During the sermon on the mount, Jesus gives three illustrations: (1) When you give do it in private; (2) When you pray do it in private; and (3) When you fast do it in private.
Why all the privacy? Because Jesus wants us to make sure we are doing these things for the right reason. A common theme throughout the Sermon on the Mount is that it all boils down to the heart of the matter.
Jesus is telling the people something extraordinary here: it doesn't matter how much you give, how much you pray, or how much you fast - if you are not doing it for God then it is all worthless! He is saying that you can give a million dollars, fast for a week, and pray without ceasing - but if you are doing it for the glory of people instead of the glory of God, you are wasting your time and money. Don't even do it!
This is what God wants us to make sure of - are we really worshiping Him or are we putting on a show? Only you can answer that question for yourself!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
I'm Going to Pump...You Up - 1 Tim. 4:6-8
I read this a couple of times, trying to pull what God was saying out of it, and it took me a minute but I feel like I have it...
What Paul writes here is for us to "reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise [our]selves toward godliness". So, what does that mean exactly?
Well, on face level, we understand we are not supposed to fall for false teaching, and that we are supposed to be holy. But, I don't think that is all of the connotation meant here.
First of all, "old wives' fables" means superstitions and old tales. There is a lot of that that happens today! Many people incorporate their old superstitions into their Christian faith. It is simply lunacy! If it is not in the Bible - don't incorporate it into your faith. Period. Many pagan and Wiccan beliefs have seeped through into the Christian faith and I think that it simply makes God sick, because all of these derived from Satan himself. Think about that the next time you try to live by a silly superstition!
The next part, though, is where I think the meat of the verse lies. Paul says we are to "exercise toward godliness". The word "exercise" shows that it is something that is not necessarily fun, but extremely important to continue on. Exercise means discipline. So, in turn, the exercising (or disciplining) of ourselves is what we are called to do!
Don't get me wrong - it's not what saves you! A faith and belief in Jesus Christ is the only thing that saves you from Hell. End of story.
Now, we are called to repent, but that only comes through this faith in Christ. Some people believe you have to repent first, and then you are saved. I don't see that as Biblical principle. You CAN NOT repent unless you already have Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit is the ONLY way you are EVER going to overcome sin! It is a process - which is why Paul uses the word "exercise".
Have you ever tried running? I try to run every day when I can. Some days I can go three miles and not really be tired at all. Some days I make it a mile and almost pass out. Exercise fluctuates and some days you are better than others. But, you always need to work at it nonetheless, because if not you aren't going to be able to make it at all. Even the days when I don't do well, I still do it because I know the following days it will be worth it.
The longer you work at it, the better you become.
It is no different with "spiritual exercise". You are to always be doing it, even if you aren't doing a very good job at it. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN DO A "BAD JOB" AT IT ON PURPOSE! This is not a license to do what you want! I am talking about the times when your flesh ultimately wins the fight and you give in. It happens - a lot!
Even though you may feel like you are failing horribly, simply stay with Christ, continue to repent and give him yourself, and together you two will finish the race set before you. But, if you try to run it on your own, you are going to fall flat on your face. God does not call you to be perfect as soon as you are saved - but He does call you to try!
What Paul writes here is for us to "reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise [our]selves toward godliness". So, what does that mean exactly?
Well, on face level, we understand we are not supposed to fall for false teaching, and that we are supposed to be holy. But, I don't think that is all of the connotation meant here.
First of all, "old wives' fables" means superstitions and old tales. There is a lot of that that happens today! Many people incorporate their old superstitions into their Christian faith. It is simply lunacy! If it is not in the Bible - don't incorporate it into your faith. Period. Many pagan and Wiccan beliefs have seeped through into the Christian faith and I think that it simply makes God sick, because all of these derived from Satan himself. Think about that the next time you try to live by a silly superstition!
The next part, though, is where I think the meat of the verse lies. Paul says we are to "exercise toward godliness". The word "exercise" shows that it is something that is not necessarily fun, but extremely important to continue on. Exercise means discipline. So, in turn, the exercising (or disciplining) of ourselves is what we are called to do!
Don't get me wrong - it's not what saves you! A faith and belief in Jesus Christ is the only thing that saves you from Hell. End of story.
Now, we are called to repent, but that only comes through this faith in Christ. Some people believe you have to repent first, and then you are saved. I don't see that as Biblical principle. You CAN NOT repent unless you already have Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit is the ONLY way you are EVER going to overcome sin! It is a process - which is why Paul uses the word "exercise".
Have you ever tried running? I try to run every day when I can. Some days I can go three miles and not really be tired at all. Some days I make it a mile and almost pass out. Exercise fluctuates and some days you are better than others. But, you always need to work at it nonetheless, because if not you aren't going to be able to make it at all. Even the days when I don't do well, I still do it because I know the following days it will be worth it.
The longer you work at it, the better you become.
It is no different with "spiritual exercise". You are to always be doing it, even if you aren't doing a very good job at it. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN DO A "BAD JOB" AT IT ON PURPOSE! This is not a license to do what you want! I am talking about the times when your flesh ultimately wins the fight and you give in. It happens - a lot!
Even though you may feel like you are failing horribly, simply stay with Christ, continue to repent and give him yourself, and together you two will finish the race set before you. But, if you try to run it on your own, you are going to fall flat on your face. God does not call you to be perfect as soon as you are saved - but He does call you to try!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Can't Touch This - 1 Timothy 1:1-11
Paul is writing to Timothy, and the first thing he does is charge him to remain in Ephesus so that no unsound doctrine leaks in. Humans are very fickle, and many times we will take something sacred and tweak it until it fits what we like. That is what is happening in Ephesus, and Paul is not happy about it. What is happening is that they are letting old stories and superstitions from their culture and from Judaism to seep in to their new found faith, and a lot of it was hurting the Gospel. The main one - the Law.
Now, we know (and Paul says it here, too!) that the Law is not a bad thing! God created the Law, and it is the whole foundation of the Christian faith. It is not bad indeed! However, it is how the people were using the Law that was bad. Verse 8 says that the "law is good if one uses it lawfully". Well, what is the lawful way? We get more of a sense of this in the next verse where Paul says, "knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for..." and then he goes into a long list of sinners.
So, who was the Law made for?
It was made for people to see their sin, not to work their way to Heaven! What Paul meant by it not being made for sinners is that the people were reading the Law, and thinking they were good because they kept most of it - and therefore didn't think they needed Christ! Paul wants to show them that this is totally wrong! The Law was to show you just how utterably sinful you really are! There is no way anyone could keep the whole Law for their whole life - and because of this we need Christ!
So, what does this do to the Law?
I don't think God wanted us to rid the Law completely. Yes, we live by Grace, but that does not mean we can go out and sin all we want! God wants our hearts and wants us to repent from sin so that we can focus on Him and focus on doing what He wants. You are going to fail, and you will fall from the top, but Christ is always there to catch you every single time you fall!
Now, we know (and Paul says it here, too!) that the Law is not a bad thing! God created the Law, and it is the whole foundation of the Christian faith. It is not bad indeed! However, it is how the people were using the Law that was bad. Verse 8 says that the "law is good if one uses it lawfully". Well, what is the lawful way? We get more of a sense of this in the next verse where Paul says, "knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for..." and then he goes into a long list of sinners.
So, who was the Law made for?
It was made for people to see their sin, not to work their way to Heaven! What Paul meant by it not being made for sinners is that the people were reading the Law, and thinking they were good because they kept most of it - and therefore didn't think they needed Christ! Paul wants to show them that this is totally wrong! The Law was to show you just how utterably sinful you really are! There is no way anyone could keep the whole Law for their whole life - and because of this we need Christ!
So, what does this do to the Law?
I don't think God wanted us to rid the Law completely. Yes, we live by Grace, but that does not mean we can go out and sin all we want! God wants our hearts and wants us to repent from sin so that we can focus on Him and focus on doing what He wants. You are going to fail, and you will fall from the top, but Christ is always there to catch you every single time you fall!
David vs. Goliath - 1 Samuel 17
This is one of the most famous of all Biblical stories: David versus Goliath. I love this story because of how it shows what God can do through people, and how He prevails all the time, and so forth. But then as I read I think, "Man, these Bible stories can seem barbarous sometimes!" Really, why did God work in such barbaric ways back in the biblical days? We know that today, he doesn't deal with people like that? All we hear about today is the God of Grace and the God of Love; never the God who will help me kill giants!
I think the answer to that lies in the fact that God was dealing with barbaric people. Therefore, for Him to get the glory, He had to deal with them in different ways. Today, when we hear of miracles, or peace, or something along those line, we give God the glory. Then, however, they gave God the glory in battle, and in fights, and so forth. It wasn't so much that God hated Goliath so bad that He wanted David to just go and slaughter Him - no, Goliath was created by Him too! It was just that Goliath was mocking Him and defiling Him, so He chose to rid Goliath so that everyone else could see that He was the living God! And for Him to do that, He had to show them that it HAD to be Him doing it. So, he took a kid (probably 13 or 14) and a sling shot and defeated this nine foot tall guy in one shot! He figured that should show them, and it did! From that point on, everyone knew who David was and many wanted to know who David's God was!
I think the answer to that lies in the fact that God was dealing with barbaric people. Therefore, for Him to get the glory, He had to deal with them in different ways. Today, when we hear of miracles, or peace, or something along those line, we give God the glory. Then, however, they gave God the glory in battle, and in fights, and so forth. It wasn't so much that God hated Goliath so bad that He wanted David to just go and slaughter Him - no, Goliath was created by Him too! It was just that Goliath was mocking Him and defiling Him, so He chose to rid Goliath so that everyone else could see that He was the living God! And for Him to do that, He had to show them that it HAD to be Him doing it. So, he took a kid (probably 13 or 14) and a sling shot and defeated this nine foot tall guy in one shot! He figured that should show them, and it did! From that point on, everyone knew who David was and many wanted to know who David's God was!
I'm Back...
Sorry it has taken me so long to start posting again. I have been swamped and just sidetracked really. But now I'm back and hopefully for a while!
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