Friday, October 24, 2008
Matthew Ch. 6+7+8
Mat 6:8 "Therefore do not be like them (the Gentiles). For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Joh 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Mat 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Mat 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."
Joh 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Mat 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Mat 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."
Matthew Chapter 7
Since I will not have internet access on Saturday, I'll do this one early :). This chapter is actually one of my favorite chapters, every verse is pertinent. Therefore, I will pick a less tread upon verse in hopes that we may also have the same gift from God and start performing our mission from God.
"28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
As we can see from the whole chapter that the foundation to a life lesson is laid. And from the people's reactions, we know they were amazed with this lesson. We can see from the next chapter that after this sermon was preached, "great multitudes followed Him" (8:1). This lesson drew many people because Jesus spoke with authority. What does speaking with authority entail? First, the person would have to know what he is talking about. Second, the person needs to be convinced of what he is saying to amplify that certainty to the audience. Most importantly, the person would need the agreement from the highest authority, God, fulfill His promises. Otherwise, his promises would be empty and lose authority. Jesus was in complete agreement with God because He told us, "I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me" (John 8:28).
In preaching the gospel today, it is the same for us. Are we ready to teach the Word of God and astonish the listeners? Do we know what to preach? Are we convicted in what we believe to be able to convince others? Are we in agreement with the highest authority and draw power from him who is the fulfiller of the promises we preach? Are we equipped? If not, what do we need to do to be ready?
"28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
As we can see from the whole chapter that the foundation to a life lesson is laid. And from the people's reactions, we know they were amazed with this lesson. We can see from the next chapter that after this sermon was preached, "great multitudes followed Him" (8:1). This lesson drew many people because Jesus spoke with authority. What does speaking with authority entail? First, the person would have to know what he is talking about. Second, the person needs to be convinced of what he is saying to amplify that certainty to the audience. Most importantly, the person would need the agreement from the highest authority, God, fulfill His promises. Otherwise, his promises would be empty and lose authority. Jesus was in complete agreement with God because He told us, "I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me" (John 8:28).
In preaching the gospel today, it is the same for us. Are we ready to teach the Word of God and astonish the listeners? Do we know what to preach? Are we convicted in what we believe to be able to convince others? Are we in agreement with the highest authority and draw power from him who is the fulfiller of the promises we preach? Are we equipped? If not, what do we need to do to be ready?
Matthew Chapter 6
"22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
In English there's a saying that goes "The eye is the window to the soul", and I believe the foundation of that saying is probably from this verse. It is so true. What we see will form an image in our brain. The image in our brain will become our thoughts. Thoughts in turn can turn into actions especially if played in the brain repeatedly. It is especially tough in today's world to keep our body full of light because of the many things we see unexpectedly. If there was TV, the shows and commercials may show inappropriate scenes that are damaging to our body. In USA, I know many commercials are based upon sexual appeal. Even though the actors are not revealing anything, but the scene implies something sexual to the viewers. I heard in Germany that after a certain hour in the evening, their are dirty shows for adults.
With these darkness so readily available to damage our eyes, sometimes it becomes difficult to keep our bodies full of light and not of darkness. Even with Movies and their ratings, we cannot be fooled, because afterall, who rated the movies? Men. Even with cartoons today, many of them have subtle sexual implications. I believe if God were to rate the movies, most of them will be banned and non-producible. We may become oddballs in the society if we haven't watched the latest and greatest movie, but because of that we may be shiny lights for God. That is not to say there are no movies that are watchable, but they are 1 in a million. We can better assess the content by reading the ratings to see what type of damages it can do. There is also a Christian website which rates the movies based on faith with warnings at the end and a recommendation on whether to watch or not to watch. I'm sure even with this faith-based rating, we have to do assessments ourselves. Some movies will still not be appropriate and strike a cord with our individual weaknesses. If one's weakness is violence of sexual contents, then one should stay away from all movies that has even a hint of violence or sexual content to avoid being tempted. If abstaining from movies is difficult, then let this website be a reference in picking one out. http://www.crosswalk.com/movies/archives/
On the flip side, to keep our body with light, we must feed our eyes with light. I'm sure everyone has been getting their share of this light everyday for almost this whole week now :). Not only that, enough to go around and share with others. Let's keep shining for God and for each other by keeping our bodies full of light.
In English there's a saying that goes "The eye is the window to the soul", and I believe the foundation of that saying is probably from this verse. It is so true. What we see will form an image in our brain. The image in our brain will become our thoughts. Thoughts in turn can turn into actions especially if played in the brain repeatedly. It is especially tough in today's world to keep our body full of light because of the many things we see unexpectedly. If there was TV, the shows and commercials may show inappropriate scenes that are damaging to our body. In USA, I know many commercials are based upon sexual appeal. Even though the actors are not revealing anything, but the scene implies something sexual to the viewers. I heard in Germany that after a certain hour in the evening, their are dirty shows for adults.
With these darkness so readily available to damage our eyes, sometimes it becomes difficult to keep our bodies full of light and not of darkness. Even with Movies and their ratings, we cannot be fooled, because afterall, who rated the movies? Men. Even with cartoons today, many of them have subtle sexual implications. I believe if God were to rate the movies, most of them will be banned and non-producible. We may become oddballs in the society if we haven't watched the latest and greatest movie, but because of that we may be shiny lights for God. That is not to say there are no movies that are watchable, but they are 1 in a million. We can better assess the content by reading the ratings to see what type of damages it can do. There is also a Christian website which rates the movies based on faith with warnings at the end and a recommendation on whether to watch or not to watch. I'm sure even with this faith-based rating, we have to do assessments ourselves. Some movies will still not be appropriate and strike a cord with our individual weaknesses. If one's weakness is violence of sexual contents, then one should stay away from all movies that has even a hint of violence or sexual content to avoid being tempted. If abstaining from movies is difficult, then let this website be a reference in picking one out. http://www.crosswalk.com/movies/archives/
On the flip side, to keep our body with light, we must feed our eyes with light. I'm sure everyone has been getting their share of this light everyday for almost this whole week now :). Not only that, enough to go around and share with others. Let's keep shining for God and for each other by keeping our bodies full of light.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Matthew Ch 5
"13You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it[the earth?] be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Chapter five of Matthew is the beginning of a three chapter long teaching Jesus is giving to the people (also called the Bergpredigt in germany).
In German there is a funny description about how Jesus starts his teaching.
"2Und er tat seinen Mund auf, lehrte sie und sprach:".
Diffrent than in the english Bible that i read it mentions that Jesus opend his mouth and than began to speaking and than teach.
There are quite alot of information and most of these things iI do understand literally but in some cases I i was not really able to find and grasp hold of something what has meaning to me. So even if I think like there is a lot to write about the teachings Jesus is giving these people in the past and still giving to us people, I do not really fell able to say much. But I hope that my Bible understanding will grow and that when I read the Bible the second, third time there will be more and more things I do notice and words wich amaze me. ( I do not know what you guyes experienced but this was mine. You know this is the first time for me to read the bible constantly and to take time to think about it. And till now I am gaining profit for what I am thankful. Reading and writing here really does help me.)
I think we all have read at least once every verse in chapter five.
Expecially the part about the salt and the light. And often its more the light which is being emphasized. But sill i decided to take verse 13 where in one verse everything about the salt is told.
(Ah a question. Is there a difference between earth and world? Is there like a difference in dimension?)
The contet of this verse sould again makes us questioning ourselves.
How salty are we? Do we have a good taste or any taste?
Just imagine to be considered as something useless and to be no longer good for anything in the eyes of God. That would be really sad. And as long as you do not have the worth of a proper salt corn sould have you are outside. (hm if we consider ourselves as a salt corn than we are really small) I think the clear seperation and division is scary but it also gives us something sure, firm and of course very clear line.
There should be no inbetween(the line is too narrow^^).
After reading this chapter I also got the feeling that there is still a lot of things for me to learn and to understand. This is good.
And most of all to be learnd is to be sure about what I belive in, may God help me.
Amen
Chapter five of Matthew is the beginning of a three chapter long teaching Jesus is giving to the people (also called the Bergpredigt in germany).
In German there is a funny description about how Jesus starts his teaching.
"2Und er tat seinen Mund auf, lehrte sie und sprach:".
Diffrent than in the english Bible that i read it mentions that Jesus opend his mouth and than began to speaking and than teach.
There are quite alot of information and most of these things iI do understand literally but in some cases I i was not really able to find and grasp hold of something what has meaning to me. So even if I think like there is a lot to write about the teachings Jesus is giving these people in the past and still giving to us people, I do not really fell able to say much. But I hope that my Bible understanding will grow and that when I read the Bible the second, third time there will be more and more things I do notice and words wich amaze me. ( I do not know what you guyes experienced but this was mine. You know this is the first time for me to read the bible constantly and to take time to think about it. And till now I am gaining profit for what I am thankful. Reading and writing here really does help me.)
I think we all have read at least once every verse in chapter five.
Expecially the part about the salt and the light. And often its more the light which is being emphasized. But sill i decided to take verse 13 where in one verse everything about the salt is told.
(Ah a question. Is there a difference between earth and world? Is there like a difference in dimension?)
The contet of this verse sould again makes us questioning ourselves.
How salty are we? Do we have a good taste or any taste?
Just imagine to be considered as something useless and to be no longer good for anything in the eyes of God. That would be really sad. And as long as you do not have the worth of a proper salt corn sould have you are outside. (hm if we consider ourselves as a salt corn than we are really small) I think the clear seperation and division is scary but it also gives us something sure, firm and of course very clear line.
There should be no inbetween(the line is too narrow^^).
After reading this chapter I also got the feeling that there is still a lot of things for me to learn and to understand. This is good.
And most of all to be learnd is to be sure about what I belive in, may God help me.
Amen
Matthew Chapter 5
"Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. "
We often hear that we should shine in this dark world and give light to those, who walk in the darkness. That's true!!! Because if we do so "they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven. "
But one thing we I often forgot to mention, when I came along these two verses, was that before we can shine in this world ("before men") we should shine in the house, so that our light "giveth light unto all that are in the house". So it's important to have a house filled with light first, and afterwards to shine outside the house so that more people may come into this house.
[Also view "only a vessel" 's post: first to solve the problem with our brethren and after the problem is solved to offer sacrifices to God.]
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. "
We often hear that we should shine in this dark world and give light to those, who walk in the darkness. That's true!!! Because if we do so "they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven. "
But one thing we I often forgot to mention, when I came along these two verses, was that before we can shine in this world ("before men") we should shine in the house, so that our light "giveth light unto all that are in the house". So it's important to have a house filled with light first, and afterwards to shine outside the house so that more people may come into this house.
[Also view "only a vessel" 's post: first to solve the problem with our brethren and after the problem is solved to offer sacrifices to God.]
Matthew Ch. 5
Mat 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
Our enemy could be our family or the close friends, who do not believe in God. They revile and persecute you, these conduct is not from they selves, but from the evil one. Because the evil knows our weakness and afraid that the people will go back to God, so he covers the mind of our considerate family and friend, and let them weaken our faith. The greatest commandment in the God’ law is to love our Lord and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Because are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 5, 10). The conduct of love is to praying for them and to pleasing God’s mercy on them.
Luk 12:51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.
Who can pass this temptation can get the fruit of the victory, which means not only ourselves but also the whole family can into the heaven.
Our enemy could be our family or the close friends, who do not believe in God. They revile and persecute you, these conduct is not from they selves, but from the evil one. Because the evil knows our weakness and afraid that the people will go back to God, so he covers the mind of our considerate family and friend, and let them weaken our faith. The greatest commandment in the God’ law is to love our Lord and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Because are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 5, 10). The conduct of love is to praying for them and to pleasing God’s mercy on them.
Luk 12:51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.
Who can pass this temptation can get the fruit of the victory, which means not only ourselves but also the whole family can into the heaven.
Matthew Chapter 5
"23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. "
We can assume from this verse that God will not be pleased with the gift unless we are reconciled with our brethren first. Therefore, if we are holding grudges with our brethren and do not make peace with them, then God will probably not accept our gift. In the same way, if we are unable to love our brethren and live harmoniously with them, God will probably not listen to our offers of prayer (the spiritual incense).
Furthermore, here it mentions that "your brother has something against you", which could be that you do not have something against your brother. Even then, God wants us to reconcile with that person who has something against us even if we have nothing against them. If we know there's something wrong, even if we don't have bad feelings, it is our duty to dissolve the bad feeling with the other person. Many times, these bad feelings result from misunderstandings between brethrens. If everyone can put themselves in other people's shoes before making comments and judgments, I think it would easier to keep harmony between brethrens.
Therefore, even if we do not hold a grudge against our brethren but know that someone has something against us, God will still hold us accountable to make peace before He will accept us.
We can assume from this verse that God will not be pleased with the gift unless we are reconciled with our brethren first. Therefore, if we are holding grudges with our brethren and do not make peace with them, then God will probably not accept our gift. In the same way, if we are unable to love our brethren and live harmoniously with them, God will probably not listen to our offers of prayer (the spiritual incense).
Furthermore, here it mentions that "your brother has something against you", which could be that you do not have something against your brother. Even then, God wants us to reconcile with that person who has something against us even if we have nothing against them. If we know there's something wrong, even if we don't have bad feelings, it is our duty to dissolve the bad feeling with the other person. Many times, these bad feelings result from misunderstandings between brethrens. If everyone can put themselves in other people's shoes before making comments and judgments, I think it would easier to keep harmony between brethrens.
Therefore, even if we do not hold a grudge against our brethren but know that someone has something against us, God will still hold us accountable to make peace before He will accept us.
Matthew Ch. 4
We can see from the verses 17-22 in chapter 4 that since two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, and two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother heard the gospel, then they immediately left their own work and followed our Lord Jesus.
“Immediately” is here most meaningful because usually we will think about our daily food and the lust of eye at first, so that it is hard for us immediately to catch the holy grace from God and to follow the God’s will. Here shows that who wants to follow God’s steps has to strengthen his mind to give up his flesh lust. The salvation is given freely by God.
“Immediately” is here most meaningful because usually we will think about our daily food and the lust of eye at first, so that it is hard for us immediately to catch the holy grace from God and to follow the God’s will. Here shows that who wants to follow God’s steps has to strengthen his mind to give up his flesh lust. The salvation is given freely by God.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Matthew Chapter 4
"Mt.4,17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Jesus begins to preach. I think it´s interesting to have a look at what he did before he begins to preach.
Jesus begins to preach. I think it´s interesting to have a look at what he did before he begins to preach.
- Being a child he "grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." And he also yearned for the word of God and studied the word of God (Lk.2,40-52).
- Then he was baptised by John the baptist and the Holy Spirit came upon him
- Finally he fasted for 40 days and faced great temptation- really great temptation... And he overcame it- he won this inner battle!!
Mattew Ch4
"13Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali"
I never really noticed these parts. But actually there are many verses where the basis of Jesus coming is being exposed- to fullfill Gods will. (And the main will was the plan of salvation..is this right teacher?) After reading this part i started to list all teh places Jesus has been to (only looking ar Mattew). You can say that he changed places for about six times. And the reason why he changed was in three cases, that God had told him, the parents or he was lead by the holy spirit.
1.Egypt -- "an angel of the LORD appeard to Joseph in a dream." Mt 2:13
2.Nazarene -- "an angel of the LORD appeard in a dream to Joseph in Egypt" Mt 2:19
(quite funny... these two verses are nearly identical one one thing is switched)
3.The desert -- "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert" Mt4:1
The other three places which are mentioned where Jesus went to or was were also already decided by God.
4. Bethlehem -- Mt1:22 "all this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said"
5. river Jordan where the baptism took place -- Mt3:15 "do this to fulfil"
6.Capernaum -- Mt 4:14 "to fulfill what was said"
You also may add the place "throughout Galilee", so just the area where he preached, heald and lived after settling down in Capernaum and also the sea of Galilee where he calld his first disciples.
I never really noticed these parts. But actually there are many verses where the basis of Jesus coming is being exposed- to fullfill Gods will. (And the main will was the plan of salvation..is this right teacher?) After reading this part i started to list all teh places Jesus has been to (only looking ar Mattew). You can say that he changed places for about six times. And the reason why he changed was in three cases, that God had told him, the parents or he was lead by the holy spirit.
1.Egypt -- "an angel of the LORD appeard to Joseph in a dream." Mt 2:13
2.Nazarene -- "an angel of the LORD appeard in a dream to Joseph in Egypt" Mt 2:19
(quite funny... these two verses are nearly identical one one thing is switched)
3.The desert -- "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert" Mt4:1
The other three places which are mentioned where Jesus went to or was were also already decided by God.
4. Bethlehem -- Mt1:22 "all this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said"
5. river Jordan where the baptism took place -- Mt3:15 "do this to fulfil"
6.Capernaum -- Mt 4:14 "to fulfill what was said"
You also may add the place "throughout Galilee", so just the area where he preached, heald and lived after settling down in Capernaum and also the sea of Galilee where he calld his first disciples.
Matthäus Chapter 4
1) Satan tries to debauch Jesus with tricks against God. But Jesus hold tightly on God and so Satan has no choice and leaves him.
Our world is full of Satan’s power. For example: war, hunger, illness… Wherever you look there is darkness. But for us Christians there is a light which is Jesus Christ. (Matthäus 4, 16: “das Volk, das in der Finsternis saß, hat ein großes Licht gesehen; und denen, die saßen am Ort und im Schatten des Todes, ist ein Licht aufgegangen.”)
The Bible said that we live in this world but we are not from this world. We are from God. Satan also wants to influence us and we often fall into his trap, because we humans are weak. We often are aggressive, egoistic, jealous… this all are sins. But Jesus gives us the power to beat the evil and it is up to us. We should fight against the evil and disallow it to influence us. Our look should be turn only to Jesus and we should never forget that Jesus is always by our side and will protect us. Because Jesus = victory. We should take Jesus as our example and hold tightly on Jesus.
2) Jesus’s first disciples
Jesus said to Petrus and Andereas: “Folgt mir nach; ich will euch zu Menschenfischern machen! Sogleich verließen sie ihre Netze und folgten ihm nach“ (Matthäus 4, 19+20)
Jesus called Jakobus and Johannes: „Sogleich verließen sie das Boot und ihren Vater und folgten ihm nach“ (Matthäus 4, 22)
I think this is very great because the disciples leaves everything behind them, even their father, and follow Jesus. So I think that Jesus must have an incredible transmission that amazed the disciples so much. When Jesus leaves the world the gives us the Holy Spirit and we should carry on his mission: preaching.
The Holy Spirit is our light and the others should see this. We should not hide our light but let it shine very brightly. The Holy Spirit is like a seed. If we are full of hate and evil, the seed cannot grow and will die. But if we take care of it with love, like Jesus, it can grow strong and very beautiful and can shine with all his power. The other people do not know what it is but they feel attracted to you. So do not hide your light. Do it like Jesus and a lot of people will come to you and becomes religious.
3) Jesus heals sufferer
Matthäus 4, 23: “Und Jesus zog umher in ganz Galiläa, lehrte in ihren Synagogen und predigte das Evangelium von dem Reich und heilte alle Krankheiten und alle Gebrechen im Volk“
At the time of Jesus, He healed a lot off ill and obsessed people.
What about now? Jesus is still at our side, he is in us and the proof of that is the Holy Spirit. Jesus still holds our hands and does wonders in our world. Not only in the past, but also now, in our time. Jesus will heal all our wounds, too, and He will take care of all our problems. So do not care or worry so much, let Jesus handle it!
Thanks God that we can bring all our worries to Him and live in peace and pleasure.
Our world is full of Satan’s power. For example: war, hunger, illness… Wherever you look there is darkness. But for us Christians there is a light which is Jesus Christ. (Matthäus 4, 16: “das Volk, das in der Finsternis saß, hat ein großes Licht gesehen; und denen, die saßen am Ort und im Schatten des Todes, ist ein Licht aufgegangen.”)
The Bible said that we live in this world but we are not from this world. We are from God. Satan also wants to influence us and we often fall into his trap, because we humans are weak. We often are aggressive, egoistic, jealous… this all are sins. But Jesus gives us the power to beat the evil and it is up to us. We should fight against the evil and disallow it to influence us. Our look should be turn only to Jesus and we should never forget that Jesus is always by our side and will protect us. Because Jesus = victory. We should take Jesus as our example and hold tightly on Jesus.
2) Jesus’s first disciples
Jesus said to Petrus and Andereas: “Folgt mir nach; ich will euch zu Menschenfischern machen! Sogleich verließen sie ihre Netze und folgten ihm nach“ (Matthäus 4, 19+20)
Jesus called Jakobus and Johannes: „Sogleich verließen sie das Boot und ihren Vater und folgten ihm nach“ (Matthäus 4, 22)
I think this is very great because the disciples leaves everything behind them, even their father, and follow Jesus. So I think that Jesus must have an incredible transmission that amazed the disciples so much. When Jesus leaves the world the gives us the Holy Spirit and we should carry on his mission: preaching.
The Holy Spirit is our light and the others should see this. We should not hide our light but let it shine very brightly. The Holy Spirit is like a seed. If we are full of hate and evil, the seed cannot grow and will die. But if we take care of it with love, like Jesus, it can grow strong and very beautiful and can shine with all his power. The other people do not know what it is but they feel attracted to you. So do not hide your light. Do it like Jesus and a lot of people will come to you and becomes religious.
3) Jesus heals sufferer
Matthäus 4, 23: “Und Jesus zog umher in ganz Galiläa, lehrte in ihren Synagogen und predigte das Evangelium von dem Reich und heilte alle Krankheiten und alle Gebrechen im Volk“
At the time of Jesus, He healed a lot off ill and obsessed people.
What about now? Jesus is still at our side, he is in us and the proof of that is the Holy Spirit. Jesus still holds our hands and does wonders in our world. Not only in the past, but also now, in our time. Jesus will heal all our wounds, too, and He will take care of all our problems. So do not care or worry so much, let Jesus handle it!
Thanks God that we can bring all our worries to Him and live in peace and pleasure.
Matthew Chapter 4
"1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."
At first glance, this verse is a little puzzling. It almost seemed strange that the Spirit would work with the devil. After giving it some thought, however, it rings a similar tone to the story of Job. It is but God allowing the devil to test Job. In our lives, similar situations could happen with two possible results...1) Triumph over the devil and be attended by God/angels (vs. 11) as in Job and Jesus' case or 2) Fail the test of faith. These incidences serve as trials to refine our faith as pure gold. In our lifetime, there will certainly be a time when God will allow the devil to tempt us. However, God had already promised us that "God is faithful; he will not let [us] be tempted beyond what [we] can bear. But when [we] are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that [we] can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We can see that Job and Jesus were both prepared for this moment in their lives. Prior to being tempted, Job had already shown himself to be "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). He was a person who sacrificed burnt offerings for each of his children whenever a feast was held to purify them in case they have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. We can see from this that if Job cannot even tolerate the possibility of his children sinning in their hearts, how much more will he not allow that of himself.
Before Jesus was tempted, he had fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was well prepared after spending much time with God to withstand the devil's tricks. He was not able to be defeated physically, spiritually, or materialistically. These will be the same tricks that Satan will use to tempt us as promised that "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man" (1 Corinthians 10:13). When the temptations come, are we ready? Are we preparing ourself daily as Job and Jesus had for the time when God/the Spirit allows the devil to tempt us? Will we come out of the battlefield a winner?
At first glance, this verse is a little puzzling. It almost seemed strange that the Spirit would work with the devil. After giving it some thought, however, it rings a similar tone to the story of Job. It is but God allowing the devil to test Job. In our lives, similar situations could happen with two possible results...1) Triumph over the devil and be attended by God/angels (vs. 11) as in Job and Jesus' case or 2) Fail the test of faith. These incidences serve as trials to refine our faith as pure gold. In our lifetime, there will certainly be a time when God will allow the devil to tempt us. However, God had already promised us that "God is faithful; he will not let [us] be tempted beyond what [we] can bear. But when [we] are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that [we] can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We can see that Job and Jesus were both prepared for this moment in their lives. Prior to being tempted, Job had already shown himself to be "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). He was a person who sacrificed burnt offerings for each of his children whenever a feast was held to purify them in case they have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. We can see from this that if Job cannot even tolerate the possibility of his children sinning in their hearts, how much more will he not allow that of himself.
Before Jesus was tempted, he had fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was well prepared after spending much time with God to withstand the devil's tricks. He was not able to be defeated physically, spiritually, or materialistically. These will be the same tricks that Satan will use to tempt us as promised that "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man" (1 Corinthians 10:13). When the temptations come, are we ready? Are we preparing ourself daily as Job and Jesus had for the time when God/the Spirit allows the devil to tempt us? Will we come out of the battlefield a winner?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Matthew Ch. 3
Mat 3:10 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mat 3:12 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
these two verses remind me that we must watch out not to falling into the trick of evil. On the judgement day all of us will be judged. If we do well, then we can get a part from Jesus. If not then we will be through into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Mar 14:38 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mat 3:12 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
these two verses remind me that we must watch out not to falling into the trick of evil. On the judgement day all of us will be judged. If we do well, then we can get a part from Jesus. If not then we will be through into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Mar 14:38 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Matthew Chapter 3
"12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Scary, definitely want to be the wheat :) I'm sure when God says 'thorough', He WILL BE thorough. No if's, and's, or but's about it. He'll probably say, "I already warned you".
"But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[b] And the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:49)
"...blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28)
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)
Scary, definitely want to be the wheat :) I'm sure when God says 'thorough', He WILL BE thorough. No if's, and's, or but's about it. He'll probably say, "I already warned you".
"But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[b] And the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:49)
"...blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28)
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Matthew Ch. 2
Today is my turn to sharing the verses of Mat. Ch. 2 with all of you.
Mat 2:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
At the beginning of this chapter describes that wise men predicted that the king of the Jews is coming. Herod and all Jerusalem are troubled. They are troubled because that they afraid of a new king of the kingdom in the world. We know that Jesus’ coming is for the salvation and set examples for us. The kingdom is built on the heaven, which are no fears no poverty and no different class.
We, as Christians, the people of Jesus Christ only have hope of eternal life but no trouble. Inversely we cannot wait to entering into the God’s Kingdom. Before judgment day we must prepare our self in order not to regretting in front of God.
Mat 2:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
At the beginning of this chapter describes that wise men predicted that the king of the Jews is coming. Herod and all Jerusalem are troubled. They are troubled because that they afraid of a new king of the kingdom in the world. We know that Jesus’ coming is for the salvation and set examples for us. The kingdom is built on the heaven, which are no fears no poverty and no different class.
We, as Christians, the people of Jesus Christ only have hope of eternal life but no trouble. Inversely we cannot wait to entering into the God’s Kingdom. Before judgment day we must prepare our self in order not to regretting in front of God.
Matthew Chapter 3
Short summary:
This chapter gives us a lot of information about "John the baptist" what he eats (grashopper and wild honey), wears (robe made of camel hair) and does (baptize).
He comes across as a odd character but he is the one who firstly mentions the power of Jesus. And he ist very clenching. For example he dares and has no shame to critizice the Pharisee and Sadducce.
The second part of Chapter 3 is about Jesus`s baptism. Jesus is baptized by "John the baptist", although John says that he is undeserving to do that because Jesus is God`s son. But Jesus wants him to baptize him. After Jesus`s baptize the Holy Ghost( shown as a white dove) ascends from heaven to Jesus. A great voice from heaven says that "Jesus is God`s lovely son and that He loves him".
(hope I have translated the verses right^^)
My Analyse:
Although John is shown a little bit oddly for us today and lives without any belongings except his robe, he has got a great soul. His functions are diverse. Baptizing is his job, but he also can critizicing people and telling them that Jesus will come (prophetic talent?). It implies that he receives a lot of gifts from above.
Treating Jesus as a king but himself as a useless person he doesn`t dare to baptize Jesus which you can imply in chapter 3 line 15. But Jesus doesn`t act as a king although he is much more bigger and greater than a king. He allowes John to baptize him which implies that Jesus loves all of us. He isn`t a cruel king, no he is fair merciful. The Holy Ghost shown as a dove comes over Jesus and a voice from heaven calling him God`s son implies that Jesus is in fact our saviour and our messias which refers to chapter 3 line 2 (Tut Buße, denn das Himmelreich is nahe herangekommen). The ariving of Jesus means that the ending time will come soon und the people should be prepared for it.
My resume:
We can be very happy that we have Jesus a fair and lovely God. It doesn`t matter how we look or what origin we have he accepts us. He is like a father to us. He doesn`t despise us. No he loves us like a mother loves his newborn baby. We cannot imagine how big his love is.
This chapter gives us a lot of information about "John the baptist" what he eats (grashopper and wild honey), wears (robe made of camel hair) and does (baptize).
He comes across as a odd character but he is the one who firstly mentions the power of Jesus. And he ist very clenching. For example he dares and has no shame to critizice the Pharisee and Sadducce.
The second part of Chapter 3 is about Jesus`s baptism. Jesus is baptized by "John the baptist", although John says that he is undeserving to do that because Jesus is God`s son. But Jesus wants him to baptize him. After Jesus`s baptize the Holy Ghost( shown as a white dove) ascends from heaven to Jesus. A great voice from heaven says that "Jesus is God`s lovely son and that He loves him".
(hope I have translated the verses right^^)
My Analyse:
Although John is shown a little bit oddly for us today and lives without any belongings except his robe, he has got a great soul. His functions are diverse. Baptizing is his job, but he also can critizicing people and telling them that Jesus will come (prophetic talent?). It implies that he receives a lot of gifts from above.
Treating Jesus as a king but himself as a useless person he doesn`t dare to baptize Jesus which you can imply in chapter 3 line 15. But Jesus doesn`t act as a king although he is much more bigger and greater than a king. He allowes John to baptize him which implies that Jesus loves all of us. He isn`t a cruel king, no he is fair merciful. The Holy Ghost shown as a dove comes over Jesus and a voice from heaven calling him God`s son implies that Jesus is in fact our saviour and our messias which refers to chapter 3 line 2 (Tut Buße, denn das Himmelreich is nahe herangekommen). The ariving of Jesus means that the ending time will come soon und the people should be prepared for it.
My resume:
We can be very happy that we have Jesus a fair and lovely God. It doesn`t matter how we look or what origin we have he accepts us. He is like a father to us. He doesn`t despise us. No he loves us like a mother loves his newborn baby. We cannot imagine how big his love is.
Matthew Chapter 2
"1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem."
It's alarming how we can be so easily misguided by others if we are not mindful to read the Word of God carefully. I'm not sure how it is in Germany, but in the USA, we had always thought there were THREE wise men from the East. This is due to Chrismas cards which print 3 wise men on the cover, Christmas plays which would cast 3 characters for the wise men, and even storybooks of Jesus' birth would say there are 3. However, here it clearly states only 'wise men' (also in vs. 16), it never mentioned how many there were. The best assumption of the number 3 could possible come from the fact that 3 gifts were given to Jesus (vs. 11). People probably assumed that each wise men gave Jesus one gift, hence there must have been 3 wise men, and it could have possibly been correct. However, God never intended to tell us through the Bible how many there really were.
This shows us how easily God's Word can be changed and worst yet, twisted, even if just one word is changed. In the case of the number of wise men, it's probably not so severe to our hopes of Salvation if we thought there were 3. Even then, just imagine the percentage of people in the world (or must just USA) believing there are really 3 wise men who visted Jesus. They probably will keep believing that until they die and never pay much attention to this verse or realize the mistake even if they read it. This may not be a severe problem. However, it becomes severe in the case of Adam & Eve and in matters regarding Salvation. Imagine how many people mistaken the Word of God and the gospel of Salvation. We are all quite familiar with the story:
"16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2)
"4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3)
Although God will most likely not ask us how many wise men there were before He lets us enter Heaven, this small misunderstanding can serve as a warning for us to read the Word of God carefully. We should be careful not to be influenced by other people, media, commercialism, etc..., and definitely not Satan's tricks in twisting the Word of God; because it could cost us our Salvation.
It's alarming how we can be so easily misguided by others if we are not mindful to read the Word of God carefully. I'm not sure how it is in Germany, but in the USA, we had always thought there were THREE wise men from the East. This is due to Chrismas cards which print 3 wise men on the cover, Christmas plays which would cast 3 characters for the wise men, and even storybooks of Jesus' birth would say there are 3. However, here it clearly states only 'wise men' (also in vs. 16), it never mentioned how many there were. The best assumption of the number 3 could possible come from the fact that 3 gifts were given to Jesus (vs. 11). People probably assumed that each wise men gave Jesus one gift, hence there must have been 3 wise men, and it could have possibly been correct. However, God never intended to tell us through the Bible how many there really were.
This shows us how easily God's Word can be changed and worst yet, twisted, even if just one word is changed. In the case of the number of wise men, it's probably not so severe to our hopes of Salvation if we thought there were 3. Even then, just imagine the percentage of people in the world (or must just USA) believing there are really 3 wise men who visted Jesus. They probably will keep believing that until they die and never pay much attention to this verse or realize the mistake even if they read it. This may not be a severe problem. However, it becomes severe in the case of Adam & Eve and in matters regarding Salvation. Imagine how many people mistaken the Word of God and the gospel of Salvation. We are all quite familiar with the story:
"16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2)
"4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3)
Although God will most likely not ask us how many wise men there were before He lets us enter Heaven, this small misunderstanding can serve as a warning for us to read the Word of God carefully. We should be careful not to be influenced by other people, media, commercialism, etc..., and definitely not Satan's tricks in twisting the Word of God; because it could cost us our Salvation.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Matthew Chapter 1
First I want to apologize if I wasn't being very clear. Each person will pick one verse everday from the chapter we read that day. For example, today we are reading Matthew Ch. 1, therefore, everyone will pick one verse from Matthew Ch. 1. Tomorrow, everyone will pick one verse from Matthew Ch. 2, and so on. You are more than welcome to write something everyday of course :). However, on YOUR day, you will pick one verse PLUS write a reflection about the verse. So today is my day, I will pick one verse PLUS write something about the verse. All the rest of you can just pick one verse from Matthew Ch. 1. Alles klar? ^_^
There are actually several verses I would like to share from Ch. 1, since they gave me similar reflections.
"3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife..."
In the geneology of Jesus Christ we see 4 women that were especially mentioned. The parent mentioned is usually just the father, however, these 4 women were the only mothers mentioned. After seeing the women's names and recalling the stories about them, we see something quite odd. These women came from very strange circumstances which we would not consider as good. Tamar had a relationship with her father-in-law, something we would consider very strange and perhaps a sinful way and from that became part of Jesus' geneology (Genesis 38). Rahab as we read this past weekend was a prostitute, someone who we again would consider sinful (Joshua 2). Ruth is a Gentile, a non-chosen race of God at that time (Ruth 1). Uriah's wife is Bathsheba, a woman who King David broke 3 of the 10 Commandments to get. King David coveted Uriah's wife, then committed adultery with her, then sent Uriah to the front line to be killed (2 Samuel 11).
As you can see, all of these women had very complicated backgrounds that we would consider to be bad today. Yet, their imperfect lives were included in the geneology of Jesus, a perfect man. At first it seemed strange and puzzling, however, this tells us that Jesus came to save sinners today just like God had given these 4 imperfect women a chance in his blessings in their time. Therefore, we have a chance at Salvation, because we are just like these 4 women, coming from perhaps not so holy places. Despited their imperfections, God had mercy on these 4 women and made them a part of the plan that became Jesus Christ for Salvation. Today, we also have the mercy of God to be saved and to become part of the plan of God for Salvation. Amen.
There are actually several verses I would like to share from Ch. 1, since they gave me similar reflections.
"3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife..."
In the geneology of Jesus Christ we see 4 women that were especially mentioned. The parent mentioned is usually just the father, however, these 4 women were the only mothers mentioned. After seeing the women's names and recalling the stories about them, we see something quite odd. These women came from very strange circumstances which we would not consider as good. Tamar had a relationship with her father-in-law, something we would consider very strange and perhaps a sinful way and from that became part of Jesus' geneology (Genesis 38). Rahab as we read this past weekend was a prostitute, someone who we again would consider sinful (Joshua 2). Ruth is a Gentile, a non-chosen race of God at that time (Ruth 1). Uriah's wife is Bathsheba, a woman who King David broke 3 of the 10 Commandments to get. King David coveted Uriah's wife, then committed adultery with her, then sent Uriah to the front line to be killed (2 Samuel 11).
As you can see, all of these women had very complicated backgrounds that we would consider to be bad today. Yet, their imperfect lives were included in the geneology of Jesus, a perfect man. At first it seemed strange and puzzling, however, this tells us that Jesus came to save sinners today just like God had given these 4 imperfect women a chance in his blessings in their time. Therefore, we have a chance at Salvation, because we are just like these 4 women, coming from perhaps not so holy places. Despited their imperfections, God had mercy on these 4 women and made them a part of the plan that became Jesus Christ for Salvation. Today, we also have the mercy of God to be saved and to become part of the plan of God for Salvation. Amen.
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