Giving is a touchy subject. However Paul talks about it openly. He encourages us to give generously. He reminds us that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves, and so we ought to be thinking about people other than ourselves when it comes to our money. The church is to be seen as a family, and family takes care of each other. That is why it is important to give. Does God need our money? Of course not! We give because He deserves it, He gave us what we have in the first place.
But beyond the fact that God asks us to give and so we do, we give so that we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul says that they need our help, and so we should give. Someday we may need their help too, and we would do well to remember that. Giving doesn't come easily, it is a hard discipline to learn, but it is so rewarding. Knowing that you are making a difference in the Kingdom of God is amazing. And if you're lucky, you might even get to see lives change because of the the money that you give. So give cheerfully, you are making a difference!
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The Law?
Some of us get so caught up in the Law. We think that we have to do all this good stuff so that God will love us and if we don't do this or we don't do that at least three times this week then God won't love us anymore. That is so stupid. That thought process isn't really helped out by our churches though is it? We have event after event and you better come to all of them or you don't love God! Stupid. What you do doesn't make God love you, it is what He has already done that shows how much He already loved you from the start! God loves everyone, He always has, He always will. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean everyone is going to heaven no matter what. God loved us enough to provide us a way to heaven through sending Jesus to die for us. If He didn't love us, He wouldn't have done that.
That being said, I punish Micah when he does something wrong. That doesn't mean I don't love him. In the same way, if we chose to reject God then He will send us to hell, but that doesn't mean He didn't love us. This is where the law comes in. Before Jesus, we needed a way to know if we were doing things right or wrong. We can still use the law for that today. The law is perfect, but that doesn't mean it can save you. Only Jesus can. The purpose of the law is to show us how much we need Jesus!
Some people will tell you that you have to keep the law to be saved. Some people will tell you that you have to do a bunch of stuff or not do a bunch of stuff to be saved. THEY ARE LYING TO YOU. Get away from them right now. Only Jesus can save. You can't earn your way into heaven. You can't get there by having enough community service hours. Only through the death of Jesus do we have access to heaven. That's the good news of the gospel. Jesus came and died so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven. So take a deep breath, your salvation isn't up to you.
Enjoy the Journey
That being said, I punish Micah when he does something wrong. That doesn't mean I don't love him. In the same way, if we chose to reject God then He will send us to hell, but that doesn't mean He didn't love us. This is where the law comes in. Before Jesus, we needed a way to know if we were doing things right or wrong. We can still use the law for that today. The law is perfect, but that doesn't mean it can save you. Only Jesus can. The purpose of the law is to show us how much we need Jesus!
Some people will tell you that you have to keep the law to be saved. Some people will tell you that you have to do a bunch of stuff or not do a bunch of stuff to be saved. THEY ARE LYING TO YOU. Get away from them right now. Only Jesus can save. You can't earn your way into heaven. You can't get there by having enough community service hours. Only through the death of Jesus do we have access to heaven. That's the good news of the gospel. Jesus came and died so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven. So take a deep breath, your salvation isn't up to you.
Enjoy the Journey
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Greatest Thing
After all the gifts that Paul just finished talking about, he says that none of them are worth anything without love. You can prophesy but don't have love? Useless. You can do miracles but don't have love? Useless. You see, without love Christianity easily becomes full of rituals and deeds that must be done. That isn't what God is looking for. He doesn't need us to do stuff for Him. I mean He spoke the world into existence, He hardly needs us to get anything accomplished! We do things out of love for Him and to show His love to the world.
That is why Paul hammers it home so hard in this chapter. He goes on to give a detailed description of what love looks like so there can be no doubt. Love isn't about me, it is about God and other people! This is the difference between true Christianity and ritualistic religion. Religion would tell us that we need to do certain things to save our own butts from hell. Christianity says that's nice, but you can't save yourself from hell. Let that sink in and let the love for Christ swell within you until it overflows into your life.
Doing good works because you think you have to do them gets tiring fast. Doing things out of love never gets old. That is why you see people who have been married for 70 years still doing things for each other. That is why at the end of the day only three things will be left: faith, hope and love. And that is why the greatest of these things is and always will be love.
Enjoy the Journey
That is why Paul hammers it home so hard in this chapter. He goes on to give a detailed description of what love looks like so there can be no doubt. Love isn't about me, it is about God and other people! This is the difference between true Christianity and ritualistic religion. Religion would tell us that we need to do certain things to save our own butts from hell. Christianity says that's nice, but you can't save yourself from hell. Let that sink in and let the love for Christ swell within you until it overflows into your life.
Doing good works because you think you have to do them gets tiring fast. Doing things out of love never gets old. That is why you see people who have been married for 70 years still doing things for each other. That is why at the end of the day only three things will be left: faith, hope and love. And that is why the greatest of these things is and always will be love.
Enjoy the Journey
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Gifts from God
Sometimes I get a little uncomfortable when people start talking about spiritual gifts. I don't know why, I mean the whole reason we even get to have a relationship with God is because He gave His Son as a gift! Salvation is a free gift, so we should be used to getting things from God by now!
The Corinthians (and I think we still do today) were having a problem though. You see, they were elevating people with more visible gifts, such as preaching, prophesying, healing, to a higher status than those with more subtle gifts like encouragement or administration. Every person on the planet has received gifts from God, and they are all meant to be used to for His glory. We run into trouble when we start thinking that some gifts are more valuable than others. That is when we start elevating people for their gifts instead of elevating God for giving them gifts.
The truth is, if everyone was a preacher and no one was able to be an administrator, there would be no lights on in the building because none of the bills would get paid! Paul uses the example of a body to make his point. If the whole body was one giant eye, we would be a freak. As it is, everyone plays a vital role (and a different role) in the body of Christ. It is ok that we have different gifts! That is the way that God made us! Use the gifts you were given for His glory, that is why He gave them to you in the first place!
Not everyone is a preacher or teacher, and that is just fine with God. He knew that before He made you. There is only one gift that we all have in common, and that is the gift of grace through Jesus' death on the cross. Because of that gift, we can (and have to) show love to the world. Love, Paul says, is the most excellent way. We love because Jesus loves us.
Enjoy the Journey
The Corinthians (and I think we still do today) were having a problem though. You see, they were elevating people with more visible gifts, such as preaching, prophesying, healing, to a higher status than those with more subtle gifts like encouragement or administration. Every person on the planet has received gifts from God, and they are all meant to be used to for His glory. We run into trouble when we start thinking that some gifts are more valuable than others. That is when we start elevating people for their gifts instead of elevating God for giving them gifts.
The truth is, if everyone was a preacher and no one was able to be an administrator, there would be no lights on in the building because none of the bills would get paid! Paul uses the example of a body to make his point. If the whole body was one giant eye, we would be a freak. As it is, everyone plays a vital role (and a different role) in the body of Christ. It is ok that we have different gifts! That is the way that God made us! Use the gifts you were given for His glory, that is why He gave them to you in the first place!
Not everyone is a preacher or teacher, and that is just fine with God. He knew that before He made you. There is only one gift that we all have in common, and that is the gift of grace through Jesus' death on the cross. Because of that gift, we can (and have to) show love to the world. Love, Paul says, is the most excellent way. We love because Jesus loves us.
Enjoy the Journey
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