Hello Readers,
This is going to be a full blog post to read! I am very excited to tell you about my adventure that the Institute sent us on as a class! As always I hope that this post provides insight, challenges, and encourages you in your daily walk with Christ.
We were given the challenge to go and evangelize to the town of Branson. Wow, was I so scared when I sat in class and our president told us the heart of this assignment and gave us the layout of what we should ask while talking with people. I knew this time would come and I have learned a ton in being prepared for this specific day, but still very anxious. I had no idea where I was going to go. I HATE the smell of coffee so I knew I wouldn’t be able to go there and talking with people. I had the awesome opportunity to go with one of my classmates and after driving around for a little bit found our self in the parking lot of the hospital here in town!
We were given 5 questions to ask people to open up spiritual conversations.
1. Who is God?
2. Who is Jesus?
3. When do you become a woman?
4. Do you attend a church?
5. Would you mind telling us your story and include your biggest struggle or trial in life right now.
My friend and I headed into the hospital after praying in the parking lot for God to calm our spirits and to give us divine appointments in who we talk with today. We didn’t quite know the layout of the hospital and upon trying to find the out patient waiting room we came upon the cafeteria and decided to sit there for a little while and collect our thought and spend sometime in prayer and reading the Word and look to see if we could talk with anyone in this type of setting. It was earlier in the morning and the only people that came through were the busy nurses that didn’t have time to sit and chat. So we mustered up our courage and sent into the outpatient waiting room.
We saw an elderly lady by herself in a wheel chair and decided to talk with her. I will not being saying her name to give privacy and it was an okay conversation. We ran out of time to get to the first questions but got the chance to talk and listen to her story and then pray with her and give encouragement with the trial of failing physical health and loneliness.
After that we decided to go to a different waiting room because of the low amount of people in the one we were currently in. We wanted to find the chapel and there happened to be a waiting room right next to it. The chapel was a very small room and no one was in it but we did find someone to talk with in the waiting room and it was an awesome conversation! She was waiting on her husband who was in surgery. We had a good hour plus conversation with her. Even though we had a longer time with her it was still hard for myself and my friend to bring up and transition into the 5 questions to ask her. We again went from the bottom up and just asked her a ton of questions about her life and what trials she was currently going through. They happened to be loneliness and weariness and stress. She, however, said multiple times that she was so happy that we asked to speak with her. It was so sad to hear how when she moved to Branson that she and her husband really struggled in finding a church and even friends that excepted them and they just stopped attending any church and hadn’t in many years, even though both had grown up in the church. We asked if she had ever considered trying the churches here again and she said it is funny that we ask because her co-workers of late had really been pushing for her to go with them and she had a deeper conviction to start going again. With all of her husband’s health situations coming up and how her children are going to be moving away and she wanted a support group to walk through the toughest trial she is going through right now. Our time ended with us exchanging numbers and we more recently have heard that her husband is not doing so great and really needs our prayers. We hope to continue to pursue a relationship with her while here at the Institute and she seemed very interested in coming to church with us but couldn’t while her husband was in the hospital. We did however tell her of the live feed she and her husband could watch to see if they even liked the pastor before coming to check out the fellowship of people. Hopefully we will get to sit next to her while at a church service soon or that she goes with her friends.
The questions that we had set out to ask did not all get asked and even though they didn’t I was still blown away with how hurting people need to be loved. I am so blessed with where God has me right now in my life and I was truly struck by how lonely and stressed and tired people are with no support and the church has left them abandoned in some way. I know that the church has a huge responsibility and really it isn’t just the pastors or elders of the church to care for all the people but the people themselves to care for all the people. I have been challenged in my thoughts of how I service in the church I attend and how am I reaching out to other members to show them the love of God in my speech or action. This world leaves us battered and bruised and God’s people are to abide in Him and love like He loved us (1 John).
We are all broken in someway and getting the privilege to step out of my comfort zone and talk with people I didn’t know at all was just a blessing. My friend and I will be going back to the hospital next Thursday to talk with more people and show love to them through speech and possibly some action as well.
I challenge you to think upon these 5 questions and how you would answer them. Second, step out in someway and talk with friends and then people you don’t even know and ask them about them. Stir up conversation with a purpose - we know that Jesus is our escape from the penalty of our sins, He paid the price and we need to be telling others about that love and gift we can have. I hope you are encouraged and have a great day showing the Love of God in someway.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Romans
Hello Fellow Readers of this blog,
I have had an impactful week of studying Romans! I went through all 16 Chapters in 3 days! Our teacher this week was Chad Hampsch and he did a great job making the book practical but also kept context and gave history throughout. He likes history and reading so he had some awesome insight from outside sources and time periods to help relate the material to our give an example to bring Paul’s writing more to life for us.
I have two things to share with you all about our study that I hope is encouraging and also challenges you to seek the Lord more because of this new knowledge.
1. Chapter 12 - Internal Attributes and External Actions
2. Chapter 11 - Gentiles were grafted in and the Israelite people will be grafted in again to the tree of God
Yes these points are from the end of the book and that doesn’t mean the first 10 chapters aren’t as good. They were great and I encourage you to read the full Book of Romans. It is an incredible letter written by Paul to the Roman Church which he longed to go and see. In this book he really doesn’t talk about questioning theology but rather hits the gospel hard and in an impactful way and he expresses his desire for the church in Rome as they continued to walk in the fullness of the gospel truths. If you do decide to read through the book here is the way that Chad walked through the book with us (not in chapter form but thought form) - this process was derived from the outline of MacArthur.
Book Breakdown:
Greetings and Introduction (1:1-15)
Book Theme (1:16-17)
Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21-5:21)
Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1-8:39)
Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36)
Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1-15:13)
Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14-16:27)
Okay now to the points I would like to highlight and share with you on how it has impacted me in my thought life just in the first few days and hours.
1. Chapter 12 is so so so good! I love getting instruction from the Bible that is powerful and achievable but challenging because we must die to flesh for it to be accomplished. I know the Lord is working in my life because these qualities are not our human/fleshly desires what so ever. This chapter can be divided up into two different types of Christian walking; internal and external. Verses 1-13 talk about the internal attributes of a Christ Follower and Verses 14-21 talk about the external actions of a Christ Follower. I had one internal attribute stick out a little further for me this time as I read it, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. I was really convicted my this statement because I can so easily in my mind think that I am doing great and not concern myself with asking the Lord to reveal sin so I can conquer it with Him, but instead I walk in contentment. I also was convicted with how little I say or stand up against evil around me. Yes, I am in an incredible environment this year and not really surrounded at all by the world but I need to be ready to defend and battle against the world when I leave the gates of K-Institute in just 7 weeks. These evils I am talking about are different convictions that God has placed on my heart to speak truth into and shed light, examples for me specifically would be Sex Trafficking or Bullying in Schools. Your convictions maybe the same or different. I challenge you to think about the things of this world that are evil and how you can stand up and defend those evils to be good instead! I also had one external action stick out specifically for me and it was verse 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As I was sitting in class I had God lay on my heart that I am very selfish in my conversations with people and want people to rejoice when I rejoice and weep when I weep and I struggle with doing that in return to people around me. To rejoice is to be over joyed and excited and to weep is to be saddened or have sorrow for circumstances that are happening in your friend’s life around you. Chad gave this example, K-Life is about to announce who they have hired for positions in their ministry and we have quite a few people in our class that interviewed and there is no guarantee that we will all be placed in a position so with that, How will we rejoice with those that got the job but still weep with those that didn’t? or How do you rejoice with your friend that got it when you didn’t? or How do you weep with your friend that didn’t get it when you did? To rejoice and weep is to show action that is unselfish to reveal the love of God to our closest friends and the people we just pass in the street. I challenge you to ask God to reveal a friend that needs encouragement because of a trial or just affirmation in a joy in their life.
The second aspect of Romans that really impacted me was from Chapter 11:17-24. This section is Paul using an analogy of a Tree and its Branches to depict the Israelites (God’s People) and Gentiles (Anyone not of Israelite descent). Verse 19 and 23 were so cool to me and this is what they say 19 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” and 23 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” WOW, I LOVE this! Verse 19 is about the Gentiles and verse 23 is about the Israelites. Verses 19, We are grafted into the family of God because of the Israelites unbelief! Wow, that is a hard pill to swallow but I Love How Incredible God’s Sovereignty is when it finishes up in verse 23 that They, His People, The Israelites will be grafted back in and not always have their disbelieve but will come to the full knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah! And why are we and they able to be grafted into the family is because God is Able!!! Wow, we serve and believe in an incredible God! I am so thankful for His love for human kind and that He has a desire to have us Gentiles as apart of His family but how he continues to pursue His People and doesn’t loose heart that they will come to belief in His gift and only Son, Jesus, our sacrifice of all sin! I challenge you to reflect how much God loves you today and honestly you should end up in just complete aww and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us!
Thanks for reading and hope you are encouraged to walk closer with our God who desires so much to be in complete unity with us!
I have had an impactful week of studying Romans! I went through all 16 Chapters in 3 days! Our teacher this week was Chad Hampsch and he did a great job making the book practical but also kept context and gave history throughout. He likes history and reading so he had some awesome insight from outside sources and time periods to help relate the material to our give an example to bring Paul’s writing more to life for us.
I have two things to share with you all about our study that I hope is encouraging and also challenges you to seek the Lord more because of this new knowledge.
1. Chapter 12 - Internal Attributes and External Actions
2. Chapter 11 - Gentiles were grafted in and the Israelite people will be grafted in again to the tree of God
Yes these points are from the end of the book and that doesn’t mean the first 10 chapters aren’t as good. They were great and I encourage you to read the full Book of Romans. It is an incredible letter written by Paul to the Roman Church which he longed to go and see. In this book he really doesn’t talk about questioning theology but rather hits the gospel hard and in an impactful way and he expresses his desire for the church in Rome as they continued to walk in the fullness of the gospel truths. If you do decide to read through the book here is the way that Chad walked through the book with us (not in chapter form but thought form) - this process was derived from the outline of MacArthur.
Book Breakdown:
Greetings and Introduction (1:1-15)
Book Theme (1:16-17)
Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21-5:21)
Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1-8:39)
Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36)
Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1-15:13)
Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14-16:27)
Okay now to the points I would like to highlight and share with you on how it has impacted me in my thought life just in the first few days and hours.
1. Chapter 12 is so so so good! I love getting instruction from the Bible that is powerful and achievable but challenging because we must die to flesh for it to be accomplished. I know the Lord is working in my life because these qualities are not our human/fleshly desires what so ever. This chapter can be divided up into two different types of Christian walking; internal and external. Verses 1-13 talk about the internal attributes of a Christ Follower and Verses 14-21 talk about the external actions of a Christ Follower. I had one internal attribute stick out a little further for me this time as I read it, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. I was really convicted my this statement because I can so easily in my mind think that I am doing great and not concern myself with asking the Lord to reveal sin so I can conquer it with Him, but instead I walk in contentment. I also was convicted with how little I say or stand up against evil around me. Yes, I am in an incredible environment this year and not really surrounded at all by the world but I need to be ready to defend and battle against the world when I leave the gates of K-Institute in just 7 weeks. These evils I am talking about are different convictions that God has placed on my heart to speak truth into and shed light, examples for me specifically would be Sex Trafficking or Bullying in Schools. Your convictions maybe the same or different. I challenge you to think about the things of this world that are evil and how you can stand up and defend those evils to be good instead! I also had one external action stick out specifically for me and it was verse 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As I was sitting in class I had God lay on my heart that I am very selfish in my conversations with people and want people to rejoice when I rejoice and weep when I weep and I struggle with doing that in return to people around me. To rejoice is to be over joyed and excited and to weep is to be saddened or have sorrow for circumstances that are happening in your friend’s life around you. Chad gave this example, K-Life is about to announce who they have hired for positions in their ministry and we have quite a few people in our class that interviewed and there is no guarantee that we will all be placed in a position so with that, How will we rejoice with those that got the job but still weep with those that didn’t? or How do you rejoice with your friend that got it when you didn’t? or How do you weep with your friend that didn’t get it when you did? To rejoice and weep is to show action that is unselfish to reveal the love of God to our closest friends and the people we just pass in the street. I challenge you to ask God to reveal a friend that needs encouragement because of a trial or just affirmation in a joy in their life.
The second aspect of Romans that really impacted me was from Chapter 11:17-24. This section is Paul using an analogy of a Tree and its Branches to depict the Israelites (God’s People) and Gentiles (Anyone not of Israelite descent). Verse 19 and 23 were so cool to me and this is what they say 19 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” and 23 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” WOW, I LOVE this! Verse 19 is about the Gentiles and verse 23 is about the Israelites. Verses 19, We are grafted into the family of God because of the Israelites unbelief! Wow, that is a hard pill to swallow but I Love How Incredible God’s Sovereignty is when it finishes up in verse 23 that They, His People, The Israelites will be grafted back in and not always have their disbelieve but will come to the full knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah! And why are we and they able to be grafted into the family is because God is Able!!! Wow, we serve and believe in an incredible God! I am so thankful for His love for human kind and that He has a desire to have us Gentiles as apart of His family but how he continues to pursue His People and doesn’t loose heart that they will come to belief in His gift and only Son, Jesus, our sacrifice of all sin! I challenge you to reflect how much God loves you today and honestly you should end up in just complete aww and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us!
Thanks for reading and hope you are encouraged to walk closer with our God who desires so much to be in complete unity with us!
Friday, February 14, 2014
1 Peter - Godly Women and LOVE
Hello,
This week we had the awesome opportunity to walk verse by verse through both 1 Peter and Philippians. (we didn't make it all the way through Philippians but what we did was amazing!)
I would love to share with you two quick simple things that stuck with me!
I love in 1 Peter when it talks about the role of a Godly women in Chapter 3. Peter writes in the perspective of this women being married. Well I am married and it was really encouraging to read and study what is called of me as a wife.
The four things that Peter tells us that are of Godly women are as follows
1. be submissive to your own husbands
2. observe your chaste and respectful behavior
3. your adornment must not be merely external
4. Gentle and Quiet Spirit that is the hidden person of the heart
I loved Chad Hampsch's take on submission, it is not what the world tells us. The world tells us to not be submissive but take control and be authoritative and a strong leader that doesn't answer to anyone. Chad took this approach, that to be submissive in a marriage is healthy and our make if we understand the word submissive. Submissive does not mean belittled or controlled. This passage is talking about husbands and wives and we are told the woman is to be submissive to the husband. Submissive means we are to allow the husband to lead. The husband has a role as the wife has a role and we are to strive to be within those roles as believers and promote a healthy and joyful marriage. When we as women submit to our husbands with the respect of their roles to lead then we understand what it means to follow and support our husbands well because we aren't to worried about control. It is awesome that a Godly marriage is reflective of Christ and the church and even the relationship of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one but still unique, still all God but the Son and the Holy Spirit show submission in their roles. Submission is not a bad thing - it actually allows us as women to be free to embrace our roles as caregiver and helpmate to our husbands as well as invest in other women's lives around us!
Another part of 1 Peter Chapter 2 when Chad Hampsch brought up list of things a Believer is exemplify in living on this earth.
This was great conversation in our class time and it was good for me to be reminded of my need to love and submit to authority and protect the words I use when talking.
This week I have really been challenged with how I love others around me. It says in 1 Peter 1:22 for us to have "a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." 1 Peter 2:17 "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." and 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
Also this week we had our discussion of our week of precepts of 1 John and talked about love. Loving with out expectations and this has been an incredible week of growth for this area in my life. Love is hard to do because we as humans want to feel more loved than what we express - so selfish in our love for people and that is not we are called to do. We are called to "love because He first loved us" in 1 John and we do this because "God is love" and if we are to abide in God then we should love others. There is no way that we can say we love God and not love the people of this world. This has been a shedding of selfishness and expectations this week in how to receive love and show love for me and I just wanted to challenge you with a couple things!
It is Valentine's Day - the holiday to express love to people! How are you sharing about the Love of God to the people in your everyday life? How are loving without expecting anything in return? Have you let the Love of God effect your daily life to be something you show in action or just knowledge of His love that does effect you?
It is a subject that can be very touchy or convicting and you can respond with bitterness or acceptance that you have to work on loving people everyday!
Thanks for reading and 1 Peter is really an awesome book we are given from our Father to remind us of His gift - Jesus and to lay out what Christian living is about here on earth, in submission and love towards others. 1 John is jam packed with straight forward statements on what love is and how we are to love and abide in God! Both you should read and spend sometime today reflecting on who you are doing loving people around you!
This week we had the awesome opportunity to walk verse by verse through both 1 Peter and Philippians. (we didn't make it all the way through Philippians but what we did was amazing!)
I would love to share with you two quick simple things that stuck with me!
I love in 1 Peter when it talks about the role of a Godly women in Chapter 3. Peter writes in the perspective of this women being married. Well I am married and it was really encouraging to read and study what is called of me as a wife.
The four things that Peter tells us that are of Godly women are as follows
1. be submissive to your own husbands
2. observe your chaste and respectful behavior
3. your adornment must not be merely external
4. Gentle and Quiet Spirit that is the hidden person of the heart
I loved Chad Hampsch's take on submission, it is not what the world tells us. The world tells us to not be submissive but take control and be authoritative and a strong leader that doesn't answer to anyone. Chad took this approach, that to be submissive in a marriage is healthy and our make if we understand the word submissive. Submissive does not mean belittled or controlled. This passage is talking about husbands and wives and we are told the woman is to be submissive to the husband. Submissive means we are to allow the husband to lead. The husband has a role as the wife has a role and we are to strive to be within those roles as believers and promote a healthy and joyful marriage. When we as women submit to our husbands with the respect of their roles to lead then we understand what it means to follow and support our husbands well because we aren't to worried about control. It is awesome that a Godly marriage is reflective of Christ and the church and even the relationship of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one but still unique, still all God but the Son and the Holy Spirit show submission in their roles. Submission is not a bad thing - it actually allows us as women to be free to embrace our roles as caregiver and helpmate to our husbands as well as invest in other women's lives around us!
Another part of 1 Peter Chapter 2 when Chad Hampsch brought up list of things a Believer is exemplify in living on this earth.
This was great conversation in our class time and it was good for me to be reminded of my need to love and submit to authority and protect the words I use when talking.
This week I have really been challenged with how I love others around me. It says in 1 Peter 1:22 for us to have "a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." 1 Peter 2:17 "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." and 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
Also this week we had our discussion of our week of precepts of 1 John and talked about love. Loving with out expectations and this has been an incredible week of growth for this area in my life. Love is hard to do because we as humans want to feel more loved than what we express - so selfish in our love for people and that is not we are called to do. We are called to "love because He first loved us" in 1 John and we do this because "God is love" and if we are to abide in God then we should love others. There is no way that we can say we love God and not love the people of this world. This has been a shedding of selfishness and expectations this week in how to receive love and show love for me and I just wanted to challenge you with a couple things!
It is Valentine's Day - the holiday to express love to people! How are you sharing about the Love of God to the people in your everyday life? How are loving without expecting anything in return? Have you let the Love of God effect your daily life to be something you show in action or just knowledge of His love that does effect you?
It is a subject that can be very touchy or convicting and you can respond with bitterness or acceptance that you have to work on loving people everyday!
Thanks for reading and 1 Peter is really an awesome book we are given from our Father to remind us of His gift - Jesus and to lay out what Christian living is about here on earth, in submission and love towards others. 1 John is jam packed with straight forward statements on what love is and how we are to love and abide in God! Both you should read and spend sometime today reflecting on who you are doing loving people around you!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Hebrews
Hello anyone that may read this blog,
I have again had an incredible week of class! I am so blessed to be able to do this program and give the Lord time in studying His Word and reflecting on all that He has done for me.
On Monday we had the privilege to have Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps, Promise Keepers Speaker, and just an incredible evangelist come and talk to us about Daniel Chapter 9 - the 70 week calendar.
He came to talk with us about the revelations he had taken from the published book of Sir Robert Anderson "The Coming Prince". The information of how scripture is so clear to express when the Messiah would come is so cool to study. We had done a lot of the study on the chapter before Christmas break with his wife Debbie Joe when she taught over the full book of Daniel. However, He came in and expressed what the book by Sir Robert Anderson states on the mathematics that continue to be correct in history with what is stated in scripture!!!
Then Tuesday - Friday we got the incredible opportunity to have Charles Stolfus from Denton Bible come and walk us through the book of Hebrews! It was beyond words enlightening and exciting to read through and search why it is apart of the Bible. I will however try to express to you about a couple things that hit home for me as we went through the book!
Mr. Stolfus gave the book theme of Hebrews to be "The Supremacy of Christ" and I loved that title because as he unpacked the book for us verse by verse we saw that theme scream from the pages! When we got to Chapter 2 verse 10 I was floored with what it means for Jesus to be our Author of salvation. I am going to type out the verse section for you to read...
Hebrews 2:9-11 "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all thing, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren," NASB
I was just in awe as Charles Stolfus talked about how Jesus was the author of salvation meaning that He was the pioneer for us. The pioneer is the one that goes beforehand and paves the way to something. Jesus was that for us. As the pioneer for salvation He did it through walking through suffering here on earth. As I began to process all that Mr. Stolfus told of Jesus being the author of salvation I was just in a state of thanksgiving and overwhelmed that the book of Hebrews is so blunt but powerful in the words it uses to describe Jesus and what He did for us.
When we got to Chapter 3 verse 1 I was challenged with how I respond in my day to day life with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Here is what the verse says, "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession." Mr. Stolfus talked about that the word consider as a very powerful word meaning to give special attention to what follows and it isn't a passing reference but a dedicated focus. The verse then describes Jesus as the Apostle and High Priest and this is what we are to consider or focus on. To not just skim over those characteristics of Jesus but to fully understand what they both mean. Charles Stolfus told us that apostle is one sent and that high priest is just that (the old testament functions of a levitical high priest) but also can be viewed as the final mediator between us and God (which was one of the functions of a levitical high priest). After Mr. Stolfus explained the two characteristics of Jesus and that we were to consider or focus; my thought process was yet again in awe of the elementary view I had of what it meant for Jesus to be sent to us and that He is our way to the Father. However, throughout the rest of the book we read verse after verse about how Jesus is qualified to be the High Priest and the different functions that a High Priest does and how Jesus did exactly that for us. As our time ended with Charles Stolfus I was in excitement and reference to the Lord that I was given the change to study Hebrews and grow in my understanding of Jesus as our High Priest. The word consider has stuck with me these last three days and I am reflecting in my own life what it means to focus my thoughts, heart, motives, actions, speech on Jesus and what He has done for me and how am I suppose to daily walk in that freedom and tell others about it.
I wish I had time to tell more about Jesus as our High Priest, however I do not at this very moment. I do hope to type my notes in a more condensed version to post by next week.
I hope you can be encouraged by knowing a little more about what it means for Jesus to be the author of salvation and our High Priest. He came and died for us so that we could live with Him eternally. He was the final sin sacrifice and now sits at the right hand of God as the mediator between us and God. We can have confidence in His death and resurrection to cover our punishment for our sins. He paid it all.
I have again had an incredible week of class! I am so blessed to be able to do this program and give the Lord time in studying His Word and reflecting on all that He has done for me.
On Monday we had the privilege to have Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps, Promise Keepers Speaker, and just an incredible evangelist come and talk to us about Daniel Chapter 9 - the 70 week calendar.
He came to talk with us about the revelations he had taken from the published book of Sir Robert Anderson "The Coming Prince". The information of how scripture is so clear to express when the Messiah would come is so cool to study. We had done a lot of the study on the chapter before Christmas break with his wife Debbie Joe when she taught over the full book of Daniel. However, He came in and expressed what the book by Sir Robert Anderson states on the mathematics that continue to be correct in history with what is stated in scripture!!!
Then Tuesday - Friday we got the incredible opportunity to have Charles Stolfus from Denton Bible come and walk us through the book of Hebrews! It was beyond words enlightening and exciting to read through and search why it is apart of the Bible. I will however try to express to you about a couple things that hit home for me as we went through the book!
Mr. Stolfus gave the book theme of Hebrews to be "The Supremacy of Christ" and I loved that title because as he unpacked the book for us verse by verse we saw that theme scream from the pages! When we got to Chapter 2 verse 10 I was floored with what it means for Jesus to be our Author of salvation. I am going to type out the verse section for you to read...
Hebrews 2:9-11 "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all thing, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren," NASB
I was just in awe as Charles Stolfus talked about how Jesus was the author of salvation meaning that He was the pioneer for us. The pioneer is the one that goes beforehand and paves the way to something. Jesus was that for us. As the pioneer for salvation He did it through walking through suffering here on earth. As I began to process all that Mr. Stolfus told of Jesus being the author of salvation I was just in a state of thanksgiving and overwhelmed that the book of Hebrews is so blunt but powerful in the words it uses to describe Jesus and what He did for us.
When we got to Chapter 3 verse 1 I was challenged with how I respond in my day to day life with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Here is what the verse says, "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession." Mr. Stolfus talked about that the word consider as a very powerful word meaning to give special attention to what follows and it isn't a passing reference but a dedicated focus. The verse then describes Jesus as the Apostle and High Priest and this is what we are to consider or focus on. To not just skim over those characteristics of Jesus but to fully understand what they both mean. Charles Stolfus told us that apostle is one sent and that high priest is just that (the old testament functions of a levitical high priest) but also can be viewed as the final mediator between us and God (which was one of the functions of a levitical high priest). After Mr. Stolfus explained the two characteristics of Jesus and that we were to consider or focus; my thought process was yet again in awe of the elementary view I had of what it meant for Jesus to be sent to us and that He is our way to the Father. However, throughout the rest of the book we read verse after verse about how Jesus is qualified to be the High Priest and the different functions that a High Priest does and how Jesus did exactly that for us. As our time ended with Charles Stolfus I was in excitement and reference to the Lord that I was given the change to study Hebrews and grow in my understanding of Jesus as our High Priest. The word consider has stuck with me these last three days and I am reflecting in my own life what it means to focus my thoughts, heart, motives, actions, speech on Jesus and what He has done for me and how am I suppose to daily walk in that freedom and tell others about it.
I wish I had time to tell more about Jesus as our High Priest, however I do not at this very moment. I do hope to type my notes in a more condensed version to post by next week.
I hope you can be encouraged by knowing a little more about what it means for Jesus to be the author of salvation and our High Priest. He came and died for us so that we could live with Him eternally. He was the final sin sacrifice and now sits at the right hand of God as the mediator between us and God. We can have confidence in His death and resurrection to cover our punishment for our sins. He paid it all.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Trinity
Hello fellow readers of this blog.
I am back from Christmas Break and have had a whirlwind of a first week back in class.
Our teacher this week was Dr. Glenn Kreider from Dallas Theologian School. He came to talk with us about the doctrine of the Trinity. It was an incredible time of new insights and my thought process is on overload as I struggle with reflecting on all that was talked about and the concept of the Trinity.
I for the first time am being challenged to know the scripture and be prepared to defend concepts of the Christian faith. Our big project for this semester is to write a personal belief statement on different doctrinal topics of our faith. This week we went straight to it and started with God the Father.
So, I have not only been overloaded with the material and questions about the doctrine of the Trinity I have also been in my own time trying to write a statement about who God the Father is. About His sovereignty, His love, His foreknowledge and so much more. It has been a great process but I need to become better at time management with all other aspects of life and requirements of the Institute.
I would love to now express some insights on the Trinity that I have been thinking through this week.
The basic (if you can say that about such a layered topic) statement that Dr. Kreider gave us was this “There is one God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father or the Son.”
We believe in one true God and that one true God is three distinctive different persons: Father, Son, and Spirit.
The word Trinity wasn't developed into a word until after the writings of the New Testament therefore why can we expect for the word to show up in the New Testament writings of the Apostles. Even though the word is not explicitly stated it is implied with the language that the apostles uses in the New Testament.
Example
2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
1 Peter 1:2 “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
Philippians 2:5-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Luke 2:25-32 “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.””
Also the verses about the creation describe multiple persons being present during the process
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
John 17:5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
We believe in a one true God and throughout the Old Testament the language points to that of one God for the most part. Then in the New Testament we are given the Son, Jesus Christ, and we now see the plurality of God. So we now have God the Father and God the Son is introduced and because of this we have to believe in a God that is three and one at the same time. The New Testament focuses on God the Son and God the Spirit. All that to say and show that we believe in a Triune God because we know that Jesus Christ came to this earth and we believe Him to be the Son of God.
Verses to give a small degree of the claims that Jesus had of Himself and God His Father.
John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
John 8:56-59 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”
John 14:6-7 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.””
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
Once we wrap our mind around the idea that God is plural then it is easier to except the Spirit as apart and completing the Trinity.
Verses to defend the deity of God the Spirit
Acts 5:3-4 “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.””
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,”
I love that I have the privilege to take the time to search the scriptures and seek God in the answers to all questions and thoughts when trying to understand the Trinity.
Theses are just the aspects of the Trinity that I have been learning about and the scriptures that defend the aspects.
I hope you are encouraged to do some digging into the Word of God to know Him better and answer the questions you may have about the doctrine of the Trinity. It has been a incredible week and still learning and building my confidence in defending Who God is.
Thanks for reading!
I am back from Christmas Break and have had a whirlwind of a first week back in class.
Our teacher this week was Dr. Glenn Kreider from Dallas Theologian School. He came to talk with us about the doctrine of the Trinity. It was an incredible time of new insights and my thought process is on overload as I struggle with reflecting on all that was talked about and the concept of the Trinity.
I for the first time am being challenged to know the scripture and be prepared to defend concepts of the Christian faith. Our big project for this semester is to write a personal belief statement on different doctrinal topics of our faith. This week we went straight to it and started with God the Father.
So, I have not only been overloaded with the material and questions about the doctrine of the Trinity I have also been in my own time trying to write a statement about who God the Father is. About His sovereignty, His love, His foreknowledge and so much more. It has been a great process but I need to become better at time management with all other aspects of life and requirements of the Institute.
I would love to now express some insights on the Trinity that I have been thinking through this week.
The basic (if you can say that about such a layered topic) statement that Dr. Kreider gave us was this “There is one God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father or the Son.”
We believe in one true God and that one true God is three distinctive different persons: Father, Son, and Spirit.
The word Trinity wasn't developed into a word until after the writings of the New Testament therefore why can we expect for the word to show up in the New Testament writings of the Apostles. Even though the word is not explicitly stated it is implied with the language that the apostles uses in the New Testament.
Example
2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
1 Peter 1:2 “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
Philippians 2:5-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Luke 2:25-32 “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.””
Also the verses about the creation describe multiple persons being present during the process
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
John 17:5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
We believe in a one true God and throughout the Old Testament the language points to that of one God for the most part. Then in the New Testament we are given the Son, Jesus Christ, and we now see the plurality of God. So we now have God the Father and God the Son is introduced and because of this we have to believe in a God that is three and one at the same time. The New Testament focuses on God the Son and God the Spirit. All that to say and show that we believe in a Triune God because we know that Jesus Christ came to this earth and we believe Him to be the Son of God.
Verses to give a small degree of the claims that Jesus had of Himself and God His Father.
John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
John 8:56-59 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”
John 14:6-7 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.””
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
Once we wrap our mind around the idea that God is plural then it is easier to except the Spirit as apart and completing the Trinity.
Verses to defend the deity of God the Spirit
Acts 5:3-4 “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.””
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,”
I love that I have the privilege to take the time to search the scriptures and seek God in the answers to all questions and thoughts when trying to understand the Trinity.
Theses are just the aspects of the Trinity that I have been learning about and the scriptures that defend the aspects.
I hope you are encouraged to do some digging into the Word of God to know Him better and answer the questions you may have about the doctrine of the Trinity. It has been a incredible week and still learning and building my confidence in defending Who God is.
Thanks for reading!
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