Jeremy D. Burch

We Have Only One Reason To Exist

2011-03-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

I don't really know how to sound intelligent or deep. I'm a super opinionated person, with nothing really to say. I read all sorts of blogs and Internet sites trying to gain knowledge on things that will make me sound like I know what I'm talking about, but I don't really know anything about the important things of life. Well, there is one exception to that. I actually know the most important thing in life. But I don't live like I do, or share that knowledge. If fact, most of the time I live and act and speak like I don't know this crucial truth to our existence. I know there is a deep and critical purpose for our lives. I know this purpose brings hope and joy. I know that, without understanding this purpose, besides the eternal damnation we face apart from this truth, our lives will be lived hopeless and frustrated, filled with hated, anger, and emptiness. The crazy thing is, even with this knowledge in my own head, I live in a negative place right now. And this is because we are not called to merely understand this purpose, but we are told to live it.

I turned 35 last week and I've started to take a look at my life, maybe for the first time. I've been looking at where I came from, where I am, what I've accomplished, and what I've set as goals. I started my life in a loving family, where I was raised, protected, and guided in the knowledge of God. I grew into an involved member of the Church, playing music in worship services, leading small group discussions, working on my own relationship with God, studying the Bible, and trying to live my life to please God. Currently, my life is a joke. There is nothing in it that resembles a life lived in faith. Sure, I go to church on Sundays where one of the most dynamic preacher I've ever heard teaches, I teach my kids about God, I pray with them, I even pray (mostly plead) on my own, but there is no living by faith. My wife and I have had our share of tragic happenings, from medical things and deaths in the family to financial and job related trials, but our prayers and requests for God's help and guidance are far and few between. We don't live in faith. We don't live as though we understand our purpose for existence.

I am a huge failure. I place a lot of the responsibility for my wife's spiritual maturity on my own shoulders. I should be leading this family into meaningful, deep, real, solid relationships with God. Instead, I'm the one that is to angry and frustrated at the outcome of my life this far to be a positive force in this family. As someone who was raised in the church, with lots of access to the Bible and teachers and examples of God pleasing people, i should lovingly lead my wife and kids into God's light and grace. I have the chance to show them God's grace and love, and that our purpose is to enjoy glorify Him. But I'm selfish, frustrated, sinful, and horrible. I don't bring God glory with my own life, so how can I teach my family to do the same? After 8+ years together, how is it my wife is still a baby Christian and I've now become someone who doesn't even resemble one at all?

Knowledge is nothing without actions. Just like James 2:19 says "even the demons believe - and shudder". It's not knowledge of God that saves. It takes faith in our need for Jesus. We must give up self control. We MUST realize we can never be good enough on our own. Apart from God, we are nothing. Our purpose is to glorify God, who is the Creator of all things. He gave us free will, and then a Savior to save us from ourselves. Think of it like this: we are called to go out into the world and reveal God to those we meet. But it we don't know God ourselves, who can we share Him with others? I need to wake up and live this knowledge. I am nothing apart from God. I deserve eternal damnation because of my sins. And without God's Son, Jesus, I'd be there. But by the grace of God, I am saved from these sins by the perfect lamb, sacrificed for me. Now I have only one reason to exist: I MUST GLORIFY GOD!

Paul Gives Up His Rights...Disciplines His Body

2011-02-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

There are so many rhetorical questions in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. It's almost like Paul wants to say, "Duh" to the church at Corith. What he is doing is pointing out the things he is giving up in his life or disciplining himself from so that he is a better witness for the gospel. He is making it clear that, although some of the things he gives up are not sinful to partake in, he abstains from such things to be set apart and free from guilt. Just like in chapter 8, where he explains he is free to eat or drink whatever he desires, he does not eat or drink certain things in certain situations so he does not cause someone else to stumble or judge him wrongly. Now in chapter 9 is goes further to explain the freedoms he gives up to better serve God.

Really, this is too short an explanation to do this passage justice, but to break down each statement would take me too long with my limited time to write. Basically, we need to look at the things in our lives that are not necessarily wrong to be involved in but that might cause others to stumble or question our faith. We need to be able to use our freedoms to further the kingdom of God and allow us to more easily share the gospel. Just as Paul says in 9:22 "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some," our freedoms allow us to present to gospel to all types of people. But we must, "discipline (our) body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others (we) should be disqualified."

Love God. Love Others. Watch What/When/Where You Eat?

2011-02-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 is a long passage to say something that isn't really that big of an issue for people I'm around and for most of our society. Maybe I'm missing something, but, there aren't foods that are offered to idols, or foods that cause fellow believers to stumble. I have heard this passage used to say it's okay to drink alcohol, as long as you do it where believers who don't agree with the drinking of alcohol are not going to see you and be tempted by it; meaning even though they think it's wrong in their mind, they drink in spite of that. This would be sin for them, not because it is wrong to drink, but because they think it's wrong and still do it. It's like a sin against their own conscience and a decision to choose sin over what is right.

But I just read this passage twice, and I didn't really have much to apply to myself. I drink the occasional glass of wine or beer. I eat pretty well, for the most part. I think the biggest thing I'm going to take away from this passage is to be aware of who is watching and listening to you, in all situations. There are things people are observing in us that would lead them to make judgments against our faith. We are all sinners, and we all fail to reach heaven on our own. But it is so important to try and live a life that glorifies God and shows those around us that we are set apart for Him. Christ saved us from eternal death. Now we need to live a life of love. "If anyone loves God, he is known by God." Show God love by glorifying Him with all we do. I know, it's hard. At least for me it is.

The Spiritual RQA

2011-01-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

My job is to review the 6 branches I'm directly responsible for and see that they are operationally sound. I'm called an Operations Specialist. Really, I go in and point out people's mistakes, tell them how to fix them, teach them how to avoid the mistakes next time, and tell them how to do it correctly the first time all the time. I give resources, helpful tools, and policy standards each branch so they can function within the rules and regulations that govern my industry. Basically, the people who want to do a good job appreciate me for the help I provide, and the ones who don't seem to care have a hard time with me pointing out all their mistakes. Part of my job is to prepare these branches for the "testing" process or the "Retail Quality Assurance Review". These reviews happen roughly every 12 to 18 months. The RQA group comes in and assigns a grade to the branches operations to judge their operational soundness. The branch is found "Acceptable", one we need to "Watch", or "Unacceptable". This is where the stress comes from for me.

I have 6 branches, all are due for their RQA audit...well now it's 5 of 6 because one just had its review and passed with the "Acceptable" score. Yea! Of the other 5 remaining branches I have 3 that I am really struggling with, and I've been struggling with for months. I tell them how to do things correctly, and they don't seem to be able to put that into practice. I explain to the managers the need for their buy-in into my recommendations, so they can be successful in their upcoming audits. In most cases; however, it doesn't seem to be happening. I'm very tired. I'm very discouraged. I'm very worried about how well they will do. I think a big issue is the accountability portion of this process. The score for the branches is put on me, not the manager of the branch or the team that is at the branch daily. It mainly reflects on me, and I'm only there, at best, once a week. With 6 branches spread over 200 miles, it's a little difficult to be at any given branch on a consistent basis.

I'm not here to complain about my job, although it may seem like that. I like the challenge. I actually wanted to relate this dynamic to God and us. God tells us in the Bible how to live our lives correctly (please don't think I'm saying we can earn salvation if we live a good life) so that on the day of judgement we can be found pure and holy. He gives us resources, instructions, council, guidance, and the answers we need to live as believers. He longing for us to be His. He gave His Son for our sin. All we need to do is believe. And yet we have all these resources and one easy step to follow (faith), and we don't listen or follow the simple step to the perfection of eternity. We think all our own stuff is so much more important than glorifying God with our lives. We think that our own goals and our own desires will make us happy and successful in life. But in reality, if we do not follow God's words and instructions, we will fail. Romans 10:9-10 says, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." But James 2:18-20 says, "But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" You have to believe to be saved. But true belief or faith is evidenced by actions. There better be some evidence to your claim of salvation in your life. You better be doing what God tells you to do in His Word, the Bible.

NOTE: I assume only a few people read this blog, and that those are my Christian friends. If you are not a Christian, and you think that I'm comparing myself to God, understand that I am actually the sinner realizing I have the Word of God to point me to a proper pleasing life, but I fail to follow those instructions and it frustrates God that I do not listen to Him. I am only saved because of grace. If there was an RQA Review on my life, I would not be saved. I would be found "Unacceptable". Praise God that He shows grace on me. Praise God that He saves

Undivided Devotion To The Lord

2011-01-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

1 Corintians 7:25-40 wraps this chapter with Paul advising not to marry. He says it is better to stay as you are because your focus can be on your relationship with God and not on the things of this world, or how to please your spouse. He says it's not a sin to be married, but it takes away focus and time that can be spent on God and out "interests are divided." Paul says these things over several verses, but to the point that we "may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Without getting into details, there are time that I argue with my wife and feel like the arguments are such a waste of time. Are we in anyway sharpening each other or helping build our relationship with God? No. But I also know that the passions of my flesh would not allow me to be like Paul without sin. And he does address that too. It is not a sin to marry. Paul says, "So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."

God did give me my wife as a partner. Last night we talked about our church service and a challenge our pastor presented, a 40 day fast. The church is planning a prayer service 40 days from Tuesday. The challenge was to give something up for 40 days as a fast, and on every Wednesday to fast from food, until the prayer service. Our pastor said he felt like he wasn't prepared for the last prayer service and he wanted to be more prepared this time. The 40 day fast was suggested as a means of preparing our hearts to "be in the presence of God" at the prayer service. My wife talked to me about what she wanted to do for the fast, and I realized I didn't even take the thought of the fast serious. I thought about what I would want to do for it, but I didn't plan on actually participating.

The point of this section of scripture for me is: it is better to be focused on God than the things of this world. To do this it is better to be focused on God than have the distraction of a spouse. But more often a spouse protects you from the lusts of the flesh and can often times point you back to God. In the words of a past pastor, a wife can be a help mate. I believe my wife is often a help mate, even when she doesn't know or realize she's being one.

Sunday Is Not For Church

2011-01-16T09:57:00.001-08:00

It has become almost a regular habit lately for my family to miss church. We haven't gone for some weeks now because of sick kids. First Caleb. Then Ryan. And now both. But is it really because of the kids?

I've talked for a while about my own spiritual life being in the dumps. My past involvement in church kept me accountable to being at church, living with a level of responsibility to my own witness, and a feeling of correctness and freedom to call myself a Christian. But the place I'm in now leads me to question whether I was fooling myself before or if I've just fallen into a depression over the depravity of man.

Selfishness, corruption, laziness, popularity, the "cool factor", modern, fun, easy, comfortable, friendly, politically correct; these are things that make me so mad about both our society and the church. Mankind is disgusting. Why God would want to die for us, I can not
understand.

Sent from my iPhone

Live As A Believer In Whatever Situation You Were Assigned

2011-01-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 starts with a really straight forward command, "...each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them." Step 1 of being a Christian: live as a believer. What? Are you serious?

Now, this is not actually "Step 1", I'd say faith is, but how often are we actually living as though we are saved from our Sin by the God of the Universe? Salvation is from eternal death, pain, torture, and separation from God? Are we living like we understand the grace that has been given to us? We don't deserve to be forgiven of our sins, but God has given us Jesus as payment for our sins.

When we are saved, we aren't called to take ourselves out of the situation we are in. And we are not called to make drastic changes (like circumcision) to ourselves. Outward physical changes are not what living as a believer is about. Verses 19-20 "...Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them."

The last section of this passage talks about whether the believer is a slave or one who is free. For the slave, he is not to worry, unless he can earn his freedom. I'm not really sure about this section, or how to relate it to our society today, but I know that we are not to enslave ourselves to any thing or any one. We are the Lord's slave, because we were bought by His blood. When He paid for our sin with His life, He called us to serve Him. As believers we should live as such, by expressing the freedom from sin and its consequence (eternal separation and death) we have in Christ.

Commanded To Not Separate

2011-01-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 talks about staying together in a marriage. Today it seems like divorce is the answer to most people's marital problems. If you don't get along, just divorce. If you want to be with someone else, just divorce. But as Christians, we are commanded not to separate from our spouse. Even if that spouse is not a believer, we are told to stay with them as long as they will stay with us.

Divorce is wrong. I know that there are situations and scenarios that we all try to put together to justify making that decision, but for the most part it's not God's will. Too often, the problems in a marriage come from the selfishness of both parties. Instead, thinking of the needs of the other person can solve most of the problems. And as Christians, we are called to love others. This includes our spouse. When we feel like we aren't getting what we want out of our marriage, I think we need to look at what we are putting into it. And even if we feel like we ARE doing all we can and it's still rough, I think that God will still bless us for our commitment.

Love your spouse today. Remember the commitment of marriage and God's command to not separate.

Sex Is For Marriage...Marriage Is For Sex

2011-01-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 7:1-9 continues on the topic of sex. Some in the church think that Paul will agree with them about abstaining from sex, because Paul is not married. But Paul tells them that not everyone has the self control and that this is a gift from God that he has. "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another..."

I think that a lot of fights in marriage (right up there with the money ones) are based around sex. If both spouses listened to this passage, I think that we could reduce the amount of adultery that is so prevalent in our country. There are TV and radio shows that talk about cheating. There are leaders of our country that are caught in it. It is a huge thing in our society. I think it comes down to a misunderstanding of marriage and a major purpose for it. Paul says he wishes we were all like him, able to remain single, but that marriage is important for those who do not have self control. Marriage is important so that sexual desires can be fulfilled within that relationship. When spouses withhold sex from each other, even if the withholder feels they have a legitimate reason, they do not understand that in marriage you give up your own body. It becomes the spouse's. The only time it is okay to abstain from sex in marriage is if you agree to have a time of prayer, like fasting from food to be focused more on God.

Marriage has more than sex of course, and there are lots of things that affect how we respond to each other. Like I said in my three 2011 resolutions, I'm going to work to serve my wife. We have to work together as a team in all aspects of the relationship.

The Body Is For The Lord

2010-12-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 is an awkward topic because sexual immorality is so prevalent in our society. I'm sure it's similar to the time of the church of Corith. Today we have gay rights, porn ruling the Internet, and everyone having sex with anyone at any time. We've made sex just an okay thing that anyone can do with anyone else. Sex is not saved for marriage anymore. I've even heard people say you have to have sex with someone before you marry them to make sure you are "compatible".

"The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." Sex joins two people together. "The two will become one flesh." This is a real thing too. I hate how people today have sex with anyone and everyone, and pretend that it was "just sex". There is a connection that sex creates. The only thing that I can agree with is, the amount of sex people are having with others numbs the connection to each other that sex causes. Think about why people need each other. There is a feeling of completeness for a moment. But this is a perversion of what the body is meant for. The body is not meant for sexual immorality. The body is meant for the Lord. We are called the bride of Christ. We are meant to have that connection with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is the head of the church and we are the body.

Just a last minute thought, if the body was made for the type of sex people are having today, do you think there would be so many sexually transmitted diseases? If we were meant to have sex with anyone and everyone, there wouldn't be so many dangers from having sex in this manner. There isn't a sexually transmitted disease caused by one man and one woman having sex with each other only.

We are here for a short time. We have lusts of the flesh that lead us to sexual immorality, but for our time here we need to fight against those urges. If we can focus on God, and not ourselves, we will be better equipped to fight the temptations of the flesh. It's not easy, but it's required of us. If we can place our focus on things above, not on things of this earth, we will succeed. Colossians 3 talks about putting on the new self and verse 2 tells us, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." These instructions will help us put to death our sinful nature and live as those called to be children of God.

Remember, "Who Cares" Is the Slogan For Earthly Troubles

2010-12-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 asks believers the question, "When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?" This talks to the problems Christians have with each other. I've seen my share of Christians having issues with each other. I've been involved in church splits, pastoral resignations, and more. Almost always, someone's opinion is chosen over another's, feelings are hurt, people retaliate, and sin occurs. Instead, we should deal with this as fellow believers. Now, I will say, this passage is talking more to the fact of legal wrongs being done, because they are taking things to the local law instead of the church, but I think the application of how to handle a wrong done against you, either actual or perceived, by another Christian should be handled in a manner that pleases God.

Verse 7 asks rather than sue, "Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?" We all wrong and defraud people. Suck it up for your short time here on earth. We have so much more coming ahead that we should be focused and excited for that. We will inherit the Kingdom of God. Sinners won't inherit heaven, unless they are "washed...sanctified...and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Just like the old saying, "like water off a ducks back" we need to let go of the troubles of this world. Try to say, "Who cares." in trials and tough times, or when you don't agree with something that wrongs you here on earth. Who cares about getting cut-off on the freeway (I say with my hand raised). Who cares that the government and some of the banking industry giants messed up our finances and housing. Who cares that I'm over looked for this or that. Who cares that the music guy wears skinny jeans. Who cares that this person or that doesn't see things the way you do. Who cares. Work on loving others. Work on showing GRACE. Work on glorifying God forever and in all things that you do.

Praise be to God, who is patient and working all things for His glory. Praise Him for the grace that He gives us. Praise Him for the gift of Jesus, who paid the price we never could so we can be saved from these sins that rule our lives here. What a wonderful perfect plan. How great is God, that we can call Him Father, Savior, and Lord. And if he is these things to you, you are saved from death and eternal sorrow. I think for 2011, I will work to make Him Lord.

Blog Notes and Updates

2010-12-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

Once again, it's been a while since I've updated my devotional blog. I've even had a vacation during my hiatus from blogging here. What's sad is this is really a record of how often I'm reading my Bible outside of the church setting. (Speaking of church, you should really listen to Lance's message from Christmas. It's amazing what he did with the Christmas story. I've heard the story at least 34 times, and this message really spoke to me and caused me to want to work harder this coming year at becoming a witness to those I work with.)

Another blog note before I get back to my study: I updated this blog to work better on a mobile device. Just go to www.jeremydburch.blogspot.com from a mobile device, and the site will recognize that you are on such a device and format the site accordingly. It loads a little faster and is easier to navigate. Also, I'm going to start tweeting when I update my blog. For those of you seeing this blog for the first time because of my tweets, I don't put a lot of time into the editing and formatting of the blog, so you may see lots of spelling and/or grammatical errors. Really this blog is for me to track what I've read as I go through books of the Bible. I try to work through a book in order, so I don't take things out of context, but feel free to comment or correct anything you don't agree with in my entries. Anything you can add will help sharpen me as I study God's word.

A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Lump

2010-12-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 5:6-13. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." We are called to share Christ with the world, so we are going to be around sin and sinners. But when that sin is committed by someone who calls themselves a Christian, and they are unrepentant of that sin, Paul says not to associate with them. Leaven leavens the whole lump just like association with a believer who is unrepentant of sin will corrupt others, or appear to do so. The church at Corinth was proud of their acceptance of sinners. Paul tells them not to boast because it's not good. I think they were boastful in their acceptance of sin, instead of sinners. We are called to share God's grace with sinners so they might turn from their sin to God. Corinth understood God's grace incorrectly. Just because we are saved by grace, doesn't mean sin is okay. They were accepting of people's sin, and this was not at all what grace meant. We are still called to judge the actions of believers. There is still a responsibility to live holy lives as believers. Sin is still wrong.

Life seems to get harder and harder. Sin seems to be more and more tempting. I think the early church had the same problems, only they didn't have the whole Bible to study and be encouraged by. We all need fellow believers to come along side us and encourage us too. But, if those believers are living in sin, how can they be encouraging to us? We need to be blameless for the sake of our brothers, just as we need to find ourselves surrounded by believers who are blameless and who can guide us and help us.

Delivered Over To Satan So The Spirit May Be Saved?

2010-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

The memorial service for Doug Healing was amazing. He was a true example of what a Christian should live like. People got up and spoke about Doug from all aspects and times in his life, and the consistent message was that he was a godly man. Through this whole thing, I've really had to take a look at my life and I've realized there is nobody that can say the types of things about me that were said about Doug. There aren't people from work that would come and say I loved the Lord and I was always sharing my faith. I don't even know if there are people that would come say the standard, "he's a good guy."

I need a drastic turn around in my life. I need to live like I'm required. I need to glorify God and make that my chief priority. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 talk about a sinner in the church needing to be removed. Paul pronounces judgement on this person and tells the church they are to "deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh". Yikes. They do this "so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." I do not want to be separated from the church. I definitely don't want to be delivered over to Satan, but I'm a reached sinner living in arrogance and sin, instead of working to glorifying God with my life.

We all need to take a look at how short life can be and what our example is here. Right now, I've done the kingdom of God no good. I've failed to witness to the people I work with. I'm a Sunday morning Christian. I really don't know what the fix is either. I don't know how to recover and change at work. It's going to be a slow process of changing people's opinions with the way I act and speak. Prayer and continued study are all I have. I have no strength on my own.

Doug Went Home for Eternity

2010-11-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Although many people prayed for healing, God decided he wanted to bring Doug home to Himself. If we can think about it from Doug's perspective, he is in total peace with God. God decided it was time for Doug to enjoy Him in His presence, and that is so great for Doug. I feel sadness for the family. I really hurt for Josh, who was with his dad when the accident happened. Obviously, the whole family is hurting, but as a son myself, I would not want to be with my dad when a life ending accident happened to him.

Continue to pray for the Healing family. Pray for peace for them. Pray for provision for Betsy. Pray for the comfort that comes from knowing God.

We Never Know When Death or Christ Will Come

2010-11-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

I just looked at my last post and I noticed I mentioned our time here on earth is short. We really don't know when and how we are going to die or if Christ is going to return. Monday evening, my dad received a call about a close family friend falling off a his roof. He apparently broke is neck and ribs. At this point, we are not sure he is going to make it.

I know that I often think to myself I'm going to get my life right with God later or I'll be able to be a good witness next time. But the truth is, we don't know how much time "later" we have. We don't know if there is going to be a "next time". God could decide to take us home at any minute. We need to be living our lives correctly, properly worshiping God and glorifying Him with all aspects of our lives, right now.

I really wanted to write this to request that you pray today for a miracle for Doug Healing (his actual last name). He would need major healing from all the injuries. He is probably paralyzed from the neck down. They're not sure about proper brain function at this point. God can do miracles if He desires. My pastor talked about death a few weeks ago and reminded us that the death of a Christian is awesome for that person. They get to be with God. And, although we miss them and wish they were still here with us, the truth really is, they don't want to come back. Once they are in the presence of the Almighty Creator, they are pain free, worry free, in perfect peace and joy. Please pray for comfort for the family. Pray that God is glorified through this tragic accident.

Rebuked Out of Love

2010-11-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Paul really does rebuke the church at Corinth a lot. But he loves the church and in 1 Corinthians 4:14-20 he reminds them that he writes to them in this manner not to make them ashamed, "but to admonish (them) as (his) beloved children." He refers to himself as their father in Christ Jesus. He also rebukes those that are arrogant and think they can get away with poor leadership and direction because Paul isn't going to come back. But Paul tells them he will come back if it's God's will. He also sent Timothy there to help the church and to report back to Paul. He tells them he will find out the power of these people and deal with that, not just what they are saying, because the kingdom of God consists of power. And Paul's final warning in this section is that when he returns he can come back ready to punish or to love in gentleness, and it's up to the people of the church.

Seriously, we have a short time here on earth. How can we make it right and good? How can we find joy and satisfaction in worshiping God with our lives and our actions? What do we need to do to avoid sin and run away from temptations? How do we clear our minds of things of this world and focus them on the things of God? Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

The Apostles Had It Rough

2010-10-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I'm not an apostle...OH NO. Did I say that out loud? The truth is we are all called to live sacrificially and humbly like the apostles. We are called to live sold out for Christ and to spread the word of God like they did. We are called to be lights is the dark world. But it's too hard for most of us. I know it's too hard for me.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13 is where Paul paints a small picture of the sacrifices he made living for Christ. "To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, as we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered we entreat. We have become, and are still,like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."

As I break it down point by point, I look at my own life in comparison and find that I'm never hungry or thirsty, i have nice clothes, no one ever beats me up, and I have a nice warm place to live and sleep. My job can be stressful, but nothing like hard manual labor. Also, during Paul's day, Greeks and some in the church at Corinth thought of manual labor for slaves. On top of that, Paul was trying to preach to the world about Christ. I come home at night and relax like a lazy, tired, fool. When reviled, persecuted, or slandered I attack, defend, and return fire on my accuser. I'm pretty good and striking back with force and a great deal of harm. Unfortunately, as I type that there's a level of pride in that. CRAP! Speaking of that word...Paul finishes this section by calling himself "the scum of the world, the refuse of all things." He calls himself the crap or garbage or trash of the world, knowing that's how he is looked at by society and both Jews and gentiles.

So, back to the beginning...I'm glad I'm not an apostle, but we don't face the kind of persecution Paul did. The United States is so politically correct that no one is even allowed to persecute anyone else. But we are not out there preaching and living the way Paul did either. We don't have the passion of Paul, the zeal of the apostles. We are more like the Corinthians, who thought of themselves as kings. It's time to live as Paul.

All We Have Has Been Given To Us

2010-10-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

We have nothing that hasn't been given to us. And we should live like that. Instead of thinking highly of ourselves, as though we earned something or deserve something, we should all realize what we have has been given by God. In 1 Corinthians 4:6-8 Paul continues his rebuke toward those who were self-satisfied because they believed they'd reached some level of spiritual greatness(like in 1 Cor. 1:10-17). He asked them this questions, "What do you have that you did not receive?" to point out that God gave them everything they had.

Verse 8-10 is where it gets a little more my style. Paul get's sarcastic with, what the John MacArthur Study Bible calls, false praise. He tells them, "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!" Paul goes on to call himself a fool and the church at Corinth wise, as though he was mimicking the attitude of the proud Corinthians towards him.

Now, I don't want to pretend that I translated and explained this passage as I usually try. I was a little confused by most of 8-10 because I didn't realize that Paul could be sarcastic. But it makes more sense if it is read this way, and that's why I believe the John MacArthur explanation is valid (that and Johnny Mac is a great expositor of the word and has great men working with him). The point is to be humble in our lives. I know I'm not. I even think that God allowed an error at work to humble me a little because I was getting too arrogant in my own abilities. We need to take this humble path and realize all we have comes from God and Christ crucified.

Praise God for His Son.

The Lord Is The Only Judge

2010-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 is a hard one to understand for me. Paul reminds us that we are the be regarded as "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." He goes on to say that stewards are required to be found trustworthy. And up to this point I understand what he's saying. But then he goes into being judged and judging himself, or I guess the lack of judging of himself that he does. He says it is the Lord who judges. Perhaps (as I write it seems to become more clear) the word judge is talking about the opinion we form about a certain person without even being able to know their heart. On one hand, we may judge someone as "a lost cause"; someone we think would be a waste of time to share Christ with. And on the other hand, we may judge someone as holier than they really are. We do not know the heart.

All of our judgments don't matter. The Lord will come and He will shed light on all the hidden thins in our lives. He will "disclose the purpose of the heart." Only then will we receive our commendation from God. Are you going to be commended? Are you doing something in your life that God can commend you for? Does your life fulfill the great commission?

The Wisdom Of This World Is Folly With God

2010-10-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

I had a tough week last week. I had to go to Redding Monday and Tuesday, on Wednesday and Thursday my most sound operational branch didn't do so hot in an internal review, and Friday since finding out the results of the review I haven't been able to snap out of the funk I'm in. This all coupled with the fact that I feel my life will never be in order again, I feel like I'm falling into a dark place. I can admit I've never loved people, but I think now I don't even have the ability to fake it. I have no patience, no understanding, and it just keeps getting worse. I pray and plead with God more now than I did in the past. I recognize the sin more and feel it's controlling my life.

So last night I asked God to give me this morning as a refreshing time with Him to start over. And, besides the mosquito flying around in my living room, I'm able to have a quiet time in the Word. 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 is a weird way to gain some peace about the last week, but it's what is next in my study and all parts of God's Word are important. This passage starts out, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise." Although I don't think I will get a commentary book deal for the way I'm about to apply this to me situation, I think there is some correlation. I believe I'm good at my job. I think of myself as a knowledgeable and efficient employee who makes good decisions in how to perform my tasks. But, this weak performance has taken a lot of the arrogant wind out of my sails. As the "best" operations employee in the district I'm in, I just showed I don't have it all figured out.

I know that God is not pleased with my life. I know that my claim to Christianity is a Sunday morning thing, and that I do no bring glory to the name of God on a regular basis, if ever. I think my job became a source of pride for me and a place where I felt I had things "figured out." But the wisdom of the world is folly to God. Although I don't consider myself wise, I think I thought of myself as really knowledgeable about how to run a branch. And now I think that God is trying to remind me that my pride is in the things of men not the things of God. It is important to work hard and be the best at what we do because it shows we have integrity and we are not lazy, but in the end, our work achievements have no baring on our Spiritual health. We need to be proud to say was we children of God and shine the bright light of salvation in what we do. Our source of pride should come from our relationship with the almighty God. Focus on God. Let the concerns of this world pass by.

Although I'm still really disappointed (and I have to face my boss today and feel like I let her down), I am going to try and focus on things that matter. I am going to work hard at not hating the people who do not do their jobs correctly. I'm going to work on patience and love. I will find a way to stay quieter and calmer than I usually do. I will not get frustrated. I sound like Stuart Smalley with daily affirmations right now. I'm not looking in a mirror though.

We Are God's Temple and Where The Spirit Dwells

2010-10-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in church, our pastor talked about the Holy Spirit living in us Christians. He explained something I've never thought about from 1 Thessalonians 5:19, "Do not quench the Spirit." Our pastor talked about the fact that we have the Spirit and not Jesus on earth because the Spirit live in all of us. But we can "quench the Spirit" or grieve the Spirit like Ephesians 4:30 says. Sin and selfish desire make it as though the Spirit is silenced. And if we no longer are listening to the Spirit, we are not able to enjoy the benefit of having the Spirit of God dwelling in us, being our conscience and our guide.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 goes a step further and tells us we are "God's temple" where "God's Spirit dwells." We must live as God's temples. We must live holy, blameless lives. Just now, when I wrote the word "blameless" I realized I am not blameless. I get blamed for things too often. I do not separate myself from situations and conversations that are not honoring to God. And, I don't mean that all conversations have to be about showing honor to God. But God is honored when we do our jobs in a professional loving way, that shows the love of God in patience and humility. We are God's temple. We need to only allow actions in our lives that are acceptable to God. Maybe if I think about the appropriateness of something I'm about to do or say in the context of being in church.

The point today is to live with an open heart for the prodding of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and works with our conscience to direct us in everything. We must live as though the God of the universe is with us and in us; that we are a dwelling place for His Spirit and a temple for Him.

Christ Is The Foundation

2010-10-06T06:23:00.001-07:00

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 is an analogy of salvation and the Christian life. True Christianity and salvation is built on one foundation; Christ. And we build on that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each being tested by fire when Christ returns. If it survives the fire, you will receive a reward.if it burns up, you will suffer loss, though you will be saved.

So I really just re-wrote the analogy, I didn't clarify it. So here goes. After we are saved by the faith in Christ's saving grace, we have a duty to live as saved people, changed by the understanding of grace. We are not saved by our changed lives, but we are responsible for living differently. Sin is going to still be our lives, but it shouldn't BE our lives. We build on our salvation with different levels of Christian living. Some things we do are great and further the kingdom of God. And some things are not good at all, and we add to the confusion about salvation. These things we do, after becoming a Christian, will be tested at the day of judgement. If they are good things the will be stand the test. If they are not, they will fail. Gold, silver, and precious stones will not burn. Wood, hay, and straw will.

This passage ends with Paul restating that these works don't earn someone salvation. Salvation comes from Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Once we believe this, we are saved. Our lives from that point on need to be lived as though we understand the grace we've been given. Ephesians 2:8-9,"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Align Yourself With God, Not Man

2010-10-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes writing is hard because of the distractions of my kids waking up. Sometimes it's hard because I don't understand the passage. And sometimes I just don't have the motivation or a direct application to turn into a learning moment for myself. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 starts out with something I can relate to, but then Paul takes his meaning in a direction I don't really see applying to anything I do.

In verses 1-3 Paul tells the church a Corinth that he can't address them as spiritual people because there is jealousy ans strife among them. He has to treat them like baby Christians. He uses the analogy of milk vs. solid food. I often think I can't really dive into the meat of the Bible because my life is still such a mess. And sometimes I feel like I reach a deeper understanding of spiritual things.

In verses 4-9 Paul talks about the fact that the people of the church are aligning themselves with, what I'm going to call, cliques. "I follow Paul." "I follow Apollos." The church at Corinth was dealing with these groups of people who thought they were more spiritual than the next. They associated their "holiness" with the men who were involved in their spiritual knowledge. To explain that God is who they should be following, Paul created another analogy. The people of the church are like a field where Paul planted the seed, Apollos watered, but God is responsible for the growth. Because we are called only by the grace, He is responsible for our salvation.

I don't really align myself with anyone these days, unless my love of Pepsi counts (haha). I think at one point in my past I did aligned myself with men who were good spiritual leaders. But their failures as men and leaders, is why God is to be the only one we follow. Mankind fails. God never does. Align yourself with God. Live like Jesus did. Study God's word and let it be your council.

The Spiritual Judge But Can Not Be Judged

2010-10-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

As Christians, we have the Spirit from God living in us, departing the wisdom of God on us. 1 Corinthians 2:6-14 explains that we have this Spirit that allows us to understand the things of God that the wisdom of this world fines foolish. If the world understood the wisdom of God, Jesus would never have been crucified. This understanding, what God prepared for us, was revealed to us through the Spirit.

Verse 11 says, "For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of the God." Christians have received the Spirit which is from God to understand the things freely given us by God. The things of God are folly to the natural person, but are understood and judged by the spiritual person. But the spiritual person can not be judged because no one can understand the mind of the Lord or instruct Him. These are bold statements about believing in God and in the hope of salvation that comes from the faith in Christ. Although the world may think of the cross and salvation as foolishness, the believers have nothing to fear, because God has designed this truth for us and saved us. No one but the elect can look at our faith and judge. This is not to say they won't make some sort of judgement against us, but their judgement is invalid and meaningless in all reality. We are saved by the one true God, who can not be judged by anyone created.

Wisdom is Christ Crucified

2010-10-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Man, I'm crazy. My last post was really more of a cry out about being surrounded by non-Christians and how that draws me into sin. I was talking to a Christian friend about this and we both realized our lives have gone significantly sideways because we don't surround ourselves with Christian friends who can encourage us and hold us up. The problem is really the state of our churches today. They are mostly about feeling good, being welcoming, and entertaining the attendees; it's not about accountability, building up of the saints, worshiping God, and sharpening one another.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 explains that sharing Christ is not something we do out of our own wisdom. I think man's wisdom is getting in the way of church and the Christian life today. At least here in the USA, there is a major push today for more and more and more information. We are overwhelmed and flooded with info from so many sources. The Internet has so many different types and services to provide information. Cell phones can give you instant notifications. E-mail, radio, TV, texts, social networks, etc. all provide us with a constant barrage of information. And we seem to be more and more hungry for it. It is our knowledge of things that we confuse with wisdom.

But the wisdom we can have as Christians is like Paul said, "to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Paul went to Corith in weakness and fear to preach Christ crucified. His message was not in "plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." He spoke about Christ crucified and lived in faith, and allowed God and the Holy Spirit to make the changes in people's hearts. I actually think we over-complicate it because we have to know and understand everything; I know I do. I have to understand everything and how and why it works. Faith in Christ is as simple as understanding our need for salvation from our sins, knowing Christ was crucified to provide that salvation. And...that's it. Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior is the only way to Heaven and eternal life. I long for that time. No more sin. No more temptations. Being with our God, our Savior.

Here is a final reminder, and one I have to put down because I just had a hard time writing it. We do need to make Jesus our Lord too. This is the part where we let Him rule in our lives. Sin's draw makes this hard. But the account that we will have to make in Heaven is going to happen. We want to be able to hear the words, "Well done good and faithful servant."(Matt. 25:23)

Foolish Man That I Am

2010-09-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

I'm really tire of the frustrations of life. There are too many for me to handle. I want to have a carefree attitude about the things that drive me crazy, but I don't. I'm really tired of sins, in my own life first, but in others too. I hate sin. I hate its draw and the initial attraction we have to it. I hate that the effects of sin are life long. Even if forgiveness is given and understood, there are consequences that last our lifetime. People's searching for satisfaction in life in everything except what God has promised to give through faith is so massive, so beyond what any of us can understand. Sin causes such major decisions and actions in people that our world has depravity beyond what is okay to even talk about here. So called Christians are perverting faith and religion and holiness and worship to where we can't even recognize what is right and wrong anymore. We are blending the lines between Christian religion and worldly "goodness" to make people comfortable with who they are and the sins the commit.

I'm so tired of being a fake Christian. I'm so tired of failing day after day after day. I'm tired of being mad at myself for my hate and anger and frustrations. I'm tired of blending in with the non-Christians, getting advice from their worldly perspective, living a life not focused on Christ, being able to hide my faith, living as though I have no faith. I am tired.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 talks about God choosing what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, what is weak in the world to shame the strong, and what is low and despised in the world to bring to nothing things that are. God did this so no human can boast in the presence of God. My wisdom needs to be Jesus Christ. I need to work hard at knowing God's will and Christ's saving grace. All this crap in the world is nothing. Sins consequence is paid for. IT IS SO UNDESERVED, and that's where the falling on my face and crying out for forgiveness and striving to live a holy life comes from, but I'm not going to be able to do it. Sin is too powerful in the life of a human being. Understanding God's grace more and more will help me avoid the sin, but the temptation will still be there. The fact that we are all surrounded by sin all day, every day, will never go away on this earth. Instead, we must fill our minds with the wisdom of Christ crucified to save us from the sin of the world.

One point of clarification: I do not think that God can use me in my sinful state. I must live a holy, acceptable, blameless life to be a light to this dark world. I only think that my sin makes me a lowly foolish weakling; and therefore, God can use me if He so chooses, just like the sinful men that surrounded Christ, or like David or Moses or any of the men of the Bible, besides Jesus. Sin is part of our human nature and is going to happen. Our faith that God has forgiven that sin and will continue to forgive our future sins is the key to overcoming sin. By understanding grace more, we will understand holiness more.

Christ Is The Wisdom We Need

2010-09-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Jews wanted signs and Greeks wanted wisdom, and the cross demands faith. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 continues to talk about the foolishness of man's wisdom. People today want these same things before they will believe in Christ. Some people want God to give them a sign of His power and existence. Others want scientific proof of God or something they can do to earn salvation. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." This is how the people of the old testament were saved too (keep reading in Hebrews 11), prior to Christ's death. They had faith in the coming payment for their sins.

The power of Christ crucified is a stumbling block for some and folly to others, but to those who are called, "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Really, if we could figure it all out on our own, we would be taking the power away of God, and we would not need God. But "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" (ALL MEN COMBINE), and "the weakness of God is stronger than men" (ALL MEN COMBINE). If God had a weak point in His being, it would still be stronger than all of the strength of mankind. All of our creations as mankind, don't add up the the complexity of one grain of matter. This reminds me of a joke:

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.

The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this, let's say we have a man making contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK, great!"

But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."

The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

The Wisdom and Discernment of the World Will Be Destroyed

2010-09-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

I wake up earlier and earlier to be able to study. What happens? My kids seem to wake up earlier and earlier too. Argh!

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 are all I'll cover today but for a good reason. These verses address part of my own problem. Verse 18 is great, and I believe in the power of the cross to save. I believe I've been saved by Jesus' death and resurrection. But then verse 19 quotes Isaiah 29:14, and all goes downhill for me. Verse 19 says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Much of my own pride and sin comes from my belief that I an a discerning person. I think I can look past the words that people are saying and know their true thoughts, the heart of the issue. This is why I don't like people. I see through the words they are saying to what they are really thinking and wanting, and I'm annoyed and frustrated by their dishonesty.

On some levels this discerning sounds okay, like I am able to help a person see truth or dig down to the heart of some matter this person is facing, but what makes it not okay is my heart and my own actions. I sit hear and write about reading my Bible, and then I go to work and would rather tell someone "where they can go", than to show them the love of God in patience. I lack the love of God in my own life. I lack the truth of the cross. My pride is based on an ability that is most likely not really what I think it is. It is probably my own arrogance getting in the way of truth and light and life for the people I come in contact with. Even yesterday, I had an incident where I found myself making fun of the uptight people who couldn't take a joke. Uptight? My role is to be set apart from the things of the world.

The wisdom and the discernment we have must be based on that of the Bible. We should be using the wisdom of God's Word to discern any situation we are involved in. The word of the cross should be the power of God to us who call ourselves Christians. Christ saved us from our sin, from ourselves. Live like we are saved. Live like we are grateful. Live like we believe.

Paul Begins To Correct The Church At Corinth - Part 2

2010-09-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

Continuing from where I left off last time in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Paul points to the fact that he did not baptize any of the people of the church at Corinth, except a small number of people. I'm assuming these people he did baptize are not the major divisive members. One of the named people is Crispus, the former leader of the Jewish church. He was mentioned in Acts 18:8, where Paul's fellow writer (Sosthenes) of this letter was mentioned. Paul tells the church, "Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." It doesn't take eloquent speech or persuasive words to lead people to Christ; it takes doing.

There is a huge lesson for us to learn here. WE SHOULD BE PASSIONATE ABOUT PREACHING THE GOSPEL TO EVERYONE because it has nothing to do with our ability to preach and persuade. It is the power of the cross that changes lives. If you're like me, the power of persuasion is non-existent in your life because of the complete lack of spirituality and living as an example to those around you. Although my church did something yesterday I don't agree with at a Sunday morning service, I did realize through their "Engage" service that I do not have any kind of witness to those in my life. For me, it comes back to loving others. I don't do it. It's so hard for me. I think it has to become my constant prayer.

And because I'm me, when the word "Engage" appeared on the screen at church yesterday, I thought of Captain Picard from Star Trek TNG.

Also, this word is one of those annoying words at my church. "You've got to engage with God," is one of the leadership's catch phrases. Also, calling us, God's "kids" instead of children is annoying. It seems like they are trying to be more familiar with God, taking away some of God's reverence. Oops, I don't love people. It's going to be a real struggle.

Paul Begins To Correct The Church At Corinth - Part 1

2010-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Redding working. I actually thought about taking my computer and Bible to blog, but I work late, go to bed at the hotel, wake up early, and get back to work so I can head home to my family. It's really a busy time because I only get up there once every two weeks or so.

Anyway, today I woke up at 4:30am with a migraine and it didn't go away until after noon. Even now, my head and stomach are not 100%. I stayed home from work to get better. I realized I didn't do a study yesterday and thought I'd try now (of course, the second I sit here and type, my early wake-up is catching up with me.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17 is where Paul begins to confront some divisions in the church at Corinth. The people of the church at Corinth were attempting to sound more holy than the next person my stating things like, "I follow Paul", or "I follow Apollos" and so on, all the way to the one's claiming, "I follow Christ." And these one's saying they follow Christ were not really any better than the one's saying the followed Paul. They were all trying to one-up each other and sound more spiritual.

Must...Sleep...I will continue.

Thankful for the Church at Corinth

2010-09-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 is Paul's way of letting the church at Corinth know he is thankful for them and that he is praying for them. This is another example of Paul's love for the church. Paul is thankful that God saved them because they confirm the testimony of Paul and the other apostles that about Jesus...Paul uses, "Christ Jesus" here to be clear about Jesus as the Savior. He also says, "in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge...so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gifts." Although no one has all the spiritual gifts on their own, the church of Corinth had people with all sorts of gifts that came together to as one church (although later we will see there was some division in the church). Paul indicates that they do have a well rounded group of believers that were bold and spoke the truth of Jesus as Savior. Paul reminds the church that the Lord will sustain them until Christ returns.

We should be involved in our churches. It takes everyone to have a well rounded, spiritually gifted church. We all have different abilities and levels of some giftedness. We need to participate for the betterment of the church, the furtherance of the kingdom of God, and for our own spiritual health.

2010-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty distracted this morning. I have a headache and the kids are already running around and fussing and eating and watching Curious George. I read today, but I couldn't focus on the text or pull something extra out of it. I'll continue tomorrow.

1 John Series Intro - Sunday Blogging

2010-09-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Not Just a Standard Greeting

2010-09-10T06:21:00.001-07:00

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.

Called By The Will of God

2010-09-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Understanding the Amount of Forgiveness

2010-09-08T06:33:00.001-07:00

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.

Here Again

2010-09-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am again. I woke up early, read my Bible, and still have so much to do to get my spiritual life back on track. This is, I hope, the start to a re-kindling of my studies. It is really the only way to learn and grow in understanding of God's grace, which is the only thing that can truly save me from my sin.

This is short and sweet and to the point because I haven't decided what I'm going to read and study. I read 1 Corinthians 1 today, but if I decide to stay in Corinthians, I will break it down the way I did with Romans.

The Conclusion of Romans

2010-03-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've been studying Romans since 11/3/08, and I'm coming to the end today. And what a way to end a letter about God's saving grace than to speak to the greatness of God.

"Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith - to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen."

Now on to another book of the Bible. Any suggestions?

When Jesus Was My Age

2010-03-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday. I'm 34 today (I just had a typo and typed 24. Boy do I wish). 34 is one of those ages that don't really matter. I think the whole 30's are like that. Of course, after I type that I realize it's commonly thought that Jesus was around 33 when he....DIED FOR THE SINS OF MANKIND! So maybe these years aren't as meaningless as I think. Maybe the way I'm living them is the problem. Not "maybe", I am the problem. I get in the way of God.

The weird thing is, I'm frustrated with it to no end. I don't want to have a meaningless, sin filled life. I want to be pleasing to God. But for some reason I just keep sinning and getting discouraged and sinning and getting angry with myself and on and on and on. By this point in His life, Jesus Christ had led thousands to God, healed people, rebuked sinners, cleansed the temple, shocked the world, and DIED FOR THE SINS OF MANKIND!

In Romans 16:19 Paul says he wants the people of the Church at Rome "to be wise as to what is good, and innocent as to what is evil." We are not innocent to what is evil. In fact, in the world today, we have so much access to evil it's as easy as pushing the power button on the TV remote. Verse 20 goes on the say, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of out Lord Jesus Christ be with you" I think we have to have faith that God will save us...literally save us...from our sin. That is the hope that we need to realize so we are not discouraged by our sin. Sure sin sucks and it should make us angry with ourselves, but to get discouraged is to doubt that God will grant us the grace promised by His Son on the cross.

Praise God for His Son, who in His 30's died for the sins of all mankind.

Avoid Them

2010-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

It was definitely hard to get up this morning; I was close to changing my alarm by 15 minutes. It did help that Ryan, my youngest, woke up and had to be fed. He is drinking a bottle right here next to me.

So, Romans 16:1-23 is mostly a list of people Paul wanted to say "hi" to in Rome. Literally verse 1-16 is listing people to greet. Verse 17 he does warn his brothers to "watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that (they) have been taught." He says to "avoid them." The "causing division" part makes me think right to the split of FBC (and actually there has been more than one split). These type of people "do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

I can't help but think that I in some way acted as a naive person, flattered for my talents in music. I think I was blinded to the fact that changes were being made not in love but in arrogance. The fact is, there was not a teaching of the saints the purpose for the changes, but and ultimatum was given to the people. Love would tell me that we should spend time with the people of the church (at least the amount of time it took the "spiritually mature men" to write the changes) teaching and explaining to the church why the leaders believed this was an important and crucial change needing to be made.

I have to wrap this up so I can get ready for work. I will continue next time in verse 19.

God is Good. Praise God for His Love.

I Should Be Humble, Loving, and Full of Grace

2010-03-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Romans 15:22-33 is really Paul just telling his friends in Rome that he longs to see them and plans to come visit and stay with them for a while on his way to Spain. As he finishes his letter to them he turns from the teaching portion to the loving friend portion of this letter, letting the church of Rome know he longs to visits them.

The more I look at my life I realize I'm no longer developing friendships with people, which I believe is important because friends listen to and respect each other. This is a place of ministry and sharing of our faith. It's a place where you can be encouraged at the same time as you are encouraging.

I'm still saddened by the foolishness of the FBC split that happened, not because a doctrinal statement wasn't accepted, but because the sin of men and the lack of friendships entered into the process for change. Men against spread rumors about the affects of the changes. Men for it were to proud to take the time to explain the importance of acceptance. There was not a closeness between the leaders and the congregation like Paul had with the church at Rome.

I have too long prided myself on being the "A-hole" who doesn't take crap from anyone and who is always quick to put people in there place. I correct through mocking. I make laugh through ridicule. I am a jerk. These are not the traits of a Christian man, who should instead be humble, loving, and full of grace. Who better to understand grace then a person who has received the grace of God?

Lastly, it's obvious that I haven't been doing my blog, which means I haven't been having my own quiet times in God's word. I'm a mess. The new job is going to be my excuse, but this is so much more important than anything else I do in my life. It's time for me to get up early again and buckle down and read God's word every morning. I hope I will get up tomorrow.

Praise God for His Faithfulness.
Praise God for His Grace.

Live to Share God's Greatness with Others

2010-02-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

In Romans 15:17-21 Paul talks about the work he has done in and for Christ Jesus. He talks about the fact that he doesn't want to go where people have already heard of Jesus, but he wants to go where, "Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have never heard will understand," which is a direct quote from Isaiah 52:15.

I started working on praying every morning on my way to work. There is so much to pray about, both requests and praises, and I need to be in consistent communication with God. When I am there is so much more peace in my life. When I'm not in prayer my life is a mess. Right now, with the start of my new position with the bank, I am praying that I become a light to the large group of people I will now have influence over and opportunity to be a light and example to. This dark world is so easy to get wrapped up in; and when our focus changes from God to ourselves and our own desires, we fail to recognize the misery we are creating. Simply trusting in God and living to glorify Him WILL bring joy and fulfillment to our lives. Although life will not be easy, it will be complete and satisfying.

Praise God with Our Lives.

Full of Goodness, Filled With All Knowledge

2010-02-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Romans 15:14 says, "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct on another."

Paul really does spell out a lot of important truths and key elements for understanding salvation and grace and our responsibilities as Christians in his letter to the Romans. And, although he says this statement above, he goes on to explain in verses 15-16 that he wrote with boldness the rest of Romans as a reminder, "so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." We are the Gentiles, originally not part of the chosen people, but who are now saved by the same grace as the Jews. Their rejection of Christ ushered in an understanding for the rest of us that he is our only hope of eternal life and salvation from what our sin has earned us, which is hell.

We, the elect, are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Working in conjunction with our self conscience, the Holy Spirit makes us aware of right and wrong; and he prompts us and guides us in our decisions. If we listen and don't ignore Him, we will avoid the frustration of sin. We are only full of goodness if we are walking in the Spirit and striving to obey God's commands. We are sin apart from God.

Praise God for the Holy Spirit.

Answered Prayers and More Requests...New Jobs

2010-02-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Well, exciting news for me, I was offered the job I applied to. I am now an Operations Specialist. I'm better suited for this type of job because it is not a sales or customer service job. Although I can do both of those things, I don't enjoy them as much as I do enjoy Ops. This is a huge answer to prayer. God is good.

I am going to have a new group of people that I work with and around, and I need continued prayer for wisdom and grace. I need to start out as a humble, patient person, and I need to be a good witness with my attitude and actions. There is nothing good in me aside from Christ, and my sin nature does not allow the knowledge of God's grace to be evident in my life. I'm so gross. And I'm tired of recognizing it and not changing. I need huge prayer for this too.

My dad just called and told me he got a job with a maintenance company. This is great for him. This will be steady work instead of the extremely slow construction industry. I know he will miss the freedom of working for himself, but consistent work will be great for him. This is another answer to prayer.

God is Great.

Hope In Christ, Listen to the Spirit

2010-01-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

It happens so often that I should know by now that when I need ANYTHING I should just open my Bible. Today I have an interview for a different position with the bank. I'm very nervous about it because I really want the position. And, although my training and experience is right of the position, I want to do a good job in this interview of relaying that. I'm nervous and anxious about it. I've been praying about it a lot, but I think with a weak faith. So much is wrong with my spiritual life, that I can't just hope that God is listening to my prayers.

Well, Romans 15:8-13 reminds me of a greater hope. Christ. And from that hope comes joy and peace in believing. The power of the Holy Spirit is with us who are saved. Too often we ignore the Holy Spirit and drown out His comforts and the hope that comes from the Spirit with worries about life. Our purpose here is to bring glory to God, not to be successful in our worldly endeavors. Verses 11-12 are quotes from the old testament about praising God and rejoicing and hoping in Him (2 Sam. 22:50, Psa. 18:49, Deut. 32:43, Psa. 117:1, and Isa. 11:10). We must listen to to the Holy Spirit. We must recognize we are here for a short time and must strive to glorify God in what we do.

Praise God for His Holy Spirit.
Praise God for Hope.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

2010-01-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

Romans 15:1-7

My title is sort of silly; I think Rodney King was the one who said it. But in the Christian world there are so many disagreements that actually lead to Christians not getting along with each other. Even in my own short experiences I've had disagreements with other Christians that led to a parting of ways. This is not productive or appropriate for Christians. We have the example of Christ who was selfless and giving to those who wanted Him dead. He died for the sins of all people. And, as Romans 15 tells us in verse 3 (as a quote from Psalms 69:9), "the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me." Christ took on the rebukes and blames from others for us.

We have a duty as Christians to work together in love and patience, welcoming one another as Christ has welcomed us. There is a saying that says something like, "a house divided can not stand." The church struggles against itself here because too often we are not welcoming of others. Although we may have disagreements about different doctrine, we should be constantly loving one another more than fighting about our differing views. "(The) strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves." If someone was to tell me that, I'd probably disagree. But that's verse one of Romans 15. It doesn't say rebuke them for their failings. It says bear with them. This is a way to show love. My current way would be rebuke, criticize, mock, and reject. I think that's a sign that I'm not one of the strong.

Bear with the weak. Love others.

Praise God for His Love.

I Can't Sleep

2010-01-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

I'm so out of the habit of writing my blogs that I feel I'm losing the ability to write them clear enough to understand. I don't believe I'm really that good of a writer to begin with, but it seems like it's getting increasingly harder to do. I almost feel like there may be something medically wrong with me due to sleep issues. I think I'm having some major sleep issues that are causing all sorts of issues. My frustration with everything in life has grow to proportions that I can't handle. I have absolutely no patience and I can't focus on anything.

Not only do I grind my teeth at night (and I do wear a mouth guard to help), I think I stop breathing anytime I fall asleep. Then, that wakes me up. I would bet I wake up over 20 times a night with this. I keep saying I need to go to a doctor, but I really think it is time to find one that helps with this.

I say all this today because I feel like not just my work life is suffering, but my personal life is too. I don't want to be like I am, and I pray about it all the time. I know that God can answer prayers, but at what point do I stop waiting for the miraculous healing power of God and go to a doctor? I'm only hoping this sleep thing is part of my issue. I constantly pray about my anger and frustration, but I don't feel like anything is changing. My dad says he thinks it has to do with me always wanting to be in control of everything. While that may be true, I'm so tired of these problems, I just want it to be fix. My wife says I still harbor a bunch of bitterness about losing my job with the county. That feels more true because I feel so unjustly terminated. But even that doesn't seem like something that would push me the levels of frustration I'm at. Some people say I should work out. Some say more prayer. Some say it is God building patience in me. I think all of these things are probably part of it, but I still do not want to be the crazy man I'm becoming.

Today's passage is going to have to wait for tomorrow now. I wrote all that I'm feeling and dealing with today. I'll call it a prayer request.

Praise God for His Faithfulness.
Praise God for the sins His Son bore for us.

Do All in Faith

2010-01-20T06:51:00.000-08:00

I spoke to my friend Stuart yesterday morning about Romans 14:13-23 and we discussed the fact that in context this is about food, but that it's also about not finding fault with a fellow Christian who may not believe a particular type of food or drink is wrong. For example alcohol. There are many people who believe you should not drink any alcohol, and there are others who enjoy it responsibly and without sin.

It comes down to the reasons. If someone abstains from a particular food or beverage another may not have a problem with, not judgment on either person's part should be made. It comes down to faith, and not causing another to stumble. If a new Christian who may have participated in heavy drinking prior to salvation is now not comfortable with the consumption of alcoholic beverages, there should not be another who believes it is okay to drink alcohol pushing beverages on the one who has the problem. Why would we make someone feel like they are wrong or foolish or cause them to think they are sinning for something that does not build up that brother? Verse 23 ends with this: "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Do all things in faith. Know our great God. Understand His desires and the freedoms He gives in faith.

Praise God in Faith.

Serve God so No Evil is Spoken of You

2010-01-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

"So, do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:16-17

Romans 14:13-23 is, again, a hard passage to understand. We live with a set of rules that set things as right vs. wrong and what pleasing and not pleasing to God. Often, we live attempting to do all the things on the right and pleasing list so we are deemed "good" people. Too often we think of ourselves as good enough for heaven. I know when I was helping with youth and music ministries in my church, I felt like I was much more "better" and i "knew" I was saved. Now that I've been uninvolved, out of practice with my studies, angry with my job, frustrated with my financial situation, etc., I feel as though my salvation is not as sure.

I think this passage points to the fact that nothing matters because we all deserve hell, non of us can earn salvation or heaven, and everything we do in wrong/evil/sinful unless we are doing it in the belief that we are doing it for God's glory. And that is something I struggle with. I don't do much for His glory. Even all the ministry I used to do, I did it for my own glory most of the time. But God knows this too. Verses 18-19 almost read as God's way to combat this weakness. In light of verses 16-17 our self glorification, we have verses 18-19. They say, "Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding."

Obviously, there is no excuse for sin. And if we are doing things for our own glorification, we are not living lives that are pleasing to God. But at some point we need to realize our sin nature is very present and until we get our new body in heaven, we will have to fight that sin nature. We need to be serving Christ and pursuing what makes peace.

I may have complicated these passages even more, but that's how I feel right now. I'm struggling with my Christian life, and my horrible witness at work, and role as the father and husband in my family. Even yesterday in church, I felt out of place. I feel like one of the people who says he's a Christian and then goes out and lives exactly like the rest of the world, going to church only to check it off on the list of things a "Christian" does. Of course, every week I hear amazing sermons from our pastor too. Yesterday I thought to myself, the pastor must be on something to be so happy and full of passion. How sad for me. I am so far gone right now that I can't be so full of the Spirit that I am on a high? God's grace is so huge, a proper understanding of what His love for us has done, should produce joy and passion. We have this gift from God that saves us from all the sin we live in. Despite our sin, God saved us for Himself. We are saved to glorify Him eternally in heaven. We are only here on earth for a brief moment. Eternity will be in heaven with our Lord and Savior.

Praise God for Jesus.
Praise God for His Faithfulness.

Nothing is Unclean Unless...(Walk in Love)

2009-12-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

Well, the next section of Romans (14:13-23) is a little hard for me right now. It seems like it makes everything okay, as long as you think it is. I can't figure out if it's talk only about food or if it's talking about other things too. I'm going to have to break it down a little.

Paul says in verse 14 that he is "persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean." This is where I get confused. In context I assume he is talking about food or drink, but it's been translated in my Bible as "nothing is unclean". The next verse goes back to causing a brother to stumble because of something you eat. If you do "grieve" a brother by something you eat, you are not walking in love. And I'm learning more and more that love is really, REALLY important for a Christian. It's the root of our salvation. It is the the example Christ's life on earth left us. It is what we were given in abundance from God, so undeserved, by the death of Jesus.

Okay, so there are the first few verses. More next time. I wish I could just stay home and write. Work is lame.

Every Knee Shall Bow to Me, says the Lord (God is the Judge, not Us)

2009-12-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Christians have many different opinions on different topics such as what you can eat or drink, whether certain days of the week are more important or "holy" than others, or what music styles are good and bad. But Romans 14:1-12 tells us not to judge one another regarding our levels of faith. If one doesn't eat or drink certain things because he doesn't think it is spiritually okay, another who has stronger faith should not pass judgment or argue with the one who has weaker faith. We will all be judged by our holy God. And if we are all living for God and not ourselves, our level of faith is not going to be a factor in our salvation. We will all glorify God.

This is again rushed because my son woke up and I didn't get to finish my thought before work. Christ died for all and is Lord over all things. We will all face judgment from the Holy God for what we do and don't do. For now, all who believe need to uplift each other and encourage each other to live lives that are glorifying to God. Whether at work, home, church or play, we must all live to by the faith God has given us, and strive to bring glory to Him.

Praise God for His Faithfulness to us.

The Christian Walk is a Battle

2009-12-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'll start chapter 14 next time, but I want to say a few words about this thing we call the "Christian walk." The older I get, the more "real world" experiences I have, and the more responsibilities that are on my shoulders all point me to the fact that there are a lot of things in our lives that pull us away from God. And they pull with a lot of force. To combat this force we need to be in constant communication with God through prayer, studying of His word, and even involvement with other Christians. "Christian walk" makes it sound too much like a leisurely stroll through the park. It's more of our daily battle. We must constantly fight to avoid sin. Although salvation does not come from good works, we believers must live to glorify God. We have a responsibility to live lives that are good and holy and honest. We are to put off the old self and put on the new self. We are to live as though we are the temple of God. God dwells in us who are believers and we must live as though that is true in our own lives.

Praise God by Glorifying Him Today.

God Answers Prayers

2009-12-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Without going into a lot of detail that I don't really want public, God answered a prayer today. There is a lot of human stress in my life right now, to the point where I'm wondering what day the heart attack is going to come, and I've been weak in my prayer time about it. I finally cried out to God yesterday about one part of it and today I found out He answered that prayer. Now, I do believe God hears and answers every prayer, but sometimes it's not the answer we want so it doesn't feel like God is listening or answering. Faith is often a difficult thing.

The amount of stress I feel lifted today is huge. I wish I could feel like this more often. I wish my faith was stronger. And as I type that I get scared that God is going to continue more trials and more stressful things to see test me in that. Although He does not tempted us to sin, He does test us. To be clear on this I will quote James 1:12-13, which says, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one."

God is Good. Praise God for His Steadfast Love.

The Time Is Now, Live in the Light

2009-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, Breakfast was canceled because of the weather. I guess Auburn is white and covered in ice. I'm a little disappointed, except I didn't have to wake up at 5:20am.

I had a day of extreme frustration yesterday. I feel like I'm going to give myself a heart attack. So many frustrating and annoying things go on at my work. There is extreme micromanaging from the upper management, so much so that I spend a great deal of my time wasting time with checklists, scheduling programs, and other things that don't earn us business. Beyond that, there are so many things the company could be doing to save time and money, but I don't have a way to suggest it or implement it. (Hold on, the cutest kid in the world just woke up and I have to say good morning).

Caleb is potty training so I had to take him to the bathroom. These are not fun times, but he's doing well. Dry diaper.

Romans 13:11-14 is the wake up passage of the day. "The hour has come for you to wake from sleep." We need to cast off works of darkness and put on the armor of light. This means we need to stay away from the things that lead us into sin. Verse 13 says, "Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy." Although we don't all deal with everything on this list, here in the USA we know that sexual freedoms in society make it okay for people to allow there passions and desires rule. Sex is the center of a lot of our nations problems. There is now no reason to even get married, because people just have sex with any one at anytime.

We Christians need to be a light in this dark world. It is time now for us to be a shining spot in the darkness. Take pride in restraining from sexual immorality. Even things like jokes and inappropriate comments should be refrained from, as these things are only a sign of acceptance of this behavior.

Times up, dang it.

Praise God today. Praise God for Salvation.

The World is Vying For Our Attention, Pay Attention to God

2009-12-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been some time since I last updated and that's not good. I've been using my kids as an excuse in my head; we've been experiencing sleeping problems. But yesterday at church, my pastor said something about filling our heads with the things of God instead of the things of the world. He said the world in vying for our attention and we need to force ourselves to focus on God. What better way to do that then to read God's word?

And the passage I read today is a perfect reminder of NOW being the time to focus on God. But I did get up too late to write. See you Wednesday (Tuesday is my breakfast with the guys day). Keep your fingers crossed.

All Commandments Can Be Summed Up By Love

2009-11-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

"...for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." I thought I'd be able to review Romans 13:8-10 and have a lot to say, but the simple truth of that first quote sums it up so nicely. If we love others, we fulfill the law. You don't go lie, cheat, steal, hurt, or kill someone you love. If you love others, you fulfill the commandments. If you love others, you will stop sinning. Love, love, love.

And then there is the reality of my own life. There is barely love for the ones I claim to love. I am so unloving. I often have to question my own salvation because I am not a person who loves others. Sometimes I tell myself I am, because I'll feel bad for someone in need or pain, but that's not the love that counts here. This love is contrasted against the commandments against adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting. We need to love in the hard situations. We need to love the unlovable.

Praise God for His Love.

Submit To The Authorities

2009-11-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

Romans 13:1-7 is a little confusing, especially after last nights Facebook discussion about whether or not Obama is "an idiot" or not. Although those weren't my words for him, I think we are headed toward socialism with Obama. But before I go any further, back to the passage at hand. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God..."

God places whomever He wants into the positions of authority. This is a little confusing for me because of bad people like Saddam Hussein. But I think the United States took care of him. I think there are bad people who become rulers but God has placed those people in those roles for a reason. I think we can look at the USA as a leader in the world and we took care of one that was not doing "good." We, as citizens, are called to do good and we will "receive approval" from the authority.

But this is still a confusing passage, because of people like Saddam and others. Then I read verse 7. "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes...revenue...respect...honor..." When I saw the word respect in there, I instantly thought of the person at my last job who was the main instrument in my release. He was an arrogant, foolish man, in my opinion, but until this moment, I didn't realize my complete disrespect for him. He did get himself to the position of authority he was in, where God placed him in my life. I think all would have been right with me if I had respected his authority. I thought I'd be "butt kissing" but really it was my own arrogance that stopped me from listening to his opinion and learning from it.

We each have a place in this world and a role to fulfill. DON'T think yours is something grand and important. It may be the position of the butt kisser, the respectful obedient follower. Follow the law, respect and honor those who should be, be a good citizen.

Praise God the Ultimate Authority.

Bless Those Who Persecute You

2009-11-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

This section of Romans 12 from verse 9-21 has been all about the "marks of the true Christian", as titled in my Bible. Today I'm going to continue with verse 14-21 to finish this section and chapter 12. For me, I have to completely do a 180.

First in verse 14 it says, "Bless those who persecute you...do NOT curse them." So hard. When someone wrongs me, I feel so angry. I have to get them back so I don't look like a fool. But this is the wrong direction according to God's Word. Verse 19 needs to ring out in this time. "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord." If some sort of vengeance is deserved and God decides to exact His vengeance, how much greater will the vengeance of God be than that of me, a mere humans? But we are called to not only resist our desire for revenge, we are called to bless and care for our enemies. Verse 16 says, "Live in harmony with one another..." Verse 17 says, "Repay NO one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." Verse 19 says, "...never avenge yourselves."

We are to do the opposite of what we think is just. Verse 20 tell us to feed our enemies if they are hungry, give them a drink if they are thirsty. We are not to be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. So hard. So hard. But it is possible, because God's Word tells us to do it. We must be in constant prayer over this. We must rely on the strength that comes from God alone. Remember your sins have been forgiven. Remember the wrongs we have done against the almighty God, who is perfect and good. We wronged a loving God who should not be our enemy. He is the enemy of sin and the Savior of souls.

Praise God for His Grace and Mercy.

COME ON YOU FAILURE!

2009-11-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

Romans 12:10-13. First the easier stuff. Verse 13b seek to show hospitality. DONE!

Now the rest. We need to be serving the Lord with a fervent spirit and with zeal. We need to be rejoicing in the hope we have as the children of God. We need to be PATIENT in tribulation. And we need to be in constant prayer. FAIL!

All these things work together too. And all these fails are why I feel like I'm in a deeper pit of failure than before. If I rejoice in the grace that God has given me, and in the hope of heaven and eternity with Him, and if I am in constant prayer to my Creator and Savior, all the struggles of daily life will fade, patience will be provided in tribulation. I believe my struggles would not be so frustrating and difficult if I was leaning on God and trusting Him in the first place. I think He is faithful to me and is constantly trying to draw me back to Himself. Oh what a fool I am.

Praise God for His Faithfulness.
Praise God for the Hope we have in Him.

A Breakfast Break

2009-11-04T07:17:00.001-08:00

On Tuesdays I've been meeting with Stuart and Jordan for breakfast and a time to encourage each other. And it is an encouraging time for me. We pray for each other and give each other advice from God's Word. We also have studied things together in the past, like the book "Crazy Love."

I'm a little late today, but I wanted to enter something. My advice today is to always have a group of people you can meet with on a regular basis as an accountability team. Find people that are spiritually mature and know the Bible. Oh, and they need to be the same gender.

Praise God in Patience today.

Let Your Love be Genuine

2009-11-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Romans is a hard book for a struggling Christian. It's a deep book of truths about God and salvation and how we are to live as Christians. Romans 12:9-21 are all about "Marks of the True Christian", as my Bible titles it. And it is stuff that is not easy to hear.

Verse 9 and 10 are all I'm going to cover today. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Why do I always fail? I don't love. In fact, people "joke" about my lack of love of others. I'm know as someone who hates things, is annoyed by people, and generally is negative most of the time. I'm not loving. This is so hard for me. I think I can read other people's genuine attitudes in a giving situation; and when others are not genuine or honest with me or a particular event, I get angry and frustrated with them. Or if someone is not paying enough attention to what's going on, when something serious happens and they are shocked, I'm annoyed they weren't prepared. I feel like people are usually not lovable.

BUT, God loves people. "For God so loved the world, He gave his only son..." John 3:16. Even the guy at the baseball game in the outfield, or the one in the end zone at the football game, is trying to tell people that the God of the universe loves people. And now we are called to love people too, right here in Romans.

Let me take this in a different direction. I love music. I love playing the piano and singing. I loved leading worship and First Baptist in Auburn. I loved everything about it. I would say, the job of a music pastor at a church would be my dream job. Except a huge part of being a pastor is loving people. And that love spreads to so many other aspects of the job. Just getting up on the stage and leading people in music worship is not the extent of the job. It takes genuine love.

Praise God Today by Loving Others.

Own Your Spiritual Gift

2009-10-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

So gifts are an interesting topic, since a lot of people confuse talents with gifts. I play piano a little; is that a gift? No. There are other places in the Bible that talk about gifts but Romans 12:6-8 list some that Paul wants us to realize are gifts that are to be used for the body of believers. Again, the body is made up of different parts with different purposes. And so are we as Christians all part of one body in Christ. We all have different gifts to serve the body according to God's grace.

"if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness."

Each gift has instructions that follow. Basically we need to own our gift, using it fully to the extent that God has designed. Figure out what your gift is and use it. I think service is a huge one where many of us can find ways to be involved. I often wish I was rich so I could be the "one who contributes." But there are other things besides money that can be given with generosity. We need to look at this list and work out what we can do to fulfill our duty as part of the body.

Praise God for the Gifts He's Given Us.

We Are Memebers of One Body

2009-10-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Is a foot as important as an eye? Or is the hand more important than the ear? What part are you in the body of Christ? Are you super important? Do you often think of yourself as such? Too often, I think we do. I willing to bet most of us are toe nails, but ingrown toe nails. Sure we have a purpose, but too often we are hurting the body of Christ more than benefiting and protecting it.

It is so hard to be a Christian. I think a lot of us play the part on Sunday, but in our daily living among the world and non-Christians we are no different. And if you don't agree, PLEASE write comments on how you have success in this. I need help. I know the biblical answers is to listen to the Holy Spirit and to study God's word, but I'm crying out to God for help on a consistent basis and I feel like I fail every day. I am too often that ingrown toenail to the Christian body.

Romans 12:3-5 tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We are all members of one body with different functions. Each of us needs to preform our functions to the best of our abilities. I know I'm not. Tomorrow I will write about some of the different gifts listed in verses 6-8.

Praise God for His Patience.
Praise God for His Faithfulness.

More Tomorrow

2009-10-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Today, I read too late to spend quality time writing my explanation of the next section. Romans 12:4-8 talks about the fact that the church is like a body with all the members making up the different parts of the body. It also talks about the gifts that we have as members. We all need to be using these gifts.

More tomorrow.

Praise God for another day to service and glorify Him.

Don't Think More Highly of Yourself Than You Ought

2009-10-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

I wake up all the time in the middle of the night. I think I have sleep apnea. I also think it affects my mood and causes mood swings, anger, frustration, and other issues. It sucks. I'm trying to realize that and pray about it because it's causing issues in other areas of my life. Work, marriage, interactions with other people; they are all suffering because of this.

Sometimes I think about if we are still in the garden, sinless, and in the presence of God, walking with Him, talking with Him, enjoying His creation, would there be little issues like sleeping problems. Because sin is the root of all things bad, would I be going through this if there wasn't sin? Well, that's not even what Romans 12:3 is about but that's all I'm going to write on today, as the next set of verses talk about Spiritual gifts. That's a big section.

Romans12:3 tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Paul says, "For by the grace given to me..." He points out the fact that he was given grace from God and it's according to that grace the he preaches and teaches God's word with the authority he does. We must likewise think about ourselves with sober judgment basing it on the "measure of faith that God has assigned." Our importance is not to be thought of too highly because it is assigned by God. God is the one who deserve any glory.

So far I don't think I've done much to explain this verse, so let me write an example from my own life. I used to help with youth ministry and music at FBC Auburn. I began to think of my "service" as a really "spiritual" thing. And, although I did help some people, my focus was often on self glorification and being able to say I served God. I thought of myself as better than others who were not serving at all. The realization of this hit me recently, when I recognized that I don't serve now. I didn't always think of myself as better than others, there were times I had the proper attitude. And I desperately miss music ministry, but there's a fine line between arrogance and a proper attitude of service. Each person has their own way to serve too...but that's for next time.

Praise God for The Faith He's Given me.

Don't Be Conformed, Be Transformed

2009-10-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:1-2 are pretty well known verses. They are verses that tell us something we should be doing; therefore, as humans we feel like it's something we can be doing to earn our salvation. But Paul is writing this just after 3 chapters about election. We must realize that these are not actions that we do to gain or earn our salvation. These are the things we should be doing because we were chosen, because we are so grateful to God that He saved us. "...by the mercies of God...present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, WHICH IS YOUR SPIRITUAL WORSHIP." This is how we worship the one who saved us.

Verse to goes on to tell us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. "BY TESTING" we may discern what is the will of God. I think that may mean we are going to be tested by God, but also, we must look at the things in our lives on a continual basis and test them against God's word to see if they are in line with God's will. These things that are good, acceptable, and perfect. Although we can never be perfect in our sinful bodies, we can seek the things in our lives that are good, acceptable, and perfect and pursue them. Again, we must realize we are made to worship God. We are made to bring Him glory, praise, and honor.

Praise God Forever.
Praise God Forever.
Praise God Forever.

Oh How Deep Are the Riches of God

2009-10-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

First, Stuart Fraser preached on Romans chapter 9 and God's sovereignty. It was so great to hear him this past Sunday. The previous Sunday and this past one, Stuart preached Romans chapter 9 to a church that does have some people who are very passionate about the topic of election, arguing man's part in salvation. Stuart and I both read this passage to say God saves us through election. Nothing we can do can gain us salvation. Listen to Stuart here then here, to hear the sermon series.

Now, moving on with Romans 11:25-36. Paul continues to point out Israel's part in God's plan. He talks about the "partial hardening" of Israel which allows for Gentile's to become part of God's family. Israel is considered an enemy of the gospel, for the sake of the gentiles. But as for election, God chose the Jews as His people. Therefore they will be saved because of their forefathers. To both Jews and Gentiles, God's calling is irrevocable. His mercy saves us DESPITE our disobedience.

Verses 33-36 are such a powerful passage about God. They are also a great song.

Oh how deep are the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.

We Were Grafted In

2009-10-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

Romans 11:13-24 is a difficult passage of imagery. Paul uses the picture of an olive tree with branches broken off and different branches grafted in. The original branches represent the Jews who rejected Christ. The grafted branches represent Gentiles added to the family of God because of their belief in Christ as their Savior.

I have to work on this later, since I have to go get ready for work.

Salvation To All To Make the Jews Jealous

2009-10-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Stuart and I were talking while having breakfast yesterday. I found out he is preaching through Romans at his church, and we talked about grace, God's calling, and some other serious topics like hyper-Calvinism. We also talked about the fact that too often, many people "write off" the Jewish people because salvation has been revealed to gentiles too. Because of the Jew's reject of Christ, now gentiles have access to Christ. Romans 11:11-12 tells us that Gentiles are included in God's plan for salvation to make the Jews jealous. That is really great for us who are not Jews, but more importantly, it points to the fact that God still loves His chosen people.

Praise God for Salvation.

7000 Jews by Grace

2009-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Today, I finally get back to Romans chapter 11. I accidentally got myself out of order back in August. I jumped from chapter 10:5 to 11:5, so after today's entry, jump to here.

In Romans 11:1-6, Paul asks if God has rejected his people. And although the Jews did reject God, He did not rejected them. Paul points out the fact that he is a Jew, and God chose Paul to spread the word of Jesus death and resurrection, and spoke to both Jews and gentiles about their need for a Savior.

Paul, in verse 5 and 6, points to the fact that it's by God's grace that 7000 Jews were selected by God, when all others were killing God's prophets and destroying His alters. It's all by God's grace.

Praise God for His Grace

Make Jesus Lord

2009-10-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Romans 10:18-21 talk about the fact that the whole world has heard about God. Everyone needs a Savior, whether or not they confess that. My wife and I started talking about these passages and it caused me to re-read verse 9. "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD..." He has to be Lord. You confess it, but the words are just words unless you believe it, allow it, and are conformed by it. "Even the demons believe - and shudder!" (James 2:19)

The word confess must mean something more than just "saying words". By confessing, you are admitting truth; you are admitting that Jesus IS Lord of your life. The passage does not say, "if you say Jesus is Lord," it says, "if you confess..." It is so important to make Jesus Lord.

There are a lot of excuses we make that lead us to lazy lives. And laziness can be a sign of being a lukewarm Christian. And a lukewarm Christian is spit out of the mouth of God, this means you are not saved. And, THAT IS SCARY to me. I've been so lukewarm (closer to cold) for to long. I need my butt kicked. I've even allowed myself to become depressed and miserable. These are not characteristics of a Christian. We have the grace of God in our lives. We have the hope of the free gift of God. And if Jesus is the Lord of our lives, all we do will be for His glory and therefore good. Sure, life will probably be harder; sin is so easy. But it will be worth it because it will feel good, bring joy, satisfy beyond understanding. If Jesus is Lord, you can take comfort in knowing all that comes your way is for His glory. And you can face down any challenge because Jesus is Lord, God is God, and they are on your side.

It is time for me to turn my life around. I need to do only things that are for the glory of God. Although it was easier when I was involved in church with music and youth ministries, there is an unsaved world that I work in and with; and there is an opportunity to be an example to these people. Forget the stresses of life. Work to please God and everything else will not matter. Don't work to please man. Don't live to bring glory to yourself. Live and breath for the purpose of glorifying God. John Piper says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever." I would say, by glorifying God, we will enjoy life better. Our lives will have meaning. Without a commitment to the glorification of God, there is no meaning for our existence. My wife said as an example, "Angelina Jolie is an atheist and probably thinks of herself as a good person because she donates millions of dollars to charities and is taking care of underprivileged kids." If it was for the glory of God it would mean something. Unfortunately, it's for the glory of Angie.

Praise God and Glorify Him Today. Make Jesus Lord.

Faith Comes from Hearing, Through the Word

2009-10-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

Romans 10:14-17 asks several questions. How do does one call on Him in whom they have not believed? How does one believe in whom they have not heard? And how does one hear without someone preaching? Verse 17 tells us that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

Here in the USA, we have such access to churches, Bibles, and other resources to hear and study the word of God. On a personal level we need to be working through studying the word of God, the Bible. Also, we need to be diligent to attend a local church to hear the word of God preached. This is a little more challenging, as it is easy to find a church but it is more difficult to find a preacher who actually preaches the word of God. It's important to find a Bible teaching church, one that goes verse by verse through a particular section so nothing is taken out of context. This is called expository preaching. Topical preaching, another style, can allow for too much opinion and misinterpretation of the a passage or verse.

Confess and Believe and You Will Be Saved

2009-10-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10:5-13 talks about the great hope anyone can have in Jesus Christ. And it's always been this way. Often, people think of the old testament as the time when people were saved by following a bunch of rules and preforming sacrifices. But even Moses wrote about righteousness based on the law verses righteousness based on faith. Those who base their righteousness on the law must live by the law, meaning a strict adherence to the law is required for salvation; and NO ONE can follow the law perfectly. But righteousness based on faith allows for verse 9. "...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." And verses 12 and 13 tell us everyone who called on the name of the Lord will be saved, Jews and Gentiles.

Praise God for The Free Gift of Salvation.

5 Weeks Off and Nothing

2009-10-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

How wrong of me to not write on this blog these last almost 5 weeks off. I'm sad at my lack of blogging. I had a real chance to get this thing going strong and I never did. Boo on me.

Oops, I Read The Wrong Chapter

2009-08-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

So the vacation is not starting and I'm going to work today. Also, I realized I got myself all confused with were I was reading. Prior to yesterday's reading I had read chapter 10, but typed 11 on the blog for August 10th. This caused confusion yesterday, but I just picked on reading where I thought I'd left off. It was only today that I discovered the error.

And now I have to get ready for work. Chapter 11:11-24 is a little too important for me to just quickly run through, and I also want to finish chapter 10, so I'll have to resume later. There is one thing I will leave you with today, think of use Gentiles as grafted into the family of God. Jews rejected Him and we were added to the family in the place of those who rejected Him. But we were not the original chosen people. Act accordingly. Be grateful for God's calling.

Praise God for His Calling.

God's Grace to Jews, Not Earned

2009-08-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today starts, what is probably going to be a month or so of vacation. "Baby bounding" is the official term. We are hoping Lisa has him really soon. I figure if I don't have to be at work, and there aren't 2 boys looking for some attention, I should probably get going on this blog again.

Chapter 11:5-10 seems mostly for the Jews. Although, if I read it thinking of my own failure to "obtain" salvation on my own power, it says a whole lot more to me. Paul wrote about the fact that he was a full Jew with all the rights and heritage needed to be considered a "Jew's Jew. But without grace, there would have been no salvation. He quotes old testament in verses 8-10 and it is scary to think about. "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see, and ears that would not hear..."

Sin is so powerful in our lives. If we are not constantly focusing and refocusing ourselves on God, on Christ, and on the Spirit's prompting, we will not live lives that glorify God. Without this as the desire of our hearts, we need to reevaluate our place in God's plan of grace. We need to beg on our needs to that grace to be "lavished" on us. David cried out all throughout the Psalms for God's mercy and grace. Who are we to not realize our desperate need as well?

God saves us by grace. We can not earn this salvation we desperately need. We must ask God for that salvation. We must hope in Him for the salvation we can't earn. We must rely on his love and grace and mercy to save us. "Not by works of righteousness that we have done." I always come back to that verse. Don't think this is a license to sin, because it's not. And you are responsible for your sin, so don't sin (good luck with that). "By grace you have been saved through faith."

Praise God for His Grace.

Righteousness Through Christ, Not the Law

2009-08-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I read the entire chapter 10 of Romans. I'm going to write only about Romans 10:1-4 today, but this is a really great chapter for us as believers to understand what we have in salvation, and what we should be doing to witness to others. Paul says his "hearts desire and prayer to God for them (his brother's or Israel) is that they may be saved." Israel was all about their knowledge of the Word of God, but they didn't understand their need for a Savior. They rejected Christ and missed their need for His saving grace. Verse 4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

I love the New King James version of Titus 3:5 because my wife and I originally learned it together in a Bible study. It goes like this:

NKJ "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit"

or my current version, English Standard Version:

ESV "he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"

They both help us realize we can no earn salvation through good works we do. It is only the mercy of God through the gracious gift of His Son that we can have salvation from our sins.

Praise God for Righteousness through Christ and His Mercy.

Righteousness Attained Through Faith, not The Law

2009-08-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to look at the things we do and say as either earning or not earning us salvation. But as Romans 9:30-33 tells us that Gentiles attained righteousness by faith, and Israel did not succeed in reaching righteousness in their pursuit of the law. This means our righteousness, or salvation from sin, is based on faith not on works of righteousness according to the law. Israel lived in the same way I often think about my salvation. What can I do to get myself back on track in following the rules of being a Christian? That's not right. That's not where salvation will come from.

I have to realize that there are stumbling blocks in life that I will trip over; sins I will commit that will disqualify me from attaining righteousness on my own. Thank God for His Son Jesus. Only by faith in His payment for those sins can I be confident in my righteousness. In Him I am righteous in the eyes of God. Only through faith in Jesus can I attain righteousness. I am a wretched sinner, saved by Christ, saved by faith in the payment He made for my life. Praise God it's not up to my abilities to do good.

Praise God for Christ.

Who Are We to Argue with God?

2009-08-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Romans 9:19-29 talks about God being our maker, and just like a "vessel" made of clay can't argue with its maker about its purpose or use, we can't argue with God about why some are saved and some are not. I do think about this often, and it's one of those predestination arguments people make. "It's not fair," or "it's not a choice," are some of the things people say when talking about God choosing whom He will. But just as the clay can't argue, God's creation can't argue either. We are responsible for our own sin, and we are responsible for responding to God and the truth of His existence. And as believers we are responsible for shining the light of His truth in this dark world. The rest is up to God. He saves. He reveals. He draws people to Himself. We are commanded to go out and tell the world. We are commanded to share the gospel. There is no room to argue with God. His grace and mercy will be revealed through salvation. And is equally important wrath will be satisfied by Hell and when those who reject Him are thrown into the lake of fire.

I just realized I keep saying, "those who reject Him," when I should be saying "those whom He designed for death." Yikes!

Praise God for His Choosing.

Is There Injustice on God's Part?

2009-07-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

Romans 9:14-18 asks the question, and I paraphrase, "if God chooses us before we exist, is God unfair (is there injustice on God part)? Of course the answer is, "By no means!" I've never really thought very hard about this point, except to think about how grateful I am to have been chosen, and to help my wife think about why it seems some of her family members are not saved or "chosen". But today I read the verses after the question and the phrase, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion," struck me differently. It's mercy and compassion he gives, not justice. If he gave us justice we would burn in Hell.

Quickly, and lastly for today (and I'm hopeful the shorter writing will help me stay faithful to my blogging and studying again) verse 17 talks about Pharaoh, that God raised him up, that God might show His power in Pharaoh, and that God's name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Pharaoh was used to bring God glory. His heart was hardened toward God, and so Pharaoh rejected God, but God was glorified in this, as His power was revealed when He lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Signs, plagues, and freedom came from God (not Moses), and these things revealed God's great love for His people and His great power over creation.

Praise God for His Mercy.

Not Because of Works but Because of His Call

2009-07-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

No excuses, I'm just going to move on. I last left off in Romans chapter 9, talking about the fact that Paul would die for his "kinsman." Paul continues to clarify that, although God's promise was for the Jews, not all Jews are chosen. Down in verse 11 something caught my eye to write quickly today. "though the (Jacob & Esau) were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of His call..." God's calling has been for all time and is not based on our works.

I'm really struggling with my own spiritual life because I'm focusing so much on my sins and on the lack of service. While these things are serious concerns, my salvation is not from these things, only evidenced by them. And, while there is not a lot of good evidence in my life, and that is scary, dwelling solely on my sin does not help me move forward and live for the glory of God.

I keep writing about the importance of God's word. Read it. Study it. Apply it. Live it. It's been some time since I last read or wrote and this mornings reading just made me feel closer and more connected to God again. Nothing I've done can or has earned me salvation, as I am a wretched person full of sin. Thanks be to God for the gift of His son Jesus, for the payment made on my behalf. My sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ. I now have the freedom to live my life to the glory of God the Father and Creator, the Almighty King over all, the Ruler over Heaven and of Earth, the One who will defeat Satan and destroy him armies.

Praise God for His Power over Sin, over Death, and over The Evil One's grip.
Praise God for His Glory and Grace.

Wretched Man That I Am

2009-07-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

The more I review my life, the more concern I have regarding my place in eternity. I have no fruit in my life. I have no joy, no peace, none of the signs we all talk about as Christians. Do you? Do you really have complete and total peace and joy? Is there fruit? Do you see people's lives being changed because of what you do and how you live and the things you share with them about the truths of God?

Last night my wife and I had dinner with one of my favorite people. He is a really close friend, he was a groomsman in my wedding, and he is a "good person." The problem is, he's not saved. He doesn't believe in his need for a savior. He doesn't believe the Bible is the inspired Word of the Creator and Savior of this world. He is good in the eyes of the world, but he is not saved and therefore can not do anything good, as it is not being done for the glory of God. But why would he? He does have many friends that claim Christianity and a belief in God, but how often are these people living proof of that? I, for one, am a hindrance to the hope that he will see his need for a Savior.

I know that nothing I can do will save him. I know that despite my failures, God can reveal Himself to this friend. But what am I doing to facilitate a good work? "Nothing." That's the true answer. And it's beginning to make me sick. My own life is beginning to make me hate myself, my sin, and my lack of purpose. If my life does nothing to glorify God, my life in useless and wasted and void of value. God should be glorified in all that I do. I should strive to bring glory to his name at every moment I can. I've been saved from my wreched sin, and yet I live as though I am still an unsaved hopeless person.

I need Christ so much more than I realize. Salvation is an amazing gift of grace and mercy. God should (and I would deserve it) send me straight to Hell and eternal damnation. I continue to blow the opportunities he gives me to point to Him, to glorify Him, to praise and honor Him. I am wasting my life every minute and wasting precious, valuable time I could be devoted to Him. Why do I not crave time in the Word of GOD? Why do I not crave time in prayer, talking to the Almighty Creator? Why do I not scream out praise of the one who has saved me from this wretched sinful life I live?

Praise the Almighty God for the salvation that comes only through the blood of His Son, poured out on the cross for me, a wretched, sinful being with no value except that which he sees and has saved for His own purpose. Praise God for the undeserved mercy and grace, the unearned rescue He's given to me, pulling me out of the darkness of sin and into Him marvelous light.

Praise God for all Eternity for His Amazing Love, Grace, and Mercy on us.

READ YOUR BIBLE!!!

2009-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

I hope you're not like me. But if you are always angry, frustrated, depressed, not satisfied with who you are or where you are in life, maybe it's because you don't read the Bible. Maybe it's because you don't understand God and His character, His calling, His plan for you life because you don't give yourself the opportunity to hear Him speak to you through His Word.

All too often in church today we aren't getting fed by God's word either. More often than not we hear weak messages, taken out of context, by preachers who have no business teaching the Word of God. My church does have a great pastor but the rest of the service is more of a distraction to me than a help. We have a barefoot music leader, concert like music production, 15 minutes of announcements between the music and the teaching, crazy emotional congregation members (with their arms flying up, bouncing, and swaying as though they are trying to feeeeeel God) and there is no other scripture read besides the passage being taught and the occasional reading of a verse or two to introduce a song.

My uncle is a pastor, author, and now radio interviewed man of the Word. He uses a heavy dose of the Bible in his Sunday morning services. They sing scripture, read scripture, study scripture, and pray scripture. He sees the importance and the power that scripture has in our lives and he uses it because there is an affect. It's always amazing how much better I feel after reading my Bible. Peace, joy, relief. God's Word is so powerful and impacting that I'm dumbfounded at how often I don't take the time to read it. I am so foolish. I actually look at this blog as my accountability tool...and as you can see, I'm way off track with my reading.

Check out the interview of my uncle and the short editorial here. Listen to the whole thing, it's encouraging on a personal level. It can be a little discouraging on a church body level. Also, check out my uncle's church.

Joe Tejeda's Music is On iTunes

2009-06-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Look for Joe Tejeda on iTunes. I really do love the sound of his songs.

Anger Word Study - Part 1

2009-06-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

I used the concordance in my Bible to look up the word Anger. I’m really struggling with it, to the point where I have absolutely NO witness at work. Even my home life is suffering. I honestly don’t want to be like this, but I can’t seem to not be frustrated, tired of, angry with, or down right PO’ed about someone or something. Whether it’s my termination for the Sheriff’s Office, the incompetence of coworkers and supervisor, or daily frustrations with humanity in general, I’m always mad, frustrated, and angry. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m perfect. Some people may think I believe I am because of my attitude towards them over some issue (big or small), but I really don’t think I’m perfect. I make mistakes. I don’t follow all the best practices. My first example is, MY ANGER. I claim to be a Christian and I don't live as though I am one. There's a huge failure.

So here I go. Here are the first set of verses I've read and written about. There are more to come...that's why this is "part 1."

Anger

Numbers 14:18 “The Lord is slow to anger…” This is Moses talking to God and of God’s character. He asked God to pardon the Israelites for their rebellion. Long story short (‘cause we all know the Israelites rebelled several times; and still are) God agreed to have mercy and pardoned them. God pardons those who rebelled against Him all the time. He is slow to anger, although His wrath would be justified.

Joshua 7:1 “But the people of Israel broke faith…And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.” When God does get Angry, it is justified. He becomes angry with the people of Israel because they didn’t have faith in God. Ultimately God chose to allow some to die over their lack of faith. Again his wrath is justified because of a rebellion and breaking of faith in Him.

1 Samuel 11:6 “And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.” Saul was a man chosen of God, an Israelite, who were God’s chosen people. The threat against their lives and safety was great, but God was greater. Anger here was justified because it came from God. Again, a righteous anger, against those who desired to harm God’s chosen people.

Psalm 6:1 “O Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath.” David was a sinful man. He was involved in such sins as murder and adultery. And David was loved by God and was called “a man after God’s own heart.” But David had a respectful fear of God’s anger. He was fearful and asked God not to rebuke him because he knew he had wronged God. Which ever sin David committed that lead him to write this Psalm, he knew God could be justifiably angry with and rebuke him. God’s anger is justified again in here, because of wrongs done against Him as God.

Psalm 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” David again writes about God’s anger. And although God is justified and righteous in His anger, with many, many reasons to be angry, He is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Love may be the key to controlling anger. Understanding God’s love for us, may put our need to be loving into perspective, ultimately curbing our anger.

Proverbs 14:29 “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” This Proverb is very convicting. If I did think I knew it all, my anger would point to the fact that my understanding is very limited. And the follies that are in my life, and have been for the last 2 years, are evidence to my issues with my temper. The drama I create with my anger and frustration compound these issues. Patience and love seem to be the keys to success in this.

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” This is a proverb more geared toward turning away wrath. This is also something I need to work on. I don’t have a filter on my tongue. I often speak before I think, and I often say things without the sensitivity needed or I say things I shouldn’t.

Proverbs 16:32 “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty…” Being able to control anger is so important to living lives glorifying to God. Better than the mighty. Someone with power has nothing over someone who can control anger. This is huge for me too. I look at my job in law enforcement as a “powerful” job. But controlling my anger is so much greater a feat than being in that role as a cop. It is a bigger accomplishment.

Joe Tejeda's Makin' Music

2009-06-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Go listen to Joe Tejeda's music here. This kid was in the youth group at FBC when I was on staff. He's a great kid, and I think these songs sound great. He's hoping to sell his album on iTunes soon too. Help support him by buying one when it comes out.

On a personal note, this kid makes me jealous. He followed his dream of making an album and did it. I've talked about it for....oh I don't know...as long as he's been alive?

Would You Risk Hell to Save Others?

2009-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Love. This is my nemesis. I don't love. I can't love. It is impossible for me to love. People drive me crazy. I see through people's lies. I see through there problems to the root of what is really going on. I'm so annoyed and frustrated with the decisions they make. I can not be loving.

BUT WHO THE HECK DO I THINK I AM??????????? The Creator of the universe, God, simply wants us to live lives that glorify Him. And we don't. We sin and sin and sin and lie and create problems and make horrible decisions. And God, does he hate us? NO! He loves us to the point of sacrificing His Son for us, to save us from ourselves. That is grace. That's love. "For God so loved the world, that He have His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

Romans 9 starts with Paul telling us he is speaking the truth when he says he has "great sorrow and unceasing anguish in (his) heart." Paul says he would be cut off from Christ for the sake of his brothers and kinsmen. He's referring to the unbelieving Jews. Paul had love enough for his fellow Jews that he was willing to be cut off from Christ (being sent to Hell) on their behalf so they would believe know Jesus was the Messiah. He loved to the point of complete sacrifice of his own eternal life.

I am a reach. I am a worthless being, not fit for the kingdom of God, not fit to be called a child of God. I deserve Hell and damnation for eternity. The desires of my flesh control and rule me. The desire of my heart is overruled by the lust of the flesh. Lord take control of my life. Make the desires of my heart the controlling force in my life, as long as my heart is in line with your will.

Praise God for His Love.

If God Is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

2009-04-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

The stress of the world, hard times, temptation, sin, times when we feel like everyone and everything is against us; these are the times when we can turn to scripture for comfort. Romans 8:31-39 is a great passage of encouragement and a reminder that God is powerful and in control. God is on our side, and when that's the case, no one can be against us.

God gave us His only Son, a sacrifice for our sin. Christ died and was resurrected from the grave to pay the price for our sins. God provided this way for us out of His grace. And if He gave His Son, what will stop Him from giving us all things? No one has anything to hold against us as believers (as God's elect). Only God can judge us. Only God can justify us.

Romans 8 38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Praise God for His Protection.

The Spirit's Interceding...God's Calling

2009-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

This is going to be fast and this passage (Romans 8:26-30) has a lot in it so I may need to break it up. Although the suffering is nothing compared to the glory to be revealed, we still need help through this time on earth. The Spirit is our help "in our weakness." The Spirit provides direction in what to pray, He intercedes on our behalf with God, and works with our conscience to help us discern. "...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

All things will work for good for those who love God, "for those who are called according to His purpose." Again Paul talks about calling, just as he did in Ephesians. Paul lays out the process here. Verse 29-30 "For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that He might be the first born among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." In layman's terms, those God decided He would save before they even existed He called with an irresistible calling. After calling them to Himself He justified them through the death of Christ on the cross and soon they will be glorified in Heaven with Him.

Praise God for His Spirit.
Praise God for His calling, justifying, and glorifying.

Future Glory We Can Hope In

2009-04-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Romans 8: 18-25 is today's passage. All of creation suffers because of sin. Not just humans but all creation. And all of creation "waits with eager longing" for Christ's return. We too "groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

Sin has caused all of God's creation to suffer. From the garden of Eden to where the world is now, so many drastic changes have occurred in the way we live and the way the world works. Man and animals were friends. Food was plentiful and available. God walked and talked with man. And so many other things. No pain in child birth. No toil for man. But sin has changed all of that. The world is now a hard, hard place. Sin has made it a struggle and a battle. But again, the suffering of this present time is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

We have hope; the redemption of our bodies. Verse 24 "For in this hope we were saved. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Sometimes I look at my life and my sin and my lack of faith and feel as though I may not be saved. But I shouldn't feel that way. I have hope in Christ. Sometimes it may not seem like I have "proof" of God or evidence of Him in my daily life, but I can hope with patience for Christ's return because He promised He would and that future glory will be revealed to me. I can take comfort in the knowledge of His sacrifice on the cross, saving me from sin and becoming the redemption of me body. Christ died to save me from my sin. Although sin has changed the world so dramatically, my God is able to overcome the sins of the world and save me. All to His glory and the glory to be revealed to us.

Praise God for the Hope we have in Christ and the Revelation of His Glory.

Consider the Glory to be Revealed

2009-04-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

I read the first verse of the passage I was going to write about today and stopped. Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

So often I look at the things I've gone through in just the last 5 years and think I've suffered. What a joke to think that any of that matters. These are things that God has allowed to be in my life because he knew I could either handle it, learn from it, or help someone else in. And for the most part, I've failed him over and over. And I continue to right now. I whine all day long about my job and my loss of the last one. I complain about all the other stresses my little family has faced with job changes to medical issues to financial struggles.

Well it's time to start focusing on the glory that is to be revealed to us. We will have perfect EVERYTHINGS. In Heaven with the Almighty God, Creator, Savior, Lord, the Holy One, GOD, we will have prefect bodies, understanding, and perspective on who He is. Perfectly worshiping the one true God, we will forever be with Him. How much greater will the revelations of God's perfect glory be? We must stop considering our suffering as anything and realize the glory to be revealed.

Praise the Glorious God.

My Drive Home

2009-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

God's beautiful creation is evident to me on my drive home.

I'm Seeing a Pattern...a Pattern of Excuses

2009-03-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

It's so easy for me to become distracted in the mornings with my son wanting attention, or some form of technology calling for me to check out the newest time wasting features or products. But I do desire to read God's word, grow in it's truth, and write about what I've learned. The problem is time. I try to get myself up at 6:30am everyday, hoping to come downstairs, read my Bible, and blog about what I've read. Then mornings like today come and I don't get to blogging about what I've read until it's time for me to wrap it up and get ready for work. Or mornings like the last few, where I don't even get up in time or my son wakes up with me and choose to entertain Him. These are not excuses. They are actually frustrations with myself. I'm annoyed by my weaknesses. I can only hope in the future glory to be revealed in Heaven. But more on that next time.

Heirs of God with Christ

2009-03-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

There is a stark contrast between being a debtor and an heir. To be a debtor you owe something. In the case of our soul, death is the payment for those who live in or by the flesh. Romans 8:12-17 compares that debt owed if our lives are lived in the flesh to that fact that we are given something when we live in the Spirit. We are made heirs of God if we are led by the Spirit of God. We are sons of God. Verse 13 "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." We become adopted sons "by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" We are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him."

Are we living in the flesh or in the Spirit of God? Are our sins in control or are we striving to please God with our lives? Are we fleeing sin on a daily, hourly, minute by minute basis? I'm not saying we will ever reach perfection. But I think too often we fall back on that excuse are think, "welp, I'm a sinner." Instead we need to be angry with our sin. That is probably the only way we can have justified anger. Be mad at your sin. It is a battle we must wage even every second of our lives. We need to listen to the Spirit's prompting. We need to continually focus on God and His will for our lives.

Praise God for His Adoption, that we can be heirs with Christ.

Made Alive by the Spirit

2009-03-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

First, there were some police officers killed in the line of duty in Oakland. It is a sad thing when people, who are doing the job of protecting society from evil doers, are killed in the process of doing that job. But my pastor used this event to again express his love for people. He prayed yesterday for the families of the officers killed. He prayed that God would save at least one of these officers out of the abundance of His grace. And he prayed that through this tragedy others would be drawn to God and more people would be saved. Out of all the tragedies that have happened during my short life, I don't remember ever hearing someone pray, "Save one of these lost in the tragedy out of the abundance of Your grace." It was an awesome understanding of who God is, His power to save, and the knowledge of His love.

Romans 8:9-11 tells us (we) "are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in (us)." If we don't have the Spirit we do not belong to Him. I often feel like my sin begins to rule over my life and I almost freak out with the frustration of that. I hate my sin and do not what it to be in my life. But I do feel the prodding of the Spirit in my life to turn and flee sin. I know that, like the "Crazy Love" book said, "when we love God, we naturally run to Him - frequently and zealously." I know I desire to spend more time studying His word and understanding His grace and love more. I know that love is one of my weakest attributes. But it's a crucial attribute of God, required for my salvation. If God's grace was not revealed to me, I would not have any hope of eternity.

I praise God today for the grace and love and mercy he has shown to me. I praise Him as the one and only God, the Great I Am, my Savior, and my only hope. My prayer is that my life would be a light and my sin would be crushed, so that more people may know and understand God's grace. I am thankful for God's provision in my life and trust that He will continue to provide for my needs. I recognize my true needs have already been met in salvation and my joy is made complete in this truth. Praise be to God.

Praise God.
Praise Him as the Great I Am.
Praise Him for His Grace.

Crazy Love - Chapter 3, Crazy Love

2009-03-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm really behind on my book review updates. I'm on chapter 5 with the guys and this is only chapter 3's review. This is the book titled chapter. It's a great chapter about God's love, and how crazy it is that He gives it to us. We don't earn it, desire it, and most of the time realize it's impact on our lives. The song "Jesus Loves Me" in basic terms tells us that we are loved by Jesus because "the Bible tells (us) so," but do we just believe that to be true or do we realize that as truth. Do we implicitly know that Jesus loves us? Or is it just a "concept we are taught" as Francis says? Do we know God's love?

Francis talked a little about his father and the abusive nature of their relationship. He explained that for a long time, "the fear of the Lord" was actual fear for him. He says he could relate to verses in the Bible about fearing God or God's wrath, because his own father created these feeling in Francis toward him. It was not until later in his life that Francis realized the love for God caused him to run towards God and desire to know God more. This deepened his understanding of God's love as well as His wrath. Instead of studying our of guilt, the desire to study comes out of love.

He goes on to talked about God knowing us, directing and/or allowing the situations in our lives to arise in accordance with His plan for our lives. God knew us before we knew ourselves. Before we were, God knew us. In life (specifically in Francis' upbringing) doing something offensive often results in punishment not love. But God loves us despite our sins against Him and His law. "...if God's mercy didn't exist, there would be no hope. No matter how good we tried to be, we would be punished because of our sins." Also, Francis says, "The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time."

One of the last things that jumped out to me was this: A student at a college were Francis was speaking asked him this question, "Why would a loving God force me to love Him?" First, I recognize the arrogance in this student's question, but I think Francis sees the opportunity for love. He says it was tough to answer in the moment but having time to think about an answer he wishes he would have said, "If God is truly the greatest good on this earth, would He be loving us if He didn't draw us towards what is best for us (even if that happens to be Himself)?" "The greatest good on earth is God."

That is so powerful. God's love is so great that He draws us to Himself so we can be saved from our otherwise wretched existence. We draws us to the only good on earth; not just the best or greatest good, but the only good. Himself. God is great. And He reigns forever. And His crazy love for us should be worshiped forever and ever.

Focus on the Things of the Spirit

2009-03-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1-8 starts with this great truth. And although this doesn't mean we will live sinless lives, it does mean that One did, satisfying the righteous requirement of the law. Jesus came and lived a perfect life according to the law by the Spirit because He was God. "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Those who have their minds on the flesh are hostile to God, not submissive to God's law. They can not please God.

It's time to turn our minds to the things of God and the Spirit. Peace and life come from God; death from the flesh. It is a battle of the Spirit against the flesh in our lives. We must continue to focus on God and flee the desires of our flesh.

Praise God for His Word. It provides the focus we need.

I Sin Even When I Don't Want To

2009-03-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

Romans 7:14-25 starts by telling us (who are saved) that we know the law is spiritual, but we are flesh, sold under sin. Because of that we sin, even though we may not want to. Our minds agree with the law which is good, but our actions are those of the flesh, and are sin. We desire to do what is good, but not the ability to carry it out. Verse 19 "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." Verse 23 "but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members."

WE ARE WRETCHED! But Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Verse 25 "So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." This passage is so true in my life. I'm starting to realize how negative, destructive, and wretched I am. My wife can tell you I talk about it all the time. And I don't want to be this way. I want it to change. I want to be filled with the joy that only a believer can have. I am a wretched man, stuck in a fleshly body full of sin. But I have the Grace of God which saves me from that sin. My mind can be filled with the knowledge of that salvation being given undeserved to me by the God and Creator of all things.

Praise God for Jesus Christ, my Savior.

The Law Points to Sin and Death, but it's Holy

2009-03-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm ridiculous. If I get outside my routine even a little, my devotions and blog are what suffers; the devotions being the most important part missing from my day. I've re-read Romans 7:7-13 and it still is a tough passage, going back and forth about the law and sin and death. I'm going to take a large portion of passage and cover the general meaning because I think I could work on this section for a while and I want to get past it.

The law, which is the commandments of God, reveal sin and the death that sin brings. That doesn't; however, make the law a part of sin or sin itself. The law provides knowledge of sin in our lives, ultimately so we know that we are sinners and we can turn from sin and towards Christ. In the same way, the law does not bring the death that comes from sin. Sin brings death. The law, again, shows us we are sinners and that we are dead because of it. The law is holy and from God. It reveals our sin so we can know that it is doing evil in us.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will continue on and finish Chapter 7. I also have 2 more chapters of "Crazy Love" to finish.