Tag: 1 Corinthians

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Happy Groundhog Day 2010

Wow, January is gone. I could not believe that yesterday was the first of February and that today is Groundhog Day!

Wow, January is gone. I could not believe that yesterday was the first of February and that today is Groundhog Day! ( ok that was a bad joke, I will not do that again.)

But really, can you believe 1/12 of 2010 is gone, and I am still writing the date as 20010. So, How are those resolutions going?  Are you changing yourself?  It was interesting how much I heard about casting resolutions away before they were even created back around the New Year.  It seems that we are conditioned that things will stay the same.  Is not expected that things can change.   However, we don’t expect that with our children?  We expect them to grow and mature and change, but at some point, somewhere in our life, we agree ( give up) and the expectations for change diminish.

With that mindset, it was interesting this weekend to hear one of my friends talk about some new believers, who are adults.  She was expressing how awesome and inspiring it was to “watch them change and grow” right before her eyes!

Take a look at 1 Corinthians 4:16

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

We are given a chance each day to change and grow.  I think we should start to expect change – each day.  Look at this verse I shared with Tennessee Jed(keep praying for him) yesterday from Galations 4:19

I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

Paul expected change in the Galatians.  I expect to see change in Tennessee Jed, as painful as it will be.  And I attempt each day to renew myself and expect some change.

How about you, Will you reset you expectations and reaffirm those resolutions.  In this short month, set some attainable goal(s) and go for it.  On this Groundhog Day, come out of your hole, take one look at your shadow and then change the season!

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Wisdom from Twitter

I have recently started using Twitter with more vigor – more on the following end then the tweeting end, however I do tweet to keep my family and friends up to speed on the mundane in my life.  But seriously, I find it a great way to discover ideas and get a glimpse of other things going on out there.

Also, I have been spending time thinking about myself in relationship to God and other people.  This is one of the elements of my New Years statement on wanting to be obsessed.  Anyway, I’ll return to that later in the week, I think, but its the cross roads of these two thoughts – Twitter and relationships that I wanted to share today.

(Yes, what a goofy introduction, I hope you are still hanging with me)

So, one the tweets I read this weekend pointed me to a blog by an author named Donald Miller.  He is just releasing some new material that I thought seem interesting, so I keep his page up on my browser for a few days with the intention of stopping back by and reading it.  Well the weekend took other turns and when I returned and refreshed he had posted a new article, one I felt worth sharing.

The post is about humility and knowledge.  Take time to read it here.  He tells a tale about how knowledge puffs up.  Its a struggle we all deal with, ok, maybe just me.  But really, as we gain knowledge and wisdom, we can battle feeling “better” or being condescending to others who may have just not learned that yet.  Maybe its your role to teach them?  Maybe its your role to make those around you better? Maybe its your role to simply apply that knowledge to the way you treat other people?  Either way, humility and love seem to go hand in hand.  I could not help but read this and think back to 1 Cor 13.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (1 Corinthians 13:4, New King James Version)

or Proverbs 3:34 (actually James 4, who is quoting Proverbs)

34 He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.

So take some time to read his post.  And as you gain wisdom, also gain humility.

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”
-T.S. Eliot

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Blackberry, Beatles and bLove

Have you noticed these new Blackberry commercials with the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” song as the primary theme?  I have found myself stopping and staring at the television whenever they are playing.  I am still not sure what in the world it has to do with a mobile device, but they are a little bit inspiring.  They almost make me want to go and exchange Amy’s RAZR for a Blackberry Curve. ( however, I think Amy’s likes texting on a numeric keypad, its makes her happy).

Anyway, although the ads pull me in with the little storylines, I can’t figure out what this has to do with a phone.   But it has always interested me that John Lennon was able to capture the essence of Christian thinking in this song, and popularize it in a way that Christians never have been able to!  All we need is Love.

Paul tells us its the greatest thing in 1 Corinthians 13

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

and John reminds us about the greatness of Love in 1 John 4

7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Sometimes its a hard thing – especially for the men among us, but Love is all you need, it should be the backbone of the way we treat each other.  So today go ahead and sing this song.  Love is all we need.  And then – apply it to you life.  Will you live that way as well?

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Going Green for God

Over the last 12 years or so, I have really begun to hate politics.  There’s too much judging, criticism and hate going on, and so I have unfortunately turned away from that spectrum for a little while – or at least turned away from engaging in much rhetoric about it.  (Outside of a little fun on FaceBook provoking of my favorite political college student, who shall stay unnamed.)  Anyway, this is a bit of walking on the edge for me, a slight advance into a topic that could turn very political.

Last week, the man we refer to as Pope Benedict XVI gave his usual and customary New Years Mass speech.  During this talk, the head of the Catholic Church stated:

“Nevertheless, in this moment, I would like to underline the importance of the choices of individuals, families and local administrations in preserving the environment,”

and

“An objective shared by all, an indispensable condition for peace, is that of overseeing the earth’s natural resources with justice and wisdom.”

Well, this has troubled me a little bit over the past few days because the headlines and the new bits say “Pope Urges Lifestyle Changes to Save Planet”.  Hm.  I have always been a conservationist.  I agree with the Pope.  I have thought for years that Christians should be leading the charge to take care of the planet.  You see, its our charge and responsibility.  God created the Earth and gave “dominion” to man –

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26, New Century Version)

God has asked us, no charged us with taking care of the world he has created.  So we should be going green for God.  Taking care of the planet, wisely using its resources, recycling, watching our consumption – these are Godly principles – all in the same vein as the message we are given to take care of our bodies, the temple of God.

18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (New International Version)

The beef I have here, however, is the apparent lack of trust or faith in God, when we as men think we can change our behavior and “save the planet”.  Its God’s planet.  The whole notion that we can destroy it or save it seems a little off base for me.  ( Now, I think we can make it a terrible place to live, or we can make it a great place to live, by our actions)  It sort of reminds me of the Tower of Babel.

So consider this.  I think we should jump in the bandwagon and Go Green for God, because He (not via the Pope) asked us to, not in a last ditch effort to save the planet.

Go Green!  Thoughts?

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New Years Best of Countdown

useless?

originally published on 4/15/2009

1 Corinthians 15:14

14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

Its one of those things.  If it didn’t happen were bad off, following a hoax.  So then it if did happen we are so blessed that its mind boggling!

This should give us some strength as we face the daily challenges of life.  I hope it strengthens you today.  Live like Christ.