FAITH

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Time-Warp Wife

 

Faith is the bridge between where I am and where God is taking me. Whether that bridge looks sturdy and strong or too uncertain to hold the weight of this world--I step forward trusting that He will guide me safely across.

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

I never noticed this before

John 20
⁶ Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

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Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.
The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.
She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first.
He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant , and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because...........
The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'
He is Coming Back

A funny from Tim Hawkins on Facebook

Tim Hawkins

The term 'Christ Follower' is pretty popular with Christians right now. 'Messiah Stalker' not so much.

Seen on Facebook

Stay-At-Home Daughter Blog

‎"Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" -Philippians 2

LESSON 5 --- VICTORY OVER SIN

 

READ Romans 6

1.  What is sin?  How would you define it in your own words?

2.  Why should Christians avoid sinning?

3.  What are the consequences of sin?

4.  What are the results of obeying God?

5.  What example did Paul use to help the Romans understand his point?

6.What does it mean to be a slave to God?

7.  Why do believers continue to struggle with sin?

8.  After reading this chapter, how does what you just read challenge your attitude toward sin in your life?

_______________

Bible passages on victory over sin

• John 1:29 -- The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
• John 8:34-36 -- ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
• 1 John 1:7 -- 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.
• 1 John 3:4-9 --  ⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
• 1 John 5:18  -- We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.

Sin does not define who we are…

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Time-Warp Wife

God used people who were broken, sinful, and tarnished to build His kingdom on earth, because sin doesn't define who we are, God's grace does. ~ Time-Warp Wife

A gathering of the saints on March 25, 2012

 

We gathered at the Schrock’s once again.  Teri, Ray and Vana were here too.  So many good discussions, I didn’t take many notes but here is what I have:

-  We asked the question again “Are you a saint or are you a sinner saved by grace?”  Each person’s answer is so revealing.  What would your answer be?

-  What is the definition of a saint?  My bible dictionary says a saint is anyone declared righteous by God.  My bible concordance lists these verses for “saint”:

• Romans 8:27
• 1 Corinthians 6:2
• Ephesians 1:18
• Revelation 5:8
• Psalm 149:1
• 1 Samuel 2:9
• Psalm 30:4
• Psalm 116:15
• Daniel 7:18

-  The past couple of weeks a lot of “What if…..?” questions have been asked to see what a person would do in certain situations.   Paul came up with I would consider the best answer to any what if question --- “I will rely on God to direct me.”

-  As we started to get into the “formal” part of our discussion time, we joked about that we will go on into the night ‘until someone falls out of a window’.  Jordan asked what this ‘falling out of a window’ refers to?  So we went to look up where this story is told.  Acts 20:7-12

-  CRUCIAL CONCEPTS IN ROMANS

• ELECTION = God’s choice of an individual or group for a specific purpose or identity  (Romans 9:10-13)
• JUSTIFICATION = God’s act of declaring us “not guilty” for our sins  (Romans 4:25 and 5:18)
• PROPITATION = The removal of God’s punishment for sin through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  (Romans 3:25)
• REDEMPTION = Jesus Christ has paid the price so we can be free.  The price of sin is death.  Jesus paid the price.  (Romans 3:24 and 8:23)
• SANCTIFICATION = Becoming more and more like Jesus Christ through the owrk of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 5:2 and 15:16)
• GLORIFICATION = The ultimate state of the believer after death when he or she becomes like Christ.  (Romans 8:18 and 19 and 30)  (1 John 3:2)

-  we talked a lot about FAITH. 

            -  Jordan made the comment that Abraham must have been close to having a faith the size of a mustard seed.

           -  Lori asked, “Is there levels of faith?”  (great faith?)  (mustard seed faith?)

-  Romans 4:15 --- questioning “the law brings wrath and where there is no law there is no transgression”

There was so many things we discussed that is not included here.  Lots of sharing and encouraging.

After supper (after Teri, Ray and Vana left), we watched the film called “I AM”. (http://www.iamthedoc.com/)

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Noah shared a poem and did some drawings.

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A gathering of the saints

Nicole and I talked

Nicole: Ya, Apparently you guys had a dissuasion about if you can decide who you fall in live with, what is your opinion on that?

me: I'm the one who started that And no, I don't think you can

Nicole: I think you do a little.Because the guys you hang you with you will like And you will know If that makes any sense...

me: See, you can't control you truely fall in love with... If a girl falls in love with another girl, it's not her choice. Yes you can decide if you want to be with them, but you can't pick and choose who u fall in love with

Nicole: But you have a general choice. Because you pick who you hang with

me: Yes u choose who you hang around, but that's different then love. That's like saying you'll walk into a room of ppl you don't know and say "I will never love any of you"

Nicole: Ummmm But you like, then love the people around you

me: Friend love and Love love are to different things

Nicole: Ok...?

me: You love a friend different then when you FALL IN LOVE. For a friend it's a warm, I'll always be there for you, protect you kind of love. But with falling in love, it's more of a, I wanna spend every day I can with you, every second, I wanna be with you forever, I always think about you kind of thing

Nicole: I agree

me: And I don't think you can choose that, sure it can start as a friend love, but it can always get stronger


Nicole: True

me: :)

Nicole: :-D

me: So now you see my opinion

Nicole: Yup I do loud and clear :-P

Religion versus the Gospel

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Neil Cole

RT @_Matt_Carter: "Religion: I obey, therefore I'm accepted. The gospel: I'm accepted therefore I obey." Tim Keller

:o)

Your Parents Don’t Approve of Your Relationships…Now What?

http://www.projectinspired.com/your-parents-dont-approve-of-your-relationshipsnow-what/

a great post about friendship

Three powerful friendship lessons are found in Proverbs– http://www.incourage.me/2012/03/on-friendship-3-proverbial-thoughts.html

faith

So what is a saint?

 

“A saint is a holy person.^[1] In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.

In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth.^[1] (2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 3:14-19; 2Corinthians 13:5) In Orthodox and Catholic teachings, all Christians in heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered to be worthy of higher honor, emulation, or veneration.^[2][3]

In the Christian Bible, only one person is expressly called a saint: "They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD." (Psalms 106:16-18) The apostle Paul declared himself to be "less than the least of all saints" in Ephesians 3:8.” 

(quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint)

LESSON 4 --- THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM

 

1.  Think of someone who has been an example of great faith to you.  What are the evidences of that person’s faith?

READ --->  Romans 4:13-25

2.  Tell how Abraham became right with God.

3.  How did Abraham receive God’s promise?  How can others receive it?

4.  What obstacles did Abraham overcome to believe God’s promise?

5.  What does it mean to have strong faith?

7.  What words were written for both Abraham and us?

8.  How does Abraham’s example inspire you to a deeper faith?

9.  How can our life of faith influence others?

10.  Describe a time when someone’s faith made a difference in your life.

11.  What things can keep our faith from growing?

12.  What can we learn from Abraham about dealing with hindrances to faith?

13.  What do you usually do when you experience doubts?

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More Bible passages on FAITH:

Genesis 15:6

2 Chronicles 20:20

Isaiah 7:9

Habakkuk 2:4

Matthew 9:29

Acts 15:9

Romans 5:1

Romans 10:17

 

We had great discussions this past Sunday…

I hope that you are having great discussions over there in Turkey as well. 

I had Josh, Jordan and Deanna take a half an hour to go do lesson three before we officially got started.  I wanted them to answer on the blog as well as in person so that our far away family could know what they were thinking as well.  Of course the written answers are a poor substitute for actually discussing these topics in person, but it is better than nothing, right?

Here are some of the notes I took during our discussions this past Sunday:

-  Is the soul immortal?

-  What / When is spiritual death?

-  Paul mentioned the phrase – “born twice, die once OR born once, die twice”

-  Noah shared from his hands on bible the passage from Isaiah 54:10

-  It was great to see Noah jumping in on the conversations this past Sunday with his views and where he agreed or disagreed.

-  Wes said that Romans 3:22 basically sums up the whole Book.

-  In the bible study book we are using, it said that Romans 3:22 to 24 summarizes God’s plan of salvation.  It also encouraged the participants to read aloud Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 as this passage would show the law and the prophets told of God’s plan long before Jesus came to earth.  (We were going to read it but conversation took us in another direction.)

-  Justification comes through FAITH… not keeping the law, not religion, not good works… only FAITH.  (it was this way in the OT as well as the NT)

-  One of the questions that sparked quite a bit of conversation here was – “Is God fair?”

-  We wrestled with the question – “If salvation is FREELY given, then why do we humans try to pay for the gift, to pay Him back (works)?” 

            -  One answer --- we don’t know how to receive freely, to accept a gift and do nothing in return.  We feel guilty or obligated to the gifter.

            -   One suggestion or idea was to “PAY IT FORWARD” instead of trying to pay it back.   Loving one another IS loving God.

-  One of the questions from lesson 3 was --- “What should prevent believers from bragging?”  And we have a new ‘Paul-ism’ from it, “We don’t have no bragging righteousness!” 

-  This past Sunday, the teens here really opened up and spoke from their heart.  It was so good to see and be a part of.  We discussed judging others, spending time with those who are different than us, what God expects us to do with those who choose a life different than us, why is homosexuality wrong (or as Romans puts it… unnatural), is love and sex two different things, ….  (there was more but I don’t have notes and it is now Wednesday and my memory is foggy).

-  We were having such great discussions that we didn’t thoroughly get through all of lessoon 3’s questions.  We flew threw the last 5.  And just before it was time to eat, the last question came up (how do we receive God’s approval?”, and all we got for that one was that Paul didn’t like the question. :)

AFTER SUPPER ---  there was more discussion among the adults (the youngers off doing other things).

-  We discussed the question – is a sinner saved by grace the same as a saint?  Based on an article I had read the previous week (http://onanygivendayinpamelasmind.blogspot.ca/2012/03/food-for-thought-is-it-correct-to-say-i.html). 

            -   For Wes… the definition of saint is a sinner saved by grace.  So he thought the whole thing was a play on words that was unnecessary. 

            -  For Paul… he found he could now call himself a saint.  (Leftover programming from his Catholic days made him think he wasn’t one.)

AFTER THE D FAMILY LEFT --- the conversations continued…

-  we discussed “do we choose who we fall in love with?”  (Because there is a teaching out there that those who are gay cannot help who they love.)  We discussed falling in love, is it a choice, attraction… what is a person attracted to (looks, personality, etc).

-  Deanna is struggling with if she believes in God?  I asked her if she was questioning God’s existence OR if she was struggling with God’s instructions?  She said both.

I will post lesson four when I get back from my trip to town. 

TTYS

NEW MOVIE TO WATCH

October Baby reminds us that Every Life Is Beautiful, making this powerful new song from The Afters a natural selection for the film's soundtrack. Check out the music video featuring The Afters and scenes from October Baby!

 

we have been discussing judging...

Jordan shared this link

Man A Trinity (Spirit, Soul, Body)

Study By: Lehman Strauss

http://bible.org/seriespage/man-trinity-spirit-soul-body