Adam's Studies

Talk 3 The Lord our Banner, Exodus 4- 17

2009-10-08T10:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3LQYKjssRg

How to Win Friends and Influence People
In Dale Carnegie’s famous book, ‘How to win friends and Influence people’, which sold 15 million copies, he says:

Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. The information we are imparting or the request we are making, takes on a special importance when we approach the situation with the name of the individual.

A lot is in a name. Names can have little meaning and reveal little about who the person is or a name can be important and reveal something about the person. God had names. Not just one but many and each one of God's names tells us something about his character, something about God that we can depend on, that we can take to the bank and build our life on. And each one of his names is revealed in a classic story found in the Older Testament.

Jesus prayed for us to know God more in John 17:3 when he said,

“Now this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Eternal life, Jesus said, is not just about living forever. Eternal life is about enjoying a deep relationship with the God of the universe right here and now right as well. This is the kind of relationship that will go on forever and grow the more we know him, not just in our heads but in our lives and experiences as well.

So the name we are going to look at today is

Jehova Nissi or The LORD is My Banner.

And we find this name in Exodus 17 after Israel’s battle against the Amelakites.

A few weeks ago, you might remember, that Dom talked about us and our stories all being a part of this big story, this larger story of God and I think if we are to get the most out of this name and this passage we need to look at where this falls in the bigger story of God.

So to start of with Let’s take a look at Exodus 4 where we begin our journey today with Moses at the burning bush.

2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.

3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you."

6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, [a] like snow.

7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

8 Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.

So here we see the introduction to “the staff” that we will see later on in the story. We can tell it’s just a regular staff because Moses had been carrying it around with him like normal. But God says that he will use both the staff and the hand of Moses to help the people to believe. They will be signs that point to God.

Then the story moves into the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and from slavery. God performs miracles to prove to the people who will not believe that He is God. And he finishes with the Passover where the blood of the lamb is put on the doors of the Israelites in to save them from death and pass over them. This is ties in with the bigger story because of Jesus’ blood that saves us from eternal death. But that is a bigger story and we need to move quickly.

So let’s jump ahead to Exodus 14:12 where we see Moses leading the people of Israel out of Egypt and they are being pursued by Pharaoh and his army and would surely die or be brought back to slavery if God does not intervene.

11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

And that is what happened. So we see the Israelites getting mad at Moses and then Moses revealing his trust in God, he says the LORD will fight for you, it’s a matter of what God can do and not what you can do. And then we see God act mightily. We see the staff raised and the hand stretched out as signs so that the people will believe and then God acts by parting the see and bringing the Israelites out of slavery and into their journey to the Promised Land.

And in Exodus 15 Moses writes a song in remembrance of God’s salvation of them from Egypt. He says that God is his strength and song and salvation.

Then the journey continues onto Marah. They travel south through what is modern day saudi Arabia through the desert. They travel for three days until they start to get upset.

24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"

25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. 26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

We see the people grumble against Moses because of their present circumstances. Then Moses cries out to the LORD. God tells responds and calls Moses to do something. In this case throw a tree in the water(probably as a sign). It didn’t make sense except that God said to do it. So Moses acted on faith and did what God asked him to do and God displays his mighty power in this world by turning the bitter waters sweet. And we see the LORD get a new name, “The LORD Who Heals You.” God does this miracle in response to their cries but we find out that they were only a short journey away from a place called Elim that had 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. It sounds like a paradise. So God had good things planned for them if they could have only waited.

On to Exodus 16, just one chapter away.

2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." …

8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD." …

11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' "

So God does another amazing miracle as a sign to the people so that they will trust Him. And to glorify his name so that people will know who he is, this God Almighty who heals and saves. For after all how can they come to him if they don’t know who he is. Why would they cry out to him or pray to him if they didn’t believe he could help them and save them.

So this is where the story picks up in Exodus 17. The Israelites have been traveling through the desert for about a month now. And each day God rains down 2 million people’s worth of bread or manna for them and supplies them with water. He has been guiding them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He has released them from slavery in Egypt and they are just about to receive the Ten Commandments and are on their way to the Promised Land.

One would think that these signs and miracles would be enough for the people to trust him by now, after all it’s only been a month. But as we’ll see, they continue to doubt that God is with them even after all this.

Hopefully you have been seeing a pattern develop by now.

2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"

So, hopefully you are seeing a pattern develop here. This isn’t the first time that the people grumbled and quarreled. It seems to be their auto pilot for whenever something goes wrong. Their first reaction is to quarrel and grumble.

I think we all have patterns that we fall into. The circumstances change but the pattern remains the same. How often do we get so focused on our present circumstances that we forget where we are in God’s story. All that he has done in the big story and in our story. And we lose sight of all that He has promised us. They were on their way into the promised land and just under Mt Sinai. God had great things planned for them but they did not want to walk through the valley of the shadow of death to get to the green pastures.

I believe that God has big things planned for us too. He does not what us to live lives of colorless dreams and dwarfed goals. He wants us to have life to the full. To live in the Promised Land.

One of my negative patterns is to care too much about being right. And I would rather be right than to trust God. There are times where I know that proving my rightness will not make a difference and that God is asking me to let it go. He’s saying that you should trust me because I love them more than you do and that the way to love them is not by showing them how wrong they are. It’s by trusting me.

We have been learning more and more about the way that these negative patterns effect us and are even passed down generationally if they are not broken. Moses says something in verse seven that show us one piece in breaking patterns.

7And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Moses identifies the problem. He brings it to the awareness of the people. He says that you have been testing God and are always quarreling and names the place after these two attributes of the Israelites. Awareness is important. Whenever they recount their journey they will use those names and be reminded of the pattern of quarreling and testing that they had.

If we look ahead in the story all the way to the new testament Paul talks about patterns in Romans 12

2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Don’t give into these destructive patterns. Patterns of sin, of waste, of hum drum lives. But how can we do that?

4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."

Moses cries out to the LORD. He goes to God. Moses knows what the situation is and is looking at it realistically and brings it before God. He prays. Moses knows that God has the power to transform lives and trusts him.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Ephesians 3

And in our story today I know that is true. I’ve experienced God’s power at work in my life. Creation, cigarettes, God’s love, lord and savior, change was real. Took a physical addiction I had and took it away from me without ever even knowing it until later. I was under the banner of love

5 The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah [a] and Meribah [b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

God calls Moses to do something.

Then Moses responds in faith with by obeying God and striking the stone. Sometimes we can’t understand where God is going with something and sometimes he answers our prayers in different ways than we expect but the LORD is with us. He has done amazing thing in his written story that we are going through and he has done amazing things in our times today. I have friends who have spoken foreign languages with out knowing them, been cured of cancer, had changed lives, unnoticeable influence of God is all around us. Just need to look for it.

The the Israelites get sneek attacked by the Amalekites. The would kill those who were at the back, the young and old and weak. Isreal has never been in a battle yet. This is an unprovoked attack.

So Moses comes up with a plan- Joshua you go fight and I’ll go up on the hill and pray.

So what happens, They go out to the battle and every time Moses’ hands are lifted up to heaven in prayer the Israelites win. And every time they drop the Amakekites win.

This illustrates how it is God and not man who wins our battles. It is God who saves. He wanted them to know that it was not just chance that they won the battle. It was because of God’s intervention. Because of Moses prayers.

Joshua, whose name means, “Jehovah is his helper, or Jehovah the savior” Which is interesting because even his name acknowledges that it is God who saves, who gets them out of this mess or this battle and not man alone. What battles are you fighting?

Now, our fight is not against swords or flesh and blood enemies. But our fight is in the spiritual realm.

Lots of the time we think we can have a spiritual life and a family life and a work life, a financial life and a nutritional way, emotional way. But these things are not isolated from each other. All of life intermingles. If we have not money we may not be able to eat well. If we never exercise we may find that our spiritual life is less zealous. Body is a temple. Believe it or not how we spend our money is a spiritual matter as well as a financial one. The way we lead our spiritual life will directly effect how every other area in our lives are lived and vise versa.

So we have many battles of our own and most of them are within us or with in relationships in our lives. Are we trying to make take on these battles by ourselves without God or are we relying on the power of God to win the battle.

The trouble is that so often we listen to the call that God gives us and we stay in the land of comfort or in the land of slavery. Are we leading lives of colorless dreams, of dwarfed goals, of smooth knees, of sight walking, of tamed visions? Or are we living under the wild banner of God, being stretched to live the full lives that God has promised who follow him.

Moses says

So my question to leave you with is what banner are you living under? Do you walk under the banner of self, or commercialism or money or looks. Are we living what I like to call sanitized lives under the banner of safety, do we live under the banner of grumbling? Or do we look to Jesus who is both lord and savior, our Joshua who fights the battle and our Moses who intercedes on our behalf. Or are you living under the banner of the Mighty God, LORD of love, the God of healing the LORD our banner?

Let’s pray.

August 30: Talk on Transiton, Grief and Loss

2009-08-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I am glad that tonight I have the chance to share with you about and transition, grief and loss. In an international community like this we experience all sorts of transitions. Even more than in other types of community. And tonight I will share with you about the biblical grieving model that we talked about in our CA staff conference this past week in Portugal. It is different from the world’s way of doing grief. These four pieces to the grieving process are not just necessary for the loss of a loved one in death. They are relevant every time we experience a transition because every time we have a change of seasons in our lives we must leave behind the past season and our life as we once new it to embrace the current season we are in; loss and all.

Sometimes we are unaware of how these changes affect us. Often the intellectual side knows it is ok to move on. It makes sense. But the emotional side of our brain operates on a different system and often doesn’t understand. We may feel betrayed or abandoned might need to forgive; even if we can see where someone is coming from.

I think it is important to talk about in the open and to share our common experiences.

It has been a challenge for me over the past three years to keep a soft heart in the middle of all the transition taking place around me an in my own world. It takes work to keep a soft heart soft. And look to make deep friendships with people without fear of the loss that will happen.

Some transitions happen to us but others are necessary changes that we make if we are to grow and challenge ourselves to live full lives. But no matter if we choose to make the transition or if it happens to us, along with transition always comes loss; a loss of what once was.
Unless we do this work together we will be unable to reach out to others and have soft hearts to make deep friendships.

The world has a certain way of handling loss and it was studied by Kubler- Ross. And they came up with five stages of the way we handle loss. I will say right away that three of these are not included in the biblical model for handling loss.
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Depression
4. Bargaining
5. Acceptance
Denial, Anger and Bargaining all come from a false perspective on life.
They are all valid emotions that need to be brought out into the light with God and not stuffed but they are not all useful in dealing with reality of the situation.

These false perspectives come form our ideas of “the way things should be”. But do not stop to look at the reality of the situation to see that loss happens all the time in our broken world. We live in a broken world ever since the fall in the garden. We have no guarantee that things will happen the way we want them to. In fact Jesus tells us the opposite is true. He say,
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33
He says that troubles will happen. We are not exempt from them. But he will be with us in the troubles and promises us the peace of knowing that there is a life in a better world after this one to come.

When we come with this perspective we won’t be surprised when things don’t happen the way that we want them to. So the Bible’s response to loss starts with
Acceptance
We believe that God is just and good and that He does not allow worthless things to happen.

When we start with acceptance Psalm 90 tells us it brings us a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90 vs 12 talks about our awareness of death.
“So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

Not all of our awareness of loss is about death but each thing we lose is a type of death. When we have awareness we know to “teach us to number our days in _____ ex this job, or with this friend, or in this home. We know that they are not meant to last as they are forever. The problem comes when we watch movies that tell us we should die at the exact same time as our spouse or when we get thoughts that we will always have this car just as nice as it is now etc..
We start to construct Idols when we believe that life is other than it really is. An idol is some distortion designed to exempt us from facing truths.

When we hold on too tightly to anything other than God (like the things we filled into the blank above) we make an idol of it. Even good things like family or jobs can become an idol when we place undue weight on them and are not willing to give them up when God calls us to.

I think that when God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he was preventing Abraham from making Isaac into an idol. He had anticipated this promised son for so long and with such great longing that when he received him as God promised there was the danger that Abraham would put more value on who God gave him that on God himself and whenever we put someone or something above God we are creating an idol. God wanted the willingness on Abraham’s part for him to sacrifice Isaac for God. When God saw that Abraham was willing to sacrifice even his only son he knew that Abraham worshiped Him alone. God won’t always call us to sacrifice what is most important to us, in fact He usually doesn’t, but when we are unwilling to sacrifice something we have made an idol of it.

When this experience was done Abraham experienced freedom and blessing that would not be possible otherwise (if he had held on to his idol). When we are not dismantling an idol we can start at acceptance and skip the steps of anger and depression and bargaining.

Sorrow
Jesus was a man of sorrows. Let’s look at John 12:35 It’s about as short of a verse as you can get. Two words.
“Jesus wept.”
Jesus was deeply moved over the loss of his friend Lazarus. And Ecc. Shows that wisdom starts in sorrow. It is beneficial to give us a proper perspective on our fallen world. We know that things aren’t the way that God says they should be.

But Matthew 5:4 Jesus say that those who mourn will be comforted. Grief and morning give us access to comfort and freedom. We can find healing in Christ.

Unhealthy families pretend like nothing happened but healthy families process grief together. They bring it out into the light and are not afraid to talk about it.
Let’s take a look at acts 20:36-38 where Paul is leaving the Ephesians church.
“When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.”
Paul and his church do not shake hands stoically or stuff down all of their emotions. They don’t vent every thought either but they do weep together and pray together and kiss goodbye. They grieve the fact that they will never see Paul again openly and they are aware that this is for real. They don’t live under the illusion that things will be the same, denying the reality of the situation. They don’t bargain with God or get angry with God or each other. They pray to God. They embrace each other and accept the transition and change with grief.

Thankfulness
Thankfulness is the source of relief for grief.
A man who had gone through a very deep loss explains gratefulness in this way. “If all is of grace and nothing is earned and all we have has been given to us by God” than the only appropriate response is thanks.
“All that we have we have received from God” 1 Cor. 4:7
Can we be thankful for the people and things that God put into our lives to color our lives forever? thankful for what they brought you and what they left with you. Thankful that God has used this to shape my soul (loss included- God doesn't allow worthless things to happen). God redeems them.
Ex chris- very impacted by this. Never gave thanks that these people were in his life.
We need to be able to lead our hearts with truth.

Hope
In 1Thessalonians 4 Paul tells believers that “We are not to grieve as the world grieves, as those who have no hope. “Be joyful in hope” Romans 12:12a
Hope leads to joy. Joy is different from happiness. Joy is not contingent on outside circumstances but on hope. Our hope is not in things seen but in eternal things, which are things unseen.
Jesus says in John 11:24-26
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

I like that.
We have hope that Jesus will resurrect thing not only in the next life at the last day but also in this life.

Should not rush these stages. Should not ignore them either.

Nothing we do for God will be wasted. God wastes no investment of yours. So be fully present no matter what circumstance you are in or how long you have because it all counts for something. Each bit of love that we give out matters to God.

My heart behind all this is to ask you to continue to make deep relationships constantly. Don’t be afraid of the pain and loss that may accompany them. Grief is the price of love but surely it is “better to have loved and lost _____________than never to have loved at all.”

We are two weeks away from Rentree and I guess that makes this the last service of this past year and we are about to embark on a new journey and write a new story of ICCP for the coming 50 weeks. By the next time we walk through these doors on Sept 20th a lot will have changed in most of our worlds. School will be in full swing, vacations will be over, new lives will have started. My hope is that we move, fully present and hope filled into this next season as a church. That we will have been able to grieve properly our past season of life. In order for us to welcome in the new people in our lives, the new friends in our lives, the new teachers in our lives- and the new season in our life.

Reflection questions to go with the themed songs

1) Awareness:
Lord teach me to number our days in___________, That I may present to You a heart of wisdom

2) Sorrow:
What change have you experienced that you need to grieve?

3) Thankfulness:
What or who have you lost that you are thankful that God put into your life?

3) Hope:
Q What is your hope for ICCP. Please share it with us by placing it on the back of the blue card.

On the Leaf:
“ Our natural tendency is to live in the past or in the future and avoid the responsibility necessary to live in the moment. I would argue that all three seasons are needed for us to confront reality. There are some who live in the moment without responsibility for the consequences that the past and future demand, while others avoid the moment by worrying and regretting what has happened or might happen.” Hud McW

Leaf:
Q What has God taught you in the present or past season of life? How did you grow?
Q How can God use you in this next season?

Adam's talk at ICCP- July 19, 2009, Solitude to Community to Ministry from Nouwen

2009-08-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, Thanks for giving me the chance to speak with you tonight.
I have to confess that I’m always a little bit nervous to be up front like this,
But what I’m hoping for, is that this will be a little something like karaoke.
Because I’m always nervous before I go up to do some Karaoke but as soon as the first song is over I’m usually left thinking ‘Is that it?” “What’s next?”

For example… We had an amazing kid’s camp last week that fortunately for me, did include some karaoke.
And I knew that I was going to get called up to stage to do some ipod idol for counselor games. For those of you who don’t know what ipod idol is, it is when you are given a song to sing on the ipod and the catch is that the ipod is turned up loud enough that you can’t hear yourself and the audience is left with bad vocals with no accompaniment.

Even though I’ve made a fool of myself in this exact same way several times before I was nervous before I went up on stage. Then I walked up there and got up on stage and as I looked over the faces in the audience , God reminded me that it wasn’t about me. It’s about him. It’s about Jesus.

So… I won my karaoke contest. (sorry Tasha)
But that’s not what’s important.

What was more important were the lessons we took away from kids camp. The kids’ camp talks were based around four important ideas that are applicable to kids and adults alike. And they are (say it with me)

God loves us
God is with us
God can use us
And God is sending us.

The order is important here. We can not move on to the second two without knowing the first two. God using us and sending us are rooted in knowing we are loved by God and that he is with us.

And these four thoughts that we took out of kids camp reminded me of an article that I read a few years back by Henri Nouwen called “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry” And over the years the ideas behind this article have greatly impacted me.

So that is what I would like to share with you tonight.

And this article is rooted in a scripture verse in Luke, so let’s take a look at Luke 6:12-19.

“12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil[a] spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.”

This is a beautiful story that moves from night where Jesus spent the night in solitude with the Father
To morning where he gathered his apostles around him and formed community
To afternoon when Jesus went out with his apostles and preached the word and healed the sick.

Notice the order here:
From solitude to community to ministry

So often in life we want to do things by ourselves. To be independent.
If that doesn’t work we go to other people looking for the community to help us.
And if that doesn’t work, maybe then we’ll start praying.

But the order that Jesus teaches us is the reverse.
-It begins by being with God
-Then moves into fellowship
-And finally this ‘community of people with whom the mission is being lived’ go out together to heal and proclaim the good news.

A note here is that when Henri Nouwen talks about healing he is not just talking about physical healing. But about emotional healing, spiritual healing, relational healing, healing of our thoughts, and our way of life.

So why is it so important that you spend time alone with God?
It’s important because it’s the place where you can listen to the voice of the one who calls you ‘beloved’. In prayer we let that voice speak to the center of our being, to our guts, and let that voice resound in our selves.

There are many other voices speaking loudly:
‘Prove that you are beloved’
‘Prove that you are worth something’
‘Prove that you have a contribution to make’
‘Do something relevant’
‘Be sure you make a name for yourself’
‘Get power’

Then people will love you. Then people will say that you’re wonderful, that you’re great.
These voices are strong in this world.
These were the voices that Jesus heard right after he hear ‘You are my beloved’ at his baptism when he was tempted in the desert. And Jesus said to the tempter ‘No I don’t have to prove anything because I know that I am already the beloved.’

Jesus lived as the beloved. And whether people were applauding him or laughing at him; calling "Hosanna!" or yelling to "Crucify him. Jesus knew that he was the beloved.

And in our lives, long before you were rejected by someone or praised by someone else God’s voice has been there saying ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’. And if you keep that in mind you can deal with an enormous amount of success as well as an enormous amount of failure without loosing your identity.

Jesus spent time alone with the Father. And we need to spend time alone with God. Listening to his voice too.

This is where we encounter the Lord of life.
We spend time with God first of all to be with him alone.
Our primary task is to keep the eyes of our mind and heart firmly fixed on Him. Time spent alone with God is where we develop our relationship with God. All relationships take time where we focus on the other person. God is with us always but he reveals himself to us in a special way when we focus our mind and our heart on him.

In the spiritual life, the word discipline means
"the effort to create some space in which God can act." Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you're not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn't planned or counted on.

In our quiet times with God we get rid of our scaffolding; no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, nothing to distract, just me- and God. We may find that in this empty quiet space worries of the day, strange images, and weird associations come to mind. We’ll start thinking about the phone call we need to make or the work assignment that you just figured out. And all these thoughts jump about, as Henri Nouwen puts it, “like monkeys in a banana tree.”

It's not easy to sit and trust that in solitude God will speak to you— not as a magical voice but that he will let you know something gradually over the years.

It is right in the middle of our struggle with our worldly self that God comes to us.
He is beside us in all of it. God is with us.

As we come to realize that we are connected with the same Christ who died so that we could be restored to himself and that he loves us so much that he lives in us, then we can take off our masks, and begin to experience freedom as God’s beloved children. We have freedom to be molded into Christ's image, freedom to mature in him, freedom to love and freedom from sin. . And It is only in Christ's grace and unconditional love that we can face our sin, show our wounds, and face our true self.

This type of encounter challenges us to hide nothing from God and to surrender ourselves unconditionally to his mercy.
“In doing this we will unmask many illusions about ourselves and about God and we will be led into the true relationship we are purposed to have with God.”

Time spend alone with God is a time of
Purification and
transformation,
It’s a place of struggle,
and of and encounter with the Lord.
This time is not only a means to an end. It's ends are met within it.
It is the place where Christ transforms us into his image and frees us from false desires. It’s a place of salvation.

We can come in with a heart of stone and that can be turned into a heart of flesh. A rebellious heart can be turned into a contrite heart. A closed heart can open itself up.

A whole new self can grow when we have a loving encounter with Jesus.
Time spent with God will renew our minds as well as descend slowly from the mind to the heart.
“The crisis our time (in scripture and prayer) is that our minds are filled with the ideas of God while our hearts remain far from him.”
The heart is the central unifying piece of our personal life where we are totally one with no divisions. It is the seat of our personality and it is where Christ dwells in us

So what does this mean in our daily lives?
The very first thing we need to do is set apart a time and place to be with God and him alone. The concrete shape of this discipline of solitude will be different for each person but will not remain vague or general. It must be as concrete and specific as daily life is.

Before I moved to France I was much more dependant on my friends to fulfill me, to affirm me, to give me worth and feed me spiritually. I have to confess that I did not spend a lot of time alone with God. So I found myself running around from person to person asking them to fulfill me.
But when we moved to France we left all those friends behind as well as our families and church and jobs and anything else that gave us roots or security. I had to depend on God more because He was all I had to look to. Everyone else was new. But sometime the times that are the most difficult can be the most rewarding. God worked in me to satisfy my soul and find my true identity in him like never before.

I see it like a prism. When the people we know are connecting with God they shine in God’s light, but it is filtered light, like through a prism. Some giving off red light others blue others yellow, so we run around trying to gather all that we need from the people around us. But this is impossible. We will never have enough time or energy to gather all the encouragement and kindness and love and patience that we need to be full.

But when we come to God, the source of all light, we receive pure white light. And within white light there are all the colors of the rainbow. All that we need to be satisfied. There’s every color of the spectrum. And in just a short time each day of that pure God light we can be satisfied.

Solitude is where spiritual ministry begins. That's where Jesus listened to God. That's where we listen to God. Because without time spent with God we will look to others begging for affirmation, praise or success. And then we are not free.

Community

It's in that communion with God, that we discover the call to community. It's remarkable that solitude Will always call us out to other people to live life together.

And by community we are talking about families, friends, churches, prayer groups.
By community we are not talking about an organization; community is a way of living:

Community is not easy. Somebody once said, "Community is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives." In Jesus' community one of twelve apostles betrays him.

Why is it so important that solitude come before community? This is a quote that I’d like you to reflect on:
‘If we do not know we are the beloved sons and daughters of God, we're going to expect someone in the community to make us feel that way. They cannot. We'll expect someone to give us that perfect, unconditional love. But community is not loneliness grabbing onto loneliness: "I'm so lonely, and you're so lonely.’ It's beloved grabbing onto beloved.

Sometimes you are close, and that's wonderful. Sometimes you don't feel much love, and that's hard. But we can be faithful. We can create a space for God to move and for his children.

I once had a conversation with someone who was about to leave France. I asked this person what their initial impressions of some people were, expecting to hear good thing, but what came out was a lot of judgment and negativity. This person had been going through a big life change and this caused increased judgment of others.

Fortunately when we moved to the next question of ‘What will you take back with you?’ This person answered ‘Community’. They had made a commitment to community and despite their initial reactions they stuck with it. And in the end it was the main thing that they will take home with them.

Why this is so important to us here at ICCP is that so many of us are in this same place of being uprooted from our worlds and placed in a totally new culture, school, language, church, group of friends, world. And along with this can come increased insecurities and fears or increased judgment like in the case of this friend that I had mentioned. So the importance of commitment to community is really heightened.

I have found that the same people that may not connect with you at first can become the closest to you. In times of change like this God opens up our minds to not just seek out people who are just like me but to look to people who are different from us to draw into community with. And God will teach us much more about life and ourselves and himself through these type of relationships than he even does with the types of safe relationships we seek out.

Key pieces of a healthy community are forgiveness and celebration.

What is forgiveness? Forgiveness allows the other person not to be God. Forgiveness says, "I know you love me, but you don't have to love me unconditionally, because no human being can do that."

If we want other people to give us something that only God can give, we act wickedly and before we know it we become demanding or manipulative or violent.

To forgive other people for being able to give you only a little love—that's a hard discipline.
To keep asking others for forgiveness because you can give only a little love—that's a hard discipline too.
It hurts to say to your spouse or to your friends, that you cannot give them all that you would like to give. But this is where community starts to be created,

True life in Christ is lived in this way. Through confession, the dark powers are taken out of their fleshy isolation, brought into the light, and made visible.
There is nothing we should not bring into God’s light. There is nothing too ugly or damaging for us to bring before God. When things remain in darkness we will not be healed but in the light there is hope and forgiveness. Through forgiveness, these things are disarmed and put away with and a new freedom is made possible."

This is where celebration comes in because If you can forgive that another person cannot give you what only God can give, then you can celebrate that person's gifts.

We start to see the love that person is giving us as a reflection of God's great unconditional love.
"Love one another because I have loved you first."
When we know that is God’s love filtering through the people around us, we can start to see that their love is the reflection of his. And we can celebrate that and say, "How beautiful!"

Ministry

That leads us onto ministry.

All followers of Jesus are called to ministry.
Ministry is not, first of all, something that you do (although it calls you to do many things). Ministry is life style. If you receive God’s love and remember his first commandment, to love God with our whole heart and mind and strength and will and soul and all of us. And to love others. And if you keep forgiving those that you formed community and keep celebrate their gifts, you can’t do anything but minister. God will work in lives of those around you and the kingdom will grow and expand.

Gratitude and compassion are two key elements of ministry.

Gratitude- Healing happens by leading people into gratitude. The world is full of resentment. We say “This isn’t the way I want things." As time passes, there are more and more things we become negative about, and soon we can become resentful people.

Resentment makes you hold onto your failures or disappointments. Then we complain about the losses in your life. Life is full of losses— losses of dreams ,friends ,family ,hopes. So we want to respond to these incredible pains with resentment. It’s resentment that gives us a hardened heart.

But Jesus calls us to gratitude. He says, "Didn't you know that we have to suffer to enter into the glory? He compares the pain to labor pains. that lead you to the joy.

How much can you be grateful for?
Can you be grateful for everything that has happened in your life?—not just the good things but everything?
It was Jesus’ pains that led us into a restored relationship with God

In ministry we help others to let go of the resentment, to discover that right in the middle of pain there is a blessing. Right in the middle of your tears—that's where the dance starts and joy is first felt.

In this upside-down world, there's an enormous distinction between good times and bad, between sorrow and joy. But in the eyes of God, they're never separated. Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom.

Jesus says, "Cry over your pains,and you will discover that I'm right there in your tears, and you will be grateful for my presence in your weakness."

To minister, you have to be where the pain is. Sometimes that pain is hidden in a person who from the outside might look painless or successful. In Aix there are a lot of people like this, who look fine from the outside but are full of pain and loneliness on the inside.

We are sent to wherever there is poverty, loneliness, and suffering. Sometimes this is physical poverty and other times it is spiritual or emotional poverty but we must be with the people.
If we look back to our four ideas from kids camp #2 is that ‘God is with us.’ He is with us in the pain and in the joy and he is calling us to be with the people we minister to. Not separate.

“Somehow we have come to believe that good leadership requires a safe distance from those we are called to lead... But how can we lay down our life for those with whom we are not even allowed to enter into a deep personal relationship? Laying down your life means making your own faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of life. The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.”

God is with us
God is calling us

But don't be afraid. Don't say, "I can't do that." God can use us. Even in the midst of our brokenness and imperfections.

The people the have ministered most to me in my life were not perfect people, but people who loved God the most and were not afraid to be with me in my struggles and in my celebrations.

What counts in your life and mine is not successes but fruits. The fruits of your life you might not see yourself but we can trust that they are there. The fruit of your life are born often in your pain and your vulnerability and in your losses.

Solitude, community, ministry— these disciplines help us live a fruitful life. Remain in Jesus; he remains in you. You will bear many fruits, you will have great joy, and your joy will be complete.

Let’s pray together.

May we walk in the light of your life all the days of our lives and dwell in the house of the lord forever.

Based on Henri Nouwen's 'Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry'
'Way of the Heart'
'In the Name of Jesus'

Conflict, Anger, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

2008-12-06T02:14:00.000-08:00

Nine Steps to Conflict Resolution

Matthew 18:15, "If your brother or sister sins against you, go and show them their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over."

This one statement of Jesus is the key to resolving conflict in any human relationship. The manual for conflict resolution is right here and it's found in seven simple steps, easy enough for a child to follow. Instead of show and tell, it's go and tell. Go and tell the person who hurt you and make it right.

Sounds simple, doesn't it. The problem is we so often don't do it. We tell everybody but the person who hurt us. In fact, this one verse may be the single most violated command that Jesus ever gave. Why? Because at each point we face a crossroads. At each step there are powerful reasons to ignore Jesus and go the other way. So let's walk through the steps one at a time.

Step one is acknowledge the conflict.

Jesus says if your brother or sister sins against you , but we could probably replace it with when your brother or sister sins against you because to be alive means to be in conflict. It's part of the Dance of the Porcupines. It's part of being slightly irregular, "as is" human beings. People aren't normal, but conflict is.

The first step sounds simple enough, acknowledge the conflict. But here's the first crossroad. Most of us would rather pretend that there is no conflict, that the conflict doesn't exist. Sometimes we think that lack of conflict is a sign of spiritual maturity, when really it could be a sign of denial or even apathy in a relationship. So when we're confronted we might say things like, "What's the big deal? Can't you take a joke? I was only kidding." And when we do that we can totally invalidate the person who wants to talk about the hurt.

So the place to start is to honestly admit that there is unresolved conflict that needs to be dealt with. There's been a relational meltdown that needs to be addressed. If we're going to live life in healthy community, un-addressed and unresolved conflict is not an option.

Step two is to own the responsibility of dealing with it.

The word Jesus uses is you not the other person. He calls on every one of us to own the job of conflict resolution, which often brings us to another crossroads.

We don't want to do it. Instead, we want the person who hurt us to make the first move. "It's not fair that I should have to take the first step, I didn't hurt them. They hurt me."

In Matthew 18 the issue is going to the person who has hurt us, but in Matthew 5 Jesus says we need to go to a person if we realize we have hurt them. Matthew 5:23-24, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

You see, either way the first move is always ours. In fact, Jesus says it's more important to make a relationship right than it is to go to church. It's the most spiritual thing we can do. There is no hidden Bible verse that says wait for them to come to us. Jesus puts the burden on us in both cases. If we've done something wrong, take the first step. If the other person has done something wrong, we still take the first step.

Why? Because porcupines are stubborn, prickly little creatures. Because there's a surplus of stone throwers and a deficit of peacemakers in this world. And because people who value community are people who own the responsibility to deal with relational breakdown.

Soul work

Part of owning responsibility to deal with the conflict is to forgive the other person as we have been forgiven. Reconciliation and restoration takes work from both parties, forgiveness is something that is ours to give with Christ’s help.
(See the Forgiveness section below at the bottom for what forgiveness is and what it is not.)

Identifying the Log
· Not a superficial exercise, just to gain a better hearing
· Ask God to help you search your heart, thoughts and ways
· Take your ego and subjectivity out of the situation; instead take an objective look at the situation, yourself, and the other person.

Ask yourself ‘Why’ Questions
· Why did this make me angry?
· Why do I find this so hurtful?
· Why am I fearful?

Reflect on your
· Words
· Actions
· Attitudes
· Interpretations
· Motives

Take out the Trash
David in the midst of his anger over his enemies says to the LORD in Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

In the middle of our most difficult situations is the best time to grow. (Plants grow fastest in manure) Use this opportunity to ‘take out the trash’ by asking these kind of soul probing questions.
Don’t settle for easy answers: drill down to the hear-level
(FFS see Hud’s Developmental Model section 4.)

Having recognized what the log is, we must now take action to remove it.
· Confess faults to God
· Ask God to help us with insecurities, sin and maturity issues
· Identify the lies we believed
· Receive His forgiveness
· Repent with God’s help
· Acknowledge your part to the other person.

Step three is forgiveness

What forgiveness is ...

o Forgiveness begins when we give up the right to get even.

This is where you need to think about your personal situation. Who is it that you want to pay? Who is it that you want to punish? Who is it that you think about and dream of all the ways their life could be as miserable as they have made yours?

My friend is tormented day and night by thoughts of his father. Somehow, he wants him to pay. I was not asking my friend to excuse his father. I was not asking my friend to forget all the horrible things his father had done to him. I was not asking him to reconcile with his father and put himself in a position where his father might try to hurt him again.

I was asking him to stop trying to get even. Vengeance by its nature is insatiable. I was inviting him to be free ...

Forgiveness involves a new way of seeing and feeling. When we have been hurt by another person we tend to stop seeing them as a person (objectifying) and rather only see the hurt.

o When we forgive we begin to look past the hurt and focus on the humanity of the one who hurt us.

We recognize that they do not live a perfect life ... they didn't have perfect parents ... they are lonely or hurting or weak just like me. But they are also created in the image of a God who loves them.

o Forgiveness progresses when you find yourself wishing the other person well.

No longer do you fantasize about the pain that you would wish upon their life. You begin to hope for good things for them. You desire the peace of God in their troubled life.

Why we forgive…

There's a story told of Leonardo da Vinci, the brilliant artist, who was working on his famous painting "The Last Supper" when he got angry with a certain man. In fact, at one point he was so angry that he lost his temper and lashed out at the person with some very bitter words. Later on when he returned to the canvas to continue painting he tried to work on the face of Jesus. But he was so upset that he just couldn't pull it together to do that. So finally he put down his brush and went out to find the man he had blasted and asked his forgiveness. He reconciled the relationship. The man forgave him and da Vinci was able to go back to his studio and finish painting the face of Jesus.

The Last Supper is a painting of the Lord's Table, the table that we're about to enjoy together. Does it bring to mind a relationship that needs to be reconciled? If it does, then you need to make it right quickly. It's hard to spend time with Jesus and stay angry very long. He's always nudging us towards reconciliation.

There are two ways to live with hurt: the way of vengeance and the way of forgiveness. The first way leads to death, and the second to life.

1. For our own sake
· Refusing to forgive will make our spirits bitter
· It is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die
· God commands us to forgive because He knows that no human beings are more miserable than the unforgiving.

2. For God’s sake
· Forgiveness is the very heart beat of God. It is His invention and the only hope for His romance with the human race. When we choose to forgive, we open the door to the miraculous. God is just waiting for us to express our faith and attempt the unimaginable.

· It is repeatedly commanded in scripture
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

· If we do not forgive we will not be forgiven
“But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:15

· If we do not forgive our prayers will be hindered.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:24-26

3. Restoring the relationship is impossible without forgiveness
· What interests do you share?

4.For the sake of the other person
“Look also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4
· What underlying interests does the other person have?

Three Things that Forgiveness is Not ...

1. Forgiveness is not the same thing as excusing.

If a little kid is staring at the cereal in the grocery store and runs into you, you don't need to forgive him ... you simply excuse him. He's a little kid. He's enamored by the cereal boxes. It's excusable behavior.

But when there is no good rationale to explain why someone did something to hurt you ... that is when forgiveness is required

2. Forgiveness is not forgetting.

We've all heard the saying forgive and forget. That might be possible when someone cuts you off in traffic. But it is impossible to forget when someone has deeply or repeatedly hurt us.

Forgiving is precisely what is required when we cannot forget.

3. Forgiving is not the same thing as reconciling.

I have a good friend who has always struggled with his father. I always just assumed it was because his father abandoned him and his mother and brothers and sisters ... leaving them in a very difficult situation to fend for themselves.

It wasn't until recent years that he confided in me that for years his father had physically abused him repeatedly in a tortuous, intimidating way. Nobody else in the family knew anything about it and if they did, they never did anything about it.

My friend is an adult now and still tormented by his feelings of hatred toward his father. One day we were talking about how difficult it is for him to get on with his life and I made the radical suggestion that he forgive his father.

I'll never forget the look of anguish that came over him as he shook his head from side to side and said over and over, "no, no, no!"

My friend thought that I was saying he needed to reconcile with his father. To run back to him and spend time with the man that struck terror into his heart. That is not forgiveness. Forgiveness only requires one human being. (forgiveness waits for reconciliation in my opinion. Waits for the other party to be ready) Reconciliation requires two willing parties both broken and sincerely sorry. So what does forgiveness involve?

How to forgive

· We must remember how much we have been forgiven.
Matthew 18:21-35- See the parable of the servant who was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents, but who refused to forgive a debtor who owed him one hundred denarii.
· It is an act of obedience and gratitude
· When we stop objectifying the other person and see them as imperfect but loved creations of God.

Step four is to decide if you will overlook the offence.

Overlooking is different from denial. When we deny we pretend there is no difficulty.

When we overlook we recognize the problem but determine that the best course of action is to choose to forgive the offence without even brining it to the attention of the offending party.

When is it wrong to overlook?
· When God is being publicly dishonored.
· When your relationship with the other party is damaged in some ongoing way.
· When people are hurt- yourself or others.
· When the offender is in spiritual or physical danger because of their offence.

Don’t “stuff” it

Some of us grew up in homes where anger was never acknowledged. The only way we dealt with anger was to "stuff" it. That was the case in my home. And when you grow up in a family like that you can think, "I should never experience anger. Anger means I'm a terrible person. Anger is bad."

But that's a lie. God gave us with the capacity to get angry. God gets angry from time to time. Psalm 30:5 says, For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.

Anger is like a smoke detector. It's good to have one on every floor of your house. When it beeps, it tells you that something's wrong. It's good to have smoke detectors. They can save your life. But it's not good to live with a smoke detector that's always beeping.

Anger is our God given smoke detector to warn us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Anger is meant to motivate us to do something. And this is what we're to do. Go to the person who has made us angry.

Step five is to cool down

Proverbs 14:17 says, People with a hot temper do foolish things. Wiser people remain calm. (GNB) You may need to buy some time just to allow the rpm's to slow down. That's okay. You may even want to do a self-check and ask yourself, "Why am I so angry? And what is it that I want that I'm not getting?"

Anger experts tell us that anger is not a primary emotion. Remember when you were in elementary school and learned about the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. All the other colors are made from a mixture of those three. Well in that same way, anger is not a primary emotion. It is a mixture of emotions, such as hurt, frustration, or fear. Those are often the feelings that are underneath the anger. We get angry after we first get hurt by someone or after we first get frustrated trying to accomplish a task or first feel afraid of someone or something.

But once we've cooled down and thought things through we need to "go." The apostle Paul wrote these words to a community that was facing conflict.
Ephesians 4:26,” In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” We need to address it as quickly as possible.

If you are uncertain of your feelings, how to respond, or where you were responsible in the conflict, it may be helpful to consider journaling or going to a close and trusted friend before you go to the offending party. This can help us to help you sort out the hurt or anger we feel as well as how to approach the person.

The crossroads here to gossip. Why? Because it's easier and frankly more fun to go to someone else and tear the other person apart. But when we do that we can just make things worse. That doesn't mean we should never talk about our anger. We all need a sounding board that can help us plan to resolve the conflict. But if we're going to a third person, it should be with the goal taking ownership or our own errors and moving towards the person who hurt us for reconciliation.

Step number six is to go to the person.

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Matthew 18:15

Not avoiding, but approaching the person with whom you have an issue. This is a huge step in the process and right here the battle is often won or lost. At this crossroads we wrestle with thoughts like, "Just forget it, it's not that big of a deal." "I don't want to make them feel bad." "What they did really shouldn't of hurt me anyway." "Who am I to confront them?" "It could cost the relationship." "What if they come at me with all I've done to hurt them?" "What difference will it make anyway?" The evil one loves to use these thoughts and ideas to sabotage community.

But Jesus says, go. Don't wait. We can't wait until we've rehearsed our speech perfectly. We may stutter and stammer all over the place. It's not important that we do it flawlessly. It's just important that we do it. Avoiding issues of hurt kills community and causes resentment to fester inside of us.

Step seven is to use sensitivity

Go in private. One on one. Just between the two of you, Jesus says. The crossroads here is the temptation to go and let them have it. Make 'em pay. Hurt them back. Embarrass them in front of an audience. But Jesus says, "No." Instead, approach them the same way you would want to be approached. Sensitivity is one of the most important parts of healthy anger management.

We don't go to blow off steam or get it off our chest or let it fly. According to Ortberg, (And Goleman) research done on anger management over several decades has failed to find a single study that demonstrates that catharsis, or letting your anger fly, is an effective way to manage anger. Instead, it just creates more anger inside us and in the person that we rage all over. The simplest guideline here is the golden rule: approach others the way that you would want them to approach you.

Step number eight is to communicate directly

Discuss the problem. Jesus says, Show them their fault. The temptation here is to beat around the bush and not be totally honest. Some of us around here talk about saying the last 10%. Often, after going through all the hard work of setting up a difficult conversation, we get afraid and we shrink back from saying the hardest but most important truth. We fail to say the very thing that caused us to meet in the first place, the last 10%. We get vague and fuzzy just when we need to be crystal clear.

Saying the last 10% sounds like this. "You weren't really listening to me which made me feel like I don't matter to you. That causes me to pull away in our relationship and I don't want that. I want us to connect more closely. That's why I was hurt." It's not easy to say that. But that's what Jesus means by showing them their fault.

Step number nine is the goal of conflict resolution and that is reconciliation and restoration.

If they listen to you, you have won them over. The goal is not to even the score or to make the other person pay or feel bad, it's to be reconciled to each other. Restoring the relationship is the goal of conflict resolution. Getting back into community is the aim. If it's not, all of the hard work is for nothing.

Reconciliation
· Reconciliation is when we are brought into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent. Brought back into relationship.
· Requires that the guilty party desires to be forgiven
· Involves acknowledgement of guilt
· Is a necessary preliminary to restoration

Restoration
· Restoration is the reestablishing of something that was taken away or lost.
· The restitution of the relationship; being brought into a right relationship.
· Involves both parties
· We may need to set boundaries
· May be gradual and conditional

If reconciliation does not work the first time...

You can try a third party
· Coaching- getting someone to help you to approach the situation better
· Mediation- asking someone to sit down with you and your friend to help you work out things together
· Arbitration- You and the other person agree to ask someone to decide about a tangible issue on which you cannot agree.

If they do not listen to you

In sin issues we add three other steps to this. If the person continues in sin after we talk to them personally we are to according to Matthew 18: 15-17…
“But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

1. Take one or two others along. If they refuse to listen…
2. Decide the issue within the church. If they refuse to listen…
3. Treat his as you would anyone who has rejected the way of Christ.

If things have worked out well

· Thank God together
· Get clear agreements on tangible issues
· Learn by reflecting on what has happened
· Seek accountability and growth

If things didn’t work out well

Reaffirm a Godly attitude
Recognize that deep problems may underline a conflict
You are responsible for your own actions, not theirs
Consider a degree of constructive separation
Pray that God will bless the other party

So those are nine simple steps in conflict resolution according to Jesus. That's what keeps a community healthy. But sometimes even conflict resolution doesn't work. Sometimes we need a miracle. And God created one. It's called forgiveness.

Reflection Questions

1. How did your family handle conflict when you were growing up?
2. What characterizes your approach to conflict?
-Avoid at all costs
-I can face it, but I don't like it
-A good argument every once in a while clears the air
-I do conflict recreationally
3. Pay attention to your anger and anxiety today. What triggers it? How do you handle it? Is it most often fed by hurt, by frustration, or by fear?
4. Are there any people in your life who tend to drag you in as a third party to a conflict where you should not be involved? How can you handle this?
5. Think of a person whose conflict management skills you admire. What makes him or her effective? Ask them how they became skilled at dealing with anger.
6. How are you doing at speaking the last 10%, and whom can you ask to hold you accountable to do it?
7. Is there any unresolved conflict in your life? If so, ruthlessly decide to seek and resolve it.

Sources:

John Ortberg
Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them
Bruce Carter
Finding the Love of Your Life
02/29/2004 Anger Management, Matthew 18:15

Our Spirit, Soul, and Physical Life

2008-12-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Our Spirit, Soul, and Physical Life
Pneuma is which is the rational and immortal soul; It is distinguished on the one hand from Psuche, the animal sentient (sentient- having the power of perception by the senses; conscious. Characterized by sensation and consciousness) principle only and on the other from zoe, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew ruwach, nephesh, and chay)

Pneuma (pnyoo'-mah) /Ruwach (roo'-akh)
spirit, ghost
From pneo; a current of air, i.e. Breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit -- ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind.

Psuche (psoo-khay')/ Nephesh (neh'-fesh)
soul, life, self
From psucho; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely -- heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

Zoe (dzo-ay') (Greek)/chay (khah'-ee)(Hebrew)
lifetime
From zao; life (literally or figuratively) --

Unconditional Worth in Christ

2008-12-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

We have unconditional worth as Christ's children.
When God says this is who we are but the world says something else don’t place your own opinion or other's opinions over God's.

Who I Am In Christ
I am accepted...
John 1:12
I am God's child.
John 15:15
As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1
I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17
I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27
I am a member of Christ's body.
Ephesians 1:3-8
I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10
I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16
I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I am secure...
Romans 8:1-2
I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28
I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39
I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4
I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6
I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20
I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7
I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant...
John 15:5
I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16
I am God's temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6
I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10
I am God's workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12
I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

In Christ...
I am a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Gal. 5:6; 6:15; Eph. 2:10).
I am a saint (1 Cor. 1:2).
I am a part of His Church (Eph. 2:21-22).
I am a temple for God's Spirit (Eph. 2:22).
I am in the eternal plan of God (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9).
I am complete and filled full with the fullness of Christ (Col. 2:9; and compare Col. 1:19).
I am enriched (1 Cor. 1:5).
I am accepted because God's favor has been poured out upon me (Eph. 1:6).
I am light (Eph. 5:8).
I am secure in the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39).
I am established, rooted and built up (2 Cor. 1:21; Col. 2:7).
I am circumcised inwardly (Col. 2:11).
I am near to the heart of God (Eph. 2:13).

WHAT DO I HAVE? WHAT DO I POSSESS?

IN CHRIST...
I have every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).
I have eternal life, an eternal relationship with God (1 John 5:11; 1 Cor. 15:22 and Romans 6:23 where "through" could be translated "in").
I have a glorious salvation (2 Tim. 2:10).
I have a rich inheritance (Eph. 1:4; cf. 1 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:17).
I have a glorious future (Eph. 1:4-5).
I have a heavenly position—seated with Him! (Eph. 2:6).
I have a high calling (Phil. 3:14).
I have the hope of eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:10 where "by" = "in").
I have God's perfect righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 1:30; 6:11).
I have sanctification or holiness (1 Cor. 1:2; 1:30; 6:11).
I have God's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30; cf. Col. 2:3 and 1 Cor. 2:16).
I have redemption or freedom from bondage (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 1:30).
I have security (Rom. 8:1).
I have complete forgiveness (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Cor. 6:11--"washed").

PRACTICAL MATTERS
IN CHRIST...
I walk and live (Col. 2:6).
I stand fast and firm (Phil. 4:1).
I have constant victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
I am fruitful (1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 2:10).
I can do all things (Phil. 4:13).
I can draw near to God (Eph. 2:13,18).
I have all that I need; every need is supplied (Phil. 4:19 "by"="in").
I can rejoice always (Phil. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:8).
I have a purifying hope (1 John 3:3).
I am strong (2 Tim. 2:1; Eph. 6:10).
I am faithful (Eph. 1:1).
I have faith and love (1 Tim. 1:13).
I can be mature (Col. 1:28).

What Only God Can Do and My Part Too

2008-12-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Sacred Rhythms

Spiritual transformation is full of mystery. We can be open to it but we can not accomplish it for ourselves. It can be grasped only through divine revelation and brought about by divine activity. This kind of change is something only God can do. I can not transform myself.

What I can do is create the conditions in which spiritual transformation can take place, by developing and maintaining a rhythm of spiritual practices that keep me open and available to God. We can create space in our lives for God to move. We can choose a way of life that opens us up to the presence of God.

Write out your plan.

Be sure to take into account the limits and opportunities of you life stage, your personality, your circumstances.

1. What practices will I seek to engage in on a daily basis? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly? Where will I engage in these disciplines? What time of the day/ week/ year?

2. What do I know about the importance of community?

What spiritual disciplines will I share with a spiritual friend, or a group of friends, so as to grow together?

3. What additional activities or practices are particularly important given my personality type or spiritual type?

How will I incorporate these into the rhythm of my spiritual practices?

Are there practices that are particularly needed because of my sins and negative patterns?

4. How will I need to adjust my schedule in order to consistently choose this way of life?

What arrangements do I need to make with those I live with?

Do I need to have any discussions with those I work with or go to school with in order to make this possible?

5. How does this plan look and feel? Is it personal enough? Balanced? Realistic?

Recipies and Toolbooks

2008-12-01T11:13:00.001-08:00

We need recipes, not rules. Creating tool books instead of rule books grows people's spirits. It allows us to be productively human. Tools can be used for the good of self and others. Rules rob people of their ability to think and act independently. Instead of manuals that lock people into dehumanizing behavior, we should focus on the reasons behind things and on the outcomes that we want. -From Howard Behar's, "It's Not About the Coffee"

Scripture and The Word

2008-12-01T11:12:00.001-08:00

The Scriptures and the Word

“In the beginning.. God said ____ and it was so” Genesis 1

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host….For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”
-Psalm 33:6,9

“The Word of God is living and active,
it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit…
it judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. “
Heb 4:12

“In the beginning, the Word (Jesus) existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
-John 1:1

‘And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” -John 1:14

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” -John 6:63

“Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” –John 6:68

”who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” -2Corinthians 3:6

“A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks.” -Matthew 4:4

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
-2Cor 4:6

“And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God (God-breathed) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
-2 Tim 3:15-16

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:16-21

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
-Romans 15:4

Spiritual Pathways with the link

2008-12-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

To take the Sacred Pathways test assessment click here.
Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You
by Gary Thomas
Spirituality is not a "one size fits all" deal. Humanity was created as diverse, so it makes sense that we were designed to love God in different ways.
Do you ever feel guilty because the traditional quiet time just doesn't cut it for you? Are you increasingly frustrated by a "one size fits all spirituality" that most definitely does not fit you?
Don't despair! Scripture and the history of Christian tradition reveal a remarkable diversity of personal devotion. Here are nine spiritual pathways for you to consider as you seek to love God according to the way He's designed you.1
The Naturalist
In Psalm 19:1, David extols nature's ability to awaken our cold hearts to God's warm presence: "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (NKJV). The apostle Paul spoke of a similar reality in Romans 1:20a when he wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Both writers testify to the reality experienced by naturalists — being outdoors does something to awaken our hearts to God.
Most of God's appearances in Scripture occurred outside: Hagar in the desert, Jacob beside a river, and Moses on a mountain. In fact, the very picture of heaven on earth was the Garden of Eden — not a cathedral! Not a Starbucks. And certainly not a shopping mall. Adam and Eve enjoyed a close walk with God in a garden. Of course, others met God inside, in the holy of holies, but naturalists find more spiritual stimulation in a natural setting rather than in a cleverly crafted human one.
If you find that you can't sit still at your desk without falling asleep, or that you're bored by trying to comb through devotional books while lying on your bed, consider getting outside and using nature to help you see and experience God's glory.
The Sensate
The best avenues for some believers to commune with God are the five senses: taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and even smelling. Just as naturalists are spiritually awakened while walking through a forest, so sensates become spiritually attuned when their senses are brought into play. Your most powerful spiritual aids might be majestic music, symbolic architecture, outstanding art, or the sensory experience of communion.
God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The books of Ezekiel and Revelation reveal a God who comes in a very sense-oriented way: There are loud sounds, flashing lights, even sweet tastes. God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The Traditionalist
For you traditionalists, religion isn't a dirty word — it's an outgrowth of your relationship with God. You're designed to appreciate the role of ritual, which builds on the power of reinforced behavior. There is something profound for you in worshipping God according to set patterns — your own, or history's. You may organize your life around scheduled times of prayer, and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning yourself with centuries of faith. According to Acts, both Peter and John had set times for prayer. And Paul followed the custom of praying by the riverside on the Sabbath.
In addition to establishing rituals, you may choose to make good use of Christian symbols. We tend to quickly forget even convicting insights and soul-searing truth, but carefully chosen symbols help to remind us of those truths we want to live by. Types of symbols are limited only by your imagination. Some singles wear a purity ring; others wear a cross necklace. More sophisticated forms of symbolism include people decorating with colors that coincide with the Christian calendar: White is used on Easter and Christmas as a color of joy; purple is used for Lent, Holy Week and Advent; black symbolizes Good Friday.
The Ascetic
The best way to picture an ascetic is to think of a monk, or John the Baptist — someone who goes off on his own, in an austere environment, to get his spiritual batteries charged. You like to meet God internally; you don't want the distractions of a museum or a group meeting, as you prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. Your preferred environment for personal worship is silence, without any noisy or colorful stimulants.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis. You may even prefer solitary retreats, or at least a quiet place with a rather orderly environment. You and your fellow ascetics are often advocates of all night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and biblical meditation.
The Activist
Activists follow in the footsteps of Moses, Elijah and Habakkuk; you love to meet God in the vortex of confrontation. If you're an activist, you want to fight God's battles. Church is primarily a place to collect signatures and sign up volunteers for the "real work" of the Gospel that takes place outside the church building.
As an activist, you're one of the movers and shakers of the Christian community. You may have a political bent or adopt an evangelistic emphasis, but what marks you as an activist is that you feel most alive spiritually when you are in the midst of God's active work. That's when God seems most real, most immanent and most exciting.
The Caregiver
Caregivers love God by loving others. You're the Mordecais to the world's Esthers; the Dorcas's (Acts 10:36) to the local church. Providing care and meeting needs in Jesus' name spiritually energizes you, drawing you ever closer to the Lord. For you, caregiving isn't an obligation as much as it is a threshold to intimacy with God.
Caregiving extends well beyond nursing sick people to include fixing a widow's car, serving as a volunteer firefighter, or researching a cure for a disease. A caregiver is comforted by Jesus' words, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40, NIV). God seems nearest to you when you are looking at Him through the eyes of a sick child or hurting friend.
The Enthusiast
An enthusiast, walking in the footsteps of David, loves excitement and celebration; you probably buy far more worship CDs than books. Enthusiasts tend to be more relational, and therefore favor group worship. You feed off the excitement of other believers praising God.
As an enthusiast, you also revel in God's mystery and supernatural power. You like to take spiritual risks, and wake up hoping God will do something new and fresh. You don't want to just know scriptural concepts; you want to experience and be moved by them. Your exuberance tends to lead you to explore the livelier elements of worship, such as dancing, music, drawing, singing and other creative forms.
The Intellectual
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God. Your mind is probably very active, with the result that new intellectual understanding literally births affection; it creates increased respect for your Creator, which leads to worship.
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God.
Intellectuals are usually the ones stressing Bible study as the mainstay of their devotion. But some of you, like the biblical Solomon, may also have curious minds in areas beyond the Bible — biology, astronomy, even physics. The more you understand about truth and God's universe, the more in awe of God — and therefore in love with Him — you become.
Just as the naturalist can't wait to get out of doors, the sensate is eager to visit the cathedral, and the ascetic scurries off into his inner world, so the intellectual seeks God in the pages of a book, the shelves of a library, or the vast ruminations of your mind.
The Contemplative
Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and even abandonment to God. Like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet, you see yourself first and foremost as God's lover, and you want to spend your time in God's presence, adoring Him, listening to Him, and just enjoying Him.
You resemble ascetics in that your passion for God often leads you into solitude, where you can sit still and enjoy being in God's presence. Your watchwords are desire and relationship, as affirmed by Jesus in John 15:15: "I no longer call you servants … Instead, I have called you friends."
As a contemplative, you enjoy doing the things that couples like to do: Demonstrating your love for God through secret acts of devotion, giving gifts to God like a poem, or offering an anonymous act of charity. You often favor the discipline of journal writing, where you can intensely explore your heart's devotion.
Most of Us Are Blends
Intellectuals want to understand new things about God; activists want to fight God's battles; enthusiasts want to experience God; naturalists want to meet God in nature; sensates want to see and touch things that remind them of God; traditionalists want to faithfully remember God; ascetics want to be alone with God; caregivers want to be God's hands and feet; contemplatives want to adore God and to know Him better.
The important thing is to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
Do you see yourself in any of the above categories? Please don't feel that you have to choose just one; most of us are blends, and many of us will move in and out of certain temperaments as we age. The important thing is not to find the right "label," but to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
One caveat is in order, however. Every Christian, regardless of their temperament, needs to spend appropriate time being shaped by God's Word. Some of you might join group Bible studies, others of you may sit alone with your word dictionaries, concordances, and lexicons, and others of you might regularly listen to the Bible on tape — but interacting with the Word on a daily basis should be a given. The same goes for prayer and times of worshipful adoration. How and where you pray may differ; but every Christian is called to spend time with God.
The good news is that God crafted you with a specific design. You will certainly bear similarities to certain other believers, but you most celebrate the creative quality of God when you give yourself permission to seek His face in a way that honors His creative genius — beginning with your own spiritual makeup.

Bible Reading Methods

2008-12-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Christians in every century have held the bible in high esteem and have accepted it as the word of God written. But few have made the rash claim that it is easy to understand. Yet, since the Bible was given to reveal truth and not obscure it, God surely intends that we understand it.
Methodology
Methodology in Bible study is concerned with the proper path to take to arrive at Scriptural truth."

Of course, proper methodology is essential to many fields of endeavor. A heart surgeon does not perform open heart surgery without following proper, objective methodology. Improper methodology in interpreting Scripture is nothing new.

It sometimes seems almost anything can be proved by the bible, for there is scarcely a religion, sect, or cult in Christendom that does not use scripture texts to “prove” its doctrine. In that respect the bible may well be most abused book in the world.

Even in New Testament times, Peter about "Some things in his (Paul’s) letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren't sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed." (2 Peter 3:16, insert added).

The solution to this problem of widely different interpretations is to employ the correct method of biblical interpretation. It means taking the scriptures at face value in an attempt to know what God meant by what he said.

A Foundational Truth: God Created Language for a Purpose

God chose to use human language as a medium of communication with himself.

The purpose of God's originating of language was for Him to communication with human beings as well as to enable human beings to communicate with each another. The Bible as a body of literature exists because human beings need to know certain truth which they cannot attain by themselves. These truths must come from without - that is, via special revelation from God (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Seeking the Author's Intended Meaning

A text’s meaning is determined by the author and is discovered by readers. Our goal must be to draw the meaning out of the text and not to superimposing a meaning onto the text. Our method of interpreting Scripture is valid or invalid only if seeks out the meaning (or meanings) a statement had for the author and its first hearers or readers. Instead of superimposing a meaning on the biblical text, the objective interpreter seeks to discover the author's intended meaning.

There can also be related implications for a text or related sub meanings. Much meaning can be taken from the types that point to Jesus in David’s psalms but it is important to look first at the author’s original intended meaning first and to test these additional meanings against other places in scripture.

First we determine the meaning of the passage and then we can ask ourselves how this passage and the principles behind it apply to our lives.

Bible study could (and perhaps should) be broken into this method:

Observation – what do you see?
Interpretation – what does it mean?
Correlation – where does it fit?
Application – how does it work?

In keeping this approach, I think it allows someone to grasp the text in a full way before moving ahead too quickly to Application (or allegories).

The Importance of Context

Seeking the biblical author's intended meaning necessitates interpreting Bible verses in context. Every word in the Bible is part of a verse, and every verse is part of a paragraph, and every paragraph is part of a book, and every book is part of the whole of Scripture.

No verse of Scripture can be divorced from the verses around it. Interpreting a verse apart from its context is like trying to analyze a Cezanne painting by looking at only a single square inch of the painting, or like trying to analyze Handel's "Messiah" by listening to a few short notes.

The context is absolutely critical to properly interpreting Bible verses. In interpreting Scripture, there is both an immediate context and a broader context. The immediate context of a verse is the paragraph (or paragraphs) of the biblical book in question. The immediate context should always be consulted in interpreting Bible verses.

The broader context is the whole of Scripture. The entire Holy Scripture is the context and guide for understanding the particular passages of Scripture.
This is why the E100 can be so valuable. It gives us the bigger picture for the broader context of God’s story. When we understand this we can even understand where we fit into the broader context of God’s story so we can interpret events in our lives.

N.T. Wright uses the analogy of the five act play to not only interpret scripture but to interpret our lives. The vast majority of Scripture consists not in a list of rules or doctrines, but in narrative: it tells a remarkably consistent story about God’s plan to restore the world back to God.
Act One: (Creation). Whatever means God uses to create the world it’s a crucial feature of the play that creation is good and that humans are in God’s image.
Act Two: (Fall) God’s good creation is full of rebellion: evil and idolatry become real features of the world.
Act Three: (Israel) The story of Israel as the covenant people of God for the world. This act begins with the Abrahamic covenant and ends with the Jewish anticipation of an event in which God will liberate Israel from spiritual exile and reveal himself as the world’s true King. We must realize that there is an important sense in which many of the laws of ancient Israel have fulfilled their intended purpose.
Act Four (Jesus) The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As the climax of the narrative it represents the inauguration of a new kingdom in which death and sin are being reversed throughout all of creation.
Act Five: (New Testament and the people of God). The New Testament forms the first scene of this act. The church is the people of God, in Christ, for the world; their job is to act in character: to live out Act Five by showing the world the true way of being human and to bring about God’s victory over evil on earth. This largely involves improvising and retelling of God’s story and gospel – namely that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead to put the world to rights.
Notice that for Wright the five-act play is not just the grand narrative of Scripture, but also the true story that we are living out – more accurately, we are living out Act Five, which has yet to be completed.

As J. I. Packer puts it, "if we would understand the parts, our wisest course is to get to know the whole." We must keep in mind that the interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of Scripture on a point. Individual verses do not exist as isolated fragments, but as parts of a whole. Scripture interprets Scripture.

The Importance of Literary Meanings

We must be aware of different literary genre. The bible includes many writing styles such as literal, symbolic, types, parables, allegories, prophecy, poetry, history, law books, letters, eye witness accounts, figures of speech, and indescribable revelations. It’s important to understand and identify figures of speech in the Bible and seek out God’s message in them.

The Importance of Historical Considerations

Historical considerations are important in properly interpreting the scriptures because the scriptures are written in specific times and places. We consider the circumstances of the writings and the cultural environment.

Ask who wrote the book?
What were the circumstances?
What were the cultural norms at the time?
What were the current problems, situations, or needs?
To whom was the book written?
What were their customs?
What did people of that place and time believe, think, say, do, or make?

Making a Correct Genre Judgment
A "literal" approach to Scripture recognizes that the Bible contains a variety of literary genres, each of which has certain peculiar characteristics that must be recognized in order to interpret the text properly.

Biblical genres include the historical (e.g., Acts), the dramatic epic (e.g., Job), poetry (e.g., Psalms), wise sayings (e.g., Proverbs), and apocalyptic writings (e.g., Revelation).

Obviously, an incorrect genre judgment will can lead us astray in interpreting Scripture. A parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry or apocalyptic literature (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative.

The wise interpreter allows his knowledge of genres to control how he approaches each individual biblical text. In this way, he can accurately determine what the biblical author was intending to communicate to the reader. The Bible contains a variety of literary genres and many figures of speech, but the biblical authors most often employed literal statements to convey their ideas.

Interpret the Old Testament in Light of the New Testament

God gave revelation to humankind progressively throughout Old and New Testament times. He didn't just give His entire revelation for all time to our first parents, Adam and Eve, or to Moses, the Lawgiver.

Rather, as time went on - as the centuries slowly passed - God provided more and more revelation that became progressively full so that by the time the New Testament was complete, God had told us everything He wanted us to know. In view of this, a key interpretive principle is that one should always interpret the Old Testament in view of the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted.

The introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before.

The Old Testament revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but only perfected, extended, and enlarged. Again, then, the Old Testament should be interpreted according to the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament is much clearer when approached through the lens of the New Testament.

Dependence on the Holy Spirit

Scripture tells us that we are to rely on the Holy Spirit's illumination to gain insights into the meaning and application of Scripture (John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit's work to throw light upon the Word of God so that the believer can assent to the meaning intended and act on it.

The Holy Spirit, as the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), guides us so that "we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:12). Full knowledge of the Word of God is impossible without prayerful dependence on the Spirit of God, for He who inspired the Word (2 Peter 1:21) is also its best interpreter. Illumination is necessary because man's mind has been darkened through sin (Romans 1:21), preventing him from properly understanding God's Word.

Human beings cannot understand God's Word apart from God's divine enablement (Ephesians 4:18).

This aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry operates within the sphere of man's soulful capacity, which God Himself gave man. Illumination comes to the minds and hearts of God's people.
Since the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), He does not teach concepts that oppose scripture. In other words, "the Holy Spirit does not guide into interpretations that contradict each other or fail to have internal consistency."

The Example of Jesus Christ

Jesus consistently interpreted the Old Testament characters as being real people and not just fictional characters, including
The Creation account of Adam and Eve (Matthew 13:35; 25:34; Mark 10:6),
Noah's Ark and the flood (Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27),
Jonah and the great fish (Matthew 12:39-41),
Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15), and
The account of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28-29).

In his book The Savior and the Scriptures, theologian Robert P. Lightner notes - following an exhaustive study - that Jesus' interpretation of Scripture "was always in accord with the grammatical and historical meaning. He understood and appreciated the meaning intended by the writers according to the laws of grammar and rhetoric."

Jesus affirmed scripture’s divine inspiration (Matthew 22:43),
Its indestructibility (Matthew 5:17-18), infallibility (John 10:35), final authority (Matthew 4:4,7,10), historicity (Matthew 12:40; 24:37), factual inerrancy (Matthew 22:29-32), and spiritual clarity (Luke 24:25).

Moreover, he emphasized the importance of each word of Scripture (Luke 16:17). Indeed, he sometimes teaches rich truths from only a single line of Scripture (Matthew 22:32,43-45; John 10:34).

Spending Time with God; from Nouwen's Way of the Heart

2008-12-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

Quiet time with God is the furnace of transformation. Without it we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.

In our quiet times with God we get rid of our scaffolding; no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, nothing to distract, just me- naked me, and God. We may find in this empty quiet space confusing ideas, worries of the day, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in the mind like monkeys in a banana tree. Everything in us may want to run to friends, work, and distractions.

It is precisely in the midst of this struggle with our worldly self and its demons that our Lord comes to us. He is beside us in all of it.

We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task is to keep the eyes of our mind and heart firmly fixed on Him. It is only in the midst of Christ's grace and healing that we can face our sin, show our wounds, and face our own true nature.

As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away, take off our masks, and begin to experience freedom as a child of God. We have freedom to be molded into Christ's image, freedom to mature in him, freedom to love and freedom from sin.

So what does this mean in our daily lives? The very first thing we need to do is set apart a time and place to be with God and him alone. The concrete shape of this discipline of solitude will be different for each person but will not remain vague or general. It must be as concrete and specific as daily life is.

Quiet time is a time of purification and transformation, the place of great struggle, and the great encounter. This time is not simply a means to an end. It's ends are met within it. It is the place where Christ remodels us in his own image and frees us from victimizing compulsions of the world. It is a place of salvation.

A heart of stone can be turned into a heart of flesh. A rebellious heart can be turned into a contrite heart. A closed heart can open itself up. A new self can grow in the loving encounter with Jesus.

Scripture should lead us into the presence of God. We must be careful to use that word not simply as an interesting or motivating word, but as a word that creates the boundaries within which we can listen to the loving caring, gentle presence of God.

Scripture should renew the mind as well as descend slowly from the mind to the heart. The crisis our time in scripture and prayer is that our minds are filled with the ideas of God while our hearts remain far from him. The word heart in the Jewish-Christian tradition refers to the source of all physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional and moral energies. From the hear arise unknowable impulses as well as conscious feelings, moods, and wishes. The heart too has its reasons and is the center of perception and understanding. Finally, the heart is the seat of the will: it makes plans and comes to good decisions. The heart is the central unifying peace of our personal life where we are totally one with no divisions or distinctions. It is the seat of our personality. It is where Christ dwells in us, the hope of Glory.

By it's very nature this kind of holistic, integral meeting with our savior transforms our whole being and opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as he truth of God. This type of encounter challenges us to hide nothing from God and to surrender ourselves unconditionally to his mercy. In doing this we will unmask many illusions about ourselves and about God and we will be led into the true relationship we are purposed to have with God.

If we spend time with God in the beginning of our day he may slowly build a place in our hearts for that day so that even while studying, gardening, working, or building, the meeting can continue in our heart and keep us aware of God's presence, guidance and counseling, bringing us into a deeper meaning of what it means that God is our Shepherd. The Lord sends us out into the world and calls us back to be with him in a never-ending communion.

Culture

2008-12-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Culture Scales

Concept of Self
Individualist- The self is the smallest unit of survival. Looking out for one’s self protects others. Personal fulfillment is the greatest good. Independence and self reliance are highly valued. Children are taught to stand on their own two feet. Workers don’t mind individual recognition. One’s identity is personal and individual, not a function of one’s membership or role in a group. (US)
Collectivist- The primary group, usually the family, is the smallest unit of survival. Looking out for others protects one’s self. Group harmony is the greatest good. Children are taught to depend on others, who in turn can depend on them. Employees don’t like to stand out, they prefer group/ team recognition. Identity is a function of one’s membership/ role in a primary group.(SE Asia, China)

Personal vs. Societal Responsibility
Universalist- What’s right is always right. There are absolutes which apply across the board. The law is the law no matter who one is, there should be no exceptions. Consistency is important. “Fair” means treating everyone the same and one should try to make life fair. (US, UK, Germany)
Particularist- There are no absolutes. What’s right depends on the circumstances. There must always be exceptions (esp. for in-group members). Consistency is not possible (life isn’t that neat). “Fair” means treating everyone uniquely and no one expects life to be fair.(Africa, China, Middle East, then India, Mexico, SE Asia)

Subjective and Objective
Logic of the Head- Favoritism is frowned upon. People should not let personal feelings intrude into or affect workplace/ professional decisions. Friends don’t expect friends to cover for them. People succeed because of what they do, not because of whom they know. To be objective is a positive thing, something to strive for. (same as PS vs. SR)
Logic of the Heart- Favoritism is the norm. Since the system isn’t fair, people have to look out for their in-group (or others). Whom you know, connections are more important than performance. Friends expect, and provide preferential treatment. One can’t and shouldn’t leave personal feelings out of professional dealings.

Concept of Time
Monochronic- Time is a limited commodity. The needs of people are subservient to the demands of time. Deadlines and schedules are sacred. Plans are not easily changed. People may be too busy to see you. People live by an external clock. (US, UK, G)
Polychronic- Time is bent to meet the needs of people. There is always more time. Schedules and deadlines are easily changed. Plans are fluid. People always have time to see you. People live by an internal clock. (India, Africa, Middle East, Mexico)

Time and Other People
One Thing at a Time- People do one thing at a time and finish one thing before starting another. People expect undivided attention. Interruptions are to be avoided. To be late or kept waiting is rude. People stand in line. The goal is to stick to the schedule. (US, UK, G)
Many Things at Once- People may do several things at the same time and may split their attention between several people/ tasks. To be late or kept waiting is okay. Interruptions are part of life. People don’t stand in line. The goal is to enjoy life. (Africa, India)

Locus of Control
Internal- The locus of control is internal. Fate has little or no importance. There are few givens in life, few things that can’t be changed and must just be accepted. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. One makes one’s own luck. Unhappiness is one’s own fault. People tend to be optimistic. Life is what you make it. (US)
External- The locus of control is external. Fate plays a major role. People believe they have limited control over their destiny/ external events. Many things in life must be accepted/ can’t be changed. Success/ lack of success is partly a result of good/ bad fortune. People tend to be realistic/ fatalistic. Life is what happens to you. (Middle East, Africa)

Degree of Directness
Direct- People say what they mean and mean what they say. There is no need to read between the lines. It’s best to tell it like it is. People are less likely to imply and more likely to say exactly what they are thinking. Yes means yes. (Germany, US)
Indirect- People don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say. You have to read between the lines. People are more likely to suggest or imply than to come out and say what they think. You can’t always tell it like it is (what if that upsets the other person?) Yes may mean maybe or even no. (Africa, China, SE Asia)

Role of Context
Low Context- People are individualistic. In-groups are not as well developed as they are in high-context cultures and people spend less time in them, hence there are fewer shared experiences and less shared understanding. One has to spell things out and be explicit. Words are the primary carriers of meaning. What is said is more important than what is not said. (US, G)
High Context- People tend to be collectivistic. In-groups are strong and people spend a lot of time together, hence there are more shared experiences and more common understanding than there are in low-context cultures. There is less need to spell things out. Words are not always the primary carriers of meaning. What is not said may be more important than what is said. (SEA, Africa, China, Japan)

Importance of Face
Face is Less Important- Telling the truth is more important than sparing one’s feelings. Honesty is the best policy. It’s okay to say no and to confront people. People don’t worry much about saving face. Getting /giving information efficiently is the primary goal of the communication exchange. (US, G)
Face is More Important- Preserving harmony and saving face are key concerns. The truth, if it threatens harmony or someone’s face, should be adjusted. One says what one thinks the other person wants to hear. It’s not always proper to say no, disagree, or confront (that disturbs harmony). Preserving/ strengthening the personal bond is the goal of the communication exchange. (China, Africa, SEA, Japan)

Power Distance
Low- Democratic management style. Power is not usually jealously guarded, managers share authority with subordinates. Subordinates take initiative and are not overly deferential to managers. Subordinates do not like to be micromanaged. Decision making tends to be consultative. Okay to say no/ disagree with the boss. Manager/ subordinate relations are fairly informal. Rank has few privileges. (UK, G then US)
High- Authoritarian- Power is centralized. One defers to authority. Managers hold on to power, not much delegation of authority. Subordinates do not take initiative but wait for explicit instructions. Decisions are made at the top. One does not openly disagree with/ say no to the boss. Rank has its privileges. Manager/ subordinate relations are formal. (Russia then SEA, Middle East, Mexico, India, China)

Attitude Toward Uncertainty
Positive- People are not afraid of taking risks or failing. Trial and error/ experimenting is how we learn and improve our products and services. What is different is interesting. Change is positive. New is often better. Tradition is not valued for its own sake. The “way we have always done things” is not necessarily the best way. What we don’t know can’t hurt us. (US)
Skeptical- Taking risks and failing have strong negative consequences and should be avoided if at all possible. One does not try something until one knows it will work. What is different can be dangerous. Change is threatening. New is not necessarily better. Traditions should be respected and are a good guide to the future. There’s a good reason for “the way we have always done things.” What we don’t know can be troubling. (Russia, SEA, ME, C, M, I)

Attitude Toward Work
Achievement- People are motivated by achievement. Ambition is rewarded. Being successful means moving up, getting ahead, and having greater responsibility. Professional opportunity/ the chance to make more money is more important than job security. If people have to choose between work and family, they may choose work. One lives to work. (Japan then US, UK, G)
Quality of Life- A better quality of life is what motivates people to work. A pleasant work setting and good relations with coworkers are as motivating as the chance to make more money and move up. Having time to spend with family is as important as the lure of achievement. More power and responsibility are not automatically attractive. Success means you are admired and respected by others. One works to live. (Russia, Africa then France, Spain)

Key to Productivity
Results- Focusing on the task ensures success. What matters most in employees is their productivity and output, which are related to technical skills and experience. Conflict is sometimes necessary to clear the air and move forward. Getting results is ultimately more important than how you get them. Employee/ employer relationship is often opportunistic. Employee loyalty is not as important as performance/ productivity. (G, US)
Harmony- Harmony in the workplace ensures the success of an organization. What matters in employees is their ability to get along/ work well with others, which is related to personal qualities (more than technical skills). Conflict should be minimized because of disruptive consequences. How you get results is as important as the results themselves. Employer/ employee relationship is like a family. Loyalty is expected and reciprocal. (Japan)

Source of Status
Achieved- Meritocracy- Rank, status, and respect must be earned and do not come with the position or title. Family name and social class do not confer automatic status. People are respected and promoted based on their performance and achievements, regardless of age or seniority. Age/ seniority do not grarantee respect or status. It is relatively easy to change your status (move up). People of higher rank/ status should not act superior to / better than those of lesser. (G, US, Russia)
Ascribed- Autocracy- Rank, position, and title confer automatic status and respect. Social class/ family name confer initial status (but it can be lost if you do not perform well). Achievements are important for promotion, but age and seniority are also highly valued. Age and seniority confer automatic status and respect. It is difficult to change your status (especially to move up). People should be careful not to behave above/ below their station in life. (Africa, Middle East, India)

Wealth is in the eye of the beholder

2008-08-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

Annual income has long been used as a measure of success in the world and the assumption is made that happiness or well being is directly and proportionally linked to wealth. However studies indicate the average income in a nation makes little difference to the average self-reported happiness, once the annual income goes beyond $15,000 a year(most of the world's nations have less than this).
Happiness economics is a new branch of economic analysis that starts from the argument that income is a bad approximation for happiness. Based on modern happiness research, he cites three factors that economists fail to take into consideration:
1) Social comparisons: In contrast to what traditional economics predicts, happiness is derived from relative income as well as from absolute income. That is, if everyone gains purchasing power, some may still turn out unhappier if their position compared to others is worse. This effect may not turn economic growth into a zero sum game entirely, but it will likely diminish the benefits people draw from their hard work. In an economy where not only companies, but individuals are constantly forced to compete with each other, life and work are experienced as a rat race.
2) Adaptation: As people get used to higher income levels, their idea of a sufficient income grows with their income. If they fail to anticipate that effect, they will invest more time for work than is good for their happiness.
3) Changing Tastes: Economists assume that individual preferences are constant, when in fact such preferences are not fixed but increasingly mutable, shifting constantly according to the latest trends and cultural norms.
In turn, the relative values of one's accumulated possessions are subject to depreciation, ultimately having a negative effect on happiness.
Success and how people define and pursue it can destroy personal health, ruin marriages and create feelings of loneliness and isolation. Remind yourself that money does not equal happiness.

Get deeper into God's Word- resources for bible study

2008-08-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

blue letter bible concordances (Greek and Hebrew word studies), commentaries, dictionary aids, word searches, passage searches, audio bibles, devotionals, video teachings and multiple translations.
Study light dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, etc

Cross walks- illustrations, and bible searching tool
BST great for easy research including a large reference library
Bible Gateway great for key word and passage searches.
Christian Classics Library has all kinds references. Read books from the church fathers , bible study or look up classic commentary on specific bible passages.

Grace

2007-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Grace

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound.” Those words were written in 1772 by John Newton and have become the first words in one of the most famous and inspirational Christian songs in history. But do we know what they mean?
Grace. Grace is a confusing word. For most of my life I did not understand what it meant. When I heard that God was graceful I just thought that meant He is nice or fluid of motion, like a ballerina or a runway model. Most people think that grace is something that you say before a meal. But if we stick with these definitions, one of the most important things about the heart of God will be lost to us.

The use of the word today doesn’t help us to understand it very well. We use expressions like, “It is a wonder that I have managed to stay in her good graces this long.”
Or “She took on the extra work with good grace.” Or “He graced us with his presence.”
Grace is even use as bad grace. “He apologized, but did so with bad grace.”
It is no wonder that we do not know what this word means. I looked up grace in the dictionary and found 16 definitions of the word. But the one I want to stick with for us is this, “The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.” Grace is the extended form of mercy. Mercy is when we don’t give someone what they do deserve. And grace is when we take that a step further and we do give someone what they don’t deserve.
An example of this would be if there were a mayor who was dealing with a criminal who was sentenced to death. The mayor looked at this criminal and decided to extend mercy to this man. He pardons the man and sets him free. And when he does this he is deciding not to give the criminal what he does deserve, which is the punishment of death. Instead he spares him.
But if the mayor were to take that same criminal and not only pardon him from his sentence, but invite him to stay with him at his home as well, he would be extending grace to that man. Because grace says, “I will give you what you don’t deserve.” And by no means did the prisoner deserve to be brought into the mayor’s home and be fed and taken care of. What he deserved was death.
And this is what God offers us through Christ. What we deserve because of our sin is death. But it doesn’t end there. We have a mayor. We have Jesus. Who comes to us on death row and not only pardons us but invites us into his Father’s home. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14: 1-4
Jesus invites us to stay with him in heaven. We do not deserve it. We will never deserve it. But it is promised to us despite this.
When we leave grace out of our lives, we are torn from God. Grace is our means by which we are brought into relation with God. We hear expressions like “fall from grace” and we think that that means that someone did something bad enough to get kicked out of grace. But that is not the way that grace works.
Grace doesn’t rely on the righteousness of the person. The righteousness of the person relies on grace.
If we look at Ephesians 2: 8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by your good works, so that no one can boast.”
Or Galatians 2: 20b-21 “The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
Or Romans :16-18, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’."

Do you think this is a point that the early church wanted us to get?

Grace. Faith. Love. It is when we have faith that the grace of God expressed in the cross is enough, that we enter into a love relationship with Him and everyone around us.

I did look to find the term “fall from grace” in the bible and found it only once, in Galatians 5: 4-6. “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Does the fall away from grace expressed here happen when we are not good enough? Or when we feel like we are good enough?
The fall away from grace expressed here is trying to be good enough to earn God’s favor without grace. And when we take this approach, we cast aside the need for Christ’s sacrifice, for the cross, and for the undeserved favor of God and we take matters into our own hands.

Extending God’s grace to others

A reminder of God’s grace to us is not only important because it reminds us to trust God and let go of our guilt but also because it reminds us where we are coming from. It reminds us that God came to us while we were still sinners. And that when we forget this, we become nearsighted and blind. We can start to think that we did it on our own and that we deserve it. We can look to others who don’t deserve it and look down on them. When we reach this point we have forget that we have been cleansed of our past sins or will loose love for God and for others. We will become unproductive in our knowledge of our knowledge of our lord Jesus. Remembering that our salvation is something that we don’t deserve is one of the most humbling and selfless things that we are capable of doing and it prompts us to be recklessly graceful with others.

Watch a three and a half minute movie clip from the 1998 version of Les Miserables. Cue to 0:06:00.

The Story: Jean Valjean is on parole out of prison he searches for a place to stay and finds nothing. He finally gives up and an old lady points him to a church at the end of the street where the pastor and his wife take him in and feed him. He blames God as an unjust God, and then exclaims in sarcasm, "Tomorrow I will be a new person!"
Later that night he gets out of his bed and goes into the Dining room and starts to steal the silver ware that he had his eyes on that night. The priest hears a noise and gets out of bed. Jean Valjean hides, and when the preacher comes around the corner he steps out and looks at him face to face, hits him, and runs off.
The next day the police return Jean Valjean to the bishop who lies for Valjean, protecting him from being sent back to prison. Valjean asks, “Why are you doing this?” The bishop replies, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I brought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God.” Stop here at 0:09:35.

Sing Chris Tomlin’s version of Amazing Grace.

The Our Father

2007-04-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord's Prayer,[1] known also as the Our Father or Pater noster,
is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages in houses of worship of all shapes and sizes.[2] Although many theological differences and various modes and manners of worship divide Christians, according to Fuller Seminary professor Clayton Schmit "there is a sense of solidarity in knowing that Christians around the globe are praying together…, and these words always unite us."[2]
The context of the prayer in Matthew is as part of a discourse attacking people who pray simply for the purpose of being seen to pray. Matthew describes Jesus as instructing people to pray after the manner of this prayer. Taking into account the prayer's structure, flow of subject matter and emphases, many interpret the Lord's Prayer as a guideline on how to pray rather than something to be learned and repeated by rote. Some disagree, suggesting that the prayer was intended as a specific prayer to be used. The New Testament reports Jesus and the disciples praying on several occasions; but as it never describes them actually using this prayer, it is uncertain how important it was originally viewed as being.

Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
in earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
But deliver us from evil:
[For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.] Amen

And what do each line say?

“Our Father” It sounds so normal that we can just float over it without thinking about it. But Jesus asks us to call God our father. Which would make us his sons and daughters. He wants us to see ourselves this way and not to doubt this. We are sons and daughters of God. This is our identity. This is the beginning.
And God is our father. He loves us and welcomes us into His family.
We are brother and sisters. We come from the same spiritual father. We should love each other as family.

“who art in Heaven” God is in heaven and we are on earth, so we should let our words be few. We should respect God for the holiness that he is.
“Hallowed be thy Name.” It is not just a statement saying that God’s name is holy it is also a hope and desire that God’s name be made holy. Why is this important? I have had enough conversations with people to realize that God and Christ’s name is anything but perfect and holy in most of the world. We push political agendas, put focus on the wrong things, try to keep people outh

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven.”
I have a tendency to separate this line. But it is showing a desire to have God’s kingdom come to Earth. For the will of God to be done here.
How does this change our outlook on how to live here on Earth?
Some people think “why bother with Earth? It is a lost cause. It is all going to be destroyed anyway.” But that is not the way that Jesus asks us to think. That is not the way He thinks. His desire followed by his actions were and are for the kingdom of heaven to come sweeping through earth. Like a little bit of yeast that goes through the whole batch is the kingdom. Jesus planted the seed and now in this day it is growing into a great tree that will cover the whole earth.
Do we recycle? To we care about the Earth that God entrusted us with? I know I fall short in this area way too much. Do we treat the Earth as we would heaven? Would we smog up heaven’s air or throw trash on heaven’s place?

“Give us this day our daily bread.”
I always seem to pray this prayer at night and this line seems kind of silly in it’s current form, so sometimes I will change it to a thank you for giving us our daily bread.
I love how this is not a “give me” prayer. It is a “give us” prayer. It lumps our own needs in with those of all of God’s other children.
It is also the other side of a promise. God promises to take care of us. And we are coming to him to remind ourselves that He provides. And He will continue to do so even when we can’t see how.
And I think it is even a reminder for us to be the giver of the daily bread to those who need it.

“And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us.”
Forgiveness is not a one way street according to this prayer. Part of being forgiven is to forgive. We cannot be hypocritical about this. Jesus says it in another way too when He says that by the same measure we use we will also be measured.
If we forgive other because of Jesus’ blood on the cross, than we are using this as our measure. We are not to be hypocritical about it.
If we want to be forgiven by His blood, then He asks us to forgive through His blood.
If we forgave the way that we wanted to be forgiven what kind of a world would we live in? What about wars? What about the long running hate between different ethnic groups?

“And lead us not into temptation;” We are asking God not to lead us into places where we will be more prone to sin and fall away from Him. If we ask God this than we should not seek out those places ourselves. If we know that we are tempted every time we go to a bar or are alone with a boy/girlfriend, or read certain books, etc… than we should not do them. We may receive a certain level of temptation in lots of situations. Even Jesus was put into temptation in the desert. The temptation itself is not a sin. But we should not seek out temptation.
“But deliver us from evil:”
God is not sitting with his hands tied behind His back. He is not powerless against evil. He delivered Israel many times. He had delivered me. He is like the mailman; He delivers us. He has power. He can and will change things.. when we come to Him.

“[For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.]”
God rocks!!
“Amen”
Believe that!

Life Boat

2007-04-17T02:53:00.000-07:00

Lifeboat
What happens in the lifeboat is that we are comparing ourselves to others based on what the majority of people feel. Does this feel at all familiar in your own lives?
In school, and in all of life, we all try to have as many people as we can approve of us, agree with us, respect us, and love us. And this makes us feel like we have value and worth.
I don’t know about you but I find myself comparing myself to other people all the time whether I want to or not; it is almost like we are born into it. Like I need to look to something outside myself to validate my worth.
And it becomes even more difficult because the standard of what is important is constantly changing. What was cool to wear when I was in middle school is definitely not cool to wear now. Can you remember jams?
Is the standard we use to compare ourselves to others fair or accurate?
Lots of people who were considered the least valuable or geeks in school grow up to be some of the most important people when they are adults. They can be intelligent or nice or funny or a good listener or loving and be completely overlooked by almost everyone.
And it doesn’t get any better when we grow up. This doesn’t end in College. We just use different standards to judge with and are a little bit more subtle about it when we are adults. People still want to make the most money, have the biggest homes, the prettiest families, or the nicest cars. And we are still in the lifeboat fighting over position and for other people to love and respect us.
But God didn’t intend for us to live this way. His boat is big enough for everyone. And in God’s system you don’t loose value by being nice to people that are considered not valuable in society. In fact He says that whatever you do for the lowest people, you do for Him.
God says this because God created those people in His own image. And to God they have just as much value as our presidents, and celebrities, and all the “important people” in the world. You have just as much value as the “important people” to God.
One of the things I love most about Jesus is that he never puts limits on who we should love. He makes it very simple and clear. Love everyone and love God. Love the popular people, love the nerds, geeks and weird people, love the quiet people, love the annoying people. And the amazing thing about it is when we give people a chance, and get past all the hurt and rejection that is stored up in unpopular people;( because unpopular people are used to and probably expect to be hurt and rejected) we usually find out that that person has some great qualities to them and that they also are real people with a real need to be loved, listened to, to have someone “for” them, and to be paid attention to. (ß a review of our last four talks) And sometimes we are the annoying person or the weird person and that we need someone to love us despite all of our shortcomings.

Questions
1)How do you feel after you win a sports game or board game?
And after you lose?

2)What do we actually win when we beat our friends at monopoly or basketball or soccer?

3) Why does it affect us so much?

4) Do you feel more valuable when you are right about something or when someone else agrees with you or approves of what you are doing?

5) How do you react when you are disrespected in some way (someone cuts in front of you in line, tells you you are bad at something, or insults you)?
Why does it hurt or get us mad? What do we really lose?

6) Do you often measure yourself by the same standard other people measure you by? (Wonder what other people think about your nose or hair or build, how many laughs you get at a joke, or smiles in the hallway, or how many compliments we get on a new outfit)

7) Do we validate/ give worth mostly to people who give worth to us?

8) Why would it hurt us to be nice to someone who doesn’t like us? Or is socially awkward?

9) Do we have more to gain when someone loves us or when they don’t love us?

Light

2007-04-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

LIGHT
Can’t do seeking yet because something must make you want to seek. Desire. But what gives us the desire? When we are exposed to God. The light. In our good deeds. In the holy spirit. In the gospel’s message.
Light and Darkness –They seem to be universally understood. This image of light and darkness has been used by everyone from William Shakespeare to Darth Vader and from Jesus to Metallica. But there is also an illusive element to them. I tried to pinpoint just what light stood for, but I couldn’t. It is too complex, too deep for me to summarize in a few short thoughts and sentences. Paul, in Ephesians, wrote a section about living as children of light, John, in first John, wrote a section about walking in the light. It is a popular topic for David and Solomon in the Psalms and Proverbs. Isaiah mentions light and dark in 35 different passages. It is talked about by the Prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah. It is mentioned in all four gospels, and many other books in the bible. The words light, dark, and reveal are used 476 times in the bible. From God’s first words:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
To the last chapter in Revelations talking about the New Jerusalem:
“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

So, I asked Dom and Darrin what they thought. And Darrin said something that made me realize why I was having so much trouble summing it up. He pointed out 1John 1:5 to me.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light…”
There are only a few things that God is. One is love the other another is light. He is described as being holy but not being holiness, being strong but not being strength…etc. That’s when I realized that trying to summarize what light is, is about as easy as trying to summarize who God is. There are so many attributes that can describe it and all are good.

1) God/ Jesus
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9: 5

“God…who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” 1Timothy 6:16

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.” Psalm 89:13

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1John 1:5-

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46

“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21

2) A light to Life
By following what the light reveals to us we will find life.
The Gospel of John starts off this way,
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1: 1-5

Jesus’ life and God’s word is a light to men.
“For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” Psalm 56: 13

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:

“…God who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us I Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2Timothy 1:9-10

“For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,” Proverbs 6: 23

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119 :105

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory form God the father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying,” this is my son, whom I love: with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that comes from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets make more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2Peter 1:16-21

“Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." John 11:10

3) To Reveal the Glory of God
“For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2Corinthians 4:6

“Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” Psalm 43:3

“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, an the lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of earth will bring their splendor into it.” Revelations 21:22-24

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish things behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1Corinthians

4) It Reveals Us
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful to even mention what the disobedient do in secret.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Ephesians 5:8-14

“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” Psalm 90:8

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3: 19-21

“What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roof tops.” Luke 12:3

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:22

5) We are lights when we are in the Lord
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8

“and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10

“You ARE the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5: 15?- 16

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” Philippians 2:14-16a

“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22: 5

“[ Living as Children of Light ] So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Ephesians 4:17-18
1) hardened their hearts-à goes to ignorance and darkness-à separation from the life of God

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37: 3-6

6) The light shines on those who follow God in ever increasing measures
“The path of the righteous is like the firs gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” Proverbs 4: 18-19

“and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory form God the father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying,” this is my son, whom I love: with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that comes from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets make more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2Peter 1:16-21

7) Is a Kingdom; one kingdom is in God’s light, the other is in darkness.
“..giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” Colossians 1:12-13

“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony”
Revelation 16:10

“These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” 2 Peter 2:17

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

“For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14

8) It makes us aware (awake to) of God’s plan of salvation
“for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘peace and safety’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So, then let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and hope of salvation as a helmet.” 1Thessalonians 5: 2-8

“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark speak in the daylight: what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” Matthew 10:26-27

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2Corinthians 4:4

“I (Jesus)will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Acts 26: 17-18

“Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.” John 12: 35-36

9) Those who belong to the light:
-Are self controlled -1Thessalonians 5: 2-8
-have faith
-have love
-have hope in salvation
-love
-do good Ephesians 5:9
“[ Walking in the light ] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”
-Gives fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth –Ephesians 5
-have a guide to life and a God who will show them the next steps in their lives
-can see God working in their lives
-acclaim God
-are purified from sin through Christ 1John 1:5
-live by truth
-understand light John 1: 5
-are able to walk before God Psalm 56
-pay attention to the word of God
-are on the road to abundant life
-are exposed to the glory of God in the life of Christ 2Cor
-are heading toward God
-will live in the new Jerusalem
-find out what pleases the LORD Ephesians 5
-expose the fruitless deeds of darkness
-are know fully by God (aren’t we all? but those in the light know it and are not afraid to be there?) Psalm 90
-will receive praise from God 1Corinthians4
-are lights Ephesians 5, Matthew 5
-give to the hungry
-aide the oppressed
-do things without complaining or arguing
-become blameless and pure
-hold out the word of life to others Philippians 2
-are not separated from the life of God
-have committed their way of life to the LORD Psalm 37
are members of the kingdom of light
-have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness
-are released from the power of Satan and in God’s power Acts 26-

10) Light is invisible until it hits something
Bible commentary—“By itself, light is invisible; and yet everything is invisible until light strikes it. So it is with God; We can’t see him, but ‘in his light’ (under his loving influence) we see and understand his love in all that surrounds us.” (and is in us)

“Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God, or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four footed animals or reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
Romans 1:20-25

“God…who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” 1Timothy 6:16

(We’re not flash lights who shine only on the person looking at us, we shed light on all that is around us.)

Light can either be looked at itself, like a lantern or it can allow us to look at everything else.

There seems to be a light from God that gives us knowledge of life and how to live. When we live in the light we become ‘sons of the light’ and are able to shine ourselves when we do good works and point to God.
You are the Sun---Sarah Groves
Lump Nooma

Questions
Can someone love and not be in the light?
Can someone be in the light and not love God?
How does knowing any of this change the way we live our lives?
Does it show the importance of knowing God?
How does it feel to know that we are fully known by God?

Love 2

2007-04-17T02:42:00.000-07:00

Love means being "for" the one who is loved.

“If I love someone it means I have certain hopes and intentions and wishes for them. I’m in their corner. I long for them to flourish and blossom. I want them to realize all their potential. I want them to become filled with virtue and moral beauty.”

This is a good question to ask ourselves. Am I for that person or do I want them to fail so that I can “succeed”? Or maybe I just don’t care one way or the other if the people around me are growing closer to God or realizing their goals or are included in the conversation.

“This means sometimes I may need to do that which will cause pain for the one I love. Love is often confused with softness. When we speak of doing ‘loving things’ we sometimes think it means ‘always doing what the person I love would want me to do.” This is of course not love; it’s not even sane. Try it with a three year old, and odds are she’ll never make it to four.”

In many cases authentic love will unnerve, offend, disturb, or even hurt those who are being loved.
“Being for someone is deeper than just wanting to spare them pain. If I am really for a person, I am willing to risk saying painful things, if pain is the only way to bring growth. ‘For the Lord disciplines those whom whom he loves.”

“To be for someone means I identify with him, I’m cheering him on; I celebrate her victories and mourn her setbacks. It means I deeply and sincerely wish him well.” “This shows how difficult it is to love. It doesn’t take much truth-telling for me to admit that I don’t want my enemies to succeed. Much more humbling is the fact that deep down I often don’t even want my friends to succeed too much.”
Why wouldn’t I want my friends to succeed too much?
Probably because it I base my value in my own success instead of Christ’s success. I don’t see my value as a son of God but instead I see my value as someone who is better at life than someone else or better than the norm.

Remember this is a command for us to do, but also something that God is already doing to us. And unless we receive his love, we will never be able to love the way that we are called to do.

Is Jesus “for” us?
How can we see this?
Are we “for” God?

Love Beyond Reaon

2007-04-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

Love Beyond Reason

Ask any Christian (or non-Christian) “what is the most important thing we can do in life?”, and most of them should tell you, love. It is our number one commandment.
“’Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ (mind in Mark’s gospel). This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no commandment greater than these.
All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22: 37-40 (w/ references to Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18)
(The old and new testaments both are built on this)

It is the basis for all of God’s works. I hardly even feel the need to stress the importance of love. If you are alive you want it. You need it. It is like air. It is an essential part of life and everyone, at heart, knows it.
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6b

But what is love?

Many times I ask myself after hearing the greatest commandment, “But how?” Sometimes I hear it and feel worse about myself and think how hard it is to love.
I’ll read something like 1 John 3: 14b-18
“Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.”
And think, “Oh man. Is that me?”

It is impossible to love this way unless we receive love from God.
“We love because He loved us first.” 1 John 4:19
In fact it says that God is love.
“God is love…For love comes from God.” 1 John 4: 7-8

God will supply us with what we need, but we need to receive it first. A life in God is a reaction to God’s love for us. When we realize that we are beloved by God and really believe that we are loved by God it changes the way we live.

And the most powerful way that God shows his extreme love is on the cross.
“This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us.” 1John 3
The cross says,” I love you.” It says that you are important to God. He is willing to go through pain and suffering and shame, and even death for our benefit. Just on the chance that we might see how much he loves us. He takes on our punishment and shame and even death just for us.
God never intended us to stoically and miserably go through life “loving” people. He intended it to be an expression of the joy and love that is welling up and overflowing up within us.

I am going to talk about two types of love:
1) Love that seeks value in it’s object, and
2) love that creates value in it’s object.

Pandy, bro-jon bun, elli
“she was not a particularly attractive doll. In fact, to tell you the truth she was a mess. She was no longer a valuable doll; I’m not sure we could have given her away. But for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, in the way that kids sometimes do, my sister loved that little rag doll still. She loved her as strongly in the days of Pandy’s raggedness as she ever had in her days of great beauty.”

We are all rag dolls. Flawed and wounded, broken and bent.
But we are God’s rag dolls. He knows all our raggedness, and he loves us anyhow. Our raggedness is no longer the most important thing about us.

We are most used to a type of love that looks for someone or something of great worth. This love celebrates the beauty or strength of the beloved. The love we’re most familiar with is drawn to an object because it is expensive or attractive or lends status to the one associated with it. This love satisfies my desire, wins my admiration, or fulfills my appetites. It is a treasure hunt.
We learn about this kind of love early on. (Eros. Cinderella, babies, snow white)

Eros is to precarious a love to build your life on when you’re a rag doll. You will be trapped in an unwinnable contest to prove you’re pretty enough, smart enough, strong enough, or spiritual enough to deserve loving. You will be afraid to let the ragged edges of your true self show. No, rag dolls need love made of sterner stuff than mere Eros.

There is a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns the ragged stuffed animal you had when you were a kid into a priceless treasure. There is a love that grabs hold of imperfect people for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out and makes them precious and valued beyond belief. This is the love of God. This is the love with which God loves you and me.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with my loving kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3
God draws us. He loves us into who he wants us to be.

And when we allow this kind of love to enter us and only when we receive this kind of God love can we love in this way ourselves.
We don’t just give our love to people who can give back to us. We love broken people, imperfect people, even people who don’t love us. Loving is a choice we make that no one can make us change. It is the greatest gift in life. Loving recklessly is the fastest way to life.

Why I trust the Bible

2007-04-17T02:31:00.000-07:00

The Word of God

I did not want to teach out of my own logic or out of my experience. They are a great tool in helping me and others understand, but they are not always accurate and they are can come from a flawed perspective. We all have blind spots; things that we just can’t see the way that they are supposed to be. And most of the time we don’t even know what those blind spots are. There needs to be a purer frame of reference than our own minds.
And I feel that is why God gave us the bible. It is a glimpse of his perspective. They are not just thoughts from good people. Thoughts from good people are not necessarily right. They have no more authority than my own thoughts. But if we believe that it was the Holy Spirit working through men then be believe it was God’s voice we were hearing and not man’s voices. That makes a huge difference. If it were men’s perspective it needs to be tested against all that we have; experiences, historical documents, philosophers, our culture, etc.. and it has been tried against all those things. But if it is God’s perspective and God’s perspective is right and true than we must trust it. When we trust it, it changes everything. We all use a frame of reference: an ultimate standard that we test everything against. Some use science (which incidentally tends to walk hand and hand with the bible or a few steps behind) others their own experiences or thoughts or history writers or etc… The word of God, of which the bible is the clearest form, is the standard which I choose to measure all other things against.

But??
How can you believe the Bible, there are so many interpretations out there? Or how can the Bible be relevant for today, it was written so long ago?” “Do you mean to tell me that you actually believe everything that’s in the Bible? You believe the Bible’s literally true?” Many dismiss the Bible as a book of “embellished folk tales”.

We don’t read the bible for the most part. Most Americans have one, but few read it or know much about it. We don’t trust it.

Nine Reasons why I am convinced that the Bible can be trusted as the inspired, infallible Word of God.

1 The unity and consistency of the Bible.
Bible is the fact that it was written over a period of 1,500 years, in 66 individual books, by 40 different authors, in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
And the writers were all different. Some were kings, some were farmers, some were fishermen, some were rabbis, some were wealthy, some were poor.
yet there’s amazing agreement among all the writers and a wonderful unity that ties them all together. T
People don’t agree that easily, especially people from such varied backgrounds and times and places writing about such controversial issues like the meaning of life. It would be tough to get that kind of agreement in your own home.

2 The amount of manuscript evidence is overwhelming
Still today we have over 5,000 Greek manuscripts that contain all or part of the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek. No ancient document comes close to having that kind of manuscript support. We have 7 surviving manuscripts of Plato’s (380 BC) writings and 5 for the works of Aristotle (350 BC). The manuscript evidence for the Bible is overwhelming.
And what’s even more amazing is that they agree with each other 99.5% of the time. The .5% of time when they vary is mostly over spelling and word order. The enormous volume and accuracy of the manuscript evidence, along with the unity of the Bible put it in a class by itself.

3 The archaeological evidence. If rocks could talk we’d call them to the witness stand and they would testify to the accuracy of the Bible. There once was a time when the Bible was criticized as being inaccurate when it came to historical information. But that’s not true anymore. Again and again archaeology has confirmed the reliability of the Bible.

4 Prophecies fulfilled.
the Old Testament 191 of those predictions were about the coming of Christ.

Over five hundred years before Jesus was born Hebrew prophets predicted the place of his birth (Micah 5:2), Bethlehem, that he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), escape to Egypt, return to Nazareth, live the life of a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), stand silent at his trial (Isaiah 53:7), be beaten and spit on (Isaiah 50:6), be crucified on a cross before crucifixion was even known as a method of execution (Psalm 22:16), offered vinegar to drink while hanging on the cross (Psalm 69:21), have lots cast for his clothing (Psalm 22:18), be buried in a borrowed tomb (Isaiah 53:9), come back to life (Psalm 16), and be called God (Isaiah 9:6).

5 The Bible claims to be the Word of God.

2,600 times in the Old Testament we read phrases like “And the Lord spoke to me, saying,” or “The word of the Lord came to me saying,” or “The Lord said to me.” Over and over again the writers claim that the source of their information came from God himself.

The New Testament describes this process using the word inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16 says,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

The biblical word “inspired” literally means God-breathed. The Scriptures both Old and New Testament came from the very mouth of God. The words originated with him. That’s what the Bible claims for itself. It doesn’t just claim to be a special book. It claims to be the Word of God.

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory form God the father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying,” this is my son, whom I love: with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that comes from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets make more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2Peter 1:16-21

6 Jesus Christ was convinced that the Bible was the Word of the Living God.

John 10:35 when he said, The Scripture cannot be broken.
Jesus made references to scriptures frequently and made decisions by them. An example of this is the time he was tempted in the desert where he combated the devil’s temptation with scriptural truths.

7 200,000,000 People’s Lives
So many of us could add another reason why we trust the Bible and that’s because we’ve seen what it’s done in our own lives. We’ve found in the pages of the Bible living water that has quenched our spiritual thirst and changed our lives and given us hope and meaning and purpose in life. The Bible has taught us how life works, and we can’t imagine living our life without it’s guidance.

8 The disciple’s reactions.
11 of Jesus' 12 disciples died because they refused to stop telling people about Jesus' life and resurrection from the dead. These are the same men who were at their lowest point when Christ was crucified. But just a few days later these men went from down and low to joyful and convicted. They would not have given up their lives if they did not believe what they said.
If they believed there was no God then they would not believe in the after life. And if they did not believe in an after life then they would be doing everything they could to hold on to their lives, not lay them down for the sake of a (what in this situation would be a) lie.
If the disciples believed that there was a God they would be concerned about what their eternal life would look like. They would not want to proclaim lies (heresy) that might earn them a quick trip to hell. Who in their right mind would intentionally provoke a God they believe in?
Which leads me to the next point. Were they in their right minds?
The disciples wrote (through the holly spirit) most of the New Testament. This is the best selling book of all time. It is filled with wisdom that has lasted for 2000 years. Most of our laws and values come from Jewish and Christian beliefs found in the bible that was written through these men. The teachings that they pass on are universal truths.

9 The truths found in the bible
They can be found to be true and relevant for everyone. We find so much depth, truth, and meaning in the teachings they passed on to us. Most of us follow these teaching weather we know it or not. It deeply ingrained in our morals and in our hearts.
“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ’Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” Deuteronomy 30: 11-14
The truths and knowledge of God is made more accessible through the bible.

Bible continued….

1 What is it for?
It Points to Jesus
It is not the bible that gives life. It is what is exposed in the bible that brings life.
“You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5: 39-40

God didn’t give us the Bible to be revered. He gave us the Bible to be read and studied and memorized and obeyed so that we can really live.
“But as you continue in what you have leaned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2Timothy 3: 14-17)

2 God wants us to come to him for guidance in life and not those who do not follow God.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1: 1-2

3 It is not easy to understand alone. We need other people to help us see what God is telling us.
“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet, “Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come and sit with him.” Acts 8: 30-31
It makes it even more difficult to understand given that God does not approve of everything that is recorded in the bible. The Bible records Satan’s lies, but doesn’t approve of them. The Bible records David’s adultery but doesn’t approve of it. Etc…

… And that’s why we are here ….