September 13, 2010
September 12, 2010
1 John Series Intro - Sunday Blogging
I recently had a vacation with my family in Newport Beach, CA. It was interesting to be there with all the different families descending from my mom's parents. Particularly, my uncle is a pastor...a pretty conservative one. He seems like a very serious man. Some would say he doesn't seem like a fun person. He seems quiet and reserved.
But today I skipped church. And last week I skipped church. I had "other things" that caused me to "not have time" to go. We actually decided to listen to our pastor online, but their website was not working and their podcast was not working. I decided to listen to my uncle. And when I arrived at his church's website, I found that he has a series on 1 John. Well, crap!
We are called as Christians to live as such. We need to affirm our doctrines. We need to live as saved beings. We need to live in the light, as he is in the light. I'm going to try to listen to this series.
Back to my uncle. I think we thought of him as sort of boring, because he doesn't live for himself like we often do. I remember several people in the family trying to have conversations with my uncle to sound spiritual (I, of course, did the opposite). I think that he is constantly working on his relationship with God. He had devotions. He did have conversations about God and Christ and Christian living. I believe he came across as serious and reserved because he is guarded and careful to do what is pleasing to God. He lives within the bounds of a responsible Christian.
I know that I talk a lot about grace in my blogs, knowing I seriously need grace. We all do. Even my uncle. But I think there are many Christians who use grace as an excuse to sin and live in sin and not be changed by salvation. 1 John 3:16-18, "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down out lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." We are going to love if we are truly saved. Again, crap! I'm in trouble.
I don't love people. I almost don't love anyone. It's almost my calling card these days. I don't care about people. I don't care about feelings. I don't love.
To have assurance of eternal life, I must have genuine Christian actions. I must have these beliefs/actions/changes in me and my life:
Assurances
1. I must believe Orthodox Christian doctrines (Jesus is the only way, etc.)
2. I have experienced moral transformation (not perfectly but characteristically). I walking in the light.
3. I must love (involved, working, caring).
1 John is a great book of the Bible for believers to reflect on their own salvation. One saved, always saved, but are we living as though we are saved by the grace of God? Are we walking in light? Are we loving? I know I have a lot of work to do. A LOT!!!
But today I skipped church. And last week I skipped church. I had "other things" that caused me to "not have time" to go. We actually decided to listen to our pastor online, but their website was not working and their podcast was not working. I decided to listen to my uncle. And when I arrived at his church's website, I found that he has a series on 1 John. Well, crap!
We are called as Christians to live as such. We need to affirm our doctrines. We need to live as saved beings. We need to live in the light, as he is in the light. I'm going to try to listen to this series.
Back to my uncle. I think we thought of him as sort of boring, because he doesn't live for himself like we often do. I remember several people in the family trying to have conversations with my uncle to sound spiritual (I, of course, did the opposite). I think that he is constantly working on his relationship with God. He had devotions. He did have conversations about God and Christ and Christian living. I believe he came across as serious and reserved because he is guarded and careful to do what is pleasing to God. He lives within the bounds of a responsible Christian.
I know that I talk a lot about grace in my blogs, knowing I seriously need grace. We all do. Even my uncle. But I think there are many Christians who use grace as an excuse to sin and live in sin and not be changed by salvation. 1 John 3:16-18, "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down out lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." We are going to love if we are truly saved. Again, crap! I'm in trouble.
I don't love people. I almost don't love anyone. It's almost my calling card these days. I don't care about people. I don't care about feelings. I don't love.
To have assurance of eternal life, I must have genuine Christian actions. I must have these beliefs/actions/changes in me and my life:
Assurances
1. I must believe Orthodox Christian doctrines (Jesus is the only way, etc.)
2. I have experienced moral transformation (not perfectly but characteristically). I walking in the light.
3. I must love (involved, working, caring).
1 John is a great book of the Bible for believers to reflect on their own salvation. One saved, always saved, but are we living as though we are saved by the grace of God? Are we walking in light? Are we loving? I know I have a lot of work to do. A LOT!!!
September 10, 2010
Not Just a Standard Greeting
I find my mind wandering a bit this morning, I'm having a hard time focusing. 1 Corinthians, like most of Paul's books, starts with his greeting. Yesterday I wrote about the Paul being called by the will of God. Today, I want to finish the greeting.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 is similar to all of Paul's greetings. It's basically the "from", "to" and "greeting" of a letter. After introducing himself, Paul includes in the "from" portion of the greeting a co-writer or fellow Christian he is working with, Sosthenes. I don't know anything about Sosthenes, and I have no books about 1 Corinthians to gain knowledge about him. I turned to the good ol' Internet for some answers and found that the name Sosthenes is mentioned one other time, in Acts 18:17.
Acts 18 talks about Paul's first trip to Corinth, where Paul preaches for a year and a half and many are converted and believe in the Lord. Paul is accused of persuading people to worship God contrary to the the law, but Gallio won't prosecute Paul because it is not a crime against Rome. The Jews get so update they attack and beat the current ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes. Unless there was a second un-mentioned Sosthenes in Corinth, I think this synagogue ruler was converted, just like the previous one there in Corinth named, Crispus (Act 18:8).
The greeting continues to the "to" portion, where Paul addresses the letter to "the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..." Key words he uses, that we often overlook are in this description of the believers. "Sanctified", "called". Salvation is from God, given to whom He wills. This is clear in who Paul addresses the letter.
Finally, the "greeting" portion. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Grace, something given not earned, creating peace we could not have without that grace, from God our Father, who loves us as a father loves his children, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our ruler, who understands the human condition, and our savior. That run-on sentence is my attempt at describing all the parts of the greeting at once.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 is similar to all of Paul's greetings. It's basically the "from", "to" and "greeting" of a letter. After introducing himself, Paul includes in the "from" portion of the greeting a co-writer or fellow Christian he is working with, Sosthenes. I don't know anything about Sosthenes, and I have no books about 1 Corinthians to gain knowledge about him. I turned to the good ol' Internet for some answers and found that the name Sosthenes is mentioned one other time, in Acts 18:17.
Acts 18 talks about Paul's first trip to Corinth, where Paul preaches for a year and a half and many are converted and believe in the Lord. Paul is accused of persuading people to worship God contrary to the the law, but Gallio won't prosecute Paul because it is not a crime against Rome. The Jews get so update they attack and beat the current ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes. Unless there was a second un-mentioned Sosthenes in Corinth, I think this synagogue ruler was converted, just like the previous one there in Corinth named, Crispus (Act 18:8).
The greeting continues to the "to" portion, where Paul addresses the letter to "the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..." Key words he uses, that we often overlook are in this description of the believers. "Sanctified", "called". Salvation is from God, given to whom He wills. This is clear in who Paul addresses the letter.
Finally, the "greeting" portion. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Grace, something given not earned, creating peace we could not have without that grace, from God our Father, who loves us as a father loves his children, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our ruler, who understands the human condition, and our savior. That run-on sentence is my attempt at describing all the parts of the greeting at once.
September 9, 2010
Called By The Will of God
I'm going to do my next study of on 1 Corinthians. Why? Not really sure. I did learn something about skipping over the greeting at the beginning of Paul's books, because there is even depth there. 1 Corinthians starts out with Paul's introduction of himself as "called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus".
For some reason, this is as far as I got today. "Called by the will of God" struck me because we use the word "called" often without thinking about the will of God. Paul's understanding of grace was so far beyond mine. He recognized he was called because it was the will of God. This understanding should lead us to a deeper commitment to live lives that please God.
For some reason, this is as far as I got today. "Called by the will of God" struck me because we use the word "called" often without thinking about the will of God. Paul's understanding of grace was so far beyond mine. He recognized he was called because it was the will of God. This understanding should lead us to a deeper commitment to live lives that please God.
September 8, 2010
Understanding the Amount of Forgiveness
Today I read a passage that I wrote a note about a few Sunday's ago at my church. We have such an amazing pastor. His teaching style and knowledge are very rare, in fact I've not ever heard someone that can be deep and simple at the same time.
But enough about him. My note says, "Who loves Jesus more? The one who is forgiven more. This is an understanding of the amount of forgiveness, not an actual amount of sin committed." The passage that was taught and caused me to write this note, and that I read today is Luke 7:36-50.
Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, where a "woman of the city" followed Him to wash his feet with her tears and hair, and anoint them with an ointment because she knew who he truly was and that he could offer forgiveness. The Pharisee didn't understand it because he didn't realize his need for that forgiveness.
We all have sinned. We all need the grace of God. We all need to understand that need. No one is good. The Pharisee was not any better than the prostitute. In fact, he was most likely not saved from his sin because of his unbelief in Jesus and his lack of understanding of his need for the grace of God.
But enough about him. My note says, "Who loves Jesus more? The one who is forgiven more. This is an understanding of the amount of forgiveness, not an actual amount of sin committed." The passage that was taught and caused me to write this note, and that I read today is Luke 7:36-50.
Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, where a "woman of the city" followed Him to wash his feet with her tears and hair, and anoint them with an ointment because she knew who he truly was and that he could offer forgiveness. The Pharisee didn't understand it because he didn't realize his need for that forgiveness.
We all have sinned. We all need the grace of God. We all need to understand that need. No one is good. The Pharisee was not any better than the prostitute. In fact, he was most likely not saved from his sin because of his unbelief in Jesus and his lack of understanding of his need for the grace of God.
September 7, 2010
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