Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Avoid Israel's Mistake
1 Corinthians 10
Avoid Israel's Mistakes
1For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3and all ate the same spiritual food;
4and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
5Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
6Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY."
8Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and (N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day.
9Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
10Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
11Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
13No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Why is the World the Glue? (Part 1)
What up friends,
I have been thinking about this for the last couple of months and it is seriously concerning me. Being a "Christian" is supposed to be the antithesis of the world, yet among the saints I see the embracement of the world in a way that is subtle but dangerous. Myself included have been caught up into a world that is Godless, sinful, wretched and lost, we have added our Christianity to the schedules of the world which causes us to end up "struggling" with giving God our time.
The largest part of why I believe the world is as heavily ingrained in our lives as believers; is that we let it. Sometimes I personally get disappointed when I get into conversations with fellow believers and 95% of the talk is around the world. For example work, sports, and politics dominate believers' conversations just as much as the world lets it dominate theirs. Am I saying we should never talk about it? No, I am just saying why does it have to dominate?
I personally yearn for the day when we can all sit humbly with one another and talk about our struggles so we can pull each other out of them instead of using the world as camouflage to keep people out of our business. WE ARE THE CHURCH!!!!! Think about it for a second and let it seep in, Christ's body should not be this way. I repeat WE ARE THE CHURCH!!!!!
We should
· Hold each other accountable to the commission. Matthew 28:16-20
· Uplifting one another in the faith Hebrews 10:19-25, 1Thess 5:11
· Love one another so the world knows we are His disciples. The world questions us due to our lack of love, seems to me we act like them a lot. John 13:34-35
One thing I believe can help tremendously is if we pour into each other with reduced arrogance and increased humility. It allows new and fellow believers to not feel intimidated to talk about scriptures, life, family, work, etc around those who have been exercising the Christian faith for a long time. There is a belief that someone is above another in Christ, that is false and it is a worldly application to something as sacred as the faith we all hold dear. Luke 6:40
Another is remembering that the scriptures given to us is the basis of our entire faith and true exegetic discussions around it can be held without someone getting offended; either it be the deliverer of the information or the one who receives it. Neither are exempt from being offended we all know how it feels. Please don't mistake what I am saying as justifying beating each other up with scripture I merely mean understanding that all we do and how we live has to be measured by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Let's look at Romans 12 together starting with...
1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Those two verses alone address the very beginning of what dedication to God is and how different it is from being attached to the world. God fully understands we are in this world but not of it John 17:14-15. Since the battle is tough and it is hard to remember, we all need each other to be successful at it.
3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
As you have just read in Romans 12:3-8 all of this is done through grace.
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"As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died."
Gal 6:14, NLT
Christianity is NOT a skillset. Its life
Matthew Aghedo
http://openclarity.blogspot.com
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"As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died."
Gal 6:14, NLT
Christianity is NOT a skillset. Its life
Matthew Aghedo
http://openclarity.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Saved from Religion at 71
Religious and Lost, to saved by God's Grace at 71 from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.
It is very hard to explain this to anyone who views you as "the guy who grew up in church" I deal with that from a lot of people. This video is awesome.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Back to Basics (Part1)
2.What happened to just worshipping the living God not just singing but worshipping?
3. What happened to bible studies?
4. Where are the times of prayer with friends and family?
5. Where are the humble times with those who love you for you and not for your do?
6. What happened to ministering to the neighbors about Christ?
7. How are we as people going to get over the falsehoods of "Christianese" and grab onto the Rock?
And most importantly....
1.Where is Christ in our lives?
Christ Jesus is the God incarnate, He is not the founder of our faith He is our faith. He is the one who made it all and did it all. Born in this world expressing the greatest level of humility that anyone has ever seen. Christ is the educator of Life, the definition of love, the lamb who was slain. The God who lives and reigns.
How does He plug into your life? Is He all that you live for? Or have you made yourself all that He does for. I pray the first and not the latter but most of us unfortunately have him as the latter.
Christ is not an accessory He is the entire garment, He is all we need not what we add on. Colossians 3:12-15 is a beautiful set of verses that covers this. But not only what you put on but also what is supposed to be in you and what rules you. If Christ Jesus were just an accessory you can just take Him off and I pray we seek our own hearts to see if that is the case in our own lives. Remember where Christ is supposed to be in our lives and how we are lost without Him.
