If I'm honest, i have given time and effort to the lord. But i think some of me inside, has longed to be elsewhere. Oh how difficult it is to give within to the lord. To give the lord what i want. How sick I am....
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Giving within
"Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of(BG) greed and wickedness. 40(BH) You fools!(BI) Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41But(BJ) give as alms those things that are within, and behold,(BK) everything is clean for you.
If I'm honest, i have given time and effort to the lord. But i think some of me inside, has longed to be elsewhere. Oh how difficult it is to give within to the lord. To give the lord what i want. How sick I am....
If I'm honest, i have given time and effort to the lord. But i think some of me inside, has longed to be elsewhere. Oh how difficult it is to give within to the lord. To give the lord what i want. How sick I am....
Friday, April 18, 2008
Showers and Repentance
Every morning I need I shower. I believe it is a good ritual. As much as I avoid mud puddles, cess pools, and disposal parks, dirt accumulates on my body. Often times I believe I'm about 25% franklin (from peanuts).
After a long day of any kind of sweating, working, or running, a long shower is always welcome. The heat, the wiping away of my own odors, despite all its work is for one goal : clean. By the way, I don't know how it is for the rest of you, but my shower needs to be hot.
last week in the midst of a hot cleansing, i was struck by this thought. salvation is a cleansing also. It is a wiping away of sins, the forgiveness of sins. It is not a new slate to be written on all over again. It is the magical switching of accounts. Sins I commit become evil investments accredited to Jesus. And I have, for a lifetime, receiving the payments or the interest of Jesus' holy lifetime actions.
So how does the shower like this? For me the shower is a lot like daily repentance. When we first come to believe, the account switchign takes place. The check books have forever been switched. We only receive the goodness of the Lord. Now, sin will always be a part of this world, our skin, bones and flesh, so we will continue to bruise our soul. But time and time again, our lord has left us a means of forgiveness, Jesus. Now though spiritually the sins automatically go to Christ, we are still commanded in Colossians to keep seeking the things above. And we are commanded in Hebrews to run the race set before us, we are also called to lay aside every sin that encumbers us.
Long words to say, there is still work to be done, maybe not on the cosmic level, but on our psyche's level. The cleansing I referring to is repentance, the preservation of holiness. That daily practice of identifying sin, and recognizing the power of God. Must it always be like this? must it always be through sin that god's glory will be seen?
No.
Amazingly enough in the end, the wonderful creation of God will make bodies that can somehow comprehend the glory of God on a magical scale. At that point, will we have to know evil to know good, or will good be made to us self- evident? there will be no tears, no death, no pain, so i take that to mean that there is no sin.
How will this work? to comprehend greatness without a scale? I leave that up to the lord who made senses, who made variation, and magnitude. Example - magnitude is having someone taller and someone shorter. Variation is having yellow, red, black, blue. Which is more colorful? None of them. Which is more black? well, then you have something to measure. And if the lord can make this world, the expanse, the heat transfer, the mystic electromagnetism. I'm sure he will figure out a way to make us know his Glory to the fullest.
BTW - paradox- his Glory is hindered by sin, but it is also magnified by it, because he is greater than sin. Chew on that.
So in the meantime, I will not think of praying as trudgery but wil consider teh confession of sins as the shower of the soul the cleansing of all things evil in my head, in my heart, in my will. And if one day I shall not enjoy the confession of sins, or the meditation of the word, then may I learn how to shower properly to get hte full feeling between showering and not.
After a long day of any kind of sweating, working, or running, a long shower is always welcome. The heat, the wiping away of my own odors, despite all its work is for one goal : clean. By the way, I don't know how it is for the rest of you, but my shower needs to be hot.
last week in the midst of a hot cleansing, i was struck by this thought. salvation is a cleansing also. It is a wiping away of sins, the forgiveness of sins. It is not a new slate to be written on all over again. It is the magical switching of accounts. Sins I commit become evil investments accredited to Jesus. And I have, for a lifetime, receiving the payments or the interest of Jesus' holy lifetime actions.
So how does the shower like this? For me the shower is a lot like daily repentance. When we first come to believe, the account switchign takes place. The check books have forever been switched. We only receive the goodness of the Lord. Now, sin will always be a part of this world, our skin, bones and flesh, so we will continue to bruise our soul. But time and time again, our lord has left us a means of forgiveness, Jesus. Now though spiritually the sins automatically go to Christ, we are still commanded in Colossians to keep seeking the things above. And we are commanded in Hebrews to run the race set before us, we are also called to lay aside every sin that encumbers us.
Long words to say, there is still work to be done, maybe not on the cosmic level, but on our psyche's level. The cleansing I referring to is repentance, the preservation of holiness. That daily practice of identifying sin, and recognizing the power of God. Must it always be like this? must it always be through sin that god's glory will be seen?
No.
Amazingly enough in the end, the wonderful creation of God will make bodies that can somehow comprehend the glory of God on a magical scale. At that point, will we have to know evil to know good, or will good be made to us self- evident? there will be no tears, no death, no pain, so i take that to mean that there is no sin.
How will this work? to comprehend greatness without a scale? I leave that up to the lord who made senses, who made variation, and magnitude. Example - magnitude is having someone taller and someone shorter. Variation is having yellow, red, black, blue. Which is more colorful? None of them. Which is more black? well, then you have something to measure. And if the lord can make this world, the expanse, the heat transfer, the mystic electromagnetism. I'm sure he will figure out a way to make us know his Glory to the fullest.
BTW - paradox- his Glory is hindered by sin, but it is also magnified by it, because he is greater than sin. Chew on that.
So in the meantime, I will not think of praying as trudgery but wil consider teh confession of sins as the shower of the soul the cleansing of all things evil in my head, in my heart, in my will. And if one day I shall not enjoy the confession of sins, or the meditation of the word, then may I learn how to shower properly to get hte full feeling between showering and not.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Psalm 19
Psalm 19
1The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Wonder and awe are to be had staring at creation. The world is made by God, as in all the people in it. The expanse is declaring the work of His hands. The word expanse is also used in the creation narrative, subtly pointing to the creation of the world. Its funny how we live in the present, and often forget the beginning and the end. In the beginning, God created all things, and set the world into motion, and the world that I am living in is still in that same God given motion that started it. And this story God has penned in the cosmos, it will have its end one day, for a great purpose, and I would do well not to forget that.
Summary: One of the intentions of the expanse, of space, is to show the works of God. It’s existence is to say “I cannot be made by you”
2Day to (C)day pours forth speech,
And (D)night to night reveals knowledge.
This continues the idea. One powerful item here is “day to day”, one of the possibilities is that this refers to “time”. Time pours forth speech, time is testament. With the night to night here, this could refer just to general nights, or to the time progressing. Another meaning could be that during the day, much happens, and in the night meditation occurs.
3There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4Their [a](E)line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world
This is referring to the testament of creation, how its words have gone out into the world, and that no one has heard them, yet the whole world has heard and seen creation.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6Its (G)rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
This section proclaims the sun. This is an interesting comparison, as most bible comparisons are. I call it a two way street. Many analogies are used to illustrate the behavior of some foreign idea. It is usually a one way association. For example, if this new game “wartball” is compared to baseball, wartball would be associated with baseball, but not the other way around. For instance, baseball would not always make people think of wartball.
Not so with biblical analogies, the sun reminds us of the groom coming from his chamber, and the groom reminds us of the sun, how he glows with expectation, and anticipation of the wedding that is to be had. The sun rejoices like a strong man. Nothing can hide from its heat, and it crosses the heavens
For a mock message – 6 Actions of the Lord
1. Law
a. Perfect
b. Restores the soul
2. Testimony
a. Sure
b. Making wise the simple
3. Precepts
a. Right
b. Rejoicing the heart
4. Commandments
a. Pure
b. Enlightening the eyes
5. Fear
a. Clean
b. Enduring forever
6. Judgements
a. True
b. Righteous altogether
7(H)The law of the LORD is [b](I)perfect, (J)restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is (K)sure, making (L)wise the simple. 8The precepts of the LORD are (M)right, (N)rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is (O)pure, (P)enlightening the eyes.
9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are (Q)true; they are (R)righteous altogether.
10They are more desirable than (S)gold, yes, than much fine gold; (T)Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11Moreover, by them (U)Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great (V)reward. 12Who can (W)discern his errors? (X)Acquit me of (Y)hidden faults. 13Also keep back Your servant (Z)from presumptuous sins; Let them not (AA)rule over me; Then I will be [c](AB)blameless, And I shall be acquitted of (AC)great transgression. 14Let the words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
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