December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him..." Romans 15:13
December 15, 2010
Healings and Happiness
Many churches and pastors today teach of healings and happiness as gospel. Some even go as far as to say something is wrong with you and your faith if you aren't perfectly happy and healthy. These teaching as so far from the real gospel of Jesus.
When so many follow after falsehoods about the gospel, Oswald Chambers in his year long devotional book "Utmost for His Highest," has helped me grow in my faith, with his simple and humble faith in the true gospel of Christ. He raises a great question in his Dec.2 entry:
"How can we say, "It could never be God's will for me to be sick?" If it was God's will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn't He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick."
Yes, Jesus, because of His compassion, healed the sick when He was here on earth, but like Billy Graham says:
"He fed the poor. He healed the sick, raised the dead, but that was not his purpose. His purpose was to go to the cross."
He came to suffer and die for us, so is it possible that God could sometimes choose not to heal, but use our sickness for His glory? I think so.
and Jesus said..."In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer! I have overcome the world."
When so many follow after falsehoods about the gospel, Oswald Chambers in his year long devotional book "Utmost for His Highest," has helped me grow in my faith, with his simple and humble faith in the true gospel of Christ. He raises a great question in his Dec.2 entry:
"How can we say, "It could never be God's will for me to be sick?" If it was God's will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn't He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick."
Yes, Jesus, because of His compassion, healed the sick when He was here on earth, but like Billy Graham says:
"He fed the poor. He healed the sick, raised the dead, but that was not his purpose. His purpose was to go to the cross."
He came to suffer and die for us, so is it possible that God could sometimes choose not to heal, but use our sickness for His glory? I think so.
and Jesus said..."In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer! I have overcome the world."
December 9, 2010
Faith
I saw a nooma video called “dust” by Rob Bell a few years ago and something about it disturbed me. Something I couldn’t quit discern and something I just couldn’t shake off. (The things he talks about in this video are also in his book "Velvet Elvis.")
In the video (and in his book) he talks about when Peter began to drown after walking on the water towards Jesus. Rob Bell goes on to teach that Peter began to drown not because he lost faith in Jesus but because he lost faith in himself. I started to question what Rob Bell was saying. I wanted to know the truth. I couldn’t get this verse out of my head.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
Was Rob Bell telling me to lean on my own understanding by having faith in myself? And if he was, doesn’t that go against God’s Word? I later read this quote from Charles Spurgeon about faith and grace.
“The source of all divine blessings is found in the Grace of God. Never make an idol of your faith, and don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that faith is the independent source of your salvation. New life is found by looking to Jesus, not in looking to your own faith. By faith all things become possible to us, but the power is not in the faith; it is in the God upon whom faith relies.”
This made more sense to me as a Christian and coincides with what the Bible says. We are not saved by our faith but though our faith by the grace of God.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Eph 2:8
I believe that Peter did not sink because he doubted or lacked faith in himself, like Rob Bell believes, but simply because he took his eyes off Jesus.
In the video (and in his book) he talks about when Peter began to drown after walking on the water towards Jesus. Rob Bell goes on to teach that Peter began to drown not because he lost faith in Jesus but because he lost faith in himself. I started to question what Rob Bell was saying. I wanted to know the truth. I couldn’t get this verse out of my head.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
Was Rob Bell telling me to lean on my own understanding by having faith in myself? And if he was, doesn’t that go against God’s Word? I later read this quote from Charles Spurgeon about faith and grace.
“The source of all divine blessings is found in the Grace of God. Never make an idol of your faith, and don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that faith is the independent source of your salvation. New life is found by looking to Jesus, not in looking to your own faith. By faith all things become possible to us, but the power is not in the faith; it is in the God upon whom faith relies.”
This made more sense to me as a Christian and coincides with what the Bible says. We are not saved by our faith but though our faith by the grace of God.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Eph 2:8
I believe that Peter did not sink because he doubted or lacked faith in himself, like Rob Bell believes, but simply because he took his eyes off Jesus.
December 8, 2010
Quote of the Week
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