Wow, I've been Blogging for a year now! I just realized that this is the first month that I haven't posted something on my blog since I started back in 2008. Since it's March 31 already, I guess I better write something....In about three hours I'll be joining in with a large group of bike riders out at Donaldson Center and ride about 30 miles. I keep wanting to join in the group that I'm certain is much faster than I am, but I always chicken out at the last minute. I've been riding in the group that averages 18-19 mph, and I want to see if I can hold my own with the 20+++ mph group. Maybe next week I'll give it a go, I just want to be sure I have my nitroglycerin tablets handy.
This is also my week to teach Sunday School again, so I'm spending a lot of time in Bible study trying to put a lesson together. I'm teaching on Luke 23. The crucifixion and death of Jesus. I'm off on a tangent right now trying to get my mind around all that took place during Jesus' death. Where He was and what was taking place during those three days. The Apostle's Creed, which I grew up saying every week, states that Jesus "descended into Hell", and I'm trying to find the truth in this statement. I'm learning this is a tough topic to understand, Death. The Bible teaches about many types of death (the physical, the spiritual, the first, the second , and so on). I found my self saying "why can't it just be easy to figure out?" But then again, it's the depth of the scriptures that makes studying the Bible necessary and rewarding. Because if it was easy, it wouldn't require a life time of devotion. So I continue ahead....because I hunger and thirst!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Jesus Fish
I can never find a good reason why Christians use a fish symbol on their cars to represent Jesus. I know Jesus called His believers to be "fishers of men", but this doesn't seem like He was desiring to be associated with a fish. Well Angela recently did a Bible study on the book of Jonah and what she found has changed my view of the "Jesus Fish" symbol in a good way. I'm going to try and explain her thought process and explain why we now believe the big fish in the Jonah story is a representation of Christ.
Charles Spurgeon (one of the world's greatest preachers) said that when he reads the Old Testament he makes a "B-line" towards the cross. In other words he believes the Old Testament is written to forecast the coming of Christ and, knowing that, we should be able to find Jesus in all the stories and events. I believe this to be true also. But when I thought about the story of Jonah and the whale, this truth about Jesus was not obvious to me. I assumed the whale was a punishment from God and after 3 days Jonah had learned his lesson and straightened up. After all, this is parental discipline at it's best...when a child misbehaves the parent should punish until the behavior is corrected....right? But this does not line up with the Gospel message. Jesus did not come to punish but to save. So how can this story be about Jesus?
The answer lies in Jonah chapter 2 during his prayer inside the belly of the fish (or whale). It's easily over-looked, but his prayer inside the fish is in the past tense. It is documented word for word because it is in quotations, but he is referring to the past as he is presently in the belly of the whale. This sounds insignificant but it changes the text entirely. Jonah was dead in the ocean!...then the whale that "God provided"(Jonah 1:17) brought this man back from the dead into a re-birth. The whale was Johan's savior, Jonah's salvation. And it was provided to him by God through Grace (Jonah did nothing to deserve it).
Jonah's prayer inside the belly of the whale is one of gratitude and praise. Not two things a person would feel in the midst of a punishment. And only after recognition of, and appreciation for, God's gift of salvation is Jonah set free to do the work God originally called him to do. So punishment did not change Jonah's heart, but God's grace changed his heart.
So with this understanding of the story of Jonah, we have Jonah (the sinner). We have punishment (death by drowning in the sea). We have the whale sent by God (Jesus). And we have a heart that's been changed (Jonah's re-birth). That's a pretty good representation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a pretty good reason to have the symbol of a fish to represent Jesus. So have you been swallowed by the "great fish" yet?..or are you still in the sea?
Charles Spurgeon (one of the world's greatest preachers) said that when he reads the Old Testament he makes a "B-line" towards the cross. In other words he believes the Old Testament is written to forecast the coming of Christ and, knowing that, we should be able to find Jesus in all the stories and events. I believe this to be true also. But when I thought about the story of Jonah and the whale, this truth about Jesus was not obvious to me. I assumed the whale was a punishment from God and after 3 days Jonah had learned his lesson and straightened up. After all, this is parental discipline at it's best...when a child misbehaves the parent should punish until the behavior is corrected....right? But this does not line up with the Gospel message. Jesus did not come to punish but to save. So how can this story be about Jesus?
The answer lies in Jonah chapter 2 during his prayer inside the belly of the fish (or whale). It's easily over-looked, but his prayer inside the fish is in the past tense. It is documented word for word because it is in quotations, but he is referring to the past as he is presently in the belly of the whale. This sounds insignificant but it changes the text entirely. Jonah was dead in the ocean!...then the whale that "God provided"(Jonah 1:17) brought this man back from the dead into a re-birth. The whale was Johan's savior, Jonah's salvation. And it was provided to him by God through Grace (Jonah did nothing to deserve it).
Jonah's prayer inside the belly of the whale is one of gratitude and praise. Not two things a person would feel in the midst of a punishment. And only after recognition of, and appreciation for, God's gift of salvation is Jonah set free to do the work God originally called him to do. So punishment did not change Jonah's heart, but God's grace changed his heart.
So with this understanding of the story of Jonah, we have Jonah (the sinner). We have punishment (death by drowning in the sea). We have the whale sent by God (Jesus). And we have a heart that's been changed (Jonah's re-birth). That's a pretty good representation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a pretty good reason to have the symbol of a fish to represent Jesus. So have you been swallowed by the "great fish" yet?..or are you still in the sea?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Time Out
Well I think my on-line Bible study idea has not found it's right place or time yet. I've made a couple attempts to get a group to regularly read the Bible and journal their thoughts on the Internet, but both the attempts found a decline in interest. It's not only tough to regularly read the Bible, but to journal thoughts for the world to see in addition is proving to be more than my encouragement can fuel. I'm beginning to realize that a lot of people are not comfortable with this form of interaction, and I don't want to be responsible for adding discomfort to reading the Bible (that's the church's job...just kidding). So I'll call a "time out" for now on my Blog Bible study, but I'll keep my feelers out for an opportunity in the future. I still believe it can have it's benefits in the right time and/or place.
So I'll go back to posting random thoughts and things of my interest, and hopefully entertain a few readers along the way. It's interesting to see the "traffic" that logs onto my blog. My post about Oprah and "The Shack" has linked people from all over the country and the world to my site. Apparently if you "Google" that topic, my blog will show up. I'm almost famous...except their visits only average about 2 seconds or so. I keep waiting for Oprah to comment.
So I'll go back to posting random thoughts and things of my interest, and hopefully entertain a few readers along the way. It's interesting to see the "traffic" that logs onto my blog. My post about Oprah and "The Shack" has linked people from all over the country and the world to my site. Apparently if you "Google" that topic, my blog will show up. I'm almost famous...except their visits only average about 2 seconds or so. I keep waiting for Oprah to comment.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Colossians 4
This is the last chapter in this short but powerful letter from Paul. We've had some good discussions going on for the last 3 chapters, and hopefully we can finish this book strong. I've definitely seen more of the depths and riches in the book of Colossians since we stated this study. I hope others have as well.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A young believer
Last year my son, Jacob, asked me if he could get baptized. We were about to swing on a Tarzan rope we had strung over a big gully in our back yard, and I'm pretty sure the fear of dying was weighing heavy on his mind. I talked to him about Jesus and what he believed, and felt confident that he was ready to make that decision for himself. Later that month he met with our pastor and together we all decided that he was to be baptized on his birthday, Feb. 3, 2008. He turned 11 that day...so now that is his birthday on a couple different levels.
Last Sunday after church my daughter, who's 7, asked me if she could get baptized. I said yes, but had intentions of quizzing her later in the week about what she believed about Jesus. Last night was her quiz. I asked her why she wanted to get baptized. She said, because she believes in Jesus. I asked her why she believed in Jesus and she said she just always has. I asked her what Jesus did?, and she answered that He came to Earth and died because of our sins. I asked her what sin was?.. how she knew what sin was?.. and if she was aware of her own sins? She answered all question correct. She then said Jesus came to Earth and died for everyone's sin. Then I asked "who else's?"...she wasn't sure what I was getting at. I said "Jesus died for everyone, but who else?"...she still wasn't sure what I was talking about, after all who's left after "everyone"? Then I said, "Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for you!"(as I was pointing at her). I said, "Jesus loves Carley so much that He came to earth, was beaten, and died on the cross so Carley's sins would be forgiven and Carley could live in heaven with God forever...He did it all for everyone, and He also did it all for Carley." Her eyes began to fill up with tears...so I think she understands and is ready to be baptized.
Last Sunday after church my daughter, who's 7, asked me if she could get baptized. I said yes, but had intentions of quizzing her later in the week about what she believed about Jesus. Last night was her quiz. I asked her why she wanted to get baptized. She said, because she believes in Jesus. I asked her why she believed in Jesus and she said she just always has. I asked her what Jesus did?, and she answered that He came to Earth and died because of our sins. I asked her what sin was?.. how she knew what sin was?.. and if she was aware of her own sins? She answered all question correct. She then said Jesus came to Earth and died for everyone's sin. Then I asked "who else's?"...she wasn't sure what I was getting at. I said "Jesus died for everyone, but who else?"...she still wasn't sure what I was talking about, after all who's left after "everyone"? Then I said, "Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for you!"(as I was pointing at her). I said, "Jesus loves Carley so much that He came to earth, was beaten, and died on the cross so Carley's sins would be forgiven and Carley could live in heaven with God forever...He did it all for everyone, and He also did it all for Carley." Her eyes began to fill up with tears...so I think she understands and is ready to be baptized.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Colossians chapter 3
I still have much more time I need to dedicate to both chapters 1 and 2, but for those of you who want to press on to chapter 3, feel free to post as you feel lead. Hopefully it's evident to those who didn't already know, that the Bible has too much in it to just read it like a novel. We've been on chapters 1 and 2 for over a month now! So much for reading the Bible in a year. But I trust that others are learning as much as I've been learning. And I truly appreciate those that are helping me be more accountable to my connection with God through His Word. And isn't Colossians an incredible book?...just wait until we get to Romans, Corinthians, Ecclesiastes, Acts, Hebrews, James, Isaiah, John....where do I stop?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Colossians Chapter 2
To keep the discussions flowing, I'll start this new post on Chapter 2 of Colossians. The chapter 1 discussion is still on going and feel free to keep adding to it. I don't think we've tapped out all it's truths yet. But I can already tell that chapter 2 has much to discuss and I'm looking forward to getting into it. Hopefully everyone involved can see that a close study of the scriptures opens up many thoughts, studies, and discussions. That's my intent and I appreciate all who are actively involved as well as those who are quietly following along. But to those quiet ones, I want to encourage you to contribute to the discussion. Just searching for something to write in these forums often times opens up your mind to new and challenging thoughts. Give it a try!
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