Renewed to Honor

 “Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs.” ― Jonathan Edwards I love this prayer by Jonathan Edwards. The prayer reminds me that it is not the present things or the present circumstances, whether they are great or small, amazing or terrible, but rather the constant reminder of eternity with Jesus that our main focus should be. Most often, especially when we are sad and down cast, we feel the burden of the world on our selves and fail to see the master who carried the cross and said "my yoke is easy, my burden is light" Matthew 11:28-30. One writer tell more about this yoke being easy. When talking about marriage, Paul says do not be unequally yoked. It means that do not marry someone who chases the world and its desires if you chase the Lord. Your way splits and then the yoke is hard and burdensome. In the olden days before tractors, oxen would be put under the same yoke to plough the field. This means, if one is strong and the other is weak, the stronger one leads the plough. B...

 This is the third part of the lessons from 2 Kings 5. The similarities of the 3 people of interest show some things about our lives. At the forefront is Naaman, a sinner who needs to understand Grace and be willing to humble himself and receive healing. Then there is the slave girl whose faith in God led her to stand up for what she believed in ,even in a hostile land in chains to proclaim the news about God. Here is the third person. Gehazi. Gehazi was the servant of Elisha. He is seen two more times in the Bible. Both in account of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4 and 2 Kings 8). I would refrain from condemning Gehazi as we see him again after this incident although it is likely the events are not recorded in Chronological Order. We are to look at some Biblical concepts through the life of Gehazi.  Gehazi was an important servant of Elisha. He has been with Elisha for a while and has seen and seen the miracles of Elisha. Gehazi was there when the woman of Shumite was blessed,...

Dies ist der dritte Teil der Lektionen aus 2 Könige 5. Die Ähnlichkeiten der drei interessierten Personen zeigen einige Dinge über unser Leben auf. An vorderster Front steht Naaman, ein Sünder, der Gnade verstehen und bereit sein muss, sich zu demütigen und Heilung zu empfangen. Dann gibt es das Sklavenmädchen, dessen Glaube an Gott sie dazu brachte, für das einzustehen, woran sie glaubte, selbst in einem feindlichen Land in Ketten, um die Botschaft über Gott zu verkünden. Hier ist die dritte Person. Gehasi. Gehasi war der Diener von Elisa. Er wird noch zwei weitere Male in der Bibel erwähnt. Beide Male im Bericht über die Frau von Schunem (2 Könige 4 und 2 Könige 8). Ich würde es unterlassen, Gehasi zu verurteilen, da wir ihn nach diesem Vorfall wieder sehen, obwohl es wahrscheinlich ist, dass die Ereignisse nicht in chronologischer Reihenfolge aufgezeichnet sind. Wir sollen einige biblische Konzepte durch das Leben von Gehasi betrachten. Gehasi war ein wichtiger Diener von Elisa. Er ...

Key Verses: Matthew 28:19-20 Acts 14:21 Background of Acts 14 Paul/ Shaul (Saul ) a sinner is saved by Christ and he sees Grace. He later meets the rest of the believers and the Spirit of Lord tells them to set apart Paul and Barnabas as evangelists. They begin their travel through Asia Minor and reach in chapter 14 Iconoum (Koyna)  in modern day Turkey. There are significant events in this chapter and we will see through them as we try to understand the nature of disciples and what we are called to be. This is not a special teaching but rather a way we all look together to the word. First of all we need to define who is a believer We are unable to save ourselves We are not able to meet the righteous requirements Only Christ was able to meet then It is Christ who gave us his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21 , Romans 4:5, Philippians 3:9 ) We take on his righteousness in faith The next step is to be with a Church (2 Timothy 2:22 -  So flee youthful passions and p...

 Things I learned about just our normal weeds Weeds grow back even when we cut it Weeds have to be uprooted Weeds grow faster than other plants They reproduce and they germinate fast Weeds grow anywhere Weeds grow where we fail to see Weeds are persistent unlike plants Weeds grow under bricks and even in crevices Weeds that are unchecked have really deep or mesh like roots Weeds work on the root before it reaches on the surface Look for similar weeds nearby - it too must be removed as they tend to regrow They must be dealt harshly - they must be removed even if they are small They must be constantly monitored Weeds are not what we planned to have They look harmless They cannot be killed easily as it will damage the real plant What does weeds do: They take away nutrients They take away space They take away water They take away sunlight They hide your plants They slow the plants from producing fruit They make the plants look different The choke or entangle the plant They even stop fr...

  Context of Communion Ex. 12:21–28 The Israelities hurried to make the bread and the lamb for the Lord’s Passover. A transition from Egypt to the promised land, the death of the first born and therefore the heir of the family for Egyptians, and the calling of the nation from a family. The first Passover made these things, and God in his providence has wisdom planned things for us too in that process. A nation from a family The family of Jacob had grown and been a a multitude of people. They were commodity and nobodies. God unites then as a nation A worshipper and a people ( Ex 12:1-2) God calls the Israel as not just a nation but as a kingdom with God as the King (Theocracy) Instituted by Christ Matt. 26:26 Mark 14:12 ( On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb...) Luke 22:19 Do in remembrance John 13 Forgiveness of sins of many Do in remembrance Thanksgiving as participation What we ought to remember Christ Death my...

I was reading an interesting article on Desiring God blog  by Maxwell , when it occurred to me about the point that was being made in it. We often see devotion as something we have to give God. Thus we often look at devotion as what an inferior being gives to a superior one. We who are Christians from childhood are told often that we must be devoted to God and those of us from a Pentecostal or Arminian heritage are told that God values us on our devotion to Him. While it may be slightly true, the truth is this. God doesn't depend on us. Let me illustrate with a personal example. My fiance is not much of a talker. So, to understand her means I would have to listen to her unspoken words, the hmm's, the nods and the facial expressions. I am sure that I am going to miss a lot of things she has not spoken to me about and more over she may fail to express in words her love and devotion to me. I now having discovered that, though it being really hard, I  am getting better to a...