A devotional thought: Jesus often has a bigger purpose that we understand when He brings about utterly painful hardships in our lives, but that does not mean He does not love us, nor does it mean that He does not care or feel our pain right along with us, just ask John when he recalls what Jesus did and said when Lazarus got sick and died. He says that Jesus new what was going to happen and refused to heal Lazarus because it was ultimately for God's glory and for His disciples faith (John 11.4, 14-15). But He did love Mary and Martha even though He planned for them to experience some intense pain, and even Lazarus who would die (verse 5). It is easy for us to be like Mary and Martha when we go through some intense hardship. They knew Jesus could have solved the problem, but they also knew that He did not. They seemed to think that Jesus didn't care and blamed Him for their brothers death. You can still hear their confused sobs bleed through the pages of John 11, "Lord, if you would have been here my brother wouldn't be DEAD! (v.21 and v.32)" in other words, "You could have stopped this!!!" There words hide the same question our words do; "How could You do this? Why would You want this? Don't You care about me, about us?" He also see them crying, just as He sees us in our troubled tears and pain-filled hearts. But Jesus' response is what shocks us, because this is the same Guy who planned this whole situation--what does He do? He cares. He cares hardcore. "He became deeply moved and He felt His emotions swirl inside Himself" (v.33). Then as He sees all their tears, "Jesus burst into tears" (v.34-35). He cries, and He cries hardcore. He will then go and raise Larazus from the dead, ultimately bring to pass His perfect plan from the beginning, which was that the sickness would not result in death but be for God's glory, so that the Son of God would be glorified through it" (v.4). But not before we suffer and He suffers with us. Our suffering and His suffering with us confirms that He does love us! For indeed how much He must love us if He who planned all the bad stuff to happen also cares about how we experience it, so the point that He Himself shares in our pain and feels all the churning emotions that we feel. Jesus is with us in our pain and He is using that pain not just to bolster our faith but also to bring the Glory to Whom it belongs. Therefore, we should be encouraged that no matter how much pain Jesus Christ plans to come our way, it is for His purposes and He will not leave us in the mess alone, without sympathy. He Himself will feel what we feel. This is still true. Jesus gets what we are going through and cares deeply for us, no matter what happens. But He cares too much about us to leave our faith where it was at and He care too much about His Father's glory and even His own glory to not send our way what much be for His Glory and our best. Take courage, youth group, we suffer, but we don't suffer alone and we don't suffer without purpose. We are part of a plan that brings God the glory and us deeper and better faith! I love you all very much.
Grace and Peace and Comfort be yours in Jesus Christ
Pastor Anthony
Where you can find the True Triune God presented boldly with a caring heart, and where you can also find a smattering of my poetry, devotions, sermons, and social commentary.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Purity
I Corinthians 6.12-20
12 All things are allowed for me, but not all things are beneficial. All things are allowed for me, but I will not be ruled by anything. 13 The foods for the belly and the belly for the foods, but God will wipe out this thing both this [belly] and those [foods]. But the body is not for sexually sin, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 But also God raised the Lord and He will raise*** you out through His power. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are body-parts of Christ? So*** then should I make the body-parts of Christ the body-parts of a prostitute/sexually sinful woman? May that never happen! Don’t you know that the man who attaches himself to the prostitute/sexual sinful woman is one body [with her], because it says*** “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But the guy who attaches himself to the Lord is one Spirit***. 18 Flee the sexual sin! Every sin whatever a man might do is outside of the body, but the person who sin-sexually sins against his own body. 19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have from God, and so you are not belonging to yourselves? 20 For you were bought at a cost, therefore, glorify God in your body!
Ephesians 5.1-5
1 Therefore, become copycats of God like loved on children 2 and be walking around in love, just like the Messiah also loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God resulting in a good aroma. 3 But sexual-sin and every impurity or greed had better not even be named among you, just like it is proper for saints, 4 and shamefulness and foolish-talking or inappropriate-joking, which don’t belong, but rather thankfulness. 5 Because you are knowing this, namely that every sexually-sinful person or impure person or greedy person, that is an idolater, he doesn't have an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and God.
Matthew 5.27-29
27 You’ve heard that it was said “Don’t commit adultery.” 28 But I myself tell you that every man who looks at a woman so that he wants her already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye trips you up, gouge it out and through away from you, because it is better for you that one of your body-parts would be destroyed and your whole body not thrown into hell.
Pedagogical Idea: Be Pure not impure in all of its various manifestations.
Truths (Book)
1. Impurity is that which dirties you in God’s site, sin. However, this is a type of sin that while not exclusive to sexual immorality is certainly closely affiliated with it.
2. Sexual-sin/Sexual immorality here looks especially at prostitution (in I Cor.) and to sexual-sin more broadly (in Eph.).
3. Temple = Temple Sanctuary, not just the Temple Complex, or the building, but especially the place where God lives—like a Holy of Holies in you!
4. Obligation and Motivation to purity is our redemption in Christ by God through the Spirit.
5. This stuff does not belong anywhere close to your Christian life.
6. Having this stuff be a large part of your life indicates a lack of salvation and a worship of something other than God.
7. Impurity may feel natural, but it is not what God wants for you, and it is not fulfilling to your real purpose, despite how amazing it might feel during the experience.
8. Sexual acts, especially full-blown sex, are high-consequence actions, a lot happens in such things.
Applications (Look)
1. To Kids:
a. Impurity makes God’s Temple dirty, so you need to keep it clean. This means that you have to do some things and not other things—crushes, Justin Beiber, don’t play spin the bottle
2. To Youth:
a. There is a lot that you have to deal with from every side:, sex, porn, masturbation, lust, crushes
Took:
1. Do all things to glorify God, and be pure, but purity starts with Christ.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Where to Turn When You Need Help
Scripture: Psalm 121
Translation:
1 A song for ascents
I’m lifting up my eyes to the mountains,
Where will my help come from?
2 My help is from Yahweh
The One who made heavens and earth!
3 May He not allow your foot to be shaken!
And may The One who watches over you not slumber!
4 LOOK! He doesn’t slumber!
And He doesn’t sleep!
He who watches over Israel!
5 Yahweh is the One who watches over you!
Yahweh is your shade!
At your right hand!
6 By day the sun won’t strike you down!
Nor the moon by night!
7 Yahweh will watch over/protect you from every evil!
He will watch over your soul!
8 Yahweh will watch over your coming out and your going in
From now and into eternity
Exegetical Idea: A person want to know where he can find help, so another person Responds that His Help is Yahweh and He blesses the questioner—wanting Yahweh to be His Help—and then resolves that Yahweh is His Help now and forever!
Outline of the Text
a. A Question (v.1)--Person on the way to the Temple wonders where to find help
b. A Resolution (v.2)--Fellow traveler testifies Who his Help is: It is Yahweh the Creator God
c. A Blessing (v.3)--Fellow traveler blesses the questioner, that Yahweh would always protect him.
d. A Hope (vv.4-8)--Fellow traveler declares that there is Hope in Yahweh, that Yahweh is already our Help and He always will be
i. The Present (vv.4-6)--Yahweh is watching over Israel and you right now
ii. The Future (vv.7-8)--Yahweh will always watch over you--your whole life-- no matter what, in every circumstance,
Conclusion:
Therefore, rely on Yahweh for Help in everything. Have Him be your Help, you can't help yourself. Rely on Him to help you get through all the hard, painful, awful stuff of life. When you have a ton of homework, when your parents aren't happy with you, when you have sinned really badly, when you don't get into the college you wanted, when people are mean to you, when you are violated, betrayed, and ignored--all the time in everything Yahweh is our Help and Him alone.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Signing Bibles is Kinda Creepy...
So on Feb. 3, I was at Moody Bible Institute's Founder's Week, which was pretty cool. Chip Ingram was the speaker for the evening session. In a very generous move, he and his ministry decided to give away one of Chip's books to every student at Moody. So I of course went to get myself a free book, it is free after all. Now, as I waited in line to get one of these free books, I was told that Pastor Ingram was signing the books. So, I was with my friend Adam, and we said, "Hey, what else do we have to do, let's wait in line to get it signed." So we waited for a while, but as we neared the signing table my eyes caught of glimpse of something I saw as terribly peculiar and creepy! Did my eyes really see what I thought they saw? O-hoh, yes indeed! Some people (equipped with a copy of the free book mind you) were whipping out their Bibles and having Chip sign them. I mean there they were with a perfectly good book that was intended even to be signed, but people instead got this man to sign their Bible--a BIBLE! Who signs a Bible? Sure, you might give a gift Bible and write a little note, but who signs a Bible like they would sign their own book? That just strikes me as creepy and wrong. Really creepy. I mean, what kind of view to people have of both their Bible and Chip Ingram that they think that having him sign it like a autograph diary is a good and legitimate use? It is a Bible, why would you have him sign a Bible? It is just creepy. I could explain how creepy this is to me and why, but suffice it to say that when I saw such actions I was disturbed in my soul at the profound not-rightness of it all. It just seems that a line was crossed somewhere in there--it just seems wrong, creepy wrong.
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