A couple of options from things I've been reading lately...
John 15:1-17...Bearing Fruit, am I bearing fruit? Apply it to yourself and see. And then in verse 16-17, how amazing would it be to be so connected to God and with Him so often that we only ask for the things that He would want us to ask for? I want to know that when I pray and feel like I'm supposed to say something or do something or ask God for something, that its exactly what God want me to ask Him for "He may give it to you".
John 15:18-26...interesting, this quote from Jesus seems to say that people are not guilty if they haven't been told and don't know better. Almost makes you feel like not telling anyone huh?
Think about that for a few minutes...
But then think about the rest of the Bible, God's whole purpose was to connect with us and show us our purpose in life as His creatures. So, we should all be given the option of knowing and choosing to do what we were created for and having the fullfilment of KNOWING and TALKING to God any time and all the time. So, God calls us to tell others, over and over again and makes that extremely clear, He wants everyone to have that option and choice.
Pastor Dave
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
One of those times when the Scripture just Hits you in the face!
I was reading 2 Timothy 3 last night...
OK, so go and read it first and then come back...or remember what you read as you read the passage.
The first 9 verses of this chapter are talking about what people will be like in the last days. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the end of the world is coming. I'm not the kind of person who sees signs and assumes everything is ending now. I believe that God told us to be ever vigilant for the purpose of our constantly giving our all to Him. Knowing that if we don't share today then it might be too late tomorrow. But thats another entry.
Read what it says in those verses, how many people that you know are like that?
How many of us are like that?
Not neccessarily in every one of those ways but one or two...The most impacting point for me was in verse 7 where it talks about how we can always learn but never come to a true knowledge of the truth. Do we believe with our hearts? Do we KNOW in the depths of our soul that God is who He says He is, and if we do does our lifestyle show it? If our life doesn't show do we really believe?
The Living Bible paraphrase stated verse 5 like this; They will go to church, yes but they won't really believe anything that they hear.
Do we believe?
I also found it interesting to think that it sounds pretty clear that the culture this kind of thing would have to take place in would be one just like ours. Cultures that persecute Christians wouldn't have pretend believers there, its only cultures that accept those who go to church that could produce this kind of pretend Christian.
Lets be careful not to be confused by these people and most importantly lets be sure we aren't one of those people.
Pastor Dave
OK, so go and read it first and then come back...or remember what you read as you read the passage.
The first 9 verses of this chapter are talking about what people will be like in the last days. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the end of the world is coming. I'm not the kind of person who sees signs and assumes everything is ending now. I believe that God told us to be ever vigilant for the purpose of our constantly giving our all to Him. Knowing that if we don't share today then it might be too late tomorrow. But thats another entry.
Read what it says in those verses, how many people that you know are like that?
How many of us are like that?
Not neccessarily in every one of those ways but one or two...The most impacting point for me was in verse 7 where it talks about how we can always learn but never come to a true knowledge of the truth. Do we believe with our hearts? Do we KNOW in the depths of our soul that God is who He says He is, and if we do does our lifestyle show it? If our life doesn't show do we really believe?
The Living Bible paraphrase stated verse 5 like this; They will go to church, yes but they won't really believe anything that they hear.
Do we believe?
I also found it interesting to think that it sounds pretty clear that the culture this kind of thing would have to take place in would be one just like ours. Cultures that persecute Christians wouldn't have pretend believers there, its only cultures that accept those who go to church that could produce this kind of pretend Christian.
Lets be careful not to be confused by these people and most importantly lets be sure we aren't one of those people.
Pastor Dave
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Holiness...?!
I'm reading a book called "The Chase" right now. Its about our personal persuit of holiness, our desire and efforts to become more like God in all that we do. I'm wrestling with it a lot. So much of it makes sense but at the same time I feel almost like if I pursue a lifestyle that looks more like Christ's that I may end up in a place of legalism. Not to say that I don't try and live like this already, I think it might be the extra focus this book seems to place on do's and don'ts as Christ calls us to.
We all know we are called to live righteous lives, but do we ever really think about what that would look like? And those of us who do choose to live that way have to be extremely careful not to make others feel like they are being judged for not living as we/they may think is applicable to their own personal lives.
I'm looking forward to God working in my heart through this book, I suppose the more I wrestle the more God is working right?
Pastor Dave
We all know we are called to live righteous lives, but do we ever really think about what that would look like? And those of us who do choose to live that way have to be extremely careful not to make others feel like they are being judged for not living as we/they may think is applicable to their own personal lives.
I'm looking forward to God working in my heart through this book, I suppose the more I wrestle the more God is working right?
Pastor Dave
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Have a bog, now what to write on it...
Maybe I'll make this my Bible reading and devotional site!
On that note...You should all read Psalm 119
Yes its fairly long but you could read it in sections if you want.
And while you read through it think about 3 different terms and how they might relate to you and your relationship with Jesus.
Think in terms of their being 3 different options as far as your level of connectedness with God.
Are you:
1. A passive and accidental learner
2. A student
3. A Stalker
There are many phrases that relate to the last 2 options in this Psalm. I have immense amounts of underlining in my bible.
My personal goal is to be a stalker, but we can all tend to fall back into the passive mode if we aren't careful.
Along with that, ask yourself, are you a reluctant learner? Are you following God...Running...chasing...or being dragged along?
This is something I got out of a talk from Ron Luce while I was down in Texas last month.
Pastor Dave
On that note...You should all read Psalm 119
Yes its fairly long but you could read it in sections if you want.
And while you read through it think about 3 different terms and how they might relate to you and your relationship with Jesus.
Think in terms of their being 3 different options as far as your level of connectedness with God.
Are you:
1. A passive and accidental learner
2. A student
3. A Stalker
There are many phrases that relate to the last 2 options in this Psalm. I have immense amounts of underlining in my bible.
My personal goal is to be a stalker, but we can all tend to fall back into the passive mode if we aren't careful.
Along with that, ask yourself, are you a reluctant learner? Are you following God...Running...chasing...or being dragged along?
This is something I got out of a talk from Ron Luce while I was down in Texas last month.
Pastor Dave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)