The Triangle

Well, its been awhile since I logged on. I have missed the blog and blogging. Haven't twittered yet or defragged but maybe one day. I have missed seeing everyone. Hope things are well. Hope everyone is doing good. I would like to share with you a devotional that I have read regarding an author's use of geometric shapes to remind us of our relationship to GOD and others. The first one is on the triangle. This is not anything new, the triangle is used widely in Christian art to symbolize the Trinity. But I thought I would share this little spin on it with you none the less.

Jesus would frequently retreat to "lonely" places to pray during his earthly ministry. There he was able to totally focus on The Father, and who he was, who Jesus was within The Father, and what he (Jesus)was supposed to do in this world.

Jesus also had disciples and friends. Those he trusted, those he loved, those he taught before his ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus also ministered and served others in the world. He was not exclusive. He was inclusive. He did not come into the world to condemn it but to save it.

So in summary: We recognize the triangle as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit". Thru faith in the Son, we have access to the Father, and are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Now, tweak the triangle just a little and lets recognize that part of "conforming to the image of the Son" is to rest within the Father, know who the Father is, know what the Father is about, know what characteristics the Father has, and then we will know who we are, and what we are supposed to do in this world. Then, we have to ask, do we treat our friends and family like Jesus treated his? Then, do we emulate him by being a ministering presence to others and serve others as Jesus would have us do? The triangle: a symbol of the Holy Trinity, but also a symbol of our relationship with GOD and others.

Next SOAP Book

The next SOAP bible study book will be Habakkuk. Habakkuk is all about a conversation between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk sees so much injustice and wonders why God allows it to happen. Habakkuk is a short little book - only three chapters and it is located very near the end of the Old Testament.

If you are new to this study method and would like to join us, we will start with chapter one. Read the chapter, think it through, pray it in. Then your post can consist of the following elements - S - scripture, O - observation, A- application or assessment, P- prayer.

If you prefer not being quite so locked in to a format that's no problem - comment anyway. There is not a hard and fast rule - we are just using this framework to become more focused on more in depth study.

We hope you will join us!

My Philippians 4

I'm actually reading a book on verse 11 right now called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs. I just haven't gotten very far into it yet though.

Scripture

vs 10-19

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed you were concerned before but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well to share with me and my affliction and you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel after I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone, for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs, not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance, I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God and my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Observation

After becoming a Christian, Paul had a pretty rough life. Beatings, shipwrecks, disease, being thrown in jail. But he learned something that made him be able to endure all those hardships. He learned to be content. How was it that he learned this? I think it is that Paul understood God's sovereignty and providence and trusted that whatever he was experiencing at the moment was exactly what God had planned for him. Paul knew God was in charge and would orchestrate events in order to fulfill His purposes.

Application

If anything, I think it is an encouragement to me that Paul learned contentment. If Paul could learn it, maybe I can, too. It might be hard, but I know it would be worth it to be content in the Lord. I know it isn't something I can learn on my own though, but through study and prayer, hopefully God will provide me with more contentment.

Prayer

Father, teach me to be content like Paul. Let me not be swayed by my circumstances but fully put my trust in You. I ask that you would use the book I am reading on contentment to help me in this area of my life.

Phil 4 SOAP

Sorry this took so long - between business and feeling like crap, I've been occupied. Anyway, here goes:

vs1: This should reall belong to the previous chapter, so I'll skip it.

Scripture: vs2-3
Observation: It seems these two ladies were at one time working together with Paul, but had a falling out.
Assessment: Dissension in the body of Christ is an oxymoron - or it should be. One body with many parts - that is how Paul describes us many times throught his epistles. When that unity is fractured, our work for Christ suffers as we focus on the dissension itself, taking sides against members of the body. I am thinking specifically about what happened recently.
Prayer: Father, give me a spirit of forgiveness for theones who hurt me - just as Jesus forgave those who hurt Him. Replace my animosity with mercy, my ill-will with love, towards those whom I feel have "done me wrong".

Scripture: vs 4-7
Observation: Paul is exhorting us to rejoice in the Lord, and he ties that spirit of rejoicing to presenting our requests to God, and not worrying, and looking for God's peace.
Assessment: When we refuse to give our concerns to God, when we waste time worrying about problems which we may not have any control over whatsoever, when we forget the Lord is near, both in His second coming AND His proximity to us as believers, when we don't pray with thanksgiving (very important to always start prayers off with thanks to God for His blessings, even when we may not feel them to be present), when we forget all those things or refuse to do them, then we forgo the peace of God. And we thereforehave no cause nr ability to rejoice.
Prayer: Jesus, let me never forget to always praise you in thanksgiving for your work on the cross, whatever my circumstances. My joy is in You - keep that always in the front of my mind.

Scripture: vs 8-9
Observation: Paul tells us what to think about, AND to put it into practice.
Assessment: If we merely think about the things of God, and don't actually work on them, make them part of our lives, then we are making an exercise in futility. All the Bible study in the world is empty if one doesn't live the Word.
Prayer: Father, let my mind dwell on the things of you - the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable things of You. And I pray that you will give me the strength to put those things into practice in my life - to live your Word, not just read it.

Scripture: vs 10-23
Observation: Paul goes from talking about rejoicing in the Lord to showing the Philippians that he is rejoicing - putting his words into practice. Then he goes on to explain how he can rejoice even though his circumstances weren't that great. Whatever the circumstances, God will give him the strength to overcome and to rejoice in them.
Assesment: I still have a LONG way to go before I resemble Paul in this regard. It is easy to rejoice in the Lord when things are going well, but during the hard seasons, I can find it difficult to pray with joy - which is the time I should be praying the most, thanking God for the things that are going right at the time.
Prayer: Father, I pray that you would give me the same spirit Paul has, wher I can rejoice in You regardless of my condition. My joy is in You - nothing else in this world compares. Let me remember when things are bad, that You strengthen me to overcome all things.

The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

This resonated with me this morning.

In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct `interpretations' of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water. This is the only real harbinger of revival which I have been able to detect anywhere on the religious horizon. It may be the cloud the size of a man's hand for which a few saints here and there have been looking. It can result in a resurrection of life for many souls and a recapture of that radiant wonder which should accompany faith in Christ, that wonder which has all but fled the Church of God in our day. But this hunger must be recognized by our religious leaders.

Current evangelicalism has (to change the figure) laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Carmel. [See 1 Kings 18 for the allusions.-ccp] But God be thanked that there are a few who care. They are those who, while they love the altar and delight in the sacrifice, are yet unable to reconcile themselves to the continued absence of fire. They desire God above all. They are athirst to taste for themselves the `piercing sweetness' of the love of Christ about Whom all the holy prophets did write and the psalmists did sing.

There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy. I trust I speak in charity, but the lack in our pulpits is real. Milton's terrible sentence applies to our day as accurately as it did to his: `The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed.'

The entire book is available to read online. Here is one link to it. The Pursuit of God

"During a train trip from Chicago in the late 1940s, A.W. Tozer began to work on The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night long, the words coming to him as fast as he could put them down. By the next morning, when the train pulled into McAllen, Texas, the rough draft was done" (wikipedia)

The language may be old fashioned but the meaning is so very much what I have felt. Isn't this why we keep studying, why we keep singing, and why we continue to search for a place where we can not only gather with other believers but where we can FIND GOD!

The problems aren't unique to our time or to a particular place. This man wrote words 68 years ago that reach into me today and make me want to stand up and shout AMEN!

We want fellowship, study, teaching, prayer, all of the things that we do to try to reach the one goal that sometimes we lose sight of in the middle of all the attempts to get there. More than that - it isn't just a goal - it is the very thing we were made for! God created us for Him. We are knit together in ways that make us from birth to grave - long for closeness with our Father and all of life is nothing but one (usually very crooked) line of pursuit of that one end.

We are made with a hunger that we try to fill with everything the world has to offer but in the end, we find that it all rots, it all leaves us, and if we are lucky - we find ourselves on our knees, reaching out for the one thing that will make us whole - we just need God!

I wish Mr. Tozer was still around. I would like to have sat in the pew in his church. I pray that all of you find God somewhere today, and feel that irresistible pull that draws us near and has us crying out Abba - Daddy! Amen!

Encouragement Quotient Devotion

I clicked a random link in my feed reader today and ended up here:
You've Been Chosen to Clap and Cheer - Hebrews 10:24-25
I'll share some of the highlights but it is worth a read - it was just what I needed this morning and there were things in it that made it seem like a little nudge from God.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews By Birth And Christians By Faith

To be Hebrews by birth meant that they had entered into the world of Old Testament ritual. They knew and obeyed the Law of Moses. They kept the dietary laws. They sang the Psalms of David. They observed the feast days and tithed their income. They read the prophets and kept the Sabbath day holy. They were Jews from first to last.To be Christians by faith meant that they had heard and believed the Gospel message. They had seen that Jesus was the promised Messiah and they had trusted in that great fact. They now believed that all of the Old Testament pointed toward the coming of Christ. And having made that step of faith, they identified themselves with the fledging congregation of Christians.It was not an easy step to make. Their Jewish friends accused them of treason against Moses. Their families urged them to come back to the synagogue. Their faith was on the firing line every day. Compromise was easy, convictions hard to hold.They were tempted to give up their open identification as Christians and lapse back into Judaism. Many of them had already done it. Many others were thinking about it. For these Jewish believers in Jesus, spiritual warfare was a daily reality. And many of them had become casualties. More:

Needed: A Few Good EncouragersI could summarize by saying that encouragement is fundamental to the Christian faith. It is one of the reasons we come together on Sunday morning. It is one of the most important spiritual gifts. And it is one of the sacred promises we have made to each other. These are the words of our church covenant: We do, therefore, in His strength promise … that we will be careful to encourage each other in the faith and service of our Lord Jesus Christ. And More:

This week I ran across these words: "If you treat a man as he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to become and could be, he will become that bigger and better man." That strikes me as an entirely true statement. People tend to become what we think them to be. They either live up to or down to our expectations. And Still More:

That's what encouragement is all about. That's the ministry God has called us to. That's something you can do this very week. The E.Q. TestBack at the beginning I promised that I would take your E.Q.—your Encouragement Quotient. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

1. Do my words of encouragement easily outweigh my words of criticism?

2. Am I generally uplifting to be around?

3. Do words of praise come easily to me?

4. Would those who know me best consider me an encouraging person?

5. Do I pass along only the good news and swallow the gossip?

6. Do I think more about opportunities to give praise or more about my need to receive praise?

7. Do I tend to focus on the positive qualities of other people?

8. Is it easy for me to be critical of those who frustrate me?

9. When I pray, do I pray for those who frustrate me?

10. Have I been diligent to encourage those closest to me—my children, my husband or wife, my students, my co-workers, my close friends?

Grade yourself this way. If you answered "yes" to eight or more, you are probably an encouraging person. If you answered "yes" to seven or less, you've been drinking too much vinegar and you need to switch over to Gatorade!

And if you go read it you find EVEN more!

Good stuff and stuff I'm not very good at. I need work and I need prayer - and I need to be encouraged to encourage!

Philippians 4 SOAPY suds

Scripture

Three Exhortations

2I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Observation

Paul is giving instructions to the church at Philippi as a whole, but also to some specific member who he names. He brings church down to a personal level. The church at Philippi is not just a far off group of believers but people with names and problems and lives that effect the others who belong to church with them as well as outsiders looking in who may base their opinions on Christians on one little view.

Paul tells the Philippians three important things

1. Agree in the Lord
2. Rejoice in the Lord
3. Think on things of the Lord

Assessment/Application

All three of those things are interrelated and important for there to be fruit in our lives and for us to have a strong Christian witness.

Prayer

I read that exhortation means to encourage or come along side. I pray that the Lord will show me how and when to be more encouraging to my brothers and sisters in Christ. We make it more complicated than it should be – all we have to do is love You enough that there is no room for disagreement, there is no need to think on anything else, and we can’t help but rejoice. Amen

2 Kings 3 “Sing and Sweat”

2 Kings 3

Up til now Elisha had done great things but his ministry was mainly local. In 2nd Kings 3 he bursts onto the national scene. Jehoram is now the king – he is the son of Ahab and Jezebel (which means literally dung heap?)

In the past the land of Moab has had to pay a huge tribute of lambs and rams to the king of Israel and when Jehoram takes over the Moabite king says enough is enough – we are not paying any more.

Jehoram calls on Jehoshaphat, king of Judah to gang up with him to defeat the Moabites. They decide to attack through Edom, which is hot dry dead sea area - desert.

Jehoshaphat is a Godly man but he has a history of making alliances with evil people. He had made an alliance with Ahab that didn’t go so well for him. Back in the time of Ahab he allowed himself to be persuaded to go to battle with Ahab, disguised as the leader in Ahab’s place because it had been prophesied that Ahab would be killed. When the Syrians realized that he was not Ahab he ran away and they killed Ahab anyway. Alliances with evil cause pain, trial, and embarrassment every time and evidently Jehoshaphat doesn’t learn.

Do we learn?

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

We are to be in the world but not let the world be in us.

My personal observation

It is easy sometimes to see that we are walking in the wrong direction, hanging on to wrong relationships. At those times it would be clear and we could extricate ourselves. I think it is often not so clear and maybe it happens a little at a time.

Back to Jehoshaphat – they attack through Edom. After seven days they ran out of water for themselves and their animals.

We run out of water – our time with God in the Word is dry and especially when we are in wrong alliances.

Jehoshaphat tells them that they need to go to the Lord and they ask Elisha what to do. Elisha tells them to do 2 things. Sing and sweat. He tells them to bring him a musician. While the harpist was playing he tells them that the Lord says to dig ditches. This area is near the Dead Sea which is the lowest point on earth. When it rains in Jerusalem the water pours down the mountains onto the plain. God wants them to dig ditches to use this water. They will have plenty to drink. This water and the sun created an optical illusion that made the Moabites think it was blood so, thinking that the kings had fought and killed each other they came down and were defeated.

I Sing - Worship

* There is victory is worship in 2 Chronicles God won the battle without a single sword being drawn

2 Chronicles 20

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the LORD,
For His mercy endures forever.”^[c]
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon

God won the victory but it began with praise.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

* Hard to maintain a bad attitude when you are singing

You come to worship and you are angry – you start singing and your heart starts to soften

* The Lord does some of His best work to background music

Job 38:4-7

4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Acts 13

1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

- After they worshipped the Holy Spirit spoke

The bible tells us to wait upon the Lord. Not wait as in sit on the couch eating potato chips – wait as in how a waiter ministers to diners. What does the Lord want from us. Does He want us to worship? To fall on our knees and pray? Be in the Word?

II Sweat - Dig ditches

2 Kings 3: 20 The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.

We have hindsight – we know that the optical illusion would win the battle but all Jehoshaphat knew was that he was tired and thirsty and God said – dig ditches! Begin with the morning sacrifice and keep digging.

When our time in the Word is dry we have to keep digging ditches – not physical, but spiritual ditches. Keep reading and praying and worshipping. Keep digging ditches and you will see that as the sacrifice of praise is made – God will send water and fill those ditches with His presence in accordance with the depth of the ditches.

Think about: God was obeyed and the ditches were dug and the enemy ran into the trap set by the Lord. If the Moabites had gotten closer they would have seen that it was water.

Some folks don’t read the bible because they say it is nothing but a book about blood and killing, or whatever reason they may give, if they got closer and deeper they would fall deeper and deeper in love with the Word of God.

Depth of ditch – depth of relationship

Interesting find in northern Jordan!

Heard about this yesterday on Fox News Channel.

JERUSALEM: Archaeologists believe they have found the world's oldest church, dating from shortly after Christ's crucifixion. If tests confirm that it dates back to between AD33 and AD70, as the archaeologists claimed this week, it would make it the earliest known place of Christian worship by about 200 years.

A report in The Jordan Times on Tuesday said a very early underground church had been found beneath the ancient St Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to AD230, in Rihab, northern Jordan, near the Syrian border.

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from AD33 to 70," said the head of the Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan.
"We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians - the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ."

A mosaic found in the church describes them as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine". Mr Husan said they were believed to have fled persecution in Jerusalem and founded churches in northern Jordan.

He cited historical sources that suggest they lived and practised religious rituals in the underground church and left it only after Christianity was embraced by Roman rulers in the fourth century.

There is no clear holder of the title of oldest Christian church: various sites claim the honour without definitive evidence.

The bishop deputy of the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, Archimandrite Nektarios, described the Rihab discovery as an "important milestone for Christians all around the world".
Researchers recovered pottery dating back to between the third and seventh centuries, which they said suggested that those first Christians and their followers lived in the area until late Roman rule.

Inside the cave are several stone seats which are believed to have been for the clergy, and a circular shaped area, which is thought to be the apse.

SOAP for Phil 3

Scripture: 7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Observation: After telling the Phil church to rejoice, and rejoice again, Paul is telling them how they may live that rejoicing - only through Jesus Christ, because nothing else can compare to knowing Him. In fact, he says that though he has lost everything else, knowing Christ surpasses that so much that it doesn't matter about his loss - Christ is everything and more.

Assessment: Do I consider the things I have lost for Christ as rubbish? Have i given up that much for Him? If not, why not? Would I be willing to give up more and count it all as gain if I have Christ?

Prayer: I pray that I will focus my life on Jesus, on who He is and what He has done for me, remembering that nothing else can compare to Him. I pray that I would gladly lose all things for the sake of knowing Christ.



Scripture: vs 12 through the end of the chapter.

Observation: Paul uses athletic imagery, making the Christian life as a race to be run. Live up to what you already have attained, and strive mightily for more. Plumb the depths of what it means to know Christ. He speaks to those who are mature (peeps who have been Christians for along time) and tells them that THEY need to think this way. Younger Christians are very passionate, but older ones (not speaking of age) can lose their zeal for Christ, their first love. Paul warns against that, and very emphatically says God will reveal their error to them. Then he tells the Phillipians to follow his example. We all need people to model our behavior on (mentors in Christ) - so follow Paul's example and the example of other people who live accordingly. And always remember that we await something glorious - our Savior, who is working in us to transform us so we resemble Him. And someday, we will be transformed completely.

Assessment: Sometimes i run out of steam in this race. But I am filled up again when I go to Jesus - I need Him more and more. I've been a Christian for almost 9 years now, and I find myself lately WANTING to know Christ so much more. As for examples to follow, I have several, but not only that, I think it should be my goal to be an example for someone else to follow - i want to be able to say in truth, like Paul, that someone should follow my example. Is my walk worth following? Many times, not so. But i want to keep my eyes on the prize, so to speak. the prize being Jesus Christ - our ultimate goal in life.

Prayer: Revive me, Jesus. Give me the want, the hunger for you. Make me conform to you so that someone may look at me and see Christ Himself. I pray that in times of discouragement you would remind me that this world is not everything - the prize, the goal, the Life is yet to come. But You will come. I have faith in that.