Comically, these very words came out of my mouth. "Maybe you should pray about it, because I don't know what to tell you to do."
What an attitude - this holier than thou approach hasn't won me any battles, and surely hasn't made my point - which must have been very important to whip out that old tried and true line - but for some reason I can't really remember what we were talking about.
Thankfully, Drason laughed.
How often do we have this attitude - let's pray about it as a last resort. For me I know it is far too often. Drason has said that I use this line to win arguments - I have to say I scoffed at the notion - until very recently.
I don't know about everyone else but I tend to think I know what to do in most situations - the problem is what I think and what God thinks could be polar opposites.
I have been working on a Bible study called -Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed with another lady at church, I can't wait to see her tonight and ask her what she thinks of it- It has been really good. Part of what this study has been talking about is understanding our calling as Christians -one of my very favorite verses kicked off this study.
"You did not chose me, but I chose you" John 15:16
What an amazing truth to realize - God picked me - even when I was still a sinner, before I ever did anything right, before I did anything at all - God picked me.
Max Lucado said it a different way "God's love never ceases. Never. Though we spurn him. Ignore him. Reject him. Despise him. Disobey him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish His love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it anymore than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn't love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God's love never ceases."
This truth heals many hurts, and drives home the point that God chose me =]
So prayer should come easier as a first resort, rather than a last, knowing that God picked me, and this realization makes it easier to trust, easier to just enjoy Him, and easier to have faith that He has all my best interests in mind.
Amanda
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Stupid Baby, Eat Your Sandwich
I know I have been going through Genesis now and I will get back to that tomorrow but on my way to work today I was listening to a sermon on the way in and I got to talking it over with God and realized I was having my quiet time in the car on the way to work. I have gotten into a routine and have found that it calms me down and gets me ready for the day and that I learn something new. It has become a ritual, a small worship service. For Him to interrupt that means it must be something special, and it was.
As I said yesterday, it seems lately that if I have a question my quiet time answers it within a day or two.
We were discussing with friends on Sunday the following passage in Titus 1:5
"The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."
We were discussing specifically the part about being the husband of one wife. Could a man who had been divorced be an elder? Did one wife mean at a time or no divorce? My position at the time was it would be better to err on the side of caution and use both meanings. And then He started talking to me today. Would I say Mason can’t be a public speaker because he couldn’t talk right in kindergarten? Would I say Macguines can’t drive a car because of how he drives in Need For Speed? Would I tell Marshal that he can’t be in the NFL because he was afraid to get down in the mud last year? No. I
n the church today we tend to judge people on what they did as non-Christians. That is like judging an adult on how they did as a child. Granted there may be some indicators of what temptations they may be susceptible to but because they are changed when they are saved that makes them a whole new person.
We need to judge people on their Christian life not their sinful life.I believe that is what Paul means here. He says that he (the elder) must be blameless. It is impossible to be blameless before you are saved. If we looked at a person’s un-Christian life then nobody would be eligible to be an elder. So right from the beginning Paul, and through Paul, God, shows that he is talking about a person’s Christian life.
Is it possible for a Christian to get a divorce? Yes. Jesus even gives a reason why. Infidelity. But the person that God wants in the position of elder either shouldn't have committed the infidelity in the first place to cause his wife to divorce him, or forgiven her if she was the one that committed the infidelity.
The world allows divorce for many reasons but that is the world and we can’t judge people the same way the world does. If, as a Christian, a man divorces his wife for “irreconcilable differences” then he is ineligible to be an elder. Because as a Christian he should love her no matter what and as the head of the household find a way to repair their relationship. But that is as a Christian, not a heathen. I realize this can apply in may other areas too. Not just divorce. We shouldn't judge anyone on anything they do before they are a Christian. That would be like judging a child by adult standards. They are unable to please God, they are unable to stop sinning, they are unable to lead an upright life until they are a Christian, so why do we judge them when they are unable to do what they should?
Stupid baby why don’t you make yourself a sandwich. I know you don’t have the motor skills to stand, or walk, or use your hands to put the sandwich together, or the ability to digest it once it is made but I still expect you to. We would never say that, but that is exactly what we say to non-Christians. This is hard for me because I tend to be extremely judgmental and I need to stop.
Of course the hard part is, how do we know who is a Christian? I would say first we go by those who call themselves that. If they say they are then we judge them by Christian standards. If they don’t then we can’t judge them that way. If they do say that and their actions consistently show that they aren’t then we can’t judge them that way. If that is the case we need to help them find their way.What I learned today: The standards in the Bible only apply to Christians. We can’t, and must not, apply them to non-Christians because that is like judging a child by adult standards.
Drason
As I said yesterday, it seems lately that if I have a question my quiet time answers it within a day or two.
We were discussing with friends on Sunday the following passage in Titus 1:5
"The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."
We were discussing specifically the part about being the husband of one wife. Could a man who had been divorced be an elder? Did one wife mean at a time or no divorce? My position at the time was it would be better to err on the side of caution and use both meanings. And then He started talking to me today. Would I say Mason can’t be a public speaker because he couldn’t talk right in kindergarten? Would I say Macguines can’t drive a car because of how he drives in Need For Speed? Would I tell Marshal that he can’t be in the NFL because he was afraid to get down in the mud last year? No. I
n the church today we tend to judge people on what they did as non-Christians. That is like judging an adult on how they did as a child. Granted there may be some indicators of what temptations they may be susceptible to but because they are changed when they are saved that makes them a whole new person.
We need to judge people on their Christian life not their sinful life.I believe that is what Paul means here. He says that he (the elder) must be blameless. It is impossible to be blameless before you are saved. If we looked at a person’s un-Christian life then nobody would be eligible to be an elder. So right from the beginning Paul, and through Paul, God, shows that he is talking about a person’s Christian life.
Is it possible for a Christian to get a divorce? Yes. Jesus even gives a reason why. Infidelity. But the person that God wants in the position of elder either shouldn't have committed the infidelity in the first place to cause his wife to divorce him, or forgiven her if she was the one that committed the infidelity.
The world allows divorce for many reasons but that is the world and we can’t judge people the same way the world does. If, as a Christian, a man divorces his wife for “irreconcilable differences” then he is ineligible to be an elder. Because as a Christian he should love her no matter what and as the head of the household find a way to repair their relationship. But that is as a Christian, not a heathen. I realize this can apply in may other areas too. Not just divorce. We shouldn't judge anyone on anything they do before they are a Christian. That would be like judging a child by adult standards. They are unable to please God, they are unable to stop sinning, they are unable to lead an upright life until they are a Christian, so why do we judge them when they are unable to do what they should?
Stupid baby why don’t you make yourself a sandwich. I know you don’t have the motor skills to stand, or walk, or use your hands to put the sandwich together, or the ability to digest it once it is made but I still expect you to. We would never say that, but that is exactly what we say to non-Christians. This is hard for me because I tend to be extremely judgmental and I need to stop.
Of course the hard part is, how do we know who is a Christian? I would say first we go by those who call themselves that. If they say they are then we judge them by Christian standards. If they don’t then we can’t judge them that way. If they do say that and their actions consistently show that they aren’t then we can’t judge them that way. If that is the case we need to help them find their way.What I learned today: The standards in the Bible only apply to Christians. We can’t, and must not, apply them to non-Christians because that is like judging a child by adult standards.
Drason
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