Thursday, September 17, 2009
When a creation of yours goes wrong, don’t you simply destroy it and start over? Or do you allow it to exist for its own dignity? Do you sink yourself to the level of your creation to salvage it? We usually discard the things that are damaged, throw away the broken, wipe away the wrecked. Only an indescribable love for that creation would keep one from rendering it rubbish. Indescribable love puts that creation among beautiful things, so that it glows and radiates as a result. Indescribable love creates a purpose for that creation where there was none. And naturally, that creation would reach the end of its years…grow tired and old, produce its own demise through its error, but indescribable love is always correcting and rectifying. Indescribable love saves its creation from death. Indescribable love gives everlasting life.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Wednesday September 2nd Action Plan!
Write a list of how your specific sins function to hurt yourself, God, and others, and ultimately serve to disrupt the unity we have between God and His creation (this includes ourselves). Take one specific sin (ex. anger) and do a short writing exercise detailing how the world would prove to be better if this sin did not exist. If you are brave, do a write-up that details what the world is like because of this sin. Compare and contrast.
SIN: JEALOUSY
The effects of this sin:
1)Forsake God and fail to realize His grace
2)Fail to realize that you do not possess anything
3)Makes you feel bitter inside
4)Harbour animosity
5)Forget about how much you may love the person you are jealous of (if you are jealous of a family member or friend)
6)Forget that the person you are jealous of is a special creation of God's that He loves and blesses just like you
7)Forget your own blessings
8)Break unity and oneness with God and His creation
9)Become separated from God
10)Has led to all kinds of evil (murder, etc)
11)Act and think in darkness
12)Spiritual blindness (failing to see God and recognize Him in your life)
13)Cannot exercise the fruits of the Spirit(love, patience, gentleness, Galatians 5:22-23)
14)Hurt yourself
15)Fail to encourage others and build them up
16)Fail to realize God's mercy
17)Fail to praise God and rejoice in Him
18)Fail to show love and happiness
19)Show control, selfish ambition, and individualism
20)Not concentrated on God's purpose of winning souls for His kingdom, healing and changing lives
21)Walk based on emotions and self-will rather than God's will
22)Cannot experience God in His fullness
23)Live in lies that are hard to overcome
24)Pride and selfishness
A WORLD WITHOUT JEALOUSY
1)God's will is enacted
2)Lack of pride, experience true humility
3)Show sincere love and happiness
4)Able to encourage and uplift others
5)Experience oneness, unity, and harmony with God and His believers
6)Walk in the fruits of the Spirit
7)Run the race marked out for us
8)Living in light and truth of God
9)Acknowledge and thankful for your own blessings
10)Understand that God has a reason for where you are in life and then can truly be a blessing there
11)Contentment
12)Realize the interconnectivity of life
13)Show that we have died to sin
14)Create a space of Heaven on Earth
15)Show that God's spirit is within us
16)Are a good example and witness to others
17)Show that you truly know and understand God
18)Show that you are God's child and that you belong to Him
19)Reduced amount of snowballing sins (ex. jealously leads to anger, hatred)
20)Deny the self and live for others
21)Actively fighting against evil
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: When we experience jealousy and let it rule our hearts without confronting it, it shows that we do not really know God and that we are blind. We do not praise God for the grace through blessings he has given us and disrupt unity between us, Him, and His creation. We fail to realize that life is interconnected and that we are fighting for one purpose: to win souls to God. We fail to realize that we have done absolutely nothing to deserve what we have and that everything is a gift. We fail to truly love others...and this is a big part of our faith. We must make a commitment to counteract such sins in ourselves and remember what our world is like because of sin and what it would be like without it. =)
-I
SIN: JEALOUSY
The effects of this sin:
1)Forsake God and fail to realize His grace
2)Fail to realize that you do not possess anything
3)Makes you feel bitter inside
4)Harbour animosity
5)Forget about how much you may love the person you are jealous of (if you are jealous of a family member or friend)
6)Forget that the person you are jealous of is a special creation of God's that He loves and blesses just like you
7)Forget your own blessings
8)Break unity and oneness with God and His creation
9)Become separated from God
10)Has led to all kinds of evil (murder, etc)
11)Act and think in darkness
12)Spiritual blindness (failing to see God and recognize Him in your life)
13)Cannot exercise the fruits of the Spirit(love, patience, gentleness, Galatians 5:22-23)
14)Hurt yourself
15)Fail to encourage others and build them up
16)Fail to realize God's mercy
17)Fail to praise God and rejoice in Him
18)Fail to show love and happiness
19)Show control, selfish ambition, and individualism
20)Not concentrated on God's purpose of winning souls for His kingdom, healing and changing lives
21)Walk based on emotions and self-will rather than God's will
22)Cannot experience God in His fullness
23)Live in lies that are hard to overcome
24)Pride and selfishness
A WORLD WITHOUT JEALOUSY
1)God's will is enacted
2)Lack of pride, experience true humility
3)Show sincere love and happiness
4)Able to encourage and uplift others
5)Experience oneness, unity, and harmony with God and His believers
6)Walk in the fruits of the Spirit
7)Run the race marked out for us
8)Living in light and truth of God
9)Acknowledge and thankful for your own blessings
10)Understand that God has a reason for where you are in life and then can truly be a blessing there
11)Contentment
12)Realize the interconnectivity of life
13)Show that we have died to sin
14)Create a space of Heaven on Earth
15)Show that God's spirit is within us
16)Are a good example and witness to others
17)Show that you truly know and understand God
18)Show that you are God's child and that you belong to Him
19)Reduced amount of snowballing sins (ex. jealously leads to anger, hatred)
20)Deny the self and live for others
21)Actively fighting against evil
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: When we experience jealousy and let it rule our hearts without confronting it, it shows that we do not really know God and that we are blind. We do not praise God for the grace through blessings he has given us and disrupt unity between us, Him, and His creation. We fail to realize that life is interconnected and that we are fighting for one purpose: to win souls to God. We fail to realize that we have done absolutely nothing to deserve what we have and that everything is a gift. We fail to truly love others...and this is a big part of our faith. We must make a commitment to counteract such sins in ourselves and remember what our world is like because of sin and what it would be like without it. =)
-I
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Why do I always forget to repent?
I'm sorry that this post again, focuses on what separates us from God--our sin-- but it is through this term --repentance-- that we are reunited with Him.
I've often found that within my prayer time, more often than not, I forget or neglect the importance of repentance. Repentance, however is crucial to who we are as believers. Through repentance we are rejecting the sin in our lives that functions to separate us from God. We are essentially acknowledging our deviation from His will and the divide that sin has caused in dismantling us from His Spirit.
It is important to remember that as believers we are united with Jesus Christ:
"Since we have been united with Him (Jesus Christ) in His death, we will also be raised to life as he was." Romans 6:5
"Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. (19) Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the holy spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?"
1 Corinthians 8:17, 19
Through Jesus Christ, God adopted us into His own family as His children. (Ephesians 1:5) In short, we are part of God's family and are united with Him in spirit. This fact says a lot about who we are and how we are to behave.
Sin, however, destroys our relationship with God. I am instantly reminded of the earthly relationships we have between friends and family. We know what makes our friends and family tick--what annoys, upsets, and angers them-- because we experience intimate relationships with these people daily and have developed a growing knowledge of their personalities. We know that acting in accordance to the things that upset them functions to fissure the delicate fabric of those relationships.
As believers in Christ, we also develop a growing knowledge of God. We learn about His righteousness and His commands for our lives. We know what He hates and what angers Him. Like our earthy relationships, acting in accordance to what he despises (through sinning) also serves to sever our relationship with Him.
"Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God." 1 John 3:4
We show that we love our family, friends, and God by honoring them and acting in light of what makes them happy and builds them up.
"But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in Him." 1 John 5
When we REPENT, we therefore agree with God that we are sinners. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23) We are acknowledging that we have deviated from unity with Him and initiate the basis within which we are reunited (forgiveness), as we need to repent to be forgiven.
Through repentance, we gain a clearer understanding of how we are separated from God as we are consciously acknowledging what has functioned to separate us from His will. Through this sincere act, we condemn sinful behaviour in ourselves--openly and honestly reject these actions--and reunite ourselves with God. We are consciously asking Him to take us back after we have hurt and separated ourselves from Him.
As our life in Christ is found through the forgiveness of sins, it is therefore important to ask for this forgiveness constantly.
It is IMPORTANT to remember that sin does not only hurt God, but it hurts ourselves and others. We are one with God and His creation. Thus sin has a deeper impact than we may be aware of. Repentance, therefore is extremely important.
Action Plan for Today: Be honest with yourself and God. Write down a list of ways you have deviated away from God (sin) and repent. Write a list of how your specific sins function to hurt yourself, God, and others, and ultimately serve to disrupt the unity we have between God and His creation (this includes ourselves). Take one specific sin (ex. anger) and do a short writing exercise detailing how the world would prove to be better if this sin did not exist. If you are brave, do a write-up that details what the world is like because of this sin. Compare and contrast. Pray that God will give you the strength to let go of sin and make a commitment to store up God's word in your heart to counter sinful attitudes.
I
I've often found that within my prayer time, more often than not, I forget or neglect the importance of repentance. Repentance, however is crucial to who we are as believers. Through repentance we are rejecting the sin in our lives that functions to separate us from God. We are essentially acknowledging our deviation from His will and the divide that sin has caused in dismantling us from His Spirit.
It is important to remember that as believers we are united with Jesus Christ:
"Since we have been united with Him (Jesus Christ) in His death, we will also be raised to life as he was." Romans 6:5
"Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. (19) Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the holy spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?"
1 Corinthians 8:17, 19
Through Jesus Christ, God adopted us into His own family as His children. (Ephesians 1:5) In short, we are part of God's family and are united with Him in spirit. This fact says a lot about who we are and how we are to behave.
Sin, however, destroys our relationship with God. I am instantly reminded of the earthly relationships we have between friends and family. We know what makes our friends and family tick--what annoys, upsets, and angers them-- because we experience intimate relationships with these people daily and have developed a growing knowledge of their personalities. We know that acting in accordance to the things that upset them functions to fissure the delicate fabric of those relationships.
As believers in Christ, we also develop a growing knowledge of God. We learn about His righteousness and His commands for our lives. We know what He hates and what angers Him. Like our earthy relationships, acting in accordance to what he despises (through sinning) also serves to sever our relationship with Him.
"Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God." 1 John 3:4
We show that we love our family, friends, and God by honoring them and acting in light of what makes them happy and builds them up.
"But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in Him." 1 John 5
When we REPENT, we therefore agree with God that we are sinners. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23) We are acknowledging that we have deviated from unity with Him and initiate the basis within which we are reunited (forgiveness), as we need to repent to be forgiven.
Through repentance, we gain a clearer understanding of how we are separated from God as we are consciously acknowledging what has functioned to separate us from His will. Through this sincere act, we condemn sinful behaviour in ourselves--openly and honestly reject these actions--and reunite ourselves with God. We are consciously asking Him to take us back after we have hurt and separated ourselves from Him.
As our life in Christ is found through the forgiveness of sins, it is therefore important to ask for this forgiveness constantly.
It is IMPORTANT to remember that sin does not only hurt God, but it hurts ourselves and others. We are one with God and His creation. Thus sin has a deeper impact than we may be aware of. Repentance, therefore is extremely important.
Action Plan for Today: Be honest with yourself and God. Write down a list of ways you have deviated away from God (sin) and repent. Write a list of how your specific sins function to hurt yourself, God, and others, and ultimately serve to disrupt the unity we have between God and His creation (this includes ourselves). Take one specific sin (ex. anger) and do a short writing exercise detailing how the world would prove to be better if this sin did not exist. If you are brave, do a write-up that details what the world is like because of this sin. Compare and contrast. Pray that God will give you the strength to let go of sin and make a commitment to store up God's word in your heart to counter sinful attitudes.
I
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