Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Enslaved's Blurty:

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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2004
11:46 pm	blessed confusion Blessed Confusion Lord it's so hard to tell between good and best what's keeping me busy and what's giving me Rest why do You tease with such great beauties i want to reach far into my marriage parodies we all do it one way or another aspire to know who's our son's mother so easy to dream of communion everlasting but dreams cloud up my prayer and fasting one moment its one person another the next how can it be His will to be so perplexed? tonight i realize i do not have to cope for this is not my curse but a source of true hope so Father to You i submit my silly game and whoever i come across blessed be Your Name ****************************** this one's pretty self-explanatory, i hope! thanks for readin', and as always, please feel free to comment through this, IM, email, or even, get this, face to face conversation! ~philip ps-good catchin up with you all tonight! Current Mood: amused Current Music: Nickel Creek, so good! (Comment on this)
Monday, December 20th, 2004
6:38 pm	Real Beauty This definition of beauty came to me as i was doing some sketching, a habit i haven't done in a while. Feel free to tell me what ya think: "Real beauty is never complete in human eyes, the mystery creates beauty. The secret to beauty isn't a mystery, the secret to mystery is that mystery is beautiful." I had an awesome prayer prayed over me earlier yesterday that really challenged me on this as well. Very interesting, i didn't know that i was dealing with the topic of beauty in my soul, but apparently i am! So any encouragement or advice, feel free to bestow! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 19th, 2004
12:31 am	Fall 04 Memories In no particular order, these are this past semester's best and maybe worst memories from this past semester. I'm usually TERRIBLE at this, so if you think i left something out, please chastise me and tell me to add to it! Here goes: *Moving Targets Dodgeball: Total Domination -head coach "The Artful Dodger" Ondeck with the 5 D's -MVP Starner (except for a couple masterful Black Hole performances by Kichline's part) -Phinehas makes his debut, coming back from a staunch performance in Numbers 25 -Where are the purple people eaters? well, while they are eating purple people, we'll just have to eat at every appetizer we can find at Dukes...for free. *Doug finding out which bathroom is the girls bathroom in a quite embarassing way on my first day back *roof of McLean, yeah, that's right *"Ya heard me" and "I heard ya" *"Back it up" *The disappearing Josh, how does he/THEY walk so fast? *5th floor awesome points -Kim "I have boobs though" Me "Ahhhh but Ondeck does too!" *Is that...yup, that's a large cardboard cutout of a baby *The Lime Iced Tea incident *Tom Sellack everywhere! Then our awesome Sellack stash (pun intended) being "stolen" *Josh = Donald Duck *3 JBC's *Burdrunning as a result of Isabelle! Thank you mother nature! "Ahhh, i lost my watch...i'll find it tomorrow." and Sifford did! *Gettysburg with Hatch and Beca -"Is that a door?" wow was it ever! A door to 90 ft up! *Jimme O'Donnel and his screen name: "philip schiavoni"- weird *CCO seminar-awesome *Daily Prayer and Prayer Team- God bless both! *Fall Retreat -Rephidim and its curtains. Wow. I thought Eric had the best curtain, but "clearly" Josh did. -Paul's first gold bond experience -Koser, ahhh Koser! -God healed my cold for the night *Guys' Night I *Guys' Night II -Paul not wanting to, then showing us up -"The Stambaugh Switch" immortalized into the memory of all *Getting second place in a volleyball tournament with 5'11" Stambaugh *Settlers of Catan and Ghetto Settlers *McLaugle -Canned Processed Meat Paste *RamZ and Alex dressed up as pirates for the Piracy Debate (of Music) *Halloween party at Weikert's *King St. Sunday School *the 529 hammock *The Coffeehouse Gospel attacks! *Christmas Candylane -Hatch and Jolene with their awesome ideas on candycanes -seein' Jenna Mae -Ondeck gettin' kneed in the by Jolene, with cop to witness it! Then Jolene commically blaming it on Hatch -The day after tomorrow *Philly and Pittsburgh in one Thanksgiving break -SPDGTSCSC with Ben around town after some Pat's -the spin move in Pitt -Grace, Roth and I owning the town on a wintery night *"Word" my word of affirmation to a 10th grade geometry class that just laughed at me *Pre Quiet Hours jam fest *What better gift than two guys jumpin in a lake at 2 AM huh Grace? So much for that paper *the coolest talent show ever *nights at The Dock (if you haven't experienced yet, you need to) -got to bust out my sax as Cool Papa Phil, thanks again guys! *Methods -2 oclock deadline?! -Jen sniffing Danielle's hair -Jen twirling Danielle's hair -The Sandwich Analogy *Jackson saving my life (or at least my final for Methods) *The book i wrote for Paul ;0) *How else should i get my laundry to the ground floor? *Roctober -Third Day Concert -WhiteWater rafting, LHRT! and almost dying! -Joy coming up to Ship -my birthday! Spray? *Monthly themes come back hard with the Near Miss Month of December *Did i mention the BOSOX!!! -"You deserve better Kitty" *"and that girl is a BOY" *God lining up things left and right *Jackson and Shari ok, i'm tired. if there's more, i'll come back! hope you enjoyed! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 15th, 2004
11:48 pm	Feet Upon the Stars ************************ feet upon the stars running on numb feet crying all along the way to my Savior's seat tell me when You'll hear You are so far away You tell me You dwell within i've got nothing else to say i plead and i run i kneel and i cry i succeed and i fail yet falter at every try screaming a terrible scream! the depths of my soul unfurl! at the center of it all an empty hole fit just right for a girl oh to have time to let my heart run wild only to stand in the way of me becoming a child so, what now? what now, o my soul? still deeply in need of Christ's blood, my Toll ************************ The idea for the line "feet upon the stars" came to me as i was praying while walking around campus. A frost had covered the grass, and it looked like i was stepping on millions of tiny little stars as each dew molecule glimmered brilliantly with every step. I almost titled this "So, what now?" but i believe "Feet Upon the Stars" contrasts the theme better, giving the poem a better edge. Just my thoughts though. Be blessed. Current Mood: discontent Current Music: Nickel Creek (Comment on this)
Monday, December 6th, 2004
9:12 pm	Only One Want waxing a rant! haven't done it in a while, but felt God tug today: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Only One Want" tell me that You know tell me that You love me i'm beginning to fall for things so unknown yet i need to rest in You to Whom there is no end?! respectively i know less about You than i do all these things! so why do i not understand what this is all for? so many needs but only one Want "The LORD is my Shepherd i shall not be in want" Jesus be my only want for somehow i was yours when You were hangin on the cross because of what i've done My Perfect Lamb! i am sorry, let me prove it please ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ December 6, 5:30 pm, 2004 (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 1st, 2004
12:01 am	Holy Spirit Part III: Fruit, Gifts, and Power Scriptures Col 3:3 Col 3:5 Col 3:12 Fruit Gal 5:22-26 Gifts I Cor 12:4-11 Power I Cor 12:12-13 I Cor 13 I Cor 14:1 Gal 5:25-26 Col 3:18-4:6 Pentecost Luke 24:49 Acts 2:1 Lesson: Here in the third part we move on from our understanding of baptism being a sign of death and a new decision of a good conscience towards God and from our understanding of the Holy Spirit Himself, and now we move into the realm of Fruit, Gifts, and Power. Colossians 3 was promised to be a focal point in our Scripture references, so look at Col 3:3. "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." This verse quickly asserts our two previous lessons with the theme of our death and our life "now hidden with Christ" in the Holy Spirit. In 3:5 we are told to "Put to death our earthly nature," and covered that with the topic of baptism. But notice in 3:12 we are not told to "bring to life" but we are told to "clothe yourselves." To clothe ourselves implies several things. For one, it implies that we already have what we are about to don on ourselves. Secondly, it implies that we need to choose to "wear" such things. Third, people notice what we wear, so it should be something had and shown. We do not, in our own strength or skill, have the ability to bring to life anything. Alone God gives life, we can plant seeds or water the ground, but God makes things grow and live (I Cor 3:6). So thank God, that in v. 12 that He chose us! Because we can't bring these things to life, He brings them to life through our obedience to His commands. Galatians 5 is famous for the "Fruit of the Spirit" section. In order they are: love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self control These fruit have an order to them too. We know from I Cor 13 that "above all these is love," so it is fitting that Paul placed love first. Also notice that peace is before patience, because it makes sense that you can have patience without having peace, but not peace without having patience. This is a good note when things are listed, take not to how they are listed and think it through, and relate lists to other Scripture. Notice also that last is an important one as well: self control. If you don't have self control, you can easily be swayed off any of these fruitful parts of your life and turn right into sinful ways. In I Cor 12 we see the gifts of the Spirit. Here they are with a short Phil-translation with them: wisdom knowledge-wisdom and knowledge are very similar. The Spirit will give a person a particular piece of knowledge or wisdom that is useful to a person or persons in a particular situation. A key way to know when this gift has manifested is when the word of knowledge or wisdom comes from someone that would have absolutely no way of knowing what he said about something or someone, but the word clearly edifies the person or situation and is true to the persons involved faith- i believe my old roommate and great brother in the Lord, Scott Poole, has this gift. During my life, he twice had come up to me simply telling me he had faith in me and what God had in store for my life, and both times proved to be true for me and in affect for a lot of other people. This gift is not the saving faith, but is a gift that empowers others and builds them up. Scott's word of faith was of such encouragement to me, it launched me into a true walk with God. (feel free to ask sometime for the full story!) healing- Obviously, if someone is granted the gift of healing, they have the manifestation of the Spirit to heal someone supernaturally from an ill effect miraculous powers- this one is tough to describe, but in looking at the Bible, Moses had miraculous powers granted to Him in the many wonders and signs, and Jesus for example was able to raise people from the dead. There are still reports that the Spirit has manifested itself into miraculous powers, such as resurrection or one cool one i heard was gold dust forming on the hands of those who have just prayed! Neat! prophecy- Prophecy is probably the most feared but also probably the most powerful. In I Cor 14:1 we are told to eagerly desire this gift over other gifts. Prophecy is a word that instructs someone or foretells someone what will happen. This gift is powerful in building up the church and getting the body to move in one direction. It is different than wisdom or knowledge because it also foretells the future and usually has an instruction involved. A lot of people have heard stories about false prophecies and have come to despise or not believe in the reality of prophecy. distinguishing between spirits- the distinguishing of spirits allows a church or a person to know that what is being said or experienced is truly of the Holy Spirit or is not at all! One can easily deduce that this is very important if there is any confusion in the matter. Also some people are blessed to be able to walk into a room or into a situation and just sense the spirit of the situation. speaking in different kinds of tongues- Speaking in tongues is litterally speaking in a different language; different language of man or of angels. It is used as a prayer or of worship but can also be used to edify the church if there is interpretation. Again, there is plenty of instruction in I Cor 12 and 14 on this gift. This gift was manifested richly in Acts 2 at when the Holy Spirit came in power at Pentecost. interpretation of tongues- the interpretation of tongues is very useful. It is the gift i know the least about and have experienced the least around me, but in I Cor 12 and 14 there is a lot of useful instruction on this gift. So we've gone over the fruit and the gifts, what about the power? The power of the Holy Spirit, i believe comes in the loving unity of the body of Christ, God's children moving as one with all the gifts and fruit being manifested beautifully. In I Cor 12:12-13 we see how the Body is to work. And in I Cor 13 (sandwiched between two chapters on the gifts of the Spirit) we see a chapter on love. In Gal 5:25-26 after the fruit of the Spirit explained another exhortation to be in step with the Spirit not provoking one another. And in Col 3:18 into chapter 4 we see that the chapter flows from how to clothe ourselves with the Spirit to how to properly be united with one another. This to me is the power of the Holy Spirit, when all of us walk bearing the fruit of the Spirit, exhibiting the God-given gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, and doing it all in love and in unity with one another. (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 20th, 2004
2:42 pm	Holy Spirit Part II Scripture: Gen 1:2 John 1:32-33 Acts 1:4-5 Heb 9:14 John 16:13 II Cor 13:14 Eph 1:13-14 I Cor 12:13 John 14:20 Lightning Round! Gal 2:20 Rom 6:3 Rom 6:4 Rom 6:5 Col 3:1 Eph 2:4-5 Eph 2:6 II Tim 2:12 Rom 8:17 Col 3:9-10 Lesson: So in the first part of our lessons on the Holy Spirit, we talked about baptism and laid a Biblical foundation for what baptism is. Going right along, the Holy Spirit is a gift given to us to show that our baptism is real, because the reality of God, His Spirit, lives inside of us. So who is this Holy Spirit? Let's go through some verses, and hopefully create a theology of who, not what, the Holy Spirit is. The first four verses give us a sense of the Holy Spirit and who He has been, is, and always will be. In Genesis 1:2 we see that God's Spirit is hovering above the waters. The same Holy Spirit that is alive today and that we have been blessed with has been around ever since God has been around back at Creation. In John 1:32-33 John the Baptist sees the Holy Spirit Himself descend upon Jesus and testifies to us about the happening. So we know that the Holy Spirit is "present" and exists in our every moment, before and after Pentecost. In Acts 1:4-5, the early church is told to "wait" for the Holy Spirit, so we by this verse see that the Holy Spirit is also in the future as well. And in Hebrews 9:14 the Spirit is referred to as "eternal." So we know now that the Holy Spirit is eternal, both to the past and future, and exists very strongly in the present. In John 16:13 and II Cor 13:14 we see that the Holy Spirit is called "He" in John and in II Cor we are told that we have fellowship with Him, the Holy Spirit. This paints us a picture that the Holy Spirit is a living person that has gender and is living and fellowshipping with us presently, eternally. In Eph 1:13-14 we read that when we hear the word of truth and believe we are marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit, who is also a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance! What great promises! A seal in that day was the declaration of owndership and a sign of security to whom the seal belonged. We are declared and secure in our Father God by the Holy Spirit. And he is our down payment on our everlasting life. Just as a down payment on a car is the guarantee that we will purchase the car, the Holy Spirit is God's down payment on us securing us into eternal fellowship! In John 14:20 we are told that "I Am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I Am in you." The life of Christ is alive inside us, and Scripturally we are told of receiving the life of Jesus Christ in us as the Holy Spirit. This means that we also have inside of us the included events and overcomings of the Son of God ALIVE inside of us. Here comes the Lightning Round! These verses explain many different things we inherit through the Spirit of God. Read 'em, and i'll include the inclusions given by the verses: Gal 2:20 crucifixion Rom 6:3 death Rom 6:4 burial Rom 6:5 resurrection Col 3:1 resurrection Eph 2:4-5 alive with Christ Eph 2:6 ascension II Tim 2:12 reign Rom 8:17 co-heirs with Him, sufferings, and glory When we have received the Savior we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and His very life and power enters us as a deposit and seals us to be transformed one day into a glorious new body which Jesus has taken form of already (Revelation 1, II Cor 3:18) and we are being transformed into. Now, Colossians 3 is a very important chapter in the Bible giving us the very Rules for Holy Living and i believe this chapter has lots of implications on the Holy Spirit's life within us. We saw how this chapter related to baptism last Sunday, this Sunday we look at vv 9 and 10. We read a familiar theme of being renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator (II Cor 3:18) and see that the old self, without the Holy Spirit, is gone and so SHOULD the ways of our old life, our earthly nature. Because a Holy God lives within us, we should live so, and people should be able to see Christ being reflected through us. Next week we will learn of the gifts, fruit, and weapons of the Holy Spirit that our a part of our "new self" and conclude our three week topic of the Holy Spirit. (Sorry for the week long delay getting this online! Busy + fighting a cold + being in middle school all week = not a lot of time to get this into my blurty! Be blessed everybody!) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 10th, 2004
11:10 pm	Lament & Praise I Here's what's going on in the soul: O that my eyes were stapled shut, then i would not covet. O that i would have no nose to not get the wiff of temptation. Chain my hands to the air that i would not use them for evil. Quelch my tongue so it may not start any fires. Anchor my feet so i may not wander lost. Why must i breed death in what i do? How far righteousness is from my grasp! O let me wallow in my dust, Lord. I am in Sheol. And i dug it. Yet in that last comment i spoke to You. And from my death You spoke to me by listening. I do not deserve life. I do not deserve to be heard. I do not deserve any morsel of food, for the energy could and very well may be used for evil. Yet You provide an ear. And before You provided an ear, before i had words to speak, You provided your Blood to wash me clean. Your blood loosed the staples of my eyes. Your blood healed my nose to smell. Your blood loosed the chains on my hands, sent your tongue of fire upon mine, and cut loose the anchor to my feet. I still fall short of your purpose for freeing me, but i know that You freed me in the first place, and that means more to me than anything else along the way. You freed me to run to you, to speak to You, to love on You, and i should because You are worthy of at least all that and more! Thank You Lord for setting me free, thank You for guiding me back towards You! (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 7th, 2004
11:57 pm	Baptism *Shwoo, another long one here! Note: the lesson typed is not verbatim from the morning's lesson, and is typed in a style of speaker to listener. In class it is taught in a more "constructivist" style where together the teacher and class form the ideas through question and answer methodology. So if you are in my class, or not, and looking for everything that happened at King St. SS Class, i'm sorry, i'm just not that good at remembering everything, nor can interpret all that happened into type form. Thank you so much for reading, and be blessed in your journey with God* Scripture: Matthew 3:11 John 19:30 Luke 12:49-50 I Peter 3:18-22 Genesis 6 II Peter 3:3-7,11-13 Colossians 3 John 3:3-6 Lesson: We probably have all participated in or witnessed a baptism. In today's church culture it has become an event that is often performed on babies or new church members and involves a dunking of the head in water. The picture painted by these events are close to what Scripture says about baptism, but hopefully this lesson will shed more light on what baptism is all about. This lesson i feel is the precursor to a multi-part lesson on the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Here John the Baptist explains his ministry to the Pharisees and Saducees. He was baptising people with water "for repentance." Here we see in this lesson for the first time that a water baptismal has connection with repentance. John 19:30 "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." The words "It is finished" have always intrigued me. Here, at Jesus' death, He proclaims that "it is finished," when we all know about the coming resurrection and the second coming yet to happen. In my mind, it is far from finished. Now we can point to Jesus' ministry on earth being completed, He had fulfilled all the prophecies about Himself, and had taken the form of sin and died as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. But what is "it"... Luke 12:49-50 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed" Ah-ha! Here we see that Jesus says that He has a "baptism to undergo" before "fire" (which will be covered in the near future) is brought to the earth. And notice the last words of "until it is completed." Sound familiar? Jesus last words were "it is finished." In some translations this verse ends in "until it is finished" (the message) and "until it is accomplished" (NLV) So what's the point? Here we see that baptism deals with repentance, but now also death. Hmmm...let's continue. I Peter 3:18-22 "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." In these verses Peter makes a couple points about baptism. First he corrects his listeners that baptism is not the cleansing of dirt from the body. In Old Testament times water was used as a cleanser to become "holy" once again. But Peter stresses that it is "the pledge of a good conscience toward God." A pledge is according to www.dictionary.com is "A solemn binding promise to do, give, or refrain from doing something." So again we see repentance and a here a binding promise to a good conscience toward God. Peter also relates baptism to the Noahtic flood! Let's go there! Genesis 6 In Genesis 6 we receive the story of the flood. Here God is disheartened with all the wickedness of mankind and grieves the state of His creation. But Noah finds favor in God's eyes and instructs him to build an ark and take his family and two of every animal in it during the flood. The flood accomplishes the purging of all the evil and saving what righteous people are left. In baptism, much the same is meant or symbolized. Baptism should be a sign of the wickedness in us being washed, purged from us. Think about the life Noah must have experienced after the flood. All of the wicked people gone from the earth, a fresh start. The whole of what his conscience knew of existence has been changed. So should ours! A baptism should signal a new way of life, vastly different from the past. Many other points can be related from the flood to baptism, but here is one i see of great importance that must be taught and understood to build a greater knowledge of God's character, so please read closely: In verse 7 of Genesis 6 we see "So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them." Quite a bold thing to say! In the next verse God finds favor in Noah, but God still said this before that! My question here is why would the animals also receive punishment from God? You see, just earlier in Genesis God gives dominion to man over the animals. Adam names them and man is to subdue them. The destiny of man must be dealt to those underneath man as well. When a team's manager gets in trouble for improperly scouting the whole team suffers a penalty. Or in business, if the boss is found to be cheating the whole of the business could be in severe trouble. So God must subject the animals to the consequence, the destiny of man. Similarly, we are Mastered by a Holy God, and our future destiny/consequence is Holiness! That is why Jesus needed to be the sacrifice for sin, and why we need to give our whole lives to God. Our future consequence and destiny is holiness, and we need to exude that now so to be found by Him holy! For sin can not be found in God or His presence! So how are we to live Holy? We have accepted Christ as our Savior and have found ourselves in need of Grace, but clearly we need to live holy as baptism is now found to imply. Colossians 3 This chapter is titled in the NIV as "Rules for Holy Living" which fits perfectly. As we saw God rid the earth of evil, here we are told to (v5) "Put to death our earthly nature..." and to (v7) "rid ourselves" of bad things in our lives. In our study of the Holy Spirit and of Christian nature you will see this chapter a lot i imagine. The idea of "Putting to death" and "clothing yourselves" is a sort of natural law of the Spirit. We can not clothe ourselves first with such fruit of the Spirit mentioned later in Col 3. Notice the put to death part is first. This is inducive of our lesson last week on the words of our mouth. A fresh water can not be cleaned if even the tiniest bit of salt is found in it; surely it will taste of salt. Here, we need to put to death our old ways if we want to see Christ-likeness in our lives, our else we are apt to live hypocritical, non-fruit-producing lives. Let's get another insight from Jesus... John 3:2-6 In the most famous chapter in the Bible we often forget that this is a conversation between Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish council, questioning Jesus late at night. "He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." Nicodemus in his innocence asks how can one be born again, he is old and can not possibly be born from his mother's womb! Here Jesus responds that two births must take place, that flesh gives birth to flesh, and Spirit gives birth to spirit. The phrase "born again" implies a new life though! A life where we leave the "life we once lived" (Col 3:7) and we get rid of the "old self" (Col 3:9) says our Rules for Holy Living! Colossians 3 man, a lot of Biblical connections are tied together in this chapter! So what of the "Spirit" and of the "fire" mentioned in some of these passages? Well that will be next time (unless God's will says otherwise). For now, use this as a frame for whats to come and a very general guide to living a holy, Spirit-filled life. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004
10:09 pm	"So Alone" when i'm all alone low is the cost to be free when really loneliness is found on the Tree where am i in this world fading a breeze is all it takes to bring upon the Real and wash away all the fakes until That Day i will be alone seeking true Fellowship even when joined with one who was formed from Adam's hip til that day inside i plea "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" though i can't say that in truth for inside i host the temple of God full of the living Holy Ghost (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 31st, 2004
11:14 pm	"Words" SSClass 10.31.04 "Words" A topic that is easy to dissect in the Bible is the words we speak; what they should be, when we should use them, how we should use them, etc., can all be found in there. These verses and topics are just a touch of what you can find in the Bible, but here's what God uncovered for us this past Sunday. Scripture: Proverbs 10:19 Isaiah 53:7 Hebrews 3:13 Ecclesiastes 3:7b Exodus 20:7 Exodus 20:16 Colossians 3:8-9 Colossians 3:16-17 James 3:1-12 Colossians 3:5,12 Lesson: Some of our most embarassing moments have come because of the utterances of our mouths. This is true for a reason, as we will come to know that the tongue is an evil present in our body, and we must tame it. The following are verses that give us some advice on the use of our mouths. Proverbs 10:19 "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." I had a roommate once admit, "Phil, if i reduced the total number of words i said throughout a day, a lot more of the words i said would be good!" Not only was my roommate's comment true, but oh so Scriptural! How often we all could admit that the more we talk, the more likely we can dabble into sin. Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Have we ever been mocked, or even beaten in some way, and instantly felt compelled to defend ourselves, or lash back at our oppressor? In this Scripture we see that Jesus was silent through His affliction, and this spoke much louder than words. Tim Bergner once got asked after a physically challenging match of basketball "why did you not swear at the guy that was pushing you around and making fun of you?" and Tim got to share his faith with the guy. Tim's silence spoke the Gospel before Tim spoke aloud. Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." I think the use of the word "Today" is compelling in this passage. For we will enter Rest, the Day of the Lord, His Second Coming, however you want to word it, we will someday be in a new existence, and until then, each day will be called "Today" and so long as it is, we are commanded to encourage one another daily to remain moldable to our Savior and not hardened by sin. Encouragement daily is easier and easier with our recent means of communication as well. How blessed we could be through effective uses of our modern resources! Ecclesiastes 3:7b "a time to be silent and a time to speak," In the famous "season for everything under the sun" passage, this little diddy bears itself in verse 7. We should ask the Holy Spirit to tune our hearts to His "seasons" of silence and speaking in our life. Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." When i was nine i was playing video games, Mario 3 to be exact, and something bad happened and i remembered yelling God's name in vain. Well my Ma came in and said, "Son, you will not say that again, and if you do, i will smack it out of you." Well, when i was called to dinner, my gum fell out of my mouth as i stood up, and i let the name of God wrecklessly leave my mouth, and before i could even look to see if my mom heard it my mouth was smacked. My mother's intensity about the topic has ever since been a staple in my walk with our Lord. And now, i easily become irked when i see other professing Christians so easily (as i did) utter the Lord's name in terrible ways. Please, please delete such mishandlings of the Lord's name from your lips! Discipline yourself from the habit, no matter how long it takes. And remember that God is Holy! The words crap, geez, and cow, among others, should not follow the word "Holy"!!! Yuck!!! To utter Holy Spirit and minutes later follow it up with Holy and one of these words is very disgusting! Check your mouth, and especially your heart for how and what words we use when expressing ourselves. Exodus 20:16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Obviously, we all have learned that to lie is bad. Here's a spin on this commandment. A testimony is what a witness gives. As witnesses to Christ, all that we say must be true of Him. Here's how this played out in my life recently: i was stuck in the habit of wishing "good luck" to people all the time on small to large things. How is this true if i believe in an all-powerful, sovereign God that wants His divine purposes done, who does not want us to rely on a fictional belief of a stroke of "luck." I was wishing people to have something i didn't believe in. If i was a witness on a stand in court, and wanted to convince the jury of something i didn't believe in/witness to, i'd be a liar. People will notice when you don't say "good luck" as well. When i started saying "I hope you do well," or "give it your best" people notice the difference that you might actually care about them instead of giving them a sense that a stroke of luck may help them out this time. Colossians 3:8-9 "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices" Very self-explanatory. Here's the definition of "slander" by www.dictionary.com: 1. Law. Oral communication of false statements injurious to a person's reputation. 2. A false and malicious statement or report about someone. Notice malice is the act of injuring someone, and slander is the oral equivalent! Colossians 3:16-17 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." I believe the key here is the part where "the word of Christ dwells richly" in us. Another popular verse in the Bible is that words are the "overflow of our heart." I believe this is a similar message. If we allow and encourage the rich indwelling of Scripture into our hearts (our minds, and our minds put to action so to speak) i believe that we will find ourselves uttering and singing purer wisdom and praise! James 3:1-17 "1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Two Kinds of Wisdom 13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." Long section, but the fulcrum of the lesson as well. Consider the horse's bit. Horses weigh anywhere from 600 to 1200 pounds give or take a couple HUNDRED pounds. A bit usually weighs 2.5-5.0 pounds. Yet the gentle tug on such a small weight can control such a beast. Consider my whitewater rafting trip, i could stick a paddle with a blade about the size of a notebook and steer a 4 person boat through a class 4 (dangerous) rapid with thousands of pounds of water pressure pussing us a different way. Not quite a rudder, but same idea. And for the springs of water, notice in verse 17 that the wisdom of heaven is first of all "pure." I believe that if we want to have "considerate" speech, "full of ... good fruit," we must first purify our speech from the salt within it, and then that will allow the Holy Spirit to guide us better in what we say. If we just tried to talk better without getting rid of the bad in our speech, i don't believe we are doing the world any justice, and certainly not ourselves in the eyes of our listeners. Sorry, ears. Check out Colossians 3 again... Colossians 3:5 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature" We have been born with a salty spring, but we are also able to "put to death" that earthly nature of it. In fact, we are commanded to. This takes discipline, and often many trials, but it is not only possible, but encouraged. I believe this is so since in... Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves..." Once we have put to death our salty speech then ("Therefore") we will be able to "clothe ourselves" with goodness of speech. Notice it does not say "bring to life." Though we have the power to "put to death," Jesus "is the resurrection" and He is the bringer and bearer of life. "Clothe yourselves" implies that we have a closet full of good words just waiting to be worn in our speech, we need only to throw away all the old, and allow the new to be our main wardrobe. Until we stop wearing the old speech though, there will be no room on our body for the fullness of Godly speech on our lips. More to come on this concept of "put to death," and "Clothe yourselves" to come, either next week or soon... PRQ's (Prayer ReQuests) *Brent in Iraq *Angela -Tana's friend with abdominal pain *Tana's sore ankle *Nicole - guidance in taking tests that determine her career, and guidance in what to lay down to follow Christ for her future *Sarah - return from Kazakhstan and the effects of culture shock. *Alyssa and death of her Grandfather Strive towards perfection and peace amidst our fallen world my siblings! ~phil (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 30th, 2004
8:59 pm	A Beautiful Mountain This all came to me on my birthday, Thursday October 28, and i wrote it while at school in Boiling Springs. I know it is very long, but i hope you are blessed by it. A Beautiful Mountain I believe a spiritual enlightenment is taking place in the world today, though i know i look through my own lenses. If the water temperature in an aquarium goes up ten degrees, the fish inside are left with a belief that the whole of the universe may have just warmed up. So i will admit that i can not say with certainty that a spiritual uprising is in the midst of our present existence, but i do believe in one occurring within my fellowship, my environment, and me. However, this does not mean that all is well. You see, the more that my "eyes of the heart" are opened to the Truth, the worse off i look, and everything i see looks worse too. Consider this: it is just before sunrise and the sun is about to rise on a majestic mountain. You can barely make out the mountain's outline as you wait. Then the sun rises, slowly but more brilliantly every second. In this lies our analogy because as more and more light is shed on the mountain, the more and more beautiful and majestic it becomes. On the contrary, an immense shadow on the opposite side begins to form and with each passing minute this shadow becomes more defined as well. Is this a picture describing a landscape reality? A pretty story? My challenge is that this is a picture telling of a purpose of God's Word. When a command of God's Word enters our life, i believe two supernatural changes simultaneously transpire. The light of God's Word expresses unimaginable beauty. "For I know the plans I have in store for you, declares the Lord," has been a college classic from Jeremiah 29:11 that captures the beautiful essence of a student's four (or five in my case) year cocooning. I have witnessed myself and many others embrace these words like a student finding an answer key to their test; a beautiful, perfect answer that contains all we will need to know to press on. Woe to this child! For we in this light do not see the shadow simultaneously created by our Father's Word. As we mature we must see the beauty and glory of God's promises coupled with the shadow of God's commands and our implied obedience that concurs with His Word. "For they will seek Me and find Me, when they seek Me with all their heart." Oh how we should weep at the sound of following this instruction to God's plan for our life in the book of Jeremiah! For i know the infinite aspirations of my heart which stand in the way of my Savior and me. But praise to the Father for His Holy Spirit, which counsels me in this truth and guides me toward finding my Father through true seeking. A tall task for a feeble human to find God, but He always knows just how and where to find me hiding in my sinful ways (Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve hiding from God). This command should create in us a realization of the need for God in my fallenness, my sin, and my shame in this earthen world that is fallen since father Adam. This need is not beautiful; this need is dark and finds us desiring the Paradise in which we belong, that "other side" of the mountain. Here's the "seek Me with all your heart" portion of the show. Here is the "sell everything you have and follow Me" part of the story. These statements command us through the darkness (latter days, our earthly lives, the present, Today, etc.) to come and receive the glory (fulfillment of His promises, Heavenly will done on earth, sanctification of our souls, our resurrection, etc.) that God shines to us through His Word. Notice both the glory and the shadow take place to complete the beautiful whole. If we receive only the light, we are not truly being filled with God's living Word. Ask a skilled artist to paint a mountain without the use of shadows and the mountain will appear two-dimensional, glory-less, and unreal, just like our Father's Word would appear without His commands. To note as well, ask a painter to create a mountain without highlights (or "the use of light") our mountain is again two-dimensional, but now gloomy and dark-spirited, and once again very unreal. This is the picture painted to those who say of our Lord's Word, "I am not going to waste my life following all of these ridiculous commands." They do not see the coupled glory of the light shed on their hearts. Our discipleship with our Lord must BE the complete picture of the sun rising upon a mountain. We must seek the glory of our Lord while presently filled with it, walking in the commands of our gracious Father while in a fallen world. The whole of glory and darkness must coexist; however, it cannot stop short at our personal lives, for we shall, "love the Lord our God," and also "love our neighbors as ourselves," and "make disciples of all peoples." Whence immersed in the complete picture of our Father's Word, we shall not keep it to ourselves, we must fulfill the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission! Our greatest asset to the deceiver of this age, i believe, is not the absence of our attempt of this outward expression of the complete picture of God's glory and His commands, but it is the incomplete and incorrect sharing of the Word that causes others to fall away from the truth that God is offering. I sense that no one really likes the "fire and brimstone" testimony that evangelists sometimes share, especially our evangelist's targets! Why? Because there are no promises or glory, just doom and gloom. The evangelist spouts off nothing but commands required of the human race to "come to God" as if this were possible through our acts. What a misdirection this is! This sermon lacks the glory-filled, living God that loves us and lives in us that produces, within such commands and demands, the insurmountable fruit of the Spirit. Worse off, i believe, are those who receive a seed from the other end of the spectrum that a lot of current evangelists are stuck in. We paint a picture to the unsaved of an all-loving God that you need only confess that you see the glory of a Christ coming, shedding His Blood and dying for you, and rising after three days so that when you as well go to the grave, you as well shall arise in glory. But if you've gathered anything from my bantering, you've realized that one-dimensionality of the picture this evangelist has shared. There is no mention of faith that perseveres in a fallen body walking amidst a fallen creation. Our Lord promises His disciples, our hearers of His Word as a hopeful evangelist, that many trials we will face ahead, and that "the life of a Christian is a life of persecution." (II Timothy 3:12) It is not just a scene full of brightness, but a rocky path in which only the Lord will guide us up and through. As we discharge the duties of our ministry and do the work of the evangelist (II Timothy 4:5), we must, must present the full picture and not sell short the complete Word of God that is to be active in our lives. Both the commands and the promises, the confession and obedience, persecution-filled and glory-filled sides of God's Word to us must be these two things: 1) evident in our life, and 2) fully explained into the hearts of our neighbors. A triangle is a triangle because it has three sides and three angles; take away any part of that triangle, and it is no longer a triangle.. So is it with the Word of God; take away the glory or take away the commands, and it is no longer God's Word. "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." (Deuteronomy 4:2) Let the Word be living and active in your life, while keeping its full sharpness, remembering that it is a two-edged (glory and commands) sword. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 18th, 2004
5:28 pm	"Testimony" King St SS Class 10.17.04 Evangelism- What is our testimony? Scripture: Acts 8:26-40 John 4:1-26 Lesson: In today's current culture there is a lot of temptation to mix the culture with our evangelistic styles. Fancy media, door-to-door pitches, quick informational three-fold pamphlets, and the like have all been used as "evangelism tools." Matthew Paul Turner wrote a book this year called "The Coffeehouse Gospel" that addresses our cultures influence on our evangelism tactics, and how he sees Biblical evangelism being played out in this day and age. I highly suggest this book! But today, we will be looking at Acts 8 and detail how God used Philip (the Biblical character, not yours truly!) to display one of the more fantastic evangelical stories of the Bible. Please read Acts 8:26-40 first before reading on here. Thanks! In v 26 we see that an angel of the Lord commands Philip where to go and in v 27 we are told "So he started out..." Similarly, evangelism should be Spirit inspired and directed, and all we should do is OBEY. Philip is not told many of the specifics. In fact he is only told WHERE! How, who, and what to say are not detailed out for Philip, and he's not even told why, he's simply told "Go..." After running into an Ethiopian eunuch in v 27, in v29 the Spirit once again directs Philip, and in v 30 we see a zealous obedience on Philip's part as he wastes no time running up to the eunuch's chariot. After descending upon the chariot, he notices the eunuch is reading Isaiah and Philip offers to help. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asks. No gimic. No flashy style or diagramed prescription, just a simple servant-hearted question in v 30. In vv 31-34 a dialogue takes place. This is important because it relates to current day situations. If anything today's culture is centered around telling people what's going on in your life. Instant Messanger Buddy Profiles tell our friends whats going on, front lawns are littered with political campaign sings, t-shirts are broadcasting messages, and people have stances on everything and are willing to share all such stances! Conversations are an amazing way to connect with people in any walk of life. Especially if you begin the conversation offering to help out someone. At the end of the conversation the eunuch asks Philip a question about the Scripture he is reading. V 35 then states, "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Philip could have instantly blurted out the Gospel, or performed a miraculous sign (v 6), but instead took what the eunuch had given him, and related it eventually to the good news about the saving grace of Jesus' death and resurrection. In v 36 the eunuch asks to be baptized. Now, you may notice that v 37 is probably missing from your Bible. This verse appears in some early manuscripts and so is noted in some Bibles and not in others. In the verse 37, Philip says "If you believe with all your heart, you may." This is key and relates to today's society once again. Often times we want to tell people something short of the call that Jesus gives us to "Follow Him." We often, whether intentional or not, relay a Gospel that says, "God is all loving and you need only to confess" when clearly God calls us to repentance as well as confession. Here, Philip says, only if you believe with your whole heart may you be baptized. He does not sell the eunuch short on the message of the Gospel. After being baptized, the eunuch witnesses Philip being swept away by the Spirit, but "goes on rejoicing" in v39. This is pretty incredible. Here's why. The company of Philip and his words did not make the eunuch continue to rejoice, it was purely the grace that God had for him that kept him rejoicing after Philip had shared with him. This shows just how impacting God is, and how little we ourselves matter. It is our obedience that God uses, and Himself that He glorifies. And notice Philip in v 40 as well, he just keeps on obeying. No regrets or questioning of God, just keeps pressing on for God. No gimics. No fanciness. Just obedience, connection, and the full Gospel. In John 4 we see Jesus go to work in reaching out to the woman at the well. The connection starts with them both yearning for water, but Jesus completely puts aside His own personal thirst to make sure the kingdom of heaven makes it place within the woman's heart. Read and watch how Jesus puts aside all gender and race barriers and relates a simple thing like a thirst for water to the deliverance of the salvation of the Gospel. Be encouraged brothers and sisters. Evangelism can be a scary thing for us all, but all it takes is a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus death and resurrection and our belief and repentance, a desire to hear the Spirit, and obedience to the call. Keep pressing on! (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 16th, 2004
11:35 pm	Fall Break Me in Half! After a week of little sleep, and plenty of the opposite, a break has been well "needed." But my own miscalculations and misguided greeds have dug me some holes. Though you read and barely understand, i'm sure you have been here in some respect. However, this four day break has taken an incredible turn: FALL I feel so close to this intense burning though my actions don't prove my sincere yearning a score is left unsettled from long ago why should i help sin further undergo what bonds have been released!?! i stand here constrained perhaps i need to kneel under His blood, drained TAKE ME! AHHH! i'm sick of myself again but your love O Lord takes away more than me, it takes my sin BREAK against your cross is where i lean amongst the earthquake You've whispered "Psalm One-Sixteen" You've shed unto me your light and burned my ears with coal just to tell me "Be at rest once more, O my soul" (116:7) Ahhh Lord, You have done it again You tell me where to put my feet it's at your thrown Your Father's seat Such grace such mercy i need it so for woe is me "How can i repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?" (116:12) "You have freed me from my chains" (116:16) to all, will be my plea (116:13) "For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death" (116:8) i now should say to my last human breath (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 12th, 2004
3:54 pm	Faith vs Sin This came up in conversation the other night, and thought it was worth sharing: Faith is the opposite of sin. Sin is the greedy condition of man being lived out through selfish actions. Faith is acting selflessly according to God's commandments. Sin is actions taken based on ourselves, while faith is actions taken based on others (in the Christian's case, God). Just something to think about! Read Deuteronomy 6 if ya get the chance. It's uh-mazing! (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 3rd, 2004
1:39 pm	Prayer according to Scripture KSC Sunday School lesson October 3rd *Who?* *How?* Scriptures (here we go!): Matthew 6:5-8 Acts 1:14,2:42,3:1 *Where?* Matthew 27:51 Hebrews 10:19-22 Hebrews 4:16 *When?* I Thessalonians 5:17 Ephesians 6:18 *What?* Matthew 6:9-13+ *Why?* Luke 22:42 Exodus 17:11-13 James 5:13-16,17-18 Lesson paraphrased: We start off today looking at the vending machine. What we know of vending machines is this: they are convinient, they take change, they give us what we want, and sometimes they don't. They are everywhere and provide just about everything, and on command. I propose that when we are taught to pray, or when we learn to pray, we often take God as our own personal-life-vending-machine. According to Scripture and the ways of Jesus and His teachings we know this is not true. The following is the May 26th entry of Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest." Copyright 1992 Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Edited by James Riemann. Publised by Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512. (Please don't sue me!) I want to include this because i believe Oswald Chambers hits the heart of what this lesson is about, and i would suggest reading this section after reading the lesson as well as before, because A) it rocks and, 2) again it sums up very well what we are covering! And also, buy this book, it is about 6-10 bucks and has shed much light on a lot of Scripture to me and others! "THINKING OF PRAYER AS JESUS TAUGHT. 'Pray without ceasing...' (1 Thessalonians 5:17)" "Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues 'without ceasing'; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the lofe of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. 'Pray without ceasing...'-maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time. "Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, '...everyone who asks receives...' (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say 'But..., but...' God answers prayer in the best way- not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer? "The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it means something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us." -Chambers edited by Riemann We are now going to answer the Who, How, Where, When, What and Why of Prayer according to Scripture. Mind you any and all of these answers can overlap the questions but hopefully you will see the relevancy of the answer of each. *Who?* YOU! In Matthew 6:5,6, and 7 Jesus is quoted as saying "when you pray..." in each one of those verses. It is assumed that the true disciple prays. *How?* Our personal prayer is private with Him. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." This passage points us to three main points about our prayer. V5 tells us not to pray "standing in the synagogues." This means our prayers shouldn't be used as a prideful thing or as a way to show our own personal importance in social standing. In v6 we are told to "go into your room, close the door and pray," and in the Greek, the word for "room" refers to the storeroom of the house in Jesus' day. The storeroom was the only room in the house that had a door. This implies a sincere privacy of prayer between you and Father God. In v7-8 we are told not to pray like the pagans. The pagans would repetively pray for long times and repeat over and over the names of all their gods in hope that by use of repetition that maybe just one of them will hear their name and be enticed to become active. We are told not to have such repetitive prayers, i believe, so that we can have confidence in our prayers, whether long or short, in that God answers our prayers. In the Scripures of Acts 1:14,2:42, and 3:1, we see that the church, immediately following Jesus' resurrection made prayer a very high priority and they prayed with each other a lot! Men and women alike met at all times of the day, specific times or not, to pray to our living, loving Father. *Where?* In Matthew 27:51, "At that moment (of Jesus' "giving up His spirit") the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Hebrews 10:19-22 explains, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." And in Hebrews 4:16 we are told, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." With these three verses together i hope to point out that because of Jesus' death we have the curtain of the Most Holy of Holies opened to us at all at any time. No longer must sacrifice of animals and rituals be performed for just one person to enter the presence of the Lord, we have personally received such cleansing of heart and body and the curtain has been opened to us all by the opening of God's body in the form of Jesus' crucifixion. Part of the price He paid was for our communion with our Father in Heaven, and boy am i happy for that! You can come to the throne at any time at any place where we can receive mercy and find grace in our time of need, and our time of need is now! It is a dark world that we live in, both physically and spiritually, and we are in constant need of grace and mercy! *When?* 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray continually" -NIV "Keep on praying"-NLT "Pray without ceasing"-KJV and Ephesians 6:18 emphasizes that point with examples of praying with all kinds of requests and for all the saints as part of the Armor of God to protect ourselves with! And this concept of praying all the time is made pretty clear by the lungs analogy that Chambers used earlier in the lesson, that we must think of it as lungs, not an exercise, but "the life of the saint." (Author's note. If you are still reading at this point, take a break, grab some pop-tarts or something, because we are about to rip into the Lord's prayer as to *What?* we should pray and then answer *Why?* and these are the two deepest parts of this lesson on prayer, so go ahead, and this will be waiting for you after those toaster pastries...) *What?* Matthew 6:9-13 is often referred to as the Lord's prayer, when really it is His prayer for His disciples. We are going to split them up and draw what we can pray from each section. "Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name" this gives us a sense of praise, adoration, God's holiness, etc. to praise and pray to Him about. "your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" this gives us a sense to pray for God's heavenly will to be done in our lives and in general. It also implies a call to prayer for God's completeness of His kingdom, i.e. Jesus' second coming. "Give us today our daily bread" here we get a sense of asking what we need to have to do God's heavenly will we just prayed for. We are seeking God's "provision" for the present day and not worrying about future or past problems. This to me, is a quiet, reverent time in which you listen for God's "quiet whisper" or allow Him to completely control your thoughts and prayers to see what He is going to provide. "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" here we ask for God's forgiveness but also pray that we act on forgiving others. It is a time of confession as well in our prayer. Which is interesting because logic would tell us that we need to confess first before coming close to God, but in this prayer it is a bit different (this does not mean you can never start prayer off with confession, it simply shows where Jesus puts the concept of forgiveness in His prayer for the disciples. Prayer is an act that we are graced with from the freedom we receive with Christ in our lives. But i'm just noting where confession falls in this example for us.) In class we made the equation of Forgiven + Forgiving = Forgiveness in our lives. We also crossreferenced Col 3:13 "Forgive as Christ forgave you" emphasizing that we need to have a heart of forgiveness even before we are prompted to forgive, just as Christ forgave us long ago and we now live in said forgiveness. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" Now we questioned why God would want us to pray that. We know that God does not tempt (James 1:13-14 "When tempted, no one should say 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.") Here i believe that God wants us to show our earnest heart of purity and holiness in our lives. He will guide us from evil and deliver us from the evil one, and He wants our hearts centered on such an ideal as well. +"for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Another set of praise in which we declare God's sovereign control over everything and all the glory He deserves for being God as well! This gives us a nice outline on how and what to pray and i encourage everyone to take this passage beyond just being able to recite it, but to actually pray it with all its meaning we just derived. *Why?* Why do we even need to do this prayer thing? Well again Jesus assumes "when you pray" in Matthew 6. Also at looking at Luke 22:42 we see Jesus pray in the midst of His struggle. If Jesus needs to pray for the Father's will during His struggle and time of need, how much more do each of us need to make prayer a part of our lives. When looking at Exodus 17:11-13, we see Moses appealing to the Lord through the raising of His hands, and when His hands are lifted, the battle is won. When his hands begin to fall, we see the battle begin to sway towards loss. This is true of us today. The war that is waging is not of earthly weapons, but is fought in the Spirit. (2Cor 10:3-6) In James 5:13-16 We are told that if anyone is in trouble or happy or sick he should pray, and the prayer of confessed sins will bring forgiveness and healing! How much do we each need healing in every way! In vv17-18 just following, we get a quick story of proof that when Elijah prayed for a dry season he received it, and a wet season he received it. God is always willing to do what He has done in the past again in the present because He is faithful and the same God! Wow, you are a trooper if you've read through all this. I hope and pray that you have benefitted from this reading. It was an hour long Sunday School class, so if you read this in less than that time you are golden! Feel free to respond or ask questions. Next week Cristy Pugh will be teaching, so i don't know if that lesson will make it on here or not. Keep pressing on brothers and sisters! (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 26th, 2004
3:02 pm	Faith and Belief: real or cliche Scriptures: Gen 22 Exodus 20:3-5 Luke 22:39-46 Acts 27-28:1-6 Class: What is faith? Well, take this for example: I can say the alphabet backwards in less than 3 seconds. Now many, if not everyone, who has just read this probably does not believe that i can say the entire alphabet backwards in order in less than 3 seconds. But you should have seen the class's eyes when i did! One student responded that her initial reaction was "Let's see it" in her head! This proves the point of this lesson perfectly. Faith requires action. It is one thing for me to SAY or ADMIT or CONFESS that i can say the alphabet backwards and it is another thing to PERFORM THE ACT of saying the alphabet backwards. Do we say we are a Child of God or ARE we a Child of God. With all of these Scriptures there are many ways you can relate them to real Godly faith. But along each Scripture i will provide a few ways i saw real faith displayed. Genesis 22 Abraham had all out action in his belief fueled by God's promises of the future. See Heb 11:17-19 Exo 20:3-5 Daniel 3 Rac, Shac, and Benny knew the commands that God had for them and would do nothing that did not suit the commands of God no matter what the consequence, even death if God chose so. Luke 22:39-46 Jesus shows ultimate faith in seeking the Father's will above what His own fleshly desires were. Meanwhile the disciples show the opposite by allowing their fleshly desire for sleep to outstand Jesus' command to stay awake and pray. Acts27 & 28:1-6 Paul through disasterous circumstances while sailing with 270 some criminals and officials, displays great faith and continues to show servanthood by immediately helping with the fire when they reach the island. Even after a snake bites him and he is not harmed, the whole island turns to God as a result of Pauls relentless faith. Remember, please read these and get the full wealth of faith that is displayed in them on your own reading. Romans 12:1-2 expresses the transforming power of the gospel, and faith by being a living sacrifice and how we are called to be God's own children through it. (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 19th, 2004
2:08 pm	KSC Sunday School #3 Humility, Love, and Community Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-8 John 17:20-23 John 13:1-17,34 Philippians 2:14-16 Lesson: (please read along with the verses mentioned so you can best get your own personal revelation) If/Then statements. If/Then statements take the form of the following: IF i decide to tie my shoes THEN i will be less likely to fall IF the Boston Red Sox win the World Series THEN Andrew Hess will "go nuts" These statements take the form of IF (certain qualifying statement) THEN (something else MUST be true). When we turn to Philippians 2:1-4, we see in verse 1 we get an IF statement, then in vv 2-4 we get the THEN statement. "IF you have any..." (v1) as you read this, realize that "have any" can mean the same as "the tiniest bit!" So if you have even the tiniest bit of unity with Christ, or have ever experienced the taste of fellowship with God's Holy Spirit, THEN ...Paul gives us a list of instructions to follow in vv2-4 and ends it (and begins the next section with) v5 which says "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:" VV 6-8 explain a little bit about how Christ's attitude was. And here we transition to John 13. In John 13 John tells us the story of Jesus washing His disciple's feet. I am always impressed with v1 telling us that Jesus shows us "the full extent of His love" by doing this. From vv2-5 we see that Jesus gets up from the meal to wash His disciples feet. This is important because it was usually done before dinner, in fact, it was usually done the moment people would enter a house, and it was done by the least servant of the household. During Jesus' day, servants of high rank would be in the kitchen or would tend to the master's bedroom. Middle ranked servants would clean or be in the fields gardening. The least of the servants always got the duty of washing people's feet as they came in. This was gross and menial because of the travel of the day, which was mostly on foot. You see, people would walk in sandals made of one leather strip on the same roads that donkeys and horses traveled on. From this it is easily deduced that the feet of people were probably cut up pretty easily from the lack of protective footwear, and they probably stepped in a lot of animal feces. Yes, poop. That's why the lowest servant got the job, that's why it was done before dinner (so that they could lounge at the table which was only a little off the floor without the worry of feces getting near the food) and that's why it was so uh-mazing that Jesus got up from the meal itself to do it! In vv6-10 we see Peter attempt to be humble, but fail. In v8 Peter tells Jesus, "No, you shall never wash my feet." Peter is trying to be humble by not allowing Jesus to perform such a lowly task to Him. However, Peter committed the error of trying to tell Jesus not to do something, which is like saying "God, you aren't going to do what you want to do." from a human! Yeah, sounds crazy now, doesn't it? Then Peter says "Then, Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well!" Again, Peter gives a wholehearted response, but is still trying to tell Jesus what to do instead of obeying. I think this reflects our prayer life a lot. Do we try and tell God what to not do and what to do in our lives? Or do we obey His every instruction? But do not fret, i have answered both these questions myself and realized that i pray for God to do what i want a lot. But with discipline we can hear God's instructions better, plus, as we see from this story, Jesus will keep instructing us til we get it! Just as He did here with Peter. Going to v34 Jesus commands us to love one another THREE times! Jesus likes to repeat things when he wants to get across a point. We now go back to Philippians to see this further... Philippians 2:14-16 In v16 we see that Paul has poured out his life so that we may serve one another as he has, and as our Lord has. In v15 we are told that we will shine like stars in the universe if we love one another without arguing or complaining. I compared this to the contrast of night and our sun in the day. Our sun is a star in the universe, and it is a complete opposite from the expanse of darkness we face when we do not face the sun. So is it with the Lord! We also see in v15 our theme for the semester of becoming "children of God" and in v14 we see this is done by loving one another without arguing or complaining which we tend to do so easily with each other. It is definitely a temptation we all must not fall into, because it is easy to complain about "wasting time" or not having a good time or something. Or we as churches argue about right and wrong theologies. We need to work together without complaining or arguing so we can shine as one, united in Christ. May this only bless you, and if you have any questions, feel free to send 'em my way! (Comment on this)
Monday, September 13th, 2004
12:25 am	An appeal to you... Fellow students, brothers and sisters, i make an appeal to you as inspired to me by the Lord Jesus Christ, Drop your idols. Cast them away. No longer allow your time to be poured out to silly obsessions with sports, video games, self-image, secular music, money, possessions, clothing, anything that draws your focus off the Lord, let it go for the glory of God. Surely God can use all such things to bring Him glory, but only if we focus on Him, and not on them. Fast from such things to hear God's will on those things in your life more clearly, and be assured that the Lord's yoke is easy, and if we put only His yoke on our shoulders, instead of the burdens of the idols listed above and any other, we will walk more closely with our Heavenly Lord here on earth. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be taken care of. From a brother who struggles with it too; inspired by God's HOLY (pure) Spirit that is LIVING inside of me, just waiting to show His glory at any moment, ~phil Current Mood: determined Current Music: unashamed love, tss (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 12th, 2004
12:45 am	it's been decided Well, i have not used this Blurty thing in a bit. So, i've decided to put it to use. I believe that i will be putting my Sunday School lessons on this website. I believe i will do this because i also believe that God has put some things on my heart that i and others need to hear. So here goes. This will be tomorrow mornings Sunday School topic at King St. Church in Chambersburg! Scriptures: 1) Isaiah 55:10-11 2) Luke 8:26-38 3) John 9:1-34 4) Acts 9:1-22 5) John 14:6 The flow: Use scripture 1) to explain that we have a purpose here and God has given us a purpose to become Children of God and that when God sends down a purpose, it comes back to Him complete as our scripture just has stated. After that, the class will split up into three groups and i will assign scriptures 2), 3), and 4) to the three groups to read, discuss, and come up with the main points of their readings. I leave this open to "main points" so that we get a well rounded summary of each section. Each of these passages will show a conversion story. Luke's describing a demon-possessed man where the demon is cast into pigs. John's describing a man healed of blindness that then appeals to the Pharisees. And Acts' being Saul's conversion. In each, a complete transformation has taken place and people notice right away! I will see if the class has picked up on the theme, and then move to a classroom wide discussion on why it should be so in our lives, and ask the question why it is not so? Scripture 5 will be used to say that too often we as converts and evangelists stick to the fact that Jesus is life, but we do not live/preach the fact that He is also God's TRUTH and the WAY and that means that in the knowledge that is contained within Jesus comes the WAY that our every breath and motive should be fueled by. Scripture points us to denying our complete selves so that the Truth and the Way of Jesus Christ becomes Life IN us. Hope this is received as a blessing. Please feel free to respond to my questions/topics and tell me what you feel! I'd love to hear. I pray you grow closer to God always according to his instruction, (1 Comment |Comment on this)