Hi everyone,
I thought we'd continue this blog during the fasting period just so that we can track some of our thoughts, our prayers, and maybe even some answers during this time, and also to encourage each other to keep going, and to help each other refocus when we struggle.
Just so that you guys can keep me accountable as your leader, here's some things I'm giving up for these few weeks:
- food other than fruits, vegetables, and liquids
- television other than the daily show and the colbert report *
- video games, flash games included **
I have a few other commitments I'm making, but these are some of the things I hope everyone will keep me accountable on. And I hope at the end of these 3 weeks, we'll be able to look back on some of our entries and see God at work.
Anyone and everyone is free to post, even things like new prayer requests for the group to pray for.
Blessings,
Josh
* I'm a staunch believer in keeping up with the news. My sources are the "Latest Headlines" tab in Firefox, and Comedy Central of all places. Also, please do not ruin shows for me by telling me what happened on House or Scrubs that week.
** I will make an exception if we play as a LIFE group with the intent of building relationships with others not in our group, but this is the ONLY exception.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hebrews 13
The last chapter of Hebrews! It's full of exhortations as Paul is getting ready to conclude and end his letter... and as we're about to end our break.
First (v.1-6), he talks about love, the most important which is continuing in brotherly love (v.1), then showing hospitality (which is love of strangers). He uses the analogy of entertaining angels which should remind us of Abraham and Lot (v.2). He calls us to also seek out those in prison and love them as well (v.3), remembering that they are part of the body of Christ and if one part suffers, every part should suffer with it. And loving your spouse, keeping the marriage bed pure. I think we can do that by keeping our hearts guarded, patiently waiting for that future girl or guy.
v.7 talks about imitating your leaders' faith as you look at the outcome of their lives. We may look at our leaders now and see the fruit they bear, but back then, many of their leaders died because of their faith.
In v.9, Paul warns them about being led astray by strange teachings, some dealing with foods.
From the foods, he transitions into food/animals being sacrificed. That they didn't bring the animals' bodies into the holy places (most likely in the temple) but kept them outside the camp (v. 11). And likewise, this pointed to Jesus, who suffered outside the city in order to sanctify the people through his own blood (v.12). So Paul exhorts us to go outside to be with Jesus, so that we may remain with him, and share in his sufferings, bearing disgrace for the sake of Christ. Because our home is not an earthly one but a heavenly one.
Now we no longer have to offer any more sacrifices of animals, but we should offer "a sacrifice of praise" and this sacrifice should be offered continually (different from the Jewish tradition of offering animals at set times throughout the year).
In v.17, Paul shifts to tell the Christians to obey their leaders, so that they can do their work with joy rather than with groaning. From there he asks them to pray.
And with that, I'd like to ask you guys to keep us, Josh, Euge, and I in prayer, as your lifegroup leaders. Some things you could pray for are --- our relationships with God, unity as we lead with one heart, one mind, wisdom and understanding to lead our lifegroup, discernment in discipleship, and that as we imitate Christ, you'd imitate our faiths.
See y'all very sooon :)
Break was definitely too short for me this time.
First (v.1-6), he talks about love, the most important which is continuing in brotherly love (v.1), then showing hospitality (which is love of strangers). He uses the analogy of entertaining angels which should remind us of Abraham and Lot (v.2). He calls us to also seek out those in prison and love them as well (v.3), remembering that they are part of the body of Christ and if one part suffers, every part should suffer with it. And loving your spouse, keeping the marriage bed pure. I think we can do that by keeping our hearts guarded, patiently waiting for that future girl or guy.
v.7 talks about imitating your leaders' faith as you look at the outcome of their lives. We may look at our leaders now and see the fruit they bear, but back then, many of their leaders died because of their faith.
In v.9, Paul warns them about being led astray by strange teachings, some dealing with foods.
From the foods, he transitions into food/animals being sacrificed. That they didn't bring the animals' bodies into the holy places (most likely in the temple) but kept them outside the camp (v. 11). And likewise, this pointed to Jesus, who suffered outside the city in order to sanctify the people through his own blood (v.12). So Paul exhorts us to go outside to be with Jesus, so that we may remain with him, and share in his sufferings, bearing disgrace for the sake of Christ. Because our home is not an earthly one but a heavenly one.
Now we no longer have to offer any more sacrifices of animals, but we should offer "a sacrifice of praise" and this sacrifice should be offered continually (different from the Jewish tradition of offering animals at set times throughout the year).
In v.17, Paul shifts to tell the Christians to obey their leaders, so that they can do their work with joy rather than with groaning. From there he asks them to pray.
And with that, I'd like to ask you guys to keep us, Josh, Euge, and I in prayer, as your lifegroup leaders. Some things you could pray for are --- our relationships with God, unity as we lead with one heart, one mind, wisdom and understanding to lead our lifegroup, discernment in discipleship, and that as we imitate Christ, you'd imitate our faiths.
See y'all very sooon :)
Break was definitely too short for me this time.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Reverence and awe
I want to focus mainly on verse 18 and onwards
but from 14-17, Paul writes more about need for holiness and godliness.
All or nothing
I love how for Paul it is always all or nothing. We are to "make every effort to live in peace with all men" (verse 14).
He emphasizes the need for peace among the body, need for holiness to see and share with God. We are not to miss but rather receive grace (verse 15) and to not allow bitterness to take root to cause trouble (lack of peace) and defilement (lack of holiness) (verse 15). We are to be godly and make wise decisions and to not be rejected from our blessings (verse 16-17).
FOCUS of PART 2: Reverence and Awe
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.' "
Contrast
Old Testament/Covenant: Verse 18-21
"Trembling with fear"
This section describes during and before Moses received the Ten Commandments. Before Moses received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19), there were sets of directions given to the Jews. They were asked to be consecrated. Before they could meet God, the people needed to be cleansed. No consecration=death (verse 20). God was absolutely pure and holy and people "could not bear what was commanded" (verse 20) and begged no further word be spoken (verse 19) and the "sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ' I am trembling with fear'" (verse 21).
New Covenant/Jesus: Verse 22-24
Who can bear and fulfill the Law perfectly? No one can perfectly. Until Jesus came. He became "the mediator of the new covenant" (verse 24) who sits next to "God, the judge of all men" (verse 23). It is his" sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than Abel" (verse 24). Jesus' blood and sacrifices washes and atones for all sins and for all of time.
Warnings Against Refusing God: verse 25-29
Before, God "warned them on earth;" He warned them at Mount Zion and gave them laws to follow. When the Jews did not obey, they "did not escape" God's judgment (verse 25). Now, we are under a new covenant under Jesus, who is in Heaven sitting at the right hand of Father. How much more if we refuse Him (verse 25).
Cannot be shaken
Because of Christ, we have a "kingdom of that cannot be shaken" (verse 28). It will always remain and cannot be removed (verse 27). So we are to worship God with "reverence and awe" and to be thankful (verse 28) for receing such a everlasting kingdom.
but from 14-17, Paul writes more about need for holiness and godliness.
All or nothing
I love how for Paul it is always all or nothing. We are to "make every effort to live in peace with all men" (verse 14).
He emphasizes the need for peace among the body, need for holiness to see and share with God. We are not to miss but rather receive grace (verse 15) and to not allow bitterness to take root to cause trouble (lack of peace) and defilement (lack of holiness) (verse 15). We are to be godly and make wise decisions and to not be rejected from our blessings (verse 16-17).
FOCUS of PART 2: Reverence and Awe
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.' "
Contrast
Old Testament/Covenant: Verse 18-21
"Trembling with fear"
This section describes during and before Moses received the Ten Commandments. Before Moses received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19), there were sets of directions given to the Jews. They were asked to be consecrated. Before they could meet God, the people needed to be cleansed. No consecration=death (verse 20). God was absolutely pure and holy and people "could not bear what was commanded" (verse 20) and begged no further word be spoken (verse 19) and the "sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ' I am trembling with fear'" (verse 21).
New Covenant/Jesus: Verse 22-24
Who can bear and fulfill the Law perfectly? No one can perfectly. Until Jesus came. He became "the mediator of the new covenant" (verse 24) who sits next to "God, the judge of all men" (verse 23). It is his" sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than Abel" (verse 24). Jesus' blood and sacrifices washes and atones for all sins and for all of time.
Warnings Against Refusing God: verse 25-29
Before, God "warned them on earth;" He warned them at Mount Zion and gave them laws to follow. When the Jews did not obey, they "did not escape" God's judgment (verse 25). Now, we are under a new covenant under Jesus, who is in Heaven sitting at the right hand of Father. How much more if we refuse Him (verse 25).
Cannot be shaken
Because of Christ, we have a "kingdom of that cannot be shaken" (verse 28). It will always remain and cannot be removed (verse 27). So we are to worship God with "reverence and awe" and to be thankful (verse 28) for receing such a everlasting kingdom.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Discipline
I decided to split Hebrews into two parts. Here is part one. I did a different way than previous entries but hope u guys will get much out of it.
Hebrews12
What
Paul is challenging the Jewish Christians who were undergoing severe persecution to finish their marked race (verse 1) with perseverance throwing off everything that hindered them, including sin. They were to be sinless and to resist it to the point of shedding blood (verse 4). Paul wants us to “endure hardships as a discipline” from our heavenly Father.
Why?
Mark of sonship and love
Just as our earthly fathers disciplines us, so God treats us as His heirs when He disciplines us/gives us hardships (verse 7-10). We are not to take it lightly and not to lose heart because he disciplines those He loves and accepts as His sons and heirs of His Kingdom (verse 5-6).
Sharing of holiness
He not only disciplines out of His love, but for our own good. So that we might share in His holiness. Later, Paul says we are to make every effort to be holy for without it, NO ONE will see the Lord (verse 14). Discipline brings holiness and makes us more into the image of the Lord as we are able to share and see Him.
Harvest of righteousness and peace
Discipline is gonna hurt ( verse 11) but if we persevere through it, it will “produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (verse 11). This is rather interesting. Paul starts by challenging us to finish a race (verse 1), and now he hints that we are to do it through discipline. That is our training; it is how we are to win this race. It also shows that this training and harvesting takes time (verse 11) and we might go through seasons of training and harvesting.
HOW
Christ as our example and answer
Yes, discipline is training by which we need to finish this race. But we don’t have to do it alone. Christ is our example and our source.
In Chapter 11, faith was the main topic. Here, Paul points to Christ as “the author and perfecter of our faith” (verse 2). We are to fix our gaze on Jesus (verse 2). He is the one who endured the cross, scorned shame, and later was raised and seated next to Father (verse 2). We are to consider Jesus. The way Jesus lived His life gives us the hope and strength we need (verse 3: so your heart will not grow weary and lose heart). Who Jesus is, his identity and power will give us the faith that is needed to persevere like the examples listed in Chapter 11. Also refer to Jars of Clay section in II Corinthians. Reminded me of it as I read this passage.
Please, if you would, just say a little prayer for me regarding James 4:Section of Submitting yourself to God
This section is just really getting at my heart, especially lately. That whole section is something I want to pray through and I hope you will just say one short prayer for me regarding it. Specifically Verse 9: Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Just coming to God in repentance and finding grace.
<3s>
Hebrews 11
Hi all, hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's day.
Let's jump right to it. Chapter 11 is all about faith.
The writer starts off with an informal definition of faith, and makes it an ever present thing by using the word "is" in v. 1: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." It is how Christians should define their lives, through things hoped for and the conviction to live it out even when these hoped-for things are not seen.
From there, the writer lists and describes the faith of a whole slew of Old Testament figures important to the Jews in their history and religion; the list includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, the Exodus generation, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel, and all th eprophets. I don't really have to summarize their feats (or leaps) of faith because it's, well, in the Bible and very accessible to us all, but here are some of my thoughts.
Strangely enough, it is recorded in Genesis that Sarah laughed when she heard that God promised a child to Abraham whose offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. How does this imply faith? In Judges, it is clear that Gideon was slow in moving to war though commanded by God, Samson broke many of his Nazirite vows and quite fond of drink and women, and Jephthah made a foolish vow that he kept. Eventually, Moses grew proud and broke faith with God and never entered the Promised Land. David committed adultery and murder. Yet, the writer includes them in this "Hall of Faith".
I think that what the writer is trying to say is though our faith may be imperfect, it does not impede God in commending them for it. In v. 13, it says "These all died in faith, not having received the things pormised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." The men and women listed here kept their trust in God, knowing they will be rewarded even though they seemed so inadequate at times.
So then, for us Christians, what does that mean? I think the concluding verse for this chapter is quite sufficient in leading into the next section, about Jesus as the center of our faith. Vv. 39-40: "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." These words remind us that that we should look forward in faith, secure in our salvation though the fruits may be slow in coming and the blessings few and far between at the present.
In other news...
It's been a very quiet, relaxing break for me. I finished Beloved, by Toni Morrison, which is an excellent novel - I highly, highly recommend it. I'm reading four or five other novels at the same time, but Beloved was the one I couldn't put down. I also finished the game Assassin's Creed, which also comes highly recommended though the enemy AI was quite moronic and formulaic at times.
I decided in these last few days to sort and organize our family photos. Which I realized is insane, because they're all printed and there are stacks upon stacks of them. My dad took too many pictures when we were younger. I stayed up until 5 AM last night just putting them into categories. And I don't think we have enough albums for these pictures. But it was really cool looking into my family's past, seeing how our surroundings and ourselves have changed.
Looking forward to seeing you all in a few days :)
Let's jump right to it. Chapter 11 is all about faith.
The writer starts off with an informal definition of faith, and makes it an ever present thing by using the word "is" in v. 1: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." It is how Christians should define their lives, through things hoped for and the conviction to live it out even when these hoped-for things are not seen.
From there, the writer lists and describes the faith of a whole slew of Old Testament figures important to the Jews in their history and religion; the list includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, the Exodus generation, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel, and all th eprophets. I don't really have to summarize their feats (or leaps) of faith because it's, well, in the Bible and very accessible to us all, but here are some of my thoughts.
Strangely enough, it is recorded in Genesis that Sarah laughed when she heard that God promised a child to Abraham whose offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. How does this imply faith? In Judges, it is clear that Gideon was slow in moving to war though commanded by God, Samson broke many of his Nazirite vows and quite fond of drink and women, and Jephthah made a foolish vow that he kept. Eventually, Moses grew proud and broke faith with God and never entered the Promised Land. David committed adultery and murder. Yet, the writer includes them in this "Hall of Faith".
I think that what the writer is trying to say is though our faith may be imperfect, it does not impede God in commending them for it. In v. 13, it says "These all died in faith, not having received the things pormised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." The men and women listed here kept their trust in God, knowing they will be rewarded even though they seemed so inadequate at times.
So then, for us Christians, what does that mean? I think the concluding verse for this chapter is quite sufficient in leading into the next section, about Jesus as the center of our faith. Vv. 39-40: "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." These words remind us that that we should look forward in faith, secure in our salvation though the fruits may be slow in coming and the blessings few and far between at the present.
In other news...
It's been a very quiet, relaxing break for me. I finished Beloved, by Toni Morrison, which is an excellent novel - I highly, highly recommend it. I'm reading four or five other novels at the same time, but Beloved was the one I couldn't put down. I also finished the game Assassin's Creed, which also comes highly recommended though the enemy AI was quite moronic and formulaic at times.
I decided in these last few days to sort and organize our family photos. Which I realized is insane, because they're all printed and there are stacks upon stacks of them. My dad took too many pictures when we were younger. I stayed up until 5 AM last night just putting them into categories. And I don't think we have enough albums for these pictures. But it was really cool looking into my family's past, seeing how our surroundings and ourselves have changed.
Looking forward to seeing you all in a few days :)
Hebrews X
Greetings from California, and a happy new year to you and your loved ones.
I just returned from swimming (I spent more time gazing at the sunlit, wispy cloud-streaked sky than I did swimming) and am looking forward to dinner with my family. I hope you have enjoyed your new years just as much, and even more so, than I have enjoyed mine thus far. I will spare you the details of my winter break, knowing that your lives are much more vivacious than any account I can give of mine.
And so, onto Hebrews 10. What follows is simply my thoughts/observations on the chapter, and as such they can woefully wrong. If you disagree, God bless you and please do correct me. I’m more than happy to hear others’ perspectives. I will partition the chapter as my beloved NASB bible does.
vv. 1-18
- in verse 1, the Law is described as a foreshadowing of sorts for “good things to come”, and “not the very form of things.” Its interesting how the word “and” is used to connect the two things, not “but” (even though I think in most circumstances, but is more appropriate). The “and” is not found in the original, but is implied.
- verse 1, what does “things” refer to? Its awfully vague.
- verse 1 exposes a shortcoming of the Law: it can never make perfect those who draw near
- verse 2, its interesting how Paul notes that “having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”. That seems to imply that after being cleaned, we forget our past sins. The phrase “losing consciousness of sins” bugs me, because to me it seems to indicate that though we lose recollection, the history/memory of the sin is still there as the past is immutable.
- verse 3-4 reveals the purposes of those sacrifices, as a reminder, as they cannot take away sins.
- verse 5-7 comes from Psalm 40, although “BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME” is a reference to something else (Hebrews 2:14, 5:17, and 1 Peter 2:24)
- verse 9, Christ came to take away the first (sacrifices) and to establish the second (to do God’s will).
- verse 10, Christ’s sacrifice was enough to sanctify us
- verses 11-14, Christ’s sacrifice can take away sins, while the offering time after time of sacrifices cannot take away sin. Christ is Lord, as He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, and His enemies will be made a footstool.
- verses 16-17 is a reference from Jeremiah 31:33-34
- verse 16-18, now here is the promise of grace, that because of Christ’s sacrifice, our sins will be wiped away, and God will no longer remember them no more. v. 18 “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
vv. 19-25
- verse 20, I don’t quite get the veil imagery. There is something significant about it, and without it, I don’t understand the verse completely. In other words, I only see a shadow, but not the actual image of the thing. A veil is used to cover something, perhaps something holy or perhaps something that would otherwise be viewed as unclean/sinful (I’m thinking of veiled women at this point), but what need do we have of a veil? His flesh is the veil.
- verse 20, I like the reference to a “new and living way”; seems the old way was a dead way.
- verse 22, “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” It can be said that Christ’s blood is so powerful, so potent that it only most be sprinkled to make something clean, whereas for a medium like water, the object has to be completely immersed with potentially the application of some physical exertion. :p
- verse 22, “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” A sincere heart and full assurance of faith, something I think that is much more easily said than done. It may even be considered idealistic, but nonetheless it is something that we should strive for, ask for.
- verses 23-25 paints a beautiful portrait of one aspect of a community: stimulating one another towards love and good deeds, not forsaking one another, encouraging each other all the more as the end draws near.
vv. 26-39
- verses 26-27, a truly terrifying prospect. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.” what may be considered sinning willfully?
- verse 28, perhaps sinning willfully means setting aside the Law of Moses, for anyone who does such a thing dies. without mercy on the testimony of 2-3 witnesses. Thus, the grace of God is not to be taken for granted, to be manipulated and used to one’s own benefit.
- verse 31 sums it up: “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
- verse 34, "…accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.” I think it would be incredible if somebody could say the same about us today.
- verse 35, our confidence will be greatly rewarded, though Paul does not explicitly state how.
- verse 36, endurance, another necessity/good attribute. Again, another promise in this verse, when we have done the will of God. (Although, this brings to mind the question how we could not do the will of God. Perhaps its a question of willingness).
- verse 37-39, a reference to Habakkuk 2:3-4. We shall not shrink back, for those that do find no pleasure in God.
Side note, I met a girl at RYCE (a retreat) named Acacia. Now I do think that that is a most beautiful and clever name. (:
Have a happy new years.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Hebrew 9
Hello everyone! Chapter 9 of Hebrews is pretty long but also awesome so let's delve right in! In my Bible, it is divided into two parts: Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle and The Blood of Christ. The theme of this chapter is to compare the old rituals to the new rituals, made different by Christ's sacrifice. Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle describes the "old" way of worship in the tabernacle (Old referring to the Old Testament). In those times, there were two rooms: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place behind the Holy Place. Important relics were the "gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant" (v. 4). The high priest entered these rooms only once a year with animal blood to atone for the people's sins. Yet the distinction is made that these rituals were only placeholders until the new convenant arrived, explaining why animal blood has (thankfully) fallen out of style. Verse 10 explains, "They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings-external regulations applying until the time of the new order". Now that there is a new convenant, the rituals change accordingly.
The Blood of Christ section starts at verse 11. Christ's blood is now the sacrifice and obviously much more precious than simple animal blood. The animal blood was not enough to "cleanse our consciences" but Christ's blood is (verse 14)! This is how the new convenant is new and improved, the ascent from mere animals' blood to the blood of Christ. The necessity of the new convenant is stated as "a ransom to set them free from teh sins committed under the first convenant" (v. 15). Again I assumed that this referred to the Israelites again and their disobedience regarding the jounrey to the Promised Land and such. It makes sense since Moses is mentioned a bit later in the chapter. Starting in verse 16, it describes how blood is needed to prove the validity of a new covenant (assuming that the words will and covenant are synonyms/interchangeable). In Moses' time animals' blood was used, but for the new covenant Christ's blood was used. There is a constant comparison/reminder of animals' blood in the Old Testament/old covenant and Christ's blood for the New Testament/new covenant. Jesus died for our sins and then entered heaven. The enormity of this sacrifice only needs to be done once as opposed to the continual slaughter of animals that the old rituals required. Through this act, Jesus has forever wiped away our sin, thus negating the need for further animal sacrifices. This singular act is compared to mortal deaths, which only occur once as well (v. 27). To me this seemed like an unworthy comparison for us at least, to have Jesus' one death compared to our one death. There is such a big jump in intensity from the first to the second covenant that the first covenant seems to be referred to as "copies of the heavenly things" compared to the second covenant which is the real deal (v. 23). The last verse prophecies Jesus' return where he will bring salvation. Perhaps then rituals will change again to accomodate this new addition. Personally I really liked this chapter because of the logical juxtaposition between old and new. I hope I analyzed it well enough (and clearly enough!) but please feel free to add on your own thoughts and such!!
In Pittsburgh I've been hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc. Let me know if you want any details on Twilight, Australia, 7 Pounds, or Bolt. hahaha Just relaxing and sleeping a ton (probably way more than necessary). It's not as deathly windy here which is a nice change. Actually today was in the 60s? Craziness. I do miss the sermons/LIFE group meetings from ACCESS though. The sermons at my home church are just not cutting it. :/ Hope everyone is doing well and see you all soon!!
Chrissy :)
The Blood of Christ section starts at verse 11. Christ's blood is now the sacrifice and obviously much more precious than simple animal blood. The animal blood was not enough to "cleanse our consciences" but Christ's blood is (verse 14)! This is how the new convenant is new and improved, the ascent from mere animals' blood to the blood of Christ. The necessity of the new convenant is stated as "a ransom to set them free from teh sins committed under the first convenant" (v. 15). Again I assumed that this referred to the Israelites again and their disobedience regarding the jounrey to the Promised Land and such. It makes sense since Moses is mentioned a bit later in the chapter. Starting in verse 16, it describes how blood is needed to prove the validity of a new covenant (assuming that the words will and covenant are synonyms/interchangeable). In Moses' time animals' blood was used, but for the new covenant Christ's blood was used. There is a constant comparison/reminder of animals' blood in the Old Testament/old covenant and Christ's blood for the New Testament/new covenant. Jesus died for our sins and then entered heaven. The enormity of this sacrifice only needs to be done once as opposed to the continual slaughter of animals that the old rituals required. Through this act, Jesus has forever wiped away our sin, thus negating the need for further animal sacrifices. This singular act is compared to mortal deaths, which only occur once as well (v. 27). To me this seemed like an unworthy comparison for us at least, to have Jesus' one death compared to our one death. There is such a big jump in intensity from the first to the second covenant that the first covenant seems to be referred to as "copies of the heavenly things" compared to the second covenant which is the real deal (v. 23). The last verse prophecies Jesus' return where he will bring salvation. Perhaps then rituals will change again to accomodate this new addition. Personally I really liked this chapter because of the logical juxtaposition between old and new. I hope I analyzed it well enough (and clearly enough!) but please feel free to add on your own thoughts and such!!
In Pittsburgh I've been hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc. Let me know if you want any details on Twilight, Australia, 7 Pounds, or Bolt. hahaha Just relaxing and sleeping a ton (probably way more than necessary). It's not as deathly windy here which is a nice change. Actually today was in the 60s? Craziness. I do miss the sermons/LIFE group meetings from ACCESS though. The sermons at my home church are just not cutting it. :/ Hope everyone is doing well and see you all soon!!
Chrissy :)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Awesome LIFE Group! I hope each of your respective Christmas days were wonderful with blessings as you spend time with your friends and families. I wanted to post especially today for a lot of reasons, but first:
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Hebrews 8
All this talk about Melchizedek comes to a point at Hebrews 8: Jesus is our High Priest. He does not follow the rules set up by men (ie the Levitical priests), but fulfills a role with "better promises" (verse 6) in the "true tabernacle" (verse 2). With Jesus, there is a new covenant, a new promise, a new contract - God promises that he will not remember our sins, that we will be his people, that he will be our God!
I love the image of the church, the label on the church that we are the bride, Christ is the groom. God calls us his people not in the sense necessarily that he owns us, that we are his property like slaves, but we are his people, like a man calls someone his bride (and likewise, the church calls Christ the groom). That's unleashing a whole other discussion, but I'll end with this:
God gives us that new promise. What an appropriate time for this chapter! Jesus came to earth as a real, physical, tangible representation of that promise - that we could know God and be in relationship with him. Amazing. I hope you can appreciate that today.
A song to share with you all: Welcome to our world by Chris Rice. It's an old one, but it's one that's touched me for years, and I hope it'll do the same for you.
-------
Awakening
I was at one of the UIC services one Sunday, the one where Pastor Seth came to speak. It was a crazy moment - he didn't bring up his laptop! Instead, he just took out his Bible, opened up to a passage, and just started sharing what he thought God wanted him to share.
In the midst of his sermon, he started sharing something - he felt like the church at UIC needed to pray. To really come earnestly before God and seek Him in dependence. He threw out a number - 21 days.
21 days.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that Pastor Seth shared about Awakening. It's a movement started by one of the bigger churches in America, where they take 21 days every January to start the year in prayer. It spread, and Pastor Seth had a chance to take part in it. How could he not? Preaching on what he did, throwing out the number that he did, how could our church not take part in this?
Something big is going to happen. I'm not sure what it is, but when God moves, you move with Him, even if you're not sure what it is. And we need to pray. We, as a LIFE group, need to pray. We, as a church, need to pray.
I want this LIFE group to begin now in preparation for these 3 weeks of prayer. If we just decide to give up something when it starts, then we'll be legalistic about it - "Oh, I can't eat because I have to." Instead, what I'm hoping is we come to the point where we all can say, "God, we're giving this up because we want you more than we want this."
As funny as it sounds, it's a way of saying, "God, I want you more than I want chicken shack." And for me, being home, I really want chicken shack. But man, oh man, if we see a thing of God happen... how incredible!
I hope that we can all reflect these next few weeks on what the year has brought us, and where we are now. And I want to encourage everyone to bring prayer requests! Yes, this is a time for our church, but this is a time to bring any request to God - prayers for ourselves and maybe our growth, prayers for our LIFE group, prayers for our friends that are in need, prayers for our campus, prayers for our church...
It's an exciting time coming. But I hope we can all prepare for it so we can get the most out of our time of prayer together. We will give more direction as a group in the coming weeks, but please, I'm asking you to reflect on this past year, look forward to the year ahead, and ask God for blessings in everything that happens this year.
-------
Blog
A more personal announcement: the blog designs are done! Head over there to see them in all their glory and splendor -
Evanston
Downtown
Some things I wanted to bring your attention to:
- Missions Projects : Sign ups are located on the blogs for both summer and spring projects. Please consider these and talk with your parents about them. I want to challenge some of you especially about the summer. Steps of faith require action, and for some of you, the next step of faith would be to participate this summer in our inner-city projects. Prayerfully consider this.
- Winter Retreat : I don't have to sell this as much, but the link is on the blog as well. Last year was pretty awesome, undergrad retreat was pretty awesome, and this retreat is gonna be pretty awesome. And this is one of the last times we'll have to hear Pastor Seth share from his heart, especially with the Jakarta plant coming soon. Sign up soon, with your mounds of Christmas money I know some of you got for Christmas ;)
-------
That's all I have for now. Merry Christmas again, get your sleep in before winter quarter starts up, be good to your parents, and I'll see you in a week and a half =)
-Josh
-------
Hebrews 8
All this talk about Melchizedek comes to a point at Hebrews 8: Jesus is our High Priest. He does not follow the rules set up by men (ie the Levitical priests), but fulfills a role with "better promises" (verse 6) in the "true tabernacle" (verse 2). With Jesus, there is a new covenant, a new promise, a new contract - God promises that he will not remember our sins, that we will be his people, that he will be our God!
I love the image of the church, the label on the church that we are the bride, Christ is the groom. God calls us his people not in the sense necessarily that he owns us, that we are his property like slaves, but we are his people, like a man calls someone his bride (and likewise, the church calls Christ the groom). That's unleashing a whole other discussion, but I'll end with this:
God gives us that new promise. What an appropriate time for this chapter! Jesus came to earth as a real, physical, tangible representation of that promise - that we could know God and be in relationship with him. Amazing. I hope you can appreciate that today.
A song to share with you all: Welcome to our world by Chris Rice. It's an old one, but it's one that's touched me for years, and I hope it'll do the same for you.
-------
Awakening
I was at one of the UIC services one Sunday, the one where Pastor Seth came to speak. It was a crazy moment - he didn't bring up his laptop! Instead, he just took out his Bible, opened up to a passage, and just started sharing what he thought God wanted him to share.
In the midst of his sermon, he started sharing something - he felt like the church at UIC needed to pray. To really come earnestly before God and seek Him in dependence. He threw out a number - 21 days.
21 days.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that Pastor Seth shared about Awakening. It's a movement started by one of the bigger churches in America, where they take 21 days every January to start the year in prayer. It spread, and Pastor Seth had a chance to take part in it. How could he not? Preaching on what he did, throwing out the number that he did, how could our church not take part in this?
Something big is going to happen. I'm not sure what it is, but when God moves, you move with Him, even if you're not sure what it is. And we need to pray. We, as a LIFE group, need to pray. We, as a church, need to pray.
I want this LIFE group to begin now in preparation for these 3 weeks of prayer. If we just decide to give up something when it starts, then we'll be legalistic about it - "Oh, I can't eat because I have to." Instead, what I'm hoping is we come to the point where we all can say, "God, we're giving this up because we want you more than we want this."
As funny as it sounds, it's a way of saying, "God, I want you more than I want chicken shack." And for me, being home, I really want chicken shack. But man, oh man, if we see a thing of God happen... how incredible!
I hope that we can all reflect these next few weeks on what the year has brought us, and where we are now. And I want to encourage everyone to bring prayer requests! Yes, this is a time for our church, but this is a time to bring any request to God - prayers for ourselves and maybe our growth, prayers for our LIFE group, prayers for our friends that are in need, prayers for our campus, prayers for our church...
It's an exciting time coming. But I hope we can all prepare for it so we can get the most out of our time of prayer together. We will give more direction as a group in the coming weeks, but please, I'm asking you to reflect on this past year, look forward to the year ahead, and ask God for blessings in everything that happens this year.
-------
Blog
A more personal announcement: the blog designs are done! Head over there to see them in all their glory and splendor -
Evanston
Downtown
Some things I wanted to bring your attention to:
- Missions Projects : Sign ups are located on the blogs for both summer and spring projects. Please consider these and talk with your parents about them. I want to challenge some of you especially about the summer. Steps of faith require action, and for some of you, the next step of faith would be to participate this summer in our inner-city projects. Prayerfully consider this.
- Winter Retreat : I don't have to sell this as much, but the link is on the blog as well. Last year was pretty awesome, undergrad retreat was pretty awesome, and this retreat is gonna be pretty awesome. And this is one of the last times we'll have to hear Pastor Seth share from his heart, especially with the Jakarta plant coming soon. Sign up soon, with your mounds of Christmas money I know some of you got for Christmas ;)
-------
That's all I have for now. Merry Christmas again, get your sleep in before winter quarter starts up, be good to your parents, and I'll see you in a week and a half =)
-Josh
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Hebrews 7
Ni Men Haoer,
Greetings from the land of jet laggyness.
Since I'm writing on Hebrews 7, I get to add a bit to Louisa's post and answer Levina's questions on Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7 is broken into 2 sections. "Melchizedek the Priest" and "Jesus Like Melchizedek."
Melchizedek the Priest
- Interestingly enough, not only was Melchizedek a priest of God, he was also the king of Salem (vv. 1).
- In being king of Salem, his title also meant "'king of righteousness'; then also...'king of peace.'" (vv. 2)
- Was so great of a ruler and so noble a king that even "Abraham gave him a tenth of everything." (vv. 2) Even the Bible states, "just think how great (Melchizedek) was." (vv. 4)
- "Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever." (vv. 3). Just as Jesus remains the Son of God throughout eternity, the Bible recognizes Melchizedek as God's priest for all of eternity.
- Worthy enough for Jesus to be compared with him (2nd section)
Jesus Like Melchizedek (Had a bit of difficulty with this portion)
- Unlike Aaron (the first high priest), a Levite, Melchizedek who was not a Levite was priest to Aaron the same way that Jesus, a Jew, is the ultimate high priest to everyone.
- Because we are unable to become completely pure through the Levitical priesthood (the laws in the Old Testament), "such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (vv. 27) In addition, "because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood." (vv. 25) the same way that God gave Melchizedek permanent priesthood.
If people would like to add on, please be my guest. I feel as if I haven't covered the entire 2nd half sufficiently.
Pu
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Hebrews 6
Hello, lovely Life Group. Hope the first week of break has been wonderful. I will share more about mine in a bit, but now: Hebrews 6.
What a difficult passage.
The first part (vv. 1-12) left one thought ringing in my mind:
How scary.
(vv. 4-8)
-Can a person, having experienced something so much like salvation, "fall away" to the point where "it is impossible to restore again to repentance"?
-Did that person truly believe to begin with, or were all their "spiritual experiences" just that, only experiences with no life-changing salvation?
-Are believers who "fall away" then doomed to two fates: fruitless faith -- oxymoron (v.8), or impossibility of restoration (v. 4)?
-Should this be taken literally, or is the writer only trying to make a point in highlighting the severity of having long-term immature faith (5:11-14, 6:1)?
These were some of my questions before reading several very helpful commentaries. I wrote them so that they might be a springboard for you guys to seek answers yourselves. I'm afraid if I answer the questions myself on this blog, I will either preach or misinterpret God's Word.
* (vv. 13-20)
An immensely blessing passage. Personally, I really needed these words; I drank them in and let the weight of their truth settle somewhere deep inside. I think I might never tire of reading it. Don't just take my word for it, please meditate on it too.
I hope this helped in some way for your guys' personal devotions with God.
- - - - -
My week was very good. And my week was absolutely miserable.
I guess with the bad news first. I've been sick since Tuesday. Yesterday was my worst sick day yet. I couldn't stop shaking, sniffling, and coughing. I "emptied my stomach of anything substantial" ...5 different times. My first meal since Thursday night was lunch today. I'm feeling better now though, so no worries.
My week was very good (up until being sick) because I got to catch up on reading and relax a little. On Thursday, my 3 closest friends surprised me by visiting me at home. Last night, my best friend Shea came to take care of me. Today, I went with Pastor Tom to a counselor's training meeting for the AF1 retreat. I'm not sure if I'm going yet -- I've been feeling very emotionally drained lately -- but PT is actually really understanding and is giving me time to pray/think about it. And I had a really good time just talking and hanging out with him today. :)
I have much more to do. I hate being sick because I'm just so immobilized by exhaustion. Hopefully this will go away very soon.
- - - - -
Wow, sorry for cutting this so close.
I didn't realize it took me this long to write a blog entry.
- - - - -
Now to go make Christmas goodie-bags for my adorable YG kids! :D
Have a wonderful remainder of break.
What a difficult passage.
The first part (vv. 1-12) left one thought ringing in my mind:
How scary.
(vv. 4-8)
-Can a person, having experienced something so much like salvation, "fall away" to the point where "it is impossible to restore again to repentance"?
-Did that person truly believe to begin with, or were all their "spiritual experiences" just that, only experiences with no life-changing salvation?
-Are believers who "fall away" then doomed to two fates: fruitless faith -- oxymoron (v.8), or impossibility of restoration (v. 4)?
-Should this be taken literally, or is the writer only trying to make a point in highlighting the severity of having long-term immature faith (5:11-14, 6:1)?
These were some of my questions before reading several very helpful commentaries. I wrote them so that they might be a springboard for you guys to seek answers yourselves. I'm afraid if I answer the questions myself on this blog, I will either preach or misinterpret God's Word.
* (vv. 13-20)
An immensely blessing passage. Personally, I really needed these words; I drank them in and let the weight of their truth settle somewhere deep inside. I think I might never tire of reading it. Don't just take my word for it, please meditate on it too.
I hope this helped in some way for your guys' personal devotions with God.
- - - - -
My week was very good. And my week was absolutely miserable.
I guess with the bad news first. I've been sick since Tuesday. Yesterday was my worst sick day yet. I couldn't stop shaking, sniffling, and coughing. I "emptied my stomach of anything substantial" ...5 different times. My first meal since Thursday night was lunch today. I'm feeling better now though, so no worries.
My week was very good (up until being sick) because I got to catch up on reading and relax a little. On Thursday, my 3 closest friends surprised me by visiting me at home. Last night, my best friend Shea came to take care of me. Today, I went with Pastor Tom to a counselor's training meeting for the AF1 retreat. I'm not sure if I'm going yet -- I've been feeling very emotionally drained lately -- but PT is actually really understanding and is giving me time to pray/think about it. And I had a really good time just talking and hanging out with him today. :)
I have much more to do. I hate being sick because I'm just so immobilized by exhaustion. Hopefully this will go away very soon.
- - - - -
Wow, sorry for cutting this so close.
I didn't realize it took me this long to write a blog entry.
- - - - -
Now to go make Christmas goodie-bags for my adorable YG kids! :D
Have a wonderful remainder of break.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Melchizedek
Melchizedek will be mentioned again, especially in Hebrews 7, where the relationship between Jesus and Melchizedek is made clearer.
Melchizedek first appears in Genesis 14. He is actually the first priest, not only that but high priest to be mentioned in the bible. He didn't come from the line of Levites. And he has no successor. It was significant that Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe of Levi (Aaron) but is compared to being the same kind of priest as Melchizedek. In Jewish genealogy Jesus came from the royal tribe of Judah (David), making him a King and a priest--like melchizedek.
hmm this is not really an in depth explanation, but I think reading Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews 7 will help a lot in understanding why the author of Hebrews relates the two together. and an interesting side note--- tithing.. giving a tenth of what we have came from Melchizedek, not an original idea in levitic law.
happy reading! It's snowing like crazy in Jersey right now.
Melchizedek first appears in Genesis 14. He is actually the first priest, not only that but high priest to be mentioned in the bible. He didn't come from the line of Levites. And he has no successor. It was significant that Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe of Levi (Aaron) but is compared to being the same kind of priest as Melchizedek. In Jewish genealogy Jesus came from the royal tribe of Judah (David), making him a King and a priest--like melchizedek.
hmm this is not really an in depth explanation, but I think reading Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews 7 will help a lot in understanding why the author of Hebrews relates the two together. and an interesting side note--- tithing.. giving a tenth of what we have came from Melchizedek, not an original idea in levitic law.
happy reading! It's snowing like crazy in Jersey right now.
Hebrews 5
Hellooooooo from Hong Kong, where it is still in t-shirt and flip-flops weather and (well I would like to say the sun is shining... boo but it is nighttime over here now so nvm that.)
Continuing from the end of ch4, Hebrews 5 talks about priesthood - the criteria and duties of a priest (vv. 1-3); how one is called to become a priest (vv. 4-6); and uses Jesus as an example (vv. 7-10).
It says in v3, 'This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people'.
This reminds me of the Sunday when Pastor Seth came to preach on the last part of the Re:turn series on repentance and forgiveness. Pastor Seth talked about the importance of collective repentance, and pointed out that leaders of the church should take responsibility of the sins committed by the church and repent 'for the people'.
V7 'During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission'.
In one of my quiet times a few weeks ago, I was reading Psalm 102, aka 'A prayer of one afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before God'. In the follow up reading, it says that worship is meant to be real and truthful, as exemplified by Jesus' 'loud cries and tears'.
Ok. This is probably not relevant to what this passage is saying, but I do think it is important to know that we should acknowledge our true feelings in our worship and prayers. By admitting our anger/sadness/anxieties etc to God, we cast these unwanted burdens on Him and let Him be in control of them.
vv 11-14 shifts the theme to our spiritual growth.
vv 13-14 'Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil'.
Ahhh. Foooood.
Milk vs. Solid Food.
I think 'milk' is learning the basics when we first heard the Gospel. It is relatively easy to digest, how we're loved and special in God's eyes; how we can do anything if we have faith and the right motives. We hear all the good things and are protected in this bubble. But we have to grow up. We can't be babies forever. We can't forever crawl on carpeted floors with every dangerous object taken out of our way. We can't forever lie in the crib and wait for someone to feed us. There comes the time when we have to exercise those muscles and start walking. We need to exercise our faith and practice the teachings we've heard Sunday after Sunday. This is when we start to ingest 'solid' food. We gain experience, some harder to digest than others - failures, disappointments... but these are the ones that can provide us with the essential nutrients that will help us grow stronger and more mature.
So yes. It's time to stop waiting open-mouthed for the church to feed us. It's time to really get up on our feet and hunt.
//
Hmm. Oh. Question.
v6, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek'.
I had no idea what 'the order of Melchizedek' was, so I looked up Psalm 110:4 as quoted in the reference.
Psalm 110:4 -
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
...
Then I read the whole Psalm 110 but I still did not get what 'the order of Melchizedek' was supposed to mean.
Any insights? (If not... is it important? After all, it appeared twice in four verses)
Continuing from the end of ch4, Hebrews 5 talks about priesthood - the criteria and duties of a priest (vv. 1-3); how one is called to become a priest (vv. 4-6); and uses Jesus as an example (vv. 7-10).
It says in v3, 'This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people'.
This reminds me of the Sunday when Pastor Seth came to preach on the last part of the Re:turn series on repentance and forgiveness. Pastor Seth talked about the importance of collective repentance, and pointed out that leaders of the church should take responsibility of the sins committed by the church and repent 'for the people'.
V7 'During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission'.
In one of my quiet times a few weeks ago, I was reading Psalm 102, aka 'A prayer of one afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before God'. In the follow up reading, it says that worship is meant to be real and truthful, as exemplified by Jesus' 'loud cries and tears'.
Ok. This is probably not relevant to what this passage is saying, but I do think it is important to know that we should acknowledge our true feelings in our worship and prayers. By admitting our anger/sadness/anxieties etc to God, we cast these unwanted burdens on Him and let Him be in control of them.
vv 11-14 shifts the theme to our spiritual growth.
vv 13-14 'Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil'.
Ahhh. Foooood.
Milk vs. Solid Food.
I think 'milk' is learning the basics when we first heard the Gospel. It is relatively easy to digest, how we're loved and special in God's eyes; how we can do anything if we have faith and the right motives. We hear all the good things and are protected in this bubble. But we have to grow up. We can't be babies forever. We can't forever crawl on carpeted floors with every dangerous object taken out of our way. We can't forever lie in the crib and wait for someone to feed us. There comes the time when we have to exercise those muscles and start walking. We need to exercise our faith and practice the teachings we've heard Sunday after Sunday. This is when we start to ingest 'solid' food. We gain experience, some harder to digest than others - failures, disappointments... but these are the ones that can provide us with the essential nutrients that will help us grow stronger and more mature.
So yes. It's time to stop waiting open-mouthed for the church to feed us. It's time to really get up on our feet and hunt.
//
Hmm. Oh. Question.
v6, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek'.
I had no idea what 'the order of Melchizedek' was, so I looked up Psalm 110:4 as quoted in the reference.
Psalm 110:4 -
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
...
Then I read the whole Psalm 110 but I still did not get what 'the order of Melchizedek' was supposed to mean.
Any insights? (If not... is it important? After all, it appeared twice in four verses)
guesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhat??
SNOW DAY!!
Here in chicago, we're being snowed in. You guys in NJ...I think it's coming your way. I haven't had a snow day since...last year. haha, wahoooo!!!!!! This is the type of day when I wish school wasn't out so that we can all go sledding, make snow angels, a snow woman, a snow fort, or a snow slurpee. :)
I think i'll work on my grad school essays and order christmas presents online hoping that they'll deliver before the 24th. Santa's a procrastinator.
Haha, other chicago-ans, are you inside or outside today?
SNOW DAY!!
Here in chicago, we're being snowed in. You guys in NJ...I think it's coming your way. I haven't had a snow day since...last year. haha, wahoooo!!!!!! This is the type of day when I wish school wasn't out so that we can all go sledding, make snow angels, a snow woman, a snow fort, or a snow slurpee. :)
I think i'll work on my grad school essays and order christmas presents online hoping that they'll deliver before the 24th. Santa's a procrastinator.
Haha, other chicago-ans, are you inside or outside today?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Hebrews 4
Good morning. Hope you've had good mornings, or days, or nights, wherever you are on this planet.
In general, Hebrews 4 continues the theme of "entering into God's rest", goes on to partially say how we may enter that rest, and ends with the exhortation to enter into that rest by holding fast to our confession that Jesus is the Son of God.
In vv. 1-2, the writer talks about how we as Christians must perservere the promise that God gave first the Israelites, then to all Jews and Gentiles who believe. The Israelites did not measure up to the promise because they failed to be "united by faith with those who listened" (v. 2). It doesn't help us Christians if we adopt the same attitude as those Israelites who received the message but "failed to reach" the rest promised us because of disobedience (v. 1, cf. v. 6).
The next passage was rather difficult for me to understand, so my thoughts on this will seem kind of fragmentary. The writer in vv. 3-10 gives somewhat of an ambiguous meaning of what "rest" in God is. Verse 3 emphasizes the importance of faith, saying that "we who have believed enter that rest", not "we who have received the message". Verse 4 describes what God's rest is, referencing Genesis 2:2, where God rests on the seventh day of Creation. I agree with the Expositer's Commentary's interpretation in that this means that He is resting in the knowledge that all He created was very good and taking satisfaction from that, not that He is idly lounging about. In vv. 5-7, the writer talks of the fulfillment of God's promise. The original generation to whom He gave it (i.e., the "wilderness" generation of Israelites who were led out of Egypt) and the writer's contemporaries (i.e., Christians of the 1st century A.D.). I think verse 7 is most illuminating about this. The writer quotes Psalm 95:11, something David wrote: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts". The use of the word "today" stresses the urgency with which we must act on our faith. We cannot be complacent and apathetic in our faith, but active and alert. Then we enter the hard part, at least for me. Verse 8-10 concludes this section by directly addressing the rest that is promised to those who believe. Verse 8 talks of Joshua, which is the Hebrew name of the Greek name "Jesus"; I don't think it refers to Jesus though, because it says "For if Joshua had given them rest", which is a contrary-to-fact condition - Joshua, the successor of Moses, didn't lead them into God's rest did he? Then, in vv. 9-10, the writer talks about rest as a "Sabbath rest", a kind of rest from works, just as God rested after Creation. It is indeed a promise, but one gained through faith and not from mere reception. Hopefully what I wrote about vv. 3-10 was not too...obfuscated.
I like the next passage. It speaks of how we should work to enter the promised rest. It is through God's Word (Jesus is also known as God's Word). Verse 12: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." I don't think God's Word is literally cutting us to pieces, but does in fact penetrate our innermost being. It convicts us when we read it, because it speaks truth! This is how we may "strive to enter that rest" so that we may not "fall by the same sort of disobedience" [as the Israelites did] (v. 11). We are all completely exposed before God and eventually we will have to give an account to Him (v. 13).
Okay, deep breath. Almost done.
The writer writes in verses 14-16 about Jesus as the "Great High Priest". This is a reference to the Jewish custom of the High Priest offering sacrfices on the "Day of Atonement"; it is not just any priest who does this, but the High Priest. And our High Priest is Jesus, who has given the perfect sacrifice for all sins. Verse 15 also says that we don't have an arrogant High Priest who holds himself holier than the people to whom he ministers - He is "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (v. 15). Jesus is divine, but also fully human and did not succumb like we do to temptations and the deceitfulness of sin. So, in a hortatory sentence, the writer concludes that we should approach the throne of grace in confidence (i.e., in faith), "that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (v. 16).
I got the most out of vv. 11-13. If you notice throughout Hebrews, the writer references many verses from the Old Testament to support the argument expounded in this letter. The writer knows the Word of God well and uses it to defend the faith. This is how we should read the Bible as well. Actively. Alertly. With a mind and attitude towards knowing God and not just reading. We'll also know what God wants us to do, what disobedience to God means. We'll know how sin affects us as inviduals and collectively as the community of the Church. I could go on listing things, but I think the point is pretty much there.
It's very easy to not read. Especially since we're on break. But if we don't read even on break...how will we read when we're busy with school? With a job? With a family? And it's not enough to read and know. We have to do it. Just like Josh likes to say. Do it.
Thanks for reading. I know I wrote a lot.
- Tim
In general, Hebrews 4 continues the theme of "entering into God's rest", goes on to partially say how we may enter that rest, and ends with the exhortation to enter into that rest by holding fast to our confession that Jesus is the Son of God.
In vv. 1-2, the writer talks about how we as Christians must perservere the promise that God gave first the Israelites, then to all Jews and Gentiles who believe. The Israelites did not measure up to the promise because they failed to be "united by faith with those who listened" (v. 2). It doesn't help us Christians if we adopt the same attitude as those Israelites who received the message but "failed to reach" the rest promised us because of disobedience (v. 1, cf. v. 6).
The next passage was rather difficult for me to understand, so my thoughts on this will seem kind of fragmentary. The writer in vv. 3-10 gives somewhat of an ambiguous meaning of what "rest" in God is. Verse 3 emphasizes the importance of faith, saying that "we who have believed enter that rest", not "we who have received the message". Verse 4 describes what God's rest is, referencing Genesis 2:2, where God rests on the seventh day of Creation. I agree with the Expositer's Commentary's interpretation in that this means that He is resting in the knowledge that all He created was very good and taking satisfaction from that, not that He is idly lounging about. In vv. 5-7, the writer talks of the fulfillment of God's promise. The original generation to whom He gave it (i.e., the "wilderness" generation of Israelites who were led out of Egypt) and the writer's contemporaries (i.e., Christians of the 1st century A.D.). I think verse 7 is most illuminating about this. The writer quotes Psalm 95:11, something David wrote: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts". The use of the word "today" stresses the urgency with which we must act on our faith. We cannot be complacent and apathetic in our faith, but active and alert. Then we enter the hard part, at least for me. Verse 8-10 concludes this section by directly addressing the rest that is promised to those who believe. Verse 8 talks of Joshua, which is the Hebrew name of the Greek name "Jesus"; I don't think it refers to Jesus though, because it says "For if Joshua had given them rest", which is a contrary-to-fact condition - Joshua, the successor of Moses, didn't lead them into God's rest did he? Then, in vv. 9-10, the writer talks about rest as a "Sabbath rest", a kind of rest from works, just as God rested after Creation. It is indeed a promise, but one gained through faith and not from mere reception. Hopefully what I wrote about vv. 3-10 was not too...obfuscated.
I like the next passage. It speaks of how we should work to enter the promised rest. It is through God's Word (Jesus is also known as God's Word). Verse 12: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." I don't think God's Word is literally cutting us to pieces, but does in fact penetrate our innermost being. It convicts us when we read it, because it speaks truth! This is how we may "strive to enter that rest" so that we may not "fall by the same sort of disobedience" [as the Israelites did] (v. 11). We are all completely exposed before God and eventually we will have to give an account to Him (v. 13).
Okay, deep breath. Almost done.
The writer writes in verses 14-16 about Jesus as the "Great High Priest". This is a reference to the Jewish custom of the High Priest offering sacrfices on the "Day of Atonement"; it is not just any priest who does this, but the High Priest. And our High Priest is Jesus, who has given the perfect sacrifice for all sins. Verse 15 also says that we don't have an arrogant High Priest who holds himself holier than the people to whom he ministers - He is "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (v. 15). Jesus is divine, but also fully human and did not succumb like we do to temptations and the deceitfulness of sin. So, in a hortatory sentence, the writer concludes that we should approach the throne of grace in confidence (i.e., in faith), "that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (v. 16).
I got the most out of vv. 11-13. If you notice throughout Hebrews, the writer references many verses from the Old Testament to support the argument expounded in this letter. The writer knows the Word of God well and uses it to defend the faith. This is how we should read the Bible as well. Actively. Alertly. With a mind and attitude towards knowing God and not just reading. We'll also know what God wants us to do, what disobedience to God means. We'll know how sin affects us as inviduals and collectively as the community of the Church. I could go on listing things, but I think the point is pretty much there.
It's very easy to not read. Especially since we're on break. But if we don't read even on break...how will we read when we're busy with school? With a job? With a family? And it's not enough to read and know. We have to do it. Just like Josh likes to say. Do it.
Thanks for reading. I know I wrote a lot.
- Tim
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Hebrews 3
hey all :)
i hope your breaks are going well and that you are finding rest. chapter 3 of Hebrews talks quite a bit about entering into God's rest.
here are some points as I was studying it.
un: Hebrews 3 starts with Jesus being greater than Moses. (Hebrews 1 & 2 talked about Jesus being greater than the prophets and Jesus being greater than the angels.) The author is clearly distinguishing Jesus --- but not in any way that belittles Moses --- by claiming his superiority.
deux: In the Old Testament, the Israelites led by Moses in the desert were not able to enter into rest because of their disobedience to God. And so the author here also warns us about not "entering into rest". It is rest in a spiritual sense. (And another point, more relevant to the Jews back then, the author is saying that following the old Jewish ways will not be the entry into God's rest, but it is only through following Christ.)
trois: Even though God offers rest to his people, there are some who will still rebel. So let us encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of us may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
---the word "daily" means that encouragement should be habitual
---the word "Today" makes this urgent for today does not last forever.
--- and sin IS deceitful.
quatre: The author is building a case for Jesus as Christ from old testament passages to basically prove to the Jews that He is the Messiah! And so, if He is the Messiah, they must make a decision to live their lives as Christians, even endure persecution. Yes, it'd be easier to stay living in their Jewish customs and traditions because it was under Rome's official protection, but Jesus is the Christ!
----------
I'll update on my family in another post.
And please pray for me as I write my essays for Audiology programs.
I'm applying to NU and Pittsburgh for sure, and possibly Wash U as well.
i hope your breaks are going well and that you are finding rest. chapter 3 of Hebrews talks quite a bit about entering into God's rest.
here are some points as I was studying it.
un: Hebrews 3 starts with Jesus being greater than Moses. (Hebrews 1 & 2 talked about Jesus being greater than the prophets and Jesus being greater than the angels.) The author is clearly distinguishing Jesus --- but not in any way that belittles Moses --- by claiming his superiority.
deux: In the Old Testament, the Israelites led by Moses in the desert were not able to enter into rest because of their disobedience to God. And so the author here also warns us about not "entering into rest". It is rest in a spiritual sense. (And another point, more relevant to the Jews back then, the author is saying that following the old Jewish ways will not be the entry into God's rest, but it is only through following Christ.)
trois: Even though God offers rest to his people, there are some who will still rebel. So let us encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of us may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
---the word "daily" means that encouragement should be habitual
---the word "Today" makes this urgent for today does not last forever.
--- and sin IS deceitful.
quatre: The author is building a case for Jesus as Christ from old testament passages to basically prove to the Jews that He is the Messiah! And so, if He is the Messiah, they must make a decision to live their lives as Christians, even endure persecution. Yes, it'd be easier to stay living in their Jewish customs and traditions because it was under Rome's official protection, but Jesus is the Christ!
----------
I'll update on my family in another post.
And please pray for me as I write my essays for Audiology programs.
I'm applying to NU and Pittsburgh for sure, and possibly Wash U as well.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hebrews 2
Hebrews is incredibly difficult for me. Probably because it's so....logical. Anyways, I'm still really excited to be reading this over break because about two years ago, when I heard that my college church was going through the book of hebrews for bible study, I decided to purchase the book they were using, the NIV application commentary on the book of hebrews! Here I am two years later and I'm finally reading it with life group!
Better late than never, right?
Chapter 2. My questions after reading the NIV, NASB, and the message:
1. What message spoken by angels?
2. Salvation was a) announced by God, b) "confirmed" by those who heard (accepted?) [Message said that salvation was "passed on to us by those who heard it from him"]...different. Confirmed means those who heard it and testified to it. The audience of Hebrews did not hear Jesus firsthand. c) proven by signs, wonders, gifts of the H.S.
3. God has subjected the world to come to man.
4. What does it mean, "little lower than the angels?" talking of man or Jesus?
5. Jesus was made little lower than angels AND was glorified. Man was made little lower than angels and will BE glorified (it has not yet come to pass).
6. How was Jesus "perfected" by suffering? Verse 18- Jesus suffered when he was tempted. Jesus became the perfect mediator and representative of man to God (priest) because he too was tempted, tested, tried, suffered.
7. Jesus calls us his brothers.
Now here are some conclusions after reading the passage/commentary and some application in my own life:
1. The God of the bible is the same throughout it. Some christians have the mindset that the OT God was one of punishment and wrath while the NT God is one of grace and forgiveness. We see here that the author says, if the God of the OT and the old covenant did not spare punishment for a lesser revelation of salvation, what will he do now that there is a greater revelation through JC? (Rhetorical answer: the punishment will be greater.) The punishment for drifting is not specific but it is there.
For my own personal life, this is actually especially relevant. Sure, I don't face the same persecution and harsh life to turn from the true Gospel and true Christianity as the audience of Hebrews did. But I do very much face the materialism and pleasures of this world that tempt me to turn from the true Gospel and true Christianity. I like how the word is "drifting." It's something that happens, not necessarily intentionally, but slowly and gradually. To catch oneself drifting is very frightening. I do not want to drift back and forth but to be living with purpose, truth; I do not want to be told that according to the length of time I've been a Christian, I should be bearing more fruit (later on in Hebrews) but instead I'm still a babe. I want to be growing in God each year no matter how old I get.
2. Everything is subjected to Christ. And everything WILL be subjected to Christ. And Earth will be subjected to man. The kingdom of God has come but it is not yet complete. Here but not yet...
3. The incarnation is really important. Really. How fitting that we're doing this over Chrismas break! Without Christ becoming man, he would not be the perfect mediator. He would not be a perfect mediator between man and God if he did not know temptation, testing, trials, and suffering. He wouldn't be "the way" if he did not come, make himself one of us, and then showed us the way to the Father - living through trust. We would not be his children/brothers. Finally, he wouldn't have experienced death and conquered it if he didn't become human or "made little lower than angels."
Incarnational ministry. Hard stuff. Can I become like someone else, to try to understand where they are coming from, how they think, and what they think about Christ and try to point them to Christ from there?
I think this post is long and nerdy enough. Today, I was thankful for:
1. AAA saying that renewing my car insurance might be lower than the price they originally gave me.
2. The food that God provided me - Curry in the morning and subway at lunch and free cookies and coffee in the afternoon!
3. The encouragement/rebuke from Hebrews and from God.
Better late than never, right?
Chapter 2. My questions after reading the NIV, NASB, and the message:
1. What message spoken by angels?
2. Salvation was a) announced by God, b) "confirmed" by those who heard (accepted?) [Message said that salvation was "passed on to us by those who heard it from him"]...different. Confirmed means those who heard it and testified to it. The audience of Hebrews did not hear Jesus firsthand. c) proven by signs, wonders, gifts of the H.S.
3. God has subjected the world to come to man.
4. What does it mean, "little lower than the angels?" talking of man or Jesus?
5. Jesus was made little lower than angels AND was glorified. Man was made little lower than angels and will BE glorified (it has not yet come to pass).
6. How was Jesus "perfected" by suffering? Verse 18- Jesus suffered when he was tempted. Jesus became the perfect mediator and representative of man to God (priest) because he too was tempted, tested, tried, suffered.
7. Jesus calls us his brothers.
Now here are some conclusions after reading the passage/commentary and some application in my own life:
1. The God of the bible is the same throughout it. Some christians have the mindset that the OT God was one of punishment and wrath while the NT God is one of grace and forgiveness. We see here that the author says, if the God of the OT and the old covenant did not spare punishment for a lesser revelation of salvation, what will he do now that there is a greater revelation through JC? (Rhetorical answer: the punishment will be greater.) The punishment for drifting is not specific but it is there.
For my own personal life, this is actually especially relevant. Sure, I don't face the same persecution and harsh life to turn from the true Gospel and true Christianity as the audience of Hebrews did. But I do very much face the materialism and pleasures of this world that tempt me to turn from the true Gospel and true Christianity. I like how the word is "drifting." It's something that happens, not necessarily intentionally, but slowly and gradually. To catch oneself drifting is very frightening. I do not want to drift back and forth but to be living with purpose, truth; I do not want to be told that according to the length of time I've been a Christian, I should be bearing more fruit (later on in Hebrews) but instead I'm still a babe. I want to be growing in God each year no matter how old I get.
2. Everything is subjected to Christ. And everything WILL be subjected to Christ. And Earth will be subjected to man. The kingdom of God has come but it is not yet complete. Here but not yet...
3. The incarnation is really important. Really. How fitting that we're doing this over Chrismas break! Without Christ becoming man, he would not be the perfect mediator. He would not be a perfect mediator between man and God if he did not know temptation, testing, trials, and suffering. He wouldn't be "the way" if he did not come, make himself one of us, and then showed us the way to the Father - living through trust. We would not be his children/brothers. Finally, he wouldn't have experienced death and conquered it if he didn't become human or "made little lower than angels."
Incarnational ministry. Hard stuff. Can I become like someone else, to try to understand where they are coming from, how they think, and what they think about Christ and try to point them to Christ from there?
I think this post is long and nerdy enough. Today, I was thankful for:
1. AAA saying that renewing my car insurance might be lower than the price they originally gave me.
2. The food that God provided me - Curry in the morning and subway at lunch and free cookies and coffee in the afternoon!
3. The encouragement/rebuke from Hebrews and from God.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Secret Santa Questionaire
To "help" out your secret santa (who have not been assigned yet so be sure to read all the responses!)
answer as little or as many questions below!
Even if you are not participating, feel free to join in on the fun so we can get to know you better!
and it is EUGENIA who will be drawing the names!!
1. Do you have any allergies? care to share an episode?answer as little or as many questions below!
Even if you are not participating, feel free to join in on the fun so we can get to know you better!
and it is EUGENIA who will be drawing the names!!
2. what's something people don't know about you?
3. Sports or activities you participate in in high school?
4. What is your favorite time of year?
5. Who's your favorite person in the world?6. what kind of Christmas cookie would u be?
7. Where do want to travel to?
8. New year's resolution?
9. What character from a novel, movie, etc most resembles you?
10. any pet peeves?
Again there are two simple guidelines
1. Time Limit: now till 1/5/2009
2. Money Limit: Around $10
3. Word/Talk Limit: Zero. sworn to secrecy
4. Excitement/surprises/smiles/hugs during and after secret santa limit: none. go all out.
C u guys in 2009!
Happy Giving
Hewbrews 1
Greetings from the land of mid-60 degree weather! I don't know what's wrong with New Jersey, but I'm not complaining. =) I just got back home after an hour-delay flight, cheesesteaks from Pat's and Geno's, pho in Vietnamese town, and finally back in my home. I can't say it doesn't feel a little surreal, like I can't believe I'm actually here, but it does feel nice to be with my family.
Hebrews 1:
As a lead worshipper / band leader / whatever it is I feel like calling what I do this week, I am absolutely in love with this chapter. I would love to write a worship song the way Paul writes these letters. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (verse 3a). Amazing.
Some thoughts regarding this passage:
- His audience is clearly Jewish. He speaks of "forefathers" and "prophets".
- Being Jewish, the audience already has a good idea that God is the ultimate King, ie that God has more authority than kings, rulers, Hecules, Superman...
- It's possible that the audience didn't accept Jesus as God, only Jesus as teacher, in which case it would make sense that Paul wanted to firmly establish Jesus as God.
I would write more, but Paul writes a lot better than I can. Read it! It's really awesome.
From the wonderful trashland that is New Jersey..
-Josh
Hebrews 1:
As a lead worshipper / band leader / whatever it is I feel like calling what I do this week, I am absolutely in love with this chapter. I would love to write a worship song the way Paul writes these letters. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (verse 3a). Amazing.
Some thoughts regarding this passage:
- His audience is clearly Jewish. He speaks of "forefathers" and "prophets".
- Being Jewish, the audience already has a good idea that God is the ultimate King, ie that God has more authority than kings, rulers, Hecules, Superman...
- It's possible that the audience didn't accept Jesus as God, only Jesus as teacher, in which case it would make sense that Paul wanted to firmly establish Jesus as God.
I would write more, but Paul writes a lot better than I can. Read it! It's really awesome.
From the wonderful trashland that is New Jersey..
-Josh
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