"There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus."
There are a lot of liberal christians in this world. The church today is turning more towards the secular world, and relying more on science to describe a God who is not held down by the laws of nature or culture. Here we see Jesus transfigured. Some christians would say this did not really happen. That everything is figurative. However we know that the Bible is true in everything it says. If this was a metaphor for something else I think Matthew would have written it in a different way. Being a believer in the Scriptures as truth I can understand somewhat the power of Jesus, and ultimately of God. This is amazing! Jesus who was here more than 2000 years ago did this. He was not bound by the laws of pysics, he was truly an amazing God. I was discouraged this week when my dad came back from a presbyterian meeting held in Indiana. A couple big name churches here in Lafayette and West Lafayette left the presbyterian church. They were saying the denomination was turning more and more liberal. Not believing the Bible in its entirety, ordaining homosexual pastors, and the idea of a universal God. What sets us apart from the world our differences with the world, how can we be different when the church is trying to be the same? Lets take the Bible as literal and truly be blessed by the Spirit =]
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Feb 18 : Matthew 16
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
What does that mean to you, to deny yourself? Deny yourself of what? I think the answer is complicated in that there are certain things or ideas you need to deny that is unique to you. Kind of like a tailored suit this passage has a meaning tailored to fit only your size. You have to examine what it is. It cannot be taken lightly. By that I mean you cannot size yourself up to other people and expect there to be a specific standard of guidelines that need to be followed. Your neighbor deals with excessive pride, but you don't. You deal with issues of lust, but he doesn't. None is worse than the other. It doesn't mean you are a better person. It means you have something that you must deny and your neighbor has something else to deny. Both are equal in terms of what Jesus is talking about - both are used as tools by Satan to have you forfeit your soul. Lets think about this =]
What does that mean to you, to deny yourself? Deny yourself of what? I think the answer is complicated in that there are certain things or ideas you need to deny that is unique to you. Kind of like a tailored suit this passage has a meaning tailored to fit only your size. You have to examine what it is. It cannot be taken lightly. By that I mean you cannot size yourself up to other people and expect there to be a specific standard of guidelines that need to be followed. Your neighbor deals with excessive pride, but you don't. You deal with issues of lust, but he doesn't. None is worse than the other. It doesn't mean you are a better person. It means you have something that you must deny and your neighbor has something else to deny. Both are equal in terms of what Jesus is talking about - both are used as tools by Satan to have you forfeit your soul. Lets think about this =]
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Feb 17 : Matthew 15:1-28
"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
Eat whatever you like! This is what I learned most from this passage. =] jk, but kind of not. The beginning of this passage we see that the pharisees were asking Jesus why his disciples break the law of not washing their hands before they eat. Jesus says that it is not the rules that matter with faith, but the condition of the heart. He says that what we eat we poo, but what we take into our hearts is what shapes us, emotionally. What makes me clean is not the fact that I go to church every Sunday or write a blog everyday but rather what drives it. The heart is like the engine of a car. You can have a great looking car but if the engine is undependable then the whole car is undependable. A great example of something opposite of that is my 1996 black Honda Civic Hatchback DX. That car is not the greatest looking little bugger on the street, but let me tell you, the engine is remarkable. Not once have I had a major problem with it. A/C still works, single complact disc player, non-smoker, no accidents, >112,000. If you're interested I'm still selling it at $2950, cash only. haha jk. But really though - $2950. Ok ok enough joking. But like our lives, a little dent here and little ding there on the outside may appear 'unclean', but if our source of power comes from Truth and the Spirit we are on the right track to race with the best. Is legalism something you deal with on a day to day basis? Is it something you are yet unaware of and need to address? Let us all deal with it appropriately and fix the condition of the heart, not the appearance of our faith.
Eat whatever you like! This is what I learned most from this passage. =] jk, but kind of not. The beginning of this passage we see that the pharisees were asking Jesus why his disciples break the law of not washing their hands before they eat. Jesus says that it is not the rules that matter with faith, but the condition of the heart. He says that what we eat we poo, but what we take into our hearts is what shapes us, emotionally. What makes me clean is not the fact that I go to church every Sunday or write a blog everyday but rather what drives it. The heart is like the engine of a car. You can have a great looking car but if the engine is undependable then the whole car is undependable. A great example of something opposite of that is my 1996 black Honda Civic Hatchback DX. That car is not the greatest looking little bugger on the street, but let me tell you, the engine is remarkable. Not once have I had a major problem with it. A/C still works, single complact disc player, non-smoker, no accidents, >112,000. If you're interested I'm still selling it at $2950, cash only. haha jk. But really though - $2950. Ok ok enough joking. But like our lives, a little dent here and little ding there on the outside may appear 'unclean', but if our source of power comes from Truth and the Spirit we are on the right track to race with the best. Is legalism something you deal with on a day to day basis? Is it something you are yet unaware of and need to address? Let us all deal with it appropriately and fix the condition of the heart, not the appearance of our faith.
Monday, February 16, 2009
feb 16 : matthew 5:21-26
"Anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."
I think we can all relate to this. In another passage is says:
"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."
There are some people in my immediate life who I dislike. There were times where this dislike of someone would evolve into a bigger and badder dislike - hate. The sad thing is that these times of dislike and immense dislike were not from my childhood, but rather a time not too long ago. Reading these two passages and those like it reminds me of how much higher I need to grow. Sometimes its so easy to hate someone. Do you know what I mean? I think you probably do. Its sad that we are prone to hate so easily. But sometimes I think, well I don't dislike the individual THAT much, or everyone has someone they dislike. But when you look into the passage the words Raca and Fool are used to describe a person of low intelligence and character, defined respectively. These words are not very strong words, there were worse words than those in Hebrew. So, something as trivial as the word fool, could it be something so displeasing to God that Jesus would tell those who commit this sin to watch out for hell? We must heed this passage and go to those who we need to forgive... I got a lot of cleaning to do.
I think we can all relate to this. In another passage is says:
"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."
There are some people in my immediate life who I dislike. There were times where this dislike of someone would evolve into a bigger and badder dislike - hate. The sad thing is that these times of dislike and immense dislike were not from my childhood, but rather a time not too long ago. Reading these two passages and those like it reminds me of how much higher I need to grow. Sometimes its so easy to hate someone. Do you know what I mean? I think you probably do. Its sad that we are prone to hate so easily. But sometimes I think, well I don't dislike the individual THAT much, or everyone has someone they dislike. But when you look into the passage the words Raca and Fool are used to describe a person of low intelligence and character, defined respectively. These words are not very strong words, there were worse words than those in Hebrew. So, something as trivial as the word fool, could it be something so displeasing to God that Jesus would tell those who commit this sin to watch out for hell? We must heed this passage and go to those who we need to forgive... I got a lot of cleaning to do.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
feb 14 : matthew 14
Jesus feeds 5,000 people.
This is probably the amount of people that followed him to hear him, to be healed, and to love feel love. It is amazing that there was such a great following. Its even more amazing how Jesus cared for each one of them. When it was time for dinner Jesus didn't want to send them home because he knew they came to listen and he wanted them to listen. The disciples wanted them to go back into the city to eat. Jesus however insisted that he perform a miracle to feed them there on the spot. Why? Because Jesus wanted to be with them because they wanted to be with him. When we follow Jesus he likes it! He wants us to keep following him. He knows that we have needs, of course we have the fundamental needs as human beings such as eating, but we also have emotional and spiritual needs as well. I believe Jesus will never send you away hungry, weak, or broken, as long as you follow him. The loneliness you feel, could it be that Jesus is not found amongst your common companions? The lust, the hate, the pride, the jealousy, etc., he will replace all those as you follow him. He will fill the void and the hunger. There will be times though in following him where you will feel scared, alone, and even doubtful - its not going to be the most jolliest or carefree of times. After this we see Jesus walk on water. Peter is called out to walk on the water with Jesus. And what happens, he walks on water, but surely doubt gets the best of him and he starts sinking. Remember, its not as though Peter didn't know Jesus' powers; he saw the miracle, he experienced them first hand. We too will fall from what we believe to be our most spiritual peak. But just as Jesus offered his hand to Peter as he was sinking, he too will offer his hand to us who are falling. Be strong!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
feb 12 : matthew 5: 17-20
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
I've done my qt on this chapter once before, but I wanted to examine these three verses deeper than I had done before. The biggest argument between the Catholic and Protestant church is the issue of works and deeds. The Old Testament was based largely on the Law. You can or cannot do this, you do this and you will die, a lot of them given reason for but some of them not. But protestants focus more heavily on the teachings of the New Testament where grace is what gives salvation. Jesus did not come to this world to take the Law out of our understanding of faith, he came to redefine what they stand for. He came so that we can have eternal life, if following the Law grants eternal life than there would be no need for a savior. There would have already been a way into Heaven. But the rules of the Bible are so strict. Can anyone possibly follow all of them without breaking them? Following only the Law would leave us with guilt and shame. The reason Jesus came down to earth was because he was the only one capable of following such a strict set of rules and laws without once failing. That is what we are to follow, that is who we are to follow. The following of Jesus, not rules, is what gets us to Heaven. Good deeds will then come alive as a response to the grace of Jesus Christ.
I've done my qt on this chapter once before, but I wanted to examine these three verses deeper than I had done before. The biggest argument between the Catholic and Protestant church is the issue of works and deeds. The Old Testament was based largely on the Law. You can or cannot do this, you do this and you will die, a lot of them given reason for but some of them not. But protestants focus more heavily on the teachings of the New Testament where grace is what gives salvation. Jesus did not come to this world to take the Law out of our understanding of faith, he came to redefine what they stand for. He came so that we can have eternal life, if following the Law grants eternal life than there would be no need for a savior. There would have already been a way into Heaven. But the rules of the Bible are so strict. Can anyone possibly follow all of them without breaking them? Following only the Law would leave us with guilt and shame. The reason Jesus came down to earth was because he was the only one capable of following such a strict set of rules and laws without once failing. That is what we are to follow, that is who we are to follow. The following of Jesus, not rules, is what gets us to Heaven. Good deeds will then come alive as a response to the grace of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Feb 11 : Matthew 13:24-58
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."
Scary. Jesus talks in the last half of this chapter about the end days when he comes back to collect his people. He describes us like fish being caught in a net. There will be tons of us who are caught. Not all of them will be saved, only the ones who are handpicked and chosen will be given eternal life. Jesus basically tells us how to escape the "gnashing of teeth." Jesus describes himself and the faith as treasure. If you were walking on some random property and you stumbled upon a pirates treasure chest filled with tons and tons of gold hidden under a tree you would desire it so badly right? So badly to the point where you would sell all you had to get it and hold on to it. So too we must learn to be able to be like that. We need to understand that what we have from Christ is of greater value than anything. We must be keen enough to know when something is simply not worth it if it costs a part of our treasure.
Scary. Jesus talks in the last half of this chapter about the end days when he comes back to collect his people. He describes us like fish being caught in a net. There will be tons of us who are caught. Not all of them will be saved, only the ones who are handpicked and chosen will be given eternal life. Jesus basically tells us how to escape the "gnashing of teeth." Jesus describes himself and the faith as treasure. If you were walking on some random property and you stumbled upon a pirates treasure chest filled with tons and tons of gold hidden under a tree you would desire it so badly right? So badly to the point where you would sell all you had to get it and hold on to it. So too we must learn to be able to be like that. We need to understand that what we have from Christ is of greater value than anything. We must be keen enough to know when something is simply not worth it if it costs a part of our treasure.
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