Faith leads to….

Phil 2: 5-8

First we have to have faith that Jesus was fully human and fully God. His humanness allowed him to experience all of our wants and needs. He was even tempted as we are. And that he used his power to the perform miracles and defeat death to prove his divinity and give us the gift of salvation.

I have often said that Jesus is the perfect example of a leader. He humbled himself and became human, to come and serve the poor, hungry and the sinners. Even though being fully of God he allowed himself to wash the feet of the Disciples.

Jesus commands us to love as he did, and love one another. He leads us to believe in him and he will fill us with his Spirit. This allows us to be like Christ and humble our selves to serve others. We can lean on his power to carry out his work, sacrificing and serving for love. Faith leads us to works.

I stand in awe that Jesus is the perfect example of how to live. He became human, subject to time, and place. All the time he never fell to the power of temptation and sin. Faith in Christ leads me to strive for that perfection. Faith leads to a changed heart.

Phil 2:5 - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Faith in Christ and letting him lead will lead me to that attitude.

Our faith in Christ leads to the grace and forgiveness of God. Eph 2: 8-9 Says “and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works so that no one can boast.” So I fall on my knees and thank God for his grace. Christ loved us and died for us. Christ loves us and leads us to the father.

Week 4 Ramble...

If we trust God the Father, he will not lead us into situations that we can not handle. Because we know the Father, once in any given situation we will not fear.

Fearing God to me is to stand in AWE of his power and know that I disappoint him when I sin. Much of the world is loosing that fear, and is turning out of control morally. People are spiritually bankrupt, and have no basis to know true right from wrong. It is up to us as Christian men to step out boldly, with the Fear of God, and the Not Fear that God gives us, and try and reach as many people we can.

Memory Verse: Week 4. II Cor 5: 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(My daughter loves it when I pull out the Memory cards….She thinks it is great that she gets to tell me where I messed up the verse. )

Week 4 finds me tired. I was talking to one of the guys after class yesterday about the Devil attacking harder at us now because of our hunger to learn more about Jesus. My prayer is that for the next at least 6 weeks my procrastination side does not take root, and I continue in the discipline laid out before me in DC class. I know how Satin will attack in my life, I just have to be on guard and stand strong. EPH 6: 10-11

Stretching to understand, Word and Wisdom...

Lets start with the beginning...

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Prov 8: 23 (Speaking of wisdom) I was appointed from eternity from the beginning, before the world began.

We seek the Word for wisdom that spans the ages of eternity. To understand that God knew/knows before time began, that I would be sitting her typing on my blog is amazing. What is more amazing is that God's Son was ready before time began to save my soul. Jesus's birth right was laid out before him from the begining as God created the world. (Prov 8: 24-31) Proverbs goes on to say:

Prov 8: 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and receives favor from the Lord.

Even the memory verse shows that we are created in God's plan to live in Christ Jesus.

Eph 2: 10 For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God knew our hearts before time began, and put his Spirit in them, and then waited for us to make the Choice. He knew it would take some longer than others, but God is patient.

Hard to fathom, and get your brain around completely, but sometimes we just have to accept and not stretch too far.

As I read through John, I have to say: That if I was a Jew at that time listening to Jesus try to explain who he was, I would be confused also, and miss what Jesus is saying. Jesus stretched their minds to understand who he is. Just as he stretches ours in our daily walk, yet sometimes we forget that Faith should be as simple as a child.

Faith, Obedience, Love

First, I quoted one of my favorite verses wrong today in DC class…. I said it was in Philippians when we were reading Ephesians…

EPH 3: 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

I think God will understand, but just needed to clear my mind.

Two main things learned this week….

1) We are called by God to be obedient to our faith in Jesus Christ, and God will reward our life. In seeking God through faithfully praying, reading his word, and loving others we obey him, and those are the times he rewards our lives. It is up to us to develop the discipline to prayer and read God’s word he does not force us. The greatest command God gave us is to Love…If we obey this love our actions will be of love, and that love will be Christ.

2) Seeking wisdom through the bible is essential for arming my self against attacks by Satan. If I let God guide my study of his word, he will guide me and keep me on the straight path.

I am looking forward to next week already. The guys in the group, all brought such good incite to today’s class that I can’t wait to hear what they have for next week.

Memory Verse for this week is…

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

My daughter (6 years old) convicted me this past week. As I was reading my bible for DC, she asked what I was doing. So I told her and she asked me to read to her from the bible. I thought she meant her kids bible, but no she wanted me to read from my bible. So I did and she sat there and listened. I realized that I have not been doing all that I can to infuse Jesus into her heart, and my heart broke a bit for me being so apathetic about it. Was I obeying God? Well then we were Lifeway Book Store, and I told my daughter she could buy a book. She picked up a children’s NIV study bible. I told her she would have trouble reading that. She said no Dad I want you to read it to me. My heart leapt for joy. Then I had to get over the sticker shock on the price of the bible, but it was not about the money at that point. You don’t realize how much your children pay attention to you, and they can convict you to move sometimes faster than the Holy Spirit. So now every chance I get I will read to my daughter from the bible. God you are so awesome.

Titus...

Titus is another short letter written by Paul to Titus.

Paul has left Titus in Crete to finish appointing the elders, and finish up dealing with some problems that Paul had to leave behind.

Much on the same lines as Ephesians, it is a letter describing how a Godly person should live and work with in the church. Obedient, even tempered, trust worth, honest, humble.... Paul uses this letter to make sure Titus knows what kind of Elders should be choosen for the churches in each city.

What strikes me though as I continue to read is the word hope... In the New Testament, based on a simple search at Bilblegateway.com the word hope is used around 80 times.

Hope brings about thought of the future, and what better thing to hope for than salvation through Christ.

I fear that many people have lost this Hope. Ether they have believed and fallen away or there is nothing tangible to them so that they believe. I think God works daily in our lives through the Holy Spirit to give us glimpses of heaven. God uses these glimpses to strengthen our hope for heaven. And ether you have the faith to recognize these glimpses as such, or your heart is hardened against them.

God’s promise of the hope of salvation is alive, and there for us to take. As is said in Titus some may profess to believe but have no change of heart. God sees these people and calls them detestable…

Titus 1: 15-16 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

With out the change of heart, and continuing on with our old ways, we gain no sight of the hope promised us. We can profess we have salvation, but only God knows if our hearts have changed.

Ephesians....

I dove full speed into my Discipleship homework last night, by reading Ephesians. I sat on my hotel room bed listening to Mathew West.

I have often thought that, if I was only allowed to read one or two books of the Bible for the rest of my life, Ephesians would be one that I choose.

Paul writing from his prison cell to the church of Ephesus (SP?), had to pack this letter with as much information as he could, and pack he did.

Every time I read Ephesians I am convicted in some way about my walk as a man of Christ. From unity in the church, how I act and speak, lead my family, or stand as a soldier for the word. Paul explains that I can do none of that as Christ did, without God's saving grace.

My favorite verses in the bible come from Ephesians… Eph 6:10-11 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Christians are in a battle for the moral compass of this earth. The Devil will do everything he can to make us ignore our faith and become idle believers. He will use things of this world to distract us and try and throw us off our game. Eph6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The Devil knows he has lost the battle for the souls of people who believe, but if he can make us idle or make us ignore the moral degradation of society, and thus become idle in our faith. He will go after the souls of the unbelievers that have never heard the word of God due to our idleness….

As a man of God I am convicted to not let that happen.... My simple prayer as I go through this class is for God to: “USE ME”… Feed me your word; help me live your Word outwardly in my life…..

… Side note… Typing this weeks verse from Memory: II Peter 8:13 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever, Amen.

You will have to take my word for it… I forgot one word… Should be “Lord and Savior”…. And, “To him be Glory”… So I will keep practicing…

I wonder what I will learn when I read Titus….

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

And man will this class push me to grow. Disciple, to have disciplin.... Some thing I have lacked in the past in my studying. Something I pray that God gives me the ability to aquire that disciplin.

God is with me and all the men in this class, we will grow together.