A question about salvation for gentiles

Did God always plan to offer salvation to the gentiles (non Jews)? I just finished reading Acts. There are references to the fact that when the Jews turned their backs on the salvation message, it was offered to the gentiles. Acts 28:26-28 Acts 13:44-48 Any thoughts or scripture?

My answers to lesson 7

I decided to write out my answers for lesson 7 but it seems I am too wordy because I wasn’t allowed to post it in the comments section.  So instead I will post my answers here.

(I didn’t get them all done because Wes was rushing me out the door.)

1.  What is wrong with trying to be saved in your own way?
If you are trying to saved in your own way, then you are not working with God.  It is your self-preferring nature that you are serving, trying to show that you don't need God, that you can do things on your own.  Kind of like a two year old, they are always saying "I do it!".  We humans are like those self determined toddlers telling God, I will do it.  I don't want to owe you, I don't want to do things your way, I am doing just fine on my own.  But in time, if we are watching and wise, we will see, just like those two year olds as they get older and wiser with more experience, that maybe God is okay, that God is right.  His ways are good, and freeing and make our life better. 

 
2.  What part do our thoughts and our words have in our response to salvation?
Who we are starts with our thoughts, our inner most being.  So to become something different it has to start with our thoughts. And so we are told here in Romans that in our heart (our thoughts, our beliefs) and with our mouth we confess what we believe, and from that our salvation will arrive.  The key part to note as well here is that the Holy Spirit will come to us and speak to our heart (our thoughts) and when that happens we choose to open ourselves to Him or close the door of hearts to Him.  I have always liked this verse: 
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

3.  What promise is given to people who believe and confess that Jesus is Lord?
I am going to guess that this question is referring to verse 11 which says that those who believe will not be put to shame.  That those who call on the Lord will be saved.  My study notes say - "Paul is not saying Christians will never be put to shame or be disappointed.  There will be times when people will let us down and when circumstances will take a turn for the worse.  Paul is saying that God will keep His side of the bargain -- those who call on Him will be saved.  God will never fail to provide righteousness to those who believe." 

4.  How does God’s righteousness motivate us to godly behavior?
I would say that God's righteousness is him telling us that we are now "right" with Him, that we are not guilty, we will not be burdened with trying to be good, that we have been adopted into His family and are heirs... that all of this this would make us so glad that our cups would be overflowing with gratefulness which then leads us to do good things for others, living out all the one anotherings that we are told about in the NT.

5.  What does this passage teach about the way the good news is spread, understood, and accepted?
The good news is spread by people, every day average people, living their lives with their Savior and when they do this people will notice.  They will notice that His people are different, peculiar even.  And they will become curious and then they will inquire as to why His people are different.  And at that moment, hopefully everything has lined up (they have seen the new creation, the Holy Spirit has spoken to their heart and now His child will share the good news of love and freedom and salvation from the world.  Now these verses speak specifically to preaching and being sent.  What does that look like?  We know the work of the missionaries who go out their neighbourhoods and communities to do this work.  But is that the only way of preaching and being sent?  I read this today from David Black's blog:

" In Tuesday’s chapel I met a whole bunch of wonderful kingdom people. They are our students who are being deployed this year to some foreign country in order to "reach out and touch someone" with the love of Christ. As we laid hands on them and prayed over them, I was haunted by the idea that God is not so much commissioning them as He is commissioning all of us to be fulltime missionaries in this world.  Cook a meal and take it to an unsaved neighbor and you have just gone on a "mission trip." Can you rake leaves? Use that "talent" to draw others to the Savior. Jesus wants to use all of us in evangelism. Don't get me wrong. I am grateful for each and every one of these students and their commitment to global evangelization. I just wish more of us were like them. Rumor has it that people with the most toys win. Don't believe it. No amount of things can satisfy. The American Dream is a huge downer. Much better to live for Jesus by serving others. Plug in wherever God has put you. Do it now. The time is short. The night is coming. Isn't it about time we got back to the Bible’s way of loving people toward the cross? Let's all step up the plate. " 

You have probably heard me say one my favorite quotes when it comes to this topic: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words."

6.  What aspects of God’s character are shown through his plan of salvation?

7.  How are you encouraged by God’s plan to save the world?

8.  Why is it difficult for us to follow Jesus?
Number one would be because following Jesus's ways goes against what is naturally in us, our self preferring nature.  He wants us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile.... "but what about me???"  we scream.  Without Him and His people this is an impossible hurdle to overcome.  Number two would be that those who say they represent Him, a.k.a. Christians, have done a terrible job of being His ambassadors.  Like Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, but your Christians are so unlike Your Christ."  And Number three would be that it is hard to follow what we cannot see in the physical.  We relate to Christ in the spiritual but our physical side is so much more strong of a "sense" that it can be very difficult us to operate in the spiritual. 

9.  What can we learn from Israel’s response to God’s plan of salvation?

10.  How can you guard against trying to earn God’s approval and acceptance?

11.  Why is it important to tell others about your faith in Jesus Christ?

Lesson 8 --- Called by God

 

READ Romans chapter 11.

 

1.  Why did some people think that God must have rejected the Israelites?

2.  What does God’s answer to Elijah show us?

3.  How do people try to earn God’s grace?

4.  Why are some people open to the Good News and others are closed?

5.  Why can we be confident that God’s grace is for all who will receive it?

6.  How are some people misled about the true way of salvation?

7.  In what different things do people put their hope for salvation?

8.  Why is it important that we not take our salvation for granted?

 

For more Bible passages on the way God chooses to save see:

• Deuteronomy 9:4,5
• Romans 2:4
• Romans 8:28,29
• Ephesians 1:4-6 and 11
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• 1 Timothy 2:3-4
• Titus 3:4-5

GOOD TO BE ALIVE

Jason Gray cracks me up in it, kinda geeky but looks like fun.:)

Good intentions often leads us in circles.

http://faithofafather.com/2012/04/21/lesson-4-from-a-heart-attack-going-in-circles-2/

Good Morning!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 15:5-6)

or from The Message:

May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!

Sunday April 15 2012

 

We read Romans 7 over cake and ice cream.  Then we moved onto Romans 8 and lesson 6 about being not guilty.

I didn’t take many notes, so this will be from memory. 

-  In Romans 7, we are told that we now belong to Christ but previously we had been “married” to someone else.  Our question, who were we married to before?  Law? Sin? Satan?   What are your thoughts?

-  How come the Law could not provide salvation?  The study note in my Bible for Romans 7:1 says, “Paul shows that the law is powerless to save the sinner, the lawkeeper, and even the person with a new nature.  The sinner is condemned by the law; the lawkeeper can’t live up to it, and the person with the new nature finds their obedience to the law sabotaged by the effects of their old nature.  Once again, Paul declares that salvation cannot be found by obeying the law.  No matter who we are, only Jesus Christ can set us free!”

-  Who is unable to please God?  Why can’t they please him? --- We struggled with this question and at first we couldn’t put a finger on why.  But then Lori asked… is God looking to be be pleased OR is He looking to be loved?  With the question worded the way it was, it could possibly lead us down the path of a checklist of things to do to keep God appeased.  Is God looking to be appeased?  We think that He is looking for a love relationship with Him, and if we get that part right, everything else will fall into place.

-  How does a person attain true life?  ---- How do we define “true life”?  We batted this around for a bit.  The note I wrote down for this one says – “by living the life God created us for.”

-  Explain what it means to live by the Spirit.  --- To not live by a checklist or a set of rules or a program, but instead to be in relationship with God, on a moment to moment basis via His Spirit. 

-  How should we, believers, deal with feelings of condemnation and guilt?  First of all, all feelings can be deceiving, based on false presumptions.  Instead we need to choose to live in our true identity as God’s children, we have been adopted into His family.  We need to remind ourselves of the truth…. I am not condemned nor guilty… I have been set free by Jesus!!!! 

            -  Romans 8:34 --- Jesus is interceding for us!  God has aquitted us, removed our sin and guilt, so it is Satan who accuses us.  But Jesus is our advocate.

-  Nicole mentioned in her notes that she found this chapter a little confusing.  Can you expand on what you found confusing Nicole?  I don’t want to leave you here confused! <3

-  Something Lori mentioned from the blog post Susan wrote – Acts 13:46…. the words, “you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life.” or as the KJV puts it, “but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life”.  They JUDGE themselves.  Very powerful.  How many out there judge themselves as not worthy of Christ? 

-  And then later on, Lori mentioned she was struggling with the next verse in Acts, verse 48 – “all who were appointed for eternal life believed.”  What is this verse saying?  What does appointed mean in this verse?

 

___________

A FEW EXTRAS:

-       Something interesting to note:  Paul uses adoption or “sonship” to illustrate the believer’s new relationship with God.  In Roman culture, the adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in the new family.  The adopted person became a full heir to his new father’s estate.  Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, they gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family.  One of these outstanding privileges is being led by the Spirit (see Galatians 4:5-6).  We may not always FEEL as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness.  His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love.  (study note from my Bible for Romans 8:14-17)

Read more about the Holy Spirit and our connection in Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 6:14 (He is a guarantee deposit of eternal life), 2 Corinthians 4:14, and 1 Thessalonians 4:14.

 

-  SALVATION --- we have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved (past, present and future salvation).   Confused yet?

            -     (from Bible study notes)  -  We have been saved, we were saved the moment we believed, our eternal life began at this moment. (Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1-11; Romans 6:1-11, 22,23).      We are being saved at this time because it takes the process of sanctification to make us more like Christ.  And at the same time we have not yet received ALL the benefits that salvation will give us, we won’t get the whole thing until Christ’s new kingdom is completely established.

Lesson 7– GOD’S PERFECT PLAN

READ Romans chapter 10.
***I encourage you to speak up if you feel like the question is worded wrong, or if you feel like the question has an agenda behind it.  There have been a few times where one of us at the discussions disagree with how the question is being presented.  Feel free to wrestle with the wording or any hidden messages you feel the question is leading to.
1.  What is wrong with trying to be saved in your own way?
2.  What part do our thoughts and our words have in our response to salvation?
3.  What promise is given to people who believe and confess that Jesus is Lord?
4.  How does God’s righteousness motivate us to godly behavior?
5.  What does this passage teach about the way the good news is spread, understood, and accepted?
6.  What aspects of God’s character are shown through his plan of salvation?
7.  How are you encouraged by God’s plan to save the world?
8.  Why is it difficult for us to follow Jesus?
9.  What can we learn from Israel’s response to God’s plan of salvation?
10.  How can you guard against trying to earn God’s approval and acceptance?
11.  Why is it important to tell others about your faith in Jesus Christ?

*** For more passages on God’s plan of salvation see:

1. John 3:16
2. John 4:22
3. Acts 4:12
4. Acts 28:28
5. 2 Corinthians 7:10
6. 1 Thessalonians 5:9
7. Revelation 7:10

"How did Jesus fulfill the meanings of the Jewish feasts?"

http://www.gotquestions.org/questweek.html

Question:

"What did Paul mean when he said he had kept the faith?"

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Teri shared this…

Barnabas and Saul in Antioch

I'm reading through Acts right now.  It's a book I have avoided for a long long time.  I thought it was boring.  It isn't.  These verses caught my attention today:

Acts 13:38 & 39  "Therefore my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."

Here Paul and Barnabas are speaking to observant Jews.  When the Jews fail to accept the good news, they respond this way:

Act 13:46 "Then Paul and Barnabas answerd them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.""

Acts 13:48 says the Gentiles were glad and honored and believed!

These verses make me think about people today who think they have to fix themselves before they are worthy to accept eternal life. It makes me think of people following religious rules (Muslim, Christian, Jewish whatever). They can never quite be justified or accepted because they can't get the observance of the rules right.

;oP Growing Weeds for Jesus

In Visible Fellowship

Good post about a new book - http://lisanotes.blogspot.ca/2012/04/in-visible-fellowship.html

quote from the post:

The reason God gives us discernment
about a weakness or a fault in another believer
is so we will bring the issue before God,
praying on behalf of our brother or sister.

…If we spent as much time in intercessory prayer
for others as we do complaining about others,
how would that change the life of our community?

How would that change us?

- JON WALKER, In Visible Fellowship

and

Intercession means no more than to bring
our brother into the presence of God,
to see him under the Cross of Jesus
as a poor human being and sinner in need of grace.

Then everything in him that repels us falls away;
we see him in all his destitution and need.

His need and his sin become so heavy and oppressive
that we feel them as our own,
and we can do nothing else but pray.
– DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Community

Why You Need to Find Community {even when you’re really hurting}

Apr 12, 2012 05:30 am | Ann Voskamp

http://www.incourage.me/2012/04/why-you-need-to-find-community-even-when-youre-really-hurting.html

(*****READ the comments section of the article too!!!)

Yes, we all need community!  Loved this article.  Here are some of my favourite quotes from it:

• There are times when leaving things unsaid to most, and mostly said to one, can be the way love covers over a multitude of sins.
• The shields that protect you can easily become the bars that imprison you.
• I didn’t want love to hurt and the truth is that love means to suffer and there’s no getting around it.
• And found loneliness to be more injurious than rejection because it can be self inflicted. There is always someone to love.
• Love is a tree, each person a branch. And a pile of cut off branches doesn’t make a tree. Love can only be comprehended in community. You need imperfect people in your life to perfect your practice of love.
• There are no solitary saints; all sanctification is forged in community.
• The chance to love imperfect people is another chance to perfect His love in me. And all the believers are belongers.
• That her keeping company with her had kept something inside of her together.
• Joining and participating in just one group or community this year cuts your odds of dying in half over the next year.
• Love is a tree, each person a branch. And a pile of cut off branches don’t make a tree. Love can only be comprehended in community.

His Timing

LESSON SIX --- NOT GUILTY

The lesson book has skipped chapter 7 of Romans but I encourage you to read it anyway.  A very encouraging portion in chapter 7 for me is the Apostle Paul’s “do-do” statements, how even he found it hard to want to do and actually do what is right.

But now on to lesson six … we are not guilty.

READ Romans Chapter 8.  (I myself have really enjoyed reading the lesson from The Message Bible.  Things seem more clear to me from it.)  (The Message can be found online at http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208&version=MSG)

Think about a time you were “let off the hook” after you had been caught at doing something wrong.  How did you feel knowing you wouldn’t have to do the punishment for your wrong doing? 

1.  Explain how the Law could not provide salvation.

2.  Who is unable to please God?  Why can’t they please him?

3.  In what ways does the Spirit of God transform people?

4.  How does a person attain true life?

5.  Explain what it means to live by the Spirit.

6.  How should believers deal with feelings of condemnation and guilt?

Words spoken…

A man went about the community telling malicious lies about another man. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the the man and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The accused told the slanderer, "Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds."

The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the accused that he had done it, the accused ,man said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."

The words spoken once released cannot be stopped from harming their intended target . . . the character and soul of another.

good discussion topic…

FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

• How many times do we flirt with something in our lives that has the potential to be sinful and can snowball into something so much bigger?
• “Sin will take you places you never intended to go, it will keep you there longer then you wanted to stay and the cost will be more than you ever thought possible.”
• We may start with simple intentions but disaster may be lurking right around the corner.  We only mean to indulge in a few minutes of an activity and whether it happens five minutes later or a year down the road-we find ourselves in a place we never intended to go, we have stayed there much longer than we thought we would and now the cost/consequences are more than we ever would have thought.
• when we hurt people...  We have lost trust, our word is questioned and we have hurt someone.  The consequences of sin are always more than we think.
• My challenge to you wives today is to search your heart and see if there are slippery slopes that you have been flirting with recently?
• What to do when you realize you are “flirting with disaster?”
• Temptations is temptation because it is appealing.  We want what we are not allowed to have.  That is why simply stopping the behavior many times is not enough.  We need to have Godly counsel and encouragement to help us through these pitfalls.  That being said you may very well need to put an end to a relationship that is teetering on inappropriate.  After doing so, have people in place to help you.

 

(****all the above are from this website http://www.onefleshmarriage.com/2012/04/flirting-disaster.html)

He is Risen!

Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

The Message (MSG)

^5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

^9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

For the hurting…

Read this post today: For the Hurting on Easter @ http://deeperstory.com/for-the-hurting-on-easter/

This a portion of the post:

 

Men fail, but Jesus never does.

People hurt one another. Jesus heals the wounds.

Men close their ears to the pleas of the hurts, Jesus listens.

Leaders turn their eyes from their sinking ship, but Jesus walks on water to rescue the drowning.

Jesus is our Shepherd, and He loves His sheep.

He seeks the lost, he heals the sick, he tends the wounded, he frees the prisoners.

Men will fail you, but Jesus never will.

This Easter, fix your eyes on Him.

You’ve been walking with me all this time ♥

 

ALL THIS TIME
Artist: BRITT NICOLE.
Album: Gold

I remember the moment
I remember the pain
I was only a girl
But I grew up that day
Tears were falling
I know You saw me

Hiding there in my bedroom
So alone
I was doing my best
Trying to be strong
No one to turn to
That’s when I met You

All this time
From the first tear cry
To today’s sunrise
And every single moment between
You were there
You were always there
It was You and I
You’ve been walking with me all this time

Ever since that day
it’s been clear to me
That no matter what comes
You will never leave
I know You’re for me
And You’re restoring

Every heartache and failure
Every broken dream
You’re the God who sees
The God who rescued me
This is my story
This is my story

I hear these people asking me
How do I know what I believe?
Well I’m not the same me
And I saw the proof I need
I felt Love I felt Your grace
You stole my heart that day

Armor of God print outs

http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/armor-of-god-young-man/

go to the link above to get the larger size to print out

3 days and 3 nights?

Unleavened Bread / Nisan 17 / Easter

 

Since it is the Easter weekend coming up, I am not going to post the new lesson from Romans.  Instead I thought I would share some interesting tidbits about Passover.

Here is a video explaining the unleavened bread used in a Passover meal:

 

Stephanie mentioned to me last year that I should look up all the events that had taken place on Nisan 17.  I never did do it but one of the websites I like to read has published a look at it.  You can find it here: http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2010/03/01/nisan-17-odds-one-in-783864876960000000/

“The Bible records many miracles occurring on Nisan 17. No other day except Passover is mentioned as many times in the Bible. According to the Torah and traditional Jewish interpretation, other events that occurred on Nisan 17 include the following:”

Lots more info at her website, check it out.

 

QUESTION TO PONDER AND ANSWER:  So how did we get to the Easter we have now and how does it tie in with the death and resurrection of our Messiah?

:oP

Good Friday

“How Bad We Need Each Other” and “Ubuntu”

Wes caught this song playing at the end of one of our TV shows we watch and it really struck a chord with him.

 

 

 

(found on Facebook)

Life Lessons

‎"An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He managed to get candy from the nearest town and put it all in a decorated basket. at the foot of a tree.
Then he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said "now", the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there could have all the candy to him/herself.
So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said "now", all of the children took each other by the hand ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time divided up the candy, sat down and began to happily munch away.
The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the candy all to themselves.
The children responded: "Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?"
Ubuntu is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as "I am what I am because of who we all are."
Bishop Desmond Tutu gave this explanation in 2008 :
"One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."

by: The Universal One

Teri had this posted on Facebook…

A blessing for the start of our workday:

" ... And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ." -- from Colossians 3:23 (The Message)

Proverbs 4:23

Are you resting in the presence of Jesus Christ each moment?

This post was very good --

Are you resting in the presence of Jesus Christ each moment?  http://www.alanknox.net/2012/04/are-you-resting-in-the-presence-of-jesus-christ-each-moment/

Betrayal, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

http://lifestream.org/blog/2012/04/03/betrayal-forgiveness-and-reconciliation/

Sunday Discussions

 

We had a non-regular Sunday.  Lori had a trip to Edmonton planned so their family came over for lunch.  And then Lori left and all the guys stayed.  Then in the afternoon Vana, Teri and Ray came over.  I made Teri’s favorite meal in honor of her birthday and we had lemon cake with strawberries as well for her birthday. 

Here are some of the things we discussed:

-  I have a saying about babies…. “that every baby is to be celebrated no matter the circumstances it comes to the world.”  And recently my family found out there is going to be a new family member coming in the fall.  My cousin is pregnant (she is 21 and unmarried) and not all family members have positive feeling towards her situation.  One said family member finds herself not able to congratulate my cousin on her coming baby.  Her feelings are that my cousin is too young, she has her whole world in front of her, and the fact that she is not married makes the situation much worse.  I am saddened to hear this view coming from her because she herself got pregnant outside of marriage and was judged by people, and I don’t know why she would want to do this to someone else.  So we chatted about this situation for a while, how it could/should be handled.  How do we love her through this and come along side her and the baby’s father to encourage and support and hopefully redeem this reality they now find themselves in.  For me, the baby is not the sin, is not wrong… the situation is what is wrong (wrong meaning not the ideal situation to be bringing a new life into the world… broken).  But broken can be healed and be made right be made new through love and encouragement and choosing Love.

-  Vana watched the film “I AM” this week and was sharing about it with another person.  This person was guarded and declared the film ‘too new age’ for them to watch. 

            So we discussed how we can trap ourselves by our ideals and views and what our paradigms might be.  I have found some people unable to step outside their box of what they deem acceptable by what their denomination or religion dictate.  From what I can see, to me their faith is weak and they do not feel strong enough to view material that might challenge what they choose to live their life by.  For me, I think I am in a position where my faith in God is pretty solid and at this point don’t think material outside of my comfort zone, or well accepted beliefs would derail my faith.  I also think that sometimes we need to read or discuss or watch things that challenge us to help our faith grow and become more solid.  It reminds me of a quote I read, “smooth seas do not make for a skilled sailor”.  If we only ever stay in smooth seas of our comfort zone beliefs, how do we become strong and firm in what we know to be true, if it is never tested?

-  Next we went over lesson 5…

-  so we started with question one and Josh’s answer spoke about sin being an evil act.  That made me squirm.  Is all sin evil?  So we batted around that question for a bit.  I looked up how evil was defined in my concordance, it said – “morally bad or wrong; something that causes harm or distress.”  It amazes me how my view is tweaked whenever I look up the definition to words.  ‘Something that causes harm or distress’, and that means to others or myself.  Wow… makes me think differently about what evil is.

-  Question number two asked why we should avoid sinning.  We came up with that sinning only leads to more and more sinning.  Jordan came up with a great word picture that had a big impact on me.  Jordan shared this picture… a group of Christians on a raft in the middle of the ocean.  The ocean is the worlds ways (sin).  As we drink the ocean we become more thirsty and so we drink more of the ocean and become more thirsty and we keep doing this until eventually we die.  However if we drink of the pure water that God offers us, we no longer crave what the world offers and we have real life.

-  Questions three and four talked about the results or consequences of sin and obedience.  Of course the obvious answer is death or life.  But we also discussed how there are earthly and spiritual consequence to our choosing sin or obedience.  If we sin we end up hurting ourselves and others, there are broken relationships, poor health and more.  Same with choosing obedience, we have better relationships, etc.  However Wes also pointed out the spiritual consequences --- when we sin the spirit gets hurt and we continue to choose sinful things to try and mask that hurt or to make us feel better.  And for choosing obedience we will have the fruits of the spirit… peace, love and joy and more.

-  Question number six…. we discussed the word ‘slave’.  Slave seems like such a strong and negative word to apply to believers.  When I picture a slave, I see one who is in chains, forced against their will to do things.  Is this what God wants us to be?  So I had to look up the world slave.  A slave is one held in servitude to another; one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence.  What difference is there in a servant and a slave?  The Apostle Paul often refers to himself as a servant.

            -  Paul mentioned the Hebrew practice of slavery.  After 7 years a slave was set free but if the slave chose to stay with the master, the slave was then required to stay for life.

            -  There are only two possible masters in the spiritual world… God or sin.  So we either choose God or by default we are slaves to sin.

            -  we discussed that the Law was the master in the OT not God.  We were slaves to what the Law said.  The Law did not save us, God did when he declared us righteous because of our faith.  Righteousness comes from God.

-  Question seven…. why oh why do we continue to struggle with sin???  Because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We will address this in chapter 7 with Paul’s do-do statement.  :)

-  Question eight…  Johanna wrote that she was going to rethink what sin was, that she needed to learn what defiles us.  Wes wants to add that sin not only defiles us but defiles others around us as well.

-  Next we batted around the question of sinning in the body versus sinning in the spirit?  How do these differ?  How do they affect each other?  We know we move towards sin FIRST in our mind then act it out with our body.  So if we can conquer our mind we will sin less in the body.

         -  Where is the mind?  What part of the body/soul/spirit does the mind lay?

            -  Paul shared about he read called – “As a man thinketh, so is he”

-  Next we read through the bible verses listed with this lesson.  The concept that we as believers no longer sin sent up red flags to question.  Because we do sin, we can’t stop sinning…. right?  What are these verses trying to tell us.  So I read some of them from the Message because I think it helps.  In the Message it talks about not practicing sin in our daily lives. 

 

1 John 3:4-9

The Message (MSG)

^4-6All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backward.

^7-8So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.

^9-10People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.

 

 

 

FOOTPRINTS FOR CHILDREN

what have you been up to?

So what have you been reading, pondering, questioning, learning, discussing on your God journey lately?

Do you have foolish or wise tendencies?

Read this late last night - April Fools' Day and the Book of Proverbs at http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.ca/2012/04/april-fools-day-and-book-of-proverbs.html

“The book of Proverbs uses the word "fool" forty-three different times. This is by far the most in the bible (the book of Ecclesiastes comes in a distant second place with thirteen uses). On this April Fools' Day, Proverbs gives us many healthy reminders that living for God is wise, while rejection of him for the things of the world is foolish.”

You can see all the references here -- http://www.esvbible.org/search/fool/Proverbs/

trust in the Lord…

Acts 20:7 and the First Day of the Week

I read this blog post this morning (http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.ca/2012/04/acts-207-and-first-day-of-week.html).  We have discussed this topic before but it is good to hear what others are thinking as well.  I think we as a group have the eating and conversing thing down. 

If God…