Words of Encouragement

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. - Psalm 105:1

Reflections. Year in review. We have come to the end of this year. As I sat the other day thinking about this year I thought about how much I need to thank God for what he has done. I want to be transparent today so that maybe someone may find hope as 2009 approaches.

In 2008 I faced many difficulties. I faced emotional difficulties. I had to seek God to help me through some of the emotional difficulties that have surfaced from my past. At times during the year things would come upon me and the enemy of my soul would try and used these things to condemn me and to make me doubt what God could do in my life.

I would have to battle through these times but it was God's word that would help me overcome them. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Cor. 10:3-5

I would hold on to the word of God to remind me that this battle is not mine and it will not be won through natural warfare. I go into 2009 with the hope and faith that all the emotional hurts from 2008 and before will be completely healed never to rise again. All the scares will be completely healed. I have seen how God has healed many of the hurts from my past and how he has grown me in the process of the release. So today I send encouragement to someone facing emotional hurt. That which is a reality now does not have to stay that way. What has hurt you or burden you (even if for years) does not have to have the power over you anymore. God's power is what releases the captives from all the hurt. Make that a pray of yours as you go into the new year. Ask God to release you from any emotional hurts that hinder you from worshipping him fully. Now when he does, be reminded that in order for the healing to take place, the hurts must first be revealed. They must be uncovered. It will be difficult to allow God to do that at first, but know that he does it so that you can find total freedom in him.

Another area that I reflected on was my financial difficulty this year. I do not mean that I simply did not have money for "stuff", but I mean there have been months where I did not have enough money to buy food or to pay my bills. These last few months have been the most difficulty. I have stood in the refrigerator looking at the emptiness and wondering when this season would pass? Yet let me share with you what I have learned in this year. In the earlier part of spring the Lord asked me about my fear. The fear he wanted me to look at was regarding tithing.

I know we often look at tithing as a "money thing", yet God wanted to show me something greater. The Lord showed me that fear was keeping me from total trust. He showed me that my fear about my finances was making me become doubtful. That doubt was leading to lack of trust or faith in what He could do. I made up my mind at that very moment I would not allow doubt or lack of trust (faith) to ever be what stood in the way of my total trust in God.

At that moment I began to give my tithes (regularly) no matter what my situation looked like. I also knew that I could not do this all by myself, so I asked a friend to be my accountability partner. I told her what my struggle was and asked her to call me each month before church to make sure I had my tithes. I was willing to be transparent and not worry about what others would think about me because I wanted to have the freedom from this fear.

I want to be clear I would tithe before, however whenever things become hard I would battle about giving my tithes and sometimes I wouldn't because I did not have the money. At that point that the Lord showed me about hindering what he wanted to do in my life, I have tithe no matter what my situation has looked like. It has been difficult, yet God has been faithful.

I give you an example. Christmas. I had no money and I was not sure what I would do for my family to help us have a wonderful time together. I didn't even have money to get the fixings for dinner, but I knew I would trust God. I was invited to dinner on Monday the 22nd so I was thankful because we were able to eat for the first day of that week. Before we got to Christmas, I had pretty much decided that if we could just be together that would be good enough. We had talked about it the year before, about trying to go somewhere but that was not going to happen. Until some friends became an avenue of blessing for us.

Some friends invited us to Lake Geneva for Christmas. We were able to go and only had to pay $21 for the cleaning fee for the usage of the place for two nights. They provided breakfast and dinner and we had a great time. I thank God for allowing us this opportunity to have a great Christmas. I shared this because I know that there is someone else out there that is struggling financially. You do not know where your money is going to come from. You do not know if you will be able to pay your rent, get food for your family and your situation looks bleak. I want to encourage you to make your prayer for 2009 one for God to show you his hand in your situation. Give thanks to God for even in the difficulties God still shows he cares for those he love.

My situation has not changed, but I have. I have learned to trust God. I have even been able to help those in worse situations than myself. Not out of my abundance, but even out of my own need and lack. That's God!

The last thing I want to share in hopes of helping someone else is my walk this year. There are times when things seem to be going well and you feel the presence of God in everything you do. There are also times when you feel as if you are alone and wonder is God still with me? I have had those times this year. I have wondered, Lord am I effective? Do the words I say or the encouragement I try to give do they really matter? Is what I'm doing relevant? At those moments of self-doubt the Lord has been so wonderful to me. He has reminded me that my obedience is pleasing to him.

When I have had to complete the difficult assignments and others did not understand me, he has reminded me that he knew my heart and that I was pleasing to him. When I have felt like I have had to stand alone, he reminded me he was there with me.

So why do I share this struggle with you? I share it for this reason, the enemy of our soul wants us to feel we are useless and that we have nothing to give to others. I come to encourage you that you do. God requires obedience from us. If we willing give ourselves to him he will and does wonderful things in us and through us. God helped me through the battles I have had regarding doing the Words of Encouragement. I have often battled the thoughts that no one really wants to keep reading what you have to say. The enemy has even said, look you are not getting the amount of traffic to your site like this person or that person. So he says, you might as well stop.

Then God reminds me you keep giving what I have given to you. You cannot see the changes or the affects your encouragement has had on others. You keep trusting me and out of your obedience I will make changes. So even thought I cannot see the difference I am making, I keep on because I know God wants me to be obedient to him. So today let me encourage someone to keep on giving what God has placed in you to give. Make your prayer for 2009 one of more service unto God. We may never see in our lifetimes how or what we do and how it affects others. Yet by faith we must continue to trust in God and make known to all the world what God has done.

So this week as we approach the new year I pray that God would continue to strengthen you and grow you in your walk with him. I also pray that something that I shared in 2008 helped you in your walk. I also pray that if God says so that in 2009 whatever I share with you in the Words of Encouragement would help you to become more of what God has determined for your life. If that is true, then I can rejoice in knowing that I too am fulfilling what God has purposed in my life, to spread the truth about him. God bless you.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 2)

The people understood that God was unique from all other gods. He was a faithful and trustworthy God. “This God has a distinct character — he is who he is — to which he will be faithful and which he reveals in his historical actions. Not only does God name his presence as active being, but his name also discloses his essentially relational nature. The Baptist scholar Gwynne Henton Davies explains that the Hebrew words ‘have the quite practical meaning I am who and what, and where and when, and how and even why you will discover I AM. I am what you will discover me to be’…God already is in himself what he intends and promises to be in his deeds through and among his people. The text implies that this is and will be the case and that it is and will be manifest historically; hence we can expect to be able to ‘read’ his acts as an assertion of his character and as leading to the fulfillment of his promise. Using language from speech act theory, we can say that God’s revelation of his name is assertive of his being, and a commissive promise to act in faithfulness to his being. God’s nature is expressed in his unbreakable word: that he means to be his word is implied by his promise, and that he will keep it is implied in his self-assertion” (Moore, 167).

God revealed himself to the Israelites and their history became available for all to understand God’s move in times past and what it means for today. “…the history. God’s revelation becomes part of the concreteness of daily life, in the language and in the mentality of a people, showing what the meaning of the flowing of days is. “History, therefore, becomes the arena where we see what God does for humanity. God comes to us in the things we know best and can verify most easily, the things of our everyday life, apart from which we cannot understand ourselves” (Dotolo, pp. 20 – 21). God also showed himself to the Israelites to establish a relationship with them for their good. “In establishing a priesthood for Israel, God assured that the priests would provide guidance for his people, especially with respect to their continuous instruction in his law. This priesthood and their assistants, the scribes, were the teaching authority, or the official magisterium, of the religion God set up for them. As long as the priests and scribes remained loyal to God, they were also faithful in communicating God’s wishes to his people. However, at times when the teaching authority slipped away from its responsibility and did not reflect the will of God for his people, God then bypassed the religious authorities and used prophets to deliver messages directly to the people” (Girzone, pp. 15 – 16).

“In time past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe” (Dotolo, 20). God also reveals himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Before touching on Jesus, one must first look at the Bible or the word of God as he reveals himself to humanity. God showed himself to the Israelites and thus began the process of writing down the word of God as he revealed it to individuals. The author, Norbert Max Samuelson in his book, Revelation and the God of Israel states, “Whatever the view is of God in general, the deity affirmed as the sole deity worthy of worship in these religions is the creator of the world, the revealer of sacred scriptures, and the redeemer of humanity. For Judaism, at least God as the creator is revealed both through the Hebrew Scriptures (especially the opening chapters of Genesis) and through nature (especially physical cosmology and cosmogony). The deity known in this way is a God of natural law whose will, identifiable with that law, is concerned equally with every creature, without differentiation, and primarily with the whole rather than any of its parts, be they animal, mineral, or vegetable. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of justice. In contrast, God as the revealer is known through the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and the tradition of the interpretation of those words in biblical commentaries. This deity is a God of moral law whose will, identifiable with that law, has special concern for the Jewish people, with whom he has a special love relationship, comparable to that of a loving spouse or parent. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of love. Whether or not it is coherent to claim that the same being is both the deity of universal law and the deity of concrete love is not obvious, and much of the discussion of theology in rabbinic texts deals with ways to reconcile these two characterizations of God” (12). Scripture confirms itself in these verses, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment #7 – Synthesis (part 2)

The believer now begins the transformation process. None of this is possible without God’s spirit. Roberts states, “We have seen that there can be no true holiness without the love of God. Neither can there be without love for our fellow men. The two are joined together. The second great commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ – Matt. 22:39” (1)

One of the changes in the new believer is in fellowship. The relationship between God and the new believer has been restored. The relationship between the new believer and others has also been made new. Howard states, “Sin produces a double alienation – on the vertical and horizontal plane. ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’ Eph. 2:13…this is double reconciliation – between man and man, and man and God” (74).

The new man now must give control over completely to God so that the transformation can begin. Sins were forgiven but an instant change in man’s behavior and thinking did not occur. Howard states, “Life by the Spirit is a personal relationship that must be cultivated and maintained…The experience of most men reveals the need of constant renewal and revival – it is an essential part of humanity” (179). The new man begins to transform into the image of God. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

In this growing process, one must be amongst other believers. This is the importance of the church. The church is made up of the believers coming to worship together, encourage one another and fulfill the mission of God. What is the mission of the church? In the book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Mission, the author Gailyn Van Rheenen states, “The church is not a human organization. It is the result of a mission or a sending that began with God. The mission of God, initiated through Jesus Christ and continued through his disciples, led to the formation of the church” (29). “The Church is God’s people called out from the world to be his witness in the world. As an institution, it appears fallible and weak, but paradoxically it has outlasted states, nations, and empires” (Rheenen, 30). So the mission of the church is God ordained. The people of God come together to worship and evangelize because of the instruction given by God and not due to man’s wishes.

Josh McDowell on his web site, answers the question what hope does Christianity offer the world, in this manner, “We are living in a day in which people are pessimistic about the future. There have always been pessimists, but now there is a general feeling of hopelessness regarding the future. Against this pessimistic and fearful backdrop, Jesus Christ offers real hope. He gives mankind the opportunity to become right with God and his fellowman. Thus Christianity offers a full life to those who will accept Jesus” (1). Some of the disillusionment in men is in their unrealistic and selfish expectations of others and in God. J.B. Phillips, the author of Your God is too Small, states, “God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort, for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to co-operate with His own purposes” (49).

The church is an important part of God’s plan in presenting truth to the world. The church is to be God’s light, like a beacon calling all towards it. “Because most people in this modern age have almost no sense of God there is also almost no sense of ‘sin’ – for in human experience there is a significant connexion between the two. Where the sense of God becomes something like a reality there springs up, sooner or later, a sense of guilt and failure” (Phillips, 97). The church, through the keeping of God’s ways, shows the world what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. “The follower of the new way is therefore called to do all he can to spread ‘the good news of the Kingdom,’ but to realize at all times that the success or failure of the Kingdom can never be judged by simple reference to statistics of ‘Christians’ at any particular time” (Phillips, 123). Believers are to spread the message of salvation but not to get held back by what looks like failure or success. Phillip states the success of this mission is known in the “real time” which is eternity.

The church is vital to get the truth to the world. Josh McDowell agrees with this in his statement, “All religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. They all may be wrong, but certainly they all cannot be right, for the claims of one will exclude the other. As to matters of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ, only historic Christianity recognizes Him as the eternal God becoming a man who died for the sins of the world and arose again the third day. Salvation is obtained only by putting one’s trust in this Jesus” (2). The Christian church is the only avenue that is founded on this truth of the Bible, that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

It is important to the church that believers encourage one another. Luis Palau suggest this on his web site, “Having a part in leading a friend or acquaintance to faith in Jesus Christ is exciting. Actually praying with someone who wants to make that decision is even more exciting. Yet I’ve seen Christians panic when someone comes to that point of decision. Take the time to encourage and help each other learn to lead someone in making that decision” (1). The church is significant in educating believers to be able to share the Gospel. This can be an intimidating idea. It is important for believers to be trained and then walk along side another believer to teach them.

The church in sharing the message of salvation must be willing to go outside of the church building. Scripture calls for us to reach out to the lost of this world, because when we do it to others we do it unto the Lord. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matthew 25:35-36). One such organization that holds to this belief is Prison Fellowship. Their goal is to exhort, equip and assist the church in its ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. This is what their web site states regarding their mission, “Our foremost calling is to be in daily fellowship and communion with Christ. But we are also called to go beyond an exclusive ‘Jesus and me’ relationship; Christ calls us to be a light to the world around us, an instrument through which He can work to restore and redeem broken lives and a broken culture” (1).

Work Cited

Alter, Margaret Gramat. Christianity Today: The unnatural act of forgiveness. Vol. 41 Issue 7, P. 28, 3p 2c. 1997. 22 February 2006. http://library.macu.edu.

ccci.org: How to know God personally. 2006. 22 February 2006. http://www.ccci.org/wij.

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Josh.org: Previous Questions -Christianity. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.Josh.org/apologetics/.


McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Palau.org: Scripts – Encourage One Another. Palau, Luis. 2005. 22 February 2006. http://www.palau.org/ryw_new.

Pfm.org: Prison Fellowship. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.pfm.org/AM.

Phillips, J.B. Your God is Too Small. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

Words of Encouragement

A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. - Proverbs 18:16

Christmas presents. Gifts to Christ. This week I want to do something different. I want to give us a week of prayers, presents if you will unto Christ. We often think of Christmas as what we receive from one another. The greatest gift we have received is the gift of salvation through God.

So this week of Christmas let us present our gifts to God. When we do the scripture tells us today that it will usher us into the presence of the great. That great is God. So let us present our presents together.

MONDAY

Gift of Love. Lord today we thank you for your love. We are thankful for the love that you gave to mankind through the gift of your son. You loved the world so much that you send your only begotten son to come and die for my sins and the sins of the world. Lord because of your love I am now able to love others. The gift I give to you this Christmas is my love. I give you my complete love as well as to love your people. Help me to love your way. If there are those that I have anger in my heart against now, help me to let it go so that I can come to Christmas presenting you my complete heart free of anything that would hinder me from giving you my love. This I ask, Amen.

TUESDAY

Gift of Sacrifice. Today Lord I present to you my life, myself and all that I am. I come to present myself as a living sacrifice which is my reasonable service. I have prayed all year and ask you to help me in my life, but today my prayer is not about me but about you. I come to present myself to you so that you can use me as you desire. Help me as the new year comes to be more yielded to you. Those things I did this year that were for myself or based on my own desires, help me to see more clearer next year how to let go of my ideas or my thoughts and do things more your way. This is my present to you so that I can be ushered into the greatness of you. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Gift of Outreach. Lord you have given so much to me. You have placed me on the hearts of others that have blessed me or planted into my life. Help me to give you the present of outreach. That means I will allow you to use me to reach others. Not simply over seas but even those in need that live right next door to me. Help me to give encouragement to those in need of encouragement. Help me to pray for those that are in need of prayer. Help me to walk with someone that needs me to walk with them. Help me as the new year comes to have more of a heart to touch the lives of others than I have in this past year. Help me to do this because this gift will draw me closer to you and closer to my purpose. Amen.

THURSDAY

Gift of light. This Christmas day we celebrate the birth of Christ. Help me today to allow Christ to be alive in me. I belong to you and if I have allowed your light to dim, renew your light, renew my excitement about you. Help me to share the truth about Christmas to someone new. Lord help me to be like that star that led the wise men to where Christ was. Help me to be a greater light in the midst of this dark world. Help me to led many to you this year. Help me to be that light that moves someone along the way to where you are so that can come and bring gifts of themselves to you. Help me this year be the light of God to someone in darkness. Amen.

FRIDAY

Gift of prayer. Lord help me to present my gift of prayer to you continually. Help me to pray more this upcoming year. Not simply for my own needs but for the needs of the people you love. Those people that are yours by creation and yours by redemption. Help me to pray for the lost that they may come to know you. Help me to pray for those in bondage that they may be set free. Help me to pray for those in need that you may fulfill their needs. Lord help me to present my prayers to you so that I can be drawn closer to you. I want to see more of your greatness exhibited in my life. Help me as the new year approaches to become more like your Son so that I can be a true gift to this world as I lead others to the greatest gift, Jesus Christ.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation

What does it mean when one states, God reveals himself to men? How does God reveal himself to mankind? As individuals pursue the Bible they gain insight and information about God. God’s revelation of himself can also be seen in nature, through history, in Jesus and through personal insights. These different avenues of revelation can help individuals gain an understanding of God, which can cause them to seek him for directions to their lives. For the individuals that have taken the step of acceptance of this God as head of their lives, it can help them grow in the understanding of God and his purpose for their daily walk.


How do we answer this question? Author Alister E. McGrath in his book, Christian Theology – An Introduction states, “How can God be known? For some, God is to be sought out within the complexities and ambiguities of the world. The ‘human quest for God’ involves the careful weighing of evidence drawn from the natural world, including human reason and conscience. For others, human nature is limited in its abilities, and is unable to discern the existence or nature of God in this way. Humanity needs to be told what God is like” (200). Who then is responsible for telling mankind about God? God took this task and revealed himself to men. It is through divine revelation that man comes to understand God.

The author, Carmelo Dotolo in the book, Christian Revelation states, “What is the meaning of the term revelation and why is it so important for theology? What is the secret of its appeal and, at the same time, of the difficulty that its use provokes in the familiar lexicon with which man tries to read the world? Without doubt, it is a strange word that seems to hint at a reality not controllable by man; or, in any event, a reality normally distant from his vision of things” (1). “The issue being debated is fundamentally that of revelation – the Christian notion that God chooses to be known, and makes this possible through self-disclosure in nature and human history” (McGrath, 200).

If one accepts that the knowledge of God is made available because God chooses to reveal himself, then one must look at the different ways that God accomplishes these events. The first way is through nature. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set they glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:2). “The Earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness therefore, the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded in upon the seas, and established it upon the floods” (Psalm 24:1-2). These are only a few of the many verses of scripture written where men tell of their understanding of God through nature. “Might the study of the natural world lead to an increased appreciation of its creator?” (McGrath, 208). These biblical writers were able to gain greater appreciation of the creator through their understanding of what they saw in nature. “If God made the world, God’s ‘signature’ (so to speak) may be found within the created order” (McGrath, 209).

God reveals himself in nature to draw men to an understanding of his ownership of all. God shows himself to be a God of order. Seasons change at relatively the same time. The sun sets and rises each day. These all attest to a God of order. He also shows himself in nature to draw men. “God takes the initiative to provoke the search of man” (Dotolo, 19). This can also be understood when one reads Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” God revealed himself in times past as well as today, through nature to draw men to an understanding of his presence in the world. “In other words, the contemporary world itself invites us to take into account, even with all the different interpretative points of view, the reality of religious experience as the space for understanding the appeal and the mystery of existence. To look at such experience means to become aware of what the religious sciences agree to define as a structural, inalienable and conclusive dimension of human experience” (Dotolo, 8).

Another way that God reveals himself to men is through events or history. God’s people (the Israelites) were allowed to understand God as he revealed himself to them and as time progressed, they had their historical background to remind them of the attributes of God. The author, Andrew Moore in his book, Realism and Christian Faith: God, Grammar, and Meaning states, “the name revealed to Moses, YHWH, ehyeh asher ehyeh, and the narrative context in which it is given — that of the promise of the liberation of God’s people from slavery in Egypt — imply that God reveals himself, but that his self-revealing is a simultaneous self-veiling. God’s name reveals that he is unnamable, ungraspable, unencompassable. We may see God’s glory but not his essence. God remains veiled even in his self-unveiling:” (167).

The people of God were allowed to see the miracles of God, yet they knew that this God was above what they could see or think. Joseph Girzone in his book, Trinity remarks about one such miracle, “Those hundreds of thousands of people had to be fed miraculously during all those years. There was no food in the desert to satisfy the needs of that many people. The guidance and protection and comfort God gave his people during that time is also remarkable. The world has never known a god of such benevolence and care for his creatures” (15).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment #7 – Synthesis

Humans are lost because of sin without the plan of salvation given by God through his son, Jesus. The first step one must take to be redeemed is acceptance of this plan of salvation. Part of God’s plan of redemption also empowers the new believer to live a holy life through the working of the Holy Spirit. In this process, the new believer begins to learn how to live this new existence. This new life calls for one to learn how to fellowship with other believers. The body of believers, the church, has an internal purpose and an external purpose. All of these steps must be taken to fulfill the purpose God has for those he saves and sends to the mission field.

One understands the need for salvation by first understanding human nature and sin. In his book, Newness of Life, Richard Howard states, “Sin has been defined as self-delusion, self-reliance, listening to oneself instead of listening to God, man’s self-assertion in rebellion against God, turned toward oneself and making oneself the center of his self…Sin, then, is self-separation from God in the sense of decentralization, the place which should be occupied by God being assumed by the self” (42). Howard describes this attitude as self-sovereignty. In an article written by Margaret Alter in Christianity Today, she explains sin this way, “Sin is a state of being alienated from God, from others, and from our true selves: Out of our sense of alienation, we behave in alienating ways…We are desperate to fix things. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, we sew fig leaves together to hide our nakedness from ourselves, from each other, and from God” (1997, 2).

The nature of man is to rule over self and believe he/she has the power to fix whatever is wrong. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;” (I Corinthians 15:3). Man does not have the ability in himself to forgive sins or remove the consequences of his actions. God’s plan is made available only through his son. Self-sovereignty in man takes God’s rightful place of lordship and depends on self to rule one’s life. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). No matter what a person does, the choices made will only lead to death. It is not until the sinner turns from selfish rule to Godly rule, that any change will be effected. For one to move from self-sovereignty to God as sovereign, one must release the control.

On the web site of Global Media Outreach, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, their article, How to Know God Personally, gives steps for the sinner to take in receiving forgiveness of sins and release from the bondage of that sin. “God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life. Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. Jesus Christ is God’s ONLY provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life” (2 – 3). In this process, the self-directed life, where self is on the throne is replaced with the Christ-directed life, where Christ is on the throne (Global Media Outreach, 4).

When the sinner accepts salvation, he is given a new standing in the Lord. Margaret Alter states it in this manner, “Jesus tenderly receives those who are obviously sinful and forcefully confronts good religious people who bargain their goodness before God. In other words, those who know they are burdened and alienated find release, and those who have covered their need with fig leaves of their own self-righteousness are found out and invited to give up pretense” (2). Here the writer makes the point that not only does the sinner need to know God but also those that are self-righteous yet attending church and participating in the services. When the sin is released, Jesus changes the sinner’s standing from one sentenced to death to one alive.

In the book, Holiness Teachings – The Life and Work of B. T. Roberts, Benson H. Roberts makes this statement, “It is a false assumption which takes it for granted that those who maintain a respectable standing in a respectable Church are therefore justified. Some of them are. Many are not” (1). Paul’s writing to the Romans was trying to convey a similar message to his readers. Paul wanted believers to know it is not by ones own trying that they are saved. Man cannot will himself to do what is right before God. The law is righteous, but man is unable to follow without failure. Paul in Romans 7:14-25 was pointing the reader to the only one that could do what the law was incapable of doing. Under the law, man was condemned because he was not able to fulfill the requirements of the law. The law was to show men their sin, but it was only Jesus that could fulfill the requirements of the law. Matthew Henry, in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, states this in another way, “The remainder of indwelling corruptions which he here speaks of, to show that the law is insufficient to justify even a regenerated man, that the best man in the world hath enough in him to condemn him, if God should deal with him according to the law, which is not the fault of the law, but of our own corrupt nature, which cannot fulfill the law” (2210).

The sinner or even the believer is not able to change the inner self without the working of the Holy Spirit. The new believers are not to fool themselves into believing that because the first step has been made, all is finished. The acceptance of salvation is a beginning. The author, Alister E. McGrath, in Understanding the Trinity, states, “Christianity is not like some sort of religious education lesson in which facts are pumped into our heads; rather it is like a love affair – something powerful, challenging and possessing real meaning to those involved…It isn’t a ‘knowledge’ for which a relatively high IQ and a university degree are required, but a personal knowledge of God which lies within the grasp of everyone…It is a knowledge which arises through meeting someone, through encountering the living God, not through reading dry and dusty textbooks” (43). In order for the relationship with God to grow, the new believer must have a deep love for God, a love affair. It will not be the facts given to the new believer or their intelligence that will deepen their walk with the Lord. It will be the new believer’s love for God and the releasing of control of his or her own will into the capable hands of God.

Work Cited

Alter, Margaret Gramat. Christianity Today: The unnatural act of forgiveness. Vol. 41 Issue 7, P. 28, 3p 2c. 1997. 22 February 2006. http://library.macu.edu.

ccci.org: How to know God personally. 2006. 22 February 2006. http://www.ccci.org/wij.

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Josh.org: Previous Questions -Christianity. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.Josh.org/apologetics/.

McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Palau.org: Scripts – Encourage One Another. Palau, Luis. 2005. 22 February 2006. http://www.palau.org/ryw_new.

Pfm.org: Prison Fellowship. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.pfm.org/AM.

Phillips, J.B. Your God is Too Small. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.


Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

Words of Encouragement

The cross of Christmas.  Have you ever thought about the fact that if there were not Christmas, there would be no cross?

MONDAY
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! - Romans 5:8-10

Jesus in Christmas. J is for Justifed. We need to see Christmas as being attached to Easter.  The one leads to the other.  Christ had to first come so that he could fulfill God's purpose of salvation.  As we celebrate Christmas let us see the vast importance of what was given in this season.  Christ came so that we could be justified.

We were enemies of God when Christ entered the world.  We had no way of reconciling ourselves to him.  We stood guilty and accused. The blood of Christ is what justified you and I.  To be justified means that we were made acceptable and right before God.

Wrapped up in that bundle was more than a mere baby.  The ability for mankind to be moved from guilty to set free was there.  We were not acceptable and there was nothing we could do.  It was all because of the name of Christ.  All that we are able to accomplish and to have is because of the gift of Jesus Christ.  This season, let us thank God for sending justfication to the world.

Prayer: Lord it was your gift of Christ that make me justified.  I was moved from unacceptable to acceptable.  I was moved from unrighteous to righteous. From unfaithful to faithful.  None of this is because of my own doing, but because of what you have done in me. Help me to give thanks for the gift of Christ.


TUESDAY
The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty
and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. - Psalm 93:1-2

Jesus in Christmas. E is for Eternity. We were on a course of spending eternity in damnation.  As much as we may believe we are able to determine our future, we really on determine where we end up. I can believe I am a good person and deserve good things, but if I am not willing to accept the way of salvation as offered through Christ I will reap no good thing unto myself. 

As we draw closer to Christmas we can rejoice in knowing that there is a future planned for me.  God has set aside a wonderful future, if I only accept it.  That future that God has for me is to spend eternity with him because of the gift of his son.  Jesus's gift to the world was peace.  No so much peace in the way we think.  But a peace that past our earthly understanding.  We have a gift of peace that gives us assurance that we can spend eternity with God.  We do not have to worry or fret because we can be assured that since Jesus justified us by his blood we are no longer condemned to destruction but are moved to the path of eternity with Christ. 

As you celebrate this season be reminded that no matter what you face in this life, God has assured you a eternal home where there will not be any more tears, no pain and no sorrow.  Hold to his hand and he will see you through.

Prayer: Lord today I am thankful for the wonderful gifts that Christ came to bring into the world.  His coming was because of your unfailing love for mankind.  Help me today to see it but also to share it with someone else that does not know you as a forgiver of sins.


WEDNESDAY
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. - 1 Peter 2:1-3
 
Jesus in Christmas. S is for Salvation. The writer is telling us to grow up in our salvation.  We have been saved so now we should grow up and seek those things that are worthy of the calling we have.  We have tasted or experienced the goodness of the Lord.  In doing so, we should desire to have more.
 
Jesus opened up a world to us that was closed.  You and I could not truly understand the goodness of God.  We could not truly understand what it means to experience the goodness of Christ.  Yes, we see miracles but we do not comprehend them completely in a darkened state.  It is not until the light shines in us that we are able to discern these things.  It is the salvation that Jesus brings that begins us on this process of learning and experiencing the goodness of God.
 
So the mandate is then, you have tasted, you have experienced now grow up.  Walk upright.  Move away from those things that draw you back into the darkness.  Continue to walk in the light.  This holiday let us make sure that we do not pick up behaviors that draw us back into darkness like behaviors.  What can we do this season different than before that will show that we are indeed growing up in our salvation.  It does not matter how long you have been saved.  Is there something TODAY that God wants you to do differently?  If so, let us remember we have experienced him and we want more of that.
 
Prayer: Lord today, help me make a difference like I have never done before.  Help me to say something or do something that changes another just as you change me.  Help me to let go of something I am holding onto today.  Let me release the control of something I am trying to work out.  Help me this day realize you are my savior. You are the one that does the work.  Help me to trust in your work you want to do in me.
 
 
 
THURSDAY
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Romans 15:4-6

Jesus in Christmas. U is for Unity. One thing about Christmas that I always find encouraging is people tend to become a little less selfish.  Oh I know there are many things that go wrong during this time, but you find people that would never say anything nice greeting people.  You see strangers that would never speak, speaking and giving Christmas cheer to people.  I think we sometimes do not even realize it, but there is something different in the air.  There is a more outward look.  Oh if we could only bottle that for later.

But this should not be the body of believers.  We should not only be unified once or twice a year.  We should be the evidence of God's unifying power day in and day out. We are to be one in purpose, one in spirit and one in Christ.  As the body of believers our purpose is to preach Jesus, Jesus only.  We are not preaching our agendas, our ideas or our ways.  We are called to be the body so therefore the Spirit that leads us should be God's Spirit.  We do not become the followers of deceptive spirits or spirits of division.  We are one in Christ.

This was not possible without Christ.  Had Jesus not come you and I could never be unified.  It is only through Christ that the body can fulfill her purpose to be unified.  We are not where we need to be, but day by day let us seek to make that our goal.

Prayer: Lord when we show unity we show the world you.  We should the world your power and ability.  Lord today help us in our small circles begin to look more like a unified body.  We cannot expect the entire body to be unified in Christ if we cannot even be unified with 5 or 10.  Let us take this season and pray for your Spirit to unified us as one.  Make us one in purpose, to preach Jesus.  Make us one in Spirit, to be seeking to learn your word, teach your word and live your word.  Help us to be one in Christ.  For this is what gift you gave to us on that first Christmas morning, the right to become your sons and daughers. Help us now to live as a family should live.


FRIDAY
 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.- 1 Corinthians 6:10-11

Jesus in Christmas. S is for Sanctified. The scripture reminds us today that the sinful will not inherit the kingdom of God.  The reminder is also don't turn your nose up, because we too fit into this category.
 
Oh but today we can rejoice because we where changed from what we were to what we are and what we will become.  We were saved.  We were washed.  The old stink of sin was washed away.  We were sanctified, made holy, set apart for God.  We were justified.  We were no longer guilty but now we were made righteous through Christ by the Spirit of God.
 
It was all done in the name of Jesus Christ.  What do we celebrate Christmas? Is it for the toys, the trinkets, the gifts and friends?  Is it for the food, the lights and the spirit of the day?  While all these things may be good, they pale in comparision to what we have been given.  We have been gifted the keys to eternity.  We have been gifted the keys to changing our courses in life.  We were first headed for eternal damnation but the key that unlock the door opens the door to eternity with God. 
 
We were found guilty and enemies of God. We were in need of saving but unable to do it.  Then one day a babe was born.  This babe did not seem like a king, but he was.  This babe may not have looked to many to be God, yet he was.  Jesus Christ took on flesh so that he would gift us freedom from ourselves.  Today let us rejoice in knowing that Jesus Christ is the only true reason for Christmas.  Without him it is simple a dull light show.
 
Prayer: Lord, you are the true light that came into the world.  The bulbs on the trees do not compare to the light you come to bring into the dark lives of mankind.  Today thank your for placing your light in me.  Now Lord help me to be that light that shines brightly helping others to find their way to you.