Chapter 7: verse 1-2... this reminds me that when God shows me things in my life that I need to get rid of, when He brings me out of my sinful darkness, and delivers me from the enemy of sins in areas of my life, then I need to destroy that sin completely by not returning to it... for example, if someone was addicted to TV and God showed them it was an area of idol worship and thus sin in their life, and God helped them see that they could overcome that sin, then the person would be wise (and obedient) to destroy that problem by getting rid of their TV and completely refusing to let that idol back into their lives in any form (whether on the internet, or at a friend's house, or whatever)... the same is true with any other area of sin in our lives that God brings to light... if it was bitterness, then it would be wise for the person to work through all the people they need to give forgiveness to and then get an accountability partner who will hold them to their commitment to be 'bitter-free'... or whatever... the point is that once God frees us of an area of sin in our lives, we should not tempt ourselves or allow ourselves to fall prey to it again... instead we should completely annihilate it so it is no longer an issue and we can bring utmost glory to God verse 3-4... this is a testimony to how easy it is for us to fall prey to the bad influences around us instead of us multiplying our good influence... that is why accountability is SOOOO important! verse 5 and verse 16... do NOT tolerate the intermixing of other religions into the pureness of Christianity... universalism is wrong... there are NOT many ways to Heaven, there is only one, and it is only through Jesus Christ... if you don't like it, tough, you are NOT God... we must be less tolerant of the idea that we should be "unbiased"... yes, we should be loving, but that does not mean that we have to accept false religions, nor does it mean we are to turn a blind eye and not uphold the holiness of our God verse 6... God calls us His 'treasured possession'... yet, we act ashamed of that... ashamed of God...why?... I'm embarrassed and disgusted that I have so blatently spit in the face of the one who calls me His 'treasured possession' verse 7-8... God does not choose us because of who we are... He chooses us because of who HE is (Romans 5:6-8... but Christ died for us while we were of NO USE whatsoever to Him)... now that is love!... yet, if we know that He did not choose us because of us, then why do we keep trying to 'earn' what we never were required to earn to begin with? (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:2-5)
verse 9... God is faithful because it is who He is... His faithfulness is not dependent on our faithfulness (or lack thereof) verse 14 (and surrounding verses)... I know these verses could be used as a way to 'justify' the 'gospel of prosperity'... however, it is easy to debunk that with any amount of Bible searching, which will lead you to understand that following God is not all sugar castles, butterflies, and roses (see 1 Peter 4, 1 John 3:13, Mark 10:17-31) verse 17-18... don't be afraid to move ahead with the plans God lays out before you, just because they seem impossible to you... it is not YOU that will accomplish them anyway... remember all the God has done and is capable of doing and remember that it is He who will accomplish all He sets before you... assuming you let Him do it... do not get in the way of God working in your life and then blame Him for things not working out, either verse 20... interesting verse 21... the Lord who is among you is a great and awesome God... let's not forget this! verse 22... when God works 'slowly' it is for our own good... don't try to rush ahead of God or we stand a good chance of getting 'eaten up' by the 'wolves' verse 23... isn't it the confusion of the ways of the world that even now allow us to win the victory over Satan and aid us in bringing people to the stability and truth of Christ? verse 25... don't wish you had what the pagans have or try to imulate it, as that covetous desire will lead you to forsake the love of our one true God... it will trap us in our sin and bring us pain that comes from being separated from God verse 26... makes me think about what I 'bring into my house'... what movies and TV shows do I allow... what concepts of the world do they bring into my house (which I have allowed them to do)... what about the internet or the converstions/talk I allow to carry on in my house... what jokes do I laugh at... what gossip do I condone by my silence or spread with my own tongue... what books do I read... what falsehoods of the world do I not correct with Biblical truths... the list could go on and on... But the writing is clear... if I bring in into my house, into my life and the lives of my family, then it will lead to destruction... and maybe not just my destruction, but the destruction of my children... we sometimes, as a society wonder why our kids act and think the way they do, yet do we pay enough attention to what we allow the world to convey to them? do we let the world speak to them louder than we speak to them or louder than we allow God to speak to them?
The IDEA: Romans 1:12-That we may be mutually strengthened, encouraged, and comforted by each others faith. Have you ever read the whole Bible before? We have never done it. We want to share God’s Word, but how can we if we do not know it.
The PLAN: Ecclesiastes 4:12-One person is easily overcome, but two can stand together and conquer. Three is even better, though, as a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. With each others help we can succeed-So, let us team up and read the Bible in a year.
The DATE: We will start Dec 26, 2009 - Dec 26, 2010.
The FYI: We will read 3-4 chapters each day, starting in Genesis, and post thoughts daily. If you do not have a Bible, you can access many translations at www.biblegateway.com. You can also download an audio for each chapter at: http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Read it.
ReplyDeleteSandj
Chapter 7: verse 1-2... this reminds me that when God shows me things in my life that I need to get rid of, when He brings me out of my sinful darkness, and delivers me from the enemy of sins in areas of my life, then I need to destroy that sin completely by not returning to it... for example, if someone was addicted to TV and God showed them it was an area of idol worship and thus sin in their life, and God helped them see that they could overcome that sin, then the person would be wise (and obedient) to destroy that problem by getting rid of their TV and completely refusing to let that idol back into their lives in any form (whether on the internet, or at a friend's house, or whatever)... the same is true with any other area of sin in our lives that God brings to light... if it was bitterness, then it would be wise for the person to work through all the people they need to give forgiveness to and then get an accountability partner who will hold them to their commitment to be 'bitter-free'... or whatever... the point is that once God frees us of an area of sin in our lives, we should not tempt ourselves or allow ourselves to fall prey to it again... instead we should completely annihilate it so it is no longer an issue and we can bring utmost glory to God
ReplyDeleteverse 3-4... this is a testimony to how easy it is for us to fall prey to the bad influences around us instead of us multiplying our good influence... that is why accountability is SOOOO important!
verse 5 and verse 16... do NOT tolerate the intermixing of other religions into the pureness of Christianity... universalism is wrong... there are NOT many ways to Heaven, there is only one, and it is only through Jesus Christ... if you don't like it, tough, you are NOT God... we must be less tolerant of the idea that we should be "unbiased"... yes, we should be loving, but that does not mean that we have to accept false religions, nor does it mean we are to turn a blind eye and not uphold the holiness of our God
verse 6... God calls us His 'treasured possession'... yet, we act ashamed of that... ashamed of God...why?... I'm embarrassed and disgusted that I have so blatently spit in the face of the one who calls me His 'treasured possession'
verse 7-8... God does not choose us because of who we are... He chooses us because of who HE is (Romans 5:6-8... but Christ died for us while we were of NO USE whatsoever to Him)... now that is love!... yet, if we know that He did not choose us because of us, then why do we keep trying to 'earn' what we never were required to earn to begin with? (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:2-5)
verse 9... God is faithful because it is who He is... His faithfulness is not dependent on our faithfulness (or lack thereof)
ReplyDeleteverse 14 (and surrounding verses)... I know these verses could be used as a way to 'justify' the 'gospel of prosperity'... however, it is easy to debunk that with any amount of Bible searching, which will lead you to understand that following God is not all sugar castles, butterflies, and roses (see 1 Peter 4, 1 John 3:13, Mark 10:17-31)
verse 17-18... don't be afraid to move ahead with the plans God lays out before you, just because they seem impossible to you... it is not YOU that will accomplish them anyway... remember all the God has done and is capable of doing and remember that it is He who will accomplish all He sets before you... assuming you let Him do it... do not get in the way of God working in your life and then blame Him for things not working out, either
verse 20... interesting
verse 21... the Lord who is among you is a great and awesome God... let's not forget this!
verse 22... when God works 'slowly' it is for our own good... don't try to rush ahead of God or we stand a good chance of getting 'eaten up' by the 'wolves'
verse 23... isn't it the confusion of the ways of the world that even now allow us to win the victory over Satan and aid us in bringing people to the stability and truth of Christ?
verse 25... don't wish you had what the pagans have or try to imulate it, as that covetous desire will lead you to forsake the love of our one true God... it will trap us in our sin and bring us pain that comes from being separated from God
verse 26... makes me think about what I 'bring into my house'... what movies and TV shows do I allow... what concepts of the world do they bring into my house (which I have allowed them to do)... what about the internet or the converstions/talk I allow to carry on in my house... what jokes do I laugh at... what gossip do I condone by my silence or spread with my own tongue... what books do I read... what falsehoods of the world do I not correct with Biblical truths... the list could go on and on... But the writing is clear... if I bring in into my house, into my life and the lives of my family, then it will lead to destruction... and maybe not just my destruction, but the destruction of my children... we sometimes, as a society wonder why our kids act and think the way they do, yet do we pay enough attention to what we allow the world to convey to them? do we let the world speak to them louder than we speak to them or louder than we allow God to speak to them?