We started a new series a little over a week ago in the book of 1 John and I have been challenged in a big way and my thinking has really been stretched. I have come to realize that everything we read about scripture is about relationship. I wonder what took me so long to see it. Perhaps too much of a focus on the trees and I missed the forest. I see our relationships in 4 directions- How we relate to ourselves (we are sinners in need of a savior), the world (as a system opposing God), other believers (a family to love and serve) and God (He is light).
Perhaps you remember Reaganomics. President Reagan believed that if corporations we're free from the burden of heavy taxes, they would invest and grow causing them to hire more employees who would spend more their money on products from various companies and as a result create a healthy economy and increase the number of tax payers. It was a start at the top and work your way down strategy.
Whether you agree with this or not I think it is at least a good illustration of how to get things right in our own lives. If our relationship with God is right that in turn will impact how we relate to the church and in turn the world and finally ourselves.
We will see this principle explained over and over again in different ways as we study this fascinating book together.
This Sunday the 25th of April we will study 1 John 2:7-11 and learn that a good barometer of our love for God is to evaluate our love for one another. Take some time to read and mediate on this truth and I'll see you on Sunday!
What say you about that?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Be Faithful
I don't know about you but this recent series on Stewardship has had a profound impact on how how invest the big three; Time, Talents and Treasures. I have made purchases I would not normally make and have been more sensitive about how I use my time.
How has it been going for you?
What say you?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
You Never Know Who's Watching
Today I remember my mothers graduation day. 14 years ago she took her last breath and slipped into heaven. I've see people die but never like my mom and in dying she taught me even more perfectly how to live. Just the day before as she labored just to breath, I sat in a chair in the room just to be there for her. Sometime in the afternoon she awoke disappointedly and said "ohhhhhh, this isn't heaven."
She lived like heaven was her home and she couldn't wait to get there and it showed. I remember when I was in 9th grade my school had a dance and there was this girl. I told her I was going and she just looked at me, never said a word and not a frown on her face- just a look and it spoke volumes. She loved me, wanted only the best for me and she proved it every day I knew her growing up. She didn't think the way to grow a godly man was to hold another girl close and let hormones do what hormones do. A young man, loved by his mom like that, could never really enjoy a dance knowing how it brought her sadness. I danced with the girl and came home with regret.
I'll never forget that time of teaching and a million other ways she demonstrated how to live to please God. I wish I'd always listened but sometimes that's the only way I could learn.
My mom left her mark on me, maybe you can see it, maybe it's still clouded by sin but I've noticed that the more I'm like my mom the more I'm like Jesus.
Do you have anyone in your life like that? If you do, let's hear about them. I'm thankful to God for a mom who loved me so well, taught me so much about following Christ and will be one of the first people I run to hug when I see her again in Heaven!!!
Live for Him, you never know who's watching.
She lived like heaven was her home and she couldn't wait to get there and it showed. I remember when I was in 9th grade my school had a dance and there was this girl. I told her I was going and she just looked at me, never said a word and not a frown on her face- just a look and it spoke volumes. She loved me, wanted only the best for me and she proved it every day I knew her growing up. She didn't think the way to grow a godly man was to hold another girl close and let hormones do what hormones do. A young man, loved by his mom like that, could never really enjoy a dance knowing how it brought her sadness. I danced with the girl and came home with regret.
I'll never forget that time of teaching and a million other ways she demonstrated how to live to please God. I wish I'd always listened but sometimes that's the only way I could learn.
My mom left her mark on me, maybe you can see it, maybe it's still clouded by sin but I've noticed that the more I'm like my mom the more I'm like Jesus.
Do you have anyone in your life like that? If you do, let's hear about them. I'm thankful to God for a mom who loved me so well, taught me so much about following Christ and will be one of the first people I run to hug when I see her again in Heaven!!!
Live for Him, you never know who's watching.
Friday, February 19, 2010
A New Look
The Brown was getting a little old so I changed the look a bit- what do you think?
Now, how about some feed back! I have a "hit counter" on the right but it doesn't tell me who came, how long they stayed or whether or not they got anything out of reading my posts.
So help me out, is my blogging about the previous sermon helpful to you? Is it a good investment of time? If so, leave a note and/or click the "Keep 'em coming" box right below this entry.
Back to blogging in 3....2....1.....
In verses 8,9 of Jude, an illustration from the greater to the lesser is used. Are you familiar with this kind of argument? It goes something like this- "My dad once drove my mom 600 miles to see her high school friend get married, the least I can do is drive my wife two miles to see that movie".
The argument Jude is making is this-if the great Archangel Michael didn't rebuke Satan as they contended over the body of Moses (and we all know he should be rebuked) then we had better be careful about rebuking people.
I find this story very interesting. Nowhere in the record of Moses, found in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, do we read anything about this event. Where did Jude find this? Is it true or was he just using a apocryphal story as an illustration tool? Are we missing a book of the Bible? How can we as students of the word figure this out?
What say you?
Now, how about some feed back! I have a "hit counter" on the right but it doesn't tell me who came, how long they stayed or whether or not they got anything out of reading my posts.
So help me out, is my blogging about the previous sermon helpful to you? Is it a good investment of time? If so, leave a note and/or click the "Keep 'em coming" box right below this entry.
Back to blogging in 3....2....1.....
In verses 8,9 of Jude, an illustration from the greater to the lesser is used. Are you familiar with this kind of argument? It goes something like this- "My dad once drove my mom 600 miles to see her high school friend get married, the least I can do is drive my wife two miles to see that movie".
The argument Jude is making is this-if the great Archangel Michael didn't rebuke Satan as they contended over the body of Moses (and we all know he should be rebuked) then we had better be careful about rebuking people.
I find this story very interesting. Nowhere in the record of Moses, found in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, do we read anything about this event. Where did Jude find this? Is it true or was he just using a apocryphal story as an illustration tool? Are we missing a book of the Bible? How can we as students of the word figure this out?
What say you?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
When ever you point your finger, three are pointing at you!
The book of Jude is pretty harsh. It almost comes across as some doctrinal finger pointing. One statement that should have been made thus far in our study is that Jude is not writing to his readers for the purpose of starting a witch hunt and trying to find others who have bad doctrine and kicking them out. What he intends is that we learn to test all that we hear by the word of God. The only one's we are to examine are ourselves.
So let's hear them. What kind of interpretation errors have you made and someone helped you see the truth.
I remember as a new believer reading about how God hardened Pharaoh's heart (I missed how Pharaoh hardened his heart against the LORD) and thought well, if God hardened his heart, then it's not fair that God condemn him- Pharaoh's going to be in heaven! It seemed like good logic but it was bad Bible. God hardened his heart like the sun melts wax- the wax is of such a substance that heat causes it to melt. The more God revealed his will to Pharaoh, the more Pharaoh's heart was hardened.
So what's your story?
What say you?
So let's hear them. What kind of interpretation errors have you made and someone helped you see the truth.
I remember as a new believer reading about how God hardened Pharaoh's heart (I missed how Pharaoh hardened his heart against the LORD) and thought well, if God hardened his heart, then it's not fair that God condemn him- Pharaoh's going to be in heaven! It seemed like good logic but it was bad Bible. God hardened his heart like the sun melts wax- the wax is of such a substance that heat causes it to melt. The more God revealed his will to Pharaoh, the more Pharaoh's heart was hardened.
So what's your story?
What say you?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
It's four O'Clock!
It's 4pm and you know, if you were paying attention Sunday, that I just took my afternoon medicine. My alarm, the same alarm you heard that morning has gone off telling me to do what a healthy life requires.
What kind of alarms do you have in your life that remind you to do that which promotes health? We have some built in alarms; a stomach growl tells us we're hungry, a big yawn reminds us....sorry, I just yawned....that we are tired, gray hair that tells us we're running out of time and a clock on the wall or a note on a calender can remind of us an impending due date. But what about things that are due in the future, perhaps years from now that will turn out one way or the other based on what we are doing today- like parenting your kids, doing your homework, figuring out relationships and learning to say "forgive me".
What have you read today? A paper, a book, a menu, a blog??? Think back all those years ago when you learned to read. First came the alphabet, then words, followed by short sentences and now look where that foundational work has taken you. You are using skills today that you struggled so hard to develop so many years ago and has opened so many doors for you. When you started, you had no idea where it would take you but aren't you glad you did? So what are you working on today that will revolutionize your life years from now?
The Bible is a big book filled with enigmatic sayings in places pulled from a different time period and a different culture but what can be learned from it is like hidden treasure. It will take time, effort, some good tools, a little help from the right people, frustration, failure and maybe even some pain, but what you get out of it will positively impact you (and others) for the rest of your life.
So consider this little blog entry as your "wake up" alarm to get going on the thing you always planned on doing some day- Getting to know God through his word, being transformed by His truth, and living the life you've always wanted.
What is the number one reason you don't get in the word and what keeps you at it?
What say you?
What kind of alarms do you have in your life that remind you to do that which promotes health? We have some built in alarms; a stomach growl tells us we're hungry, a big yawn reminds us....sorry, I just yawned....that we are tired, gray hair that tells us we're running out of time and a clock on the wall or a note on a calender can remind of us an impending due date. But what about things that are due in the future, perhaps years from now that will turn out one way or the other based on what we are doing today- like parenting your kids, doing your homework, figuring out relationships and learning to say "forgive me".
What have you read today? A paper, a book, a menu, a blog??? Think back all those years ago when you learned to read. First came the alphabet, then words, followed by short sentences and now look where that foundational work has taken you. You are using skills today that you struggled so hard to develop so many years ago and has opened so many doors for you. When you started, you had no idea where it would take you but aren't you glad you did? So what are you working on today that will revolutionize your life years from now?
The Bible is a big book filled with enigmatic sayings in places pulled from a different time period and a different culture but what can be learned from it is like hidden treasure. It will take time, effort, some good tools, a little help from the right people, frustration, failure and maybe even some pain, but what you get out of it will positively impact you (and others) for the rest of your life.
So consider this little blog entry as your "wake up" alarm to get going on the thing you always planned on doing some day- Getting to know God through his word, being transformed by His truth, and living the life you've always wanted.
What is the number one reason you don't get in the word and what keeps you at it?
What say you?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Our last post was about Rebellion and the struggle we have in submitting to authority. (By the way, share your thoughts/insights/questions in the comments area) On Sunday one of the issues we saw in those rebellion of the infiltrators in the church was the cause of their rebellion. They chose the wrong source for Truth.
I have one of those smart phones that has a bunch of useless and useful "apps". There are things I've put on there just in case but I thought I'd never use. For example I have a level with a digital bubble for determining whether or not something is plumb or level. The problem is that to use it you have to calibrate it. That means that I have to find something I know is level or plumb, set it on or next to the object and hit a button to set it. The problem is, without a level how do I know it's level? And once I set it, it reads level based on how I calibrated it. If I set it wrong, everything I gauge with it will be wrong. That's what these people did wrong- they set their gauge on something unreliable; something they wanted to be true. They based their actions on their dreams and not on reality and truth- God and His word.
The question for today is, what is the basis for determining what is true/right? Is it popular opinion? "That many people can't be wrong!" (remember the lemmings!) Is it how you feel for the moment? "If it feels good do it!" What is you basis of truth? What is your compass in life? You had better be sure because someone is following you and you don't want to be like a car I saw a few years ago with a bumper sticker that said "Don't follow me, I'm lost".
Is the word of God your compass? Then how well trained are you to use it? How does the scripture determine in your life, how to live?
What say you?
I have one of those smart phones that has a bunch of useless and useful "apps". There are things I've put on there just in case but I thought I'd never use. For example I have a level with a digital bubble for determining whether or not something is plumb or level. The problem is that to use it you have to calibrate it. That means that I have to find something I know is level or plumb, set it on or next to the object and hit a button to set it. The problem is, without a level how do I know it's level? And once I set it, it reads level based on how I calibrated it. If I set it wrong, everything I gauge with it will be wrong. That's what these people did wrong- they set their gauge on something unreliable; something they wanted to be true. They based their actions on their dreams and not on reality and truth- God and His word.
The question for today is, what is the basis for determining what is true/right? Is it popular opinion? "That many people can't be wrong!" (remember the lemmings!) Is it how you feel for the moment? "If it feels good do it!" What is you basis of truth? What is your compass in life? You had better be sure because someone is following you and you don't want to be like a car I saw a few years ago with a bumper sticker that said "Don't follow me, I'm lost".
Is the word of God your compass? Then how well trained are you to use it? How does the scripture determine in your life, how to live?
What say you?
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