Sorry I haven't been very consisten with posting things here - perhaps I should have tried to start this after the busyness of the holidays! Oh well! I only have a few minutes before kids get up from naps, but I had to write a little something here about words and how much I love them! Seriously. What I mean is - I love to know what things mean, and I try very hard to use the right word for the given situation. Often during my quiet times, I find myself researching what a particular word means in a particular setting. I think that's especially important to do when reading the Bible, since it was written in a different language. Sometimes, I think, the true meaning of a passage can get "lost in translation." Also, I really like to know what something means before I say I feel it or have it - things like faith, hope, salvation, forgiveness, righteousness, etc. I guess that's my little hang-up - I'll blindly follow any ridiculous rule given to me, but don't tell me I'm forgiven without telling me what that means (just kidding . . . to a degree!). Here are a few words I've researched in the past few weeks, and what I found they mean - in no particular order, and in abbreviated fashion!
1) Love - in the Bible, this is often an action more than it is a feeling. It is the greatest of all the things we do - if we don't have love, everything else is futile and worthless. It is even greater than faith and hope, and it does not fail. All other things will have an end or a fulfillment, but not love - it is eternal, never-changing, permanent.
2) Hospitality - meeting the needs of others. It is not about you having it all together, or about your home looking perfect - it is about you seeing and trying to meet the needs of another person. As one commentary noted (and I love this!), "hospitality can happen in a messy home."
3) Worthy - "having adequate or great merit, character, or value; of commendable excellence or merit; deserving." We are saved by grace (another definition here - "unmerited favor," meaning that we didn't earn our salvation), the Bible teaches - but we are called to live a life worthy of God's divine calling (Eph. 4:1). This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. How could we possibly live a life that is "deserving" of the great gift God gives? The only way we can is by committing ourselves to knowing Him and to imitating Him. God will not take our salvation away if we don't get this part right! But, it's kind of like why you try your hardest to be kind to your husband - your wedding vows implore you to do so, because you have professed undying love and commitment to your spouse (not because laws require you to and threaten to take love away if you don't measure up!). It's always important to consider context when looking at the definition of words. Looking at the context of the word "worthy" in Ephesians 4:1, you can see that the word is followed by several verses explaining God's love for us (". . . wide and long and high and deep . . . " - Eph. 3:18) . . .
There are children yelling through the vents - "can you come up here Mommy?" - so I need to cut this short! More later, since I have many more fun words to talk about!!!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Freedom from the law
Ha! Got your attention, didn't I?! I'm referring here to The Law in the Bible. So I'm continuing on with my observation that the law no longer applies to us once we accept Christ. There are several reasons Paul gives in Galatians:
1) We are saved by grace, not by following the Law.
2) When we claim salvation (by faith), we die to the law and to sin - meaning we are no longer bound to either one.
3) It's the Holy Spirit who works within us to sanctify us - which means that, once we are saved (by faith), we don't then turn to the law to "make ourselves better Christians." The Holy Spirit's work within us is the only work that can make us more like Christ ("better Christians").
4) The promise of blessing was given from the very beginning on the basis of faith, and not on the basis of our following the law (Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness).
5) We receive God's blessing because it is our inheritance as children of God. We become God's children when we identify ourselves with Christ - when we believe in Him and are baptized into Him.
As I was studying all this about the law, I began to wonder - why is it that, even after we are saved, we try to continue to live under the law? It's not a very comfortable place to be -the law makes us recognize our own sinfulness and, indeed, condemns us (that was it's purpose from the very beginning). So why, when God says we are free from the law when we believe in Him, do we continue to put ourselves under the law? I can think of two reasons that at least apply to me:
1) It's easier to pay attention to an external set of rules than it is to allow the Holy Spirit to refine us, to change us, to trust our growth and development to something we can't see, touch, feel, or - sometimes - hear very well.
2) The enemy wants us to feel condemned. He wants us to try to make ourselves better because he knows we can't do it. He wants us to feel bad about ourselves - even though God has already told us that we did not earn our salvation and we cannot sanctify ourselves.
You know what's interesting? It seems like the more I learn about God, the more I learn that I need to let go! It's weird because usually the more I learn about something, the more in control I feel and the more I try to control things. I guess this is just one more of those instances where God's wisdom and my "wisdom" don't match up!
1) We are saved by grace, not by following the Law.
2) When we claim salvation (by faith), we die to the law and to sin - meaning we are no longer bound to either one.
3) It's the Holy Spirit who works within us to sanctify us - which means that, once we are saved (by faith), we don't then turn to the law to "make ourselves better Christians." The Holy Spirit's work within us is the only work that can make us more like Christ ("better Christians").
4) The promise of blessing was given from the very beginning on the basis of faith, and not on the basis of our following the law (Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness).
5) We receive God's blessing because it is our inheritance as children of God. We become God's children when we identify ourselves with Christ - when we believe in Him and are baptized into Him.
As I was studying all this about the law, I began to wonder - why is it that, even after we are saved, we try to continue to live under the law? It's not a very comfortable place to be -the law makes us recognize our own sinfulness and, indeed, condemns us (that was it's purpose from the very beginning). So why, when God says we are free from the law when we believe in Him, do we continue to put ourselves under the law? I can think of two reasons that at least apply to me:
1) It's easier to pay attention to an external set of rules than it is to allow the Holy Spirit to refine us, to change us, to trust our growth and development to something we can't see, touch, feel, or - sometimes - hear very well.
2) The enemy wants us to feel condemned. He wants us to try to make ourselves better because he knows we can't do it. He wants us to feel bad about ourselves - even though God has already told us that we did not earn our salvation and we cannot sanctify ourselves.
You know what's interesting? It seems like the more I learn about God, the more I learn that I need to let go! It's weird because usually the more I learn about something, the more in control I feel and the more I try to control things. I guess this is just one more of those instances where God's wisdom and my "wisdom" don't match up!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Why I Want To Study God's Word . . .
I was going to post some cool things I learned in my Bible study the other day, but instead, I decided just to think about why I want to study God's Word. A friend was sharing an insight on her blog site about a verse she had always misunderstood because she hadn't really studied it for herself, in context. And that's when it hit me - I want to study the Bible so that I know what God says for myself. How else can I defend or explain what I believe? How else can I train my children? How else can I provide wise counsel to my husband or to my friends? I have always known it's important to study the Word. I've often seen it like a letter from a friend who lives far away (and doesn't always have the best phone connection - only, in God's case, it's not because He doesn't talk but because I don't always do a great job of listening) - you read the letter to get to know the friend better, to spend time with the friend, to feel like you're close even when you're far away. But recently, I've been struck by more than just the relational importance of reading my Bible. I must read the Word if I expect to become the woman God wants me to be, and do the things God wants me to do. It amazes me, when I study the Word, how there are so many things I thought I understood but didn't really. And it amazes me further that I can go back to those same passages and learn an even deeper truth every time I look at it. I don't think there's ever going to be a time while I'm here on earth when I'll know God perfectly. But I do think it's my responsibility as a Christian wife, mother, and woman, to know God as best I can while I'm here. So that's why I'm going to study the Word. And hopefully grow in the process!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Promise and The Law (Galatians 3)
Sorry I'm starting in the middle here, but I don't want to go back through the rest of what I've already studied (hmm, wasn't I saying something earlier about being lazy?!). Anyway, so today I was studying about the promise and the law in Galatians 3:1-14. I was amazed the first time I read this section of the Bible because it points out that the Law was created 430 years after the promise was given to Abraham (that all people on earth would be blessed through him). So the law wasn't supposed to be the way to God. This time, when I tried to study this section, I got a little stuck on what exactly the promise is and how we're supposed to handle the Law now. Let me preface this by saying I'm a rules-oriented person. If I'm given a rule to follow, I will - the sillier, the better (I'm sure I'll give some examples at some point here! But, as my husband tells me, all I have to do is tell people I actually did all the summer readings assigned in high school, and people will get the picture! So there you have it - I'm that girl!). So, my point - if I can find some freedom from laws in the Bible, I'm jumping at it! I need freedom from myself!!!
What I got during this reading was this - the promise was originally directly given to Abraham on the basis of his faith (he BELIEVED and it was credited to him as righteousness). Then, 430 years later, God gave the law through a mediator (Moses). The law was given to "tutor" the Jews, to guard them until Christ came, to point the way, and to help them see their need for a savior so that when that Savior appeared, they would recognize their need for Him and receive Him. Now that faith has come (in Christ), we no longer need the law to tutor us. God puts His Holy Spirit inside us and He convicts us and guides us. Romans 7 talks about how we have been released from the law (SIDE NOTE: I didn't find this connection myself. My Study Bible has a cross-reference to Romans 7 . . . don't give me too much credit here!) because we are dead to it. Before, when we were under the law, we bore fruit for death - because the law points out our sin, and the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). When we have faith in Christ, we are united with Him - in His death (so we die to sin - meaning it is no longer our master, and the law - meaning it no longer condemns us) and in His life (so we now bear fruit for Him).
What does all this death talk mean, anyway?! This takes me back to Galatians 2:11-21. Again looking back at Romans 7, you can see that we died to the law through the body of Christ (vs. 4). We are, then, no longer held accountable to the law. God is our accountability (?) - or perhaps the standard the Holy Spirit sets within us. By accepting that Christ died for me, I am accepting His fulfillment of the rquirements of the Law - so, the law no longer has any hold on me. More than that, as Galatians 2:20 points out, I have been crucified with Christ and no longer live. So, basically, I am dead - I have surrendered my rights to my life - and Christ lives in me. Knowing this, I live my life by faith in God. It is by faith because we canno see our death - but we believe what Christ told us is possible, that by believing in Him, He lives through us. That's encouraging, then - that the law no longer applies to me because Christ died to it for me. But there's an even better part . . .
Gal. 5:24 points out that, by accepting Christ's death and dying to ourselves, we have also crucified the sinful nature. Christ CANNOT live again to sin, having died to that life (Romans 6:10 - The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.) - He now lives to God. By accepting Christ as our Savior, we are asking Him to live within us. So we, too, can count ourselves death to sin (Romans 6:11 - . . . count [ourselves] dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus). So, while sin may TEMPT us, it cannot MASTER me because my master is God. I live for Him now, NOT sin. Just like Christ was tempted in the wilderness, we can be tempted - but we no longer have to give in to that temptation because we are dead to sin. That's the real freedom - sin no longer has any control over us once we give our lives to Christ. The Bible says we can only serve one master (sorry, I can't remember where that one is off the top of my head!) - we either serve God or we serve sin. By choosing Christ, you have made the decision to serve God. Sin has no control because it cannot control what it does not master. By faith, we accept all of this. Ah-ha - so that's what faith means!!!
What I got during this reading was this - the promise was originally directly given to Abraham on the basis of his faith (he BELIEVED and it was credited to him as righteousness). Then, 430 years later, God gave the law through a mediator (Moses). The law was given to "tutor" the Jews, to guard them until Christ came, to point the way, and to help them see their need for a savior so that when that Savior appeared, they would recognize their need for Him and receive Him. Now that faith has come (in Christ), we no longer need the law to tutor us. God puts His Holy Spirit inside us and He convicts us and guides us. Romans 7 talks about how we have been released from the law (SIDE NOTE: I didn't find this connection myself. My Study Bible has a cross-reference to Romans 7 . . . don't give me too much credit here!) because we are dead to it. Before, when we were under the law, we bore fruit for death - because the law points out our sin, and the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). When we have faith in Christ, we are united with Him - in His death (so we die to sin - meaning it is no longer our master, and the law - meaning it no longer condemns us) and in His life (so we now bear fruit for Him).
What does all this death talk mean, anyway?! This takes me back to Galatians 2:11-21. Again looking back at Romans 7, you can see that we died to the law through the body of Christ (vs. 4). We are, then, no longer held accountable to the law. God is our accountability (?) - or perhaps the standard the Holy Spirit sets within us. By accepting that Christ died for me, I am accepting His fulfillment of the rquirements of the Law - so, the law no longer has any hold on me. More than that, as Galatians 2:20 points out, I have been crucified with Christ and no longer live. So, basically, I am dead - I have surrendered my rights to my life - and Christ lives in me. Knowing this, I live my life by faith in God. It is by faith because we canno see our death - but we believe what Christ told us is possible, that by believing in Him, He lives through us. That's encouraging, then - that the law no longer applies to me because Christ died to it for me. But there's an even better part . . .
Gal. 5:24 points out that, by accepting Christ's death and dying to ourselves, we have also crucified the sinful nature. Christ CANNOT live again to sin, having died to that life (Romans 6:10 - The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.) - He now lives to God. By accepting Christ as our Savior, we are asking Him to live within us. So we, too, can count ourselves death to sin (Romans 6:11 - . . . count [ourselves] dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus). So, while sin may TEMPT us, it cannot MASTER me because my master is God. I live for Him now, NOT sin. Just like Christ was tempted in the wilderness, we can be tempted - but we no longer have to give in to that temptation because we are dead to sin. That's the real freedom - sin no longer has any control over us once we give our lives to Christ. The Bible says we can only serve one master (sorry, I can't remember where that one is off the top of my head!) - we either serve God or we serve sin. By choosing Christ, you have made the decision to serve God. Sin has no control because it cannot control what it does not master. By faith, we accept all of this. Ah-ha - so that's what faith means!!!
And So It Begins . . .
I'm not quite sure how to start this, since I've never tried to blog anything before. It's weird thinking the whole world could be reading this! But, since I'm guessing they're not, I'll just type and pretend I'm talking to myself. So, I decided to start a blog site. Why? I've recently recommitted to having a quiet time every day (translation: I'm actually studying my Bible and trying to figure out what it all means, rather than just reading it and hoping it sinks in by osmosis!). I read an awesome book on studying the Bible (A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study, by Jen Hatmaker), and it has me excited about studying again. I did used to "study" the Bible, but then I got married and had kids and . . . well, to be honest, I let life get in the way and I got lazy! I'm trying to get back on the wagon here. So, why start a blog then? As I study the Bible, I tend to stumble on things that I'd really like to share with other people - but I don't want to weird out my friends and family by sending them random messages entitled "look what I learned today." Sounds a little too much like I think I'm smart - which I don't - or that I think I'm seeing things other people aren't seeing - which is probably not the case. I'm not a theological expert - I haven't been to seminary. I have read a lot of Christian books, but I can't say that I've 100% understood them all. So, I thought it would be fun to have a blog site where I could share all the cool things I'm learning -with everyone, or with no one! If you stumble upon this, great - let me know what you think about what I'm learning! I figure this would be a fun way to have a Bible study with . . . the whole world?! Except that I'm leading . . . Wow, no pressure there! So, obviously, I'm not an expert - feel free to disagree, internally, or in writing. I may or may not be able to answer your questions or challenges. But it will be fun to try - especially since I'm typing and not looking you in the eye! Hope you enjoy my rambles!
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