Sometimes I've wondered -- How will I know if I'm being deceived if someone comes with a strong message that "seems" right! 1 Thes 1:5 says "the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true" So taking a message to God in prayer and asking for insight and a teachable heart -- seems like a good course to take.
I like how Paul compares their love for the Thessalonians with that of a child -- innocent; a mother -- compassionate, and a father -- pleading, encouraging, urging.
And then again -- how when they were separated from the Thes. he could stand it no longer, he was afraid for them (sounds like every parent I know!!) and then, when he got the good news of loyalty to God, he was overjoyed!
His wish for them, and us: may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow -- if we can accomplish THAT, well -- let's just say it's ONLY through the work of the Spirit, and since the Spirit doesn't have much raw talent (us) to work with -- it takes us a lifetime of submitting!
1:6 says "So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you." There was something worth having in the Gospel, that even severe suffering didn't deter them from receiving it. That tells me it's more a work in the heart & a preparation for the next life than my outward acting.
Some ugly things show up on the outside while inside work is being done. Construction zones are very hazardous places to be in & you have to constantly be alert to dangers around you. Special protective equipment has to be worn to protect you from danger.
Each one of use is a dangerous construction zone as God works on renovating our hearts. Really, we shouldn't be surprised when hurtful things are thrown or fall near us from others. It should be expected.
When an accident happens on site then a report is created & an examination is made on how to correct & avoid a repeat occurrence. Same thing in our spiritual construction zone. The difference is that the General Foreman is a Master at everything He does. So we're in good hands...if we choose to remain there.
It's nice to see that a man as driven as Paul had such concern (not anxiety) about his charges. He was concerned for their hearts, not just their material possessions.
What an amazing heart change for a man who had so many apparent temporal successes at hand, to be willing to risk it all for souls. He really understood the cost of the cross & he was not ashamed.
Lev 19:7 If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the 3rd Day, it will be contaminated, and I will not not accept it. I wonder if that's because Jesus' sacrifice was completed on the 3rd Day. It was over -- so anything on the 3rd day was pointless.
Lev 19 appears to be more "stuff" of how God wanted the Isralites to live. Much of it deals with fairness and compassion. But a couple of them I don't understand; 19:19 Do not wear clothing woven from 2 different kinds of thread. 27: Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. I wonder why? Cultural? Symbolic?
Here's a tough one in many cases: 19:17 "Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly."
O! Here's why this used to be a custom: 19:32 "Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged" I think it's sad that we've lost that respect -- elderly, in many cases, have so very much to give and to learn from.
God was very specific about sexual relations - His judgement was swift.
Caiphus really went against scripture in 21:10 when he tore his clothing.
In the OT we see the justice of God easier & in the NT the mercy. It doesn't matter though, we still do what we want, when we want & think we'll get away with it.
I wonder what was going on it Heman's life that caused him to write such a heart wrenching psalm. Ethan starts out full of praise but ends up with the same cry.
I'm thankful for the honesty we can see in the Psalms. We can surely identify with it!
In 87 it reminds me of Jesus' statement of having other sheep that are Jews out there. People from all nations, walks of life will be in heaven. There's not just 1 church or nation that's gonna make it. I'm looking fwd to meeting everyone & hearing their stories.
Yeah, Herman was pretty down -- my life is full of troubles; aaaand ... that's life. I was thinking last week that life touches everyone with broken dreams. The Bible is filled with it too. The only "dream come true" will be eternal life in relationship with God. If we focus our "dreams" here -- they'll inevitably get smashed (maybe not a bad thing -- keeps our focus pointed toward heaven)
Seems in 89 like Ethan did a lot of name dropping (David to be exact) seems like there was a lot of weight thrown toward Abraham, Moses, David. God did promise certain things based on this lineage, but I think He was hoping His people wouldn't just name drop, but would imitate these 3 heroes relationship with God.
13:3 "Those who control the tongue . . ." how hard it is to do, how many times I've paid the price for what I've said.
13:10 it IS pride that keeps us from taking advice. Either we don't want to appear foolish, or we think we already know.
13:11 wealth from hard work grows over TIME. Slow and steady wins the race . . . be patient.
and 13:12 this is something I've been dealing with this last year . . . "hope deferred" I think pretty much Solomon nailed it -- it does make the heart sick, you get so tired of the disappointment.
20 "Walk with the wise and become wise" it makes a difference who you hang around with.
Interesting that in vs 22 that inheritance is left to the grand children - - - wonder what happened to the children?
The Valley of the Dry Bones: it all represents loss of hope (verse 11 -- all hope is gone) Yet with God all things are possible.
People (others or ourselves) are like the dry bones. The cure is to listen to the word of the Lord; then He is able to breath into us and make us live again, to put flesh and muscles on us, cover us with skin -- we will COME TO LIFE, but best of all -- Know that He is Lord (verse 5,6)
When I read something like this, it's easy to think of others that need that life, but really, it's myself that needs to soak in His word and His miracles; this world makes it way to easy to become dry bones, sucking the life out of me.
I was thinking as I was climbing yesterday (had a lot of time)about the story Paul read at church. The man was just supposed to push against the rock....not move it.
I'm just supposed to climb in my Christian walk. I don't know when I'll reach the top & the fun (sliding down = heaven; well, at least to me). I would look up occasionally to see how much farther it was. I knew there was a false summit so that was no surprise.
What was surprising was seeing what looked like a break in the incline & a good place to stop & rest wasn't. It was a break in the incline yes, but it was still an incline & not level at all.
We get different trials & they always come, the incline or temptations, trials of this life always come at us; we really shouldn't expect a break. But God says, just keep on climbing, just one foot in front of the other. Sometimes we had to kick in our steps, it wasn't easy. It was very hard & laborious.
My life here on earth is no different, but I have to keep climbing. It's never going to be easy, the real fun doesn't start until heaven. I'm just in the climb & I have to keep going. I was really tempted to stop & give up at one point & I thought we had a lot farther to go then we did. If I would have stopped then, I would have stopped about 300 ft from the top.
I don't want to stop 300 ft short of what God has planned for me here or short of heaven. I just want to keep climbing. He kept me going yesterday so I need to remember that He is with me today as well. No matter how steep & scary it gets, He just asks me to keep climbing.
Really good experience picture Chris -- and YES! the fun slide comes once we get to heaven; we keep trying to make the no-trial zone here on earth, and that's impossible.
One foot in front of the other, don't stop; thanks -- really good good words for me today:)
The angels asked the women who came to the grave why they were looking for the living among the dead (24:5). I was thinking we do that spiritually. We look to humans to find some sort of spark in our spiritual journey at times. Jesus is the only Spark that we should look to for inspiration & enlightenment.
God does use people no doubt, but I think it's a condescension on His part because we're so short sighted & dull witted. Yet we think we're so intellectual & intelligent. Reminds me of watching children play grown-up.
Jesus had to open the eyes of the closest friends He had on earth to understand the Scriptures. How can we expect to understand them without the HS guidance & giving us understanding. They should be handled with more prayer & caution & approached more reverently than we do. I see us (me) losing our reverence for the holiness of God & it scares me.
I love how personal Jesus is, how gentle He is with (us-me) His followers on the road to Emmaus. He so wants us to get it that He does whatever it takes. But I don't want my gratefulness to Him to disrespect Him either. It brings back to my mind the song "We bow down" & how we are just prostrate as His feet in gratefulness for what He has done. Knowing I am so lost & there's nothing I can do to save me. How far He has chosen to come to save me in spite of my ungratefulness, my selfishness, the pain I have caused Him. Unbelievable that He still loves me. Just incredible love that I am so unworthy of.
Chris, thank you once again for your insights -- yes, I totally relate to losing my reverence for the holiness of God -- I take Him for granted, figuring He'll always be there to bail me out instead of falling at His feet in awe and gratitude and reverence.
Maybe that's part of letting our pride and self-sufficiency being crushed under that cornerstone.
It's interesting who found Jesus innocent: Pilot (vs 14) Herod (vs 15) the thief (vs 41) the officer (47)
and who found him guilty: the council (vs 1) the mob (vs 23)
and I found it interesting that once Jesus had died, the crowd (all the crowd) went home "in deep sorrow" Did they sense that they had participated (participated for some simply by silently watching out of curiosity) in something very evil.
The Roman officer that worshiped God, I wonder if he heard Jesus words of forgiveness, both to those crucifiying, the thief, the words of compassion to the grief-stricken women. I wonder what turned him to worship God.
I was trying to picture what it would be like to be in a cold, dark, damp cave and have 2 dazzling white men appear. This time there was no "fear not" statement -- I think they wanted the women's FULL attention.
(sigh) why wouldn't those men believe the women? even once they saw the open tomb, Peter "wondered what had happened" I think it's dandy nice that Jesus honored the women that wanted to "do" something for Him.
Yes -- I love how Jesus worked with the men from Emmaus -- He asked questions before explaining; he wanted to hear their take on the event.
They'd lost hope that He was the Messiah -- and had moved to calling Him a prophet and a mighty teacher. That must have made Jesus sad -- with ALL the many warnings He'd given them; not so different from me, tho -- I hear what I want to hear, see what I want to see.
Sometimes I've wondered -- How will I know if I'm being deceived if someone comes with a strong message that "seems" right! 1 Thes 1:5 says "the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true" So taking a message to God in prayer and asking for insight and a teachable heart -- seems like a good course to take.
ReplyDeleteI like how Paul compares their love for the Thessalonians with that of a child -- innocent; a mother -- compassionate, and a father -- pleading, encouraging, urging.
And then again -- how when they were separated from the Thes. he could stand it no longer, he was afraid for them (sounds like every parent I know!!) and then, when he got the good news of loyalty to God, he was overjoyed!
His wish for them, and us: may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow -- if we can accomplish THAT, well -- let's just say it's ONLY through the work of the Spirit, and since the Spirit doesn't have much raw talent (us) to work with -- it takes us a lifetime of submitting!
1:6 says "So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you." There was something worth having in the Gospel, that even severe suffering didn't deter them from receiving it. That tells me it's more a work in the heart & a preparation for the next life than my outward acting.
ReplyDeleteSome ugly things show up on the outside while inside work is being done. Construction zones are very hazardous places to be in & you have to constantly be alert to dangers around you. Special protective equipment has to be worn to protect you from danger.
Each one of use is a dangerous construction zone as God works on renovating our hearts. Really, we shouldn't be surprised when hurtful things are thrown or fall near us from others. It should be expected.
When an accident happens on site then a report is created & an examination is made on how to correct & avoid a repeat occurrence. Same thing in our spiritual construction zone. The difference is that the General Foreman is a Master at everything He does. So we're in good hands...if we choose to remain there.
It's nice to see that a man as driven as Paul had such concern (not anxiety) about his charges. He was concerned for their hearts, not just their material possessions.
What an amazing heart change for a man who had so many apparent temporal successes at hand, to be willing to risk it all for souls. He really understood the cost of the cross & he was not ashamed.
Lev 19:7 If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the 3rd Day, it will be contaminated, and I will not not accept it. I wonder if that's because Jesus' sacrifice was completed on the 3rd Day. It was over -- so anything on the 3rd day was pointless.
ReplyDeleteLev 19 appears to be more "stuff" of how God wanted the Isralites to live. Much of it deals with fairness and compassion. But a couple of them I don't understand; 19:19 Do not wear clothing woven from 2 different kinds of thread. 27: Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. I wonder why? Cultural? Symbolic?
Here's a tough one in many cases: 19:17 "Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly."
O! Here's why this used to be a custom: 19:32 "Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged" I think it's sad that we've lost that respect -- elderly, in many cases, have so very much to give and to learn from.
God was very specific about sexual relations - His judgement was swift.
Caiphus really went against scripture in 21:10 when he tore his clothing.
In the OT we see the justice of God easier & in the NT the mercy. It doesn't matter though, we still do what we want, when we want & think we'll get away with it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what was going on it Heman's life that caused him to write such a heart wrenching psalm. Ethan starts out full of praise but ends up with the same cry.
I'm thankful for the honesty we can see in the Psalms. We can surely identify with it!
In 87 it reminds me of Jesus' statement of having other sheep that are Jews out there. People from all nations, walks of life will be in heaven. There's not just 1 church or nation that's gonna make it. I'm looking fwd to meeting everyone & hearing their stories.
Yeah, Herman was pretty down -- my life is full of troubles; aaaand ... that's life. I was thinking last week that life touches everyone with broken dreams. The Bible is filled with it too. The only "dream come true" will be eternal life in relationship with God. If we focus our "dreams" here -- they'll inevitably get smashed (maybe not a bad thing -- keeps our focus pointed toward heaven)
ReplyDeleteSeems in 89 like Ethan did a lot of name dropping (David to be exact) seems like there was a lot of weight thrown toward Abraham, Moses, David. God did promise certain things based on this lineage, but I think He was hoping His people wouldn't just name drop, but would imitate these 3 heroes relationship with God.
13:3 "Those who control the tongue . . ." how hard it is to do, how many times I've paid the price for what I've said.
ReplyDelete13:10 it IS pride that keeps us from taking advice. Either we don't want to appear foolish, or we think we already know.
13:11 wealth from hard work grows over TIME. Slow and steady wins the race . . . be patient.
and 13:12 this is something I've been dealing with this last year . . . "hope deferred" I think pretty much Solomon nailed it -- it does make the heart sick, you get so tired of the disappointment.
20 "Walk with the wise and become wise" it makes a difference who you hang around with.
Interesting that in vs 22 that inheritance is left to the grand children - - - wonder what happened to the children?
The Valley of the Dry Bones: it all represents loss of hope (verse 11 -- all hope is gone) Yet with God all things are possible.
ReplyDeletePeople (others or ourselves) are like the dry bones. The cure is to listen to the word of the Lord; then He is able to breath into us and make us live again, to put flesh and muscles on us, cover us with skin -- we will COME TO LIFE, but best of all -- Know that He is Lord (verse 5,6)
When I read something like this, it's easy to think of others that need that life, but really, it's myself that needs to soak in His word and His miracles; this world makes it way to easy to become dry bones, sucking the life out of me.
I was thinking as I was climbing yesterday (had a lot of time)about the story Paul read at church. The man was just supposed to push against the rock....not move it.
ReplyDeleteI'm just supposed to climb in my Christian walk. I don't know when I'll reach the top & the fun (sliding down = heaven; well, at least to me). I would look up occasionally to see how much farther it was. I knew there was a false summit so that was no surprise.
What was surprising was seeing what looked like a break in the incline & a good place to stop & rest wasn't. It was a break in the incline yes, but it was still an incline & not level at all.
We get different trials & they always come, the incline or temptations, trials of this life always come at us; we really shouldn't expect a break. But God says, just keep on climbing, just one foot in front of the other. Sometimes we had to kick in our steps, it wasn't easy. It was very hard & laborious.
My life here on earth is no different, but I have to keep climbing. It's never going to be easy, the real fun doesn't start until heaven. I'm just in the climb & I have to keep going. I was really tempted to stop & give up at one point & I thought we had a lot farther to go then we did. If I would have stopped then, I would have stopped about 300 ft from the top.
I don't want to stop 300 ft short of what God has planned for me here or short of heaven. I just want to keep climbing. He kept me going yesterday so I need to remember that He is with me today as well. No matter how steep & scary it gets, He just asks me to keep climbing.
Really good experience picture Chris -- and YES! the fun slide comes once we get to heaven; we keep trying to make the no-trial zone here on earth, and that's impossible.
ReplyDeleteOne foot in front of the other, don't stop; thanks -- really good good words for me today:)
The angels asked the women who came to the grave why they were looking for the living among the dead (24:5). I was thinking we do that spiritually. We look to humans to find some sort of spark in our spiritual journey at times. Jesus is the only Spark that we should look to for inspiration & enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteGod does use people no doubt, but I think it's a condescension on His part because we're so short sighted & dull witted. Yet we think we're so intellectual & intelligent. Reminds me of watching children play grown-up.
Jesus had to open the eyes of the closest friends He had on earth to understand the Scriptures. How can we expect to understand them without the HS guidance & giving us understanding. They should be handled with more prayer & caution & approached more reverently than we do. I see us (me) losing our reverence for the holiness of God & it scares me.
I love how personal Jesus is, how gentle He is with (us-me) His followers on the road to Emmaus. He so wants us to get it that He does whatever it takes. But I don't want my gratefulness to Him to disrespect Him either. It brings back to my mind the song "We bow down" & how we are just prostrate as His feet in gratefulness for what He has done. Knowing I am so lost & there's nothing I can do to save me. How far He has chosen to come to save me in spite of my ungratefulness, my selfishness, the pain I have caused Him. Unbelievable that He still loves me. Just incredible love that I am so unworthy of.
Chris, thank you once again for your insights -- yes, I totally relate to losing my reverence for the holiness of God -- I take Him for granted, figuring He'll always be there to bail me out instead of falling at His feet in awe and gratitude and reverence.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's part of letting our pride and self-sufficiency being crushed under that cornerstone.
It's interesting who found Jesus innocent:
ReplyDeletePilot (vs 14) Herod (vs 15) the thief (vs 41) the officer (47)
and who found him guilty: the council (vs 1) the mob (vs 23)
and I found it interesting that once Jesus had died, the crowd (all the crowd) went home "in deep sorrow" Did they sense that they had participated (participated for some simply by silently watching out of curiosity) in something very evil.
The Roman officer that worshiped God, I wonder if he heard Jesus words of forgiveness, both to those crucifiying, the thief, the words of compassion to the grief-stricken women. I wonder what turned him to worship God.
I was trying to picture what it would be like to be in a cold, dark, damp cave and have 2 dazzling white men appear. This time there was no "fear not" statement -- I think they wanted the women's FULL attention.
(sigh) why wouldn't those men believe the women? even once they saw the open tomb, Peter "wondered what had happened" I think it's dandy nice that Jesus honored the women that wanted to "do" something for Him.
Yes -- I love how Jesus worked with the men from Emmaus -- He asked questions before explaining; he wanted to hear their take on the event.
They'd lost hope that He was the Messiah -- and had moved to calling Him a prophet and a mighty teacher. That must have made Jesus sad -- with ALL the many warnings He'd given them; not so different from me, tho -- I hear what I want to hear, see what I want to see.