"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand."
Many people do not understand why we [Christians] do the things we do. When we read the Bible we come across a different kind of message and interpretation than do those who are not of Christ. Even among fellow Christians we may find ourselves unable to simply understand the message in the Scriptures. Its amazing how true this is. Many times we have been presented with a particular message filled with hope, love, encouragement, faith, power, and more but all we see is ink on paper. There is so much, Jesus says, that is meant for us to understand and receive. We are better off than people of no faith because we do understand to a certain extent, but we must be fervent in our attempts to truly understand God's message. Like the parable given in this passage we see what happens to those who struggle with the worries of this world, the pressures of success, the sense of belonging, or even ignorance, they ultimately fail to see the glory of God. Be strong!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
feb 8 : matthew 12
Hello.
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit."
I feel like I am an in between tree. Sometimes I bear good fruit, but often times I bear not-so-good fruit. Jesus says that whatever is in our heart will be the source of what comes out as words and action. When the Pharisees were constantly trying to corner Jesus he disregarded them because he said that whatever comes out of them is no good because they are no good. It's so important to put what is good into our hearts. In Psalms it tells us to guard our hearts for it is the wellspring of life. Why guard it? Because it is so easily corrupted. As Jesus was explaining in this passage, what goes in comes out and what does not go in does not come out. Simple right? The movies we watch, the friends of influence, church, books, magazines, and much more enters our naive and malleable hearts. A shape is formed, and from it our character and personality are developed. Let us hope that Jesus would look at us and tell us we have goodness coming out of us, not because we are perfect, righteous, or holy, but passionate, hungry, and full of grace.
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit."
I feel like I am an in between tree. Sometimes I bear good fruit, but often times I bear not-so-good fruit. Jesus says that whatever is in our heart will be the source of what comes out as words and action. When the Pharisees were constantly trying to corner Jesus he disregarded them because he said that whatever comes out of them is no good because they are no good. It's so important to put what is good into our hearts. In Psalms it tells us to guard our hearts for it is the wellspring of life. Why guard it? Because it is so easily corrupted. As Jesus was explaining in this passage, what goes in comes out and what does not go in does not come out. Simple right? The movies we watch, the friends of influence, church, books, magazines, and much more enters our naive and malleable hearts. A shape is formed, and from it our character and personality are developed. Let us hope that Jesus would look at us and tell us we have goodness coming out of us, not because we are perfect, righteous, or holy, but passionate, hungry, and full of grace.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
feb 8 : matthew 11
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Have you ever caught yourself complaining about how hard it is to serve in Cornerstone? I find myself complaining quite often actually, and frankly, I hate it when I complain. I feel that leading a small group takes too much time and too much effort when I have other things in my life I am worrying about. I feel like we, myself included, get burned out so early on in the semester that the remaining stretch sucks the life right out of us. But this should not be. This job, though difficult, is not meant to make us grumble, crawl, or loath in discontentment, but rather a hiding place of refuge and rest. Wee need to be recharged. Like a battery out of power seeking a fix of energy so we too should seek rest from our Father. We should avoid the grumbling and fix our eyes on the one who promised a yoke easy and a burden light. Ajah Ajah Fighting!
Have you ever caught yourself complaining about how hard it is to serve in Cornerstone? I find myself complaining quite often actually, and frankly, I hate it when I complain. I feel that leading a small group takes too much time and too much effort when I have other things in my life I am worrying about. I feel like we, myself included, get burned out so early on in the semester that the remaining stretch sucks the life right out of us. But this should not be. This job, though difficult, is not meant to make us grumble, crawl, or loath in discontentment, but rather a hiding place of refuge and rest. Wee need to be recharged. Like a battery out of power seeking a fix of energy so we too should seek rest from our Father. We should avoid the grumbling and fix our eyes on the one who promised a yoke easy and a burden light. Ajah Ajah Fighting!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
feb 7 : matthew 10
Hello
Man those disciples whom Jesus sent out had it tough during this chapter of Matthew. Jesus basically said go and preach the gospel, but you can't bring a single thing. Now that is faith and trust in God. When Jesus said, "when they arrest you..." I would have been like what? I'm gonna get arrested? But to have the faith where they believed Jesus when he said, "and when you are arrested do not worry about what to say because it will be given to you at that time," is amazing. Now I question myself with this. Do I have what it takes you know? Jesus sent out these disciples probably because he trusted them to do and faithfully fulfill the work. Would Jesus trust me? Now the disciples were not perfect people, nobody really is. They probably had faith and integrity that was enough for Jesus to use. I think that Jesus can use me and you to complete works like this. We are sinners and broken people, but we look to God for strength right? Lets pray that we can be like the disciples and do His work faithfully. =]
Man those disciples whom Jesus sent out had it tough during this chapter of Matthew. Jesus basically said go and preach the gospel, but you can't bring a single thing. Now that is faith and trust in God. When Jesus said, "when they arrest you..." I would have been like what? I'm gonna get arrested? But to have the faith where they believed Jesus when he said, "and when you are arrested do not worry about what to say because it will be given to you at that time," is amazing. Now I question myself with this. Do I have what it takes you know? Jesus sent out these disciples probably because he trusted them to do and faithfully fulfill the work. Would Jesus trust me? Now the disciples were not perfect people, nobody really is. They probably had faith and integrity that was enough for Jesus to use. I think that Jesus can use me and you to complete works like this. We are sinners and broken people, but we look to God for strength right? Lets pray that we can be like the disciples and do His work faithfully. =]
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Feb 5 : Mark 9:42-50
Hello.
How bad is sin in the eyes of Jesus? In this chapter passage we find out a little bit about his views on sin. Its hard to read this passage because of how aware you are of your own sins; how aware Jesus is of those same sins. When Jesus says that it would be better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, its downright scary. For guys, like me, I find it hard to keep my eyes clean of lust and sexual sins. My eyes in all its intricate and wonderful capabilities has the capacity to bring damnation to my whole body. This is where Jesus says, "It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell." For those of us who have difficulty biting the tongue, is it not better to have your tongue removed if it is going to award you a ticket to hell? Though we know Jesus wasn't speaking literally with these illustrations we need to consider them with a half literal and half symbolic interpretation. Why? Because sometimes we can't control something even if we know it is destroying our lives. For example, the types of friends we have. I'm not talking about the best friend who is not a Christian. I'm talking about the types of friends who have bad morals and who help lead you astray. We need to cut them out of our lives. The t.v., IF it is causing you to sin, get rid of it - or cable. The computer, same thing. The boyfriend, same thing. I am not close to living the kind of life I am explaining, but I am trying. Lets all try!
How bad is sin in the eyes of Jesus? In this chapter passage we find out a little bit about his views on sin. Its hard to read this passage because of how aware you are of your own sins; how aware Jesus is of those same sins. When Jesus says that it would be better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, its downright scary. For guys, like me, I find it hard to keep my eyes clean of lust and sexual sins. My eyes in all its intricate and wonderful capabilities has the capacity to bring damnation to my whole body. This is where Jesus says, "It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell." For those of us who have difficulty biting the tongue, is it not better to have your tongue removed if it is going to award you a ticket to hell? Though we know Jesus wasn't speaking literally with these illustrations we need to consider them with a half literal and half symbolic interpretation. Why? Because sometimes we can't control something even if we know it is destroying our lives. For example, the types of friends we have. I'm not talking about the best friend who is not a Christian. I'm talking about the types of friends who have bad morals and who help lead you astray. We need to cut them out of our lives. The t.v., IF it is causing you to sin, get rid of it - or cable. The computer, same thing. The boyfriend, same thing. I am not close to living the kind of life I am explaining, but I am trying. Lets all try!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
feb 4 : matthew 9:1-13
Why do we serve? I sometimes ask myself this question. What do I plan to achieve by serving in Cornerstone? I ask myself that at times because I feel like I am not doing what I had planned or imagined I would be doing when I first started serving. As Jesus came to the earth to be with the sick, the poor, the needy, and yes the sinner - the latter being of primary concern. When Jesus chose to hang with Matthew, the tax collector, he knew the imagine that would follow him. And so it was, people began criticizing Jesus for chilling with the "sinners". People began judging Jesus. What Jesus said was this, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Now, let me ask myself and you again, "why do you serve?" Do we only like to hang out with those who are more Christian like? If we were to hang out with people who were known as the clubbers or people of bad image we would probably feel uncomfortable. But those are the type of people who we need to hang out with. In the earlier chapters of this book Christ talks about us being the salt of this world. Christians judge the meat of this world so sinful. If we take ourselves out of society how then can we be the salt? Salt needs to be put in the meat to preserve it. We need to engage and dive deep into where preservation is needed - like Christ himself. =]
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
feb 3 : Matthew 8
Hey guys.
I did my qt today on faith. Faith is something that I, and others, claim to have. But having faith that is 100% is close to impossible. There are moments when doubt seems too strong. But faith always seems to find its way back. But from this passage we see powerful faith, a different kind of faith. Now in this chapter we see that the people with faith are asking for something. These people are in need of something. The leprosy case and the centurion, Jesus says they have such strong faith, but does that mean they have 100% faith? Jesus says, "I have not seen faith this great in all of Jerusalem." I do not know how his faith would have been revealed if in a different circumstance. Something I am wondering about. But when asking for something we need to ask with faith. In James it says that someone who prays without faith is like a mist blown in the sea. So we need to pray with faith!
I did my qt today on faith. Faith is something that I, and others, claim to have. But having faith that is 100% is close to impossible. There are moments when doubt seems too strong. But faith always seems to find its way back. But from this passage we see powerful faith, a different kind of faith. Now in this chapter we see that the people with faith are asking for something. These people are in need of something. The leprosy case and the centurion, Jesus says they have such strong faith, but does that mean they have 100% faith? Jesus says, "I have not seen faith this great in all of Jerusalem." I do not know how his faith would have been revealed if in a different circumstance. Something I am wondering about. But when asking for something we need to ask with faith. In James it says that someone who prays without faith is like a mist blown in the sea. So we need to pray with faith!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
