Just kidding. I don't really have anything to say. So this is the part where I proceed to say nothing.
I'm not really sure about a lot of things right now. Definitely no profound statements or confident claims coming from this direction.
I've been working at Summers Auto Sales for about 2 1/2 months now. Apparently they like me. I looked for an EMT job today. No success on that front. Part of me wonders if I really want to work in EMS. Another part of me knows I do. At least for a while. I've wondered if saving peoples lives will give me some great sense of accomplishment or purpose. I don't think it really will. Real satisfaction doesn't seem to come from what I do. I know this.
Change is coming. Maybe not quickly. Maybe it will be slow and hardly noticeable. Maybe it will happen overnight. I want to see it coming and prepare. But I don't know what will change, or how.
I want to do something. Something bold. Something that says 'I refuse to live in monotony.' But the only things I can think to do are the same things I do every day. Every week. And I guess that's not bad. How does the saying go, 'The way you spend your minutes is the way you spend your life'?
I want to invest in people. And I do. Sometimes. I want to be better at this. I don't want to be too lazy or too scared to love the people around me.
I want to live more conscious of the constant presence of God. He said, 'Abide in Me.' I want to stay there. Not just hang out on weekends.
I think I need a hobby. And probably another paycheck. Why do those always have to go together?
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
God is the Gospel - Week 2 Day 1-4
Spiritual Gifts
According to 1 Cor. 12:4-12 why does God supply manifestations of the Spirit?
For building up the church and encouraging individuals.
What is the 'more excellent way' talked about in vs. 31?
More important than spiritual gifts is love. Without love spiritual gifts are worse than useless.
Signs and Wonders
God often authenticates His works by signs and wonders, however false signs and wonders are shown all the time to try to lead people away from God. How do we differentiate between true and false signs and wonders?
The true work of God will always line up with His revealed nature. God never contradicts Himself. True signs and wonders always give glory to God. False signs and wonders lift up the individual as great.
According to 1 Cor. 12:4-12 why does God supply manifestations of the Spirit?
For building up the church and encouraging individuals.
What is the 'more excellent way' talked about in vs. 31?
More important than spiritual gifts is love. Without love spiritual gifts are worse than useless.
Signs and Wonders
God often authenticates His works by signs and wonders, however false signs and wonders are shown all the time to try to lead people away from God. How do we differentiate between true and false signs and wonders?
The true work of God will always line up with His revealed nature. God never contradicts Himself. True signs and wonders always give glory to God. False signs and wonders lift up the individual as great.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
God is the Gospel - Day 3-4
Day 3
Isaiah 64:4
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.
Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it, being lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
What is the truth that runs through all these passages? God is the giver of life and the supporter of those who wait blamelessly for Him. God works for us. He doesn't wait for us to work for Him.
What is the danger of twisting this truth? We begin to lose responsibility for our actions. We blame God for our failures and expect Him to spoon-feed us all our successes.
Day 4
Do we only desire God?
Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Is there any place for a desiring anything other than God? God gives His children good gifts. If we take those gifts and look to them as the giver of please they become idols, but if we accept them as gifts from God, give Him glory and thanks, and enjoy them as the expression of God heart, then they are truly good. Taking pleasure in a gift is not wrong. Looking to the gift as the source of pleasure, rather than the giver of the gift, is wrong.
Augustine - “He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with
Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.”
1 Timothy 4:4-5
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Monday, March 19, 2012
God is the Gospel - Day 1
http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/1738/sggg.pdf?1282936541
What's so great about heaven?
Q1: What will heaven be like? Why will it be enjoyable? How does my perception of heaven differ from popular opinion?
Honestly, I haven't really thought about heaven much. If I know anything of God's nature it will be not only better than anything I can imagine, but completely different than anything I can comprehend right now.
Why will I enjoy it? Because the best, highest Good will be there. And I'll see Him face to face and be like Him. That is what I was designed for. That is the greatest satisfaction and enjoyment I could ever experience.
How does my view differ from what's commonly understood about heaven? It seems that most people think of heaven as an escape from hardship. They get to leave everything unpleasant behind and live in a gold-filled, cloud city spa. In a huge mansion. Probably with a harp and angel wings. But regardless of whether or not there are gates made of pearl, it's going to be luxurious and nobody will ever be sad or have to do anything they don't want to. Oh yeah, I think God might be there too...
So could I be satisfied in heaven without God? I'll up the stakes. I think a better question is: If God were in hell (eternal torment) and sin and Satan were in heaven (eternal luxury) where would I rather be? The answer is, I would rather be where my treasure is. The only reason my heart desires heaven is because everything I treasure is hidden in my Father. I don't care where He is, I want to be with Him.
Q2: Why do I believe in Jesus?
The same reason I choose to believe in anything else. Because it's true. Because it's real. I cannot believe in something or someone simply because I believe the belief will be good for me. I cannot believe a lie that I think will help me. God help me, I believe in Him because I believe He is TRUE, not because I think I'll be blessed with a nice life and a get-out-of-hell-free card.
What's so great about heaven?
Q1: What will heaven be like? Why will it be enjoyable? How does my perception of heaven differ from popular opinion?
Honestly, I haven't really thought about heaven much. If I know anything of God's nature it will be not only better than anything I can imagine, but completely different than anything I can comprehend right now.
Why will I enjoy it? Because the best, highest Good will be there. And I'll see Him face to face and be like Him. That is what I was designed for. That is the greatest satisfaction and enjoyment I could ever experience.
How does my view differ from what's commonly understood about heaven? It seems that most people think of heaven as an escape from hardship. They get to leave everything unpleasant behind and live in a gold-filled, cloud city spa. In a huge mansion. Probably with a harp and angel wings. But regardless of whether or not there are gates made of pearl, it's going to be luxurious and nobody will ever be sad or have to do anything they don't want to. Oh yeah, I think God might be there too...
So could I be satisfied in heaven without God? I'll up the stakes. I think a better question is: If God were in hell (eternal torment) and sin and Satan were in heaven (eternal luxury) where would I rather be? The answer is, I would rather be where my treasure is. The only reason my heart desires heaven is because everything I treasure is hidden in my Father. I don't care where He is, I want to be with Him.
Q2: Why do I believe in Jesus?
The same reason I choose to believe in anything else. Because it's true. Because it's real. I cannot believe in something or someone simply because I believe the belief will be good for me. I cannot believe a lie that I think will help me. God help me, I believe in Him because I believe He is TRUE, not because I think I'll be blessed with a nice life and a get-out-of-hell-free card.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Open Hands
There are things God gives us that we can grasp tightly. In fact I believe that every promise is meant to be taken for fact and held with a vice grip. The more we are challenged, the tighter our grasp should be. Conflict should make us close our fists on the promises of God and hold on for dear life.
There are other things God gives to us that are meant to be help with open hands. Usually these things are specific blessings or hopes. When we lift our hands to God he pours His torrential deluge of blessing out on us. We hold our hands up and they are filled.
The problem comes when we claim these blessings as our rights. We try to catch the flood of gifts but, like water, as we grasp for them we find our hands are empty.
God delights in giving His children good gifts but when we claim the gift as our own by our own right, and not as a gift of God (which by definition is something we don't deserve), it usually is not long before He shows us that He can indeed give and take away. And not only that, but many of the gifts we are given, by their very nature slip through our fingers the tighter we try to hold on to them.
The gifts of God have some very unique qualities. Specifically they are unique in their ownership. By that I mean this: When God gives us is gift it is completely ours, not because we earned it, but simply because God says that it is ours. However many of these gifts, or specifically the blessings, are only ours so long as we accept them as gifts and we don't believe they are our rights. In point of fact, we deserve none of the gifts that are so freely giving to us. The things we do deserve look much different than the things we receive.
As an example think of a friendship or any relationship. When we accept it as a gift of God and hold it with an open hand it goes smoothly, just because of the laws on human nature God has established. When we begin to close our fist on a relationship we find the other person slipping away. That rule seems to apply pretty universally. The more controlling we try to be, the less control or influence we have.
Another example is grace. By definition grace is God unmerited favor toward humans. We don't deserve it. And when we recognize that and live in the light of the gift we have been given we live in grace. However when we forget that grace is only ours because it was given to us we lose the ability to live in that grace which is critical for victorious living.
This is a special showcase of the perfect love of God. If we could earn blessings we would become self righteous. And when we lose control we have more freedom than when we try to control everything. God's perfect design requires dependence on Him, in the same way that a child is dependent on its father. More accurately, a child's dependence on it's father is a picture of every humans dependence on God.
So I'm trying to live with open hands.
There are other things God gives to us that are meant to be help with open hands. Usually these things are specific blessings or hopes. When we lift our hands to God he pours His torrential deluge of blessing out on us. We hold our hands up and they are filled.
The problem comes when we claim these blessings as our rights. We try to catch the flood of gifts but, like water, as we grasp for them we find our hands are empty.
God delights in giving His children good gifts but when we claim the gift as our own by our own right, and not as a gift of God (which by definition is something we don't deserve), it usually is not long before He shows us that He can indeed give and take away. And not only that, but many of the gifts we are given, by their very nature slip through our fingers the tighter we try to hold on to them.
The gifts of God have some very unique qualities. Specifically they are unique in their ownership. By that I mean this: When God gives us is gift it is completely ours, not because we earned it, but simply because God says that it is ours. However many of these gifts, or specifically the blessings, are only ours so long as we accept them as gifts and we don't believe they are our rights. In point of fact, we deserve none of the gifts that are so freely giving to us. The things we do deserve look much different than the things we receive.
As an example think of a friendship or any relationship. When we accept it as a gift of God and hold it with an open hand it goes smoothly, just because of the laws on human nature God has established. When we begin to close our fist on a relationship we find the other person slipping away. That rule seems to apply pretty universally. The more controlling we try to be, the less control or influence we have.
Another example is grace. By definition grace is God unmerited favor toward humans. We don't deserve it. And when we recognize that and live in the light of the gift we have been given we live in grace. However when we forget that grace is only ours because it was given to us we lose the ability to live in that grace which is critical for victorious living.
This is a special showcase of the perfect love of God. If we could earn blessings we would become self righteous. And when we lose control we have more freedom than when we try to control everything. God's perfect design requires dependence on Him, in the same way that a child is dependent on its father. More accurately, a child's dependence on it's father is a picture of every humans dependence on God.
So I'm trying to live with open hands.
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