I decided today to start reading Hebrews. I have not finished Jeremiah mind you, but I often like to switch back and forth between old and new Testament books. Hebrews is also ideal for me right now, since a strong theme it carries is abandoning the one's dull and dreary spiritual ways for a vigor that Christ alone provides. I know that is something all of us at Cornerstone can relate to at some point in our lives; no one likes to be lukewarm, above all when it comes to God.
The first chapter proclaims Jesus as above all the angels and prophets, "Through whom he made the worlds" (2).
of 22 the Son he says, 23 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, 24 and a righteous scepter 25 is the scepter of your kingdom.1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions 26 with the oil of rejoicing.”
This verse taken from Psalms proclaims Jesus in all his majesty has been anointed to do what we could never do: save ourselves. It reminds me of Luke 4:18:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed 62 me to proclaim good news 63 to the poor. 64 He has sent me 65 to proclaim release 66 to the captives and the regaining of sight 67 to the blind,to set free 68 those who are oppressed, 69 4:19 to proclaim the year 70 of the Lord’s favor.” 71
Although this is a direct claim to the throne that belongs to Jesus, it is one that we should all take to heart. This IS the year of the Lord's favor, and he has anointed every one of us to proclaim the good news! Each day it feels like this nation is indeed the "backsliding, stiff-necked people" that characterized so much of Israel's history. When I begin to feel like I'm not good enough to do much of anything, even in God's kingdom, I need to try and remember this verse. I know I don't want to be one of those "half-hearted yuppies" that pastor Rich talked about being all over the place at his church back home (when he came for Revival last year).
32: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those 33 who will inherit salvation?
All who really matter are on our side! Our Father in heaven and all his heavenly host are watching us from above, aching for us to embrace him in all that we do. God is the wisest of all businessmen; he has invested far too much love in us to give up now! God bless every one of you, and lets keep working to encourage each other!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
"You shall be my people, and I shall be your God."
Sundays are really such a blessed thing I have been taken for far too granted as of late. We should not be moaning and complaining to have to go out in the cold, but excited to praise God on his most Holy of days! Letting the weekly grind wear me out and having pressing thoughts prevent me from praising Him with all my heart are sorry excuses on my part. To be honest, it is once I go back home and am away from Cornerstone that I am reminded of what a blessing it is to be a part of. "In light of God and his word, the past, present, and the future, what is the wise thing to do?" Heavy question indeed, and the simplest answer I can come up with is...stay in the word, fellowship and prayer!
Continuing on:
Chapter 31:8- "Behold, I will bring them from the North country, and gather them from the ends of the earth."
Here the Lord is talking about the restoration of Israel, after the 70 year reign of Babylon has ended. This indeed took place after the Babylonians were destroyed by the Persians around 559 BC. The Persians then allowed the Jews to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which is accounted for in all its glorious detail in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. However, I feel that this is also a prophetic calling for the restoration of Israel today. I think that God will ultimately restore this region known for bloodshed and warfare, and call his people from all over the world to re-inhabit it. As I mentioned before, part of the US's prosperity comes from its close alliance with Isreal.
31:33-"I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
This verse reminds me of Proverbs 3:3-"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them about your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart." God wants the work that he has done in us to be there for all the world to see. One of my biggest problems is in being too much of a 'closet Christian'. I have gotten better then I used to be, but there is still much more progress to be made. Especially after pastor Dave came up for revival, and he talked about how his Dad preached the gospel every holiday season. Even though people were weary of hearing it, eventually God's love broke down all barriers and they believed. How can we not be moved by that kind of testimony? God's power is only limited by our faith; I know I have said to myself, "There's practically no way this person would want to hear anything about God." But I do not know everyone's heart, only God does. Just image the kind of testimony that could arise from those we would least expect!
Continuing on:
Chapter 31:8- "Behold, I will bring them from the North country, and gather them from the ends of the earth."
Here the Lord is talking about the restoration of Israel, after the 70 year reign of Babylon has ended. This indeed took place after the Babylonians were destroyed by the Persians around 559 BC. The Persians then allowed the Jews to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which is accounted for in all its glorious detail in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. However, I feel that this is also a prophetic calling for the restoration of Israel today. I think that God will ultimately restore this region known for bloodshed and warfare, and call his people from all over the world to re-inhabit it. As I mentioned before, part of the US's prosperity comes from its close alliance with Isreal.
31:33-"I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
This verse reminds me of Proverbs 3:3-"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them about your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart." God wants the work that he has done in us to be there for all the world to see. One of my biggest problems is in being too much of a 'closet Christian'. I have gotten better then I used to be, but there is still much more progress to be made. Especially after pastor Dave came up for revival, and he talked about how his Dad preached the gospel every holiday season. Even though people were weary of hearing it, eventually God's love broke down all barriers and they believed. How can we not be moved by that kind of testimony? God's power is only limited by our faith; I know I have said to myself, "There's practically no way this person would want to hear anything about God." But I do not know everyone's heart, only God does. Just image the kind of testimony that could arise from those we would least expect!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Lord our Father
Today I reflected on one of my favorite chapters of the bible, Hosea chapter 11. It is some of the most beautifully written things I've ever read and really reminds of how God's love for is just like that of a father and his child.
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son....I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love...I stooped and fed them."
God's sympathy for his people is put into such a beautiful perspective here, it reminds me of when we sing "Your Grace is Enough." How true it is that God "wrestles with the sinner's heart"! We complain about how difficult it is to balance our lives with work, school, God, friends, etc., and yet how much more painful it must be to endure sin in the lives of those you love when every fiber of your being abhors its presence! There is a quote by St. Augustine that goes something like: "God does not need my lies....All that we need are his grace and an unswerving fidelity to the church." This in itself is truly all we need.
8-9"How can I give you up Ephraim?... My heart churns within me; my sympathy is stirred...For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst."
I tend to be an emotional person, which is not always a good thing. But God's love is as unchanging as everything else about him. I need constant encouragement to keep seeking the type of sympathy that comes from God; our own human sympathy will not carry us the distance necessary. I pray the rest of your week goes well, and know that this race in Jesus Christ is never in vain!
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son....I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love...I stooped and fed them."
God's sympathy for his people is put into such a beautiful perspective here, it reminds me of when we sing "Your Grace is Enough." How true it is that God "wrestles with the sinner's heart"! We complain about how difficult it is to balance our lives with work, school, God, friends, etc., and yet how much more painful it must be to endure sin in the lives of those you love when every fiber of your being abhors its presence! There is a quote by St. Augustine that goes something like: "God does not need my lies....All that we need are his grace and an unswerving fidelity to the church." This in itself is truly all we need.
8-9"How can I give you up Ephraim?... My heart churns within me; my sympathy is stirred...For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst."
I tend to be an emotional person, which is not always a good thing. But God's love is as unchanging as everything else about him. I need constant encouragement to keep seeking the type of sympathy that comes from God; our own human sympathy will not carry us the distance necessary. I pray the rest of your week goes well, and know that this race in Jesus Christ is never in vain!
Friday, December 5, 2008
You can't spell forgiving without 'giv(e)'
Seeing as it is Friday, it seems appropriate to use our bible passage for the week, John 21 as my daily blog. I'm really looking forward to how this will play out with my small group tonight, although it is a kind of confusing example of forgiveness, it offers us an insight into the purity of the type of forgiveness Jesus espouses, and how far short every single one of us falls, yes everyone.
The first thing that stands out to me in this passage is that Jesus does not imply forgiveness with just a few words, he translates this into action, by not only giving the disciples the fish that they had been laboring for, but also by eating breakfast with them. How passively we can say 'I forgive you', but going the extra mile and showing this in our actions can feel like an insurmountable goal. Say for example you took someone you loved to to the top of a bridge to show them the beautiful view and they pushed you off. Assuming you survived, how likely would you be to invite them to that same place again? Offbeat example I know, but sometimes people tend to push our limits constantly, until eventually we want to push back. Finding the path to forgiveness when our patience is beyond tried can be frustrating to say the least.
I've noticed that this is a nation not big on forgiveness. We are gung-ho about suing constantly, and many support the death penalty with a fervor that borders on sick. Pedophilia is prime example of just how hard it can be to forgive someone. Jesus tells us it is better to tie a millstone around our neck than to cause one of these little ones to sin. It is perfectly natural and just to abhor the act of defaming the children of God like this, but is not justice ultimately in the hand of God? I began reading a book about the catholic church over break, and while it disgusts me how perverse its quiet support of pedophilia has become, seeking vengeance without forgiveness will do little to heal scars.
Moving on, the exchange between Jesus and Peter in verses 15-17 is really one of the most touching in all of the new Testament, I feel. As Jesus asks Peter 3 times if his love is really sincere, and not in the cliche-movie style we see everywhere today, you can almost feel Peter's heart breaking, as if his best friend did not believe his words. After the rather cryptic answer in verse 18, Jesus proffers the words that each one of us need to remember, when forgiveness seems like a bankrupt word and we have none of it left; "Follow me."
The first thing that stands out to me in this passage is that Jesus does not imply forgiveness with just a few words, he translates this into action, by not only giving the disciples the fish that they had been laboring for, but also by eating breakfast with them. How passively we can say 'I forgive you', but going the extra mile and showing this in our actions can feel like an insurmountable goal. Say for example you took someone you loved to to the top of a bridge to show them the beautiful view and they pushed you off. Assuming you survived, how likely would you be to invite them to that same place again? Offbeat example I know, but sometimes people tend to push our limits constantly, until eventually we want to push back. Finding the path to forgiveness when our patience is beyond tried can be frustrating to say the least.
I've noticed that this is a nation not big on forgiveness. We are gung-ho about suing constantly, and many support the death penalty with a fervor that borders on sick. Pedophilia is prime example of just how hard it can be to forgive someone. Jesus tells us it is better to tie a millstone around our neck than to cause one of these little ones to sin. It is perfectly natural and just to abhor the act of defaming the children of God like this, but is not justice ultimately in the hand of God? I began reading a book about the catholic church over break, and while it disgusts me how perverse its quiet support of pedophilia has become, seeking vengeance without forgiveness will do little to heal scars.
Moving on, the exchange between Jesus and Peter in verses 15-17 is really one of the most touching in all of the new Testament, I feel. As Jesus asks Peter 3 times if his love is really sincere, and not in the cliche-movie style we see everywhere today, you can almost feel Peter's heart breaking, as if his best friend did not believe his words. After the rather cryptic answer in verse 18, Jesus proffers the words that each one of us need to remember, when forgiveness seems like a bankrupt word and we have none of it left; "Follow me."
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Better is one day in your courts Lord....
than thousands elsewhere! Today has been much smoother than yesterday, and I did well on my phonetics quiz, so that was nice. This is not a blog for me to bore everyone endlessly with my personal ups and downs (lest they be relevant), so I'll continue on with Jeremiah, of which I read chapters 27-
27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to 31 the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation 32 in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” 33
God tells us he rains on the just and unjust, but it is still quite surprising when I think about how He will use the wicked who clearly are at enmity with God to decimate and humiliate. I will try to keep this verse, and really much of Jeremiah in general, in mind when I reflect on how the wicked manage to make others subservient to them. Just as Babylon's power faded after 70 years, so to is the victory of the wicked short lived. As much as it is painful to see sometimes, his common grace is a glorious thing.
28:9 So if a prophet prophesied 10 peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”
This is a quite interesting verse that really makes me question many end-time prophetic words that religious men and women speak. Of course we are told many times in the new testament, like in I John 4:2 " By this you know the spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." Every prophet written about in the bible is after the fact, giving them the benefit of posterity. So how should we act accordingly today? It reminds me of men like Todd Bentley, who claim to have seen Jesus, does that mean we should acknowledge his words as God-breathed? Why is it that people are so desperate for prophets that have seen Christ in the flesh and are now converted? Shouldn't we instead long for those who have seen him only in faith and are now living for his name? I for one am praying that I do not become deceived, but instead continue to look to God's word for the answers.
27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to 31 the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation 32 in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” 33
God tells us he rains on the just and unjust, but it is still quite surprising when I think about how He will use the wicked who clearly are at enmity with God to decimate and humiliate. I will try to keep this verse, and really much of Jeremiah in general, in mind when I reflect on how the wicked manage to make others subservient to them. Just as Babylon's power faded after 70 years, so to is the victory of the wicked short lived. As much as it is painful to see sometimes, his common grace is a glorious thing.
28:9 So if a prophet prophesied 10 peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”
This is a quite interesting verse that really makes me question many end-time prophetic words that religious men and women speak. Of course we are told many times in the new testament, like in I John 4:2 " By this you know the spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." Every prophet written about in the bible is after the fact, giving them the benefit of posterity. So how should we act accordingly today? It reminds me of men like Todd Bentley, who claim to have seen Jesus, does that mean we should acknowledge his words as God-breathed? Why is it that people are so desperate for prophets that have seen Christ in the flesh and are now converted? Shouldn't we instead long for those who have seen him only in faith and are now living for his name? I for one am praying that I do not become deceived, but instead continue to look to God's word for the answers.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Make it a good day, or not, the choice is yours
When I was in high school (don't ask how long ago that was *_-), my principle used to announce this every morning during homeroom. At the time I used to either blank it out or mumble some pessimistic sentiment to gloss over it. It's a pretty simple thing to say, but it holds a lot of weight too. As Christians we too have a choice, one to either glorify God or not. Not to say that we'll have an eay time of it, but as Gloria even mentioned at tonight's prayer meeting, Jesus was able to die for us because the Lord had imparted his joy upon him.
I myself had a crummy day, for at least most of it. I missed my morning lab and got 0 points for the lab, and 1/2 credit for the previous lab, missed extra credit questions 'cause I was late to class, not to mention being bummed out from all the time and energy expended on last nights disapointing bball game. Prayer meeting helped cheer me up though, just to see almost everyone there put a smile on my face.
Continuing on with Jeremiah, I read chapters 25-26 tonight.
Some thoughts:
Chapter 25: So 38 the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. 39 “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. 40 Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 25:16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro 41 and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.”
Reading this made me think about nations today such as Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. which are gripped in a state of perpetual violence and riots (not everywhere mind you, but largely). What these nations share is a disdain for the living God and an outright animosity towards Israel. Even when they claim to desire peace, they are far from it. Similarly, the book of Jeremiah carries prophetic omens of doom to nations such as Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Arabia, Moab, and Philistia. But just as he brought destruction upon the Egyptians during the Israeli exodus, so will he not let those who persecute his chosen people go unpunished. I believe that part of America's prosperity lies in her alliance with Israel, but with the new presidency it remains to be seen how long this will be so. I find it such a strange coincidence that America saw such a booming time of prosperity at the same time that Israel became established, in 1948.
I myself had a crummy day, for at least most of it. I missed my morning lab and got 0 points for the lab, and 1/2 credit for the previous lab, missed extra credit questions 'cause I was late to class, not to mention being bummed out from all the time and energy expended on last nights disapointing bball game. Prayer meeting helped cheer me up though, just to see almost everyone there put a smile on my face.
Continuing on with Jeremiah, I read chapters 25-26 tonight.
Some thoughts:
Chapter 25: So 38 the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. 39 “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. 40 Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 25:16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro 41 and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.”
Reading this made me think about nations today such as Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. which are gripped in a state of perpetual violence and riots (not everywhere mind you, but largely). What these nations share is a disdain for the living God and an outright animosity towards Israel. Even when they claim to desire peace, they are far from it. Similarly, the book of Jeremiah carries prophetic omens of doom to nations such as Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Arabia, Moab, and Philistia. But just as he brought destruction upon the Egyptians during the Israeli exodus, so will he not let those who persecute his chosen people go unpunished. I believe that part of America's prosperity lies in her alliance with Israel, but with the new presidency it remains to be seen how long this will be so. I find it such a strange coincidence that America saw such a booming time of prosperity at the same time that Israel became established, in 1948.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
All we, like sheep, have gone astray....
Before we began doing these blogs, I had been reading the book of Jeremiah, partly because I feel it is a book that is particularly relevant to America's desiccating culture, and partly because I never read it before :) It is written at a dark time in Israel's history (hmm, seems to be a prevalant theme, doesn't it?), and revolves around the prophet Jeremiah, who kneels before the kingdoms of Judah and Israel and warns them of the impending destruction from the Babylonians, and after it came to pass, he continued to extoll God's glory in Egypt. In some sense it reminds me of Job, as it feels like it's written from the perspective of a man who is holding onto his last hope in this world, utterly estranged from the very species he belongs to. It is an awesome book so far, and reminds me of I and II Kings in how careful the reader must be to extract the glimmer of hope that God claims to his throne. I read chapters 19-24 last night (I don't have my bible with me, which I write down my notes and have references, so bear with me). Some standout parts include:
19:4-I will do so because these people 11 have rejected me and have defiled 12 this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors 13 nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children
The last sentence I find particularly chilling when I think about the election results. I know that Obama is hardly pro-life, and am reminded that you can tell everything from a nation by the way it treats its most vulnerable, the children. In the days before I was walking with the Lord, I used to think abortion wasn't such a bad thing, I mean if a woman wasn't prepared to take care of a child, then it's just one less person who would be miserable, right? Wrong, God is sovereign in his judgement, and righteous in his wrath : "“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb 7 I chose you. 8 Before you were born I set you apart.I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.I will not speak as hismessenger 16 any more.”But then 17 his message becomes like a firelocked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 18 I grow weary of trying to hold it in;I cannot contain it.
Every now and then I run across verses that stop me dead in my tracks, and this is one of them. One thing I struggle with, not to make excuses, is an inferiority complex that often keeps me from opening my mouth when I should be talking (of course it doesn't always work this way when my words are less than choice). I, and bet some of you as well, need to keep in mind that it is not ourselves we are representing, but we are here for God's glory. If we remain faithful to God, he will impress on our hearts a desire to preach his name so strong that it will be far more difficult to say nothing (pertaining to God), then to preach the gospel. I can think of more than a few times when I strongly felt the presence of the Lord to say something, but did nothing about it. There's honestly no blanket big enough to cover up my shame at times like that.
Good night everyone, I think I'll go have dinner and swallow my Christian excuses while I'm at it ;)
19:4-I will do so because these people 11 have rejected me and have defiled 12 this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors 13 nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children
The last sentence I find particularly chilling when I think about the election results. I know that Obama is hardly pro-life, and am reminded that you can tell everything from a nation by the way it treats its most vulnerable, the children. In the days before I was walking with the Lord, I used to think abortion wasn't such a bad thing, I mean if a woman wasn't prepared to take care of a child, then it's just one less person who would be miserable, right? Wrong, God is sovereign in his judgement, and righteous in his wrath : "“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb 7 I chose you. 8 Before you were born I set you apart.I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.I will not speak as hismessenger 16 any more.”But then 17 his message becomes like a firelocked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 18 I grow weary of trying to hold it in;I cannot contain it.
Every now and then I run across verses that stop me dead in my tracks, and this is one of them. One thing I struggle with, not to make excuses, is an inferiority complex that often keeps me from opening my mouth when I should be talking (of course it doesn't always work this way when my words are less than choice). I, and bet some of you as well, need to keep in mind that it is not ourselves we are representing, but we are here for God's glory. If we remain faithful to God, he will impress on our hearts a desire to preach his name so strong that it will be far more difficult to say nothing (pertaining to God), then to preach the gospel. I can think of more than a few times when I strongly felt the presence of the Lord to say something, but did nothing about it. There's honestly no blanket big enough to cover up my shame at times like that.
Good night everyone, I think I'll go have dinner and swallow my Christian excuses while I'm at it ;)
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