Monthly Archives: June 2006

Notes on Hebrews

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hebrews yesterday, so much so that I called a friend to talk about it rather than writing the journal entry I had started. I will do here what I have done in the past, and just use this post as a note-to-self on what to look into further later.

(scriptures linked are from the NRSV)

  • Hebrews 5:14:
    It is worth noting that the author assumes the need to train oneself, through practice, to discern good and evil.

  • Hebrews 10:2:
    It is necessary, here, to read the surrounding context… I’m left wondering about the implication of “cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin” when one considers that, while this was not the case with old testament sacrifices, perhaps this is or should be the case with those who are covered by the blood of Christ.

  • Hebrews 10:26-31:
    I’ve done a number of studies on chapter 6, but this is the first time it dawned on me how much harsher this passage is in making a similar argument. This passage makes it clear that those who once were saved, and willingly walk away, will be judged much more harshly than those who were never saved in the first place.

  • Hebrews 10:32-39:
    Most of us, in this society, cannot relate to the early Christians who endured such great persecution. While passages like this can offer great encouragement in times of struggle, we should be careful to remember that we are not in the same place as those who the author was originally addressing, lest our pride cause us to assume we’re in a better place than we are.

  • Hebrews 11:17-18:
    I need to do a specific study on the relation between what God asked of Abraham and God’s sacrifice of His own Son.

  • Hebrews 12:15-17:
    It occurs to me that there is a parallel to be drawn between our own situations and the “birthright” and “single meal” of Esau’s story…

  • Hebrews 13:5:
    This passage leaves no excuse for those who continually seek after riches, believing that their commitment to God somehow entitles them to be worldly wealth.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

Food for Thought

Titus 3:1-11
3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
3:2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone.
3:3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.
3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
3:5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
3:6 This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
3:8 The saying is sure. I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.
3:9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
3:10 After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions,
3:11 since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

notes

I was compelled to read three books today. I started out with 2 Thessalonians and felt like reading on, so I went ahead and read 1 Timothy, after which I just had to read 2 Timothy.

This has left me with an over-abundance of scripture to think about, but I’m anxious to finish reading through so that I can start really digging in. It’s been too long, though, and I really have to read everything through first.

In any case, I have too much swimming in my brain now to concentrate on one particular thing. I did notice a few things during this read-through that are worth mentioning for later scrutiny…

  • Paul, for instance, wrote the second letter to the Thessalonians and signed it with his own hand specifically so that they would be able to identify it as genuine (see 2 Thessalonians 3:17 after reading 2:1-2). 
  • He also made a habit, when writing to Timothy, to share specific names when warning him about false doctrine or people who had fallen away or caused him harm (1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:15, 4:10, and 4:14-15). I think I will be using these letters as a jumping-off point for finding a good, complete, Biblical definition for what constitutes gossip, and I think this is worth noting in that study (as Paul surely wasn’t a gossip). 
  • I have read 1 Timothy more times than I can count, and I *always* find something new or fresh or see something in a new light — living Word indeed! 
  • 2 Timothy 1:6-7 reminds me that we all need to be reminded sometimes. 
  • 2 Timothy 1:12 – I learned this song recently, it’s a good one! 
  • 2 Timothy 3:1-9 made a specific impression… I am mentioning it now so that I’ll have a record of the passage and can go back to it later for a more in-depth study.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

Do not quench…

I was brought up in churches where the Spirit of God, and the workings of the Spirit were held in high intellectual regard. Passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:18-22: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.” were read with a kind of wonder and awe, while thinking “if He ever chooses to use me, I definitely won’t quench it!”.

However, rarely, if ever, were the fruits manifest. Once in a while, at revivals or summer camps, He might show up and be allowed to move, but those cases were few and far between. Services were always pre-scripted and setup in such a way that God rarely had the opportunity to move, and if He tried, someone would usually interrupted with “Oh, look at the time!”, or something with an equivalent effect.

I’ve had a problem with this for quite a while, and scriptures like this mean a lot more to me now than they once did. It occurs to me that Paul did not write this to a congregation who would be looking at their watches to make sure the letter didn’t take more than the allotted 15 minutes to read. He didn’t write it to a group of people who thought the Spirit sounded pretty cool, but who weren’t quite sure if the Spirit still bothered to move anymore. He was writing to a group of people who had all spoken in tongues. He was writing to people who saw the Spirit move in mighty ways on a daily basis. He was writing to a group of people who were under constant persecution.

If he needed to remind THESE people not to quench the Spirit, how much more do we need to hear that message today? If you have been sitting on the fence, thinking that it would be great to be used but not really giving the Lord opportunity to move, I would like to challenge you…

Take some time to read through 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians 14, but read them with the intention of seeing what Paul was taking for granted… and after you’ve read those, seek after the gifts — Paul encouraged the Corinthians to seek after the greater gifts, but perhaps we need to start by seeking after the lesser…

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

Whatever is True…

I’m too tired today to say anything coherent, so I’ll just quote some food for thought…

Philippians 4:4-9 (NRSV):

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

4:6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

4:9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

Only what is useful for building up…

I’ve been contemplating what to write about today… yesterday I had the notion that today I was going to just pickup where I left off and write about Ephesians 4, which was the next chapter in line. I’m reading through the Bible right now, I started with the New Testament this time and am currently in Ephesians. I try to read through the Bible every once in a while, and it’s been quite a while since I have.

I’ve found though, that blogging about it makes me want to stop and do a more in depth study of what I read. That would slow me down considerably right now, but I really want to get through the New Testament, so that I can read through the Old Testament again, and THEN go back and do more in depth studies. So… I think I’m just going to do my reading, and write about whatever happens to strike me each day until I’m done reading through. Then after that I’ll start doing some actual studies.

I haven’t actually decided whether to do chapter by chapter studies, or topical. I’m more inclined to do topical studies left to my own, but if I did chapter by chapter I’d have a commentary by the time I was done, and that could be kind of cool to have…

I’ll have to think about it more while I’m reading through.

In any case, I read Ephesians 4 today. The passage that struck me the most is
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NRSV):

4:29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
4:31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
4:32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

That’s the chunk that struck me the most (I’m sure I say a lot that’s not “useful for building up”).  I really need to remember that on a daily basis :)

Okay that’s all I have time for today, I need to get to VBS (it’s the last night). I think I’ve decided that if I do a topical study when I’m done reading through the Old Testament, I’ll start with Ephesians 4… lots of good stuff here that too often gets missed on the way to chapters 5 and 6 (which cover things like the relations between husbands and wife/masters ans slaves, and putting on the armor of God).

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

A root with which to tap…

I’m reading ephesians today, and since I’m too lazy to go get my regular Bible out of the car, I’m reading from my old King James Version bible. It’s funny how nostalgic it is for me to read the KJV… it always brings up memories of sunday school lol.

In any case, here’s some encouraging scripture for those of you who are saved:

Ephesians 3:16-19 (KJV)

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

We too often forget that love has to be our root… that without a grounding in love, we miss out on the greater things. It’s too easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and forget that our goal as Christians should be to stand out from the crowd “And they will know we are Christians by our love”, as the song goes.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NRSV) says of love: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

I honestly can’t think of a single person I’ve met that’s ever come close to meeting all of those requirements on a regular basis, but that’s the goal…  If love is to be the root and the grounding of our faith, then we all need to strive to become more loving every day — and not the sappy “can’t we all just get along” or “happy happy joy joy” kind of love, but the real thing.

Paul defines love not as a feeling, not as an emotion, but as a state of being, as a pattern for living that we must aspire to — not as an afterthought, but as a foundation.  This is one of those things we can spend our entire life working on, and never perfect, but the effort will not be in vain.

Chapter 4 is so full I’m going to save it for tomorrow’s post…

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bible Study

Change of direction…

I was supposed to have spent my evening tonight helping at VBS… I reminded myself of this several times yesterday, then still completely forgot about it today… at 2:30am I finally realized what day it was…

So a few hours ago I was sitting there stewing about how worthless I am, when it dawned on me that if I were actually worthless, Christ wouldn’t have bothered dying for me, but since He did, and since He’s perfect and all, it must be that I’m just not living up to the potential He saw in me.

So… in an effort to get myself back on a more useful track, I am going to make a concerted effort to stop rambling about pointless things, and use this blog as a tool instead.

If you’re actually reading this, and this subject annoys you, this might be a good time to switch over to http://storyblox.livejournal.com, which is my business blog, as this blog will probably be filled other things that will annoy you in the future.

If you’re reading this, and you aren’t severely annoyed by now, drop me a note and let me know :)

I will be making an effort to post on a daily basis (or close to it) from here on out… and I will make it a goal to “set my thoughts on things above” in each post.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Deep Stuff

Had Enough of Ebay Seller Fees

I finally took the plunge and closed my ebay store… I’m tired of paying monthly fees for nothing… I was going to close up shop a while ago but they dangled that carrot of search results for store items showing for every search and my sales actually made it worth it… for about two weeks, until they went back on that whole thing without warning and for no good reason (well, I’m sure they figured they were losing sales, but they didn’t give that as the reason, they made up some crap about it being better for the buyers the old way).

Anyway, enough rambling. My ebay store is now officially closed, and I’ve taken down the links, but I will still sell stuff once in a while in the old fashioned auction-style format, unless I get tired of it and give it up entirely.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Business Stuffs

The Killdeer Chicks Hatched!

Took long enough :)

More pics behind the cut…

Leave a Comment

Filed under The Great Outdoors