~God Bless

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edgedsword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

I know that not just actions but words cut to the bone. I  pray that God show me how to be more conscious of the impact of  my words on others.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Matthew 5:37

I also pray Lord that I continually become more decisive in my decision and am able to follow through on my promises hovever big or small they may be.

Dear Lord I also pray that I recognize always that you know all and see all and that my thoughts and deeds cannot be hidden from you. So I pray Lord that you continually shape my ways to be pleasing and honorable to you.

” For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Proverbs 30:5

Dear Lord I pray that I can continually rejoice and praise your goodness and grace every morning.

Amen

Pray

Tim,

 
 
I have to say I found this article very interesting. In some ways i have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to traditional “church” or the way that church, rituals and routine have in some ways taken away from the joys of being a follower of Jesus Christ and reading about how Patrick’s evangelism of Ireland developed an alternative way of doing “church” and reaching people I don’t know it just got me fired up. Because when I think about church and how many people have a stigma towards organized religion (even though I believe the word religion should be stricken from christian legalese) there is so many people that are out there calling out for something or someone to save them in this fallen world and all can benefit from the love of Jesus Christ. When I read this statement: “The Romans thought that barbarians could not be Christians. ” it made my heart sink because today I still hear people say things like “she is living in too much sin to be a good Christian” or “he is Gay so he can’t be Christian” and you know what? These are the people I am talking about:
 
“I see, all around us, the rise of “new barbarian” populations. These are the people whose lives are sometimes out of control—driven by compulsion or hijacked by substance abuse. Growing numbers of people have a “rough edge.” If they came to church, they wouldn’t know when to stand up, sit down, or what to say to the pastor afterwards. They wouldn’t know how to find II Kings or II Corinthians. If they said anything, they might split an infinitive or utter an expletive! There are a growing number of people, across the whole western world, who aren’t quite refined and aren’t always nice.”
 
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23.)” Just some peoples sin’s are more apparent than others. And I mean us as Christians are commisioned to love everyone nevermind race,religion, or preference. So why do I continually and in some ways feel the Christian community as a whole is dropping the ball when it comes to reaching those who wouldn’t neccesarily fit the “church” mold?
 
There can be a number of answers and these are the ones I hear the most.
 
“Were uncomfortable”
 
“We just need to pray for them”
 
“I don’t want to force my beliefs on them!”
 
I think George sums it up with these statements:
 
“First, the church probably needs to entertain the idea, as though for the first time, that lost people matter to God, including people who are not “like us” or recognizable “good” church people.”
“Second, within our Wesleyan tradition, people need to entertain a fresh understanding of the doctrine of prevenient grace. The Holy Spirit is working through the events and circumstances of people’s lives to awaken receptivity to the gospel. If we believe that lost and out-of-control people matter to God and that the Holy Spirit is already initiating an engagement with them, some of the other things will follow.”
I don’t know this just makes way to much sense to me. The perspective that all people matter to God and that the Holy Spirit is at work awaking reception to the gospel. What? Do you mean that we are not alone when we approach those that don’t know the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Dang that is comforting.
And the whole section he talked about the “new barbarians” gave me hope that there is churches out there that are reaching those lost and addicted people. All I know is I want to be a part of this ministry I want to reach people where they are.
 
I definatly connected to what he was talking about the shepard who seeks the lost sheep. There is a risk in this Celtic Christianity model of reaching people and I believe it is warranted and part of the adventure being  a follower of Christ should be. It is human nature to run away from compromising situations or ones where you don’t have control of but what I say to that is, isn’t that the definition of having faith? Knowing that Jesus has hold and control of your life and your afterlife is set no matter what?
 
I love the aproach he takes towards “doing church”
 
1.Solitude
 
2.Soul Friend
 
3. Small Group
 
4.Christian Community
 
 
All 4 of these things I think is important for anyone’s walk with Christ and as an aproach to Evangelism. “Contagious” is a word he uses and I think that is quite appropriate for anyone involved. Everyone deep down wants to be apart of something that is bigger than themselves. And I mean what can be bigger or more powerful than multitudes of on fire Saints (thats right it is a promise 1 Peter 2:9) And I am just on my journey currently and I hope to become fully “contagious” with the Love of Jesus and I pray that it shows more and more throughout my life and I am able to reach many people because of it.
 
 
 
Thanks,
 
 
Tim P.

I looked over 1 John 3 today since we are on that chapter for this week and had a few thoughts. First off I read over verse one and something interesting struck me. The end of this verse says “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

I think for me that explains a lot. I mean I have heard first hand many people take a blind eye to Christianity and Christians as a whole because they were never shown the true love of Jesus Christ and they really do not know him. This I think falls back on us as Christians in today’s society because we as Christ’s followers are called to that exact thing Share the Love of Jesus. I know I need to get better at this but why does it seem so hard sometimes? That is a discussion point in and of itself.

Bam right after verse one there is a promise. These are scattered throughout the new testament and they all show us hope for a life full of joy and peace.

“2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,^[a]we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.?

We shall be like Christ? What? What is this you ask? I am a sinner and I can never be like Christ!!!

Not true. Says it right there. “But we know that when he appears,^[a]we shall be like him”

That is awesome to think about. See there is something to look forward to after this temporary life!

“4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dang.

Ouch this one stings a little bit. Only cause sometimes I struggle with keeping all of the man made laws (mostly the speeding)

Doesn’t hurt too much though because Jesus has bared all of our sin and Even though I continually screw up There is a thing called grace that I receive once I repent of my screw ups (sins). Good to know right?

(I can tell already that you are going to have a hard time keeping the study on this chapter to only a few hours.)

Pressing onward,

“7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.”

I think there is something to “Bad company corrupts good character” I think that is why John is so adamant about surrounding yourself with the right people. People that will lift you up in your struggles and lead you back on the path of righteousness. There is a lot of ways to get distracted in this life and get caught up in the bad situations but knowing who are truly your friend and truly someone that is good to associate with can mean a world’s difference in your walk with Christ and leading a righteous life.

Debunking Christian legalese speak:

Definition:righteous:

: characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of
morality or justice

Basically living by a set of morals.

Moving on,

“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

Ouch more!

I don’t want to be of the devil!

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

Phew! Thank goodness. Funny how the bible is written to break you down then build you up. Gives a “hedge of thorns” a lot more meaning to me.

10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

This is where the rubber meets the road. I have a feeling this is going to be discussed for awhile. What I take out of this is that if you are striving to be more Christ like in your walk and at least trying to exhibit these principles in your life all that God wants is your effort and he sent his son Jesus to help us when we falter.

1 Timothy 4:15
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.

He just wants to see we are trying and change is apparent. When you become a follower of Christ it is a commitment. Just like your committed to your job, friendship or relationship. Except this commitment is with your CREATOR! Not to be taken lightly I think. He made us in his image but we screwed it up and he had grace enough to let us figure life out ourselves all he wants is for us to share the love of his son and his sacrifice made with others!!! I am not going to lie this hits me hard. I am not doing what I could at all times and this is something I am going have to work out through prayer and repentance. Neways I doubt you guys are going to be able to hit all of 1 John 3 so I will stop at verse 10. This is a good place to stop because verses 11-21 talk exclusively about how we are supposed to and called to love one another. Through the rest of this week I am going to ask myself how can I share God’s love today? Cause I have been dang selfish recently. May change be apparent and love