Here is what I put together today... Happy Good Friday!
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1911692908062
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
He Cares
I remember back in VBS when we were kids, one summer the teacher had us all memorize a bible verse. Lots of kids memorized John 3:16 I think because the teacher wanted us to...but we could have picked anything. Almost everyone picked the same verse...except our brother Bill. He picked the shortest verse in the Bible. John 11:35 "Jesus wept". I'll never forget the proud look on his face. Not sure how he figured out that verse existed, but the look of triumphant victory over the teacher on his face was priceless.
It's a funny memory, but actually those two little words tell us so much. We have a Savior who cares enough about us to weep with us in our sorrow, shows compassion when we're struggling, is frustrated with stubborn blindness, and is joyful in our success. When we share our emotions with Him through prayer, He understands because he felt them too!
It was this idea of emotions that is reminding me of what Jesus must have been going through today, the day before his death. Knowing He would be betrayed by his friend, knowing that even the disciples would turn away from Him...knowing the pain of the cross that was before him. Yet still He humbled himself in service by washing the feet of the disciples, and commanded us to Love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). This kind of love is more than just warm fuzzy feelings...it's action, it's intentional, and sometimes it's inconvenient and it's hard to do. But people notice, and they want to know how you do it!
It's a funny memory, but actually those two little words tell us so much. We have a Savior who cares enough about us to weep with us in our sorrow, shows compassion when we're struggling, is frustrated with stubborn blindness, and is joyful in our success. When we share our emotions with Him through prayer, He understands because he felt them too!
It was this idea of emotions that is reminding me of what Jesus must have been going through today, the day before his death. Knowing He would be betrayed by his friend, knowing that even the disciples would turn away from Him...knowing the pain of the cross that was before him. Yet still He humbled himself in service by washing the feet of the disciples, and commanded us to Love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). This kind of love is more than just warm fuzzy feelings...it's action, it's intentional, and sometimes it's inconvenient and it's hard to do. But people notice, and they want to know how you do it!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Opening Our Eyes
Over the past few years, I have experienced a gradual change in the way I read the Bible. When I first believed in Jesus, I started to read it because I thought I should....the people I was meeting at church were doing that, so I wanted to be part of that group. Then after a while of going to church more, taking a Bible study class or two, the reading started to make more sense. It started to change from just words on the page and verses that were popular to have memorized, into a life changing personal message.
John 9:35-41 is a perfect example of what I mean. Jesus teaches about Spiritual Blindness, and how faith in Him is a growing process for believers. First, the blind man in this chapter gains physical sight (an awareness of self), then he gains spiritual sight (recognizing Jesus as a prophet). That turns into an awareness that Jesus is Lord. The more he grew in his understanding of Christ, the more the previously blind man boldly shared his story of healing. This was a great example to me, seeing how he just told the truth about what happened to him, and gave all the credit to Jesus. Sometimes I think I have to know all the answers in order to talk about having a relationship with Christ with other people...when all I need to know is how He has changed my life, and trust that He can use that in bigger ways than I ever could.
Getting to know Jesus more and more has opened my eyes to amazing relationships, opportunities, and life change that otherwise would never have happened. It has been a growing process that is ever changing, and the more I learn about God the more I have grown to trust in him. 2 Peter 3:18 confirms this by telling us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen".
John 9:35-41 is a perfect example of what I mean. Jesus teaches about Spiritual Blindness, and how faith in Him is a growing process for believers. First, the blind man in this chapter gains physical sight (an awareness of self), then he gains spiritual sight (recognizing Jesus as a prophet). That turns into an awareness that Jesus is Lord. The more he grew in his understanding of Christ, the more the previously blind man boldly shared his story of healing. This was a great example to me, seeing how he just told the truth about what happened to him, and gave all the credit to Jesus. Sometimes I think I have to know all the answers in order to talk about having a relationship with Christ with other people...when all I need to know is how He has changed my life, and trust that He can use that in bigger ways than I ever could.
Getting to know Jesus more and more has opened my eyes to amazing relationships, opportunities, and life change that otherwise would never have happened. It has been a growing process that is ever changing, and the more I learn about God the more I have grown to trust in him. 2 Peter 3:18 confirms this by telling us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen".
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I believe there is a God so I'm in right?
Pretty good question today from Pastor Dennis (and I paraphrase) ... If you can get to heaven because you are a pretty good person, you go to church, you try to live a moral life etc...what is the point of Jesus, if you really believe your good works is the ticket to heaven then Jesus becomes irrelevent. And another interesting point to ponder...He also said just because you acknowledge or believe there is a God doesn't mean you will be in heaven. Even the Devil acknowledges there is a God...you have to surrender your life AND believe. It's a combo package
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