Wednesday Wake Up #31

Keeping the Word of God

There is a time when we can lose focus as believers. We do things and say things with great intentions, but it completely overshoots the depth of the meaning of Christ's life. A woman, who it can be understood saw Christ's significance, once said to Jesus in Luke 11:27, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" While trying to be respectful to Jesus and his mother, he corrects her. In verse 28 Jesus responds with "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" Are you keeping the word of God?

First, are you reading the Bible? Are you understanding what you are reading? I have heard people say that the love Jesus and are Christians, but then they follow that up with the Bible is misinterpreted and wrong and blah blah blah. But if the Bible is wrong then how do you know about Jesus? What is it that you know about him? Where did you learn that? If the source that educates you is flawed in your mind then your beliefs may be flawed as well. Read about Jesus in the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read about why he did what he did. Understand him. But in order to do that, you have to read.

And second, are you keeping his commands. Yes there are the 10 commandments, but also the spirit of the 10 are condensed in Matthew 22:36-40. Love God first and then because you love God, you love people. This is not just love like a fluffy Valentine's Day love, but like I will sacrifice for someone I do not know kind of love the way you sacrifice for someone you do know. That kind of love is how you know if you have Christ working through you. Keep the word of God by reading it, understanding and accepting Christ and follow the spirit of the commands.

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2 Corinthians 3: Ministers of the New Covenant

Ministers of the New Covenant

Paul tells the church that they are the apostles letters of recommendation. If the apostles wanted to spread the word and teach and build churches, then their previous work would be their portfolio (2 Corinthians 3:2). So, if the church in Corinth was getting it wrong, then it makes Paul look bad. The church needed to know that basically your actions are a reflection of me. It reminds me of a work environment like a boss to an employee or like a family with  a parent to a child.

Paul compared the 10 commandments to a ministry of condemnation as it was the law that was being used to condemn people as sinners. Then he referred to the new covenant (the Gospel of Christ) as the ministry of the Spirit, meaning the spirit of God or Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:9). The new covenant removes the "sinner" tag and replaces it with a "saved by grace" tag if you choose to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Paul closes out the chapter by informing the church that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). I just googled an image for this blog and verse and I saw an image with the American flag embedded in it. The freedom that Paul is talking about is freedom from sin, freedom from condemnation. An American flag cannot give you that freedom. It cannot save you from the death of your sins. Only accepting God's grace can give you that freedom.You can be aligned to your country and the freedoms allotted by the government, but freedom from sin is far more important and crucial to your walk as a Christ follower.
 

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Wednesday Wake Up #25

Is God #1

Have you ever read through Exodus and the story of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32)? Moses had not yet come down from Mount Sinai and the people, instead of waiting for leadership, talked to Moses' older brother Aaron and asked him to make them a god. Aaron obliged and had them give him their gold and he made it into a golden calf for them to worship and give offerings to. Obviously, what they did was wrong which is why God sent Moses back down the mountain to destroy the idol. While we don't have golden calves in our homes there are things in our lives that get in the way of making God number 1.

Work for many has become God. Think about it, if your boss calls, you answer. Your boss says that you need to come to work and you go without fail. Then when you are at work you work extra hard and get no kudos, but only a bunch of stress. Your health is getting worse and you aren't making time for the people in your life (loved ones, family, friends). And what is most important, you are not making time for God. Remember how upset God was with Cain (Genesis 4) because Cain gave God the leftovers from his sacrifice?  God wants you to make Him your priority? Do you only talk to Him when you need him, but never to just thank Him for being an awesome God? I often refer back to the first 4 commandments because they all focus on making God first, especially the 4th commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) which reminds us to have a Sabbath. Take a day off, not just to rest but to also give God His due praise.

Money is another idol people can have as a replacement for God. They do everything they can to make sure that they can make more and more money and spend, spend, spend. They have to have the newest everything (car, phone, gadget) and they do whatever they can to make sure they can afford it. But they haven't seen their Bible or read from a Bible in ages. See the focus here? The focus has moved from God being #1 to money being #1. We must remember that man cannot serve 2 masters as he will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Jesus said this. Can we really ignore it? We all need to work and make money, but if that is your focus more than serving the Lord and giving back to Him then the priority is not God.
 

My point is not to condemn people but just to show how easy it is to let other things that are important become more important than what really matters in God's eyes. My prayer is that we all can see those roadblocks in our lives and make sure to make God's will for our lives #1.

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1 Corinthians 8: From One God

From One God

This chapter is a short one, but let us understand one very important verse. In verse 6, Paul breaks down that there is one God who is our Father that created all things and is the reason we exist. Then he continues by telling us there is one Lord, that is Jesus, and through him (not from- see the difference) we exist and are all things. There was an issue with people dedicating food to idols and eating it and serving other "gods" but Paul needed the church to recognize that there is one God and no more.

Paul then reminds the church members in verses 7-13 that if their eating of a meat, especially one that is offered to a god and not God, then that could cause a brother to stumble. What we eat doesn't make God like us more or less, but we do need to honor God with what we eat and how much of it. In other words, we do not over eat or starve ourselves. Our body is to be a living sacrifice in all facets of life (Romans 12:1). Ultimately, we want to honor God with all we do and when it comes to eating food that was offered to idols, then a brother in Christ might see that and do the same. We honor God and we love others.

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Romans 3:23-25- Falling Short and Being Redeemed

Falling Short and Being Redeemed

There are far too many verses in scripture that we know and understand when we hear them, but we do not get the full context. Romans 3:23 is one of them for me. It tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God. This verse has been used to further one's personal agenda outside of Christ. It has been used to say we all sin (which is true) but it does not tell the rest of the story. It's like saying we all fail and that's it. End of story. It can also be comforting to know that we all fail and that you are not alone when you sin as we all sin. But what about after that?

We have to understand the context that Paul was telling fellow Jews that they were not better than others. This is in line with what Christ taught to Pharisees who were hypocrites and thought they were better than others. Righteousness does not come from obeying God's laws (such as the ten commandments). Righteousness comes from doing God's will out of loving obedience. As I have stated before, in relationships (like dating and marriage) we don't keep ourselves from cheating simply because it is not the right thing to do. Look at the essence of why it wouldn't be right. We don't cheat because of love. We love the other person. We are honoring the other person and our relationship and ourselves. But, ultimately, we should not cheat because we would be sinning against God. Righteousness is through love of God which is outside the law (ten commandments).

But how do you get redeemed to God after sinning. That redemption comes from Jesus. If you accept Jesus, the redemption comes. His blood was shed so that we don;t have to be a human sacrifice for our sins. Sin causes death in at least 2 ways: spiritual and physical. Spiritually i am separated by God when I am outside His will. Physically when I sin I could die like if I were to do drugs or something like that. So, if you sin like I do on a daily basis, you are 1) not alone and 2) redeemed to God through accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior knowing that he died for your sins.

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Luke 24:46-47- The Resurrection Fulfills Prophecies

The Resurrection Fulfills Prophecies 

When you seek to understand the life of Christ and why he was the Messiah (proof) you will need to not only study the New Testament but the Old Testament as well.

In Luke 24:46-47, Jesus reminds the disciples of what was said in Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. When he does this, he puts the pieces of the puzzle together. 

For instance, Mosiac Law is seen as the 10 Commandments. When you break down each commandment from putting God first and honoring the Sabbath to not bearing false witness and not murdering, we are to do all of this because we are with Christ and seeking to be more like him. Since he was able to fulfill these laws (or even guidelines) and not sin, then the law is fulfilled.

One verse in Psalm 41:9, David references Jesus (before Jesus was born) being betrayed by Judas. 

We do not live by blind faith in Jesus and just accept things as they are because someone told us that is the truth. That is how you can be tricked and fooled if you do not investigate on your own. I am still learning and seeking various tools to assist in my knowledge of Christ and growth in him. 

If you seek knowledge and evidence please feel free to use 100 Prophecies and Got Questions. These two sites have helped me and will continue to do so as I strive to bring you meat and not just milk on a daily basis.

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Wednesday Wake Up #4

Is Being A Good Person Good Enough?

I have heard that far too many people who refer to themselves as Christians think that in order to get to Heaven they just need to be a "good person." That thinking makes me question what a good person really is. I know "good people"  but there are times that they have done bad things. Then again, I have known "bad" people who have done good things.

Is a good person someone who always volunteers at shelters for the homeless and visits sick people in hospitals? Are bad people only the ones who break major laws? What about people who lie; are they bad? What about white lies? Aren't those okay?

There are so many questions and ways to try to figure out who is good and who is bad, but God is not concerned with who is good or bad, He wants you to put Him first in all things (see Matthew 6:33). Everything? Yes! Everything!

If we go back to the 10 Commandments, we see that the first commands are all about God and us honoring Him by having no other gods before Him, have no false idols (worship nothing other than God), do not take the Lord's name in vain and last, we are to keep the Sabbath (take a day off from working as God did when making the universe). Those are not the last four commandments, but the first four. God told Moses to relay that message and keep his commands about our relationship to Him FIRST. The second set are all about our relationships with people.

Jesus had an encounter with a young rich man in Matthew 19:16-26. The young rich man wanted to know how to get to Heaven. He thought that since he kept all the commandments then he would be able to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. Jesus in the end told the man to sell all of his possessions. The man couldn't do it and went away sad because he had great possessions. We learn from this, that no matter how great of a person you have been in your own eyes, God knows more. God wants you to dedicate yourself to Him and His will. When confronted with that many of us will just walk away.

More on that on Friday....


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Friday Focus #3

Bad Company and Good Morals

In the Wednesday Wake Up for this week I covered being unequally yoked with people who do not follow Christ. This could be dating, marriage, close relationships, business, etc. If you follow Christ it doesn't make sense as to why you would unite with someone who does not follow or understand Christ as you do. How can they help you grow in your relationship with Christ? That is in conjunction with the 1st Commandment.

You can't charge your iPhone with a charger for your my phone. It is a completely different device. Would you seek a golf coach to become a pilot? Would you want to learn how to cook from someone who doesn't understand how to cook? Why be partnered with someone who doesn't match well with you for something so important to you?

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul tells us not to be misled and that bad company corrupts good character. I struggle in my prayer life from time to time. The only people who can help me grow in that area are those who follow Christ. If I am having a down in the dumps kind of day, nice words are nice from friends, but couldn't I use some scripture too? People who don't follow Christ have never led me to seek scripture for anything I was ever going through. I need that. You need that. We are all a part of the body of Christ and we need to be strong to keep the body upright and healthy. Just like we need to eat right, drink water and exercise for the betterment of our own bodies, then we need to make sure the body of Christ is strong as well by checking out where we are plugged in and with whom we are connected.

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