Currently reading: The Gospel of Luke
So my memory verse for today is Ephesians 6:7 which reads, "Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men." Now, I'm not sure why but I kept wanting to replace the "as to"'s with "as for"'s. Then I started thinking about what is meant by "as to." I first wanted to translate this verse to mean, 'the service I do needs to be for the Lord. I need to focus on Him and not worry so much over helping people when what they are doing does not pertain to doing some act of service to God.' Wow. I was wrong. I misinterpreted because I was replacing the "as to" with "as for."
"Render service with a good attitude, as TO the Lord and not to men." To me now I have a new understanding. God wants us to do kind things for other people because we're not paying the person back in any way or giving them what they deserve, but we are trying to pay tribute to God for the Love He shows us. The cost of our salvation was Jesus dying a gruesome death. We will never be able to pay that off. The point isn't the impossibility of us being worthy, the point is that every day of our lives we should be giving thanks and giving glory and giving back to God. No one can decide exactly what others deserve. Someone may have lied or stolen from you, but if you're given the opportunity to help them out, you should. It's not about what they deserve. It's about what God deserves. God deserves our love. We love Him through loving other people. John 13:35 says, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Not only should we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we should also show love to others that are not in our family. We have the promise of forgiveness any time we sin. Why should we judge and punish others? Do you not think God can better justify a wrongdoing? Matthew 5:39-42 says, "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you."
That's right - when someone hits you in the face, you're supposed to offer your other cheek. Think about these verses. Just stop and reflect.
God does not want us to judge others. Revenge is not loving. Revenge is not joyful. Revenge is not peaceful. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9). Unconditional love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4).
How many people have you judged today? Not just judging appearances or actions, but how many people in the past week have you 'brought to justice'. God calls us to "love one another deeply" (1 Peter 1:22).
How many Christians have you judged this month? How many of your brothers and sisters have you looked at and compared yourself to? We are ALL in need of grace. Every single one of us every day. We cannot compare ourselves to our family members. 2 Corinthians 10:13 says, "Our goal is to measure up to God's plans for us." Are you measuring up? Are you more focused on how to grow closer to God and work toward becoming more like Jesus? Or are you more focused on every one around you that's not doing it?
I don't write these things to condemn you, but to warn you against the things I've caught myself doing. Trying to judge others is a waste of time. A waste. Of time. I speak from experience. Time is so precious. Eternity is forever and I only have a short while on earth to show others that I love them. To try and show them to unconditional love I receive every second of every day. A love I still cannot entirely fathom (and I'm betting I never will be able to). If we can recognize and study and start to try and wrap our minds around the love God has for us, it can change our perspectives, our priorities, and even our current beliefs. I challenge you to take time this week to look up verses on love and write them all down on one or two sheets of paper. Go through with a highlighter and mark the characteristics of love. If you're not sure where to start, I'd suggest 1 Corinthians 13. Once you've marked up all the characteristics make a list of them. Then make another list of every unloving thing you've done this week that doesn't match up with the characteristics of love. Put the lists side by side and go to God in prayer. Ask Him to forgive you for the unloving things you've done. Then go through each characteristic of love and praise Him, thank Him for showing those things to you every moment of your life. When you're done praying, burn or shred the list of now forgiven sins. Take the list of characteristics and tape them to your refrigerator or put them somewhere where you'll see them every day. As you go through the day focus on living out those characteristics of love. Also realize that God is all these things. God is Love.
"This service you perform not only meets the needs of God's people, but also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God." 2 Corinthians 9:12
"Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise Him." Psalm 102:18 This is the motivation behind my blog. I'm learning so much and desire to give others the chance to see what I'm learning so that they might learn too. This is my opportunity to love others by sharing the knowledge God has blessed me with. But all glory goes to Him!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Reason for the Season
Currently reading: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
So first off, I'll just explain the title of my new blog. "A Work In Progress" is referring to me and that I am not and will never be perfect and I will ALWAYS have something to change and improve about my life and how I live it. I am a Christian and I put my trust in God and was saved by the blood of Jesus in September of my sophomore year in high school. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian, church-attending family and so I've had years of biblical knowledge in my brain for years and for the past four and a half years, I've been trying to make sense of it all. God has taught me so much when I've made the effort to seek after His knowledge. I want to encourage you to seek. Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." If you are looking for answers, where better to look than God's Word? How better to ask for wisdom than through one-on-one communication through prayer? I'm here to try and live out Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other." I've been affected, taught, and encouraged by so many people and it is my job to serve others. I hope I can be of service to you by sharing what I'm learning.
I was in choir tour at my home church and right now some lyrics from a song come to mind. "I have a hope and I believe my faith is alive, my Spirit is free." My faith is alive. It's not something that I did my sophomore year and I've just had it since. It didn't stop then and it wasn't a one time thing. My faith lives, breathes, and changes everyday. It grows and learns and seeks. Matthew 4:4 says, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes fom the mouth of God." I need God every single day. I sin every day and I'm in need of mercy and forgiveness every day. Not a day goes by that I am not in need of God. He is my "strength when I am weak, the treasure that I seek" and nothing, NOTHING can replace Him in my life.
Needing God every single day means that I need constant intake of His word. When I don't hear His Word through Christian speakers (I'd like to shout out to one of my favs - Shane Claiborne), or read His Word, or read insights from other Christian authors, or spend time in prayer I have denied the ability to be blessed by Him. He can still bless me, yes. But He wants to bless me even more through my ability to learn. I just need to give Him the opportunity. I need tools to learn and He's given them to me. I just have to use those tools and listen and study and He will give me the love and wisdom I seek. 1 Timothy 4:7 says, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." Proverbs 23:12 says, "Apply your heart to discipline." I don't view the word 'discipline' as getting a spanking (and here's a debate starter: I don't think parents should spank or hit their children. Christ was not a man of violence. Anger and violence are separate things. The soldiers who crucified Him were violent. Christ was not.) but rather, I view 'discipline' as an opportunity. A privelege. In fact, the word 'disciple' is rather similar to 'discipline' and I want to be a disciple of Christ. I want to learn under Him and try to reciprocate the unconditional love He has for me. I want to serve others as He has served me. I want to "hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28b). Christ will set my Spirit free when I discipline myself to follow, obey, and learn about Him. I cannot wait to get older to learn about Him. I cannot put off loving others until I have more time. I cannot wait to trust Him when things are going great and I feel secure. Revelation 1:3 says, "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
So first off, I'll just explain the title of my new blog. "A Work In Progress" is referring to me and that I am not and will never be perfect and I will ALWAYS have something to change and improve about my life and how I live it. I am a Christian and I put my trust in God and was saved by the blood of Jesus in September of my sophomore year in high school. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian, church-attending family and so I've had years of biblical knowledge in my brain for years and for the past four and a half years, I've been trying to make sense of it all. God has taught me so much when I've made the effort to seek after His knowledge. I want to encourage you to seek. Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." If you are looking for answers, where better to look than God's Word? How better to ask for wisdom than through one-on-one communication through prayer? I'm here to try and live out Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other." I've been affected, taught, and encouraged by so many people and it is my job to serve others. I hope I can be of service to you by sharing what I'm learning.
I was in choir tour at my home church and right now some lyrics from a song come to mind. "I have a hope and I believe my faith is alive, my Spirit is free." My faith is alive. It's not something that I did my sophomore year and I've just had it since. It didn't stop then and it wasn't a one time thing. My faith lives, breathes, and changes everyday. It grows and learns and seeks. Matthew 4:4 says, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes fom the mouth of God." I need God every single day. I sin every day and I'm in need of mercy and forgiveness every day. Not a day goes by that I am not in need of God. He is my "strength when I am weak, the treasure that I seek" and nothing, NOTHING can replace Him in my life.
Needing God every single day means that I need constant intake of His word. When I don't hear His Word through Christian speakers (I'd like to shout out to one of my favs - Shane Claiborne), or read His Word, or read insights from other Christian authors, or spend time in prayer I have denied the ability to be blessed by Him. He can still bless me, yes. But He wants to bless me even more through my ability to learn. I just need to give Him the opportunity. I need tools to learn and He's given them to me. I just have to use those tools and listen and study and He will give me the love and wisdom I seek. 1 Timothy 4:7 says, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." Proverbs 23:12 says, "Apply your heart to discipline." I don't view the word 'discipline' as getting a spanking (and here's a debate starter: I don't think parents should spank or hit their children. Christ was not a man of violence. Anger and violence are separate things. The soldiers who crucified Him were violent. Christ was not.) but rather, I view 'discipline' as an opportunity. A privelege. In fact, the word 'disciple' is rather similar to 'discipline' and I want to be a disciple of Christ. I want to learn under Him and try to reciprocate the unconditional love He has for me. I want to serve others as He has served me. I want to "hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28b). Christ will set my Spirit free when I discipline myself to follow, obey, and learn about Him. I cannot wait to get older to learn about Him. I cannot put off loving others until I have more time. I cannot wait to trust Him when things are going great and I feel secure. Revelation 1:3 says, "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
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