This past Sunday, the message centered on Revelation 21. The message emphasized how it is the redemptive Christ that comes to us, not us to Him. We see this in the context of the new earth to be, "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." (Rev 21:2)
I've been reflecting on that a bit. That's exactly how Christ works. It is His initiative that brings reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21), not the other way around. Yet, so often, it's hard for us to accept this incredible gift. I get caught in a "must earn" mentality.
Christ freely left Glory, on His initiative, with us in mind to save. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't earn or know how to earn salvation. I still struggle with the concept of even accepting such an incredible offering, it's contrary to my conditioning here in this world, yet Christ compels us to, and it is my pride that keeps me from acknowledging His incredible gift.
Lord, help me let go of my earning power, let me latch on to the gift of Your salvation, that you so lovingly offered.
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
6.07.2010
10.05.2009
Wisdom difference
One of America's most celebrated writers is William Faulkner. In his novels, he used multiple lenses of understanding, or points of view of different characters, in not necessarily chronological order, to weave together a unique and meaningful story. Movies such as Crash, and Amores Perros pursue a similar framework...multiple points of view and understandings interweave and connect to showcase a unique story.
I was thinking about how this is similar to the wisdom of the world vs. the wisdom of God.
The wisdom of God is unique and often antagonizes, or opposes the way the world might do something. Things thought in the heart of God are considered foolish or silly when those same things are considered through the world's wisdom glasses.
As a believer of Jesus who is God's only Son, and with a desire and attempting to follow Christ, I think it's important for believers to distinguish clearly these differences and pursue, in our lives, the wisdom of Heaven.
This is going to be hard and invite all sorts of doubt and ridicule. But remember, that's coming from a wisdom of the world perspective.
So which one do I bow down to and confess my allegiance to...here are some lines, just like Faulkner's novels or those movies, that weave through Scripture at different points at time, but still uniformly point to the wisdom of God being greater and higher:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
(Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV)
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
(Romans 11: 33-36)
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
(2 Corinthians 10:3)
In this battle between the wisdom of God and the way of the world, let us wage war with the weapons of God's wisdom, the Spirit of Truth...His wisdom is far superior and far greater!
I was thinking about how this is similar to the wisdom of the world vs. the wisdom of God.
The wisdom of God is unique and often antagonizes, or opposes the way the world might do something. Things thought in the heart of God are considered foolish or silly when those same things are considered through the world's wisdom glasses.
As a believer of Jesus who is God's only Son, and with a desire and attempting to follow Christ, I think it's important for believers to distinguish clearly these differences and pursue, in our lives, the wisdom of Heaven.
This is going to be hard and invite all sorts of doubt and ridicule. But remember, that's coming from a wisdom of the world perspective.
So which one do I bow down to and confess my allegiance to...here are some lines, just like Faulkner's novels or those movies, that weave through Scripture at different points at time, but still uniformly point to the wisdom of God being greater and higher:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
(Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV)
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
(Romans 11: 33-36)
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
(2 Corinthians 10:3)
In this battle between the wisdom of God and the way of the world, let us wage war with the weapons of God's wisdom, the Spirit of Truth...His wisdom is far superior and far greater!
9.29.2009
really powerful verse
Please consider meditating on this verse. Reading the context is great too, but please meditate on this verse and how it relates to what Jesus may have done for you in your life.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)
8.31.2009
successful sorrow
When the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, it is thought to have been #2 in a sequence of 4 letters. 2 Corinthians is thought to have been letter #4 of 4 total letters.
And so consider:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God... I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds...Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter....
(from 2 Corinthians chapter 7 NIV)
In 1 Corinthians, Paul is both reminding the Corinthians and attempting to correct them because he dearly loves and adores them. Paul helped start the church at Corinth, and had invested a great deal of time and relationships into this church. It wasn't just another church down the road. There was a very real, true commitment and deep relationship between Paul and the church at Corinth.
The Corinthians in time got away from devotion to God, and were wronging God and each other. Living for themselves and pursuing selfish ends. Paul took personal offense to this, and probably had feelings of sadness and anger and disappointment that his children and family members were reveling in wild living and casting off the truth of God for wordly pursuits.
This passage in 2 Corinthians seems to be an affirmation passage. It seems that something did click with Paul's corrective attempts, and the Corinthians genuinely felt sorrowful for their previous behavior.
Paul is sorry that he hurt his beloved family members, but realizes that it ends up benefiting them and strengthening them. Sorrow in this case helped wake up the Corinthians.
I think there's a good take away for our modern-day culture. We typically see sorrow and sadness as bad things. They're not necessarily desirable. Nobody wants to be sad. Yet, if sadness brings about forgiveness or reconciliation, where there had previously been sin or brokenness, then sorrow has acted successfully.
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.."
And so consider:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God... I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds...Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter....
(from 2 Corinthians chapter 7 NIV)
In 1 Corinthians, Paul is both reminding the Corinthians and attempting to correct them because he dearly loves and adores them. Paul helped start the church at Corinth, and had invested a great deal of time and relationships into this church. It wasn't just another church down the road. There was a very real, true commitment and deep relationship between Paul and the church at Corinth.
The Corinthians in time got away from devotion to God, and were wronging God and each other. Living for themselves and pursuing selfish ends. Paul took personal offense to this, and probably had feelings of sadness and anger and disappointment that his children and family members were reveling in wild living and casting off the truth of God for wordly pursuits.
This passage in 2 Corinthians seems to be an affirmation passage. It seems that something did click with Paul's corrective attempts, and the Corinthians genuinely felt sorrowful for their previous behavior.
Paul is sorry that he hurt his beloved family members, but realizes that it ends up benefiting them and strengthening them. Sorrow in this case helped wake up the Corinthians.
I think there's a good take away for our modern-day culture. We typically see sorrow and sadness as bad things. They're not necessarily desirable. Nobody wants to be sad. Yet, if sadness brings about forgiveness or reconciliation, where there had previously been sin or brokenness, then sorrow has acted successfully.
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.."
12.14.2008
The Shack
Well, I just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, mainly because it seemed like it was the bandwagon book everyone was reading at the time, and I tend to have caution with things that everyone else is doing.
Anyways, it was a good book and brought out some really solid questions to examine for yourself. I was really encouraged when I looked up the readership, and it's sold more than 2 million copies and has been #1 on the NY Times Best Seller list for 26 or something weeks now.
That's really encouraging to me that a lot of people are going through the substance of this book and finding and having time with Jesus in a different way than the institutionalized, culturized form of Jesus as they have known Him.
I totally agree with the book that Jesus is not a set of rules or an institution or an accepted status quo of how to act or what to think. God in His infinite-ness cannot be thought of fully or understood completely by finite-ness - that being US humans!! I think it's an amazing premise - that God is so huge and His love so great, even the love that we can actually understand and get an idea of -- the reality is that there's even that much more to His love than we know.
For this, as the book pointed out, Jesus deserves the center of attention and the entirety of our lives.
Another point that I really enjoyed about the book was the emphasis on reconciliation. To get a bigger grasp and a better sense of that huge huge love of God that we have a hard time experiencing because of our own selfishness and stupid independence -- a great way to get that love is via reconciliation. Reconciliation for friendships, marriages, relationships with family members, and acts of reconciliation with those who have hurt us or harmed us.
The power of reconciliation is incredibly great. After all, in doing so, we are seeking to follow God's example of how He worked on us, to make things right through Jesus. I don't think we can go wrong genuinely trying to emulate God's act of reconciliation in our own earthly relationships.
As Paul writes...
"If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:13-21 NIV)
One thing I felt was missing from the book was the importance of Scripture. The Shack never really included or talked about in the character conversations, anything about the primacy of the Word. I think it's great that a relationship with Jesus is going to look differently for each person, but I think that the Holy Scriptures are an inherent part of that relationship, since in the beginning, the Word was with God, and the Word was God...(John 1). Overall, a good book and a solid read!
Anyways, it was a good book and brought out some really solid questions to examine for yourself. I was really encouraged when I looked up the readership, and it's sold more than 2 million copies and has been #1 on the NY Times Best Seller list for 26 or something weeks now.
That's really encouraging to me that a lot of people are going through the substance of this book and finding and having time with Jesus in a different way than the institutionalized, culturized form of Jesus as they have known Him.
I totally agree with the book that Jesus is not a set of rules or an institution or an accepted status quo of how to act or what to think. God in His infinite-ness cannot be thought of fully or understood completely by finite-ness - that being US humans!! I think it's an amazing premise - that God is so huge and His love so great, even the love that we can actually understand and get an idea of -- the reality is that there's even that much more to His love than we know.
For this, as the book pointed out, Jesus deserves the center of attention and the entirety of our lives.
Another point that I really enjoyed about the book was the emphasis on reconciliation. To get a bigger grasp and a better sense of that huge huge love of God that we have a hard time experiencing because of our own selfishness and stupid independence -- a great way to get that love is via reconciliation. Reconciliation for friendships, marriages, relationships with family members, and acts of reconciliation with those who have hurt us or harmed us.
The power of reconciliation is incredibly great. After all, in doing so, we are seeking to follow God's example of how He worked on us, to make things right through Jesus. I don't think we can go wrong genuinely trying to emulate God's act of reconciliation in our own earthly relationships.
As Paul writes...
"If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:13-21 NIV)
One thing I felt was missing from the book was the importance of Scripture. The Shack never really included or talked about in the character conversations, anything about the primacy of the Word. I think it's great that a relationship with Jesus is going to look differently for each person, but I think that the Holy Scriptures are an inherent part of that relationship, since in the beginning, the Word was with God, and the Word was God...(John 1). Overall, a good book and a solid read!
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