For those who aren't acquainted with Radio Free Babylon, or their comic strip, Coffee With Jesus, this particular one also hits on one of my pet peeves.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Let's Talk Galatians!
As we venture through this letter, let me say this up front. This is not intended to be a really deep, in-depth study of the letter. Rather, this is more of a look at the letter, seeing what it says, and then seeing how these words still fit and apply to our lives as God's people in Jesus today. It will be rare that we pull in Greek words, though if it is something that appears helpful, we will do so. I may make some notes about the background of the letter from time to time, as they have some application to our understanding of what Paul is saying there.
If there are elements of this that you would like to dive deeper into, please make use of the comments section to do so. I will try to respond knowledgably.
As we jump in, I have set up my blog so that, when I enter in a Bible reference, you should be able to read it by scrolling your mouse over the reference. So, for instance, today we will look at Galatians 1:1-5. By scrolling over the reference, you hopefully see the whole reading pop up. That way, if you don't happen to be near your Bible, you can see it here. I will be making use of the ESV edition, which you can also find at www.esvonline.org.
As Paul opens this letter, he reminds the readers that he has been sent. The literal meaning of the word apostle is "sent one". He reminds them that he has been sent by Jesus Himself, who called him on the road to Damascus. Given some of the matters about which Paul writes, this reminder is important to put before the Galatian Christians.
Also, I would like to point out one other thing briefly. Paul isn't writing this to one single church, but to several churches. There were likely several churches in various towns in Galatia, and all of them stood in need of hearing what Paul would write.
Finally, as we look at the end of our section for today, we see Paul announcing God's grace and peace to his fellow Christians. As Paul so often does, he points back to God's work in Jesus on behalf of others. Jesus came to deliver them from the evil they would see so often in their world, and Jesus did what He did according to the will of God the Father.
As we think about this for a moment, I think it is worth highlighting that you and I are different from Paul. Paul was personally sent by Jesus. Jesus Himself appeared to Paul and sent him on a very specific mission. In many ways, that seems to be the requirement to be called an apostle. You are sent by one who sends you in his name, with his authority, to speak in his name. So, while we may still be going forth with Jesus' name upon us in our baptism and on our lips, we are not sent in the same fashion that Paul was.
However, that same message that Paul carried is still one that we have within us. We have been taught and instructed, and as people who have been thus instructed, we are sent out into our daily lives as God's salt and light in the world. It may not be required that we speak of Jesus frequently and boldly as Paul did, but when others see our lives, our hope would be that they see evidence of the name of Jesus upon us. In fact, we do have to ask ourselves that, if they aren't seeing the name and presence of Jesus upon us, is there something missing as we live out our lives of faith?
As we say that, we also need to remember that we live in a certain reality and state of being. God's grace and peace has been spoken to us and delivered to us. We live with those as part of our lives of faith. It isn't a one time action, but rather, a state of being that we were brought into, and in which we live, through no action of our own. In the same way, we have the deliverance that Jesus promised, even as we await the day when that deliverance becomes the full reality in which we live. We have the forgiveness of our sins, even as we still struggle with our sin and the temptations to sin that the world throws our way. Our state of being is that of belonging to God in Jesus, and the only thing that can change that is not believing this to be the case.
As a bit of an aside, these are also those kind of "unproveable" things that can be seen only with the eyes of faith. We cannot see "peace" or "forgiveness", but rather, put our trust in the one who declares such a thing to us. While we have been raised and conditioned to have something proven to us (even to the point where someone might say "prove it" if we say we have forgiven them), the reality is that there simply are matters of our faith that cannot be proven. We simply rely upon the integrity and character of the one who says such a thing to us, and when it comes to something as important as God's peace and forgiveness, it is good to know that we can put our trust in Him, who keeps His Word to us.
If there are elements of this that you would like to dive deeper into, please make use of the comments section to do so. I will try to respond knowledgably.
As we jump in, I have set up my blog so that, when I enter in a Bible reference, you should be able to read it by scrolling your mouse over the reference. So, for instance, today we will look at Galatians 1:1-5. By scrolling over the reference, you hopefully see the whole reading pop up. That way, if you don't happen to be near your Bible, you can see it here. I will be making use of the ESV edition, which you can also find at www.esvonline.org.
As Paul opens this letter, he reminds the readers that he has been sent. The literal meaning of the word apostle is "sent one". He reminds them that he has been sent by Jesus Himself, who called him on the road to Damascus. Given some of the matters about which Paul writes, this reminder is important to put before the Galatian Christians.
Also, I would like to point out one other thing briefly. Paul isn't writing this to one single church, but to several churches. There were likely several churches in various towns in Galatia, and all of them stood in need of hearing what Paul would write.
Finally, as we look at the end of our section for today, we see Paul announcing God's grace and peace to his fellow Christians. As Paul so often does, he points back to God's work in Jesus on behalf of others. Jesus came to deliver them from the evil they would see so often in their world, and Jesus did what He did according to the will of God the Father.
As we think about this for a moment, I think it is worth highlighting that you and I are different from Paul. Paul was personally sent by Jesus. Jesus Himself appeared to Paul and sent him on a very specific mission. In many ways, that seems to be the requirement to be called an apostle. You are sent by one who sends you in his name, with his authority, to speak in his name. So, while we may still be going forth with Jesus' name upon us in our baptism and on our lips, we are not sent in the same fashion that Paul was.
However, that same message that Paul carried is still one that we have within us. We have been taught and instructed, and as people who have been thus instructed, we are sent out into our daily lives as God's salt and light in the world. It may not be required that we speak of Jesus frequently and boldly as Paul did, but when others see our lives, our hope would be that they see evidence of the name of Jesus upon us. In fact, we do have to ask ourselves that, if they aren't seeing the name and presence of Jesus upon us, is there something missing as we live out our lives of faith?
As we say that, we also need to remember that we live in a certain reality and state of being. God's grace and peace has been spoken to us and delivered to us. We live with those as part of our lives of faith. It isn't a one time action, but rather, a state of being that we were brought into, and in which we live, through no action of our own. In the same way, we have the deliverance that Jesus promised, even as we await the day when that deliverance becomes the full reality in which we live. We have the forgiveness of our sins, even as we still struggle with our sin and the temptations to sin that the world throws our way. Our state of being is that of belonging to God in Jesus, and the only thing that can change that is not believing this to be the case.
As a bit of an aside, these are also those kind of "unproveable" things that can be seen only with the eyes of faith. We cannot see "peace" or "forgiveness", but rather, put our trust in the one who declares such a thing to us. While we have been raised and conditioned to have something proven to us (even to the point where someone might say "prove it" if we say we have forgiven them), the reality is that there simply are matters of our faith that cannot be proven. We simply rely upon the integrity and character of the one who says such a thing to us, and when it comes to something as important as God's peace and forgiveness, it is good to know that we can put our trust in Him, who keeps His Word to us.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
A Little Catching Up
If you are a regular follower of this blog, I really want to commend you for a moment. You have likely noticed that I have times where I suddenly seem to disappear. This honestly is one of those areas that I wrestle with. I see the importance of expressing our Christian faith, and in being sharpened in those interactions with others, and yet, I also find that it's easy to overlook such a forum as this when other matters become pressing.
So I am thinking that I may try something a little different for a time. Since our life together in Jesus begins with God speaking His Word to us, I would like to adopt the form of a Bible study for a regular series of posts. In this, I would be looking to put forth a few things as we would walk through portions of God's word, and I will also do something that I don't normally do. If you post comments, I will be more diligent about responding, especially to questions or other matters of that nature. I will not promise to respond to each one (just in case a lot of you have thoughts or questions!), but I will engage in the conversation with you in the comments section.
So, for a time, I will be starting us off with a simple walk through Paul's letter to the Galatians. Each day, I will start off with the section we are focusing on for that day, and will give a few key items from the reading. I will likely also include a few thoughts of my own to wrap it up, as I don't want to write you a book each time. I hope that this will then spur us on to deeper discussion and dialogue on God's Word.
We will kick this off tomorrow! I look forward to growing in God's Word with you all!
So I am thinking that I may try something a little different for a time. Since our life together in Jesus begins with God speaking His Word to us, I would like to adopt the form of a Bible study for a regular series of posts. In this, I would be looking to put forth a few things as we would walk through portions of God's word, and I will also do something that I don't normally do. If you post comments, I will be more diligent about responding, especially to questions or other matters of that nature. I will not promise to respond to each one (just in case a lot of you have thoughts or questions!), but I will engage in the conversation with you in the comments section.
So, for a time, I will be starting us off with a simple walk through Paul's letter to the Galatians. Each day, I will start off with the section we are focusing on for that day, and will give a few key items from the reading. I will likely also include a few thoughts of my own to wrap it up, as I don't want to write you a book each time. I hope that this will then spur us on to deeper discussion and dialogue on God's Word.
We will kick this off tomorrow! I look forward to growing in God's Word with you all!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Devoted...to the teaching...and the fellowship
Upon the heels of Peter delivering his great Pentecost day sermon, the people who listened and were touched by God's Spirit responded. Luke tells us that about 3k people were added to their number that day, as they heard of God's care and forgiveness to them through Jesus. And then, even as those were added, we see something else happening, as well.
These people become devoted to this new calling in their lives. That's the word that the ESV uses in verse 42. They devoted themselves. And before we move much further, think about what it means to be devoted to something. I would say that we often water down this word among ourselves. We think about daily devotions, something that is a good thing to start the day or end the day, or fall somewhere in between. Yet, these are often a few moments, and then we are on to the next thing. Again, a good thing for us to be including in our lives, and a sign of our faith. But in many ways, that seems to be how we come to consider our new life in Jesus.
They were devoted. This was something that filled them and their days. God's Spirit filled them, and they devoted themselves to this new endeavor. So, we should look at what they then devoted themselves to. The apostles' teaching. When Jesus told those original apostles to go and make disciples, He also told them to teach everything that He had commanded to them. So, as God's Spirit brought people into belief, they were devoted to learning more about what Jesus taught, and what that meant for their newly created lives in Jesus.
That's not the only thing to which they were devoted, either. They also devoted themselves to the fellowship. They were devoted to the others who believed as they did, who had received the same Spirit and same gifts as they had. They weren't devoted simply to a church, or a particular place of gathering, but to all the people whom God had called in Jesus through His Spirit, as we see in the verses that follow.
Being devoted to the teachings and to the fellowship. In our day and age of church hopping, and of looking for a church that fills "my needs", this kind of thought is rather provoking. That God might call us into a fellowship, and then have us show such devotion, no matter what may happen, even to the point of selling our things to support our brothers and sisters in Jesus, is truly a radical thought for many.
And yet, isn't that the devotion of our God toward us? He who would give all good things for His people, who is so devoted that He not only sent His Son, but who gives them their daily bread, who daily renews them in their baptism, and who promises them a new, renewed life with Him that will never end. Why wouldn't He look to see that same kind of devotion from His people, especially toward one another?
So, how would that look in your life? Are there ways in which this kind of devotion could be played out in your life even more? Perhaps it's the first time you have considered this kind of devotion. Perhaps it seems kind of intimidating, and even impossible. And yet, it's all created by the one who sent a messenger to a young virgin about to have a child through the Holy Spirit, with that simple message being, with God, nothing is impossible.
These people become devoted to this new calling in their lives. That's the word that the ESV uses in verse 42. They devoted themselves. And before we move much further, think about what it means to be devoted to something. I would say that we often water down this word among ourselves. We think about daily devotions, something that is a good thing to start the day or end the day, or fall somewhere in between. Yet, these are often a few moments, and then we are on to the next thing. Again, a good thing for us to be including in our lives, and a sign of our faith. But in many ways, that seems to be how we come to consider our new life in Jesus.
They were devoted. This was something that filled them and their days. God's Spirit filled them, and they devoted themselves to this new endeavor. So, we should look at what they then devoted themselves to. The apostles' teaching. When Jesus told those original apostles to go and make disciples, He also told them to teach everything that He had commanded to them. So, as God's Spirit brought people into belief, they were devoted to learning more about what Jesus taught, and what that meant for their newly created lives in Jesus.
That's not the only thing to which they were devoted, either. They also devoted themselves to the fellowship. They were devoted to the others who believed as they did, who had received the same Spirit and same gifts as they had. They weren't devoted simply to a church, or a particular place of gathering, but to all the people whom God had called in Jesus through His Spirit, as we see in the verses that follow.
Being devoted to the teachings and to the fellowship. In our day and age of church hopping, and of looking for a church that fills "my needs", this kind of thought is rather provoking. That God might call us into a fellowship, and then have us show such devotion, no matter what may happen, even to the point of selling our things to support our brothers and sisters in Jesus, is truly a radical thought for many.
And yet, isn't that the devotion of our God toward us? He who would give all good things for His people, who is so devoted that He not only sent His Son, but who gives them their daily bread, who daily renews them in their baptism, and who promises them a new, renewed life with Him that will never end. Why wouldn't He look to see that same kind of devotion from His people, especially toward one another?
So, how would that look in your life? Are there ways in which this kind of devotion could be played out in your life even more? Perhaps it's the first time you have considered this kind of devotion. Perhaps it seems kind of intimidating, and even impossible. And yet, it's all created by the one who sent a messenger to a young virgin about to have a child through the Holy Spirit, with that simple message being, with God, nothing is impossible.
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