Posts Tagged ‘ Church ’
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Colossians 3:13, ESV
When we stand together, we are stronger. When we feel (or are) slighted, get over yourself and love them through forgiveness.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31, ESV
When we are doing God’s work and living rightly, it does not matter what others say and do. We know we are justified, made right with God.
No one can take that from His people.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8, NKJV
Do not forget that the King will answer, “as you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Sharing the gospel is bringing the body of Christ together.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 ESV
Israel knew we had to love God and love others, but Jesus came and basically said, “Keep going, guys! I want you to love each other as brothers and sisters!”
We may be a dysfunctional family, but good families stick together, care for each other, and defend each other.
Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
Ezekiel 10:18, ESV
Paul tells us that the Church is the house of God (1 Timothy 3:15). His glory proceeds from the house, and we have been commissioned, as the Church, to carry His glory to the world. He helps carry us along as we are sent out.
2017 was another full year.
I taught 7th Grade Math.
We changed local churches.
God finally helped to revive my teaching and apologetics ministries, most notably through the creation of the a simple man of God YouTube channel.
I survived the closing of my favorite coffee shop, where I was a customer, a barista, and finally the manager.
This all leads to the extremely likely possibility of new Adventures. (Yes, this is a veiled hint as to what is coming next.)
In all things, God is good. All the time.
Fall on the promises of God, this year and always.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
In His Love,
Daniel
Welcome back, people of the interwebz!
Today we are looking at what it means to be the Church in terms of two or three gathering together.
First, a look at Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV):
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Two things to discuss:
1. We should encourage each other;
2. We should not neglect meeting together.
Last week at church, we had to “deal with” two men who had issue with each other. They had an awkwardness between them. Their wives had an awkwardness. Being a small house church, we dealt with feeling that awkwardness.
These two men probably did it right. They had tried talking it out, but there was still awkwardness between them. So, the pastor called them out, and told them to go talk it out. After the music started, he joined them. Eventually, they were able to come back in, and it was resolved.
This leads us back to Matthew.
In Matthew 18:15-20 (ESV), Jesus said:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
They did this, they were able to talk about it, but there was still an awkward tension.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
I knew what was going on, as well as the pastor, so there are at least two more people.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
(Treat them as sinner: SHOW LOVE AND GRACE! It may mean kicking someone out of church, but be willing to welcome them back while continually showing love and grace! Thankfully, this was not necessary in this instance.)
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
(We could definitely dive into “whatever bind … loose” and “where two or three are gathered” in more detail, but that is not the focus of today!)
Many people take this passage, verse twenty in particular, to mean that we have church wherever two or three people gather. While this is true, that is not the context of this passage.
This is about handling disputes between Christian brothers and sisters, how to get along.
And it is nice to be a part of a church that lives this out.
This passage is telling us that we should lift each other up in Christ. In this instance, we see Hebrews 10 in action: encouraging each other and not avoiding each other.
Perhaps you are dealing with problems with brothers and/or sisters in Christ: maybe a literal brother or sister, or a parent, or another relative or just a friend.
Regardless, “do not neglect meeting together” means work it out with them in the Name of Christ!
These two guys worked it out in only about five minutes.
Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another. ~Proverbs 27:17
(Proverbs 27:14 mentions how a man who loudly greets his neighbor in the morning is an annoyance … coincidence? DEFINITELY! ;P)
Therefore, go out and be excellent to each other!
daniel
Find that woman Wisdom (for example, Proverbs 8) through the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!
There are two ways of looking at things (for my purposes today, at least): literally and allegorically. This is done with the Bible regularly ( in both good and correct ways and bad and incorrect ways). The Bible itself does this, as many verses in the New Testament make the allegorical connection to Jesus with Old Testament verses.
Likewise, the poem today has a double viewing in mind.
The literal view is based on the relationship I have with my wife. The message I would point to for others to take is that your significant other, specifically your spouse, should constantly point you back to God in the name of Jesus and through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The allegorical view is based on how God relates to us through His Church.
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:22-27, ESVThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21:1-3
Love your husband or wife. Love the Bride of Christ. In so doing, you will see and share the love of Christ.
The woman in my life …
… makes me happy and brings me joy.
She leads me to the Father and pushes me to praise my Lord.
The woman in my life is my gift from Jesus Christ.
She mixes me up inside and also makes me smile.
The woman in my life …
… brings the love of God and shows me there is still good.
She brings me to a place of love and guides me to my God above.
This woman is a woman meant for a godly man.
If I am considered godly …
… then I must do more to honor our sovereign Lord.
I must seek His Heart and keep doing so in my heart.
If I am considered godly, it is because He made me.
I will keep my God first and give Him all He deserves.
If I am considered godly …
… then I must try the hardest to remember Jesus,
because I cannot forfeit what my Lord has sent.
The woman in my life …
… helps me be godly.
If I am considered godly …
… it is because of a godly woman in my life.
Do not get distracted by the world’s “wisdom”. Find true wisdom through some thoughts at Proverbial Thought!
Please understand: I actually like squirrels. I had several “friends” when I first went to college at Olivet Nazarene University.
The poem today is more of a commentary on the spiritual ADD of the Western Church, and it is based on the following passages:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. . . . For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
2 Peter 2:1-3, 18-22, ESV“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:5“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
Are we too squirrelly at times in our culture?
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squirrelly
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are we too much like squirrels
do we hoard our belongings
like being in high places
and think people just like watching us
are we too much like squirrels
do we run around not really going anywhere
get into little and meaningless fights
and just watch others as they go by
are we too much like squirrels
do we spend a lot of time cleaning ourselves
keep others at a distance
and run away when people get too close
why are we so squirrelly
why do we always seem on edge
why do we hide or run away from people
Change your mind, and find the wisdom of God through some of the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!
There is no need for a great debate on Calvinism, Arminianism, Molinism, or any other -isms of soteriology (study of salvation) based on the poem today.
We should all agree that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession”. In fact, this poem is based on that very passage of Scripture:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
1 Peter 2:9-12, ESV
Regardless of how free a choice we had in the process of salvation, it is still true that God chose us as His own, and He has given us the command and the privilege of sharing the Gospel with our fallen world.
chosen
chosen before i knew You
selected for Your purpose
still needing Your Truth revealed
to have any usefulness
when i finally came around
and You got through my thick head
my heart became softened
my life redeemed from the dead
now i seek out Your chosen
finding them still evil
telling them how You changed my life
and resisted the lies of the devil
no longer deceived by lies
now aware of all Your Truth
they can truly live their lives
knowing they are chosen by You
a simple man of God 