In July we will be going on a missions trip to the Philippines and the team leader wants us to read through the Book of Acts before the trip. Seems like a perfect place to get started on my journal!
For the first entry however, I am going to cheat a little. Acts really is my favorite book of the Bible, I just love reading about how the church got started! I think there are so many clues there for us on how church should be for us. This is after all, how the people who knew Christ carried on his traditions immediately after he left! So the cheating explained, I actually did a paper on this last semester. Not my best work but I did one thing that I really liked and wanted to revisit for this blog: comparing the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1 to the water baptisms of John the Baptist in Luke 3. I think this is key to understanding how the Holy Spirit affects us.
In Acts 1:5 Jesus says "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." They are similar events, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is just much more powerful. Luke’s account of baptism by John is in chapter 3. He does not however, actually describe what occurs during baptism. The focus is on what must occur within someone before one can truly be baptized. In the Gospel of Luke, John first preached of repentance. Then he spoke on God’s promise, this time from Isaiah “and all flesh will see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:6) The promise that John focuses on parallels the promise Jesus spoke of in Acts 1:4. John chastised the crowds who came to him for baptism “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7) Why does he do this? Because, judging by what he says next, “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance…” (Luke 3:8) he wants them to repent before they come to him. Obviously repentance has great significance to baptism. Why would one want to be baptized if they have not repented? Judging by John’s response to the questions, their thinking is of their own well being first. They are looking to be saved out of fear for themselves instead of love for others. John instructs people to share with others (verse 11), tax collectors not to take excessive amounts from others (verse 13), and soldiers not to take advantage of others (verse 14). So if the focus on baptism by water is repentance of sins and showing love to your neighbor, is baptism by the Holy Spirit the same? Is it one’s state of mind before baptism the point Luke make? It seems that one must be focused on the wellbeing of others before they are prepared to be baptized by water.
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Friday, May 23, 2008
Discipline
Yes, it's been a while. I feel like I have been so swamped etc with school and a bunch of other excuses that I haven't touched this in a while. But last night during Bible Study we were discussing the Sabbath and I was thinking about how much I have been lacking in my disciplines. And it is time to get back on track. I'm posting on Facebook because I spend a lot time on there (let's face it, I'm addicted to the games...) so it will give me a reminder to blog it out!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
When God Doesn't Answer
So we opened escrow on a condo in Tustin on Thursday. The night before I was praying about it, for God to show His will on this; whether we are to buy or not. But He didn't give me an answer. Not that He has to answer to me. It is just that over the last few years I have felt pretty in touch when it comes to things like this. Whether the answer is what I want or not I get an answer. It could be something like what Elijah went through where he thought he had it all from God. However, I started to think about maybe if not getting an answer was God's answer. What could He mean by that. Maybe it is that to God whether we buy a condo or not does not change His will for us. Not that buying doesn't matter to Him, but in a way it doesn't. God's will for us (Alise and I) before He sends us to become missionaries is mostly about prep for going. That being said, my priority needs to be going to school. As long as buying doesn't change my schooling or my focus on being a missionary or my desire to focus on Him, then we can buy the house (if we qualify) if we want to. It doesn't matter either decision we make.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Loving Others
One of the things I learned in my Spiritual Formation class was how to tell how we are progressing spiritually. By comparing how much we love people now to how much we have loved them in the past we can tell if we are growing in the Spirit. In other words, do i love people more today than I did yesterday? Last month? Last year? Unfortunately the answer to all of those questions is no. A few days ago I wrote about how I want to chart my progress Spiritually and that I was going to rely on God to show me what I need to work on. A couple of days later I spoke about negativity. Well, the other day God showed me that I am a lot farther away than I think. How can I tell? By how much I love others. And lately I find that I am not loving others as much as I should. Not even close. I have been mad a lot and impatient with others, easily frustrated and generally not very happy. Worst of all I find myself looking at the negative in people and quick to judge them and jump to conclusions. How do I get out of all of this? I need to look to God. Where? Scripture. It has been a long time since I have listened to the Bible on CD. I almost forgot that I have that. Starting tomorrow I will start listening to the Bible on my way to and from work again. That is just the start, but let's see where God takes me.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Why did God Create Intimacy?
Today's thought: why did God create sexual intimacy? I can't speak for everyone but from my perspective it is something that brings us closer together. It creates a bond between the two of us that is undeniable, and unexplainable without God. Even when I am not necessarily "in the mood" but do it anyways, when it is over my connection to my wife is at an emotional peak. Why did God create it to be that way? To find the answer I thought about it from a backwards perspective. If we look at nature, very few animals pair off as couples and stay that way for life.
If I look at it from the Darwinism perspective of Evolution I would have to ask what is the benefit of it from an evolutionary perspective. It would make sense for the male to sleep with as many women as possible (which some may aspire to) to spread the seed and increase the chances of propagation. For the female staying with one male means stability, safety and a consistent source of food. Both of those give strong reasons for sex to be enjoyable, but does not explain the intense connection that one feels (whether they want to admit to it or not.) That sense of love. If those two reasons were the only reason for sexual intimacy to be more than just sex then the only emotion felt from sex would be joy. For a man, there is no reason that after they spread the seed to stick around with the burden of a pregnant woman and children. They work much better as a team with other men. (Imagine caveman or other ancient men when imagining all of this.)
If looking at it from a Creationism perspective that emotional connection makes more sense. God wants a man and woman to be together, wants us to love and care for each other. It is almost like God is giving us a glimpse of what the rest of the relationship should be like. Lets face it the best (and most powerful) sex is when we are not doing it for ourselves. It is when we are doing it for the other person. When our goal is not self centered within ourselves but outwardly focussed on the other; to give them the most pleasure and make them happy. And the happier they are, the better they feel the better it is for us. If anyone disagrees they have to ask themselves if they have ever had sex with the other person in mind. God does this because it is love. Sex is a way that He is showing us how caring for another is more important than caring for ourselves. That loving another brings us more joy than loving ourselves. God is giving us a lesson. In that lesson we are also being shown by God how much he loves us. He could have made sex nothing more than pleasurable, instead He created it to be much more. He created it with all of the emotional connections that show us just a little of what life can be.
If I look at it from the Darwinism perspective of Evolution I would have to ask what is the benefit of it from an evolutionary perspective. It would make sense for the male to sleep with as many women as possible (which some may aspire to) to spread the seed and increase the chances of propagation. For the female staying with one male means stability, safety and a consistent source of food. Both of those give strong reasons for sex to be enjoyable, but does not explain the intense connection that one feels (whether they want to admit to it or not.) That sense of love. If those two reasons were the only reason for sexual intimacy to be more than just sex then the only emotion felt from sex would be joy. For a man, there is no reason that after they spread the seed to stick around with the burden of a pregnant woman and children. They work much better as a team with other men. (Imagine caveman or other ancient men when imagining all of this.)
If looking at it from a Creationism perspective that emotional connection makes more sense. God wants a man and woman to be together, wants us to love and care for each other. It is almost like God is giving us a glimpse of what the rest of the relationship should be like. Lets face it the best (and most powerful) sex is when we are not doing it for ourselves. It is when we are doing it for the other person. When our goal is not self centered within ourselves but outwardly focussed on the other; to give them the most pleasure and make them happy. And the happier they are, the better they feel the better it is for us. If anyone disagrees they have to ask themselves if they have ever had sex with the other person in mind. God does this because it is love. Sex is a way that He is showing us how caring for another is more important than caring for ourselves. That loving another brings us more joy than loving ourselves. God is giving us a lesson. In that lesson we are also being shown by God how much he loves us. He could have made sex nothing more than pleasurable, instead He created it to be much more. He created it with all of the emotional connections that show us just a little of what life can be.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Negativity
Today God showed me several examples of my shortcomings and it was very humbling. Unfortunately, two very serious shortcomings are laziness and a bad memory. When I was falling asleep last night and again as I was driving home this afternoon was when God gave me some very good examples. But at the time I said "these are great ideas, I am not going to get out of bed to write them, down, I'll remember." Of course my memory disagreed and the thoughts are gone. But I know that Go will give them to me again as I really have no shortage of traits that need improvement. One in particular that I see myself falling into quite often is negativity. Especially in the workplace.
There is one particular customer that drives me crazy and I have complained (yes, whined) to the sales rep about how ridiculous they are. Today I was complaining about another when the sales asked me if they were just like the other. In his very subtle way, he was making his point that I am negative about customers. I felt terrible, God had shown me exactly what I had asked for, an attitude that I needed to work on. He showed me that I can be very negative and judgmental about people and impatient with them if they didn't know the business. God has shown us infinite mercy, grace and patience as we struggle through life and our lack of faith. Yet here I was complaining about others because they don't have a grasp of the business as well as I do. It's an easy trap to fall into, thinking that I am better than someone else because I have more knowledge about something. Or thinking I am better because they do things differently, or have a different perspective. God sets the example, Jesus showed us how to follow it. We can either chose to follow it, ignore it, or blind ourselves to the truth and see what we want to see. When I was first saved I went from a very negative person to a more positive person. Then I leveled out and may have even fallen back a little. How do I get back to the positive? How do I not only get back to where I was but continue to grow again? God has shown us the truth, we just need to accept it. Start looking for the signs, take the small victories God has given us. Stop taking life for granted.
There is one particular customer that drives me crazy and I have complained (yes, whined) to the sales rep about how ridiculous they are. Today I was complaining about another when the sales asked me if they were just like the other. In his very subtle way, he was making his point that I am negative about customers. I felt terrible, God had shown me exactly what I had asked for, an attitude that I needed to work on. He showed me that I can be very negative and judgmental about people and impatient with them if they didn't know the business. God has shown us infinite mercy, grace and patience as we struggle through life and our lack of faith. Yet here I was complaining about others because they don't have a grasp of the business as well as I do. It's an easy trap to fall into, thinking that I am better than someone else because I have more knowledge about something. Or thinking I am better because they do things differently, or have a different perspective. God sets the example, Jesus showed us how to follow it. We can either chose to follow it, ignore it, or blind ourselves to the truth and see what we want to see. When I was first saved I went from a very negative person to a more positive person. Then I leveled out and may have even fallen back a little. How do I get back to the positive? How do I not only get back to where I was but continue to grow again? God has shown us the truth, we just need to accept it. Start looking for the signs, take the small victories God has given us. Stop taking life for granted.
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