So I'd just like to point out that our God is an awesome God! He's quite good at reading minds and has a knack for knowing just how to make me smile at Him and how He teaches me new stuff. About 3 weeks ago I was laying in my bed praying and I went through the whole prayer and got to the end and said, "In Jesus' name, Amen." Then I stopped and made a puzzled face and started to wonder, "WHY do I say 'In Jesus' name'?" I couldn't even figure out what it was really supposed to mean. I had a good five to ten minute pondering session for awhile before I decided that I'd look it up the next day or put up a FB note asking if anyone else knew why everyone says that.
This is where God pulled a funny :o)
I've been reading through the Gospels as I make my way through the entire New Testament and I was currently in John. I woke up the next day after my wondering session and opened my Bible to read the next passage I was at, which was John 14. Low and behold John 14: 13&14 reads, "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." And the footnotes for these verses in my Bible read, "In their hour of loss at the departure of Jesus, He comforted them with the means that would provide them with the necessary resources to accomplish their task without His immediate presence which they had come to depend upon. To ask in Jesus' "name" does not mean to tack such an expression on the end of a prayer as a mere formula. It means: 1) the believer's prayer should be for His purposes and kingdom and not selfish reasons; 2) the believer's prayer should be on the basis of His merits and not any personal merit or worthiness; and 3) the believer's prayer should be in pursuit of His glory alone."
So, question answered! Another win for God! :o) I love it when He does cool stuff like that and am very thankful for the ultimate Teacher! I hope some of you who didn't know this gained some knowledge and I'd encourage all of you who are seeking guidance and answers to first check God's Word. It's got some pretty incredible stuff in there!
"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:17
"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!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Father, Spirit, Jesus
Currently reading: Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
I'm not going to lie - I have made the mistake of letting school and other less important things get in the way of my relationship with God the past two months. He knows how sorry I am and I've realized how stupid I've been. No wonder my life has been a lot harder than usual the past two months. Anyways, there is something I'd like you to think about. Today in church the music minister did the sermon and she had us read 1 Corinthians 13, but we replaced the word "love" with "grace" every time it appeared. Tonight as I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 in an attempt to memorize verses 4 through 8, I started my own new interpretation. Really read through this and think about each statement. There are three parts of the trinity - Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ the Son. The Father being the supernatural "being" (for lack of a better word), the Holy Spirit is what lives inside of each Christian after they accept Christ as their Savior and is sort of like our conscience, but is actually God living within us, and then Jesus Christ was the human form of God that died and then rose again to be our Savior. Three different parts, yet all the same. The more I learn about the three different parts the more I'm intrigued by the differences of the parts even thought they're all God. Anyways, the main point I want to get across is this loose translation:
"The Father is patient, the Father is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. The Father does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The Father never fails."
"Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails."
"The Holy Spirit is patient, the Holy Spirit is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. The Holy Spirit does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The Holy Spirit never fails."
God is love. I can't really find a way to say it better than that. And changing out the word "love" for "Father, Spirit, Jesus" really opened my eyes even more to the meaning of these verses. Sometimes I forget that I can't stop being a Christian. That I'm held to a higher standard 24/7 and that I constantly need to seek after God and spend time with Him. Why else am I here? If my life isn't all about God then what's the point? From experienced I've learned the selfishness always ends in disappointment because I crave companionship. I crave the opportunity to show other people that they are loved. But how can I show people love if I'm not constantly spending time with Love itself? I've got some catching up to do with my Father and I challenge you to start spending more time with Him daily as well. At least think through 1 Corinthian 13 some. It can change your heart.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
I'm not going to lie - I have made the mistake of letting school and other less important things get in the way of my relationship with God the past two months. He knows how sorry I am and I've realized how stupid I've been. No wonder my life has been a lot harder than usual the past two months. Anyways, there is something I'd like you to think about. Today in church the music minister did the sermon and she had us read 1 Corinthians 13, but we replaced the word "love" with "grace" every time it appeared. Tonight as I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 in an attempt to memorize verses 4 through 8, I started my own new interpretation. Really read through this and think about each statement. There are three parts of the trinity - Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ the Son. The Father being the supernatural "being" (for lack of a better word), the Holy Spirit is what lives inside of each Christian after they accept Christ as their Savior and is sort of like our conscience, but is actually God living within us, and then Jesus Christ was the human form of God that died and then rose again to be our Savior. Three different parts, yet all the same. The more I learn about the three different parts the more I'm intrigued by the differences of the parts even thought they're all God. Anyways, the main point I want to get across is this loose translation:
"The Father is patient, the Father is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. The Father does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The Father never fails."
"Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails."
"The Holy Spirit is patient, the Holy Spirit is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. The Holy Spirit does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The Holy Spirit never fails."
God is love. I can't really find a way to say it better than that. And changing out the word "love" for "Father, Spirit, Jesus" really opened my eyes even more to the meaning of these verses. Sometimes I forget that I can't stop being a Christian. That I'm held to a higher standard 24/7 and that I constantly need to seek after God and spend time with Him. Why else am I here? If my life isn't all about God then what's the point? From experienced I've learned the selfishness always ends in disappointment because I crave companionship. I crave the opportunity to show other people that they are loved. But how can I show people love if I'm not constantly spending time with Love itself? I've got some catching up to do with my Father and I challenge you to start spending more time with Him daily as well. At least think through 1 Corinthian 13 some. It can change your heart.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
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