I have been thinking a lot about the Apostle Paul this week, ever since Pastor Tim taught us about him last weekend.
He was possibly Christianities' number 1 enemy for a while. The Christians spoke out against the laws that Paul and the Pharisees wrapped their lives around and considered it blasphemy. So Paul sought them out!
He thought he was right. He believed with all of his might that the Pharisees and all their rules were the Godly ones...wow, talk about being dead wrong. And so he sinned against the God he thought he was serving. He arranged for people like Stephen to be killed - he ruled with an iron fist.
Then he met Jesus, the Son of God. His world was rocked!
God's forgiveness was immediate. Still Paul's guilt and the realization of what he had done to so many innocent people had to make him question if he could be forgiven. I wonder how long he wrestled with the replays over and over in his head of all the atrocities and murders he had orchestrated before he surrendered the guilt. Maybe forgiving yourself is step one in understanding and fully participating in God's grace - easier said then done. I am not sure I could have ever fully put all of it behind me...but Paul fully understood the mercy God was offering and had no hesitation in moving into God's forgiveness.
From the time of his conversion on, all Paul thought about was Jesus. Every day for the rest of his life he urgently sought to know his Lord more deeply - obey more completely and tell everyone that came within shouting distance of God's mercy and forgiveness. And in doing so he became the target of the Pharisees and those that would not believe in his Jesus. Incredible.
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
what I learned today
Reading in Acts today - it was obvious the disciples had some of the same struggles that we do. It is difficult to picture them as truly human at times, but their struggles were so much like mine!
The verses talked about the struggle the disciples had accepting Saul, at least at first. This was a guy who had been very publicly connected to the killing of Christians. And yes, he had a conversion and came to the Lord, but, wouldn't you be nervous and suspicious if you had to be with Paul knowing what kind of life he had very recently been living?
Beth Moore points out in her "John" book, that "John had recently lost his beloved brother James to martyrdom. " Not at the hands of Paul, but, if John's loss was still fresh and people 'like' Paul had taken his brothers life I would imagine he was very cautious to connect with Paul.
Isn't it weird to think about the disciples in this way. Human - suspicious about someone claiming to be different who came out of the worst, most evil background and now proclaimed the name of the Lord! Proclaimed it loudly! The disciples had many of the same weaknesses and sins in their lives as we do.
We need to forgive those who have wronged us or who have lead lifestyles that have hurt others we love. We also need to believe in the powerful redemptive power of Jesus to change lives, really change them!
I learned today that I need to accept people just as they are - even when I worry they may not truly be changed...after all who am I to judge? The Lord knows I don't want to be judged by others...
The verses talked about the struggle the disciples had accepting Saul, at least at first. This was a guy who had been very publicly connected to the killing of Christians. And yes, he had a conversion and came to the Lord, but, wouldn't you be nervous and suspicious if you had to be with Paul knowing what kind of life he had very recently been living?
Beth Moore points out in her "John" book, that "John had recently lost his beloved brother James to martyrdom. " Not at the hands of Paul, but, if John's loss was still fresh and people 'like' Paul had taken his brothers life I would imagine he was very cautious to connect with Paul.
Isn't it weird to think about the disciples in this way. Human - suspicious about someone claiming to be different who came out of the worst, most evil background and now proclaimed the name of the Lord! Proclaimed it loudly! The disciples had many of the same weaknesses and sins in their lives as we do.
We need to forgive those who have wronged us or who have lead lifestyles that have hurt others we love. We also need to believe in the powerful redemptive power of Jesus to change lives, really change them!
I learned today that I need to accept people just as they are - even when I worry they may not truly be changed...after all who am I to judge? The Lord knows I don't want to be judged by others...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
what I learned today...continued...
I love this verse...I Corinthians 9:27 "..but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
We have great freedom in Christ. We are free from the law that used to be followed long ago, the law that was nearly impossible to follow! Thank goodness.
Yet even in this freedom are you willing to give up things if they are stumbling blocks to others? Are you willing to give up freedoms and even adopt disciplines that will allow you influence in other people's lives like Paul did in this chapter? People are definitely looking for someone who is different. They are surrounded by people that look just like they do! Does your life produce something that others want?
In verse 19 Paul says, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more."
I suspect we would be a lot more successful bringing people to our church and ultimately playing a role in their conversion to Christ, if we lived this way. A slave to all...
Sometimes our personal freedom really just isn't that important...
We have great freedom in Christ. We are free from the law that used to be followed long ago, the law that was nearly impossible to follow! Thank goodness.
Yet even in this freedom are you willing to give up things if they are stumbling blocks to others? Are you willing to give up freedoms and even adopt disciplines that will allow you influence in other people's lives like Paul did in this chapter? People are definitely looking for someone who is different. They are surrounded by people that look just like they do! Does your life produce something that others want?
In verse 19 Paul says, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more."
I suspect we would be a lot more successful bringing people to our church and ultimately playing a role in their conversion to Christ, if we lived this way. A slave to all...
Sometimes our personal freedom really just isn't that important...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
what I learned today
Aaaaa time to breathe, God is good.
Today I picked up my Inductive Study Bible and decided to use it to read through I Corinthians. I had forgotten how cool it is to study this way. For those of you who may have never done this before, at the beginning of each chapter it tells you key phrases to look for, to mark the author of the book with one color and the recipients with another, what verses contain the reason for the writing of each book of the Bible and on and on. In the end there are areas in the back to write the 'theme' of each passage and what you took away from it so that in years to come, you can look back and at a glance see what you learned from each book of the Bible that you study. Very cool.
As always God was waiting on me to get there and revealed things I had either forgotten or never known, I LOVE learning new things about God and the struggles of the past. It makes me have hope for the future and for our fallen culture!!
The Corinthians basically worshiped Aphrodite (the goddess of love) - how convenient! Their culture bred such blatant immorality throughout Corinth that the Greek verb translated "to Corinthianize" meant to practice sexual immorality. (Maybe America translates the same way??) This was a pretty ugly openly sinful place for sure.
The Corinthians ate well, satisfied their sexual urges without condemnation, flirted with the wisdom of men, and did all they could to keep their bodies as beautiful as those of the Greek gods. What they needed was to know the Savior! And Paul was chosen as the guy to bring Him to them.
As I studied this first chapter I was reminded again that God is a God of opposites. He moves time after time through the most unlikely circumstances and people. Vs 25 says, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." and then in Vs 27 it says,"God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,"
I find this very encouraging and I love how over and over God slams pride, vs 29 "...so that no man may boast before God." Can you just see the very important people of earth standing before the thrown of God some day shocked that there is nothing worth boasting about? This is the sin in our lives that I tolerate the least, I know all sin is the same in God's eyes, and I know God despises arrogance. Any earthly arrogance is ridiculous really.
Maybe my sensitivity in this particular area stems out of watching all the fallen church leaders I have known along the way. In every single instance I personally experienced as a child in the church to this very day, when a leader begins to struggle it can be traced right back to pride. They want to do something their way, their position makes them prideful, they begin to take scripture and God's mandates out of context to suit themselves, it is very sad that arrogance can exist even among God's chosen. Pride seems to precede every fall from leadership!
In my most confident times, as I experience even a taste of success it doesn't take long before I mess up and have to laugh at the myself, usually out loud! (Ron's always giving me funny looks!)
I pray to God to maintain a discerning spirit toward pride, both in myself and with the teams I lead. Arrogance is something especially common in any performance related experience. That is what blesses me weekly as I see the humbleness of our Crossroads teams serving their God. Many having come out of secular musical experience, they are the ones that realize the most there is no lasting satisfaction in performance. I sometimes prefer those musicians because they have 'gotten it out of their system' so to speak and are very ready to invest in eternal things!
The first chapter of Corinthians is fascinating! Paul himself was once a man of earthly position and walked away from all the things he once held dear to follow God and tell others about Him!
Join me as I read through I Corinthians - tomorrow chapter 2!
Today I picked up my Inductive Study Bible and decided to use it to read through I Corinthians. I had forgotten how cool it is to study this way. For those of you who may have never done this before, at the beginning of each chapter it tells you key phrases to look for, to mark the author of the book with one color and the recipients with another, what verses contain the reason for the writing of each book of the Bible and on and on. In the end there are areas in the back to write the 'theme' of each passage and what you took away from it so that in years to come, you can look back and at a glance see what you learned from each book of the Bible that you study. Very cool.
As always God was waiting on me to get there and revealed things I had either forgotten or never known, I LOVE learning new things about God and the struggles of the past. It makes me have hope for the future and for our fallen culture!!
The Corinthians basically worshiped Aphrodite (the goddess of love) - how convenient! Their culture bred such blatant immorality throughout Corinth that the Greek verb translated "to Corinthianize" meant to practice sexual immorality. (Maybe America translates the same way??) This was a pretty ugly openly sinful place for sure.
The Corinthians ate well, satisfied their sexual urges without condemnation, flirted with the wisdom of men, and did all they could to keep their bodies as beautiful as those of the Greek gods. What they needed was to know the Savior! And Paul was chosen as the guy to bring Him to them.
As I studied this first chapter I was reminded again that God is a God of opposites. He moves time after time through the most unlikely circumstances and people. Vs 25 says, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." and then in Vs 27 it says,"God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,"
I find this very encouraging and I love how over and over God slams pride, vs 29 "...so that no man may boast before God." Can you just see the very important people of earth standing before the thrown of God some day shocked that there is nothing worth boasting about? This is the sin in our lives that I tolerate the least, I know all sin is the same in God's eyes, and I know God despises arrogance. Any earthly arrogance is ridiculous really.
Maybe my sensitivity in this particular area stems out of watching all the fallen church leaders I have known along the way. In every single instance I personally experienced as a child in the church to this very day, when a leader begins to struggle it can be traced right back to pride. They want to do something their way, their position makes them prideful, they begin to take scripture and God's mandates out of context to suit themselves, it is very sad that arrogance can exist even among God's chosen. Pride seems to precede every fall from leadership!
In my most confident times, as I experience even a taste of success it doesn't take long before I mess up and have to laugh at the myself, usually out loud! (Ron's always giving me funny looks!)
I pray to God to maintain a discerning spirit toward pride, both in myself and with the teams I lead. Arrogance is something especially common in any performance related experience. That is what blesses me weekly as I see the humbleness of our Crossroads teams serving their God. Many having come out of secular musical experience, they are the ones that realize the most there is no lasting satisfaction in performance. I sometimes prefer those musicians because they have 'gotten it out of their system' so to speak and are very ready to invest in eternal things!
The first chapter of Corinthians is fascinating! Paul himself was once a man of earthly position and walked away from all the things he once held dear to follow God and tell others about Him!
Join me as I read through I Corinthians - tomorrow chapter 2!
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