So in celebration of writing this blog for over a month now, I wanted to revisit and revise my first ever blog post.
My first post I just wanted to explain the quiet part of my blog title. Habakkuk 2:20 states, "But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." To me this is where life starts, ends, and should be all the time in the middle.This being the anniversary of the not so super storm Sandy, I am reminded of the quiet before the storm. Being quiet before God while life is going well and we are receiving blessing from God, can help us endure and withstand better the storms of life. Being quiet before the struggles and challenges come can help prepare us better. In the quiet moments we can gather supplies, like rooting our faith deeper in God, giving us a clearer picture of God so we can trust Him more, and also help our patience gain fortitude. All activities we can have in the quiet as we wait for the next storm of life that God allows to come our way.
Keeping quiet in life can also help you discover many enjoyments. Being quiet with our minds can allow God to show you the joys in life that He as blessed you with. Being quiet with our mouths can help us see the joy in our life that the voice and noise wipes out.
It can bring you much wisdom when you listen before you talk. It can make you a better and more generous person as you let others talk and have what looks like the spot light.
It can make you a more loving person so that the wrong and hurtful thing is not said. Being quiet is also where you learn the most and gain the most wisdom.
The quiet is where I discovered that I need to be and is the place I need to be in my God, the quiet. The quiet before Him, to listen to His voice.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Long day Humor
It has been a long day for me, it started at 8 last night and have not really slept since Sunday morning.
So I though I would share this from a blog I read since it gave me a laugh.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
This is a great blog and I pray it brightens your Monday.
So I though I would share this from a blog I read since it gave me a laugh.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
This is a great blog and I pray it brightens your Monday.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
His Voice
John 10:16
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
"And they will listen to my voice"
When was the last time we as the sheep to the Great Shepherd listen for His voice. He talks, we should listen. Listening is the key to it all. Jesus is always talking. Have you heard Him? Here are a few places I have heard the voice of my Shepherd
His word
My Pastor
A sunset
My children
My wife
The wind blowing in the forest
A friend
A song
A movie- currently while I am watching "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"
A book
My brother
In work of the world
These are a few places to name a few that I have heard the voice of my Shepherd. When we are truly listening we as the sheep will know and hear the voice and words from our Shepherd.
Also remember that prayer is a two-way conversation. We should be listening for the voice of the Shepherd, because her is always talking to His sheep.
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
"And they will listen to my voice"
When was the last time we as the sheep to the Great Shepherd listen for His voice. He talks, we should listen. Listening is the key to it all. Jesus is always talking. Have you heard Him? Here are a few places I have heard the voice of my Shepherd
His word
My Pastor
A sunset
My children
My wife
The wind blowing in the forest
A friend
A song
A movie- currently while I am watching "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"
A book
My brother
In work of the world
These are a few places to name a few that I have heard the voice of my Shepherd. When we are truly listening we as the sheep will know and hear the voice and words from our Shepherd.
Also remember that prayer is a two-way conversation. We should be listening for the voice of the Shepherd, because her is always talking to His sheep.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
His Mission
John 10:16
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
So I have been thinking over this verse the last day or so. Yesterday, I looked at the first sentence and a couple of truths I understand from it. "I must bring them also" is what I would like to ponder a little bit now.
The first word is huge in this sentence, I. This means that Jesus is the one who brings in the outside sheep. As we looked at yesterday, there are individuals outside of the fold that Jesus calls sheep. But now Jesus, the shepherd must bring them in. Jesus must bring them in. That means the work of missions or bringing in others to the fold is Jesus job. That struck me in a big way when I started to think about it. I always thought missions was my job. But it is not, it is Jesus job to bring in the others. Jesus must bring them in. When I am talking to others about Jesus and bringing others into the fold, I am working for Jesus. I knew this but I forgot it is Jesus job. Jesus says I must bring them in. Do not forget it is Jesus job and when we help Jesus.
The second word in the clause, "I must bring them also", is must. Jesus must bring them in. Jesus is commanded to bring others into the fold. This is not optional. Must is a strong commanding word and action that will take place. Jesus MUST bring in others. What does that look like? Bringing in others to the fold must take place, by Jesus.
Both of these words say to me that, as an image bearer of Jesus now on the earth I am commanded to bring others in. When the world sees Jesus, they see Him through his sheep, which is me. That means I am what the world will see as Jesus, "I must bring them also". That means it is up to me to bring others into the fold with me and I do not have a choice. I do not have a choice to tell others about my Shepherd, my Savior. I do not have a choice to show in action who my protective Shepherd is. I must bring them also.
When was the last time you said to yourself, I must bring others into the fold with me, because Jesus must bring others in.
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
So I have been thinking over this verse the last day or so. Yesterday, I looked at the first sentence and a couple of truths I understand from it. "I must bring them also" is what I would like to ponder a little bit now.
The first word is huge in this sentence, I. This means that Jesus is the one who brings in the outside sheep. As we looked at yesterday, there are individuals outside of the fold that Jesus calls sheep. But now Jesus, the shepherd must bring them in. Jesus must bring them in. That means the work of missions or bringing in others to the fold is Jesus job. That struck me in a big way when I started to think about it. I always thought missions was my job. But it is not, it is Jesus job to bring in the others. Jesus must bring them in. When I am talking to others about Jesus and bringing others into the fold, I am working for Jesus. I knew this but I forgot it is Jesus job. Jesus says I must bring them in. Do not forget it is Jesus job and when we help Jesus.
The second word in the clause, "I must bring them also", is must. Jesus must bring them in. Jesus is commanded to bring others into the fold. This is not optional. Must is a strong commanding word and action that will take place. Jesus MUST bring in others. What does that look like? Bringing in others to the fold must take place, by Jesus.
Both of these words say to me that, as an image bearer of Jesus now on the earth I am commanded to bring others in. When the world sees Jesus, they see Him through his sheep, which is me. That means I am what the world will see as Jesus, "I must bring them also". That means it is up to me to bring others into the fold with me and I do not have a choice. I do not have a choice to tell others about my Shepherd, my Savior. I do not have a choice to show in action who my protective Shepherd is. I must bring them also.
When was the last time you said to yourself, I must bring others into the fold with me, because Jesus must bring others in.
Friday, October 25, 2013
His Sheep
Today I was reading in John in chapter 10 about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Verse 16 struck me today and I want to write a few post on some of the thoughts that I have.
John 10:16
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
The first things that struck me or the Holy Spirit illuminated and challenged me with was the first sentence in the verse. "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold." So Jesus has other sheep. I am not His only sheep. The pride I feel and even some arrogance that I am Jesus and He is mine is wrong. I should feel love in Jesus not pride. I am one of His sheep. Just like He chose and found me when I was not of this fold, so now that I am in this fold I should feel love for my Shepherd and find joy in supporting Jesus in bringing others into the fold. I am not the only sheep. Yes, Jesus knows my name, knows the hairs on my head, and has my life in His hands, but I am not the only sheep. I got challenged by that sentence, when was the last time I prayed for a sheep that was outside the fold that Jesus could bring in?
The second thing God showed me was that Jesus loves all the sheep. He says, I have sheep, which means even those outside of the fold. Jesus loves the others outside the fold just like they were His own. Those outside of the fold Jesus still calls His sheep, which means He loves so much that He brings them inside the fold with His other sheep and calls them by name. So I should love those outside of my fold. Jesus love everyone like His sheep, that means I should too. I need to love those outside of my fold like Jesus, sacrificially.
"Not of this fold", is how Jesus ends the sentence. That means if I am one of His sheep, am in the fold. This is a comforting fact. I am in the fold of Jesus and am one of His sheep. If I watch the Shepherd as one of His sheep, I am safe and secure and should not fear.
Tomorrow, I want to look at the second sentence, first clause "I must bring them also". But do not forget, there are other sheep of Jesus not of our fold.
John 10:16
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
The first things that struck me or the Holy Spirit illuminated and challenged me with was the first sentence in the verse. "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold." So Jesus has other sheep. I am not His only sheep. The pride I feel and even some arrogance that I am Jesus and He is mine is wrong. I should feel love in Jesus not pride. I am one of His sheep. Just like He chose and found me when I was not of this fold, so now that I am in this fold I should feel love for my Shepherd and find joy in supporting Jesus in bringing others into the fold. I am not the only sheep. Yes, Jesus knows my name, knows the hairs on my head, and has my life in His hands, but I am not the only sheep. I got challenged by that sentence, when was the last time I prayed for a sheep that was outside the fold that Jesus could bring in?
The second thing God showed me was that Jesus loves all the sheep. He says, I have sheep, which means even those outside of the fold. Jesus loves the others outside the fold just like they were His own. Those outside of the fold Jesus still calls His sheep, which means He loves so much that He brings them inside the fold with His other sheep and calls them by name. So I should love those outside of my fold. Jesus love everyone like His sheep, that means I should too. I need to love those outside of my fold like Jesus, sacrificially.
"Not of this fold", is how Jesus ends the sentence. That means if I am one of His sheep, am in the fold. This is a comforting fact. I am in the fold of Jesus and am one of His sheep. If I watch the Shepherd as one of His sheep, I am safe and secure and should not fear.
Tomorrow, I want to look at the second sentence, first clause "I must bring them also". But do not forget, there are other sheep of Jesus not of our fold.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Genealogy
I want to post tonight my response to a few questions I was asked to respond to in my NT 501 class for school.
Here are the questions and then follows my response.
How does the genealogy of Matthew serve his larger narrative purpose? How does this differ from the structure and purpose of Luke’s genealogy? Finally, how does the prologue to John’s gospel function in comparison to these genealogies?
Here are the questions and then follows my response.
How does the genealogy of Matthew serve his larger narrative purpose? How does this differ from the structure and purpose of Luke’s genealogy? Finally, how does the prologue to John’s gospel function in comparison to these genealogies?
First, I love these questions, because I believe that everything in the Bible is there for a purpose and can have some value in learning more about God,His character, and our relationship with Him. So the genealogies have a purpose, that much to me is clear. First, the genealogy of Matthew serves his purpose for a lot of reasons but I want to focus on one specific area. One of the themes or purposes I find in Matthew, and my NT Professor added to it, is that Matthew is trying to tell his readers that Jesus is a better or more righteous Israelite. Jesus is the true or better Moses and true or better King David. So Matthew wants to point is readers back to the beginning and show the line of connection between Jesus and Abraham, the first person in Israel history. Throughout the book Matthew is connection Jesus to the Old Testament by having Jesus fulfill prophecy or be connected to the Law. Matthew wants to tell his readers that Jesus is a true Jew and the only perfect Jew, so he connects Jesus to all of the Jews of old and even connects Jesus lineage to some of the Jews that have had some major sin struggle. I believe this is one way and one of the most important parts and reason why Matthew includes Jesus family tree back to Abraham.
One a side note I think it is important that Matthew shows some gentiles, especially women, in his family tree as one end of the book and then Matthew has the other end of the book be the great commission to all people including the gentiles. So even though one of the themes in Matthew is that Jesus is the true Israelite, He did not just come and die for the Jewish people but for all of mankind.
Matthew list of names and Luke's list of names are different because first each was writing to a different set of people. As explained earlier Matthew was writing to other Jews and wanted to connect Jesus to the Jewish faith in the beginning, where as Luke was writing to Theophilus and probably a Greek audience as a whole. This would make Luke desire to connect Jesus back much father and broader to a larger people group. Luke then connects Jesus back to Adam and shows that Jesus is a human being no different than Luke's readers.
Another reasons that Luke's genealogy is different than Matthew's is because he is writing with a different purpose. Luke wants to show that Jesus is a human being and has emotions, feelings, passions, and desire that are human and no different than Luke's readers. So Luke wants to connect Jesus back to Adam, the first human and show that Jesus is strait from the beginning.
A side note that I find interesting in Luke's structure is that Adam was the beginning of the human race and the beginning of sin, now Jesus has come and is a new start to a new beginning. To steal some of the words I used earlier describing Jesus as a better Israelite, Luke shows that Jesus is the better human or perfect man. Jesus is a better Adam that will be the one and only to come as the Christ and start a new line.
I think that both of these genealogies have some connection and yet major distinctions from the beginning of John's gospel. John wants to show Jesus relationship to someone just like Matthew back to Abraham and Luke back to Adam. I think John wants to take Jesus back to God, before Abraham and before Adam. That is the structure of his prologue. John wants to show the relationship of Jesus to God because it fits in with his purpose, Jesus is God in human flesh. Verses 1 and 2 of John's gospel is like a genealogy, he is just showing that Jesus goes way back before any human was around, and that is significant.
I think that each of the 3 writers had a purpose in their writing and the genealogies are each a great example of showing one of the truths that each of the writers wanted to get across to the reader. Each of them are connect in this fact that they show Jesus connect to others for a reason but each unique in the purpose and point of that connection.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Crock Pot Christianity
Today I was reading as post on my favorite blog. He used the line "the work of the Lord in our lives is more like a crock pot than a microwave". When I read this line for the first time in the article I glanced over it without much thought in the whole scheme of the article. But when I went back and reread it over, it started to get my mind thinking. This line struck me in 2 ways that I want to share.
First, I believe this line is a good description of what not only the works of God should do to us but also the words of God. I find in my life that the Bible has more of a crock pot effect on me rather than the microwave effect. When I open the Bible and simmer over a passage or truth and let it sink into my life, it seems to have a greater impact. Yes, the Bible can have an instant impact when I read it for the first time in a long time, but a deeper and longer eternal impact seems to happen when it has time to sink deep and fill me up with the flavor of God and His words. I find to when I focus my devotions on a single passage for 20 minutes rather than read a whole set of verses in 20 minutes, the time is more meaningful and God speaks softly and clearer to me. Not to say that reading the Bible through is bad, I believe it has many benefits that I do not want to explore at this time, but when was the last time we sat and simmered over a single passage and let it resonate in our hearts and minds.
The idea of God's work in our lives is a crock pot reminded me of the smell of the crock pot when I get home from work and my beloved has made a beef roast in it all day. I love the sweet smelling aroma when there is something cooking and simmering in the crock pot. This reminds me of 2 verses, Gen. 8:21 when Noah's sacrifice is a sweet smell to God and gives Him glory. It also brought Paul's 2 Cor. 2:15 when Paul describes us as the aroma of Christ to God. This means our lives should be a sweet smelling life pleasing to God. A life that is like a crock pot, slow cooking pot of glory to the King. Yes, simple fast quick acts can bring praise to God and give Him glory, but I find that a life slowly building, simmer with spice's of praise added to the life can give God a life more pleasing and honoring to Him.
When was the last time we thought about the life of a lover of Jesus as a crock pot; simmering and building with great smelling praise and glory to God?
First, I believe this line is a good description of what not only the works of God should do to us but also the words of God. I find in my life that the Bible has more of a crock pot effect on me rather than the microwave effect. When I open the Bible and simmer over a passage or truth and let it sink into my life, it seems to have a greater impact. Yes, the Bible can have an instant impact when I read it for the first time in a long time, but a deeper and longer eternal impact seems to happen when it has time to sink deep and fill me up with the flavor of God and His words. I find to when I focus my devotions on a single passage for 20 minutes rather than read a whole set of verses in 20 minutes, the time is more meaningful and God speaks softly and clearer to me. Not to say that reading the Bible through is bad, I believe it has many benefits that I do not want to explore at this time, but when was the last time we sat and simmered over a single passage and let it resonate in our hearts and minds.
The idea of God's work in our lives is a crock pot reminded me of the smell of the crock pot when I get home from work and my beloved has made a beef roast in it all day. I love the sweet smelling aroma when there is something cooking and simmering in the crock pot. This reminds me of 2 verses, Gen. 8:21 when Noah's sacrifice is a sweet smell to God and gives Him glory. It also brought Paul's 2 Cor. 2:15 when Paul describes us as the aroma of Christ to God. This means our lives should be a sweet smelling life pleasing to God. A life that is like a crock pot, slow cooking pot of glory to the King. Yes, simple fast quick acts can bring praise to God and give Him glory, but I find that a life slowly building, simmer with spice's of praise added to the life can give God a life more pleasing and honoring to Him.
When was the last time we thought about the life of a lover of Jesus as a crock pot; simmering and building with great smelling praise and glory to God?
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