Wandering through the Bible.

But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

1 Peter 3:15

I realize that some weeks of studying the Bible may not be as organized as other weeks. Sometimes there are questions that need to be asked and the answers searched out. Since we are all still new to meeting together and studying the Bible, all of the questions that we have about religion seem to come out at once. 

This can be overwhelming but and frustrating because in no way to I pretend to even think that I know all of the answers. In fact allot of the questions that are asked to me are responded with a question and before you know it what started out as, "Where do dinosaurs fit in the Bible?" somehow leads to "Is it all right to listen to System of a Down?" and then "Would Jesus play Halo?"  

Questions are a part of who we are, and for allot of the questions that are asked there always seems to be something in the Bible. The Bible brings things back into focus and becomes more than just words on a piece of paper but real live book. For a book that has been written some 2000 plus years ago it is very much relevant as it ever was. 

With all of the questions that beg for answers about the details of life there is one important thing to remember. Jesus. 

The New Testament is filled with lots of things about how to live life and what living for Christ is all about. But I find that what Peter writes in his first letter to be absolutely challenging but also absolutely simple. First off, how many of us really set Christ apart as Lord in our hearts? There is so much going on in our lives that those things compete for our hearts space. Whether marching band, relationships, sports, video games, money, friends, television, Facebook, cell phones, etc. Is Christ really our main focus? 

Another thing I ask is do people know that you are a Christian by your actions? Lets face it, everybody judges everybody. We look at someone and our minds start to formulate opinions and we decide whether we will like that person or not. Christians do this all the time but are great at questioning every action that we take. Why do you listen to that crazy band? or Why do you dress that way? Actions do speak louder than words, sometimes. But Peter says be prepared to give an answer to everyone about the hope that you have. Hope? For people to ask you questions about your Hope that have to know that you have Hope. How do you let people know that you have this thing called Hope? 

Then there's a little thing about gentleness and respect. Many people are hostile towards religion and a simple question like "Why do you act that way?" can become a heated argument. Peter goes on further in chapter 3 of his letter to talk about why gentleness and respect but I can't help but think about how important that really is. It is easy to forget gentleness and respect especially in a world that loves the argument and anger. Debate makes for good television and having enemy's seems to be completely accepted in today's world. Yeah, we are going to have enemy's but how many fewer ones could we have if only we showed gentleness and respect? Christ could have easily wiped out everyone that gave him a hard time but he didn't. His love was heavy for those who were against him and doing what was right was far better than what his enemy's wanted. 

Wandering through the Bible opens up a whole lot more questions but leads to discovery and a greater understanding of how awesome God is. 

Everything and this.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

I can do all this though him who gives me strength. (TNIV)

Here we go again with another verse that is one of the all time greats. It's a verse that you'll see plastered on all sorts of things, especially t-shirts and by far is a rallying cry for athletes all over the world. But what is this verse saying?

As you may notice I have put two different translations of this verse in this post because I think it is important to understand its' context. (For those who don't know what context is: the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning. And,  the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs) 

The author of this verse was the apostle Paul. And it's important to know that this verse is at the end of an explanation to the Philippians about certain conditions that Paul had experienced. But it's easy for us to forget the verses before verse 13 of chapter 4 and accept an attitude of invincibility. Then again it is empowering to think that I can do all things through him.

The bible is full of God proving and showing him self to be all powerful. Whenever mankind stepped up and said, "There's no way that will ever happen" is usually when God shows up and shows everyone wrong. Impossible is nothing to God. Unfortunately (and probably fortunately) we are not God. 

Being a small group of friends there commonality's between us all but there are major differences. For example I wondered what subjects in school were our favorites and which ones did we absolutely struggle with. For myself I was not a math student (let alone a good student in most subjects) but I did excel in history and creative classes.  Another thing I wondered is, if we know about Philippians 4:13, do we actually feel the way Paul felt? Do we really think we can do everything though him?

It is great to know that we cannot do all things. In fact Paul himself could not do all things. What Paul could do was be thankful for what God had done and use what God had done to present a path for the future. We all have hopes and dreams and I'm sure that we've all heard that nothing is impossible. But there is also time, and there are good days and bad days. God is the God of them all. I guess it's important to remember that we shouldn't let our plans get in the way of God's and maybe God wants us to face impossible situations so that we can rely on him more. 

Ready for a life change?

You, God, are my God,

   earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary

and beheld your power and your glory.

Because you love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your nave I will lift up my

hands.

I will be fully satisfied as with the 

richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will

praise you.

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of

the night.

Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you;

your right hand upholds me.

Those who seek my life will be 

destroyed;

they will go down to the depths of the 

earth.

They will be given over to the sword

and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by God will glory in him,

while the mouths of liars will be

silenced.

Psalm 63

If you've never been in a small group there are expectations that are great and expectations that are unexpected. Gravity is still in its' infancy but a great thing about the group is that there have been other groups that have come before it. And those that were in those groups have told those who are now in Gravity that small groups can be life changing. So of course that is what we hope for, life changing experiences. One thing that I have said is that I don't plan on life changing experiences when we meet, if that happens, then it happens and in fact, a life changing experience is individual rather than communal. (Though it can be.)

One thing that has constantly come up each week that we have met is the desire to know more about the Bible. There are so many pages that hold stories and mystery's that everyone wants to know what the deal is with every single person, book, letter and stroke of the pen in the bible. (Which leads to lots of questions like, Who is the anti-christ? So far for many in the group it is believed to be Oprah.)

All questions are welcome and we try to figure out some of those questions. One question that I propose is how can the Bible be life changing? Allot of people have read the Bible, in fact many of the predominant opponents of the Bible have read the Bible and yet they don't believe what is in it. How can words on a page stir our hearts?

Looking at Psalm 63 we read of a person who relies on God no matter what. Great, what does that do for me? Going a little deeper there is something else going on. David wrote this Psalm when he was in the desert, probably on the run from his enemies.  I would bet that if I were on the run from those who wanted to hurt me that the desert would be a good place to go because it is rough terrain and the balance between life and death is high. Unfortunately it also means that your own life hangs in the balance without the proper supplies to survive in that environment. 

David does something great in this Psalm. He uses the desert in a way that reflects the feelings of his heart. In the desert the first thing on your mind might be water, well for David he thirsts for God. David's life was filled with God experiences (that battle with Goliath, etc.) so he knows the power that God holds. David did not rest on one or two experiences with God but wanted to know God more. David's desire for God was insatiable. 

How can we have an insatiable desire for God? Let alone, do we even have an insatiable desire for God? Do we feel like David feels in Psalm 63 or are we content with wanting to be close on retreats or Sunday mornings?

I bet that if we had the same attitude that David had in Psalm 63 that our life's would change, and possibly other peoples life's would change to. 

A Song

Something to enjoy.

Beware! Wolves!

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Matthew 7:15-20

Have you ever been woken up on a saturday morning with someone knocking on your front door? You go and see who it is and there on your porch are two people with a piece of paper and they want to talk to you about pain and suffering. What's that all about? 

Well those of us in Gravity have had an experience like this, and how we've handled that experience varies. From the polite no thanks, to the absurd, I'm a devil worshiper, to the mean door slam in the face and even to the debate. (Which I am guilty of.) 

We all agree that a message of God and hope are a good thing but what kind of God and what kind of hope needs to be examined.  Of course Jesus has something to say about that. 

We know there are allot of people who have things to say about God, and about Jesus and what the future holds and how to interpret the past. But how do you know what someone is saying is right? Check their fruit basket. 

Of course Jesus is not talking about fruit in the fruity sense but he's using an analogy to show us that we have the ability to speak truth but also to utter lies.  Don't trust someone's appearance, doing that you might find yourself in a world of hurt but also figure out what they are saying. 

One challenge that was put forth was to ask questions. Questions allow us to figure out where someone is coming from, what they believe, think about something, like, dislike etc. 

Another challenge is to spend time reading the Bible so that we can know the truth.

One last thing that was put forth was to put ourselves in the shoes of someone who is trying to tell someone else about what they believe. We've all had difficulties expressing our faith with someone else. Heck, rejection isn't fun. We may lose friends and family over what we believe in. People might get angry at us, we may be called names and we may even lose trust in those we really trusted. 

There is allot more that needs to be learned before we can fully come to understanding what God has in store for us but to study the warning signs will help us on our journey.