viewpoint. we had dinner last night and seriously, this guy made me feel like i was doing Behind Closed Doors. I wouldn't say he is an atheist, for he believes in God, but he doesn't believe that we have to give our entire lives over to Him/values the importance of believing in oneself more than believing and depending on God. He kept firing questions at me left and right-- "why are the 4 gospels so different?" "why do you believe in God?" "why do you say things like 'depend on' and 'need' when talking about God? don't you believe that faith and belief in oneself is meritable?" "why does the old testament contradict the new testament as far as laws and viewpoints?" "why do you say that humans aren't inherently 'good' people? I think we all are good. i don't think we are born evil."
stuff like that.
i was so blown away, because not only was God there for me in that moment and spoke through me (John 14!) but i felt prepared because of the Behind Closed Doors activity that we did each week where I pretended to be an atheist. whaaaat? going into the dinner with Mike, i did NOT...NOT...expect our conversation to rotate around the Lord, at all. it was one of those moments that you realize that "everything works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose..." like, this was ONE small reason why I was in Quest this summer, why there was an activity called Behind Closed Doors, why I did the atheist role every week, so that in the near future i could sit down at Panera with Mike and he could fire questions at me and i could sufficiently answer. god, you, are too cool.
"They were convinced by him, and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus the Messiah."
The apostles were flogged = brutally beaten for teaching in Jesus's name...and they REJOICED that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name!
For one, let's look at the word rejoiced: v. intr.
1. To feel joyful; be delighted: rejoiced at the news; rejoiced in her friend's good fortune.
2. To fill with joy; gladden.
[Middle English rejoicen, from Old French rejoir, rejoiss- : re-, re- + joir, to be joyful (from Vulgar Latin *gaudīre, from Latin gaudēre; see gāu- in Indo-European roots).]
ok, so the apostles were filled with JOY and exuded that joy when they left the temple after being flogged by the high priests.
then, the word worthy: –adjective
1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value: a worthy successor.
2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving: a book worthy of praise; a person worthy to lead.
the apostles found it a cause to rejoice that they were worthy enough to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus Christ. have you ever thought "man, am i worthy/deserving enough to receive this punishment right now"? that's basically saying that you have to earn or be deserving enough to be punished...and the disciples were rejoicing that they were found deserving enough and worthy enough to suffer for CHRIST.
let this be a lesson to us all, that when we suffer for the sake of Christ, it is something to be rejoiced over...that we were found worthy enough by God to suffer for His name's sake.
yesterday i had dinner with a guy named Mike. Mike is a big man on campus and does a lot of business-y things and entertainment stuff for his fraternity and for students at TCU. I always thought he was kind of a heartless fraternity prick, and didn't ever take the chance to get to know him. we ended up doing Frog Camp alongside each other and I saw Mike for who he is, and not what others or I think of him from just a surface viewpoint. we had dinner last night and seriously, this guy made me feel like i was doing Behind Closed Doors. I wouldn't say he is an atheist, for he believes in God, but he doesn't believe that we have to give our entire lives over to Him/values the importance of believing in oneself more than believing and depending on God. He kept firing questions at me left and right-- "why are the 4 gospels so different?" "why do you believe in God?" "why do you say things like 'depend on' and 'need' when talking about God? don't you believe that faith and belief in oneself is meritable?" "why does the old testament contradict the new testament as far as laws and viewpoints?" "why do you say that humans aren't inherently 'good' people? I think we all are good. i don't think we are born evil."
stuff like that.
i was so blown away, because not only was God there for me in that moment and spoke through me (John 14!) but i felt prepared because of the Behind Closed Doors activity that we did each week where I pretended to be an atheist. whaaaat? going into the dinner with Mike, i did NOT...NOT...expect our conversation to rotate around the Lord, at all. it was one of those moments that you realize that "everything works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose..." like, this was ONE small reason why I was in Quest this summer, why there was an activity called Behind Closed Doors, why I did the atheist role every week, so that in the near future i could sit down at Panera with Mike and he could fire questions at me and i could sufficiently answer. god, you, are too cool.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
holy delegation
Pretty cool to see common leadership principles played out by the disciples. They were called to preach the good news. They were apostles who knew and walked with Christ, their testimonies were so powerful. They recognized the need for feeding the widows and poor and knew that they would spend all their time there so they found men of sound reputation, full of the spirit and wisdom to take their task and run with it.
And these new seven men were faithful in feeding the widows. Look what the Lord did when Stephen was faithful with little; God gave him an incredible stage to share the gospel. It all started with Stephen being faithful in the little things.
I don't know about you guys but I don't have a "stage" right now so this passage encourages me to continue to serve and be faithful in the little things. For example, I would love to teach the word somewhere at some level to whoever because I love it but that door is not open. They need kindergarten helpers at my church and this is where the need is for me. So I will be faithful and go serve the little ones, God will bring me to teach or he may not but I am going to be faithful with the small things now.
And these new seven men were faithful in feeding the widows. Look what the Lord did when Stephen was faithful with little; God gave him an incredible stage to share the gospel. It all started with Stephen being faithful in the little things.
I don't know about you guys but I don't have a "stage" right now so this passage encourages me to continue to serve and be faithful in the little things. For example, I would love to teach the word somewhere at some level to whoever because I love it but that door is not open. They need kindergarten helpers at my church and this is where the need is for me. So I will be faithful and go serve the little ones, God will bring me to teach or he may not but I am going to be faithful with the small things now.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
One Accord
Throughout Acts the phrase i have seen repeated is "one accord" check it out:
Acts1:14 "These (the disciples) all conitnued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." This just describes the beginnings of a bible study group Peter is about to lead and how they got together in an upper room to pray before it started. Just as it is important to pray with other believers before we try to step out and lead or face the challenges of our lives. It's like preparing for battle haha.
Acts 2:1 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." The day of pentecost=crazy awesome holy spirit action about to happen :) the most noteworthy thing: they were all together when it happened.
Acts 2:46-47 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate thier food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Here we see the amazing work the Lord has been doing through the daily ministry of the apostles. Although, even in their daily work for him, they make sure to spend time together, once again. They need this fellowship to fill them with the holy spirit so they can continue to pour it back out into the lives of others. To me, this seems like the role of the church...is the church necessary to have a relationship with God and witness to others? no. But it gives us a place filled with believers whom we can connect with and have that "one accord" experience with. A place for "refreshment" of the holy spirit from vs 3:19 ;)
Acts 4:24 "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God in one accord and said, "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them..." " Basically, after being told they were forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, Peter, John, and their "companions" gathered together to pray. Notice that they are all praying the same thing...praying in "one heart and one soul" (vs 32) There is so much power in a multitude of prayer...It is one thing that the devil cannot face, that makes him powerless. It's this insane power that fills them all wth the holy spirit!!! (the amazingness of vs 31.) THAT is the power of prayer.
Lastly, in todays reading...Acts 5:12 "And through the hands of the apostles many signs nd wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch." This vs is another great example of the supernatural powers of the holy spirit, and once again...they are tied with the idea of "one accord."
Honestly, after reading this so many times in Acts, I am convinced that the holy spirit moves when we are in "one accord" with other believers. Coolest thing happened today actually...at our youth group. Instead of our normal sermon and ending prayer, we broke off into groups by our schools, and prayed. One topic at a time (a lot like see you at the pole...if you have ever done that) It's times like those, with so much prayer at one time, that the stresses of my life, the temptations of the devil to buy into the lies that I'm not strong enough to make an impact on my campus, are gone...It was a great experience and I couldnt help but smile the entire time as I thought of Acts. Power in prayer!!!
Acts1:14 "These (the disciples) all conitnued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." This just describes the beginnings of a bible study group Peter is about to lead and how they got together in an upper room to pray before it started. Just as it is important to pray with other believers before we try to step out and lead or face the challenges of our lives. It's like preparing for battle haha.
Acts 2:1 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." The day of pentecost=crazy awesome holy spirit action about to happen :) the most noteworthy thing: they were all together when it happened.
Acts 2:46-47 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate thier food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Here we see the amazing work the Lord has been doing through the daily ministry of the apostles. Although, even in their daily work for him, they make sure to spend time together, once again. They need this fellowship to fill them with the holy spirit so they can continue to pour it back out into the lives of others. To me, this seems like the role of the church...is the church necessary to have a relationship with God and witness to others? no. But it gives us a place filled with believers whom we can connect with and have that "one accord" experience with. A place for "refreshment" of the holy spirit from vs 3:19 ;)
Acts 4:24 "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God in one accord and said, "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them..." " Basically, after being told they were forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, Peter, John, and their "companions" gathered together to pray. Notice that they are all praying the same thing...praying in "one heart and one soul" (vs 32) There is so much power in a multitude of prayer...It is one thing that the devil cannot face, that makes him powerless. It's this insane power that fills them all wth the holy spirit!!! (the amazingness of vs 31.) THAT is the power of prayer.
Lastly, in todays reading...Acts 5:12 "And through the hands of the apostles many signs nd wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch." This vs is another great example of the supernatural powers of the holy spirit, and once again...they are tied with the idea of "one accord."
Honestly, after reading this so many times in Acts, I am convinced that the holy spirit moves when we are in "one accord" with other believers. Coolest thing happened today actually...at our youth group. Instead of our normal sermon and ending prayer, we broke off into groups by our schools, and prayed. One topic at a time (a lot like see you at the pole...if you have ever done that) It's times like those, with so much prayer at one time, that the stresses of my life, the temptations of the devil to buy into the lies that I'm not strong enough to make an impact on my campus, are gone...It was a great experience and I couldnt help but smile the entire time as I thought of Acts. Power in prayer!!!
Acts 5
A few things about Acts 5...
Acts 5:28-32
"But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.'"
Acts 5:38-39
"And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you CANNOT overthrow it-lest you even be found to fight against God."
I love this verse...basically saying that "all things are possible with God" (Matthew 19:26), and that ultimately God cannot and will not be overthrown.
And another thing to remember...in Acts 5, the apostles are arrested for once again speaking the name of Jesus and proclaiming the gospels. Then, an "angel of the Lord" opens the gates and sets them free, instructing them to continue speaking God's word. Sometimes we may feel like the world is still pulling us down even after we have done a good thing. The apostles sure were doing a good thing by preaching about Jesus in the temple, but, of course, society pulled them down and arrested them time after time. HOWEVER, God will ultimately prevail--always; no one can
overthrow God (Acts 5:38-39). In the end, the apostles were freed and called to continue Christ's mission. They kept fighting for what they knew was right even though the world pulled them down again and again and again...God keeps fighting for US; He is always there. He will always prevail. Even when the world seems to be pulling you down, with Christ you have everything. Always remember that.
-Haley
Acts 5:28-32
"But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.'"
Acts 5:38-39
"And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you CANNOT overthrow it-lest you even be found to fight against God."
I love this verse...basically saying that "all things are possible with God" (Matthew 19:26), and that ultimately God cannot and will not be overthrown.
And another thing to remember...in Acts 5, the apostles are arrested for once again speaking the name of Jesus and proclaiming the gospels. Then, an "angel of the Lord" opens the gates and sets them free, instructing them to continue speaking God's word. Sometimes we may feel like the world is still pulling us down even after we have done a good thing. The apostles sure were doing a good thing by preaching about Jesus in the temple, but, of course, society pulled them down and arrested them time after time. HOWEVER, God will ultimately prevail--always; no one can
overthrow God (Acts 5:38-39). In the end, the apostles were freed and called to continue Christ's mission. They kept fighting for what they knew was right even though the world pulled them down again and again and again...God keeps fighting for US; He is always there. He will always prevail. Even when the world seems to be pulling you down, with Christ you have everything. Always remember that.-Haley
random reminder.
I know we've all read these verses plenty of times before, but I still think they're so powerful. Just a little random reminder; something I've been thinking about a lot for these past few days. As we all go back to school and as our summers come to an end, remember these verses ALWAYS...look to these verses for guidance when you're having trouble with relationships in your life (friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends...anything). Love you <3 Best of luck to everyone this year!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in inquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away."
-Haley
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in inquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away."
-Haley
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
We can't help but talk about Jesus! Acts 4
Acts 4 is my FAVORITE chapter in Acts. I absolutely LOVE it, and when I am feeling defeated or discouraged, I read it and immediately the Spirit gives me encouragement and boldness. It's so incredible. I hope y'all read it.
Here's a few things from my commentary:
v. 3 - talking about the Sanhedrin arresting Peter & John and putting them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
-The Sanhedrin was the Jewish high court, and they met in the mornings. Since it was evening, the two apostles were placed in detention for the night. Detention for Jesus, though! :] I'd take it!
v. 11 - "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone." cross referenced with Isaiah 28:16 & Psalm 118:22
v. 13 - "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."
Boldness (Greek - parresia) is an important word in Acts which depicts Spirit-inspired courage and confidence to speak in spite of any danger or threat. "Uneducated" and "common" ("nonprofessional") men like Peter and John were not expected to speak so confidently before the supreme court of the land. The two words do not mean that they were illiterate or unintelligent but rather that they had not gone through the advanced training of the rabbinic schools.
"they had been with Jesus" - It is impossible to imagine how much the disciples would have learned from spending three years in close association with the Son of God living on earth, listening to him teach, hearing him pray, and watching him interact with the most difficult challenges. They knew Jesus, and in knowing him they knew much more than all the learned scribes of the Sanhedrin.
v. 16 - "What shall we do with these men?" - The religious leaders didn't know what action to take, since the healing of the man was well known and punishing his healers would displease the people. Official leaders often act from fear of the people rather than from fear of God. Interesting.
v. 23-31 - The Christian Community Prays for Boldness in Witness
I love this. Even though Peter and John displayed amazing boldness in front of the Sanhedrin, they got home, grabbed some friends, and prayed for more boldness! What passion they had for Christ and the spreading of His name.
v. 25 - "who through the mouth of our father David...said" - Scripture is truly and totally the word of God even though it comes through flawed men like David. Even as they are persecuted, they address God as master and are in service to His will.
v. 28 - In their prayer, reported with approval by Luke, the believers affirm both God's sovereignty and human responsibility. Whatever includes all of the evil rejection, false accusation, miscarriage of justice, wrongful beatings, mockery, and crucifixion that both Jews & Gentiles poured out against jesus. These things were predestined by God, yet the human beings who did them were morally "lawless"(see 2:23, 36); they were responsible for their evil deeds (see 3:13-15) and they needed to repent (see 2:38, 3:19). This prayer reflects both a deep acknowledgment of human responsibility and a deep trust in God's wisdom in His sovereign direction of the detailed events of history.
v. 29 - their prayer for boldness in witness shows a determination to directly disobey the command of the Sanhedrin. I love it. They do not pray against those who persecute them but pray for their own faithfulness in witness.
***v. 31 - one of my favorite verses.
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."
The place they gathered was SHAKEN!! My commentary says: God answered the believers' prayer. The place where they were gathered was shaken as if by an earthquake, and the Spirit descended upon them in a way they could perceive. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit indicates that people could be "filled" with the Holy Spirit more than once, for Peter was among them and he had already been "filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 8) and all the disciples present at Pentecost had been "filled" with the Spirit as well (2:4). The Holy Spirit's power did not come on them automatically but in answer to their expectant, believing prayer.
INCREDIBLE.
v. 34 - there was not a needy person among them... - there should be no poor in the community of faith. How cool that Christians would sell some of their goods and bring the proceeds to the apostles for distribution to the needy. This should not be seen as communal ownership, but instead as what we are called to do. Over and over Scripture tells us to care for the needy and the poor and oppressed. Through loving and serving these people, we are loving and serving Jesus Christ. How cool that the Christians there were so selfless and sacrificial. It's beautiful.
v. 36 - interesting info on Barnabas: Barnabas would not have been cited as an example of sharing if the practice had not been voluntary. Barnabas is introduced in the Acts narrative at this point; he is a major character in later chapters, particularly as Paul's companion on his first mission. That mission began on Cyprus, the home of Barnabas. The nickname son of encouragement fits his personality well. He introduced the newly converted Paul to the apostolic circle when everyone else was suspicious of him (9:27). He brought Paul to Antioch to participate in the outreach to the Gentiles (11:25-26). And he stood up for the young John Mark when Paul did not want to take him with them (15:36-39).
I love how this chapter emphasizes the power of prayer, the power of community, and such boldness. I absolutely love how Peter & John challenged the Sanhedrin in v. 19&20, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard." May we have that kind of boldness - we can't help but share what Christ has done and what He is currently doing in our lives!
*commentary taken from the ESV Study Bible.
Keep seeking His Word, y'all. This is awesome. :]
Much love.
-Keri
Here's a few things from my commentary:
v. 3 - talking about the Sanhedrin arresting Peter & John and putting them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
-The Sanhedrin was the Jewish high court, and they met in the mornings. Since it was evening, the two apostles were placed in detention for the night. Detention for Jesus, though! :] I'd take it!
v. 11 - "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone." cross referenced with Isaiah 28:16 & Psalm 118:22
v. 13 - "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."
Boldness (Greek - parresia) is an important word in Acts which depicts Spirit-inspired courage and confidence to speak in spite of any danger or threat. "Uneducated" and "common" ("nonprofessional") men like Peter and John were not expected to speak so confidently before the supreme court of the land. The two words do not mean that they were illiterate or unintelligent but rather that they had not gone through the advanced training of the rabbinic schools.
"they had been with Jesus" - It is impossible to imagine how much the disciples would have learned from spending three years in close association with the Son of God living on earth, listening to him teach, hearing him pray, and watching him interact with the most difficult challenges. They knew Jesus, and in knowing him they knew much more than all the learned scribes of the Sanhedrin.
v. 16 - "What shall we do with these men?" - The religious leaders didn't know what action to take, since the healing of the man was well known and punishing his healers would displease the people. Official leaders often act from fear of the people rather than from fear of God. Interesting.
v. 23-31 - The Christian Community Prays for Boldness in Witness
I love this. Even though Peter and John displayed amazing boldness in front of the Sanhedrin, they got home, grabbed some friends, and prayed for more boldness! What passion they had for Christ and the spreading of His name.
v. 25 - "who through the mouth of our father David...said" - Scripture is truly and totally the word of God even though it comes through flawed men like David. Even as they are persecuted, they address God as master and are in service to His will.
v. 28 - In their prayer, reported with approval by Luke, the believers affirm both God's sovereignty and human responsibility. Whatever includes all of the evil rejection, false accusation, miscarriage of justice, wrongful beatings, mockery, and crucifixion that both Jews & Gentiles poured out against jesus. These things were predestined by God, yet the human beings who did them were morally "lawless"(see 2:23, 36); they were responsible for their evil deeds (see 3:13-15) and they needed to repent (see 2:38, 3:19). This prayer reflects both a deep acknowledgment of human responsibility and a deep trust in God's wisdom in His sovereign direction of the detailed events of history.
v. 29 - their prayer for boldness in witness shows a determination to directly disobey the command of the Sanhedrin. I love it. They do not pray against those who persecute them but pray for their own faithfulness in witness.
***v. 31 - one of my favorite verses.
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."
The place they gathered was SHAKEN!! My commentary says: God answered the believers' prayer. The place where they were gathered was shaken as if by an earthquake, and the Spirit descended upon them in a way they could perceive. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit indicates that people could be "filled" with the Holy Spirit more than once, for Peter was among them and he had already been "filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 8) and all the disciples present at Pentecost had been "filled" with the Spirit as well (2:4). The Holy Spirit's power did not come on them automatically but in answer to their expectant, believing prayer.
INCREDIBLE.
v. 34 - there was not a needy person among them... - there should be no poor in the community of faith. How cool that Christians would sell some of their goods and bring the proceeds to the apostles for distribution to the needy. This should not be seen as communal ownership, but instead as what we are called to do. Over and over Scripture tells us to care for the needy and the poor and oppressed. Through loving and serving these people, we are loving and serving Jesus Christ. How cool that the Christians there were so selfless and sacrificial. It's beautiful.
v. 36 - interesting info on Barnabas: Barnabas would not have been cited as an example of sharing if the practice had not been voluntary. Barnabas is introduced in the Acts narrative at this point; he is a major character in later chapters, particularly as Paul's companion on his first mission. That mission began on Cyprus, the home of Barnabas. The nickname son of encouragement fits his personality well. He introduced the newly converted Paul to the apostolic circle when everyone else was suspicious of him (9:27). He brought Paul to Antioch to participate in the outreach to the Gentiles (11:25-26). And he stood up for the young John Mark when Paul did not want to take him with them (15:36-39).
I love how this chapter emphasizes the power of prayer, the power of community, and such boldness. I absolutely love how Peter & John challenged the Sanhedrin in v. 19&20, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard." May we have that kind of boldness - we can't help but share what Christ has done and what He is currently doing in our lives!
*commentary taken from the ESV Study Bible.
Keep seeking His Word, y'all. This is awesome. :]
Much love.
-Keri
Monday, August 24, 2009
Acts 2
So I know we were supposed to read Acts 2 yesterday, but I'm still trying to catch up...so here a few verses that really stuck out to me in this chapter:
Acts 2:21
"And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Acts 2:25-28
"For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may NOT be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; moreover, my flesh will also rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence."
Acts 2:38-39
"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
To me, these verses are so reassuring. (: They really speak to me, reminding that me that God is ALWAYS there for us. All we have to do is love Him. So simple, yet so challening in our world today.
Love you all <3
Haley
Acts 2:21
"And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Acts 2:25-28
"For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may NOT be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; moreover, my flesh will also rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence."
Acts 2:38-39
"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
To me, these verses are so reassuring. (: They really speak to me, reminding that me that God is ALWAYS there for us. All we have to do is love Him. So simple, yet so challening in our world today.
Love you all <3
Haley
Acts 1-3
Things I found interesting, looking at it in an inductive bible study-esque way:
-Jesus says in 1:7 that "it is not for you to know the times or preiods that the Father has set by his own authority." Talking about His second coming, Jesus himself states that it is not for any of us to know, but for God alone who has set it
-Jesus did descend into Hell after He died before His ressurection: seen in 2:24 and 2:31-32. Jesus conquered death and Hell = Jesus conquered sin so that our sins would be forever paid for...death/sin could not hold Him
-There are comforting words from David quoted here in 2:25-26: "I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; morever my flesh will live in hope." I love this. I want to find what Psalm it is located in...
Basically is saying: -The Lord is always before us, He is always here. He never leaves or will leave. He is at our RIGHT HAND-- meaning, He is RIGHT THERE at all times, there for us to hold His hand or grab Him or touch Him or find Him when we seek for Him. Thus, we cannot be shaken. If God is always with us, at our right hand (basically at our fingertips, for lack of better metaphors), we should not fear.
-My flesh will live in hope = Think about this for a second. My FLESH will live in hope. Our flesh = our human nature/earthly selves/sinful/gratifying to ourselves and not to the Lord...because the Lord is always before us at our right hand, our flesh can live in hope. Our earthly, disgusting, sinful flesh can live in HOPE because our God has sent His son as that hope, to cover our flesh with His blood. Man. I love it.
Chapter 3:11-12 has a lot of names for Jesus, including: servant, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life, Messiah. Jesus is so many things; actually, He is ALL things. He is all-encompassing. I really like "Author of Life," it isn't mentioned as often as others. Author= writer over specific texts or stories; Jesus is the writer over the specific text, of LIFE
Chapter 3:19-20: "Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." Mmm. It's saying that Jesus is a refreshment, that the Lord's presence should bring our hearts/minds/souls refreshment. I like this because today, first day of classes/first day of my senior year of college, I am not feeling refreshed, I am feeling down and like I am losing what God did in my life this summer by being bogged down by things here, but reading this, and being in the presence of the Lord, has refreshed me. Yes!
-Jesus says in 1:7 that "it is not for you to know the times or preiods that the Father has set by his own authority." Talking about His second coming, Jesus himself states that it is not for any of us to know, but for God alone who has set it
-Jesus did descend into Hell after He died before His ressurection: seen in 2:24 and 2:31-32. Jesus conquered death and Hell = Jesus conquered sin so that our sins would be forever paid for...death/sin could not hold Him
-There are comforting words from David quoted here in 2:25-26: "I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; morever my flesh will live in hope." I love this. I want to find what Psalm it is located in...
Basically is saying: -The Lord is always before us, He is always here. He never leaves or will leave. He is at our RIGHT HAND-- meaning, He is RIGHT THERE at all times, there for us to hold His hand or grab Him or touch Him or find Him when we seek for Him. Thus, we cannot be shaken. If God is always with us, at our right hand (basically at our fingertips, for lack of better metaphors), we should not fear.
-My flesh will live in hope = Think about this for a second. My FLESH will live in hope. Our flesh = our human nature/earthly selves/sinful/gratifying to ourselves and not to the Lord...because the Lord is always before us at our right hand, our flesh can live in hope. Our earthly, disgusting, sinful flesh can live in HOPE because our God has sent His son as that hope, to cover our flesh with His blood. Man. I love it.
Chapter 3:11-12 has a lot of names for Jesus, including: servant, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life, Messiah. Jesus is so many things; actually, He is ALL things. He is all-encompassing. I really like "Author of Life," it isn't mentioned as often as others. Author= writer over specific texts or stories; Jesus is the writer over the specific text, of LIFE
Chapter 3:19-20: "Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." Mmm. It's saying that Jesus is a refreshment, that the Lord's presence should bring our hearts/minds/souls refreshment. I like this because today, first day of classes/first day of my senior year of college, I am not feeling refreshed, I am feeling down and like I am losing what God did in my life this summer by being bogged down by things here, but reading this, and being in the presence of the Lord, has refreshed me. Yes!
Lets Play the Name Game..
How powerful is the name of Jesus? We hear "Jesus is the name above all names" and we end our prayers in "In Jesus name I pray..." There's so many songs about his name, and how sweet it is, but what does that even mean?! Well... Check this out.
"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing His eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ ofNazareth
Here we see a crippled man who is healed by and every day disciple of Jesus, like you and me.
Peter and John saw this man and faith began to stir and the holy spirit began to move in them and the went over there and proclaimed healing over this man. Guys arise in faith and cast out all hopelessness and disbelief as far as the name of Jesus is concerned. "Suddenly ‘In Jesus Name’ is no longer a phrase that is meant to just end your prayer, but your power and connection to heavenly anointing to release God’s glory into your life and situation."
Last verse I want to share with you about the sweetest name in the World.
Acts 4:12 "Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. And we must be saved through him!"
Wow! I hope this made you realize just how powerful and how beautiful and wondrous the name, just the NAME of Jesus is. It made me think twice.
i want your feedback my dear family! :]
i love you
Blessings, Madi Greer
"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing His eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Here we see a crippled man who is healed by and every day disciple of Jesus, like you and me.
Peter and John saw this man and faith began to stir and the holy spirit began to move in them and the went over there and proclaimed healing over this man. Guys arise in faith and cast out all hopelessness and disbelief as far as the name of Jesus is concerned. "Suddenly ‘In Jesus Name’ is no longer a phrase that is meant to just end your prayer, but your power and connection to heavenly anointing to release God’s glory into your life and situation."
“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Acts
Last verse I want to share with you about the sweetest name in the World.
Acts 4:12 "Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. And we must be saved through him!"
Wow! I hope this made you realize just how powerful and how beautiful and wondrous the name, just the NAME of Jesus is. It made me think twice.
i want your feedback my dear family! :]
i love you
Blessings, Madi Greer
greater things have yet to come
this is kind of from a few chapters back, but it's been on my heart ever since i read it my last week at sky this summer, and then it happened to be in our quest reading in John 14.
John 14 is all about how Jesus is the way to the Father, and about how He is going to leave soon and go to the Father--but that although He is leaving, His works will continue to be done through us as believers. He also touches on the baller fact in verse 10 that "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." This is Jesus giving glory to the Father by not claiming to do anything on His own apart from God, but giving all the credit to our Father in Heaven for anything He says and does. SO COOL. We should be more like Jesus in this regard-- that nothing we do or say or are comes from us alone, but the God in us--especially if we are believers. 2 Cor. 3:5 says "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves, to claim anything for ourselves, but our sufficiency comes from God." This means that we cannot claim ANYTHING for ourselves...especially when we are doing His work. We can't take the credit. It is GOD within us that causes great works to happen...nothing within our sinful, depraved selves as human beings leads us to do such good things. It is God alone--and we should rejoice in that fact!That God loves us that much and trusts us as His chosen children that much to allow Himself to work in and THROUGH us...to minister to others and to continue to do his works.
This is shown in verse 12: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." I love this verse so much. I remember reading it one morning during breakfast on the back porch my last week at Sky and tears rolling down my face. Because we BELIEVE, God entrusts the Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us and do great works--and Jesus says, to do even greater works than He HIMSELF did on earth. How crazy is that?? This strongly encouraged me my last week at Sky because I realized that I was not doing this for myself or to bring glory to Whitley Leiss, but to God above...and that the works I was doing were all because of the Spirit living within me! God stirs and works within each of us, and we have to remember that greater things have yet to come. When Jesus left, the Spirit was allowed to enter us as humans and work within...something that had not yet been ordained by God.
So, dear friends, recognize the Spirit that is dwelling within you--GOD within you, CHRIST within you, the HOLY SPIRIT within you--and do His work. Do it all for His kingdom and further it with the intentions of praising Him and bringing Him the utmost glory. Acts has a lot to do with the Holy Spirit and its presence/affect in the lives of the apostles/Christians, and we cannot deny the fact that the Holy Spirit is currently dwelling within each of us and is ready to go to WORK.
John 14 is all about how Jesus is the way to the Father, and about how He is going to leave soon and go to the Father--but that although He is leaving, His works will continue to be done through us as believers. He also touches on the baller fact in verse 10 that "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." This is Jesus giving glory to the Father by not claiming to do anything on His own apart from God, but giving all the credit to our Father in Heaven for anything He says and does. SO COOL. We should be more like Jesus in this regard-- that nothing we do or say or are comes from us alone, but the God in us--especially if we are believers. 2 Cor. 3:5 says "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves, to claim anything for ourselves, but our sufficiency comes from God." This means that we cannot claim ANYTHING for ourselves...especially when we are doing His work. We can't take the credit. It is GOD within us that causes great works to happen...nothing within our sinful, depraved selves as human beings leads us to do such good things. It is God alone--and we should rejoice in that fact!That God loves us that much and trusts us as His chosen children that much to allow Himself to work in and THROUGH us...to minister to others and to continue to do his works.
This is shown in verse 12: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." I love this verse so much. I remember reading it one morning during breakfast on the back porch my last week at Sky and tears rolling down my face. Because we BELIEVE, God entrusts the Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us and do great works--and Jesus says, to do even greater works than He HIMSELF did on earth. How crazy is that?? This strongly encouraged me my last week at Sky because I realized that I was not doing this for myself or to bring glory to Whitley Leiss, but to God above...and that the works I was doing were all because of the Spirit living within me! God stirs and works within each of us, and we have to remember that greater things have yet to come. When Jesus left, the Spirit was allowed to enter us as humans and work within...something that had not yet been ordained by God.
So, dear friends, recognize the Spirit that is dwelling within you--GOD within you, CHRIST within you, the HOLY SPIRIT within you--and do His work. Do it all for His kingdom and further it with the intentions of praising Him and bringing Him the utmost glory. Acts has a lot to do with the Holy Spirit and its presence/affect in the lives of the apostles/Christians, and we cannot deny the fact that the Holy Spirit is currently dwelling within each of us and is ready to go to WORK.
couple of my thoughts on the holy spirit
So the last few weeks the Lord has been teaching me alot about the Holy Spirit. Especially in John 16 when we read:
The Work of the Holy Spirit
... I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for h if I do not go away, i the Helper will not come to you. But j if k I go, l I will send him to you. 8 m ... 13 When t the Spirit of truth comes, u he will v guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but w whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will x glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 y All that the Father has is mine; z therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
This passage got me really excited about the Helper (holy spirit) that lives inside of me. Especially when he says "it is to your advantage that I go away" so that he may send him to us. It says the Helper will guide us into all truth.
I have noticed alot lately how Satan is the "father of all lies" and I listen to them more often than I thought I did. Since I have been back from camp he is telling me:
-I am worthless because I'm not living for him every second like I was at camp
-I have to have a girlfriend to really enjoy this life
-My roommates don't want me to be hardcore about the Lord
-I am selfish when I am in college
.... And the list goes on. Usually I dwell on these thoughts and do not even idenify them as lies from the devil. But since I have read John 16 I know that those thoughts have no place in my mind because the Spirit of Truth lives within me. I have been able to take those lies captive in the power of the holy spirit.
I'm excited about continuing to read in Acts and see how the Lord uses the apostles through the Holy Spirit to do amazing things (like heal the lame in chapter 3).
The Work of the Holy Spirit
... I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for h if I do not go away, i the Helper will not come to you. But j if k I go, l I will send him to you. 8 m ... 13 When t the Spirit of truth comes, u he will v guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but w whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will x glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 y All that the Father has is mine; z therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
This passage got me really excited about the Helper (holy spirit) that lives inside of me. Especially when he says "it is to your advantage that I go away" so that he may send him to us. It says the Helper will guide us into all truth.
I have noticed alot lately how Satan is the "father of all lies" and I listen to them more often than I thought I did. Since I have been back from camp he is telling me:
-I am worthless because I'm not living for him every second like I was at camp
-I have to have a girlfriend to really enjoy this life
-My roommates don't want me to be hardcore about the Lord
-I am selfish when I am in college
.... And the list goes on. Usually I dwell on these thoughts and do not even idenify them as lies from the devil. But since I have read John 16 I know that those thoughts have no place in my mind because the Spirit of Truth lives within me. I have been able to take those lies captive in the power of the holy spirit.
I'm excited about continuing to read in Acts and see how the Lord uses the apostles through the Holy Spirit to do amazing things (like heal the lame in chapter 3).
FCS
okay...so my first time posting and I'm not even going to be on topic ;)
I am really intrigued by acts, and the power of the holy spirit, though being raised in a baptist church (uh oh :P) it's not a topic typically covered. So I will stick to reading what others have to say about it.
Although, I just wanted to share something that has really challenged me this past week. We start school today, my Junior year, and I have been training to be the FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) leader on campus. It's something I have felt really called to all last year and there was no doubt in my mind what I needed to do. Although, I was also invited to join honors band, the top band at our school. They go on several trips and competitions, it's a really big deal to finally make that band. I did not see any conflict with doing both, other than having to miss out on Friday morning rehearsals to make the FCS bible studies. Unfortunatly, this didnt run over well with my band director, and he told me I would have to chose between the two. To me, it was no big deal to drop out of top band, I was dissapointed, yes, but I knew where my priorities were. Although, when both of my parents and one of my spiritual leaders encouraged me to step down from leadership and just go to the other fcs activities, I became confused.
Was being an FCS leader really God's plan for me? or did I just take pride in a leadership opportunity? I wasn't feeling peace in any direction. I prayed and felt empty. I opened up to Romans 12 and began to read the chapter for my devo. One part in particular stuck out to me "he who teaches use in teaching." it was talking about spritual gifts and using them for God's glory. Thinking back to Quest and the "my ride" boards, I remembered that one of my spiritual gifts was teaching. If I was gifted in evangalising, it might be a good idea to give up leadership and use top band as an opportunity to witness. But I'm not. God gave me the gift of teaching. So that's what I need to be doing this year :)
Just thought I would share that. I'm not sure why it was such a big struggle for me, but I feel so much more prepared for this upcoming year. Thanks for reading!
I am really intrigued by acts, and the power of the holy spirit, though being raised in a baptist church (uh oh :P) it's not a topic typically covered. So I will stick to reading what others have to say about it.
Although, I just wanted to share something that has really challenged me this past week. We start school today, my Junior year, and I have been training to be the FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) leader on campus. It's something I have felt really called to all last year and there was no doubt in my mind what I needed to do. Although, I was also invited to join honors band, the top band at our school. They go on several trips and competitions, it's a really big deal to finally make that band. I did not see any conflict with doing both, other than having to miss out on Friday morning rehearsals to make the FCS bible studies. Unfortunatly, this didnt run over well with my band director, and he told me I would have to chose between the two. To me, it was no big deal to drop out of top band, I was dissapointed, yes, but I knew where my priorities were. Although, when both of my parents and one of my spiritual leaders encouraged me to step down from leadership and just go to the other fcs activities, I became confused.
Was being an FCS leader really God's plan for me? or did I just take pride in a leadership opportunity? I wasn't feeling peace in any direction. I prayed and felt empty. I opened up to Romans 12 and began to read the chapter for my devo. One part in particular stuck out to me "he who teaches use in teaching." it was talking about spritual gifts and using them for God's glory. Thinking back to Quest and the "my ride" boards, I remembered that one of my spiritual gifts was teaching. If I was gifted in evangalising, it might be a good idea to give up leadership and use top band as an opportunity to witness. But I'm not. God gave me the gift of teaching. So that's what I need to be doing this year :)
Just thought I would share that. I'm not sure why it was such a big struggle for me, but I feel so much more prepared for this upcoming year. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
commitment
hello all,
time for me to live up to my commitment on here. cam-- i made this my homepage...it really helps! gotta get caught up tonight on acts and post this week. in the meantime, any prayers for my family would be deeply appreciated. i believe in the power of prayer, especially in numbers. thanks y'all. posting soon.
whit
time for me to live up to my commitment on here. cam-- i made this my homepage...it really helps! gotta get caught up tonight on acts and post this week. in the meantime, any prayers for my family would be deeply appreciated. i believe in the power of prayer, especially in numbers. thanks y'all. posting soon.
whit
Acts 2
Acts is my favorite book of the bible because it convicts my heart. So much can be learned about how the church should be in the end times. The end times started when Jesus ascended into heaven and he said we would do greater things after he left. Acts is the perfect guide for us to look at and say we are to do even greater things than that. One thing I noticed in this chapter was the boldness Peter replied with when they accussed him and the other disciples of being drunk. That is the kind of boldness we need in everyday life, we need to get to a point in our walk with God where everything is sacraficed. Including our reputation and how people see us at school, work or wherever we go. That kind of lifestyle requires boldness and strength from the Lord, we don't have anything to offer God but our lives. We also need to hold each other accountable to this boldness and to living in the truth. We are above and not beneath and we have to remember that when people try to put us down for our beliefs. I encourage all of you to walk in this and know that you are lucky to know the truth. God is bigger than anything and anyone we face.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
And another one for Madi...
Madi,
Can you facebook message me and tell me specifically about your thoughts of the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us?
Can you facebook message me and tell me specifically about your thoughts of the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us?
Hey Evi can you do something for us?
Evi,
Do you think you could do a study on the Holy Spirit like you did on angels. Like listing out the holy spirit's roles and all that good stuff like you did with angels?
Do you think you could do a study on the Holy Spirit like you did on angels. Like listing out the holy spirit's roles and all that good stuff like you did with angels?
Friday, August 21, 2009
last chapter of John
Chapter 21
I love how the disciples never recognize Jesus until he does something crazy awesome. The disciples went out fishing and caught nothing then Jesus says "Try the other side" and they can't even pull it in. I love that Peter is like a dog coming to his master and can't even wait on the and jumps out and swims to him.
Once again we see the Lord's grace as Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times since he denied him three times. Peter was the "rock on whom Christ will build the church" and look how bad he messed up. Let us not be discouraged for the Lord will never leave us, forsake us, or abandon us no matter how bad we slip.
I love that the last verse of John he says: "Now there are also many other things Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." SOOOOO SWEET!!!
I have gotten more out of the gospel of John than I ever have times 10! Thanks for doing this with me quest. Now on to one of my favorite books... the story about what happens to the believers after Jesus returns to his father... the book of Acts baby
I love how the disciples never recognize Jesus until he does something crazy awesome. The disciples went out fishing and caught nothing then Jesus says "Try the other side" and they can't even pull it in. I love that Peter is like a dog coming to his master and can't even wait on the and jumps out and swims to him.
Once again we see the Lord's grace as Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times since he denied him three times. Peter was the "rock on whom Christ will build the church" and look how bad he messed up. Let us not be discouraged for the Lord will never leave us, forsake us, or abandon us no matter how bad we slip.
I love that the last verse of John he says: "Now there are also many other things Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." SOOOOO SWEET!!!
I have gotten more out of the gospel of John than I ever have times 10! Thanks for doing this with me quest. Now on to one of my favorite books... the story about what happens to the believers after Jesus returns to his father... the book of Acts baby
Thursday, August 20, 2009
the resurrection
First of all, Whit, I am so encouraged and blessed by your story. I was smiling so big the entire time I read it becasue of the work God is doing through you... STUD. And to any of ya'll that have not read whitley's last post... READ IT!
anyways... the resurrection
If this is not truth; if God did not raise his son from the dead then our Christianity is all together worthless and deceived. This is one of the most pivtol chapters in our Bible. If this never happened then he is just like any other man who walked the earth.
We went over some factual reasons why we can prove Christ's resurrection in the Sky 4 Bible study this summer and I wanted to share it with you guys.
anyways... the resurrection
If this is not truth; if God did not raise his son from the dead then our Christianity is all together worthless and deceived. This is one of the most pivtol chapters in our Bible. If this never happened then he is just like any other man who walked the earth.
We went over some factual reasons why we can prove Christ's resurrection in the Sky 4 Bible study this summer and I wanted to share it with you guys.
- Now no one can deny that Jesus body was not in the tomb three days after he was buried. This is fact. Muslim, Agnostic, or Protestant.
- So everyone explains the missing body by robbers (they say it was probably the disciples)
Reasons why he rose:
- No one can deny that his body was not there three days later. Many extrabiblicar sources cite this fact.
- The punishment for breaking and entering a tomb was death under the Roman government. The disciples were scared out of their mind once Jesus got arrested and there is no way they would have taken that risk.
- The guards were gone. To leave your post in the Roman army was payable only to death. The guards would not have just ding dong ditched.
- 20:1 Mary Magdelene came to the tomb first and then told Peter. Her and Martha also saw Jesus first.
- During these times a woman's testimony was not even valid in the court of law. aka: The leaders of these times did not even credit what a woman said about an event
- So lets say that the disciples really did steal the body and had to come up with an aliby (sp.?) also known as the gospels. Would they have made up the story that not only did a woman find the empty tomb first but she was also the first to see Jesus? NO!!! The disciples are not idiots. This is because this is really the way it happend, otherwise they would have made it someone more credible who found the empty tomb.
hope those solidify your faith in Christ our resurrected savior. peace
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
angels
hi quest.
so i haven't posted in a while, and i'm sorry. whenever i post it's never about what we're reading but yeah. i hope its okay with y'all! i'd love feedback. please. anyways, a couple weeks ago i reserached angels, like, a lot about them- and i realized here is a place i could share what i've learned and more i found about them. i've always loved the idea of angels- i thought they were so cool, but not, like, worshipping them, but that they're just really neat beings. then i realized i didn't really know much about them...and wanted to know whatever i could! so i went to the Bible- and found lots of what it teaches about angels!
Angels were created before God created earth as good angels made to glorify God- Job 38:4-7, Psalm 148:2-5, Genesis 1:31, Nehemiah 9:6, Colossians 1:16, 2 Peter 3:8, Hebrews 1:6
An angel rebellion, leaded by Satan came against God. Satan wanted to be greater than God and 1/3 of the angels followed him and became demons- Ezekiel 28:11-19, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 10, 4:11, 12:3-4
Holy angels live in heaven and when assigend a task by God, they leave and do the work on earth then go back to heaven- Isaiah 6:1-6, Daniel 7:10, Hebrews 12:22
Angels are personal and individual beings with minds, emotions, desires, and wills- 2 Samuel 14:20, Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 22:8-9, Daniel 9:21-22, Isaiah 14:12-15, Job 38:7, 1 Peter 1:12
Angels are spirit beings, they aren't physical, and invisible but can become visible to us; therefore, we're not usually aware of them working around us- Hebrews 1:14, 2 Kings 6:17
Angels can take on human appearance when their task calls for it- Genisis 18:1-21, Hebrews 13:2
They're not present everywhere like God is- they move from one place to another- Daniel 9:20-23
They're really powerful, mighty, superior to man, but inferior to God- Psalm 103:20, Psalm 8:3-5, 1Thesselonians 1:7, Daniel 9:21-22, Revelation 14:6, Mathew 24:36, Jude 9
They're set apart from sin and set apart unto God to do His bidding- Job 5:1, Psalm 89:7
Angels are immortal even if they were created, basically once they were made, they'll never stop existing. ever! Luke 20:36
They're innumerable, uncountable, however you want to say it, they're are a LOT and at a fixed number- Revelation 5:11, Daniel 7:10, Matthew 22:30
They're called 'ministering spirits'. Meaning, they're spirit servants that help us, people, who are gonna inherit salvation, but they can take physical form, whether human or just something otherworldly- Hebrews 1:14, Genesis 18:1-19, Joshua 5:13-14, Mark 16:5-8, Luke 1:11-12, Matthew 28:2-4
There are several descirptions of physical appearances of them in the bible- Exodus 25:20, Isaiah 6:1-4,Matthew 28:3, Daniel 10:5-6, Ezekiel 1:5-28
Angels service takes many forms, like being used by God in answering prayers, bringing announcements and warnings to God's people, giving encouragement, providing protection, giving guidance, providing deliverance, and caring for believers at death- Acts 10:3-33, 12:7-11, 27:23-24, Luke 1:11-13, 16:22 Psalm 91:11, Genisis 19:17
Angels are organized by ranks (thrones, powers, rulers, authorities, dominions), but the detail of these ranks aren't revealed to us- Ephessians 1:20-21, Collosians 1:16
Among unbelievers, angels restrain wickedness, announce God's judgments, execute God's judgements, and in the end times cast 'into the blazing furnace'- Genisis 19:1-15, Revelation 4:6-20, 5:11-14, 14:7-10, 16:1-18, Acts 12:23, Matthew 13:37-43
In the afterlife, Christians will judge against angels- 1 Corinthians 6:3
Anyways, there's some jazz about angels from the bible that I wanted to share cause I think they're real awesome and would love feedback and want to know more about them!
The scripture and some references are from the ESV Study Bible and The Apologetics Study Bible, and recommend this website for more Scriptural references about angels, I didn't use any from it though-http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_angels.html
so i haven't posted in a while, and i'm sorry. whenever i post it's never about what we're reading but yeah. i hope its okay with y'all! i'd love feedback. please. anyways, a couple weeks ago i reserached angels, like, a lot about them- and i realized here is a place i could share what i've learned and more i found about them. i've always loved the idea of angels- i thought they were so cool, but not, like, worshipping them, but that they're just really neat beings. then i realized i didn't really know much about them...and wanted to know whatever i could! so i went to the Bible- and found lots of what it teaches about angels!
Angels were created before God created earth as good angels made to glorify God- Job 38:4-7, Psalm 148:2-5, Genesis 1:31, Nehemiah 9:6, Colossians 1:16, 2 Peter 3:8, Hebrews 1:6
An angel rebellion, leaded by Satan came against God. Satan wanted to be greater than God and 1/3 of the angels followed him and became demons- Ezekiel 28:11-19, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 10, 4:11, 12:3-4
Holy angels live in heaven and when assigend a task by God, they leave and do the work on earth then go back to heaven- Isaiah 6:1-6, Daniel 7:10, Hebrews 12:22
Angels are personal and individual beings with minds, emotions, desires, and wills- 2 Samuel 14:20, Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 22:8-9, Daniel 9:21-22, Isaiah 14:12-15, Job 38:7, 1 Peter 1:12
Angels are spirit beings, they aren't physical, and invisible but can become visible to us; therefore, we're not usually aware of them working around us- Hebrews 1:14, 2 Kings 6:17
Angels can take on human appearance when their task calls for it- Genisis 18:1-21, Hebrews 13:2
They're not present everywhere like God is- they move from one place to another- Daniel 9:20-23
They're really powerful, mighty, superior to man, but inferior to God- Psalm 103:20, Psalm 8:3-5, 1Thesselonians 1:7, Daniel 9:21-22, Revelation 14:6, Mathew 24:36, Jude 9
They're set apart from sin and set apart unto God to do His bidding- Job 5:1, Psalm 89:7
Angels are immortal even if they were created, basically once they were made, they'll never stop existing. ever! Luke 20:36
They're innumerable, uncountable, however you want to say it, they're are a LOT and at a fixed number- Revelation 5:11, Daniel 7:10, Matthew 22:30
They're called 'ministering spirits'. Meaning, they're spirit servants that help us, people, who are gonna inherit salvation, but they can take physical form, whether human or just something otherworldly- Hebrews 1:14, Genesis 18:1-19, Joshua 5:13-14, Mark 16:5-8, Luke 1:11-12, Matthew 28:2-4
There are several descirptions of physical appearances of them in the bible- Exodus 25:20, Isaiah 6:1-4,Matthew 28:3, Daniel 10:5-6, Ezekiel 1:5-28
Angels service takes many forms, like being used by God in answering prayers, bringing announcements and warnings to God's people, giving encouragement, providing protection, giving guidance, providing deliverance, and caring for believers at death- Acts 10:3-33, 12:7-11, 27:23-24, Luke 1:11-13, 16:22 Psalm 91:11, Genisis 19:17
Angels are organized by ranks (thrones, powers, rulers, authorities, dominions), but the detail of these ranks aren't revealed to us- Ephessians 1:20-21, Collosians 1:16
Among unbelievers, angels restrain wickedness, announce God's judgments, execute God's judgements, and in the end times cast 'into the blazing furnace'- Genisis 19:1-15, Revelation 4:6-20, 5:11-14, 14:7-10, 16:1-18, Acts 12:23, Matthew 13:37-43
In the afterlife, Christians will judge against angels- 1 Corinthians 6:3
Anyways, there's some jazz about angels from the bible that I wanted to share cause I think they're real awesome and would love feedback and want to know more about them!
The scripture and some references are from the ESV Study Bible and The Apologetics Study Bible, and recommend this website for more Scriptural references about angels, I didn't use any from it though-http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_angels.html
John 17-19
Here are some of my random thoughts from John 17-19. :]
John 17
I love how Jesus prays for himself, the disciples, and all believers. I find it interesting that He prays for Himself first... you would think He would pray for others first... always putting others before Himself, but I guess not in that case. Any thoughts on that? I love how He prays for protection over His disciples. My favorite verse from this section is, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." This is so simple, but I love it because our mission is to share Christ with people in this world. If Jesus were to pray for us to be taken from the world, we wouldn't be able to fulfill our mission, and His mission for us. But instead He simply prays for protection from the evil one. I love that. I also love verse 18: "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." We are following after Christ in every aspect - God sent Christ into the world, and now Christ is sending us into the world to continue His work. So cool.
I also love how Jesus prays for unity. Over and over you see, "I pray that they will be one as we are one." He wants us to be so unified together in Christ as Christ was united with His Father. I want that tight intimacy with Christ and the other believers! May we join forces and build up His army!
John 18
It's so cool how Jesus knows what Scriptures need to be fulfilled. John 18:9 says "This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled..." and back in verse 4 it says, "Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, 'Who is it that you want?'" He was so obedient to His Father - He knew what had to happen and He submitted to that. I pray that I am the same way with the Lord's will in my life. May I follow through obediently!
Something cool:
We talked about this in church once. John 18:37 says: Jesus answered, "...in fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth..." and then Pilate asks in v. 39, "What is truth?" Jesus doesn't respond. Interesting. So, what is truth? Jesus came to testify to the truth. The truth is the Gospel! It's that Jesus Christ is the Messiah - the one who came to this earth for no purpose other than to die for humanity, taking on the sins of the world. He came to conquer death so that we can spend eternity with our God. What are y'alls thoughts on this part? Why do you think Jesus doesn't respond to Pilate's question?
John 19
In Luke, Simon from Cyrene carries Jesus's cross, and in John's account, Jesus carries his own cross. Thoughts?
When the chief priests say to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews," Pilate answers, "What I have written, I have written." Thoughts on this? Was this Pilate's way of saying he believes that Christ is who He says He is? Was Pilate a believer?
Also, in Luke's account that we studied with Quest's Bible study, Jesus doesn't want to receive the wine vinegar drink because it was used to slightly dull the pain. (Isn't that what the note at the bottom of our Bible study packet said for that passage?) To my interpretation, Jesus didn't want anything numbing His pain during the crucifixion - He still had to minister to the other criminal while He was on the cross. He didn't want anything preventing His ministry. To my interpretation, Jesus wanted to feel all of the pain - He didn't want anything to even slightly numb it. In John's account, Jesus says, "I am thirsty" and drinks the wine vinegar, then says, "It is finished" and breathes His last. Also, the conversation between Jesus and the two criminals crucified with Him is not recorded in John's account.
Let me know what y'alls thoughts are. I don't have my study Bible with me while I've been reading these passages, so let me know if you have commentary that would be helpful! :]
Also - if you are reading this and have not yet posted on the blog, you need to become an author!! E-mail Cameron or I - cameron_cook@tamu.edu or keri.halvorson@tcu.edu . We created this blog for y'all to use!! :]
John 17
I love how Jesus prays for himself, the disciples, and all believers. I find it interesting that He prays for Himself first... you would think He would pray for others first... always putting others before Himself, but I guess not in that case. Any thoughts on that? I love how He prays for protection over His disciples. My favorite verse from this section is, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." This is so simple, but I love it because our mission is to share Christ with people in this world. If Jesus were to pray for us to be taken from the world, we wouldn't be able to fulfill our mission, and His mission for us. But instead He simply prays for protection from the evil one. I love that. I also love verse 18: "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." We are following after Christ in every aspect - God sent Christ into the world, and now Christ is sending us into the world to continue His work. So cool.
I also love how Jesus prays for unity. Over and over you see, "I pray that they will be one as we are one." He wants us to be so unified together in Christ as Christ was united with His Father. I want that tight intimacy with Christ and the other believers! May we join forces and build up His army!
John 18
It's so cool how Jesus knows what Scriptures need to be fulfilled. John 18:9 says "This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled..." and back in verse 4 it says, "Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, 'Who is it that you want?'" He was so obedient to His Father - He knew what had to happen and He submitted to that. I pray that I am the same way with the Lord's will in my life. May I follow through obediently!
Something cool:
We talked about this in church once. John 18:37 says: Jesus answered, "...in fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth..." and then Pilate asks in v. 39, "What is truth?" Jesus doesn't respond. Interesting. So, what is truth? Jesus came to testify to the truth. The truth is the Gospel! It's that Jesus Christ is the Messiah - the one who came to this earth for no purpose other than to die for humanity, taking on the sins of the world. He came to conquer death so that we can spend eternity with our God. What are y'alls thoughts on this part? Why do you think Jesus doesn't respond to Pilate's question?
John 19
In Luke, Simon from Cyrene carries Jesus's cross, and in John's account, Jesus carries his own cross. Thoughts?
When the chief priests say to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews," Pilate answers, "What I have written, I have written." Thoughts on this? Was this Pilate's way of saying he believes that Christ is who He says He is? Was Pilate a believer?
Also, in Luke's account that we studied with Quest's Bible study, Jesus doesn't want to receive the wine vinegar drink because it was used to slightly dull the pain. (Isn't that what the note at the bottom of our Bible study packet said for that passage?) To my interpretation, Jesus didn't want anything numbing His pain during the crucifixion - He still had to minister to the other criminal while He was on the cross. He didn't want anything preventing His ministry. To my interpretation, Jesus wanted to feel all of the pain - He didn't want anything to even slightly numb it. In John's account, Jesus says, "I am thirsty" and drinks the wine vinegar, then says, "It is finished" and breathes His last. Also, the conversation between Jesus and the two criminals crucified with Him is not recorded in John's account.
Let me know what y'alls thoughts are. I don't have my study Bible with me while I've been reading these passages, so let me know if you have commentary that would be helpful! :]
Also - if you are reading this and have not yet posted on the blog, you need to become an author!! E-mail Cameron or I - cameron_cook@tamu.edu or keri.halvorson@tcu.edu . We created this blog for y'all to use!! :]
encouragement
hey guys, it's been a while for me since i've posted. it's been really tough since i've been home from sky ranch. i just got done with TCU's Frog Camp, a camp for incoming freshmen to come and have a good time and get more comfortable about college. Being a counselor for this type of camp is a lot different than Sky Ranch, but in a lot of ways I found parallels. It was really cool to be focused on my campers and to be there for them, and God proved Himself yet again bigger than I give Him credit for. I know this post isn't about the passage for today, but I want to share this with all of you...
I went into Frog Camp somewhat excited but also really sad. I had to leave the last week of Sky Ranch because of Frog Camp and I didn't know how I felt about that. We can't really talk about religion or our faith at Frog Camp and I knew it was going to be hard to switch gears. I went into it though with the best mindset I could manage, and kept telling myself that God can work anywhere...He is mighty to save and can do big things anywhere. We just sometimes think He can't. And the past 5 days were proof that God works everywhere...He never is at rest.
I've done 5 Frog Camps over the past 3 summers, and this was the first camp that I embraced the ministry opportunities that came my way. I wasn't afraid to talk about Christ and what He did this summer at Sky Ranch with my fellow counselors or my campers. When I got home from Sky, I began wearing a key around my neck because of the key that Madi wore around her neck-- God is our ultimate father, the key to our lives and our hearts. It also symbolizes that, in reality, it is just a key. What is important is the meaning behind the key, what it means to me, what God is to us all, who He is.....and that's what I realized about Sky Ranch. When I left 2 Saturdays ago, I was devastated. I remember everyone going to worship that morning and me going back to my cabin to load my stuff and just breaking down in sobs in the bathroom. I couldn't believe this amazing part of my life-- definitely one of the best, most incredible experiences of my life-- was over. But I have to remember that it's just Sky Ranch. It's just a place. What matters is what happened there, what God did there in me and through me and in you and through all of you. I can't keep holding on too tightly to things, and rather hold on tightly to God and who He is and the works He has done and continues to do.
I probably had about 20 people at camp ask me about my key and Sky fish. Seriously. And because of those 20, I'd say an additional 20 people heard about what they meant to me as I told them what I just wrote above. People would crowd around me in huddles to listen. I told them about Madi and her key and about Sky Ranch and what God has done and how He is everything, the key to life, and people were mesmorized by it all...1) that a 14-year-old girl could be so strong and have so much faith and understanding, 2) that God is so amazing and so big that He could move as much as He did in Quest this summer, and 3) there were people at Frog Camp I have known for years that told me that I seemed different, that I seemed to have a joy and a peace that I had never had before...and y'all, I attribute that to the Lord! And also to all of you. Quest truly changed my life...and I got to tell people at Frog Camp about it. I was able to witness to 30-40 people. What?! It still surprises me when I think about it, because none of it was me. It was God placing Himself there and allowing me to be a vessel for His kingdom in a place where I thought it couldn't happen.
One of my campers in my small group named Christine pulled me aside for a one-on-one the first night, asking me about how she can keep up her faith in college and how she can not be tempted or fall away from God. I got to talk with her all weekend and have been texting her since she left about the Lord, praying for her and helping her through this transition into college. It blows my mind, you guys. It's like Sky Ranch came to Frog Camp, like God brought parts of it there. Never did I think I would have a one-on-one with a frog camper about God...!
And here's the biggest kicker of them all-- on Sunday morning at camp, I was walking to my staff meeting at 7:30 am when I saw a group of about 15-20 freshmen gathered around a big stone, and there was a freshmen student leading a small bible study/church service for them all. You guys. This. Is. Huge. That has never happened at Frog Camp. This student passed out fliers on Saturday night at camp letting people know that he was holding a church-like service on Sunday morning...think about that. Think about it-- a new student at a new college, not knowing anybody, with enough faith and courage to be the church and know what he believes in and make it happen. He had no fear. It amazed me deep to my core.
All in all, God is at work in all places. We can't contain Him to Sky Ranch alone...He is evident and present everywhere. Allow God to work in you and through you in all places and circumstances. Recognize His ability to move mountains in the darkest of places. He is real and active and living...
I went into Frog Camp somewhat excited but also really sad. I had to leave the last week of Sky Ranch because of Frog Camp and I didn't know how I felt about that. We can't really talk about religion or our faith at Frog Camp and I knew it was going to be hard to switch gears. I went into it though with the best mindset I could manage, and kept telling myself that God can work anywhere...He is mighty to save and can do big things anywhere. We just sometimes think He can't. And the past 5 days were proof that God works everywhere...He never is at rest.
I've done 5 Frog Camps over the past 3 summers, and this was the first camp that I embraced the ministry opportunities that came my way. I wasn't afraid to talk about Christ and what He did this summer at Sky Ranch with my fellow counselors or my campers. When I got home from Sky, I began wearing a key around my neck because of the key that Madi wore around her neck-- God is our ultimate father, the key to our lives and our hearts. It also symbolizes that, in reality, it is just a key. What is important is the meaning behind the key, what it means to me, what God is to us all, who He is.....and that's what I realized about Sky Ranch. When I left 2 Saturdays ago, I was devastated. I remember everyone going to worship that morning and me going back to my cabin to load my stuff and just breaking down in sobs in the bathroom. I couldn't believe this amazing part of my life-- definitely one of the best, most incredible experiences of my life-- was over. But I have to remember that it's just Sky Ranch. It's just a place. What matters is what happened there, what God did there in me and through me and in you and through all of you. I can't keep holding on too tightly to things, and rather hold on tightly to God and who He is and the works He has done and continues to do.
I probably had about 20 people at camp ask me about my key and Sky fish. Seriously. And because of those 20, I'd say an additional 20 people heard about what they meant to me as I told them what I just wrote above. People would crowd around me in huddles to listen. I told them about Madi and her key and about Sky Ranch and what God has done and how He is everything, the key to life, and people were mesmorized by it all...1) that a 14-year-old girl could be so strong and have so much faith and understanding, 2) that God is so amazing and so big that He could move as much as He did in Quest this summer, and 3) there were people at Frog Camp I have known for years that told me that I seemed different, that I seemed to have a joy and a peace that I had never had before...and y'all, I attribute that to the Lord! And also to all of you. Quest truly changed my life...and I got to tell people at Frog Camp about it. I was able to witness to 30-40 people. What?! It still surprises me when I think about it, because none of it was me. It was God placing Himself there and allowing me to be a vessel for His kingdom in a place where I thought it couldn't happen.
One of my campers in my small group named Christine pulled me aside for a one-on-one the first night, asking me about how she can keep up her faith in college and how she can not be tempted or fall away from God. I got to talk with her all weekend and have been texting her since she left about the Lord, praying for her and helping her through this transition into college. It blows my mind, you guys. It's like Sky Ranch came to Frog Camp, like God brought parts of it there. Never did I think I would have a one-on-one with a frog camper about God...!
And here's the biggest kicker of them all-- on Sunday morning at camp, I was walking to my staff meeting at 7:30 am when I saw a group of about 15-20 freshmen gathered around a big stone, and there was a freshmen student leading a small bible study/church service for them all. You guys. This. Is. Huge. That has never happened at Frog Camp. This student passed out fliers on Saturday night at camp letting people know that he was holding a church-like service on Sunday morning...think about that. Think about it-- a new student at a new college, not knowing anybody, with enough faith and courage to be the church and know what he believes in and make it happen. He had no fear. It amazed me deep to my core.
All in all, God is at work in all places. We can't contain Him to Sky Ranch alone...He is evident and present everywhere. Allow God to work in you and through you in all places and circumstances. Recognize His ability to move mountains in the darkest of places. He is real and active and living...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
John 18
Hey everyone. This is going to be a quick little post, but I wanted to share a little of John 18.
Ok, when I read about Peter cutting off that guy's ear, I thought, "Oh, cool. A fight scene in the Bible." But the thing that is really cool about the Bible is that even in these little stories or parts that you think nothing of, there's still a meaning underneath all of it. And when I thought about Peter cutting off that guy's ear and Jesus stopping him, I saw that you can apply this to your life. You know that God has a plan for you. Peter knew that. Peter let God lead him. But sometimes, when things get hectic and out of control, you decide to take matters into you own hands, just like Peter did. And that's not the right thing to do. Even when you think that everything is out of control, and that it's time for you top step up and take the wheel, it's not. Let God do what he wants to do. If Peter had had his way, there would have been a giant fight, which may have lead to Jesus not being crucified. And while Jesus not being crucified would have been great, it wouldn't have been God's plan for Him. So you see, if you decide that you need to take matters into your own hands, usually that will take you to a path that will lead to sin. Keep that in mind next time you think you think you have to much going on.
One more quick thing, watch this video and tell me what you think. Click on the little link that says, "Watch Video Again," or something like that. Tell me what you think. Thanks!
http://media.causes.com/324263?p_id=79007705
Monday, August 17, 2009
who is doing this?
Hello all my questers, madi, evi, joe, lila, whitley, keri, and anyone else who is reading this.
I hung out with connor from session 10 today, went out and did a little mountain biking. He is keeping up with the plan and we talked about chapter 17 and how awesome it was. Also talked to sam wolf from session 10 and she is going to start posting. Also my little sister Elizabeth (16) who came to session 2 of camp is going to jump on board. Glory to God.
Hey if you are keeping up with these COMMENT ON THIS POST and let me know how this has been going for you. I want to know who is in.
I hung out with connor from session 10 today, went out and did a little mountain biking. He is keeping up with the plan and we talked about chapter 17 and how awesome it was. Also talked to sam wolf from session 10 and she is going to start posting. Also my little sister Elizabeth (16) who came to session 2 of camp is going to jump on board. Glory to God.
Hey if you are keeping up with these COMMENT ON THIS POST and let me know how this has been going for you. I want to know who is in.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
cam cook is back
My summer at Sky Ranch ended with a flash and a bang (for sure the most exhausting and hardest weeks spiritually and physically of my life).
AND I am so thankful for all of you that came through Quest and impacted my life in so many different ways. I got on the blog this morning and absolutely could not believe the quality and quantity of your postings. I am SO PUMPED about doing this with you guys.
I am getting more out of John than I ever have gotten out of any gospel in my life. I love it. I didn't read any this past week because I honestly was so empty that my time with the Lord consisted of me on my knees begging for his strength and guidance. So I read 8-13 this morning and it was incredible and I will be caught up by tomorrow. Love you guys and excited about being back.
AND I am so thankful for all of you that came through Quest and impacted my life in so many different ways. I got on the blog this morning and absolutely could not believe the quality and quantity of your postings. I am SO PUMPED about doing this with you guys.
I am getting more out of John than I ever have gotten out of any gospel in my life. I love it. I didn't read any this past week because I honestly was so empty that my time with the Lord consisted of me on my knees begging for his strength and guidance. So I read 8-13 this morning and it was incredible and I will be caught up by tomorrow. Love you guys and excited about being back.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Walking Targets
Yesterday we talked about how we are walking targets, and it was awesome, and it really ties in with John 13.
As christians we are all walking targets. Jesus has a target on his back and many people wanna take him out, stay with me, itll tie in with today. When we said "yes" to Jesus, targets got placed on our backs. They are people out in the world who want to take us out, they are waiting for us to say or do something so they can take us out.
In Luke 20:20-26 it talks all about how people were trying to trick Jesus into saying something so they could take him in and get him arrested, they were trying to take him out. But Jesus was careful about what he said and was "as smart as a snake but as gentle as a dove"
were going back to school soon and theyre people who are going to watch everything we say and do and they are going to have a bead(like when you look through a gun) on you and just waiting for you to mess up so they can hit your target.
today we read about a man who had a target, but instead of someone taking out himself, he took himself out. Any one know who it is?? I'll give you a hint, he's kinda known as a screwup! That's right! PETER!! Peter, was warned that that he was going to betray Jesus, and he denied it over and over. In Luke 22:54 we see that Peter sits down and lets his target get hit three times!! My point is not to talk about how Peter messed up, but my point is even though his target was all messed up and had holes in it and wasnt perfect he took it off and put a new one on.
Guys we are going back to the real world and we all have targets on our backs, and can i tell you something? People have everyright to hit your target if you leave it vulnerable! Be prepared as we go back to school and as we go out into the world, put on Gods Amour everday and keep our targets safe! And be smart and intentional! We can get to the point were we want to take off our targets and just take ourselves out, like Peter did, but if we do theres always another target we ca put on. But i feel as though if we dont give up and we have on our amour and we watch that target we will be blessed.
Keep this in mind as we go back to the real world, I know school starts next week for us, and I'm going to make sure my target stays safe. What are you going to do?
I hope this helped, it was my first REAL post, give me your thoughts and comments and questions, i love hearing what you have to say. You guys are so wise and so impressive!!
With lots of Love
-Madi Greer
As christians we are all walking targets. Jesus has a target on his back and many people wanna take him out, stay with me, itll tie in with today. When we said "yes" to Jesus, targets got placed on our backs. They are people out in the world who want to take us out, they are waiting for us to say or do something so they can take us out.
In Luke 20:20-26 it talks all about how people were trying to trick Jesus into saying something so they could take him in and get him arrested, they were trying to take him out. But Jesus was careful about what he said and was "as smart as a snake but as gentle as a dove"
were going back to school soon and theyre people who are going to watch everything we say and do and they are going to have a bead(like when you look through a gun) on you and just waiting for you to mess up so they can hit your target.
today we read about a man who had a target, but instead of someone taking out himself, he took himself out. Any one know who it is?? I'll give you a hint, he's kinda known as a screwup! That's right! PETER!! Peter, was warned that that he was going to betray Jesus, and he denied it over and over. In Luke 22:54 we see that Peter sits down and lets his target get hit three times!! My point is not to talk about how Peter messed up, but my point is even though his target was all messed up and had holes in it and wasnt perfect he took it off and put a new one on.
Guys we are going back to the real world and we all have targets on our backs, and can i tell you something? People have everyright to hit your target if you leave it vulnerable! Be prepared as we go back to school and as we go out into the world, put on Gods Amour everday and keep our targets safe! And be smart and intentional! We can get to the point were we want to take off our targets and just take ourselves out, like Peter did, but if we do theres always another target we ca put on. But i feel as though if we dont give up and we have on our amour and we watch that target we will be blessed.
Keep this in mind as we go back to the real world, I know school starts next week for us, and I'm going to make sure my target stays safe. What are you going to do?
I hope this helped, it was my first REAL post, give me your thoughts and comments and questions, i love hearing what you have to say. You guys are so wise and so impressive!!
With lots of Love
-Madi Greer
Walking Targets.
Last night we talked about being walking targets and John 13 came up, and I want to share it with you guys.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Lay it at His feet.
Hey Questies! :] I apologize for my lack of postage on this blog, but know that I have been reading and LOVING these posts! Thanks for keeping up with this, y'all - you have no idea how encouraging it is for us counselors to see your questions and thoughts. This week I'm in Sky 2 (since it's the last week of camp and we're all re-arranged as Cam said a few posts previously), and it's tough. I'm having a hard time being content with where I'm at this week, but I know this is where the Lord can use me the most. It's just hard, because I miss Quest so much it hurts. Several times a day my heart aches to be back with y'all, back doing MyRide stuff... Behind Closed Doors... The Reactor... Bible study... getting up in the mornings and helping you girls with Bible study... ahh my heart is aching just thinking about it! But I know that the Lord is good... and this week I have a different role. I am pouring into these girls who will hopefully someday become Quest campers. It's just hard.
Anyway, so it's my night off and I'm sitting at Rockwells reading John 12. I absolutely LOVE it when Mary breaks and pours her alabaster jar over Jesus' feet. It was such an expensive and treasured thing, that alabaster jar, and she chose to spend it on Jesus. Wow. I just love her submissive, obedient, humble heart. I love how she simply sits at Jesus' feet and delights in His presence. I want to be more like this girl!
I love how Jesus defends her after Judas asks why the perfume wasn't sold and "given to the poor" (aka put into his own pocket) by saying, "Leave her alone... you will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me."
From Matthew's perspective of this same story, Jesus says, "Why have you bothered this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me."
Oh, how I long for Jesus to say that about me someday. Not for the things that I have done or to get recognition for them, but to know that He has delighted in my service. "She has done a beautiful thing to me." The same thing goes for the guys - wouldn't it be incredible to hear Jesus say, "He has done a beautiful thing to me." ?!
May we lay everything down at Jesus's feet. He is our Master, our Lover, our Savior... He deserves our very best. He deserves the alabaster jars of our life. What is it for you? What is your alabaster jar? What is it that you are keeping for yourself, or giving to someone else? Jesus wants it for Him. He loves us with a jealous love! He wants all of you for all of Him. And not just because He says so, but because He deserves it! Let's give Him our best today, and tomorrow, and the next day. May we daily break our alabaster jars at our Savior's feet!
"She has done a beautiful thing to me." - Matthew 26:10
Anyway, so it's my night off and I'm sitting at Rockwells reading John 12. I absolutely LOVE it when Mary breaks and pours her alabaster jar over Jesus' feet. It was such an expensive and treasured thing, that alabaster jar, and she chose to spend it on Jesus. Wow. I just love her submissive, obedient, humble heart. I love how she simply sits at Jesus' feet and delights in His presence. I want to be more like this girl!
I love how Jesus defends her after Judas asks why the perfume wasn't sold and "given to the poor" (aka put into his own pocket) by saying, "Leave her alone... you will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me."
From Matthew's perspective of this same story, Jesus says, "Why have you bothered this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me."
Oh, how I long for Jesus to say that about me someday. Not for the things that I have done or to get recognition for them, but to know that He has delighted in my service. "She has done a beautiful thing to me." The same thing goes for the guys - wouldn't it be incredible to hear Jesus say, "He has done a beautiful thing to me." ?!
May we lay everything down at Jesus's feet. He is our Master, our Lover, our Savior... He deserves our very best. He deserves the alabaster jars of our life. What is it for you? What is your alabaster jar? What is it that you are keeping for yourself, or giving to someone else? Jesus wants it for Him. He loves us with a jealous love! He wants all of you for all of Him. And not just because He says so, but because He deserves it! Let's give Him our best today, and tomorrow, and the next day. May we daily break our alabaster jars at our Savior's feet!
"She has done a beautiful thing to me." - Matthew 26:10
John 12
Hey everyone. I read John 12 today, and I found a lot of stuff I want to share with you all. But first, I want to back up a day and share some stuff I found on this guy, Caiaphas.
Caiaphas showed up in John 11, and I wanted to know more about him since I had read his name before. First of all, Caiaphas is like the bad guy of the New Testament. He was the leader of a religious group. They were very smart and rich, and they influenced a lot. And Caiaphas lead all this. These guys did not like Jesus though, because he was a threat to the way they lived and everything that Jesus taught this group could not accept. So, more about Caiaphas. This guy was the high priest of this group. And I've read other verses about him and all he did and who he influenced and it seemed to me that he was one of the most directly responsible people for Jesus' death. Caiaphas is the one that planned Jesus' capture, did Jesus' trial, pressured Pilate to crucify Jesus, and tried to cover up the resurrection. Not a very nice guy. Stick with me here, all this has a point. So, I read all this stuff about Caiaphas, and I was thinking that this guy may have seemed like a really bad guy, but he was really a very important part of God's plan. That if it weren't for Caiaphas, the prophecy wouldn't have been fulfilled. The cool thing to me is that maybe Caiaphas was a snag in God's plan, like God didn't see Caiaphas coming. And that God still found a way to bring about His will, even through Caiaphas' twisted motives. I thought that was really cool. And that God knew what was going on with Caiaphas. Like, Caiaphas covered all of his motives with excuses, and that God still saw Caiaphas' intentions through all of the lies. Ok, back to the actual chapter now.
Ok, the first thing that stuck out to me was verse 7. When I read that, and saw who Jesus was talking to, (Judas) I thought that Jesus was foreboding what was going to happen later. Judas was going to sell Jesus for 30 silver pieces later, and I felt that Jesus said that as a warning. Jesus was saying that you should spend your money on Christ more than anything.
The next thing was verse 25. This verse was a little confusing at first. But after a little while, I think I got it. The first part was "the man who loves his life will lose it." That means to me that if everything to you is all hunky dory and it's all going great and there's nothing more to strive for, then you won't end up doing so great after you die. "But the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." That means that if you must give yourself to Christ, chase him, and strive, so that you "hate" yourself in comparison. But that doesn't mean that you are ready to die, or that we are willing to die for no reason, but only that we are ready to die of it will glorify Christ. If anyone else thinks there's another way to interpret this, please comment, I'd love to hear it.
Another thing was verse 34. I brought this up because a really smart guy I once knew told me something about this verse. The crowd did not understand what Jesus was saying. They thought that he would never die. A lot of the scripture and prophecies that they had at the time said he would never die (for example, Psalms 89:35, 36). They thought they knew everything they could know, and what Jesus was saying didn't work with what they thought. And what that smart guy that I was talking about earlier said was "Don't try to force Jesus into your own mold, he won't fit."
Ok, the last thing that I want to bring up before this gets way to long is verses 35 and 36. This goes back to my other post about John 9, how they also talked about being the light. There were a lot of comments on it, and we were trying to figure out what Jesus meant when He said something like these verses. So, everyone that commented, I think this is your answer. Right here, John 12; 35-36. "Then Jesus told them, 'You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.'" I was glad I found this so I could really have an answer.
It was great sharing this with you guys. Please comment if you have any questions or any other interpretations of something I said. Thanks.
-Joe
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Scripture for Madi's Question
Here are some categories of information regarding Madi's question yesterday. I am not saying I am 100% correct, but I have used the scriptures I found to formulate an idea below...thus, I cannot take credit for anything I say, but give the Word of God all the glory.
Deuteronomy 28: Blindness sent as a judgment (read the whole chapter for context, but here are some key verses):
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
However, Jesus claims in the John passage that this man's blindness was not a form of judgment:
John 9: 1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."
Thus, this man's blindness was created purposefully so that God's work could be shown through it. Jesus says so himself! But, other illnesses and sicknesses that people possess are based on judgment of their ancestors, parents, or the shortcomings of their own lives (Deuteronomy). However, since Deuteronomy is ancient law, which does not discount it necessarily, I feel the need to continue to search.
God's Hand Over All:
John 1:3 - Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Romans 11:33-36 -
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"[c] 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Satan's Power over the World:
Job 2:3-7
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
God's Purposeful Blinding Of Men: (I tried to keep these in context, but please go read the passages for better understanding)
Saul of Tarsus (becoming Paul) Acts 9- 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Acts 13: 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (Paul causing this sorcerer to be blind turned somebody to GOD!= purposeful blindness!)
Genesis 27: Isaac's blindness causes him to be tricked into giving Jacob his blessing, which is in God's plan...
Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing 1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered.
......most of you know this story, and here is what God tells Jacob afterwards:
13 There above it [e] stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
THUS....after reading all of these....I believe that blindness/sickness/etc. is something that is in God's sovereign hands. As hard as it is to believe, ALL THINGS are to and from and for God. He would never create anything that wouldn't be used for His glory (i.e., the man blind from birth; Saul's blindness; Isaac's blindness; etc). As far as sickness and disease go, things that people may not be born with but may receive during their life, these afflictions I believe to be from Satan. God does not strike us down...He does NOT punish us, because the ultimate punishment of this world already occurred with Jesus being crucified on a cross. We are yet sinners but He does not point His finger and cause someone to be blind. All imperfection, sickness, sadness, fear, calamity-- all of that is seen by God and His hand is over it, but it is not caused by God. Rather, it is an outpouring of our sinful nature as humans, and the fact that Satan is roaming this earth and ruling it with the powers of evil and darkness. Satan has a strong foothold on this earth and its inhabitants. In Job, it says that Satan afflicted Job with the boils on his head...not God. However, God is not absent in these afflictions. He does not turn His face...He continues to be our God, worthy of praise, our rescuer and redeemer. He uses these sicknesses and afflictions for His glory, to cause people to turn to Him, to be a refuge or strong tower for someone...the list could go on. God does not forsake us!-- He is with us always, He is mighty to save.
Deuteronomy 28: Blindness sent as a judgment (read the whole chapter for context, but here are some key verses):
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
However, Jesus claims in the John passage that this man's blindness was not a form of judgment:
John 9: 1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."
Thus, this man's blindness was created purposefully so that God's work could be shown through it. Jesus says so himself! But, other illnesses and sicknesses that people possess are based on judgment of their ancestors, parents, or the shortcomings of their own lives (Deuteronomy). However, since Deuteronomy is ancient law, which does not discount it necessarily, I feel the need to continue to search.
God's Hand Over All:
John 1:3 - Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Romans 11:33-36 -
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"[c] 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Satan's Power over the World:
Job 2:3-7
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
God's Purposeful Blinding Of Men: (I tried to keep these in context, but please go read the passages for better understanding)
Saul of Tarsus (becoming Paul) Acts 9- 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Acts 13: 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (Paul causing this sorcerer to be blind turned somebody to GOD!= purposeful blindness!)
Genesis 27: Isaac's blindness causes him to be tricked into giving Jacob his blessing, which is in God's plan...
Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing 1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered.
......most of you know this story, and here is what God tells Jacob afterwards:
13 There above it [e] stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
THUS....after reading all of these....I believe that blindness/sickness/etc. is something that is in God's sovereign hands. As hard as it is to believe, ALL THINGS are to and from and for God. He would never create anything that wouldn't be used for His glory (i.e., the man blind from birth; Saul's blindness; Isaac's blindness; etc). As far as sickness and disease go, things that people may not be born with but may receive during their life, these afflictions I believe to be from Satan. God does not strike us down...He does NOT punish us, because the ultimate punishment of this world already occurred with Jesus being crucified on a cross. We are yet sinners but He does not point His finger and cause someone to be blind. All imperfection, sickness, sadness, fear, calamity-- all of that is seen by God and His hand is over it, but it is not caused by God. Rather, it is an outpouring of our sinful nature as humans, and the fact that Satan is roaming this earth and ruling it with the powers of evil and darkness. Satan has a strong foothold on this earth and its inhabitants. In Job, it says that Satan afflicted Job with the boils on his head...not God. However, God is not absent in these afflictions. He does not turn His face...He continues to be our God, worthy of praise, our rescuer and redeemer. He uses these sicknesses and afflictions for His glory, to cause people to turn to Him, to be a refuge or strong tower for someone...the list could go on. God does not forsake us!-- He is with us always, He is mighty to save.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Knowledge (Mind), Love (Heart), Actions (Soul)
*EVI! You are amazing, girl! I am SO glad I had time to read your post and really reflect on how I’m loving God, and even how I’m not loving God. Thank you so, so much for helping me realize how important it is love to Him every single day of our lives, not with only our mind and heart, but especially with our soul. Please keep posting! (:
While I was thinking of five things to write for “How am I loving God with my mind/heart/soul?” and five things to write for “How am I not loving God with my mind/heart/soul?” I noticed that many of my daily, personal examples could really lie under any of these three categories (mind, heart, and soul). It’s as if our mind, heart, and soul are SO connected and SO different in SO many ways. God calls us to take what we have stored in our minds and to use our hearts to transform this knowledge into love…ways of loving God AND others, even our enemies. Then, we are called to implement this love into our actions.
I see our souls as being the driving force behind our actions. The information from our minds and the love created by our hearts MUST be “sent to” the soul to affect and to influence our actions. Actions, actions, actions. So, so, SO important. Actions speak WAY louder than words. I guess this is why I see our souls as being associated with our actions…Earlier, Evi said that our souls last FOREVER. I really thought about that word for a good three minutes. Forever. Wow. What does that even mean?! Never dying, never fading, never leaving. Always there. Just like God! (: Anyway, because actions speak louder than words (I know, I know, cheesy saying…just bare with me please) their effects can last a LIFETIME. Yeah, words are very important too, but actions can affect a person even more. Likewise, our souls last a LIFETIME (forever…like Evi said), so our souls are the source of our actions (whose affects can also last forever).
This week and for the rest of your life, I challenge you all to take 1) the knowledge you have stored in your MIND and 2) the love that this knowledge has naturally and rightfully transformed into in your HEART and really try to thrust these two things upon your ACTIONS – your soul. It’s so, so easy to think of being nice to someone (with your mind) and to want to be nice to someone (with your heart)…but how much harder is it to actually BE nice to that someone (with your soul/your actions)?? A lot harder. I hope this is all making sense because it makes a lot of sense to me!
So, your mind, heart, and soul are connected in one way or another. One couldn’t exist or survive without the other. The mind’s task of storing knowledge affects the heart’s task of transforming this knowledge into love, which affects the soul’s task of implementing all of this into our actions. WOW. And you know what?! It’s just like how WE wouldn’t be able to exist or survive without GOD, and how our own actions affect God and those around us.
And I don’t even know if any of this is right or anything, so it’s fine if you think differently. But I love how we can all read the exact same thing from the Bible or from a post on this blog and come up with some really unique things that are so different from everyone else’s opinions. It’s amazing!
Oh, and Evi~I've trying to just listen to worship music for the past couple of days like you said you were doing, and you are so right...it's made me feel so happy and pure. I love it! Thanks!
Thanks so much for reading (:
-Haley
While I was thinking of five things to write for “How am I loving God with my mind/heart/soul?” and five things to write for “How am I not loving God with my mind/heart/soul?” I noticed that many of my daily, personal examples could really lie under any of these three categories (mind, heart, and soul). It’s as if our mind, heart, and soul are SO connected and SO different in SO many ways. God calls us to take what we have stored in our minds and to use our hearts to transform this knowledge into love…ways of loving God AND others, even our enemies. Then, we are called to implement this love into our actions.
I see our souls as being the driving force behind our actions. The information from our minds and the love created by our hearts MUST be “sent to” the soul to affect and to influence our actions. Actions, actions, actions. So, so, SO important. Actions speak WAY louder than words. I guess this is why I see our souls as being associated with our actions…Earlier, Evi said that our souls last FOREVER. I really thought about that word for a good three minutes. Forever. Wow. What does that even mean?! Never dying, never fading, never leaving. Always there. Just like God! (: Anyway, because actions speak louder than words (I know, I know, cheesy saying…just bare with me please) their effects can last a LIFETIME. Yeah, words are very important too, but actions can affect a person even more. Likewise, our souls last a LIFETIME (forever…like Evi said), so our souls are the source of our actions (whose affects can also last forever).
This week and for the rest of your life, I challenge you all to take 1) the knowledge you have stored in your MIND and 2) the love that this knowledge has naturally and rightfully transformed into in your HEART and really try to thrust these two things upon your ACTIONS – your soul. It’s so, so easy to think of being nice to someone (with your mind) and to want to be nice to someone (with your heart)…but how much harder is it to actually BE nice to that someone (with your soul/your actions)?? A lot harder. I hope this is all making sense because it makes a lot of sense to me!
So, your mind, heart, and soul are connected in one way or another. One couldn’t exist or survive without the other. The mind’s task of storing knowledge affects the heart’s task of transforming this knowledge into love, which affects the soul’s task of implementing all of this into our actions. WOW. And you know what?! It’s just like how WE wouldn’t be able to exist or survive without GOD, and how our own actions affect God and those around us.
And I don’t even know if any of this is right or anything, so it’s fine if you think differently. But I love how we can all read the exact same thing from the Bible or from a post on this blog and come up with some really unique things that are so different from everyone else’s opinions. It’s amazing!
Oh, and Evi~I've trying to just listen to worship music for the past couple of days like you said you were doing, and you are so right...it's made me feel so happy and pure. I love it! Thanks!
Thanks so much for reading (:
-Haley
Heart, Mind, and Soul
Evi, I'm glad you posted this. I'll write down somewhat of my thoughts...not saying I am right by any means, but these are the ways I loosely defined each:
Mind: mental, thoughts, where logic and reason and thinking occur, understanding and knowledge
Heart: feelings and emotions, where deepness/depth is, where love is, what can guide your decisions regarding love and relationships
Soul: spiritual self, the part of you that remains constant and forever, eternal, what allows you to feel moved in the spirit
How I can honor God with my mind:
1) Not worry about the future or His plans
2) Use school and what I know for His glory
3) Not think impure thoughts
4) Learn more about Him by reading His word
5) To listen to others and truly listen, getting to know them more deeply
How I can honor God with my heart:
1) Guard my heart and hide it in Him
2) To be patient as I wait for His chosen mate for me
3) to love Him above any human being or thing of this world
4) To be merciful and have a heart for the poor, sick, underprivileged, and hurting
5) To be selfless and put others before myself
How to honor God with my soul:
1) to pursue Him daily by prayer and being in the Word
2) to spend time with Him everyday, intentionally
3) to listen to music that is uplifting, and feed my soul with uplifting things
4) to consider my soul as more important than my body image
5) to fall in love with Him and continually give thanks for Him for all things
These are just some ways for me personally that I can do to honor the Lord with these three parts.
An interesting thing about this commandment-- to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind-- is to recognize that on earth, as humans, we will never fully reach this in perfection. We will only be made perfect in Him and in loving Him with these three things when we are joined with Him in eternity. However, in the meantime, our purpose on earth should be to strive towards this greatest commandment of all...to aim to honor God with all things and in all things. It's funny how we forget this commandment and it's meaning and the depth of it...but it also goes to show that we will never be made perfect until that glorious day that we will see Him face to face! And that is a comfort, in a strange way, because it allows us to not become stagnant and think we are ever doing enough to glorify God. It allows us to constantly be striving towards Him and not staying in a state of complacency by thinking we are good enough and that we are the best Christian around...we will never get there. But in this idea as well, grace is key...we can't beat ourselves up for the fact that we will never get to that point of perfection in loving Him on earth. We can't beat ourselves up when we fall short or sin or forget to spend time with God some day. I know I have fallen victim to this in the past, thinking I had to reach some sort of standard in order to be made right with God, when really He loves me all the time, no matter what. Our striving towards God needs to be with God as our focus, not ourselves. It shouldn't be to make ourselves look better or seem better to the world, or to show others how much we love God if we do A, B, C....but it should be focused on GOD HIMSELF, that all we do to honor Him with our heart, soul, and mind should be, well, to honor Him! And bring Him glory and to love Him! When we take ourselves out of the center, and stop focusing on making ourselves look better and feeling better about ourselves when we do things to honor God, it will be so much more about Him and will bring Him much more glory. Do all things for Him and Him alone...we all need to keep our motives in check.
Mind: mental, thoughts, where logic and reason and thinking occur, understanding and knowledge
Heart: feelings and emotions, where deepness/depth is, where love is, what can guide your decisions regarding love and relationships
Soul: spiritual self, the part of you that remains constant and forever, eternal, what allows you to feel moved in the spirit
How I can honor God with my mind:
1) Not worry about the future or His plans
2) Use school and what I know for His glory
3) Not think impure thoughts
4) Learn more about Him by reading His word
5) To listen to others and truly listen, getting to know them more deeply
How I can honor God with my heart:
1) Guard my heart and hide it in Him
2) To be patient as I wait for His chosen mate for me
3) to love Him above any human being or thing of this world
4) To be merciful and have a heart for the poor, sick, underprivileged, and hurting
5) To be selfless and put others before myself
How to honor God with my soul:
1) to pursue Him daily by prayer and being in the Word
2) to spend time with Him everyday, intentionally
3) to listen to music that is uplifting, and feed my soul with uplifting things
4) to consider my soul as more important than my body image
5) to fall in love with Him and continually give thanks for Him for all things
These are just some ways for me personally that I can do to honor the Lord with these three parts.
An interesting thing about this commandment-- to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind-- is to recognize that on earth, as humans, we will never fully reach this in perfection. We will only be made perfect in Him and in loving Him with these three things when we are joined with Him in eternity. However, in the meantime, our purpose on earth should be to strive towards this greatest commandment of all...to aim to honor God with all things and in all things. It's funny how we forget this commandment and it's meaning and the depth of it...but it also goes to show that we will never be made perfect until that glorious day that we will see Him face to face! And that is a comfort, in a strange way, because it allows us to not become stagnant and think we are ever doing enough to glorify God. It allows us to constantly be striving towards Him and not staying in a state of complacency by thinking we are good enough and that we are the best Christian around...we will never get there. But in this idea as well, grace is key...we can't beat ourselves up for the fact that we will never get to that point of perfection in loving Him on earth. We can't beat ourselves up when we fall short or sin or forget to spend time with God some day. I know I have fallen victim to this in the past, thinking I had to reach some sort of standard in order to be made right with God, when really He loves me all the time, no matter what. Our striving towards God needs to be with God as our focus, not ourselves. It shouldn't be to make ourselves look better or seem better to the world, or to show others how much we love God if we do A, B, C....but it should be focused on GOD HIMSELF, that all we do to honor Him with our heart, soul, and mind should be, well, to honor Him! And bring Him glory and to love Him! When we take ourselves out of the center, and stop focusing on making ourselves look better and feeling better about ourselves when we do things to honor God, it will be so much more about Him and will bring Him much more glory. Do all things for Him and Him alone...we all need to keep our motives in check.
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