The Holy Spirit

In my Sunday school class the past few weeks we have been discussing the first chapter in the book of Acts. Jesus has been crucified, and the disciples are hiding in a house together when He appears to them through a locked door. Over the next 4o days He appears to them periodically to give them instruction and keep their spirits up for the days ahead. What is important in this passage is that Peter and the rest of the disciples are about to receive the power through which they will establish the Christian church. Here is the passage:

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way yhou have seen him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:1-11)

I will be speaking more on this passage, so I will post links to it. I want you to tell me your thoughts on this passage before I say more. Have a blessed day!

Jesus Warns Against Wrong Teaching

Continuing in Matthew 16 Jesus warns His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." The disciples thought He was speaking about the fact that they had brought no bread with them. They misunderstood His meaning.

Jesus said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matt. 16:8-11)

Here's what my bible study says about it: "Leaven (yeast) is put into bread to make it rise, and it takes only a little to affect a whole batch of dough. Jesus used leaven as an example of how a small amount of evil can affect a large group of people. The wrong teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees were leading many people astray. Beware of the tendency to say, 'How can this little wrong possible affect anyone?'".

This made me think of my walk. Am I living in a way that shines for Christ, or do I committ small evils that completely destroy my witness to those around me who need to see what Christianity is truly about? I pray that God helps to keep me in check in moments like this. In all situations, really. I pray that I don't even have to think twice, that I will live more and more like Christ daily so that people will be drawn to Him through me.

Signs

I want to begin this with the admission that I am as guilty as anyone. I have asked God multiple times to reveal Himself to me with a sign. How ridiculous of me. I might as well be slapping Him in the face. Matthew 16 starts out with the Pharisees and Sadducees testing Jesus and asking Him to "show them a sign from heaven." Here is what Jesus responded:

"When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." (Matthew 16:2-4)

Basically, what Jesus is saying here is that He is not going to waste His time showing these people a sign because they were only testing Him out of skepticism. They would not believe even if He did, because they could not see the truth in what He had already done. He speaks of Jonah who was carried in the belly of a big fish for 3 days. In this Jesus was hinting at His upcoming death and resurrection after 3 days. When I read this, I was very convicted. To this day I expect God to give me a sign to point me in the right direction. It's not wrong to long to know God's will for your life, but to ask Him for a sign is selfish and unnecessary. What we must do is have faith and believe that He has done the things that are talked about in His Word. He has showed us more than 2,000 years worth of signs. Is that not enough? Jesus says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) If God gave you a "sign in the heavens" every time he wanted you to make a certain move, would you be walking by faith? I think we need to step out for His glory and He will give us direction along the way.

"Seeing Is Believing"

Funny thing...I went home from College Station a few weekends ago and stayed up late to do laundry. While I was waiting I decided to watch a little TV. Being the nerd that I am, when I see anything about space, I'm there. So, as I'm watching 'Supermassive Blackholes', I hear the narrator say that while a supermassive blackhole has never been seen, the evidence for their existence is undeniable. Hmmm! I wondered to myself for a short while. Something sounded really funny about that. These big-name 'scientists' are declaring that they believe in something that they cannot see. If that's the case, then why is it that they don't believe in God? Granted, this is a generalization. Some scientists are Christians. But, the ones who are trying to prove evolution and how the universe was created only believe in science. I'm sorry, that's a croc to begin with, because half of all science is theoretical equation anyway. I mean, go ahead, explain away how said galaxy was formed umpteen-billion years ago. But explain life. You can say we all formed from the same little atom or whatever. But, how do you explain personality and conscience? Our universe is not just matter. It is also life, death, good, and evil. Where do these factor in to their equations? My point is, if they can believe in black holes when they can't see them, why is it so hard for them to believe in God when the evidence of His existence truly is UNDENIABLE?

Any Progress?

On November 16, 2006 I wrote my first blog ever on my Myspace profile. I went back to it today as I was "rediscovering" that I even had a Myspace. Here it is:

"'Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.' - Matthew 7:24-27

I have never posted a blog before, but God kept me up late tonight for some reason. I haven't studied my bible in a long time. I mean, a really long time. Many of you know what college has been like for me so far, some of you don't. This will give you some idea of how it's been and the revelation I have come to. I wrote this in a notebook a few minutes ago and decided to blog it for some reason.

What this passage means for my life speaks for my faith. To date my faith has been, at best, inconsistent. This relates to my life in that, when I study the word and practice its teachings, I can resist temptation. My faith is like the house built on the rock, and I do not falter. When I go periods without study, even refusing to think about God for fear of conviction, I fall to temptation even worse each time. When I go through periods where I shy away from the Father, it is because I have fallen to temptation and I feel unclean or unworthy. At least, that is how it begins. Then, I stay out of his word so long that I begin to stop caring. I stop listening to the Voice of Truth and begin to do things on my own. This is impossible. I end up at a breaking point where I have to decide whether to give up or turn back to the One who indeed never left me. What I have learned is this: I cannot live by my own will; I must have God in all his wisdom. I cannot shirk my studies or I will grow weak against the evil one. I must put to practice the teachings of Christ, so that I know better how to run to Him when temptation and the memories of failure haunt me. College has been a roller coaster. I have decided that I will not let the low points slow me to a halt any longer. I will take what lessons God teaches me through my trials to become stronger. I will rise out of the pit time and again. I cannot say that the decision I am making now will keep me consistent. I will fall again because I am human. But each time, I will do my best to fall less and less with the ultimate goal of not falling at all. Where we Christians must come through is in those hard times. We must rise up again, stronger each time; rather, more able to place our faith in the one who will not forsake us. Each of us have a purpose in this life. Each purpose is not the same. But, we all have a duty to witness and disciple. 'Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near.' In the book of Matthew you hear John the Baptist, even Jesus himself, preaching this message. This is the message we must spread to the world. We cannot do this if we cannot trust God ourselves. Guard you heart. Practice the teachings of Christ and Glorify God in everything you do. That is our overall purpose in life. Store up your treasures in Heaven. Just believing is not enough. We must give up our lives to really gain them. We cannot be lukewarm. We must deliver the revival that this starving, sinful world needs."

It's funny to think back on how my life was when I wrote this. I wasn't doing too great, and like any 18 year old, I thought I had so much experience. I know I'm only 20 now, but a lot changes when you've reached the end of your second year of college. My hard times didn't stop after I wrote this. Yes, I did have a brief time of growth in my relationship with Christ, or rather a time of repair. It was all shattered again just a few months later, though. I got back into drinking and living the typical college experience. I asked myself, after reading this again, what has changed since then? I am very happy to say that God's grace is sufficient and things are drastically different in my life just a year and a half later. I am no longer living the typical college life. God really spoke to me through the Casting Crowns song Slow Fade in February. Since shortly before then, I have not been drinking. I have been tempted many times by that and other things, but I God has rushed in to offer me a way out. I won't say I haven't made mistakes, there have been plenty of those. I just know that who I am today is incomparable to who I was then. I have reliable accountability and an awesome, gorgeous, Godly girlfriend who I never want to fail. God has answered so many prayers in the last few months of my life. I know there is no going back for me. The change has come, many years later than it should have, but God does not fail us. If anyone who reads this is struggling with anything, any sin that has you chained and imprisoned, you can come to me. I'll tell you how the Father brought me back, and I have faith He will do the same for you. Just trust Him.

Can't Sleep!

Well...I am a night owl, but for the past few nights I've not been able to sleep at all. My mind keeps rambling on. My thoughts are so loud and I'm restless. There are several reasons for it. One is a girl. This comes as no surprise to some of you. Especially you guys. You know when you get hooked and your heart hurts whether you're with her or not. That's where I am, but there's more to the story. For the past few months I've been pursued by someone who is greater than life itself. God has been calling to me in a special way. I can't lie, I haven't been 100% consistent, but I'm growing in my walk with Him every day. I've been convicted, though. As my feelings grow for this beautiful woman that He has set in my path, I begin to realize where I fail Him. At this point, all I want is to be able to tell her how I feel and be reminded myself that she thinks of me too. As I long for this, I become sad at the realization that God wants that from us too. He loves us more than we could ever begin to imagine. We get so caught up in our own lives that we don't stop to think about that. He blesses us daily, and we don't even blink. Many people look at Christianity and don't understand it. They think we have this religious code that we have to follow, and that we have to act perfect. That's not it at all. It's not about religion. Our job as Christians, the reason we are here, is to have a personal relationship with God. He created us! When we get depressed about being lonely or we want someone to return our love, we must consider that God wants that too. He is pursuing us, and He wants us to return His love. There is no way we could ever meet Him halfway or even come close, His love for us is so great. As I thought about this tonight and how I'm falling head over heels for this girl, I realized that I want to fall the same way for my Creator. Jars of Clay sings one of my absolute favorite songs, and when I drive home tomorrow I'm going to blare it out the windows. It's called Love Song for a Savior. The chorus is simple, it just repeats this phrase four times: "I want to fall in love with you!" That is my prayer to the Father this morning. I want to be completely swept up in Him. I want Him to be my obsession, my greatest treasure. Only if I learn to love Him back, will I truly be able to love anyone in this life.

Heaven's Worth

My current study is in Matthew. This morning I came across another convicting parable. Two, in fact. One is the Parable of Hidden Treasure and the other is the Parable of the Pearl Merchant.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:45,46)

My study says this: The kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else we can have, and a person must be willing to give up everything to obtain it. The man who discovered the treasure in the field stumbled upon it by accident but knew its value when he found it. The merchant was earnestly searching for the pearl of great value, and, when he found it, he sold everything he had to purchase it.

This is exactly what Jesus required of his disciples. They had to drop everything, jobs, property, possessions, even family, to follow Christ. That's exactly what they did. They relied on 100% on Jesus for everything. If you felt a calling from Him today, would you be able to give up everything in your life to follow Him? All of us need to be at a place in our walks where we can do this, but are we? I hope that I could, but I know I love my family. It would be very hard for me, but I pray God would strengthen my heart so that I could completely trust in Him. This is just another reason we are called to witness to others, including our families. None of us know when God is going to call on us, or what specific mission He will give us. It may require you to drop everything and travel to another country where you don't know anyone and may not even speak the right language. Therefore, pray daily and be prepared to go wherever Christ wants you.

Which Seed?

I've heard this parable many times, but after years of being an inconsistent Christian I read this over with much conviction. It is the parable of the Four Soils in Matthew 13.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:3-9)

Jesus goes on to explain the parable to his disciples.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:19-23)

This is what my study had to say about this parable:
How easy it is to agree with Christ with no intention of obeying. It is easy to denounce worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, and still do nothing to change our ways. In light of eternal life with God, are your present worries justified? If you had everything you could want but forfeited eternal life with God, would those things be so desirable?
The four types of soil represent different responses to God's message. People respond differently because they are in different states of readiness. Some are hardened, others are shallow, others are contaminated by distracting worries, and some are receptive. How has God's Word taken root in your life? What kind of soil are you?

After reading this, I had to really seek out God and determine which seed I was and what I needed to do to become the seed that landed in good soil. I'm afraid I haven't been up to this point. I've been concentrating so much on getting my own life straight that I have neglected the Great Commission. I have come to learn that concentrating on yourself, even with good intentions, will not allow you to grow. When you dwell on what you think is wrong with you and how you need to fix it, instead of pursuing Christ and loving His children, you will only fail again. So place your focus where it needs to be, on Christ. Only then can you allow Him to transform you into that good soil.