Hosea 3 is five verses and very simple. God tells Hosea to go find his prostitute wife, buy her and have her live with him as his wife. This is a picture of things to come for Israel, but as we have been seeing, it is also the story of redemption for mankind.
Man has sinned against God, but God in his love goes into the streets and finds us. He bought us with the blood of Christ and one day he will live with us (or better said, we will live with him) in heaven.
Tonight I'm not going to type much; the main point is that God has already found us and paid for us, the choice is yours whether you turn to God and stay in his house, or turn your back to him, leave and continue in your sin until your eventual demise.
I choose life. I choose redemption.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Hosea 2:14-23
The Story of the Gospel: Jesus and Your Response
Last week we looked at how the story of the gospel begins with the broken relationship between God and man. How can man get back to God? We looked at how this brokenness is due to sin which separates us from God and needs to be judged by God.
So here we are, deserving judgement for our sins like a felon deserves punishment for his crime. The beauty of the gospel however, is that Jesus steps in and takes the punishment, the judgement for us. When did he do this? On the cross, when Jesus died, he took the judgement for our sin. It was much like the Old Testament sacrifices. A sinless animal takes on the person's sin and is slain for it; of course these sacrifices are nothing compared to the sacrifice of Jesus. The animals were merely symbolic, but Jesus' death literally frees us from sin, not just forgives us.
The thing is, to receive this gift of lifted judgement, of pardon for our sin, we must respond to Christ with faith. We must believe that he did what the Bible says he did and that it alone is sufficient for forgiveness of sins.
In tonight's passage is Hosea we see God telling Israel that he will one day take her back, he will forgive her. Just as Jesus does for mankind. But the chapter closes by saying something very important. "I will say to those called 'Not my People' 'you are my people', and they will say, 'You are my God'. You see, God, through Jesus has said, you are my people, but only if we submit and say, you are my God, can we find eternal life and freedom in Jesus Christ.
Last week we looked at how the story of the gospel begins with the broken relationship between God and man. How can man get back to God? We looked at how this brokenness is due to sin which separates us from God and needs to be judged by God.
So here we are, deserving judgement for our sins like a felon deserves punishment for his crime. The beauty of the gospel however, is that Jesus steps in and takes the punishment, the judgement for us. When did he do this? On the cross, when Jesus died, he took the judgement for our sin. It was much like the Old Testament sacrifices. A sinless animal takes on the person's sin and is slain for it; of course these sacrifices are nothing compared to the sacrifice of Jesus. The animals were merely symbolic, but Jesus' death literally frees us from sin, not just forgives us.
The thing is, to receive this gift of lifted judgement, of pardon for our sin, we must respond to Christ with faith. We must believe that he did what the Bible says he did and that it alone is sufficient for forgiveness of sins.
In tonight's passage is Hosea we see God telling Israel that he will one day take her back, he will forgive her. Just as Jesus does for mankind. But the chapter closes by saying something very important. "I will say to those called 'Not my People' 'you are my people', and they will say, 'You are my God'. You see, God, through Jesus has said, you are my people, but only if we submit and say, you are my God, can we find eternal life and freedom in Jesus Christ.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Hosea 2:1-13
The Story of the Gospel pt. 1
God and Man
A great way to explain the gospel that I have heard is found in the book "What is the Gospel?". It has four parts, God, man, Christ, response, and explains how there is a just God who must judge sinful man but anyone who responds to Christ's sacrificial death, for man's sins, through faith can have eternal life and right standing with God. Over the next two weeks I will briefly look at how Hosea chapter 2 shows these four parts and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you have read the first 13 verses of Hosea 2, you have seen the message of an angry God. Israel had turned its back on God even after all he had done for them, and God was not happy. The relationship between God and mankind is very similar. God created mankind, yet man chose to sin against God. Man would rather him or herself be the God of his or her life, rather than Jehovah; the God who created mankind. So in a similar fashion, we see a picture of God, angry at the Israelites and we know that throughout history, God's just anger has been on mankind.
God is perfect and man is sinful. Those two things cannot coexist and thus man must pay the punishment for his sin. The gospel of Christ is much more complex than simply believing in God. It is essentially a legal situation. God is the creator and also the judge of the world and he will judge every person who has, is or will live. Unfortunately as we stand, every single person that will be judged deserves to go to hell to pay the price for their sin. Next week we will look at how God has redeemed his people, but for now, let it sink in that you deserve to be punished for your sin. All the things Hosea 2:1-13 says and worse, you deserve. But, if you are a Christian, you know that you have been freed from that sin and that punishment! How amazing is that! Like I said, we will look at that redemption next week, for now understand that God is just and man is sinful and deserves to be punished for his sin. That is where the gospel begins, that is why we need saving and what we need saving from. It is easy to say "i'm saved" but not realize what you are being saved from or why.
God and Man
A great way to explain the gospel that I have heard is found in the book "What is the Gospel?". It has four parts, God, man, Christ, response, and explains how there is a just God who must judge sinful man but anyone who responds to Christ's sacrificial death, for man's sins, through faith can have eternal life and right standing with God. Over the next two weeks I will briefly look at how Hosea chapter 2 shows these four parts and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you have read the first 13 verses of Hosea 2, you have seen the message of an angry God. Israel had turned its back on God even after all he had done for them, and God was not happy. The relationship between God and mankind is very similar. God created mankind, yet man chose to sin against God. Man would rather him or herself be the God of his or her life, rather than Jehovah; the God who created mankind. So in a similar fashion, we see a picture of God, angry at the Israelites and we know that throughout history, God's just anger has been on mankind.
God is perfect and man is sinful. Those two things cannot coexist and thus man must pay the punishment for his sin. The gospel of Christ is much more complex than simply believing in God. It is essentially a legal situation. God is the creator and also the judge of the world and he will judge every person who has, is or will live. Unfortunately as we stand, every single person that will be judged deserves to go to hell to pay the price for their sin. Next week we will look at how God has redeemed his people, but for now, let it sink in that you deserve to be punished for your sin. All the things Hosea 2:1-13 says and worse, you deserve. But, if you are a Christian, you know that you have been freed from that sin and that punishment! How amazing is that! Like I said, we will look at that redemption next week, for now understand that God is just and man is sinful and deserves to be punished for his sin. That is where the gospel begins, that is why we need saving and what we need saving from. It is easy to say "i'm saved" but not realize what you are being saved from or why.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Hosea 1:3-2:1; What's in a Name
I like sports movies. One of my favorites is Gridiron Gang. Now I know it has its moments of cheesiness and can be at times cliche, but I love the redemptive story it tells. Juvenile delinquents from different backgrounds and gangs team up to achieve a common goal on the football field and in the bigger field of life. Today's passage is a brief history of God redeeming Israel.
You see, last week we saw Hosea marry Gomer who either was or would become an adulterous wife. Nonetheless, over time, Hosea and Gomer had kids and the names by which God himself would name the children would tell the story of the next several years of Israel. First, Jezreel to represent the massacre at Jezreel and Israel's punishment in the Valley of Jezreel. Next, Lo-Ruhamah to represent God turning his back on Israel but not Judah. Lastly, Lo-Ammi, God saying literally, "you have broken my covenant and now you will face judgement, I am not your God any longer".
However, eventually God would redeem Israel, he would forgive them of their sins when they turn back to him. This generation had forgotten about God, but someday the people would return to him, and God in his love would redeem them.
The story of Christ is the same. Christ was sent to earth to redeem us. To die in our place, for our sin, so that we could have right standing with God and thus a relationship throughout eternity with him. Christianity is not just a pray you say or simply attending church once a week, it is a relationship, one that was broken but was fixed by the blood of Jesus Christ. If you have yet to put your full faith in the saving work of Christ, I would ask you to contact a Christian friend close to you, and make that step of faith.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Hosea 1:1-3
Over the course of my final weeks in Japan, I want to try and dissect the book of Hosea. Tonight (or possibly today for you), I simply want to introduce this book and explain why I think it is important. Hosea is prophetic book that mixes prophecy with a small amount of narrative. It is close to my heart because it literally is overflowing with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Its themes of judgement and redemption, among other themes, are a great way to explain what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. My goal over the next few weeks is to do just that.
Tonight lets begin with the first part of Hosea which focuses on the narrative story of Hosea's life.
Tonight lets begin with the first part of Hosea which focuses on the narrative story of Hosea's life.
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel: 2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
God watched as his nation Israel fell deeper away from him and deeper into sin. God loved Israel like a husband loved a wife, but yet Israel went to other false Gods rather than the true God, Jehovah. The false Gods didn't love the Israelites, and really, the Israelites didn't love the idols. To show a picture of this, God commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute. Its the perfect picture of Israel and us. Hosea married a prostitute who wouldn't stay faithful to him just as we don't stay faithful to God. We proclaim our love for him and then at the drop of a hat, we sin, throwing our love onto something else. We are the Gomers, the prostitutes in this story.
The good news however, is that God will never stop loving us, God made a way for us to be with him, he made a way to redeem us! Over the next several weeks we will look at just that. The saving gospel of Jesus Christ, that redeems sinners and frees us from sin's power.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 16; Community
Hopefully if you are reading this, you have first read Romans chapter 16; otherwise it may be a little harder to follow for you. Romans 16 is split into two different, but very similar parts. The first 16 verses is a list of people Paul asks to send his greeting to, the second is a commendation plus greetings to the Romans from people with Paul or people Paul has recently seen.
While the messages in this passage are obviously personal, such as "greet Herodion my relative" (11), I think that the idea behind this passage is most important. What I mean is that as a global church, a local church and an individual Christian, we should be in constant Christian community. Now do I mean we should spend 24/7 with other Christians? No! But I do think our lives should be first centered around Christ, based strongly in a local church and interested in the global church as a whole.
We have spent the last several weeks looking at what it means to be a Christian (among other things) so I think my first point is simply a given. We need to have our lives centered around Christ. This should also mean that we are a part of a local church, and I think this passage shows what that looks like in a healthy way. Christians shouldn't simply go to a church, sit through the service and leave straight after, they should be investing time in the church and in relationships. Our Christian relationships are some of the most important relationships we have because they are with peers who share the same important view on God and on salvation so that they can help us make wise choices, decisions etc. Paul has a huge list of people to greet, he didn't do this by simply filling a pew for an hour. Make sure that you are plugged into a bible believing and preaching local church and try to get involved.
We also should have larger connections as well. We see in Paul's letter a number of people wanting to send greeting to the Romans. In a local church we will have partners in the gospel, other churches around us that we partner with to further Christ in our city. We also hopefully have missionaries and even global churches that we too partner with. I think it is very important to be connected as well as keep a global mind, and a mind open to missions.
Quite simply, as Christians, we need to be connected. Connected with Christ, connected with other Christians, connected with other churches and connected with other countries and cultures.
While the messages in this passage are obviously personal, such as "greet Herodion my relative" (11), I think that the idea behind this passage is most important. What I mean is that as a global church, a local church and an individual Christian, we should be in constant Christian community. Now do I mean we should spend 24/7 with other Christians? No! But I do think our lives should be first centered around Christ, based strongly in a local church and interested in the global church as a whole.
We have spent the last several weeks looking at what it means to be a Christian (among other things) so I think my first point is simply a given. We need to have our lives centered around Christ. This should also mean that we are a part of a local church, and I think this passage shows what that looks like in a healthy way. Christians shouldn't simply go to a church, sit through the service and leave straight after, they should be investing time in the church and in relationships. Our Christian relationships are some of the most important relationships we have because they are with peers who share the same important view on God and on salvation so that they can help us make wise choices, decisions etc. Paul has a huge list of people to greet, he didn't do this by simply filling a pew for an hour. Make sure that you are plugged into a bible believing and preaching local church and try to get involved.
We also should have larger connections as well. We see in Paul's letter a number of people wanting to send greeting to the Romans. In a local church we will have partners in the gospel, other churches around us that we partner with to further Christ in our city. We also hopefully have missionaries and even global churches that we too partner with. I think it is very important to be connected as well as keep a global mind, and a mind open to missions.
Quite simply, as Christians, we need to be connected. Connected with Christ, connected with other Christians, connected with other churches and connected with other countries and cultures.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 15; God Loves the Nations
In chapter 15, Paul lays out his beliefs, goals and ambitions when it comes to world missions. In the first 13 verses of the chapter, Paul shows how God is not just the God of Israel, but through the blood of Christ, is the God of a new people group that defies ethnicity and race as we know them (Read John Piper's Bloodlines for more on this.). Through the blood of Christ, anyone is able to come to God and be a part of his people. To prove this, Paul cites the Old Testament (aka the Hebrew scriptures) to prove his point. Four passages, all of which refer to God's love for the Gentiles and the nuance that the Gentiles will worship God somehow.
Well now we know that through Jesus, anyone, Jew or Gentile, can come to know God. But this doesn't mean that everyone already has heard about him. In verse 20 Paul writes "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known". You see, there are places, still today even, where the name Jesus Christ has no meaning. It is our job as a global church to send missionaries to these places. This is not to say that missions in places where the gospel has been heard is a bad thing, it is a great thing! This is to say that they are both important but there are fewer people going to places where Jesus is unknown. Now this is a very hard thing to do nowadays because these places are pretty much all closed to outsiders, strongholds of Islam or Hinduism and are extremely hard to get into, let alone preach Christ. Nonetheless, we need to be doing everything we can to share Jesus with the people in this places.
Paul ends with a personal message, asking for prayer. I would challenge you to keep missionaries and the people of the world in your prayers. Pick up a copy of operation world and begin praying for the nations, pick up a prayer card for a missionary at your local church. Let's work together to take the gospel where it has yet to be preached!
Well now we know that through Jesus, anyone, Jew or Gentile, can come to know God. But this doesn't mean that everyone already has heard about him. In verse 20 Paul writes "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known". You see, there are places, still today even, where the name Jesus Christ has no meaning. It is our job as a global church to send missionaries to these places. This is not to say that missions in places where the gospel has been heard is a bad thing, it is a great thing! This is to say that they are both important but there are fewer people going to places where Jesus is unknown. Now this is a very hard thing to do nowadays because these places are pretty much all closed to outsiders, strongholds of Islam or Hinduism and are extremely hard to get into, let alone preach Christ. Nonetheless, we need to be doing everything we can to share Jesus with the people in this places.
Paul ends with a personal message, asking for prayer. I would challenge you to keep missionaries and the people of the world in your prayers. Pick up a copy of operation world and begin praying for the nations, pick up a prayer card for a missionary at your local church. Let's work together to take the gospel where it has yet to be preached!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 14; Contrary Beliefs
This is a tough passage to teach because it can be easily heard the wrong way. Essentially, the main point of this chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans is, within Christianity, there are many things that the Bible doesn't speak on, and therefore in the church people will have different beliefs on what is ok to do and what isn't.
I think first off, lets just throw a few things out that are not permissible within the Christian faith, i.e., if you claim to be a Christian, there are things that you should not do (now of course Christians are still sinful and they may do some of these things, but if so, they would surely repent, confess their sin to God and hopefully others and seek help on killing the sin in their life). We are to follow Christ's commands. Loving others, loving and obeying God which really means there are lots of things that we should not do. Paul has many lists within his letters that include things such as anger, murder, premarital sex and other sexual immorality, stealing, drunkenness, addiction and even homosexuality. Secondly, as Christians we are to respect government officials and thus the laws they have created. Therefore, if you are under 21, you should not drink alcohol, drugs are not ok and the list goes on and on.
However, there are many things that are not specifically in the Bible, nor are they illegal, such as drinking alcohol (but not getting drunk), listening to a certain type of music or watching a certain tv show, I'm sure you can think of other examples as well. What Paul is saying in Romans chapter 14 is, listen to your convictions. If you think it is ok, then if it is not illegal nor is it restricted biblically, then it is ok to do. If you like to drink beer, that is ok. If you think beer is bad, that is also ok. Now like I said, this could be easily confused and taken the wrong way. The point I want to make is that there will be disagreements between Christians on if things are ok to do or not. Take drinking beer for example. Some Christians are ok with it and some aren't. The point is not whether it is right or wrong, the point is to respect others in your decisions. If you are out to eat with someone who thinks beer is a sin, then don't order beer!
Listen to your convictions on things that are 1. not restricted biblically and 2. not illegal. You would be wise to ask a pastor or elder if you feel that something you do may be wrong. Maybe it is best not to listen to that artist or watch that show. Pray and listen to your convictions and let those help you decide your boundaries on certain areas.
I think first off, lets just throw a few things out that are not permissible within the Christian faith, i.e., if you claim to be a Christian, there are things that you should not do (now of course Christians are still sinful and they may do some of these things, but if so, they would surely repent, confess their sin to God and hopefully others and seek help on killing the sin in their life). We are to follow Christ's commands. Loving others, loving and obeying God which really means there are lots of things that we should not do. Paul has many lists within his letters that include things such as anger, murder, premarital sex and other sexual immorality, stealing, drunkenness, addiction and even homosexuality. Secondly, as Christians we are to respect government officials and thus the laws they have created. Therefore, if you are under 21, you should not drink alcohol, drugs are not ok and the list goes on and on.
However, there are many things that are not specifically in the Bible, nor are they illegal, such as drinking alcohol (but not getting drunk), listening to a certain type of music or watching a certain tv show, I'm sure you can think of other examples as well. What Paul is saying in Romans chapter 14 is, listen to your convictions. If you think it is ok, then if it is not illegal nor is it restricted biblically, then it is ok to do. If you like to drink beer, that is ok. If you think beer is bad, that is also ok. Now like I said, this could be easily confused and taken the wrong way. The point I want to make is that there will be disagreements between Christians on if things are ok to do or not. Take drinking beer for example. Some Christians are ok with it and some aren't. The point is not whether it is right or wrong, the point is to respect others in your decisions. If you are out to eat with someone who thinks beer is a sin, then don't order beer!
Listen to your convictions on things that are 1. not restricted biblically and 2. not illegal. You would be wise to ask a pastor or elder if you feel that something you do may be wrong. Maybe it is best not to listen to that artist or watch that show. Pray and listen to your convictions and let those help you decide your boundaries on certain areas.
I've been Busy!
Lately I have been super busy hanging with friends, going to school and skateboarding. My buddy loaned me his skateboard so I've been riding a little! This weekend I think I'm going to do an interview for a morning television show (not as impressive as it sounds). I think they are compiling a number of interviews much like a survey. Anyways, should be a good experience.
Nothing much is new here, its hard to believe I'll be back in just a couple months though! I definitely have mixed feelings about returning. I really want to come home and see everyone, yet I will truly miss Japan and everyone I've met.
Nothing much is new here, its hard to believe I'll be back in just a couple months though! I definitely have mixed feelings about returning. I really want to come home and see everyone, yet I will truly miss Japan and everyone I've met.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 12:9-13; Love
Tonight I want to do two things. First define "love" biblically and second, look at who Paul tells us to love and how we can do so.
First, what is love?
Well verses 9-21 of Romans are one of the examples the Bible gives us of what love is. If you read this section you'll notice that everything Paul says has something in common. All of the defining factors of love put others first. "be devoted to one another", "share with God's people" "Bless those who persecute you" and then the best example "honor one another above yourselves". I think love is best defined as being the act of putting other people's needs above your own. That is what Jesus did when he died for us on the cross, and that is probably the best example of love ever. Period. Loving others means putting their needs above your own at every point of every day. That is really hard to do as we are human, but I think that we should strive to put others first in practical ways in our lives.
Secondly, who do we love?
The first 7 verses of chapter 13 are about submitting to authority and this is the first grouping of people Paul gives us that we can show love to. Remember, love doesn't mean Valentines day romance, it means lifting others up as more important than yourselves. If we are to love authority figures such as government officials and politicians, then we need to do a few things. First, pray for them. Lets be honest, while there are some outstanding men and women leaders throughout the world, all of them need prayer. Our leaders are constantly in danger and are making decisions that affect the world. Also, very few of the politicians worldwide are Christians, yet they are making decisions for countries and peoples. We need to pray for our leaders that they would make righteous decisions as well as find true life in Christ. Next, we should respect them. "For there is no authority except that which God has established". God has placed leaders in place and therefore we are to respect them. I can't answer why God has placed certain, even evil, leaders in power in various places, but we can trust that it is part of his perfect plan.
Not only are we to show love to authority figures, but verses 8-14 says we are to love everyone, all of our "neighbors". This means that all of our family, our friends, our coworkers and even strangers, no matter how bad they may irk us from time to time, are to be shown love by us. Throughout your life I'm sure you have met people whom you haven't liked very much. You are to show them love! There might be people who are mean to you. You are to show them love! There will be those whom are hard to love, but we have explicitly been called to love our neighbors.
First, what is love?
Well verses 9-21 of Romans are one of the examples the Bible gives us of what love is. If you read this section you'll notice that everything Paul says has something in common. All of the defining factors of love put others first. "be devoted to one another", "share with God's people" "Bless those who persecute you" and then the best example "honor one another above yourselves". I think love is best defined as being the act of putting other people's needs above your own. That is what Jesus did when he died for us on the cross, and that is probably the best example of love ever. Period. Loving others means putting their needs above your own at every point of every day. That is really hard to do as we are human, but I think that we should strive to put others first in practical ways in our lives.
Secondly, who do we love?
The first 7 verses of chapter 13 are about submitting to authority and this is the first grouping of people Paul gives us that we can show love to. Remember, love doesn't mean Valentines day romance, it means lifting others up as more important than yourselves. If we are to love authority figures such as government officials and politicians, then we need to do a few things. First, pray for them. Lets be honest, while there are some outstanding men and women leaders throughout the world, all of them need prayer. Our leaders are constantly in danger and are making decisions that affect the world. Also, very few of the politicians worldwide are Christians, yet they are making decisions for countries and peoples. We need to pray for our leaders that they would make righteous decisions as well as find true life in Christ. Next, we should respect them. "For there is no authority except that which God has established". God has placed leaders in place and therefore we are to respect them. I can't answer why God has placed certain, even evil, leaders in power in various places, but we can trust that it is part of his perfect plan.
Not only are we to show love to authority figures, but verses 8-14 says we are to love everyone, all of our "neighbors". This means that all of our family, our friends, our coworkers and even strangers, no matter how bad they may irk us from time to time, are to be shown love by us. Throughout your life I'm sure you have met people whom you haven't liked very much. You are to show them love! There might be people who are mean to you. You are to show them love! There will be those whom are hard to love, but we have explicitly been called to love our neighbors.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 12:1-8; Living For Christ
Living for Christ is kinda a cliche in the church, but truly doing it is what sets apart real Christians from, well a good chunk of American's who are "Christian". Living for Christ means doing God's will, and God's will is another thing that, in my opinion, trips up Christians and is used as an excuse to those who are in fact not Christians. Let me explain. Someone who is a "Christian" might say: "I feel like God is telling me to break up with you" or "God doesn't want me to go to church, he wants me to worship him in my own way" or "it's God's will that I am rich and healthy". While these are kind of ridiculous, I'm pretty sure someone somewhere has said these things. God's will is often turned into an excuse by Christians and non-Christians alike, as evidence that some decision we want to make is good. Its funny that usually those decisions help us or improve our circumstances isn't it? I also think that sometimes we worry to much about what God's will for our life is, when in fact the answer is fairly simple. The reason I bring up God's will is because the first couple verses of chapter 12 are focused on it. Essentially Paul writes that following God's will is following Jesus. So what does this mean?
First, Paul's exact words are: "you will be able to test and approve what God's will is". I think it is important to note that sometimes God's will will manifest itself in decisions, a job etc, and a strong relationship with God will help you discern where God wants you or what decision God wants you to make. It is not always going to be something you want to do or like, but sometimes it will be! We need to pray about things and test them by getting advice from friends and mentors.
Second, God's will, in general is really quite simple. Follow Jesus. That means follow his commands, live each day praising God in all you do and boom, you are following God's will. Verses 3-8 are about spiritual gifts. I am convinced that using your spiritual gift is following God's will. He gave you the gift so you could use it to encourage others. Make sure you know your giftings and use them for God's glory, be active in your local church, that is what a local church is all about.
To conclude, if you are following Jesus in your daily life, then you are following God's will for your life. We need to worry less about our futures and about where God wants us or what he wants us to do and make sure we are following him in the day-to-day. We also need to make sure we are not selfishly making up God's will for our lives and discern wisely what God wants from us.
First, Paul's exact words are: "you will be able to test and approve what God's will is". I think it is important to note that sometimes God's will will manifest itself in decisions, a job etc, and a strong relationship with God will help you discern where God wants you or what decision God wants you to make. It is not always going to be something you want to do or like, but sometimes it will be! We need to pray about things and test them by getting advice from friends and mentors.
Second, God's will, in general is really quite simple. Follow Jesus. That means follow his commands, live each day praising God in all you do and boom, you are following God's will. Verses 3-8 are about spiritual gifts. I am convinced that using your spiritual gift is following God's will. He gave you the gift so you could use it to encourage others. Make sure you know your giftings and use them for God's glory, be active in your local church, that is what a local church is all about.
To conclude, if you are following Jesus in your daily life, then you are following God's will for your life. We need to worry less about our futures and about where God wants us or what he wants us to do and make sure we are following him in the day-to-day. We also need to make sure we are not selfishly making up God's will for our lives and discern wisely what God wants from us.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 9-11; A Gospel for All
This is kind of a big passage and in some ways it isn't exactly relevant to us. What I mean by that is Paul here is writing to an actually group of living people, during his time period of course, and so as he talks about the gospel and how it has been made not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles, there is a personal feel to these chapters. Nonetheless, scripture is God-breathed, unchanging and I think there is always something we can learn, even if it is a letter to a particular church or group of people. This passage, in my opinion, tells us a few things, first, that selection is a very real thing and second, that Gentiles now have the opportunity to find forgiveness and true life in Christ.
Selection:
I think something that a lot of Christians don't like and a lot of people don't like about Christianity is selection. Christians would like to sweep it under the rug while unbelievers use it as ammunition. The idea that God chooses some people and not others, meaning that some people have pretty much no hope to get to heaven because they have been selected not to is a hard thing to understand. But it is a truth and Paul doesn't hide it in chapter 9 of Romans. He cites two stories in the Old Testament; two of many, in fact in many ways, the entire Old Testament preaches selection. "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" is the first example, then Pharaoh in Exodus who's heart was hardened. So if it is evident that selection is real, then why and how could a loving God do that? Well, I don't have a great answer, and quite frankly, as humans (the created) I think there are some questions that we won't ever have the answer too. But I can give you this encouragement. Paul in verses 19-21 says: "One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "why did you make me like this?" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Also, Job 38-41 is another passage. In this passage God literally challenges Job by asking him questions such as "where were you when I laid the earth's foundation" and "Have you ever given orders to the morning?" The thing is, God is God, I think that we can trust that even if we don't understand his ways, he knows what he is doing. To challenge him on selection would be ludicrous. None of us were there at the beginning, none of us know every crevice in the bottom of the ocean or every star and galaxy in the sky. But God does.
Gentiles are now chosen!
Chapters 10 and 11 are essentially a discourse on how gentiles are now able to find forgiveness in Christ. I'll give a short outline/summary of the section. First, God chose Israel, they were his people. But Israel rebelled and followed other Gods. Because of this, God, who loves the nations, expanded his love to anyone who would accept Christ and put faith in him. (Not to say he didn't do this before, but in the Old Testament there are very few cases of non-Israelites who come to God) Essentially, a new "Israel" has been created, one that is not physical, but all those who have spiritually given their life and their hopes to God. Paul uses the picture of grafting to illustrate how gentiles have been grafted into the tree of life or the tree that is God's people.
This then means that the gospel is not just for Israel, it is for anyone! We don't know who God has selected to follow him so we need to share the gospel with anyone and everyone we can! If your not a Christian and you're reading this very speculatively, thinking the idea of selection is unfair, I will say this: no one is stopping you from going to church this week or next. No one is stopping you from giving your life to Christ. You have a choice, you can chose to follow Jesus.
Selection:
I think something that a lot of Christians don't like and a lot of people don't like about Christianity is selection. Christians would like to sweep it under the rug while unbelievers use it as ammunition. The idea that God chooses some people and not others, meaning that some people have pretty much no hope to get to heaven because they have been selected not to is a hard thing to understand. But it is a truth and Paul doesn't hide it in chapter 9 of Romans. He cites two stories in the Old Testament; two of many, in fact in many ways, the entire Old Testament preaches selection. "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" is the first example, then Pharaoh in Exodus who's heart was hardened. So if it is evident that selection is real, then why and how could a loving God do that? Well, I don't have a great answer, and quite frankly, as humans (the created) I think there are some questions that we won't ever have the answer too. But I can give you this encouragement. Paul in verses 19-21 says: "One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "why did you make me like this?" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Also, Job 38-41 is another passage. In this passage God literally challenges Job by asking him questions such as "where were you when I laid the earth's foundation" and "Have you ever given orders to the morning?" The thing is, God is God, I think that we can trust that even if we don't understand his ways, he knows what he is doing. To challenge him on selection would be ludicrous. None of us were there at the beginning, none of us know every crevice in the bottom of the ocean or every star and galaxy in the sky. But God does.
Gentiles are now chosen!
Chapters 10 and 11 are essentially a discourse on how gentiles are now able to find forgiveness in Christ. I'll give a short outline/summary of the section. First, God chose Israel, they were his people. But Israel rebelled and followed other Gods. Because of this, God, who loves the nations, expanded his love to anyone who would accept Christ and put faith in him. (Not to say he didn't do this before, but in the Old Testament there are very few cases of non-Israelites who come to God) Essentially, a new "Israel" has been created, one that is not physical, but all those who have spiritually given their life and their hopes to God. Paul uses the picture of grafting to illustrate how gentiles have been grafted into the tree of life or the tree that is God's people.
This then means that the gospel is not just for Israel, it is for anyone! We don't know who God has selected to follow him so we need to share the gospel with anyone and everyone we can! If your not a Christian and you're reading this very speculatively, thinking the idea of selection is unfair, I will say this: no one is stopping you from going to church this week or next. No one is stopping you from giving your life to Christ. You have a choice, you can chose to follow Jesus.
Golden Week pt 1
So the first week of May in Japan is called Golden week because a bunch of holidays fall in the same week. Because of this, i have no school! Im excited to rest as I was super busy the first few weeks of school. This term is definitely kinda bumming me out because it is essentially a countdown to when I leave.
Anyways, over the last weeks I gave a presentation at an event called "English Study" with my friend and we talked about greeting people and some slang words. Yesterday I went to a bbq (no burgers or doggies unfortunately) and had a fun time at a seriously huge park. Tokyo has some huge parks, its pretty crazy being in this huge area and knowing that that area is inside a bunch of huge buildings and stuff. As for this week, I don't have too much for plans yet but I really want to rest, study a little and try to spend some time with friends!
Anyways, over the last weeks I gave a presentation at an event called "English Study" with my friend and we talked about greeting people and some slang words. Yesterday I went to a bbq (no burgers or doggies unfortunately) and had a fun time at a seriously huge park. Tokyo has some huge parks, its pretty crazy being in this huge area and knowing that that area is inside a bunch of huge buildings and stuff. As for this week, I don't have too much for plans yet but I really want to rest, study a little and try to spend some time with friends!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 8; Life in Christ
Chapter 8 in Romans is Paul’s discussion about how to live once you have become a Christian. How do you know if you're a Christian? Well the first 4 verses of the chapter do a pretty good explanation. To paraphrase, if you believe that you can’t gain salvation through works and you deserve eternal death because of your sin, but you believe in Jesus Christ and his perfect sacrifice in his death on the cross for your sins, which saves you from death, then you are a Christian. So now what? How should your life be affected by this? Well there are many answers to these questions but in chapter 8 of Romans, Paul touches on 2 things we receive when we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit and sufferings.
Receiving the Holy Spirit (verses 5-16)
A lot of what Paul says in this section has to do with what I talked about last week. If you are a Christian and thus are living for God, the choices you make and the things you do will reflect that choice. Even if you choose badly, even if you sin, your actions with dealing with that sin will be different, they will be actions of repentance. In this section, Paul pushes heavily the fact that we as Christians literally have the Spirit of God inside us! That is truly mind-blowing. I think Christians, myself included, don't fully understand what this means or act on it. I think we kind of just pass that fact by. "Oh ya, thats cool, I totally believe the Spirit is in me". But if we truly believed, why don't we act on those beliefs. So often we sit back timidly and don't talk about our faith, don't share the gospel with others etc. I think that we need to understand that God has not only given us his Spirit to guide us in our daily lives, but also to help us follow his commands, including the command to share the gospel.
Receiving Suffering (verses 17-39)
" ...indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share his glory" (17)
The fact of the matter is, as Christians we will suffer and we will be persecuted. Jesus himself promised this. I think there are many people who claim to follow Christ, even "teachers" of the word, who teach that being a Christian means you will be healthy, you will have money, you will have a great life on this earth. Really? Our best life should be had now? On this broken, sinful earth? No! Paul in verse 18 says "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". Our best life comes later! Our best life is heaven, which is an infinity times better than the best things of this earth. We are not called to have a good life on this earth, we are called to be different from the earth, we are called to suffer for the sake of Christ on this earth. If you are thinking to yourself "hmm, I wonder why I haven't been persecuted, maybe God has blessed me in that way". I would ask you, have you put yourself in a position where you would have the chance to be persecuted? Have you spoke openly about your faith, even when it is an unpopular viewpoint in a crowd? It is hard to do this! But take heart, verse 28 reads: "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him". You see, no matter what junk we go through on this earth, God has our back. Read Romans 8:31-39 if you haven't already. How cool is that? Nothing can separate us from God, no matter what we go through in this life, we will never lose our salvation, we will never lose God's love for us.
I would challenge you this week to let the Spirit of God speak through you and put yourself in situations where you may suffer for Christ. Share Christ with others this week!!!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 6,7; Freedom In Christ
Remember how Paul used the expression "slave of Christ" in chapter 1? In chapters 6 and 7, the idea of freedom is very prevalent. While we were once slaves to sin and the law, we no longer are, if we are slaves of Christ Jesus. We have died to sin and thus have been freed from it, and we have died to the law and have thus been freed from it as well.
Dead to sin, free from sin:
Chapter 6 is all about sin in our life. No before I begin, I think it is important to note that as Christians, we will still sin, and this is a bummer. But take heart, Paul writes great encouragement which we will close with. That said, when a person becomes a Christian, they are baptized sometime soon after. ("Go and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them...." After becoming a follower, you are to be baptized, says Jesus himself) This baptism symbolizes that person going down to the grave with Jesus, and rising up from it, a picture of how their sin goes down to the grave and stays there! That is what the first 14 verses of chapter 6 are all about. In short, "we are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus"(verse 11).
So what then does it mean to be free from sin? Does it mean you will no longer sin? No, unfortunately we will sin while we have earthly bodies, no matter who you are, however, we still have freedom from sin. So what does that mean? I'm convinced that the point Paul is trying to make is that sin does have its deathly grasp on us any longer if we have put our faith in Christ's sacrificial death for our sin. You see, without Christ, our sin would mark us as rebels against God, but Christ's blood has atoned for Christians and thus has freed us from sin's grasp. Similarly, those who don't have Christ have no desire to stop sinning. Many people continue to get drunk, to have premarital sex, to shoplift, lie, cheat, etc (verse 20). Christians are not exempt from sinning like this, but what separates Christians is Christ's blood. Despite their past sins, they are forgiven. Any current or future sins do not hold them down because they stand forgiven in Christ. While I think that our consciences will convict us when we have done something wrong, we need not feel guilty because we know that Christ has freed us from sin and thus we can boldly go to God in humble repentance.
Dead to the law, free from the law:
First off, as Paul states, the law and rules are not an evil thing and they aren't a bad thing. Nonetheless, the thing we must understand about Christianity is that it is not about following rules. The goal of Christianity is not to try and live the best life you can, it is not following every little minute rule in the Old Testament, it is not going to every church service, event and camp either. The point of Christianity is glorifying God, and the gospel of Christianity is putting your faith in what Jesus did on the cross, not what we do in our lives. The thing about the law is this: you can never live up to it and you can never fully follow it. You will slip up at some point. But that is why Jesus went to the cross! That is why Jesus died in our place. Jesus did those things so that we could have eternal life that we don't deserve. So just as we are dead to sin, we are also dead to the law. All of those rules can't be followed fully, but they don't need to because we have Jesus' blood which sanctifies and purifies us! Now then, should we just live life how we want and do whatever we want to do?
No!!! The thing is, as Christians, we will follow rules (such as Jesus' commands) and we will go to church events, but we don't do these things to gain salvation (because we can't gain salvation through works) we do these things because we have been changed by God! I hope this all makes sense, it is a hard thing to explain. Essentially, the law is a good thing (it is of God and created by God) but it is also the thing that shows us our sin. It is a thing that represents following rules to gain salvation. However, Jesus came and died for us, in our place, so now we only have to believe in him and we gain salvation. We also gain a new heart and the Holy Spirit lives inside us, which means that we will still try to follow Jesus' commands and "be good", (but not to gain salvation).
Of course, we are only human and as Paul says: "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me" (7:21). We will continue to sin, but understand that is our human sinful nature. Nonetheless we can confidently know we have been set free by Christ so despite the fact that we still sin, we know that one day we will be completely free from sin, and we know that all of our sin has already been forgiven and paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. To my non-Christian friend, do you feel guilty after doing something "bad"? Jesus Christ alone is the power that can save you from sin, free you from sin and free you from guilt. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sin, for my sin and for everyone's sin, so that all who believe in him can have eternal life, forgiveness of sins and right standing with God.
Dead to sin, free from sin:
Chapter 6 is all about sin in our life. No before I begin, I think it is important to note that as Christians, we will still sin, and this is a bummer. But take heart, Paul writes great encouragement which we will close with. That said, when a person becomes a Christian, they are baptized sometime soon after. ("Go and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them...." After becoming a follower, you are to be baptized, says Jesus himself) This baptism symbolizes that person going down to the grave with Jesus, and rising up from it, a picture of how their sin goes down to the grave and stays there! That is what the first 14 verses of chapter 6 are all about. In short, "we are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus"(verse 11).
So what then does it mean to be free from sin? Does it mean you will no longer sin? No, unfortunately we will sin while we have earthly bodies, no matter who you are, however, we still have freedom from sin. So what does that mean? I'm convinced that the point Paul is trying to make is that sin does have its deathly grasp on us any longer if we have put our faith in Christ's sacrificial death for our sin. You see, without Christ, our sin would mark us as rebels against God, but Christ's blood has atoned for Christians and thus has freed us from sin's grasp. Similarly, those who don't have Christ have no desire to stop sinning. Many people continue to get drunk, to have premarital sex, to shoplift, lie, cheat, etc (verse 20). Christians are not exempt from sinning like this, but what separates Christians is Christ's blood. Despite their past sins, they are forgiven. Any current or future sins do not hold them down because they stand forgiven in Christ. While I think that our consciences will convict us when we have done something wrong, we need not feel guilty because we know that Christ has freed us from sin and thus we can boldly go to God in humble repentance.
Dead to the law, free from the law:
First off, as Paul states, the law and rules are not an evil thing and they aren't a bad thing. Nonetheless, the thing we must understand about Christianity is that it is not about following rules. The goal of Christianity is not to try and live the best life you can, it is not following every little minute rule in the Old Testament, it is not going to every church service, event and camp either. The point of Christianity is glorifying God, and the gospel of Christianity is putting your faith in what Jesus did on the cross, not what we do in our lives. The thing about the law is this: you can never live up to it and you can never fully follow it. You will slip up at some point. But that is why Jesus went to the cross! That is why Jesus died in our place. Jesus did those things so that we could have eternal life that we don't deserve. So just as we are dead to sin, we are also dead to the law. All of those rules can't be followed fully, but they don't need to because we have Jesus' blood which sanctifies and purifies us! Now then, should we just live life how we want and do whatever we want to do?
No!!! The thing is, as Christians, we will follow rules (such as Jesus' commands) and we will go to church events, but we don't do these things to gain salvation (because we can't gain salvation through works) we do these things because we have been changed by God! I hope this all makes sense, it is a hard thing to explain. Essentially, the law is a good thing (it is of God and created by God) but it is also the thing that shows us our sin. It is a thing that represents following rules to gain salvation. However, Jesus came and died for us, in our place, so now we only have to believe in him and we gain salvation. We also gain a new heart and the Holy Spirit lives inside us, which means that we will still try to follow Jesus' commands and "be good", (but not to gain salvation).
Of course, we are only human and as Paul says: "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me" (7:21). We will continue to sin, but understand that is our human sinful nature. Nonetheless we can confidently know we have been set free by Christ so despite the fact that we still sin, we know that one day we will be completely free from sin, and we know that all of our sin has already been forgiven and paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. To my non-Christian friend, do you feel guilty after doing something "bad"? Jesus Christ alone is the power that can save you from sin, free you from sin and free you from guilt. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sin, for my sin and for everyone's sin, so that all who believe in him can have eternal life, forgiveness of sins and right standing with God.
Monday, April 9, 2012
School 2.0
Well, my break is over. I realize I haven't posted for a while. Honestly I didn't do much so I didn't post much. The highlights of my last couple weeks were going to the Mariners/Athletics game at the Tokyo Dome and going to a small amusement park with Teruki and his parents.
School just started so I'm back in action. I'm in the early stage of the term where my classes are new material and new people and its kind of exciting and fun. After a couple weeks it will get back to the dreariness I'm sure.
Its warming up here, today was like 65-70 degrees i believe. I'm not excited for the humidity nor the summer rain but hopefully there will be some nice days like today, sunny and clear.
Tomorrow i'm going to a baseball game. No other plans really. Happy Easter!
School just started so I'm back in action. I'm in the early stage of the term where my classes are new material and new people and its kind of exciting and fun. After a couple weeks it will get back to the dreariness I'm sure.
Its warming up here, today was like 65-70 degrees i believe. I'm not excited for the humidity nor the summer rain but hopefully there will be some nice days like today, sunny and clear.
Tomorrow i'm going to a baseball game. No other plans really. Happy Easter!
Weekly Meditations: Romans 4,5; Faith in Christ
If you are reading along in Romans with me, you may have noticed how Paul is arguing two big things (among others). First, that Christ died for sins, as a sacrifice, in our place. Second, that faith in Christ doing this is the only way to receive eternal life and rightness with God. In these next two chapters, we see Paul continue with these two facts, focusing on the aspect of "faith in Christ".
In chapter 4, Paul gives us a great argument on why faith in Christ, not works or anything else, grants eternal life and rightness with God. You see, Abraham was counted as right before God because he believed in God. Paul continues on to say how the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham was circumcision. Circumcision (odd as it may be to us now) was a physical mark that showed that Israelites were set apart, they were God's people. But Abraham, Paul says, was counted as right before God before he was circumcised. This is proof that faith in God is what matters, not who you are, what you have done or any other thing. Now just as Abraham was counted as righteous before God, those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection are also counted as righteous before God.
Abraham was alive before Jesus, so was Jacob and Joseph and David and the prophets. Does this mean there is no salvation for them? No! The faith that we see in many of the Old Testament's people made them count as righteousness before God, because of their faith. In the same way, a sinful, evil person like all of us, can believe in Christ and stand as righteous and forgiven before God.
In chapter 5, Paul continues to tell us that because of this faith we have, we can be assured and hopeful that God surely gives us eternal life. Our hope should be fully in this life, not in a savings account or a 401k, but rather in Jesus Christ and his death in place of our sins.
Lastly, Paul contrasts the two "families" we are a part of. There is the physical family of Adam, from who all people have descended. Then, there is the spiritual family of Christ, through whom all people can be saved. Everyone on earth is faced with a choice. You can stay in your physical family, the family of Adam, which leads to death in your transgressions and sins, or, you can put your faith in Jesus Christ and in the fact that he died on the cross for your sins to free you from them. With this faith, we can join the spiritual family of Christ, where we are seen as sinless before God because Jesus has paid the price for our sin.
The choice is yours.
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter, celebrating the wonderful truth that Jesus did not stay in the grave, but is alive!
In chapter 4, Paul gives us a great argument on why faith in Christ, not works or anything else, grants eternal life and rightness with God. You see, Abraham was counted as right before God because he believed in God. Paul continues on to say how the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham was circumcision. Circumcision (odd as it may be to us now) was a physical mark that showed that Israelites were set apart, they were God's people. But Abraham, Paul says, was counted as right before God before he was circumcised. This is proof that faith in God is what matters, not who you are, what you have done or any other thing. Now just as Abraham was counted as righteous before God, those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection are also counted as righteous before God.
Abraham was alive before Jesus, so was Jacob and Joseph and David and the prophets. Does this mean there is no salvation for them? No! The faith that we see in many of the Old Testament's people made them count as righteousness before God, because of their faith. In the same way, a sinful, evil person like all of us, can believe in Christ and stand as righteous and forgiven before God.
In chapter 5, Paul continues to tell us that because of this faith we have, we can be assured and hopeful that God surely gives us eternal life. Our hope should be fully in this life, not in a savings account or a 401k, but rather in Jesus Christ and his death in place of our sins.
Lastly, Paul contrasts the two "families" we are a part of. There is the physical family of Adam, from who all people have descended. Then, there is the spiritual family of Christ, through whom all people can be saved. Everyone on earth is faced with a choice. You can stay in your physical family, the family of Adam, which leads to death in your transgressions and sins, or, you can put your faith in Jesus Christ and in the fact that he died on the cross for your sins to free you from them. With this faith, we can join the spiritual family of Christ, where we are seen as sinless before God because Jesus has paid the price for our sin.
The choice is yours.
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter, celebrating the wonderful truth that Jesus did not stay in the grave, but is alive!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 3; The Sacrifice of Christ
I think that chapter 3 reads very similarly to the passage I looked at last week in that it explains the bad news that mankind is sinful and needs a savior from that sin. If you didn't read last week's message, you may want to take a look at that as in chapter 3 of Romans, I will be looking at another side of the gospel.
You may have heard the "God, man, Christ, response" outline of what the gospel is (Greg Gilbert's book What is the Gospel? does a great job of explaining it) and I think that this passage is riddled with those themes. In verses 1-8, Paul writes about how God is fair and just and because of this, must judge the world. Verses 9-20 look at how mankind is sinful, no matter who you are. Verses 21-31 then finish the chapter by explaining that Jesus died for sins and that faith in that act give you eternal life. That is the good news! Last week, like I said, we focused on the bad news of mankind's sinfulness. This passage continues to speak about that, most notably in verse 23 (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). But today, I want to focus on Jesus and his role in the good news.
Lets backtrack for a second. We have sin as human beings and God is perfect. Therefore, God must judge the sin because he is the creator of everything. He is perfect and therefore imperfect things cannot survive in his presence. Thus, sinful mankind stands before God, deserving a punishment of death and eternal suffering. But wait; God in his love made a way for us to be made right in his eyes. Now I think most people could say "through Jesus", but lets really get into exactly what Jesus did. Verse 25 is key in this passage, it reads: For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. (NLT). God literally placed Jesus on the cross, In Our Place. Instead of us getting the ultimate death penalty, Jesus took it for us. We were standing in the path of an oncoming train and Jesus pushed us out of the way and took the impact. He took the bullet for us. Lately a lot of evangelical pastors are trying to teach otherwise (I would encourage you to read the book of sermons by Michael Lawrence and Mark Dever titled It is Well which thoroughly explains how Christ was a sacrifice for sin and died in our place.). The Bible however is quite clear here in Romans, and in several other parts of the Bible, that Christ was a sacrifice. Much like the Israelites sacrificed animals to take the place of their sin, Christ (the lamb of God) was sacrificed for us.
That is the message I want to get across this week. With the recent misconception that Christ wasn't a sacrifice for sinners, or that Christ's death is mean or bad and couldn't be of God, I think it is important to see this passage right here in Romans 3, that clearly states that Christ was a sacrifice for us, and that is the good news of the gospel. If the gospel was only "Jesus Christ died, and simultaneously, unrelated, mankind gets eternal life" that isn't really good news, I mean for mankind it is but Jesus died for no reason. NO!!!! that is not the gospel. The gospel, the good news, is that mankind was dead, mankind was under God's just wrath and punishment, but Jesus paid the price for us, he died in our place, he saved us from it, by sacrificing himself. That is why at the base level of our humanity, when someone takes a bullet in a movie, when someone gives up themselves for others in a movie or on TV, we feel good about right? Think of the movie Armageddon where Bruce Willis takes the place of Ben Affleck and dies, in his place. It is sad sure, but it is heroic, we feel good after we see it. The death of Christ is this and much much more. Sure it is graphic, violent even but it is also Jesus giving up his life for you and me, and it is good news and happy news because now, we no longer face God's punishment, Jesus paid it all.
You may have heard the "God, man, Christ, response" outline of what the gospel is (Greg Gilbert's book What is the Gospel? does a great job of explaining it) and I think that this passage is riddled with those themes. In verses 1-8, Paul writes about how God is fair and just and because of this, must judge the world. Verses 9-20 look at how mankind is sinful, no matter who you are. Verses 21-31 then finish the chapter by explaining that Jesus died for sins and that faith in that act give you eternal life. That is the good news! Last week, like I said, we focused on the bad news of mankind's sinfulness. This passage continues to speak about that, most notably in verse 23 (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). But today, I want to focus on Jesus and his role in the good news.
Lets backtrack for a second. We have sin as human beings and God is perfect. Therefore, God must judge the sin because he is the creator of everything. He is perfect and therefore imperfect things cannot survive in his presence. Thus, sinful mankind stands before God, deserving a punishment of death and eternal suffering. But wait; God in his love made a way for us to be made right in his eyes. Now I think most people could say "through Jesus", but lets really get into exactly what Jesus did. Verse 25 is key in this passage, it reads: For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. (NLT). God literally placed Jesus on the cross, In Our Place. Instead of us getting the ultimate death penalty, Jesus took it for us. We were standing in the path of an oncoming train and Jesus pushed us out of the way and took the impact. He took the bullet for us. Lately a lot of evangelical pastors are trying to teach otherwise (I would encourage you to read the book of sermons by Michael Lawrence and Mark Dever titled It is Well which thoroughly explains how Christ was a sacrifice for sin and died in our place.). The Bible however is quite clear here in Romans, and in several other parts of the Bible, that Christ was a sacrifice. Much like the Israelites sacrificed animals to take the place of their sin, Christ (the lamb of God) was sacrificed for us.
That is the message I want to get across this week. With the recent misconception that Christ wasn't a sacrifice for sinners, or that Christ's death is mean or bad and couldn't be of God, I think it is important to see this passage right here in Romans 3, that clearly states that Christ was a sacrifice for us, and that is the good news of the gospel. If the gospel was only "Jesus Christ died, and simultaneously, unrelated, mankind gets eternal life" that isn't really good news, I mean for mankind it is but Jesus died for no reason. NO!!!! that is not the gospel. The gospel, the good news, is that mankind was dead, mankind was under God's just wrath and punishment, but Jesus paid the price for us, he died in our place, he saved us from it, by sacrificing himself. That is why at the base level of our humanity, when someone takes a bullet in a movie, when someone gives up themselves for others in a movie or on TV, we feel good about right? Think of the movie Armageddon where Bruce Willis takes the place of Ben Affleck and dies, in his place. It is sad sure, but it is heroic, we feel good after we see it. The death of Christ is this and much much more. Sure it is graphic, violent even but it is also Jesus giving up his life for you and me, and it is good news and happy news because now, we no longer face God's punishment, Jesus paid it all.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 1:16-2:29; The Good News of Christ... Begins with Bad News
In Romans 1:16,17 Paul sets the stage for the rest of the next chapter and essentially the rest of his letter to the Romans. He does this by talking about "the gospel" or good news of Jesus Christ. Paul here defines the gospel as the salvation of everyone who believes (16) and a righteousness that is by faith (17). As you can see from these passages, the good news of Christ is received by believing in it, not any actions, you can't earn salvation. No, Paul says you simply must believe in Jesus' death for the sins of mankind. Paul then continues to explain exactly why salvation can't be earned, and why we need saving and what we need saving from.
Romans 1:18 says The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Very simply, mankind needs saving from sin and from the just punishment that mankind deserves for its sin. You see, mankind is sinful, it has rebelled against God. If you read on the rest of chapter 1, Paul lists off a number of different sins, as simply actions, but also talks about how man rejected God and chose to worship other things, rather than the creator of the universe who rightfully deserves praise. This is the bad news of the gospel. You have sinned against God. I have sinned against God. Everyone who has ever lived has sinned against God, and because of that, we deserve to be punished for our sin.
A lot of people think that if they are good enough, or do enough good deeds, or only sin a little bit, they will earn God's favor and salvation. Let me tell you why that is wrong, or better yet, lets look at what Paul says in chapter 2 of Romans. Paul in this chapter talks about "the law" that was given to the Jews. If you have ever read Leviticus, you will realize there are a lot of rules which the people of Israel had to follow. The thing is, because the people had all of these rules to follow, it further showed how bad they were. Even if they did their best to follow every rule, at some point they would slip up, and at some point they would be sinful and under God's just punishment. People that try to be "good" to earn God's favor do the same thing. God is perfect and eternal; can 100 years of doing the right thing most of the time earn any favor or reward from an eternal and perfect God? That would be like if I went up to Bill Gates and showed him my bank statement or spun a basketball on my finger for like 2 seconds to try to impress a Harlem Globetrotter. They wouldn't be impressed at all! Neither is God when we try to be "good" enough to gain eternal life.
You see, we are all under God's wrath and judgement as sinners, and that is bad news. But the good news of Jesus is that Jesus died on the cross in our place. He took the punishment for us! We don't need to be "good", we don't need to never sin, we just need to believe that Jesus did this and give our lives to him in faith! That is all. Just repent of your sins and believe in Jesus! That is why it is good news, you once were dead in your transgressions, but now you are free in Christ.
Romans 1:18 says The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Very simply, mankind needs saving from sin and from the just punishment that mankind deserves for its sin. You see, mankind is sinful, it has rebelled against God. If you read on the rest of chapter 1, Paul lists off a number of different sins, as simply actions, but also talks about how man rejected God and chose to worship other things, rather than the creator of the universe who rightfully deserves praise. This is the bad news of the gospel. You have sinned against God. I have sinned against God. Everyone who has ever lived has sinned against God, and because of that, we deserve to be punished for our sin.
A lot of people think that if they are good enough, or do enough good deeds, or only sin a little bit, they will earn God's favor and salvation. Let me tell you why that is wrong, or better yet, lets look at what Paul says in chapter 2 of Romans. Paul in this chapter talks about "the law" that was given to the Jews. If you have ever read Leviticus, you will realize there are a lot of rules which the people of Israel had to follow. The thing is, because the people had all of these rules to follow, it further showed how bad they were. Even if they did their best to follow every rule, at some point they would slip up, and at some point they would be sinful and under God's just punishment. People that try to be "good" to earn God's favor do the same thing. God is perfect and eternal; can 100 years of doing the right thing most of the time earn any favor or reward from an eternal and perfect God? That would be like if I went up to Bill Gates and showed him my bank statement or spun a basketball on my finger for like 2 seconds to try to impress a Harlem Globetrotter. They wouldn't be impressed at all! Neither is God when we try to be "good" enough to gain eternal life.
You see, we are all under God's wrath and judgement as sinners, and that is bad news. But the good news of Jesus is that Jesus died on the cross in our place. He took the punishment for us! We don't need to be "good", we don't need to never sin, we just need to believe that Jesus did this and give our lives to him in faith! That is all. Just repent of your sins and believe in Jesus! That is why it is good news, you once were dead in your transgressions, but now you are free in Christ.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 1:8-15; The Family of Christ
In this short section of Paul's letter to the Romans, we hear Paul's personal voice as he shares his desire to meet with his friends and fellow Christians in Rome. I think that Paul's words and attitude also show three ways that Christians should interact with each other. As the family of Christ, we must pray for each other, encourage each other, and preach to each other.
Paul starts this passage by letting the Romans know that he has been praying for them. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you (vs 8), constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times (vs 9, 10). Paul was fervently praying for his friends and brothers in Christ. I think that this is something that we should be doing also as Christians. Can you think of a time when someone told you that they had been praying for you? If nothing else, I think it is comforting to know that someone was thinking of you at sometime during their week.
I think practically, we should pray for our friends like Paul, but also be praying for our church leadership and missionaries. I have two quiet times during the day. In the morning I pray through the book "Operation World"; I highly recommend this book or another one like it. Each day I pray for a different country, for its physical and social needs, for the church in the country and for the evangelization of the country. At night when I pray it is more personal and I lift up friends, family, missionaries and church leaders during this time. I think we need to take Paul's example and diligently pray for our fellow Christians.
Our church family also encourages us. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith (vs 12). I think that as Christians, our talk and our sharing of God moving in our lives can be of great encouragement to one another. What do you talk about with your friends after church? I'm not saying that you shouldn't share personal things like how school or work or kids are going, but do you talk about what you are reading in scripture? Do you share prayer requests? These are important things that we can talk about to encourage each other in Christ. Missionary's monthly letters are another way to be encouraged by the work of people around the world. It is a great way to encourage someone and also use your money for the Kingdom by supporting a missionary. If you do this, than you can use the missionary letters to stay up to date on the person or family that you are supporting as they share Jesus with others.
Lastly, we should be preaching to one another. I don't mean preparing a sermon and going around in a circle sharing what we came up with, but I do think that we can preach to each other by sharing scripture and what we thought of it, or what it made us see about God. We can encourage others during rough times with the truth of the gospel. I think this brings up the question of do you know the gospel of Jesus Christ? This is an important thing to know, so make sure that you could confidently share with someone if they asked you right at this moment, how to become a Christian.
Quite simply, the gospel is that there is a perfect, just God who created man. However, man became sinful and rebelled against God. God in his perfectness and justness must judge and punish man for this sin and rebellion but, God in his great love made a way for man to be reconciled with him. By sending Jesus Christ, the son of God, to earth; Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice for the sins of man. Jesus literally took on all of the punishment that we deserved in his death, then rose from the grave, so that anyone that responds to this and puts their faith in Jesus can be reconciled with God, forgiven by God and have eternal life through God.
That is a truly wonderful message of hope and it is also a great encouragement to our fellow Christians.
Lastly, I think I should note the truly global view that Paul has in this section. He talks about preaching the gospel and sharing the gospel a few times in the passage and also says he is obligated to Greeks and non-Greeks (in sharing the gospel). I think that we too as Christians and as churches need to make sure that we our keeping a global mind set. Do simple things like praying for missionaries, take it a step further and support a missionary or even take it a step further and be like Paul, going places to share the gospel with others as we have been commanded by Christ.
Paul starts this passage by letting the Romans know that he has been praying for them. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you (vs 8), constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times (vs 9, 10). Paul was fervently praying for his friends and brothers in Christ. I think that this is something that we should be doing also as Christians. Can you think of a time when someone told you that they had been praying for you? If nothing else, I think it is comforting to know that someone was thinking of you at sometime during their week.
I think practically, we should pray for our friends like Paul, but also be praying for our church leadership and missionaries. I have two quiet times during the day. In the morning I pray through the book "Operation World"; I highly recommend this book or another one like it. Each day I pray for a different country, for its physical and social needs, for the church in the country and for the evangelization of the country. At night when I pray it is more personal and I lift up friends, family, missionaries and church leaders during this time. I think we need to take Paul's example and diligently pray for our fellow Christians.
Our church family also encourages us. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith (vs 12). I think that as Christians, our talk and our sharing of God moving in our lives can be of great encouragement to one another. What do you talk about with your friends after church? I'm not saying that you shouldn't share personal things like how school or work or kids are going, but do you talk about what you are reading in scripture? Do you share prayer requests? These are important things that we can talk about to encourage each other in Christ. Missionary's monthly letters are another way to be encouraged by the work of people around the world. It is a great way to encourage someone and also use your money for the Kingdom by supporting a missionary. If you do this, than you can use the missionary letters to stay up to date on the person or family that you are supporting as they share Jesus with others.
Lastly, we should be preaching to one another. I don't mean preparing a sermon and going around in a circle sharing what we came up with, but I do think that we can preach to each other by sharing scripture and what we thought of it, or what it made us see about God. We can encourage others during rough times with the truth of the gospel. I think this brings up the question of do you know the gospel of Jesus Christ? This is an important thing to know, so make sure that you could confidently share with someone if they asked you right at this moment, how to become a Christian.
Quite simply, the gospel is that there is a perfect, just God who created man. However, man became sinful and rebelled against God. God in his perfectness and justness must judge and punish man for this sin and rebellion but, God in his great love made a way for man to be reconciled with him. By sending Jesus Christ, the son of God, to earth; Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice for the sins of man. Jesus literally took on all of the punishment that we deserved in his death, then rose from the grave, so that anyone that responds to this and puts their faith in Jesus can be reconciled with God, forgiven by God and have eternal life through God.
That is a truly wonderful message of hope and it is also a great encouragement to our fellow Christians.
Lastly, I think I should note the truly global view that Paul has in this section. He talks about preaching the gospel and sharing the gospel a few times in the passage and also says he is obligated to Greeks and non-Greeks (in sharing the gospel). I think that we too as Christians and as churches need to make sure that we our keeping a global mind set. Do simple things like praying for missionaries, take it a step further and support a missionary or even take it a step further and be like Paul, going places to share the gospel with others as we have been commanded by Christ.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Romans 1:1-7; "A Slave of Christ"
Over the next several weeks, I want to look at Paul's letter to the Romans. To start off, I want to start right where Paul starts with his statement "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus" (Rom 1:1). Now, in the NIV translation, we see the word servant, however, the Greek word doulos is better translated to mean slave or bondservant. This is important in my opinion for two reasons. First, the metaphor of a slave is used by Paul later in the letter and thus is important to be noticed now. Second, (and what we will talk about today) is the fact that Paul is calling himself a slave of Christ. Now, it should not be forgotten that in Christ, Christians are the children of God, we are heirs to God's inheritance of eternal life and good gifts, we are a friend of Jesus and we are truly loved and cherished by him. However, the image Paul is getting at here isn't saying we aren't any of those things, but rather, putting us humans and our purposes in life in perspective compared to Jesus, the Lord of everything. That said, I think having a similar attitude can be beneficial in our lives. I think it is very important to remember that we are in fact children of God, loved by God and a friend of God, but nonetheless, he is God, and we were made to serve him. So how then do we act as a "slave of Christ"? Well I think these first 7 verses can be summed up in one statement: "To be a slave of Christ means you obey his commands, and you are a part of his people".
"To be a slave of Christ"; verses 1-4.
In verse 1, Paul introduces himself as a "slave of Christ". So why should we think of ourselves this way? Well simply put, because Jesus is God and we are mere man. But Paul takes this a step further in the next three verses by saying three things about Jesus.
In verse 2 Paul says that the gospel regarding God's son (Jesus), was foretold by the prophets. The prophets in the Old Testament predicted that a Messiah would come to save the Israelites, and also the nations. What Paul is saying here is that first off, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the savior of the world and all of its people.
In verse 3 Paul says that Jesus was a descendant of King David, therefore in his earthly form, Jesus is royalty. Not only that but in verse 4 Paul calls Jesus "our Lord". Not only is Jesus our savior, but he is also our King.
Lastly, in Verse 4, Paul calls Jesus the son of God and explains that he has proven himself to be the son of God by raising from the dead. So Jesus then is savior, king and God. If that is not enough reason for us to serve him, I'm not sure what is. While Jesus is our friend, he is also our God, and because of this, he deserves our worship, our service and our lives, which he bought with his own blood on the cross.
"Means you obey his commands"; verse 5.
In verse 5, Paul writes that through Jesus, we have been called to call others to Christ. Paul continues to say that we do this because of "the obedience that comes from faith". I think both points are important. First off, we who have faith in Christ are to be obedient to him. This means we should obey his commands, two of which are to love God and love your neighbor. Another command of Christ is what Paul focuses on in this passage, sharing the gospel with other people from every nation. Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20 are two times when Jesus gives this command.
So if we are to act as slaves of Jesus Christ, first we must follow his commands. This means that we must love God by obeying him. I think this not only means "being good" and staying away from sin as actions, but I also think we need to love God by having a growing relationship with him. He doesn't want us to simply follow rules, he wants us to literally love him, like a husband and wife love each other. He wants us to need him, to trust him and to choose him on a daily basis. We also should love others, including our enemies or those that are different than us. Last, I'll add that we should share the gospel; Paul notes it here and it is a command of Christ.
"and you are a part of his people"; verses 6-7.
As I stated earlier, while we should be serving God, we are part of his holy people. Verse 6 starts: "And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." We belong to him, we are set apart by him, we are his. Verse 7 says that as Christians we are "loved by God" and that he gives us "grace and peace". When we follow Christ, we are set apart and we are part of his people, a chosen people whom he loves.
For Christians, Jesus is our savior, our king and our God, therefore he deserves our praise, our worship and our lives. Let us try to be like Paul in our giving over our lives to Jesus as a slave would give up his life. Let us act as slaves to Christ by obeying his commands and let us understand more and more what it means to be a part of God's chosen people.
"To be a slave of Christ"; verses 1-4.
In verse 1, Paul introduces himself as a "slave of Christ". So why should we think of ourselves this way? Well simply put, because Jesus is God and we are mere man. But Paul takes this a step further in the next three verses by saying three things about Jesus.
In verse 2 Paul says that the gospel regarding God's son (Jesus), was foretold by the prophets. The prophets in the Old Testament predicted that a Messiah would come to save the Israelites, and also the nations. What Paul is saying here is that first off, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the savior of the world and all of its people.
In verse 3 Paul says that Jesus was a descendant of King David, therefore in his earthly form, Jesus is royalty. Not only that but in verse 4 Paul calls Jesus "our Lord". Not only is Jesus our savior, but he is also our King.
Lastly, in Verse 4, Paul calls Jesus the son of God and explains that he has proven himself to be the son of God by raising from the dead. So Jesus then is savior, king and God. If that is not enough reason for us to serve him, I'm not sure what is. While Jesus is our friend, he is also our God, and because of this, he deserves our worship, our service and our lives, which he bought with his own blood on the cross.
"Means you obey his commands"; verse 5.
In verse 5, Paul writes that through Jesus, we have been called to call others to Christ. Paul continues to say that we do this because of "the obedience that comes from faith". I think both points are important. First off, we who have faith in Christ are to be obedient to him. This means we should obey his commands, two of which are to love God and love your neighbor. Another command of Christ is what Paul focuses on in this passage, sharing the gospel with other people from every nation. Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20 are two times when Jesus gives this command.
So if we are to act as slaves of Jesus Christ, first we must follow his commands. This means that we must love God by obeying him. I think this not only means "being good" and staying away from sin as actions, but I also think we need to love God by having a growing relationship with him. He doesn't want us to simply follow rules, he wants us to literally love him, like a husband and wife love each other. He wants us to need him, to trust him and to choose him on a daily basis. We also should love others, including our enemies or those that are different than us. Last, I'll add that we should share the gospel; Paul notes it here and it is a command of Christ.
"and you are a part of his people"; verses 6-7.
As I stated earlier, while we should be serving God, we are part of his holy people. Verse 6 starts: "And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." We belong to him, we are set apart by him, we are his. Verse 7 says that as Christians we are "loved by God" and that he gives us "grace and peace". When we follow Christ, we are set apart and we are part of his people, a chosen people whom he loves.
For Christians, Jesus is our savior, our king and our God, therefore he deserves our praise, our worship and our lives. Let us try to be like Paul in our giving over our lives to Jesus as a slave would give up his life. Let us act as slaves to Christ by obeying his commands and let us understand more and more what it means to be a part of God's chosen people.
What I've been up to...
To be honest, not much. I've had a mini-cough for a little while now, so did some resting. I also took a trip to Disney Sea in the rain. It was wet but fun. On Tuesday I'll be going to Disneyland. The tickets are really cheap right now so people in my group want to go now while we can get in cheap. Other than that, my grades came out and (honestly, to my surprise) I got straight A's. My SILS classes (english ones) were a little... I'm not sure how to explain... but I wasn't quite sure what grade I was going to get so it was a nice surprise to see A's.
All for now!
All for now!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14; Jesus Gives Life Meaning
If you've been reading along in Ecclesiastes with me these last several weeks, or even simply have seen the titles of my posts, you likely are aware that Ecclesiastes is a somewhat depressing book of the Bible. Or at least most of it is. Solomon throughout much of the book seems to have hit a patch in his life that I'm sure all of us have hit at one point or another. We ask ourselves the impossible questions of "where is my life going" or "what am I doing on this earth, what is the meaning of my life?". I think as humans we also try to find meaning in our lives through things like sports, or a clothing style. We often even go as far as to label whatever plan or place we have in our lives as "God's calling". "You know, I really think God is calling me to this six figure job, and I'm pretty sure he wants me to buy direct TV because he wanted me to buy that flat screen and watch football instead of going to church". Thats a little bit silly, but how often do we justify our desires by playing the "God Card"? As Solomon concludes his writings however, he answers his initial question of life's meaning with a very simple answer. In verse 13 he writes: Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. So there you have it, what I am convinced the meaning of life is. We were placed on this earth to worship God.
As Christians, we can find meaning in our lives, even fulfill God's will for our lives by obeying him. What are his commands? Well, we are to love God, so basically that means to worship him with how we live our lives. We are also called to love each other. If your life was lived in a way that followed those two commands at all times, what would need to change? Is the way you use your time worshiping God? Is the way you use your possessions worshiping God? How do you interact with others? Do you love people that are similar to you but not associate with others? How do you interact with those who don't like you, or who you don't like? In love or hate?
I'll close simply by talking about a time, probably about a month ago, when I questioned like Solomon, what the meaning of life is. It really hit me thinking about the future how fast life moves. As I fast-forwarded from the present, to my return home, to finishing school etc.. I was suddenly a senior citizen. I literally played through my life in like 30 seconds (a hypothetical, pretty much outline that is). It made me think, why does life matter? After a little thought, I realized that nothing I do in this life really matters all that much, but I knew that I was placed here by God, I believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind, and I knew that sharing that and making disciples of the nations was what I was supposed to do. My purpose is simply to obey God, to follow Christ, to grow deeper and deeper in love with Jesus, and to share that love and good news with others.
I guess to end this time in Ecclesiastes, I would challenge you to think about where your life is headed. What is your purpose, your end goal? Is it a job or a relationship that will someday fade away, or is it in eternal things?
As Christians, we can find meaning in our lives, even fulfill God's will for our lives by obeying him. What are his commands? Well, we are to love God, so basically that means to worship him with how we live our lives. We are also called to love each other. If your life was lived in a way that followed those two commands at all times, what would need to change? Is the way you use your time worshiping God? Is the way you use your possessions worshiping God? How do you interact with others? Do you love people that are similar to you but not associate with others? How do you interact with those who don't like you, or who you don't like? In love or hate?
I'll close simply by talking about a time, probably about a month ago, when I questioned like Solomon, what the meaning of life is. It really hit me thinking about the future how fast life moves. As I fast-forwarded from the present, to my return home, to finishing school etc.. I was suddenly a senior citizen. I literally played through my life in like 30 seconds (a hypothetical, pretty much outline that is). It made me think, why does life matter? After a little thought, I realized that nothing I do in this life really matters all that much, but I knew that I was placed here by God, I believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind, and I knew that sharing that and making disciples of the nations was what I was supposed to do. My purpose is simply to obey God, to follow Christ, to grow deeper and deeper in love with Jesus, and to share that love and good news with others.
I guess to end this time in Ecclesiastes, I would challenge you to think about where your life is headed. What is your purpose, your end goal? Is it a job or a relationship that will someday fade away, or is it in eternal things?
To Be Honest...
... I haven't been up to much these last few days. My goal since my Kyoto trip was simply to rest up as I had a bit of a cough. Other than resting, I played basketball on Thursday and today I went to an art gallery and looked at poems by famous poets, who's writings are beautifully written in a calligraphy style. Kaneko Misuzu and Aita Mitu(w)o are the two artists if you want to try to find their work to see what it looks like. You will likely recognize the style. Other than that, I haven't been up to much and don't have much planned at the time. Tomorrow I'm going to Disney Sea but it will also be raining tomorrow so I'm hoping there aren't many people (relatively speaking) and I can be in buildings on rides most of the day.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Kyoto
On Tuesday we spent the day in Kyoto seeing the many temples around town. Kyoto is very cool in my opinion because Japanese culture is very prevalent there. Many people still wear kimonos and there is much of an old-style feel to most of the city. Plus there are an absurd amount of temples and shrines, to the point that it would be impossible to see it all in a day let alone a week. It was very fun and serene walking through the beautiful gardens and seeing the sights.
It is nice to be back home now, I'm going to spend this next week resting up as I have been kept very busy these last couple weeks.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Ecclesiastes 9 - 12:8; Life is Meaningless
If you've been reading this each week, you've probably noticed a similar pattern in Solomon's writing. His tone of lament and somewhat depressed manner of writing about the world continues this week in what is the conclusion of what I would call Solomon's complaint about life (to be followed by the actually conclusion to the book next week, a much happier and hopeful tone).
The first 12 verses in chapter 9 begin with the message that life is meaningless. However, Solomon hints at his final conclusion in this section by noting the importance of living life for God. Verse 7 reads: Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart... 9: Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love. So is Solomon telling us to just party life away? No! The second half of verse 7 reads: for it is now that God favors what you do and 9's second half: all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun. Solomon in fact is telling us to enjoy life as God's gift. This means that it is fine to have fun eating, drinking and spending time with those you are close to, but do this as worship to God! 1st Corinthians 10:31 reads: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Our lives are to be a worship to God; that is how we find meaning in our lives! Whether we have little or have much, we should use what we have for God and thank God for the gifts he has given us.
I think that Solomon emphasizes this God-focused life from 9:13 to 11:6 where Solomon continues writing proverbs, contrasting wisdom and foolishness. As I said in weeks past, wisdom here represents following God while foolishness represents not following God. Therefore, Solomon continues to emphasize the importance of following God by giving us proverb after proverb.
In the last section of verses, 11:7 to 12:8, Solomon gives a benediction of sorts. First, in 11:7-8 Solomon says to those who have lived a long life to keep serving, worshiping and following God. He reminds us that eternity is far longer than a long life on earth. So even if you have lived many years, remember to never stop following and trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ.
In verses 11:9,10 and 12:1-8 Solomon gives very encouraging words to young people, but he also gives them a challenge. 11:9 let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Thats really encouraging to me; let your heart (which should be set on Jesus) give you joy, or "let Jesus give you joy"!
Next the challenge, I like the NLT translation best here:
Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.
4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.
5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Basically, Solomon says to remember God in your youth, and use your youth for his glory. Someday, your body won't work like it used to. I'm only 20 but I get very sore after playing basketball whereas even 2 years ago I didn't. You young people who are following Jesus, take Solomon's words to heart and don't waste your youth. Rather, use this time to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, use the relationships you have now with your many friends. It is said that as you age, the amount of good friends you have decreases, so while you have a school for of people, share the gospel! Be bold in your youth! Keep your heart set on Christ, and find your joy in the Savior.
The first 12 verses in chapter 9 begin with the message that life is meaningless. However, Solomon hints at his final conclusion in this section by noting the importance of living life for God. Verse 7 reads: Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart... 9: Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love. So is Solomon telling us to just party life away? No! The second half of verse 7 reads: for it is now that God favors what you do and 9's second half: all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun. Solomon in fact is telling us to enjoy life as God's gift. This means that it is fine to have fun eating, drinking and spending time with those you are close to, but do this as worship to God! 1st Corinthians 10:31 reads: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Our lives are to be a worship to God; that is how we find meaning in our lives! Whether we have little or have much, we should use what we have for God and thank God for the gifts he has given us.
I think that Solomon emphasizes this God-focused life from 9:13 to 11:6 where Solomon continues writing proverbs, contrasting wisdom and foolishness. As I said in weeks past, wisdom here represents following God while foolishness represents not following God. Therefore, Solomon continues to emphasize the importance of following God by giving us proverb after proverb.
In the last section of verses, 11:7 to 12:8, Solomon gives a benediction of sorts. First, in 11:7-8 Solomon says to those who have lived a long life to keep serving, worshiping and following God. He reminds us that eternity is far longer than a long life on earth. So even if you have lived many years, remember to never stop following and trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ.
In verses 11:9,10 and 12:1-8 Solomon gives very encouraging words to young people, but he also gives them a challenge. 11:9 let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Thats really encouraging to me; let your heart (which should be set on Jesus) give you joy, or "let Jesus give you joy"!
Next the challenge, I like the NLT translation best here:
Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.
4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.
5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Basically, Solomon says to remember God in your youth, and use your youth for his glory. Someday, your body won't work like it used to. I'm only 20 but I get very sore after playing basketball whereas even 2 years ago I didn't. You young people who are following Jesus, take Solomon's words to heart and don't waste your youth. Rather, use this time to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, use the relationships you have now with your many friends. It is said that as you age, the amount of good friends you have decreases, so while you have a school for of people, share the gospel! Be bold in your youth! Keep your heart set on Christ, and find your joy in the Savior.
2/19
Today I was very blessed to have the opportunity to watch Andy and Lyndsey (now) Matsuoka get married! Special thanks to Steve and Judy Busch for helping out so much! It was great seeing a lot of people via Skype this morning.
Over the last week I didn't do much other than spend some time with friends and rest to fight off the remainder of my cold. I'm all better now! I got a haircut the other day too.
Over the last week I didn't do much other than spend some time with friends and rest to fight off the remainder of my cold. I'm all better now! I got a haircut the other day too.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sick....
So over the last week, while I had fun snowboarding, I was also sick. I went on the trip with a little bit of a sore throat and ended up being a little feverish and then had a slight cold. After lots of rest and a little medicine I'm pretty much all better now.
Snowboarding was a lot of fun sort of. The first day the weather was beautiful for most of the day and the snow was alright. The second day I only rode for about an hour but it was rainy most of the day so had I been well I wouldn't have really wanted to go anyways.
My host sister Kae gave birth to a baby girl the other day so she will return soon from the hospital. That is definitely exciting news for the family! I don't have any big plans coming up. I'm still just taking it easy but looking forward to the end of February when some friends will visit and afterwards I will take a trip to Kyoto and Amanohashidate.
Due to my sickness I wasn't able to prepare a devotional this week so I'm taking a one-week break.
Snowboarding was a lot of fun sort of. The first day the weather was beautiful for most of the day and the snow was alright. The second day I only rode for about an hour but it was rainy most of the day so had I been well I wouldn't have really wanted to go anyways.
My host sister Kae gave birth to a baby girl the other day so she will return soon from the hospital. That is definitely exciting news for the family! I don't have any big plans coming up. I'm still just taking it easy but looking forward to the end of February when some friends will visit and afterwards I will take a trip to Kyoto and Amanohashidate.
Due to my sickness I wasn't able to prepare a devotional this week so I'm taking a one-week break.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Ecclesiastes 8:2 - 8:17; Justice is Meaningless
We've all heard stories that break our hearts. Stories about an injustice being brought upon a person, or a crime that was left unsolved. These types of stories are heartbreaking in many ways, but one way that sticks out to me is the fact that many times, justice is no where to be found. Recently a viral video was attempting to bring justice to an asian foreign exchange student who was beaten up by about seven other kids. It was very heartbreaking and quite frankly, the kids might never be brought to justice for it. As I watched the video, that angered me; I wanted them to be brought to justice, for everything to be made right. These stories aren't uncommon and I'm sure we have all heard or even been in similar situations. Solomon in this passage of Ecclesiastes gets at this fact, that sometimes the wicked go unpunished and are even blessed. This passage in my opinion says two things. First, we need a King who will bring justice, and second, life is not fair.
First, we need a King who will bring justice. In verses 2 through 8, Solomon gives a short commentary on being faithful to kings. While we know we are to respect earthly authorities (Romans 13:1-7), they too are human and they, like us, err. Verses 7,8 attest to this when they say No man knows the future... no man has power over the wind...no one has power over the day of his death. However, there is one who knows the future, one who has power over the wind and one who has conquered death! It is God. God is the creator of everything, he knows the future because he illustrated it and in the second part of the trinity, Jesus Christ, God conquered death when Jesus Christ died on the cross and then was raised from the dead after three days in the grave. It is this God that we need to put our hope in for if we put our hope in God, in Jesus' resurrection, then we gain right relationship with him.
We need a King who will bring justice and we have one in God. However, this is not good news for us humans because we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). God is perfect and we are not, which means that God must judge us and punish us for our sin, our rebellion against him. Why does he have this right? Because he created us, but we each have chosen to turn from him at one point or another.
This is a hopeless scenario isn't it? Actually, there is hope. I said the theme of the second part of this passage was "life isn't fair". This is something I think I have already talked about but I'm going to come back to it. It also sounds a little whiny but don't worry, I'm going somewhere with it. Verse 9-17 are essentially a lament about how sometimes wickedness prevails and sometimes the good are unfortunately punished. Why is it that the wicked man commit a hundred crimes and still lives a long time (12) and righteous men who get what the wicked deserve (14). It is literally because life is not fair, and God made it that way.
Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby, grew up into an adult, and lived a perfect life throughout. As a perfect, sinless, spotless sacrifice, he died on the cross for us, for humans, for sinners, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). That is why wicked people can have life! It is not because of anything they have done, but because they have repented of their wickedness and turned to Jesus. This is why the "righteous" perish. Those who live, only trying to be "good" whatever that means, still stand under God's judgement. We also know that while justice sometimes does not come on earth, God will eventually bring justice to this world.
So if you have not yet turned to Jesus to gain a right relationship with God, please do! As for those of you who have done this, thank God for what he did through Jesus, thank him that you are able to live eternally with him even though you are a sinner and trust in God that he will bring justice to the world. When you see stories of sadness, perhaps persecutions against the church, know that God will bring justice, and he will do this at the time he sees best. As verse 17 says: then I saw all that God has done. Now one can comprehend what goes on under the sun.
First, we need a King who will bring justice. In verses 2 through 8, Solomon gives a short commentary on being faithful to kings. While we know we are to respect earthly authorities (Romans 13:1-7), they too are human and they, like us, err. Verses 7,8 attest to this when they say No man knows the future... no man has power over the wind...no one has power over the day of his death. However, there is one who knows the future, one who has power over the wind and one who has conquered death! It is God. God is the creator of everything, he knows the future because he illustrated it and in the second part of the trinity, Jesus Christ, God conquered death when Jesus Christ died on the cross and then was raised from the dead after three days in the grave. It is this God that we need to put our hope in for if we put our hope in God, in Jesus' resurrection, then we gain right relationship with him.
We need a King who will bring justice and we have one in God. However, this is not good news for us humans because we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). God is perfect and we are not, which means that God must judge us and punish us for our sin, our rebellion against him. Why does he have this right? Because he created us, but we each have chosen to turn from him at one point or another.
This is a hopeless scenario isn't it? Actually, there is hope. I said the theme of the second part of this passage was "life isn't fair". This is something I think I have already talked about but I'm going to come back to it. It also sounds a little whiny but don't worry, I'm going somewhere with it. Verse 9-17 are essentially a lament about how sometimes wickedness prevails and sometimes the good are unfortunately punished. Why is it that the wicked man commit a hundred crimes and still lives a long time (12) and righteous men who get what the wicked deserve (14). It is literally because life is not fair, and God made it that way.
Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby, grew up into an adult, and lived a perfect life throughout. As a perfect, sinless, spotless sacrifice, he died on the cross for us, for humans, for sinners, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). That is why wicked people can have life! It is not because of anything they have done, but because they have repented of their wickedness and turned to Jesus. This is why the "righteous" perish. Those who live, only trying to be "good" whatever that means, still stand under God's judgement. We also know that while justice sometimes does not come on earth, God will eventually bring justice to this world.
So if you have not yet turned to Jesus to gain a right relationship with God, please do! As for those of you who have done this, thank God for what he did through Jesus, thank him that you are able to live eternally with him even though you are a sinner and trust in God that he will bring justice to the world. When you see stories of sadness, perhaps persecutions against the church, know that God will bring justice, and he will do this at the time he sees best. As verse 17 says: then I saw all that God has done. Now one can comprehend what goes on under the sun.
Whats been up...
Lets see, I finished school for the term last Monday. As I write I'm getting ready for a second snowboarding trip.. I leave tonight. This last week has been pretty much filled with me being a little sick and me hanging out with friends. I spent a couple hours at the park with Teruki and his parents the other day, that was fun and I'll have pictures up on Facebook as soon as I can. Yesterday I spent the day with some Oregon friends as we prepared for one of the guys, Carey, to go home. We went to Asakusa (a bunch of temples, shrines and shops) and Odaiba a sort of new shopping area that in my opinion is somewhat sketchy. Like I feel like its supposed to be this really nice area but it kind of seems like they just plopped some new buildings down in front of industrial buildings and ports. Just one man's opinion I guess.
Anyways, looking forward to snowboarding!
Anyways, looking forward to snowboarding!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Ecclesiastes 7:1-8:1; Wisdom is Meaningless
Hopefully you read this passage before your reading this because this passage is strikingly similar to another Biblical book written by Solomon; Proverbs. This passage not only sounds like Proverbs as it is essentially made up of the short proverbs that the book is also made up of, but it also has the same theme of a contrast between wisdom and foolishness. Verse 4, 5: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the praise of fools, verse 7 extortion turns a wise man into a fool.
Wisdom and foolish in this context shouldn't be thought of as we normally do however. I titled this "wisdom is meaningless" because what I'm getting at, conventional wisdom, or simply knowing a lot, is meaningless in comparison with the wisdom that Solomon speaks of. In the book of Proverbs and also in this passage, wisdom and foolishness could also be understood as knowing God and not knowing God. So therefore, we are wise when we know God and place our foundation in him. Why is it wise to do this? I think it is because at the core of our humanity, we truly need God. I was watching the show Chuck this weekend and in one scene it flashbacked to an older episode where it showed the protagonist Chuck sitting on the ground with his head in his hands, heartbroken because he thought he was never going to be with the girl he loved. I was struck by that image because I think deep down, we all feel the same way. Not about a girl or a boy, but I think at the very core of our hearts, we know that we are broken and need something bigger than us; that "thing" is God! We are broken because we have sin. God is perfect God and we are imperfect humans, meaning that we are separated from God because we choose to make ourselves the God or our lives. We reject God, we disobey God and we fill our lives with things that aren't God trying to bring ourselves happiness. Verse 29 reads but I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path (Ecc 7:29, NLT). Because of this we stand separated from God and under his judgement for our sin. But God in his great love and mercy sent Jesus, his only son, who lived a perfect life, something we cannot do, then died on the Cross for the sins of mankind and rose from the grave after three days, becoming our great high priest, forgiving us and cleansing us of our sin! By putting our faith in Christ, by knowing God, we can find forgiveness of our sins and be made right with God. Those who do this are no longer under his judgement. So that is why it is wise to know God, because it brings you into relationship with him, and cleanses you of your sin!
Similarly to how Chuck sat there broken, longing for something to fill his life with joy and happiness, mankind sits broken in its sin, longing for something more. Jesus Christ is that "something more" and putting your faith in him gains you wisdom, forgiveness, relationship with God, eternal life and countless blessings.
So if you aren't a Christian, I would ask you to consider this new idea of wisdom. Do you feel a longing for something more?
If you are a Christian I think it is important to remind ourselves of what Christ did for us. Verse 28 reads I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright women among them all. This is not to say that women are evil, in fact in Proverbs, wisdom is personified by a women. Rather, this is to be understood as making a reference to the fact that all humanity is sinful, if not putting more weight on the lack of righteousness in men. Keep in mind that at this time period women didn't receive a religious education like men did. So if this so called religious men were just as righteous as the women, what does this say about the men of the time? Anyways, without asking which sex is more righteous, I think the main thing to take away from this is that everyone stands a fool in God's eyes, but thanks to Jesus, you and I have received wisdom from God and the grace and mercy of God as he forgives us of our sin. Remember this, cherish this and meditate on this and as chapter 8 verse 1 says: Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance; as we continue to get to know God, we will truly be changed more and more!
Wisdom and foolish in this context shouldn't be thought of as we normally do however. I titled this "wisdom is meaningless" because what I'm getting at, conventional wisdom, or simply knowing a lot, is meaningless in comparison with the wisdom that Solomon speaks of. In the book of Proverbs and also in this passage, wisdom and foolishness could also be understood as knowing God and not knowing God. So therefore, we are wise when we know God and place our foundation in him. Why is it wise to do this? I think it is because at the core of our humanity, we truly need God. I was watching the show Chuck this weekend and in one scene it flashbacked to an older episode where it showed the protagonist Chuck sitting on the ground with his head in his hands, heartbroken because he thought he was never going to be with the girl he loved. I was struck by that image because I think deep down, we all feel the same way. Not about a girl or a boy, but I think at the very core of our hearts, we know that we are broken and need something bigger than us; that "thing" is God! We are broken because we have sin. God is perfect God and we are imperfect humans, meaning that we are separated from God because we choose to make ourselves the God or our lives. We reject God, we disobey God and we fill our lives with things that aren't God trying to bring ourselves happiness. Verse 29 reads but I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path (Ecc 7:29, NLT). Because of this we stand separated from God and under his judgement for our sin. But God in his great love and mercy sent Jesus, his only son, who lived a perfect life, something we cannot do, then died on the Cross for the sins of mankind and rose from the grave after three days, becoming our great high priest, forgiving us and cleansing us of our sin! By putting our faith in Christ, by knowing God, we can find forgiveness of our sins and be made right with God. Those who do this are no longer under his judgement. So that is why it is wise to know God, because it brings you into relationship with him, and cleanses you of your sin!
Similarly to how Chuck sat there broken, longing for something to fill his life with joy and happiness, mankind sits broken in its sin, longing for something more. Jesus Christ is that "something more" and putting your faith in him gains you wisdom, forgiveness, relationship with God, eternal life and countless blessings.
So if you aren't a Christian, I would ask you to consider this new idea of wisdom. Do you feel a longing for something more?
If you are a Christian I think it is important to remind ourselves of what Christ did for us. Verse 28 reads I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright women among them all. This is not to say that women are evil, in fact in Proverbs, wisdom is personified by a women. Rather, this is to be understood as making a reference to the fact that all humanity is sinful, if not putting more weight on the lack of righteousness in men. Keep in mind that at this time period women didn't receive a religious education like men did. So if this so called religious men were just as righteous as the women, what does this say about the men of the time? Anyways, without asking which sex is more righteous, I think the main thing to take away from this is that everyone stands a fool in God's eyes, but thanks to Jesus, you and I have received wisdom from God and the grace and mercy of God as he forgives us of our sin. Remember this, cherish this and meditate on this and as chapter 8 verse 1 says: Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance; as we continue to get to know God, we will truly be changed more and more!
Finals Week
So tomorrow i have my last final and then it is spring break for me! So far I've just been studying for and taking finals and chillin with some friends a little bit as well. Not too much new stuff going on but I'm sure to have some good stories later on as I'll probably do some traveling.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Weekly Meditations: Ecclesiastes 6:10-12; Decisions are Meaningless
If you haven't been reading lately, I've been looking at the book of Ecclesiastes section by section and have focused on something that Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, touches on as a meaningless thing or simply a component of life. Then, I have looked at how that thing or component of life has meaning when Jesus is added into the equation. I didn't make this up however as Solomon is the one who concludes this entire book by saying "Fear God and keep his commandments as this is the entire duty of man" (12:13).
Now that your caught up, or maybe reminded, let's look at the last verses of chapter 6 of the book of Ecclesiastes.
This is kind of a depressing section. Basically it reads, "it doesn't really matter what you do; there is always someone stronger; the more you do the more you lose when you die; life is short and meaningless".
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt like no matter what you choose to do, it just doesn't make a difference. Why make any decisions at all right? After studying this passage I think there are two things to note. First, that there is a decision that we must make, and second, that there is a decision that we must relinquish.
First, a decision we must make. Everyone on earth is faced with a decision that is literally the most important decision they will ever make in their life. The crazy thing is, most of those people have made up their mind and don't even know it. That decision is whether or not to follow Jesus Christ. Many people have decided to follow him, many others have been faced with that decision and chose not to and others still have chosen a different religion to follow without fully knowing that they are simultaneously rejecting Christ. This is why evangelism needs to be stressed in the church; because there are people who have never even heard of Jesus Christ! That said, we are all faced with the decision of who to make the Lord of our life. Some choose money, some their job, others Allah, Buddha, tradition, ancestors, science, and some of course Jesus. For those of you who have chosen something other than Jesus, I would like to simply present why I think making the decision to follow Christ is not only the most important decision of your life, but also the best.
Following Jesus Christ is not a choice I made because I like rules, or because my parents made me, or because hell sounded really lame so I thought I would get some fire insurance. While hell is lame, and my parents did play a role in my decision, my choice to follow Christ was based on me seeing a real need for Christ. What do I mean by this? Let me begin from the beginning. As a Christian I believe that God created everything. I also believe that God is perfect and also perfectly just. This means that God is the opposite of sin, the opposite of evil, and his justness means that anything not perfect cannot be in his presence. In fact, he is just so therefore he punishes evil, he punishes sin. I believe that God created man, however he created man to be intelligent and to be able to make decisions on his own. Because of this, the first man and women, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thus committed the first sin. Since then, man has been under this curse of sin and unfortunately it means that man must be punished because God is a just God who must punish evil. If he allowed evil people to not be punished he would not be very just would he? We wouldn't like it if a judge let criminals go free right? What I failed to mention earlier however is that God also loves perfectly, and because of this love, he made a way for man to make themselves right with him. That is where Jesus comes in. Jesus Christ came to this earth as a man and lived a perfect life, something we cannot do! He then became a perfect sacrifice when he was executed on the cross. Since he was without sin, he was able to die in place of our sin. See, God in the old testament had installed sacrifices into Jewish society to atone for sin. The sinless animal became a scapegoat for the sin. Jesus did this same thing however he was a sinless human and thus died in place of all mankind. Jesus' death forgave the sins up until that point but when he resurrected from the dead after three days, he overcame death and since he lives he is a never-ending flow of forgiveness.
So the reason I chose Christ is because I looked at my life and could see the brokenness, I could see the sin and knew that this separated me from God. By choosing to follow Christ, I accepted the gift that had been placed in front of me, the gift of forgiveness of sins.
Jesus has died and risen and thus the gift of forgiveness of sins and rightness with God is there for the taking. The last part of my explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is what you decide. It is your response. Do you choose to accept forgiveness of sins and thus make yourself right with God or do you reject that gift and remain in your current state, separate from God and sinful in his eyes. In my opinion it is the most important decision you will ever make because it truly is life or death.
Secondly, for those of us who have made the decision to follow Christ, I think there is a decision we must relinquish. Look back to the text if you would. In verse 10 Solomon writes, "no man can contend with one who is stronger than he". Then in verse 12: "who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?". God is stronger than us and only God can tell us what will happen in the future. Since God is in control of our lives, our futures and that of the world, we need to trust him in that. This means that we need to relinquish the decision, if not the lifestyle, of fret and worry. As Christians we need to live in this world, but remember that we are in fact citizens of heaven. This is a hard thing to balance because obviously we have things such as taxes and jobs that we must maintain now, but nonetheless I think we still need to keep a focus on our end goal; heaven. What does that look like? Here are a few practical things that came to my mind.
1. Trust God with your life. Trust him with your grades, your job, your uncertainties, your health, your family, everything. He is in control no matter how good or how bad things get.
2. Keep your focus on Christ and on heaven by not becoming attached to things of this world. Give your money, your time and your possessions. I am constantly impressed and encouraged by seeing this in the people at Hinson Baptist Church while working on youth staff the last 2 years. People buying kids lunch, giving time to help teach or set up, simply showing Christ's love and their detachment to this world through the act of giving.
3. Get to know God. Read his word. We as humans seem to have an unlimited amount of time for video games and Facebook but yet struggle to read even a chapter of the Bible. Its funny how people can't put down a good book but are so eager to put down the "Good Book".
4. Keep your hands open to Christ. This doesn't mean sell all your possessions and sell your house and move to a remote place (although maybe you'll do that someday!) but keep your hands open so that God has access to those things. If you hold a pencil in a clenched fist, the pencil is yours and no one can take it. If you place the pencil on an open palm however, the pencil is still yours, but it can be taken. This is the same with your life on earth. If you hold onto it with clenched fists, God could be calling you to something but you won't let go of what you have. If your hands are open however, God can use them. He might take them, but he always has your best interest in mind, and when you're truly serving God, even if he takes them you will still find joy because your hands were open to him taking those things in the first place.
We can't contend with God. He has control of our lives so we need to open our hands to him and relinquish our worries and our fears. We need to give him access to anything and everything we have including our possessions, our comfort, our children, everything. If he takes something away from your clenched fists, it will be so much more painful than if he takes it away form your open hands.
It is finals week so it is easy for me to worry about my grades. However, I know that God has got me this far and I know that whatever grades I get, I am still going to be able to follow him, to obey him and to share him and thus I'm completing his plan for my life.
Now that your caught up, or maybe reminded, let's look at the last verses of chapter 6 of the book of Ecclesiastes.
10 Whatever exists has already been named,
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt like no matter what you choose to do, it just doesn't make a difference. Why make any decisions at all right? After studying this passage I think there are two things to note. First, that there is a decision that we must make, and second, that there is a decision that we must relinquish.
First, a decision we must make. Everyone on earth is faced with a decision that is literally the most important decision they will ever make in their life. The crazy thing is, most of those people have made up their mind and don't even know it. That decision is whether or not to follow Jesus Christ. Many people have decided to follow him, many others have been faced with that decision and chose not to and others still have chosen a different religion to follow without fully knowing that they are simultaneously rejecting Christ. This is why evangelism needs to be stressed in the church; because there are people who have never even heard of Jesus Christ! That said, we are all faced with the decision of who to make the Lord of our life. Some choose money, some their job, others Allah, Buddha, tradition, ancestors, science, and some of course Jesus. For those of you who have chosen something other than Jesus, I would like to simply present why I think making the decision to follow Christ is not only the most important decision of your life, but also the best.
Following Jesus Christ is not a choice I made because I like rules, or because my parents made me, or because hell sounded really lame so I thought I would get some fire insurance. While hell is lame, and my parents did play a role in my decision, my choice to follow Christ was based on me seeing a real need for Christ. What do I mean by this? Let me begin from the beginning. As a Christian I believe that God created everything. I also believe that God is perfect and also perfectly just. This means that God is the opposite of sin, the opposite of evil, and his justness means that anything not perfect cannot be in his presence. In fact, he is just so therefore he punishes evil, he punishes sin. I believe that God created man, however he created man to be intelligent and to be able to make decisions on his own. Because of this, the first man and women, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thus committed the first sin. Since then, man has been under this curse of sin and unfortunately it means that man must be punished because God is a just God who must punish evil. If he allowed evil people to not be punished he would not be very just would he? We wouldn't like it if a judge let criminals go free right? What I failed to mention earlier however is that God also loves perfectly, and because of this love, he made a way for man to make themselves right with him. That is where Jesus comes in. Jesus Christ came to this earth as a man and lived a perfect life, something we cannot do! He then became a perfect sacrifice when he was executed on the cross. Since he was without sin, he was able to die in place of our sin. See, God in the old testament had installed sacrifices into Jewish society to atone for sin. The sinless animal became a scapegoat for the sin. Jesus did this same thing however he was a sinless human and thus died in place of all mankind. Jesus' death forgave the sins up until that point but when he resurrected from the dead after three days, he overcame death and since he lives he is a never-ending flow of forgiveness.
So the reason I chose Christ is because I looked at my life and could see the brokenness, I could see the sin and knew that this separated me from God. By choosing to follow Christ, I accepted the gift that had been placed in front of me, the gift of forgiveness of sins.
Jesus has died and risen and thus the gift of forgiveness of sins and rightness with God is there for the taking. The last part of my explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is what you decide. It is your response. Do you choose to accept forgiveness of sins and thus make yourself right with God or do you reject that gift and remain in your current state, separate from God and sinful in his eyes. In my opinion it is the most important decision you will ever make because it truly is life or death.
Secondly, for those of us who have made the decision to follow Christ, I think there is a decision we must relinquish. Look back to the text if you would. In verse 10 Solomon writes, "no man can contend with one who is stronger than he". Then in verse 12: "who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?". God is stronger than us and only God can tell us what will happen in the future. Since God is in control of our lives, our futures and that of the world, we need to trust him in that. This means that we need to relinquish the decision, if not the lifestyle, of fret and worry. As Christians we need to live in this world, but remember that we are in fact citizens of heaven. This is a hard thing to balance because obviously we have things such as taxes and jobs that we must maintain now, but nonetheless I think we still need to keep a focus on our end goal; heaven. What does that look like? Here are a few practical things that came to my mind.
1. Trust God with your life. Trust him with your grades, your job, your uncertainties, your health, your family, everything. He is in control no matter how good or how bad things get.
2. Keep your focus on Christ and on heaven by not becoming attached to things of this world. Give your money, your time and your possessions. I am constantly impressed and encouraged by seeing this in the people at Hinson Baptist Church while working on youth staff the last 2 years. People buying kids lunch, giving time to help teach or set up, simply showing Christ's love and their detachment to this world through the act of giving.
3. Get to know God. Read his word. We as humans seem to have an unlimited amount of time for video games and Facebook but yet struggle to read even a chapter of the Bible. Its funny how people can't put down a good book but are so eager to put down the "Good Book".
4. Keep your hands open to Christ. This doesn't mean sell all your possessions and sell your house and move to a remote place (although maybe you'll do that someday!) but keep your hands open so that God has access to those things. If you hold a pencil in a clenched fist, the pencil is yours and no one can take it. If you place the pencil on an open palm however, the pencil is still yours, but it can be taken. This is the same with your life on earth. If you hold onto it with clenched fists, God could be calling you to something but you won't let go of what you have. If your hands are open however, God can use them. He might take them, but he always has your best interest in mind, and when you're truly serving God, even if he takes them you will still find joy because your hands were open to him taking those things in the first place.
We can't contend with God. He has control of our lives so we need to open our hands to him and relinquish our worries and our fears. We need to give him access to anything and everything we have including our possessions, our comfort, our children, everything. If he takes something away from your clenched fists, it will be so much more painful than if he takes it away form your open hands.
It is finals week so it is easy for me to worry about my grades. However, I know that God has got me this far and I know that whatever grades I get, I am still going to be able to follow him, to obey him and to share him and thus I'm completing his plan for my life.
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