Friday, December 25, 2009
Holy Spirit
What do you know about the Holy Spirit and the workings of the spirit. The focus on the Spirit is quite new in Christian History. In the last 100 years there are been an explosion of writings and curiously, not with a considerable amount of consistency. What I will attempt to do in the next several blogs is give some consistency to all of the materials out there on the Holy Spirit. Enjoy.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
All to the Glory of God
I am home for the first Saturday in some time. I am watching my Border Collie, Sweetie, as she watches me and lays her head on my lap. As I watch her, I see an excellent example of how we should act towards God. If I move, she waits to see what I am going to do to be prepared to be at my every call.
When I move she moves, when I call she comes, when I tell her to sit, she sits. If I want to go for a walk, she is ready to go for a walk. If I want to take a nap, she is ready to take a nap.
What would our relationship with God be like if we waited on God's every move. How would our relationship be different if we were excited everytime God entered the room?
How I wished I would be like Sweetie and wait on God's whim every second. If I were as excited every time I approached God the way Sweetie is to see me, my whole character would be different.
Dogs can teach us to love with great humility. Life would be so much more enjoyable if we learned to honor God the way a good dog honors us.
When I move she moves, when I call she comes, when I tell her to sit, she sits. If I want to go for a walk, she is ready to go for a walk. If I want to take a nap, she is ready to take a nap.
What would our relationship with God be like if we waited on God's every move. How would our relationship be different if we were excited everytime God entered the room?
How I wished I would be like Sweetie and wait on God's whim every second. If I were as excited every time I approached God the way Sweetie is to see me, my whole character would be different.
Dogs can teach us to love with great humility. Life would be so much more enjoyable if we learned to honor God the way a good dog honors us.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Truth
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
I sometimes wonder what that means to most people. In a Barna survey of evangelical Christians on 4% could identify with a narrow definition of what it meant to be a Christian. My greatest concern with the survey is not its accuracy but what it indicates about Modern Christianity.
We are no longer a Christian nation and have not been for many, many years. I dare say that if you were to make that statement in public that most people would disagree. But most people in the survey indicated that they could not even identify most general biblical concepts let alone identify with specific Christian doctrine. Whether we are ever a true Christian nation is really up for debate. When you read our history, you find that there are glaring examples of where vast areas of this country were no different than today. So if I could document that this nation is not a Christian Nation today, I can document that this nation was never really a Christian nation.
I know it may sound like I am an atheist but nothing could be farther from the truth. I have identified my blog as truth for a reason. My desire and goal are to spell out what I believe identify us as Christians and what God's expectations are for a Christian.
Let me begin with a little bit of history. When our founding fathers established this nation, we identified with Christianity but our values were somewhat suspect. It is difficult for me to believe that we could argue that all men are created equal when we had slaves.
I am not trying to supplant what the intent of the founding fathers was but I do know from studying the notes of our founding fathers that there was much compromise inorder to get to the declaration of independence let alone the constitution.
God has an expectation of more. He clearly states His expectations when Jesus answers the questions of the Pharisees by stating that the greatest commandments are to love the lord your God with all your heart, strength and spirit and to love one another. (Paraphrase).
The truth is that we do not take the word of God is sincerely as we should. There seems to be a turning point in our faith with Schafer in the early 1900s. Schafer introduced the concept of dispensationalism which was a change from the concept of covenant theology.
To get to this point has taken years of study and teaching and working within the church, but I would have continued to be blind to this if it has not been for the Holy Spirit convicting me and opening my eyes to the truth.
I started reading some of the early Christian writings and found a different belief in both salvation and obedience to the scriptures.
I have always used commentaries from the early 1700s and have studied much of what John McArthur has written about the new testament. I also had a watershed eye opening experience and a shift in my faith when I read "The Gospel According of Jesus".
Now is a good time for me to stop and I will pick up on this in tomorrow's blog.
Let me end with this. If you desire to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you must first surrender to his Lordship and be obedient to him. It is a life long journey that will lead you to amazing discoverys and a joy in your life that you will find in no other way.
I sometimes wonder what that means to most people. In a Barna survey of evangelical Christians on 4% could identify with a narrow definition of what it meant to be a Christian. My greatest concern with the survey is not its accuracy but what it indicates about Modern Christianity.
We are no longer a Christian nation and have not been for many, many years. I dare say that if you were to make that statement in public that most people would disagree. But most people in the survey indicated that they could not even identify most general biblical concepts let alone identify with specific Christian doctrine. Whether we are ever a true Christian nation is really up for debate. When you read our history, you find that there are glaring examples of where vast areas of this country were no different than today. So if I could document that this nation is not a Christian Nation today, I can document that this nation was never really a Christian nation.
I know it may sound like I am an atheist but nothing could be farther from the truth. I have identified my blog as truth for a reason. My desire and goal are to spell out what I believe identify us as Christians and what God's expectations are for a Christian.
Let me begin with a little bit of history. When our founding fathers established this nation, we identified with Christianity but our values were somewhat suspect. It is difficult for me to believe that we could argue that all men are created equal when we had slaves.
I am not trying to supplant what the intent of the founding fathers was but I do know from studying the notes of our founding fathers that there was much compromise inorder to get to the declaration of independence let alone the constitution.
God has an expectation of more. He clearly states His expectations when Jesus answers the questions of the Pharisees by stating that the greatest commandments are to love the lord your God with all your heart, strength and spirit and to love one another. (Paraphrase).
The truth is that we do not take the word of God is sincerely as we should. There seems to be a turning point in our faith with Schafer in the early 1900s. Schafer introduced the concept of dispensationalism which was a change from the concept of covenant theology.
To get to this point has taken years of study and teaching and working within the church, but I would have continued to be blind to this if it has not been for the Holy Spirit convicting me and opening my eyes to the truth.
I started reading some of the early Christian writings and found a different belief in both salvation and obedience to the scriptures.
I have always used commentaries from the early 1700s and have studied much of what John McArthur has written about the new testament. I also had a watershed eye opening experience and a shift in my faith when I read "The Gospel According of Jesus".
Now is a good time for me to stop and I will pick up on this in tomorrow's blog.
Let me end with this. If you desire to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you must first surrender to his Lordship and be obedient to him. It is a life long journey that will lead you to amazing discoverys and a joy in your life that you will find in no other way.
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