Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
Today’s reading (1 Peter 3) carries with it the idea of submission that we talked about yesterday. It begins by discussing that wives should submit to their husbands, even if they are not followers of God, in hopes that they can win them over with their lives. Husbands in turn are to be submissive to their wives as they are considerate, and treat them with respect.
I strongly feel that we have so many unhappy and unfulfilling marriages today because neither spouse is submissive to the other. Many wives today do not offer their husbands the respect he needs and craves, and husbands do not offer the love and affection she needs and craves. I can tell you from my own marriage that when I am showing Crystal the love and affection needs and CRAVES, my needs of respect and adoration are met quite well. God has given us a roadmap to marriage, and if we follow it, the bumpy times will become great times of growth.
While the following passage does not come out and speak directly to marriage, it’s advice that would be a great foundation to any relationship, especially a marriage … “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
But they are Wrong!
Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
I really love the way today’s reading (1 Peter 2) ends. Read verses 21-25 again. Is not it amazing what Christ did so that we can return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls? Reading that passage made me tremble.
While that is an amazing thought, I want to focus today’s post on another section of the reading. Today we are living in a changing America. I do not know where you stand on the issues of Healthcare, Immigration, President Obama, or even the Constitution. I know where I stand, and on many issues I am not happy. While I personally do not believe our government is out to personally hurt anyone or do the wrong thing, I believe their intentions are ok; I just disagree with them fundamentally. I do believe healthcare needed reform, but what was passed was not the best for this country. While I disagree with many things our government does, I am still called by God to submit to their leadership.
Peter urges his readers to submit to authority, whether to kings or governors; people in their day who ruled with an iron thumb and military power. In their day life was tough, and if you rebelled you died, no matter how much you disagreed with them. Fortuantly we live in a country where our government cannot suppress our speech. So even though it may hurt us at times to follow the authority of government we must submit to its leadership.
The thing you can do when you disagree is thank God that we live in a country that has protected our rights as human beings. We have channels we can go through to oppose legislation. That is where we must fight. That is where we must take action. But rebelling against the government by not paying taxes or doing something far worse is not submitting to the authority of our government, and in return is disobeying God, which in return is the definition of sin.
I really love the way today’s reading (1 Peter 2) ends. Read verses 21-25 again. Is not it amazing what Christ did so that we can return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls? Reading that passage made me tremble.
While that is an amazing thought, I want to focus today’s post on another section of the reading. Today we are living in a changing America. I do not know where you stand on the issues of Healthcare, Immigration, President Obama, or even the Constitution. I know where I stand, and on many issues I am not happy. While I personally do not believe our government is out to personally hurt anyone or do the wrong thing, I believe their intentions are ok; I just disagree with them fundamentally. I do believe healthcare needed reform, but what was passed was not the best for this country. While I disagree with many things our government does, I am still called by God to submit to their leadership.
Peter urges his readers to submit to authority, whether to kings or governors; people in their day who ruled with an iron thumb and military power. In their day life was tough, and if you rebelled you died, no matter how much you disagreed with them. Fortuantly we live in a country where our government cannot suppress our speech. So even though it may hurt us at times to follow the authority of government we must submit to its leadership.
The thing you can do when you disagree is thank God that we live in a country that has protected our rights as human beings. We have channels we can go through to oppose legislation. That is where we must fight. That is where we must take action. But rebelling against the government by not paying taxes or doing something far worse is not submitting to the authority of our government, and in return is disobeying God, which in return is the definition of sin.
The above image was borrowed from the blog Stellavision
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Monster Under the Bed
Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
Somewhere along the way most children have something they are scarred of when they go to sleep at night. For some it might be a monster lurking in the closet. For others it might be the Bogyman under the bed. For me, well it was something completely different, and a little silly. I was afraid of Heaven. That’s right you read it correctly, I was afraid of Heaven. I was not afraid of the streets of gold, or even the pearly gates. I wasn’t afraid of seeing God, or all of the Saints who have gone on before me. What I was afraid of was the eternal aspect of it. I would lay awake at night doing everything I could to not think about Heaven. When I would think about Heaven, my entire body would begin to tremble out of fear. Why was I as a little boy so scared of Heaven?
I think I was scared of Heaven because it does not end. It is for ever. Peter describes it in today’s reading (1 Peter 1) … “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an heritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” What scared me about Heaven is the idea that it never ends. Everything I know ends. Eventually I will be done writing this blog post. Eventually you will be done reading this blog post. Sometime today I am going to go home, cook dinner and end my day by laying my head down on my pillow and not thinking about Heaven. Everything I know here on this earth comes to and end. But the Bible says that Heaven does not come to an end, that the inheritance we gain there never perishes, spoils, or fades. I find that really cool, but as a child, really scary.
So what about God scares you? Have you come across a concept or thought in God’s Word that just scares you to death? For the most part I have overcome my fears of Heaven; I have even now come to embrace the eternalness of it. Now I need to just get over my night terrors of squirrels.
The above image is borrowed from the blog Cedric's Blog-O-Rama!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
How He Loves
Below is the Daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
Today is a day of praise. Each week Christians around the world meet together on Sunday mornings to fellowship, commune, and praise Jesus together. While we do that on Sunday’s, today’s reading (Psalms 33 & 34) exemplifies our need to praise in all that we do.
I love that both of these Psalms begin with the idea of praise. “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous” … “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always by on my lips.” So this evening I wander, do we live a life where we sing joyfully to the Lord, do we continually extol the Lord at all times, is his praise always on your lips? We have been blessed in so many ways by God, that we should continually be praising his name. Do you see the blessing, or have you blinded the eyes your heart in negativity?
Another thing I like is the phrase “Sing to him a new song.” Do we cherish new songs? I know I do. I love to sing a new song to God. Now don’t get me wrong, I still cherish the old songs, but I love to be able to praise my God in new and exciting ways. Below is a video of one of my current favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it. Check out the official music video from David Crowder on Youtube.
Today is a day of praise. Each week Christians around the world meet together on Sunday mornings to fellowship, commune, and praise Jesus together. While we do that on Sunday’s, today’s reading (Psalms 33 & 34) exemplifies our need to praise in all that we do.
I love that both of these Psalms begin with the idea of praise. “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous” … “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always by on my lips.” So this evening I wander, do we live a life where we sing joyfully to the Lord, do we continually extol the Lord at all times, is his praise always on your lips? We have been blessed in so many ways by God, that we should continually be praising his name. Do you see the blessing, or have you blinded the eyes your heart in negativity?
Another thing I like is the phrase “Sing to him a new song.” Do we cherish new songs? I know I do. I love to sing a new song to God. Now don’t get me wrong, I still cherish the old songs, but I love to be able to praise my God in new and exciting ways. Below is a video of one of my current favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it. Check out the official music video from David Crowder on Youtube.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
What is your Perspective?
Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
Today’s reading (Psalms 31 & 32) really makes me think of perspective. In the opening verses of Psalms 31 David is crying out to God to be his rock and fortress. Then he switches his tone and says “Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead me and guide me.” Did you catch what he said there? He knows that God is his rock and fortress. David had confidence that God was his rock and fortress and could count on God because he knew that.
I think many times we need to look at the way we approach things. Do we approach things with the confidence and assurance that God is in them, or are we asking God to be in them? When we approach things with the confidence it changes our whole experience. We don’t have to worry, we don’t have to question. We can be confident. Try placing your trust in God, instead of hoping you will place your trust in God.
Today’s reading (Psalms 31 & 32) really makes me think of perspective. In the opening verses of Psalms 31 David is crying out to God to be his rock and fortress. Then he switches his tone and says “Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead me and guide me.” Did you catch what he said there? He knows that God is his rock and fortress. David had confidence that God was his rock and fortress and could count on God because he knew that.
I think many times we need to look at the way we approach things. Do we approach things with the confidence and assurance that God is in them, or are we asking God to be in them? When we approach things with the confidence it changes our whole experience. We don’t have to worry, we don’t have to question. We can be confident. Try placing your trust in God, instead of hoping you will place your trust in God.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Continual Success
Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
Today’s reading (James 3) strikes at the heart of what drives many followers of Christ to sin. I love what James writes when he says … “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” If we are going to overcome sin, it begins by drawing near to God.
The times in my life where I have been tempted the most, or have even succumbed to the temptations, are the times in my life where I have been the most distant from God. These times tend to be when life is going really well. These are times when I feel like I do not need to be leaning on God as much as I should. When this happens, a separation between me and God begins to form. With my guard down, that is when temptation sinks in.
The times in my life where I have fought temptation and have conquered it in a blaze of glory have been the times where I am walking hand in hand with God. It is during these times that I have put my full strength in him. I have seen this verse play itself out in my own life. As I draw near to God, he draws near to me. Being close to the father makes it easier to resist Satan. When we resist Satan enough, he will leave us alone, because he does not want to waist his time. It is when we pull away from God that he snatches the opportunity to lure us back into our weakness.
So what period of life are you going through today? Are you near to God or far away? My desire in my life is to be continually drawing near to God. I have not achieved constant success, but it is getting better with each passing day.
Today’s reading (James 3) strikes at the heart of what drives many followers of Christ to sin. I love what James writes when he says … “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” If we are going to overcome sin, it begins by drawing near to God.
The times in my life where I have been tempted the most, or have even succumbed to the temptations, are the times in my life where I have been the most distant from God. These times tend to be when life is going really well. These are times when I feel like I do not need to be leaning on God as much as I should. When this happens, a separation between me and God begins to form. With my guard down, that is when temptation sinks in.
The times in my life where I have fought temptation and have conquered it in a blaze of glory have been the times where I am walking hand in hand with God. It is during these times that I have put my full strength in him. I have seen this verse play itself out in my own life. As I draw near to God, he draws near to me. Being close to the father makes it easier to resist Satan. When we resist Satan enough, he will leave us alone, because he does not want to waist his time. It is when we pull away from God that he snatches the opportunity to lure us back into our weakness.
So what period of life are you going through today? Are you near to God or far away? My desire in my life is to be continually drawing near to God. I have not achieved constant success, but it is getting better with each passing day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)