Tonight at Overflow there was a speaker. He talked for about 5 minutes and didn't use any Bible. I had a large disagreement with what he said, and this is why: He started off saying we need to remember why we're Christians, which is the one thing that I agreed with. Then he said that we needed to remember our feelings when we first got saved... happiness, etc... then feel that continually. First off, I got saved when I was 8ish. It was less happy happy joy joy than it was "oh, that makes sense." Secondly, one's faith should not be based off of feelings, by any means. The guy continued, however. He said that God really just wanted us to be happy and wanted to bless us. That's all. Which I think is totally wrong. That's not... Biblical at all. At least according to my readings of the Bible.
I also have had a sort of thing going on with me for the past few days. Essentially, I've been wondering where the rescue is. You know... how God is supposed to be rescuing us from ourselves. I still feel very trapped in self. I am constantly wading through my own sin. I see so much junk in my life. I want to be a great Christian guy, and sometimes I can be that, but other times I baffle myself about how duel-sided I am. I guess I'm just wondering what I should be seeing in my life. As a Christian. Now, I see fruit, mind you. I see myself grow in Christ. But all the time while I'm growing, I see my faults and imperfections getting clearer and more refined. Are we supposed to free ourselves from this? Is Christ supposed to free us?
I'm just sick of singing to Jesus one minute, then turning my back on Him the next. I wish I didn't do that.
I'm confused about next year. I have various living options. Do I live with guys who I believe are Christians, but seriously off the path, yet are great friends with me? Or do I live with guys who are great Christians, and also great friends with me, but perhaps not as good friends? Or something else altogether... the Jesus house or BYX house or something? I don't know. I have too many friends, maybe? Or no best friends. Or maybe I'd call the guys who aren't following Christ my best friends, and I feel bad about that? I don't know.
I finished Mark, now I'm headed onto and through Luke. I like where the disciples are questioning Jesus about how to get to heaven after the rich man wouldn't sell everything. They are more or less depressed, and ask how anyone at all has a chance of entering Heaven. In the Message (hey, I'm reading it right now, so I'll quote it), Jesus says: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourselves. Every chance in the world if you let God do it." I like that.
And it's always comforting to hear people say that no matter how much we mess up, we can not lose God's grace. Super-comforting.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Straight Through
I have recently acquired a copy of Eugene Peterson's The Message translation of the Bible. I wanted it for two reasons: 1, I already use NASB, which is the most word-for-word translation. And I'm pretty sure that the Message is the most thought-for-thought translation... so now I have both ends. 2, and I'll just be honest, the NASB's being word-for-word makes it a little hard to read through. It's great for small-section study, but recently, I've just been wanting to read the Bible through like a letter or book. So I figured the Message would be more readable.
I just got through the sermon on the mount, in Matthew. There's a part in 5:29 where (irk... I never thought I'd be saying this) I really like how The Message puts it. Jesus is talking about following Him, specifically dealing with lust, and says "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is." He then goes on to give the people advice on dealing with said problem.
And I can dig that a lot. I always groan when someone says that they became a Christian, then all of a sudden, their life was perfect. They didn't struggle with sin any more, God was blessing them and sending them checks in the mail, and an angel started vacuuming the house for them. After being saved, we should have a hope, yes. But life will not get easier, and in all probability, it will be harder, because now you have another person in your life that you care about and don't want to hurt (IE, Jesus, whom you don't want to insult by sinning).
I suppose that is all. Life is hard. God is good. Thankfully, Jesus rescues us from this life. Yay!
-Philip
I just got through the sermon on the mount, in Matthew. There's a part in 5:29 where (irk... I never thought I'd be saying this) I really like how The Message puts it. Jesus is talking about following Him, specifically dealing with lust, and says "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is." He then goes on to give the people advice on dealing with said problem.
And I can dig that a lot. I always groan when someone says that they became a Christian, then all of a sudden, their life was perfect. They didn't struggle with sin any more, God was blessing them and sending them checks in the mail, and an angel started vacuuming the house for them. After being saved, we should have a hope, yes. But life will not get easier, and in all probability, it will be harder, because now you have another person in your life that you care about and don't want to hurt (IE, Jesus, whom you don't want to insult by sinning).
I suppose that is all. Life is hard. God is good. Thankfully, Jesus rescues us from this life. Yay!
-Philip
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Where Does Our Glory Come From
I'm currently reading through two books: 1 Kings and John. On top of that, I'm just about finished with Donald Miller's "Searching for God Knows What."
One of Miller's biggest things he tries to get across in his book is the idea of his "lifeboat theory." Bear with me. Roughly the entire book centers around this premise, but I'll try to condense it. Essentially, he says that the reason almost anyone does almost anything is to gain approval from others. We essentially try to receive glory from others. This is why it is emphasized so often in the beginning of the Bible that A.) Adam & Eve were naked and unashamed, and B.) why they suddenly realized they were naked and sought to clothe themselves after the fall. While in harmony with God, Adam & Eve received their glory from Him. Because of this, they were completely content with who they were. All of their approval came straight from God so much to the point that they depended on nothing else... it could be said that they were naive, I suppose. Once this fellowship with God was broken, and they were no longer receiving their approval and glory from Him, they realized they were naked. The contention was gone and they wished to receive glory from each other.
In any case, I post that summary because I'm in the 5th chapter of John and came across this verse, spoken by Jesus: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?"
It essentially restates the thing. Here on earth, in our fallen state, we attempt to get glory from one another in various ways: looks, intelligence, strength, just being "right", etc. We try to validate our own existences through other's approval. Which obviously, is a standard fallback for humanity, but not a good state for a Christian. We should attempt to to only get our approval, our glory in life from God. Is it really doable, or do we have to wait till we die to achieve that goal? I'm not sure... but I lean more towards the latter.
-Philip
One of Miller's biggest things he tries to get across in his book is the idea of his "lifeboat theory." Bear with me. Roughly the entire book centers around this premise, but I'll try to condense it. Essentially, he says that the reason almost anyone does almost anything is to gain approval from others. We essentially try to receive glory from others. This is why it is emphasized so often in the beginning of the Bible that A.) Adam & Eve were naked and unashamed, and B.) why they suddenly realized they were naked and sought to clothe themselves after the fall. While in harmony with God, Adam & Eve received their glory from Him. Because of this, they were completely content with who they were. All of their approval came straight from God so much to the point that they depended on nothing else... it could be said that they were naive, I suppose. Once this fellowship with God was broken, and they were no longer receiving their approval and glory from Him, they realized they were naked. The contention was gone and they wished to receive glory from each other.
In any case, I post that summary because I'm in the 5th chapter of John and came across this verse, spoken by Jesus: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?"
It essentially restates the thing. Here on earth, in our fallen state, we attempt to get glory from one another in various ways: looks, intelligence, strength, just being "right", etc. We try to validate our own existences through other's approval. Which obviously, is a standard fallback for humanity, but not a good state for a Christian. We should attempt to to only get our approval, our glory in life from God. Is it really doable, or do we have to wait till we die to achieve that goal? I'm not sure... but I lean more towards the latter.
-Philip
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