"For it has been granted on you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him"
-Philippians 1:29
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST IS VERY HONEST
As the end of the year approaches quickly, I'd like to share some of my reflections of this past year. To preface this post though, I'd like to encourage you to remember the good in the past year, not only the bad. Even in the bad or difficult situations, God is always so good. That being said, I am going to talk about some of the struggles that I had this year, particular in this past school semester. I will write another reflection probably sometime after the New Year arrives in my key verse testimony. For now though, I'll just share what's been on my mind recently.
There have been a lot of changes this year, but they've all seemed to happen so fast that I kind of missed a lot of them. For starters, my church has finally started construction to expand the building, which we have been trying to do for a long time now. Also, a lot of people have been coming and leaving the church as well. We have a new associate pastor (something we never had), as well as many new members. We have new students from the University of Maryland, as well as new members from out of state. The change I want to talk about today was quite significant not only for me, but for many others in my church. One of the families has left to Vietnam due to a job change. We all knew that this change was coming, and we all tried to prepare mentally for it, but I don't think we were truly ready for this change. The father of this family was our long time YDJ (our church's college group) leader, of whom we relied on heavily to lead YDJ meetings.
As some of you know, last year I joined the so called "YDJ committee", since I was asked to join. At the time, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, since it seemed like they had everything already figured out. I figured that I would just go to a couple meetings to help them plan, and maybe help out with praise every now and then. In the beginning, that was the case, but as time passed, I found that I had more and more responsibilities in the group. I had to lead praise almost every week, and even lead some meetings. When we found out that our leader was leaving, we didn't really know what to do. We had relied on him to lead us, and we simply just did what he said. What we decided to do in the fall and winter was try and spread the responsibility between the leaders we had now, to try and prepare for the future when we wouldn't be able to rely on our former leader.
The fall semester went by without much difficulty, but I assumed even more responsibility than I had before. I now led praise every week, since our praise leader couldn't do it anymore. I also did the announcements at the end of the meetings, which normally our former leader would do. Additionally, I found that I had to take care of a lot of behind the scene things, which I normally would never have done before. Honestly though, this was not a huge deal, since I still could rely on our leader for advice or guidance. Before he left, we decided we wanted to have a winter retreat. However, our leader was going to leave before the retreat, so we would have to plan it without him.
During the planning phase of the retreat (which we are still in), I've had a lot of stress. We had meetings to distribute responsibilities between the leaders, which went fine. What stressed me out was that it felt like we never really accomplished what we said we were going to do. To be brutally honest, I wondered if any of the other leaders cared about the retreat and planning it. I felt like nothing ever got done, and I had to continually ask the others if they were doing their part. One phrase that I really learned to hate was "well I assumed that". It felt like I had to do the job of three people all by myself, since it seemed like no one else was taking responsibility.
Last Sunday, I felt extremely burdened and depressed. Perhaps I was tired, but I really felt like I was doing too much on my own. I had to lead praise for the retreat, write a message, figure out the schedule, deal with supplies, and now I thought I was going to have to lead a bible study group. This made me frustrated that I let myself take so much responsibility, and frustrated at the other leaders for not stepping up. I even considered not being a YDJ leader anymore, since it burdened me to do a lot of things that I was not expecting to have to do.
However, later that same night, I started a conversation with a friend, who encouraged me to keep going strong. I also was chatting with another leader, who I have learned to appreciate greatly. We were talking about different details of the retreat, and she told me that I don't have to be a bible study leader. This relieved me immensely, since I could now focus more energy on my message. The following day, yesterday, we continued to talk about the retreat, and I realized that she and others had done a lot to prepare for the retreat. A lot of things that I was worried about were being taken care of. I learned to appreciate the other leaders, because they were doing more than I gave them credit for. Was I still doing a lot? Yes, I was, but I felt like I wasn't alone. The preparation for the retreat felt bearable, and not overwhelming.
This struggle with the retreat reminded me that being a leader is never easy. You have to do a lot more than you may expect. However, I was also reminded that I am never alone. Not only do I have other leaders that I can trust, I also have a friend in Jesus. He never will give me anything that I cannot bear, and He is always by my side. I just forgot to be thankful for the things that I already had, and I let the bad situations around me bring me down. I feel like 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a perfect ending to this post. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-Smart
Romans 9:1-29 Message
This is a message I gave for my youth group at church. I didn't break it up into parts so it's gonna be quite long, but I hope you find encouragement from it.
Obviously I was not here last time you guys had Sunday worship, but I assume you guys studied Romans 8, or at least part of it. Romans 8 is a fantastic passage, which encourages us to endure suffering for our future glory. Paul also talk about how if God is for us, no one can be against us, and we are more than conquerors. I don’t know what you guys learned about two weeks ago, but I know that I personally don’t understand how anyone can be “more than a conqueror”. A conqueror is already powerful enough, yet in Christ we are more than conquerors. I think Paul uses that phrase because not only has Jesus conquered death, He also reigns with all glory and power, and we too can share in His glory. As great as Romans 8 is, we do have to move on and talk about the passage we have today, which is a bit more difficult to understand. Although Romans 9 was written for a specific audience, we can learn many things from it. Let’s all begin by reading the key verse together, which is verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Verse 16)”.
Paul starts off by saying “I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit (v. 1)”. For some reason, when I read this verse, I immediately thought of Joshua. I just imagined Joshua’s voice saying something like this- “Guys, come on I’m serious I’m not lying!” I don’t really know why I thought of Joshua, I guess maybe it’s just because his voice perfectly fits this verse. In any case, think about when someone says “I’m telling you the truth, I am not lying”. What are they trying to say? They’re telling you that they are serious, and they want you to pay close attention to what they have to say. So what does Paul have to say? Let’s read verses 2 through 4 together. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises (v. 2-4)”. What Paul is saying here is no small matter, it’s a big deal. Paul is saying that he is willing to be cut off from Christ and lose his own salvation so that the Israelites could regain theirs. Paul would rather die an eternal death than let the Israelites be cut off from Christ. Unfortunately, Paul is unable to do this. Why is Paul so upset and anguished over the Israelites that he would be willing to trade places with them? It is because Paul understands what the Israelites lost. I didn’t mention chapter 8 just because that’s what messengers do; I mention it because it is connected to today’s passage. What was chapter 8 about? The fact that those who are in Christ are more than conquerors because of God’s love. The Israelites didn’t realize that because they turned away from God, they lost things that cannot be matched by anything on this earth. Let me ask you guys this-who were the Israelites? Can someone summarize who they were in a sentence or two? In short, they were God’s chosen people. However, they lost their adoption to sonship, the divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship and the promises. They were more than conquerors and they had the love of God, but they forsake it. Paul understood the tragedy of losing God’s promise, and He wanted others to understand the weight of God’s love. This is why at the beginning he says “I speak the truth”, and “I am not lying”. He wants the reader to realize the significance of God’s promises, and the tragedy when someone loses it.
Paul now anticipates the next logical question someone may ask. Let’s read verse 6 together please. “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (v. 6)”. After Paul talks about the Israelites losing God’s promise, he realizes that people may ask- “weren’t the Israelites God’s chosen people?” and “does this mean that God’s promise failed?” These are logical questions. Jeremiah 31:33 says “’This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’”. Clearly, God has chosen the Israelites as His people, and have made a covenant with them. However, it seems like they no longer are God’s people, because they are all falling away. Does this mean that God’s word has failed? No, it does not. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son’ (v. 6-9)”. What is Paul talking about here? Not all who are Israel are Israel? What does that mean? Great questions. Let’s take a moment to consider the Old Testament story of Ishmael. First, we have to consider God’s promise to Abraham. Anyone know what it was? “Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God (Genesis 17:3-8)”. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that God would be the God of all Abraham’s descendants. In order to make a nation, you need a son. As many of us know, Abraham spent many years of his life without any sons, even though God promised him one. After a while, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, became frustrated and took matters into her own hands. Sarah took her slave named Hagar, and told Abraham to sleep with her, and maybe then he could have a son. Surprisingly, Abraham agreed and laid with Hagar, and she did bear him a son, Ishmael. So was this the son that God has promised? Absolutely not. We never hear “God of Ishmael”, but we do hear “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Paul reminds us in verse 9 that God promised that Sarah would have a son, not another woman. Therefore, even though Ishmael is Abraham’s descendant, he is not part of God’s promise. In the same way, even if someone was from Israel, it does not mean that they are part of God’s promise. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”.
Now Paul moves to Esau and Jacob. Esau was the older son of Isaac, and deserved to inherit the birthright from Isaac. However, as we know, Jacob stole the birthright from Esau. Did this happen just because Jacob was crafty and was able to steal the birthright from Esau? In part, yes, but this cannot be the full explanation. If the only reason Jacob became part of God’s chosen people was that he was crafty and stole the birthright from Esau, that would undermine God. That would say that you can earn your way to God’s promise, but you cannot. So why was Jacob able to become God’s chosen person? It’s simply because God chose him, not Esau. Paul says that God chose Jacob “before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad (v. 11)”. Paul reveals the sovereignty and authority that God has over everything. No one can earn God’s promise or favor, it is a gift of God. God is able to do as He pleases, regardless of what we do or expect.
The next logical question that Paul addresses is in verse 14. Let’s read that together. “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! (verse 14)”. In the case of Jacob and Esau, it seems like God may have been unfair towards Esau. Esau was older and deserved the birthright from his father Isaac, yet God took that from him. Paul tells us that God “will have mercy on whom (He) has mercy, and (He) will have compassion on whom (He) has compassion (verse 14)”. What does that mean? Let’s read verse 16 together. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (verse 16)”. Let’s think about what is just. This should be quite easy now, since you guys have been learning about Romans this year. What is just? Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death”. Therefore, what is just is that everyone dies. The good news is that God made a way for us to be saved. The question now is- who gets to be saved by God? The answer is, anyone that God chooses. The story of Pharaoh is familiar to all of us. God sends plagues on Egypt, in order to release His people from captivity. Despite sending many plagues, Pharaoh does not let Israelites go. Why? It is because God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart? It is so that God’s power would be displayed to the world. God is able to use whoever He chooses, in any way that He chooses.
Paul answers yet another objection that may rise in verses 19-21. Let’s read those verses together. “One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will? But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use (v. 19-20)?’” The question boils down to this; if God can use us how He wants, how can we be held responsible for what we do? If God chooses whoever He pleases, why does God still judge us? This is actually a great question. It seems like since God can do what He wills, we cannot be to blame for our actions. Let me give you an illustration similar to Paul’s. Here I have a stapler. Let me ask you guys this; what is the purpose of a stapler? The purpose of a stapler is to staple pieces of paper to each other. Plain and simple. Now, imagine if I used the stapler to start hammering nails. What would people say to me? “You’re using the stapler the wrong way.” There’s a right way to use a stapler, and there’s a wrong way to use it. How do we define what the right way and the wrong way is? We define it by the purpose of the stapler. Once I violate what the purpose of the stapler is by using it in a way it was not meant to used, I am using it the wrong way. The same is true for us. People may ask, “Why should I have to live in a certain way?” It’s because we have been given a purpose. Once we violate that purpose, we sin. If you’ve ever wondered where morality comes from, it comes from purpose. As a matter of fact, that is the only way you can really define morality. Think about when you are driving. Imagine that you are in a car, and you are going to church. The only way you can know if you are going the right way is if you are heading towards your destination, church. You know you are going the wrong way if you are not headed towards your destination. Now imagine if you are in the car, but you have no destination or purpose. You have no way to determine whether you are going the right way or wrong way. I believe that this is why people cannot really understand or define morality these days. You can never be in the wrong if you have no purpose, so people just make up their own morality. They have no clear purpose, so they have no clear morals.
The next question you may have on your mind is “what is our purpose”? To answer that, we first have to answer this- “Where does our purpose come from?” Let’s think again to the stapler. We know that the purpose of the stapler is to staple things. How do we know that? Who defined that purpose? The maker of the stapler defined that purpose, and made the stapler for that purpose. If you saw something that you didn’t know how to use, the best person to ask would be the creator. In the same way, we find our purpose in our creator. So what is our purpose that we find in God? Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Anything that goes against that purpose is what is defined as sin. How do we know what glorifies God? Read the Bible. The Bible tells us that the best way to glorify God is love each other. However, that’s another message for another time. The point is that God is able to judge if we go against the purpose that He has given to us. We have no right to do whatever we want because God has given us a purpose.
Lastly, Paul talk about God’s wrath and mercy. Let’s read verses 22 through 24 together. “What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath- prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles (v. 22-24)?” Paul is saying that God indeed has shown His wrath, but He also has shown mercy. Even though we deserve God’s wrath, He has chosen to withhold His wrath against us. As we talked about earlier, we all deserve eternal death, but God has shown mercy to us who don’t deserve it. Not only are we spared by God’s mercy, we also will share in His glory if we believe in Him. This is all familiar to us, but we often forget how serious of a matter this is. Remember that Paul felt great anguish because the Israelites did not realize what they had lost. They lost their salvation, and the incredible mercy of God. Paul quotes Isaiah in verse 27, saying “though the number of Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved (verse 27).” Even though there were so many Israelites, so many of God’s chosen people, only a few would be saved by God. We can be tempted here to focus on the bad. We can look at how many Israelites were not saved, but Paul reminds us of those who were saved. Verse 29 says “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.” What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They were completely wiped out by God. Unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God did not forsake all of the Israelites, He saved a remnant. God showed mercy by saving this remnant of the Israelites. If you are saved by God, which I hope we all are, we have to remember that it’s only by God’s mercy and grace. We should be especially grateful because in the midst of billions of people, God chose us to show His mercy to. We also have to open our eyes to those who are not saved, because God’s wrath unfortunately is waiting for them. Remember what our purpose is? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One way we can fulfill our purpose is to share the gospel to others.
So what did we learn about today? What should you take away from this passage? The first thing we can learn is that God’s promises are valuable. At the beginning Paul was deeply sorrowed because the Israelites forgot God’s promise. Remember the amazing promises given in chapter 8; nothing can separate us from God’s love, God works all things for the good of those who love Him, those who suffer for Him will share in His glory, and we are more than conquerors. We should value God’s promises and not take them for granted. The next thing we can learn is that God’s word never fails. God is faithful to His word. This is related to the first key point, but it is still important. Thirdly, we can learn that God is sovereign. God is in control of everything, and can use whoever He pleases in any way He wants. God holds everything in His hands. As a counterpoint, fourthly we should remember that we have a purpose, which is found in God. We have no excuse to do whatever we want, because we were made with a purpose. Our purpose should guide our actions and define the way that we live. Lastly, we should remember that God is merciful. Even though all of us deserve death, He chose to save us. We cannot save ourselves by our works, but God can save us in His mercy. We should remember God’s mercy, but also remember that not everyone has accepted it. We therefore have a responsibility to share His mercy with others. Let’s read the key verse together, verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (v. 16)”.
-Smart
Obviously I was not here last time you guys had Sunday worship, but I assume you guys studied Romans 8, or at least part of it. Romans 8 is a fantastic passage, which encourages us to endure suffering for our future glory. Paul also talk about how if God is for us, no one can be against us, and we are more than conquerors. I don’t know what you guys learned about two weeks ago, but I know that I personally don’t understand how anyone can be “more than a conqueror”. A conqueror is already powerful enough, yet in Christ we are more than conquerors. I think Paul uses that phrase because not only has Jesus conquered death, He also reigns with all glory and power, and we too can share in His glory. As great as Romans 8 is, we do have to move on and talk about the passage we have today, which is a bit more difficult to understand. Although Romans 9 was written for a specific audience, we can learn many things from it. Let’s all begin by reading the key verse together, which is verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Verse 16)”.
Paul starts off by saying “I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit (v. 1)”. For some reason, when I read this verse, I immediately thought of Joshua. I just imagined Joshua’s voice saying something like this- “Guys, come on I’m serious I’m not lying!” I don’t really know why I thought of Joshua, I guess maybe it’s just because his voice perfectly fits this verse. In any case, think about when someone says “I’m telling you the truth, I am not lying”. What are they trying to say? They’re telling you that they are serious, and they want you to pay close attention to what they have to say. So what does Paul have to say? Let’s read verses 2 through 4 together. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises (v. 2-4)”. What Paul is saying here is no small matter, it’s a big deal. Paul is saying that he is willing to be cut off from Christ and lose his own salvation so that the Israelites could regain theirs. Paul would rather die an eternal death than let the Israelites be cut off from Christ. Unfortunately, Paul is unable to do this. Why is Paul so upset and anguished over the Israelites that he would be willing to trade places with them? It is because Paul understands what the Israelites lost. I didn’t mention chapter 8 just because that’s what messengers do; I mention it because it is connected to today’s passage. What was chapter 8 about? The fact that those who are in Christ are more than conquerors because of God’s love. The Israelites didn’t realize that because they turned away from God, they lost things that cannot be matched by anything on this earth. Let me ask you guys this-who were the Israelites? Can someone summarize who they were in a sentence or two? In short, they were God’s chosen people. However, they lost their adoption to sonship, the divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship and the promises. They were more than conquerors and they had the love of God, but they forsake it. Paul understood the tragedy of losing God’s promise, and He wanted others to understand the weight of God’s love. This is why at the beginning he says “I speak the truth”, and “I am not lying”. He wants the reader to realize the significance of God’s promises, and the tragedy when someone loses it.
Paul now anticipates the next logical question someone may ask. Let’s read verse 6 together please. “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (v. 6)”. After Paul talks about the Israelites losing God’s promise, he realizes that people may ask- “weren’t the Israelites God’s chosen people?” and “does this mean that God’s promise failed?” These are logical questions. Jeremiah 31:33 says “’This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’”. Clearly, God has chosen the Israelites as His people, and have made a covenant with them. However, it seems like they no longer are God’s people, because they are all falling away. Does this mean that God’s word has failed? No, it does not. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son’ (v. 6-9)”. What is Paul talking about here? Not all who are Israel are Israel? What does that mean? Great questions. Let’s take a moment to consider the Old Testament story of Ishmael. First, we have to consider God’s promise to Abraham. Anyone know what it was? “Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God (Genesis 17:3-8)”. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that God would be the God of all Abraham’s descendants. In order to make a nation, you need a son. As many of us know, Abraham spent many years of his life without any sons, even though God promised him one. After a while, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, became frustrated and took matters into her own hands. Sarah took her slave named Hagar, and told Abraham to sleep with her, and maybe then he could have a son. Surprisingly, Abraham agreed and laid with Hagar, and she did bear him a son, Ishmael. So was this the son that God has promised? Absolutely not. We never hear “God of Ishmael”, but we do hear “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Paul reminds us in verse 9 that God promised that Sarah would have a son, not another woman. Therefore, even though Ishmael is Abraham’s descendant, he is not part of God’s promise. In the same way, even if someone was from Israel, it does not mean that they are part of God’s promise. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”.
Now Paul moves to Esau and Jacob. Esau was the older son of Isaac, and deserved to inherit the birthright from Isaac. However, as we know, Jacob stole the birthright from Esau. Did this happen just because Jacob was crafty and was able to steal the birthright from Esau? In part, yes, but this cannot be the full explanation. If the only reason Jacob became part of God’s chosen people was that he was crafty and stole the birthright from Esau, that would undermine God. That would say that you can earn your way to God’s promise, but you cannot. So why was Jacob able to become God’s chosen person? It’s simply because God chose him, not Esau. Paul says that God chose Jacob “before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad (v. 11)”. Paul reveals the sovereignty and authority that God has over everything. No one can earn God’s promise or favor, it is a gift of God. God is able to do as He pleases, regardless of what we do or expect.
The next logical question that Paul addresses is in verse 14. Let’s read that together. “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! (verse 14)”. In the case of Jacob and Esau, it seems like God may have been unfair towards Esau. Esau was older and deserved the birthright from his father Isaac, yet God took that from him. Paul tells us that God “will have mercy on whom (He) has mercy, and (He) will have compassion on whom (He) has compassion (verse 14)”. What does that mean? Let’s read verse 16 together. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (verse 16)”. Let’s think about what is just. This should be quite easy now, since you guys have been learning about Romans this year. What is just? Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death”. Therefore, what is just is that everyone dies. The good news is that God made a way for us to be saved. The question now is- who gets to be saved by God? The answer is, anyone that God chooses. The story of Pharaoh is familiar to all of us. God sends plagues on Egypt, in order to release His people from captivity. Despite sending many plagues, Pharaoh does not let Israelites go. Why? It is because God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart? It is so that God’s power would be displayed to the world. God is able to use whoever He chooses, in any way that He chooses.
Paul answers yet another objection that may rise in verses 19-21. Let’s read those verses together. “One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will? But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use (v. 19-20)?’” The question boils down to this; if God can use us how He wants, how can we be held responsible for what we do? If God chooses whoever He pleases, why does God still judge us? This is actually a great question. It seems like since God can do what He wills, we cannot be to blame for our actions. Let me give you an illustration similar to Paul’s. Here I have a stapler. Let me ask you guys this; what is the purpose of a stapler? The purpose of a stapler is to staple pieces of paper to each other. Plain and simple. Now, imagine if I used the stapler to start hammering nails. What would people say to me? “You’re using the stapler the wrong way.” There’s a right way to use a stapler, and there’s a wrong way to use it. How do we define what the right way and the wrong way is? We define it by the purpose of the stapler. Once I violate what the purpose of the stapler is by using it in a way it was not meant to used, I am using it the wrong way. The same is true for us. People may ask, “Why should I have to live in a certain way?” It’s because we have been given a purpose. Once we violate that purpose, we sin. If you’ve ever wondered where morality comes from, it comes from purpose. As a matter of fact, that is the only way you can really define morality. Think about when you are driving. Imagine that you are in a car, and you are going to church. The only way you can know if you are going the right way is if you are heading towards your destination, church. You know you are going the wrong way if you are not headed towards your destination. Now imagine if you are in the car, but you have no destination or purpose. You have no way to determine whether you are going the right way or wrong way. I believe that this is why people cannot really understand or define morality these days. You can never be in the wrong if you have no purpose, so people just make up their own morality. They have no clear purpose, so they have no clear morals.
The next question you may have on your mind is “what is our purpose”? To answer that, we first have to answer this- “Where does our purpose come from?” Let’s think again to the stapler. We know that the purpose of the stapler is to staple things. How do we know that? Who defined that purpose? The maker of the stapler defined that purpose, and made the stapler for that purpose. If you saw something that you didn’t know how to use, the best person to ask would be the creator. In the same way, we find our purpose in our creator. So what is our purpose that we find in God? Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Anything that goes against that purpose is what is defined as sin. How do we know what glorifies God? Read the Bible. The Bible tells us that the best way to glorify God is love each other. However, that’s another message for another time. The point is that God is able to judge if we go against the purpose that He has given to us. We have no right to do whatever we want because God has given us a purpose.
Lastly, Paul talk about God’s wrath and mercy. Let’s read verses 22 through 24 together. “What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath- prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles (v. 22-24)?” Paul is saying that God indeed has shown His wrath, but He also has shown mercy. Even though we deserve God’s wrath, He has chosen to withhold His wrath against us. As we talked about earlier, we all deserve eternal death, but God has shown mercy to us who don’t deserve it. Not only are we spared by God’s mercy, we also will share in His glory if we believe in Him. This is all familiar to us, but we often forget how serious of a matter this is. Remember that Paul felt great anguish because the Israelites did not realize what they had lost. They lost their salvation, and the incredible mercy of God. Paul quotes Isaiah in verse 27, saying “though the number of Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved (verse 27).” Even though there were so many Israelites, so many of God’s chosen people, only a few would be saved by God. We can be tempted here to focus on the bad. We can look at how many Israelites were not saved, but Paul reminds us of those who were saved. Verse 29 says “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.” What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They were completely wiped out by God. Unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God did not forsake all of the Israelites, He saved a remnant. God showed mercy by saving this remnant of the Israelites. If you are saved by God, which I hope we all are, we have to remember that it’s only by God’s mercy and grace. We should be especially grateful because in the midst of billions of people, God chose us to show His mercy to. We also have to open our eyes to those who are not saved, because God’s wrath unfortunately is waiting for them. Remember what our purpose is? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One way we can fulfill our purpose is to share the gospel to others.
So what did we learn about today? What should you take away from this passage? The first thing we can learn is that God’s promises are valuable. At the beginning Paul was deeply sorrowed because the Israelites forgot God’s promise. Remember the amazing promises given in chapter 8; nothing can separate us from God’s love, God works all things for the good of those who love Him, those who suffer for Him will share in His glory, and we are more than conquerors. We should value God’s promises and not take them for granted. The next thing we can learn is that God’s word never fails. God is faithful to His word. This is related to the first key point, but it is still important. Thirdly, we can learn that God is sovereign. God is in control of everything, and can use whoever He pleases in any way He wants. God holds everything in His hands. As a counterpoint, fourthly we should remember that we have a purpose, which is found in God. We have no excuse to do whatever we want, because we were made with a purpose. Our purpose should guide our actions and define the way that we live. Lastly, we should remember that God is merciful. Even though all of us deserve death, He chose to save us. We cannot save ourselves by our works, but God can save us in His mercy. We should remember God’s mercy, but also remember that not everyone has accepted it. We therefore have a responsibility to share His mercy with others. Let’s read the key verse together, verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (v. 16)”.
-Smart
Thanksgiving 2014
"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name."
-Psalm 103:1
This year I decided to write 10 of thanksgiving topics, but with a twist. For each topic, I wanted it to be outside of the box, and I also wanted to add something about God that I could be thankful for.
1. Glasses- Without glasses I cannot do anything productive, because everything is unclear and unfocused. I thank God that He is my “glasses”- everything becomes clear and focused when I look through Him.
2. Job- I am thankful for my job, not only because it gives me money, but because I learn so much through it. While working there I learned about patience, hard work, patience, kindness, and patience. I thank God that He is continually working in me with great patience.
3. Clucksters- I love the chicken at Clucksters. Pretty self-explanatory. I thank God that He is my portion and bread of life.
4. YDJ- I am so blessed to be a part of YDJ. I’ve been especially blessed to be a leader for YDJ. With Abe leaving to Vietnam, more responsibility has been put on the rest of us, but it’s a joy to serve my friends in YDJ. I thank God for being a part of my life and for leading me.
5. Music- Music has always been a big part of my life, whether it be praise team, piano, band, or orchestra. Music is so unique in that everyone can enjoy it, even if they are not a musician and cannot fully understand it. I thank God that I can enjoy Him, even though I do not fully understand Him.
6. Messenger Bag- Before I got this bag from my work, I always had trouble finding the right bag for church. This bag perfectly carries my things for the weekends. I thank God that He carries me through life, especially in the hard times. Here’s a poem I really like by Mary Stevenson called “Footprints in the Sand”.
“One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
‘You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?’
The Lord replied, ‘The times when you have seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.’”
7. Earpods- I use earbuds every day to listen to music on my iPod or computer. I thank Jesus because just as the headphones connect the source of music to me in a form I can understand, Jesus connects the source of life, God, to me in a form I can understand- love.
8. Bed- I love to sleep. Just like Clucksters, it’s pretty self-explanatory. I thank God that in Him, I can find true rest.
9. Basketball- Basketball is my favorite sport, and is a great way for me to exercise and have fun at the same time, which is not natural. I thank God that although having a relationship with Him may seem like exercise and hard work, it is always enjoyable.
10. Time- Time is extremely valuable, since no one is guaranteed tomorrow. I thank God that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He holds time in His hands, and graciously gives me time, even though I waste so much of it. I pray that I would use my time to glorify Him.
Dimensions
"'Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?' declares the Lord. 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' declares the Lord."
-Jeremiah 23:24
First of all, I would like to say that this blog post is going to be more theoretical than practical. This post will just be some thoughts I had regarding dimensions and I do not claim all of this to be true. This post was inspired by the movie "Interstellar" by Christopher Nolan, which deals with relativity, dimensions, time and space (Side note: I recommend the movie, it was good). So all that being said, what is a dimension? It's actually a bit difficult to describe without using an example, but at it's most basic a dimension is a direction of space. The way dimensions are described is with coordinates, and the more dimensions you have in a space, the more coordinates you need to describe a location in that space. Fortunately, most of us know what a dimension is because we learn about it in our math classes, so I don't have to explain it in great detail.
While dimensions are typically used to describe space, they can also be used to describe other things as well. For example, many people regard time as a dimension. With that in mind, how can we expand our definition of dimension to cover time as well as space? I believe that we can describe a dimension as "a limiting or binding factor that can be used to describe position". Sorry if that seems inadequate, but it was the best I could do. What exactly do I mean by this definition?
In math, we know about dimensional "spaces". There's one dimensional, two dimensional, and three dimensional, also known as 1d, 2d and 3d. In a one dimensional space, everything within that space is constrained to one infinite line, which describes the entirety of that space. No point in that one dimensional space can ever leave that line, or it would cease to be one dimensional. This is what I mean by "a limiting or binding factor". The dimension limits every point to that line. In a two dimensional space, every point is limited to an infinite plane, and in a three dimensional space, every point in limited to an infinite cube (or any 3d shape really).
As humans on this earth, we exist in a four dimensional world. There are the three dimensions that describe our space, and there is also the time dimension. This means that we are limited to three dimensions in space, and are bound by time. We cannot cease to exist within these four dimensions, because we are four dimensional beings. In other words, we cannot go to a fifth dimension. It's also very difficult for us to imagine anything outside of these four dimensions, because we have never experienced any other dimension. We are limited by these four dimensions, so we never really consider any other dimension (unless you are a mathematician or physicist maybe).
While thinking about dimensions, I wondered, "what about God? is He bound by any number of dimensions? if not, what is the nature of His existence?" Before I try to answer those tough questions, I want to again talk purely about space. Let's think about a two dimensional space. More specifically, let's think of something like a painting or a drawing. Imagine that you are a single point in the painting, and that you are bound by the painting's two dimensions. Try to imagine what the painting would look like from within the painting itself. You wouldn't be able to see much of the painting, would you? However, because we exist in a three dimensional space, we can see the painting outside of the two dimensions. We can see the entirety of the painting; the colors, lines, composition, and beauty. The painting looks totally different when we view it outside of it's two dimensions.
You can probably guess where I'm going with this by now, so let me wrap up. Last time I wrote about God's nature and how He is infinite, where we are finite. I believe that this means God can also exist in more than four dimensions, if not infinite dimensions. Or perhaps God does not exist in any dimension, since He is unbounded and unconstrained. In any case, we know that God exists outside of our four dimensions. This means that God is not bounded by time or space. This also means that God views us very differently than we view ourselves. God can see the entirety of our lives, outside of space or time. God not only exists in every place, but also in every time.
People often wonder why they cannot see God. If God exists outside of our four dimensions, perhaps it makes sense that we cannot see or comprehend Him. Think again to the painting. If you were a single point in that painting limited by the two dimensional space, you would only be able to see what is in that space. You wouldn't be able to see anything else, such as the artist, even if the artist was right next to the painting. The only way you would be able to see or experience the artist is if he decided to touch the painting, thus entering the two dimensional space. You would never be able to see the entirety of the artist though, because he exists in more dimensions than you could see or understand. Maybe this is also why we cannot see or understand the entirety of God. We are just a part of His creation, and He is the artist. The only way we can experience Him is when He decides to touch us.
-Smart
-Jeremiah 23:24
First of all, I would like to say that this blog post is going to be more theoretical than practical. This post will just be some thoughts I had regarding dimensions and I do not claim all of this to be true. This post was inspired by the movie "Interstellar" by Christopher Nolan, which deals with relativity, dimensions, time and space (Side note: I recommend the movie, it was good). So all that being said, what is a dimension? It's actually a bit difficult to describe without using an example, but at it's most basic a dimension is a direction of space. The way dimensions are described is with coordinates, and the more dimensions you have in a space, the more coordinates you need to describe a location in that space. Fortunately, most of us know what a dimension is because we learn about it in our math classes, so I don't have to explain it in great detail.
While dimensions are typically used to describe space, they can also be used to describe other things as well. For example, many people regard time as a dimension. With that in mind, how can we expand our definition of dimension to cover time as well as space? I believe that we can describe a dimension as "a limiting or binding factor that can be used to describe position". Sorry if that seems inadequate, but it was the best I could do. What exactly do I mean by this definition?
In math, we know about dimensional "spaces". There's one dimensional, two dimensional, and three dimensional, also known as 1d, 2d and 3d. In a one dimensional space, everything within that space is constrained to one infinite line, which describes the entirety of that space. No point in that one dimensional space can ever leave that line, or it would cease to be one dimensional. This is what I mean by "a limiting or binding factor". The dimension limits every point to that line. In a two dimensional space, every point is limited to an infinite plane, and in a three dimensional space, every point in limited to an infinite cube (or any 3d shape really).
As humans on this earth, we exist in a four dimensional world. There are the three dimensions that describe our space, and there is also the time dimension. This means that we are limited to three dimensions in space, and are bound by time. We cannot cease to exist within these four dimensions, because we are four dimensional beings. In other words, we cannot go to a fifth dimension. It's also very difficult for us to imagine anything outside of these four dimensions, because we have never experienced any other dimension. We are limited by these four dimensions, so we never really consider any other dimension (unless you are a mathematician or physicist maybe).
While thinking about dimensions, I wondered, "what about God? is He bound by any number of dimensions? if not, what is the nature of His existence?" Before I try to answer those tough questions, I want to again talk purely about space. Let's think about a two dimensional space. More specifically, let's think of something like a painting or a drawing. Imagine that you are a single point in the painting, and that you are bound by the painting's two dimensions. Try to imagine what the painting would look like from within the painting itself. You wouldn't be able to see much of the painting, would you? However, because we exist in a three dimensional space, we can see the painting outside of the two dimensions. We can see the entirety of the painting; the colors, lines, composition, and beauty. The painting looks totally different when we view it outside of it's two dimensions.
You can probably guess where I'm going with this by now, so let me wrap up. Last time I wrote about God's nature and how He is infinite, where we are finite. I believe that this means God can also exist in more than four dimensions, if not infinite dimensions. Or perhaps God does not exist in any dimension, since He is unbounded and unconstrained. In any case, we know that God exists outside of our four dimensions. This means that God is not bounded by time or space. This also means that God views us very differently than we view ourselves. God can see the entirety of our lives, outside of space or time. God not only exists in every place, but also in every time.
People often wonder why they cannot see God. If God exists outside of our four dimensions, perhaps it makes sense that we cannot see or comprehend Him. Think again to the painting. If you were a single point in that painting limited by the two dimensional space, you would only be able to see what is in that space. You wouldn't be able to see anything else, such as the artist, even if the artist was right next to the painting. The only way you would be able to see or experience the artist is if he decided to touch the painting, thus entering the two dimensional space. You would never be able to see the entirety of the artist though, because he exists in more dimensions than you could see or understand. Maybe this is also why we cannot see or understand the entirety of God. We are just a part of His creation, and He is the artist. The only way we can experience Him is when He decides to touch us.
-Smart
The Nature of Man and God
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?"
-Job 38:4
In my church's young adult meetings, we are having presentations on different people of faith in the past. These people include George Muller, Polycarp, C.S. Lewis, and other similar people. I am scheduled to give my presentation on St. Augustine very soon. While reading St. Augustine's book, "The Confessions of St. Augustine", it made me think about the nature of God and man. I've written before on the fact that we are spiritual beings, and that we are sinful. I know that the nature of man and God are both very difficult to discuss in full, but that isn't my goal. I want to focus on a couple of ideas that should help us understand man and God.
The first thing I want to discuss is purpose. I often talk about purpose, because it is extremely important to understand. I'm not going to delve too deeply into what our purpose is, but rather how our purpose defines our nature. The nature of man is to have a purpose. We are purpose driven people, whether we think so or not. People are never content doing nothing- they always feel the need to be doing something. This is why we love distractions so much, because it gives us something to do when we have nothing better to do. Many people's purpose is to make themselves happy and comfortable. People work hard to make money, because they believe that money will make them happy and somehow give them happiness.
I've said most of this before, but what I've learned is that people have to look outside of themselves to fulfill their purpose. Think about it; no one was ever content in fulfilling their purpose within themselves. This is because we actually cannot fulfill our purpose within ourselves. This why people always look to find a good job, a good spouse, or numerous other things in order to fulfill their purpose. You might be asking yourself, "our happiness is not our true purpose is it?", and you would be correct. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. What's interesting about our purpose is that it is not about us; it is about God. Also, we are not able to glorify and enjoy Him on our own, we need His help.
To summarize what I've discussed so far, man must look outside of himself in order to both find and fulfill his purpose. Man is incapable of finding or fulfilling his purpose by looking within himself. This is because man's purpose is both found and fulfilled in God, not man himself. Now let's think about God. Does God have a purpose? I believe so. What is God's purpose? This is a more difficult question, but I believe it is probably similar to ours; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That may sound strange, and to be honest, it is. We are so used to people glorifying something outside themselves, and enjoying something outside themselves. However, God's purpose is found within Himself. God does not need to look outside of Himself to find His purpose or to fulfill it. This is a key difference in the nature of God and the nature of man. Man must look outside of himself to find and fulfill his purpose, but God's purpose is both found and fulfilled within Himself.
Let's continue and think of other qualities of man. Let's think back to the beginning; creation. Man is a created being, and always will be. Man is not able to create himself, or even to create anything. (What I mean by create is make something of nothing). However, God was not created, He always was. God always existed. Let's also think of man's limitations. A man is bounded by space and by time; a man cannot be everywhere at once, and he is bounded by time. In other words, a man is finite. On the other hand, God is infinite, not bound by space or time. He is everywhere, and time has no hold over Him; He exists outside of time. Lastly, let's think of man's worth. Man's worth is defined in so many different ways by people, such as appearance, monetary value, or contribution to society. However, a man's worth is really only found in God. Again, we have this idea of a man having to look outside himself. God's worth is defined within Himself; He needs nothing else to establish his worth.
There are many things that separate man's nature from God's nature, but I could only touch on a few. Man must look outside of himself to find his purpose and worth. Man is created and finite. God's purpose and worth are found in Himself, and God is uncreated and infinite. A man cannot create himself because he is limited and finite. Therefore, he cannot find purpose or worth within himself. Why is this? Think about where purpose and worth come from. Take a stapler for example. A stapler was created by someone, and that person gave it a purpose; to staple paper together. How much is the stapler worth? It depends on the creator. He defines the purpose and worth of that stapler. If I did not know what the purpose of a stapler was, I would only have to look at the creator. The same is true for us. Since we are created, our purpose must be found in the Creator.
-Smart
-Job 38:4
In my church's young adult meetings, we are having presentations on different people of faith in the past. These people include George Muller, Polycarp, C.S. Lewis, and other similar people. I am scheduled to give my presentation on St. Augustine very soon. While reading St. Augustine's book, "The Confessions of St. Augustine", it made me think about the nature of God and man. I've written before on the fact that we are spiritual beings, and that we are sinful. I know that the nature of man and God are both very difficult to discuss in full, but that isn't my goal. I want to focus on a couple of ideas that should help us understand man and God.
The first thing I want to discuss is purpose. I often talk about purpose, because it is extremely important to understand. I'm not going to delve too deeply into what our purpose is, but rather how our purpose defines our nature. The nature of man is to have a purpose. We are purpose driven people, whether we think so or not. People are never content doing nothing- they always feel the need to be doing something. This is why we love distractions so much, because it gives us something to do when we have nothing better to do. Many people's purpose is to make themselves happy and comfortable. People work hard to make money, because they believe that money will make them happy and somehow give them happiness.
I've said most of this before, but what I've learned is that people have to look outside of themselves to fulfill their purpose. Think about it; no one was ever content in fulfilling their purpose within themselves. This is because we actually cannot fulfill our purpose within ourselves. This why people always look to find a good job, a good spouse, or numerous other things in order to fulfill their purpose. You might be asking yourself, "our happiness is not our true purpose is it?", and you would be correct. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. What's interesting about our purpose is that it is not about us; it is about God. Also, we are not able to glorify and enjoy Him on our own, we need His help.
To summarize what I've discussed so far, man must look outside of himself in order to both find and fulfill his purpose. Man is incapable of finding or fulfilling his purpose by looking within himself. This is because man's purpose is both found and fulfilled in God, not man himself. Now let's think about God. Does God have a purpose? I believe so. What is God's purpose? This is a more difficult question, but I believe it is probably similar to ours; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That may sound strange, and to be honest, it is. We are so used to people glorifying something outside themselves, and enjoying something outside themselves. However, God's purpose is found within Himself. God does not need to look outside of Himself to find His purpose or to fulfill it. This is a key difference in the nature of God and the nature of man. Man must look outside of himself to find and fulfill his purpose, but God's purpose is both found and fulfilled within Himself.
Let's continue and think of other qualities of man. Let's think back to the beginning; creation. Man is a created being, and always will be. Man is not able to create himself, or even to create anything. (What I mean by create is make something of nothing). However, God was not created, He always was. God always existed. Let's also think of man's limitations. A man is bounded by space and by time; a man cannot be everywhere at once, and he is bounded by time. In other words, a man is finite. On the other hand, God is infinite, not bound by space or time. He is everywhere, and time has no hold over Him; He exists outside of time. Lastly, let's think of man's worth. Man's worth is defined in so many different ways by people, such as appearance, monetary value, or contribution to society. However, a man's worth is really only found in God. Again, we have this idea of a man having to look outside himself. God's worth is defined within Himself; He needs nothing else to establish his worth.
There are many things that separate man's nature from God's nature, but I could only touch on a few. Man must look outside of himself to find his purpose and worth. Man is created and finite. God's purpose and worth are found in Himself, and God is uncreated and infinite. A man cannot create himself because he is limited and finite. Therefore, he cannot find purpose or worth within himself. Why is this? Think about where purpose and worth come from. Take a stapler for example. A stapler was created by someone, and that person gave it a purpose; to staple paper together. How much is the stapler worth? It depends on the creator. He defines the purpose and worth of that stapler. If I did not know what the purpose of a stapler was, I would only have to look at the creator. The same is true for us. Since we are created, our purpose must be found in the Creator.
-Smart
Harmony
"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."
-Psalm 96:1
As you all already know, I love music. Music is one of those things that everyone can appreciate, regardless of who you are. Music is everywhere; it's in theater, movies, tv, grocery stores, elevators, and many other places as well. I already written extensively about music before, but today I want to focus on a particular style- acapella. For those of you who don't know what acapella is, it is a style of music where there are no instruments, just voices. Acapella music can be one melody, multiple harmonies, or when the voice replicates the sound of an instrument. In this post, I want to talk about acapella music where there are multiple harmonies.
Why am I talking about acapella music? Recently our church has created an "official" vocal team, where a group of people sing acapella songs every now and then. As you may have guessed, I am a part of this team. Last Sunday we sang our first song together as this new group. If you have not heard acapella music before, I would highly recommend that you take a listen, because it is really special. After we sang that song on Sunday, I got a lot compliments regarding our song. The absence of instruments really emphasizes the harmony between voices, and it's something really special.
Despite what it may seem, I am not writing this post just to praise how amazing acapella music is. I want to talk about harmony. What is harmony? In musical terms, it means a combination of notes that creates a specific arrangement called a chord. I could go on and on about the various kinds of harmonies, but that is not the point of this post. I want to talk about the other kind of harmony. Harmony's non-musical definition means agreement or concord.
You may have noticed that the two definitions of harmony are actually similar in some regards. The way harmony is created in music, especially acapella music, is when two or more people work together to create a chord. A chord has a very pleasing sound, especially when it is sung well and together. The way harmony is created outside of music is when two or more people work together to create agreement between each other. In both cases, people must work together in order to create something that could not be created alone. They work together to create something greater than what they can do themselves.
Many things in life are easier to accomplish if you work with someone else. The reason many people struggle with working with others is because they lack harmony. The just assume that harmony should be created, but they forget that it takes work. Everyone has to work together in order to create harmony. In music, if even one person sings the wrong note, the harmony is broken. I realized that the hardest thing to overcome when trying to achieve musical harmony is to do your part. If you do not practice your part, you will not be able to achieve harmony in the group. Many times, if you do not do your part, you will end up following someone else's part. However, everyone has to learn their own part, and contribute to the group's harmony.
The same is true outside of music. Everyone has certain talents that God has given them, and they differ from each other. If people start following other people, they will waste their own talent. Everyone should contribute to the group in the way that God enables them. Creating something greater than yourself requires you to work together with others. The Bible speaks often of the importance of working together. This is because if everyone contributes in their own way, greater things can be accomplished. We are not called to live on our own, but to work together and create harmony.
-Smart
-Psalm 96:1
As you all already know, I love music. Music is one of those things that everyone can appreciate, regardless of who you are. Music is everywhere; it's in theater, movies, tv, grocery stores, elevators, and many other places as well. I already written extensively about music before, but today I want to focus on a particular style- acapella. For those of you who don't know what acapella is, it is a style of music where there are no instruments, just voices. Acapella music can be one melody, multiple harmonies, or when the voice replicates the sound of an instrument. In this post, I want to talk about acapella music where there are multiple harmonies.
Why am I talking about acapella music? Recently our church has created an "official" vocal team, where a group of people sing acapella songs every now and then. As you may have guessed, I am a part of this team. Last Sunday we sang our first song together as this new group. If you have not heard acapella music before, I would highly recommend that you take a listen, because it is really special. After we sang that song on Sunday, I got a lot compliments regarding our song. The absence of instruments really emphasizes the harmony between voices, and it's something really special.
Despite what it may seem, I am not writing this post just to praise how amazing acapella music is. I want to talk about harmony. What is harmony? In musical terms, it means a combination of notes that creates a specific arrangement called a chord. I could go on and on about the various kinds of harmonies, but that is not the point of this post. I want to talk about the other kind of harmony. Harmony's non-musical definition means agreement or concord.
You may have noticed that the two definitions of harmony are actually similar in some regards. The way harmony is created in music, especially acapella music, is when two or more people work together to create a chord. A chord has a very pleasing sound, especially when it is sung well and together. The way harmony is created outside of music is when two or more people work together to create agreement between each other. In both cases, people must work together in order to create something that could not be created alone. They work together to create something greater than what they can do themselves.
Many things in life are easier to accomplish if you work with someone else. The reason many people struggle with working with others is because they lack harmony. The just assume that harmony should be created, but they forget that it takes work. Everyone has to work together in order to create harmony. In music, if even one person sings the wrong note, the harmony is broken. I realized that the hardest thing to overcome when trying to achieve musical harmony is to do your part. If you do not practice your part, you will not be able to achieve harmony in the group. Many times, if you do not do your part, you will end up following someone else's part. However, everyone has to learn their own part, and contribute to the group's harmony.
The same is true outside of music. Everyone has certain talents that God has given them, and they differ from each other. If people start following other people, they will waste their own talent. Everyone should contribute to the group in the way that God enables them. Creating something greater than yourself requires you to work together with others. The Bible speaks often of the importance of working together. This is because if everyone contributes in their own way, greater things can be accomplished. We are not called to live on our own, but to work together and create harmony.
-Smart
The Claims of Christ
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through me."
-John 14:6
I know that it's been a while since I have posted on this blog, but that's because I've been a bit busy with school and I haven't really had anything to write about. However, I want to keep this blog going, so I thought I would take some time out of my schedule and write. Recently I have been reading the book "Basic Christianity" by John Stott, and I have continued listening to Ravi Zacharias' podcast, "Let my People Think". One interesting thing was brought up in both of these- the claims of Christ. What does that mean? Let's think about it.
We can assume that Jesus said a lot of things when He was on this earth, because we know that in the gospels Jesus spoke many times, and that was only three years of His life. Obviously we can only see what Jesus said during the three year period described in the gospel, and what He said in other books of the Bible as well. If you have read the gospels and are familiar with them, you will know that Jesus was often teaching. Most of what Jesus said (at least what is recorded) was to teach others, whether it be the disciples, the crowd, or the teachers of the law.
What I find interesting about Jesus' teachings is that most people would agree with them. As a matter of fact, even people who are not Christians sometimes say that Jesus was simply a good teacher. They admit that what Jesus teaches has value in life. Mark chapter one describes when Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. Verse 22 tells us that "the people were amazed at His teaching". When Jesus taught, people listened because they realized that His teachings were good. Even people today would agree that His teachings are good. For example, no one would argue with the idea that we should love one another and we should do unto others as we would have them do to us.
Another thing Jesus talked about was Himself. He made claims about who He was and what He came to do. His claims included, but are not limited to: "I am the Messiah", "Destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days", and "I am the way, the truth and the life". Not all of these are direct quotes from the gospels, but you get the idea. The main thing we can see from Jesus' claims about Himself is that He is not an ordinary man. No ordinary person would say the things that Jesus said about Himself. No one would claim that they are the Messiah, or that they will die and then be raised to life. Jesus was claiming that He is God.
This is where people have a problem with Jesus. Remember that earlier I said that people like Jesus' teachings. They agree with the things that He taught the people. However, people take issue with Jesus' claims about Himself. There are a couple reasons I can think of why this is. One reason is that people simply don't believe in Jesus. They think that there is no way He could possibly be God. Another reason is that people think Jesus was a liar. I think that the biggest issue people have with Jesus' claims is that it requires a response from them. People can agree with Jesus' teachings because they are just nice principles and ideals to strive for. However, people can't accept His claims about Himself because it requires them to believe in Him as God and Savior.
To fully understand what implications Jesus' claims have, we would have to talk about who Jesus is and who God is. However, that could take a very long time. If you are interested in learning more about who Jesus/God is, I suggest reading more of my blog, or more importantly, reading the Bible. For now, let's just discuss a bit about Jesus' claims and their implications. Jesus claimed that He was the promised Messiah, and that He is God. This means that He holds all authority to judge, but He also is powerful enough to save. Jesus claimed that He is the way, the truth and the life. If we want to find the way, know the truth, and experience eternal life, we have to believe in Jesus. Jesus' claims demand a response from us. Either we accept Him as God, and we believe in Him, or we reject Him. This is no small matter. If Jesus' claims about Himself are true, then our response to Him has massive consequences.
-Smart
-John 14:6
I know that it's been a while since I have posted on this blog, but that's because I've been a bit busy with school and I haven't really had anything to write about. However, I want to keep this blog going, so I thought I would take some time out of my schedule and write. Recently I have been reading the book "Basic Christianity" by John Stott, and I have continued listening to Ravi Zacharias' podcast, "Let my People Think". One interesting thing was brought up in both of these- the claims of Christ. What does that mean? Let's think about it.
We can assume that Jesus said a lot of things when He was on this earth, because we know that in the gospels Jesus spoke many times, and that was only three years of His life. Obviously we can only see what Jesus said during the three year period described in the gospel, and what He said in other books of the Bible as well. If you have read the gospels and are familiar with them, you will know that Jesus was often teaching. Most of what Jesus said (at least what is recorded) was to teach others, whether it be the disciples, the crowd, or the teachers of the law.
What I find interesting about Jesus' teachings is that most people would agree with them. As a matter of fact, even people who are not Christians sometimes say that Jesus was simply a good teacher. They admit that what Jesus teaches has value in life. Mark chapter one describes when Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. Verse 22 tells us that "the people were amazed at His teaching". When Jesus taught, people listened because they realized that His teachings were good. Even people today would agree that His teachings are good. For example, no one would argue with the idea that we should love one another and we should do unto others as we would have them do to us.
Another thing Jesus talked about was Himself. He made claims about who He was and what He came to do. His claims included, but are not limited to: "I am the Messiah", "Destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days", and "I am the way, the truth and the life". Not all of these are direct quotes from the gospels, but you get the idea. The main thing we can see from Jesus' claims about Himself is that He is not an ordinary man. No ordinary person would say the things that Jesus said about Himself. No one would claim that they are the Messiah, or that they will die and then be raised to life. Jesus was claiming that He is God.
This is where people have a problem with Jesus. Remember that earlier I said that people like Jesus' teachings. They agree with the things that He taught the people. However, people take issue with Jesus' claims about Himself. There are a couple reasons I can think of why this is. One reason is that people simply don't believe in Jesus. They think that there is no way He could possibly be God. Another reason is that people think Jesus was a liar. I think that the biggest issue people have with Jesus' claims is that it requires a response from them. People can agree with Jesus' teachings because they are just nice principles and ideals to strive for. However, people can't accept His claims about Himself because it requires them to believe in Him as God and Savior.
To fully understand what implications Jesus' claims have, we would have to talk about who Jesus is and who God is. However, that could take a very long time. If you are interested in learning more about who Jesus/God is, I suggest reading more of my blog, or more importantly, reading the Bible. For now, let's just discuss a bit about Jesus' claims and their implications. Jesus claimed that He was the promised Messiah, and that He is God. This means that He holds all authority to judge, but He also is powerful enough to save. Jesus claimed that He is the way, the truth and the life. If we want to find the way, know the truth, and experience eternal life, we have to believe in Jesus. Jesus' claims demand a response from us. Either we accept Him as God, and we believe in Him, or we reject Him. This is no small matter. If Jesus' claims about Himself are true, then our response to Him has massive consequences.
-Smart
Resisting Temptation
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
-Romans 6:11
A lot of things in my life have been pointing to a principle that I am hoping to apply to my life. We'll get to what the principle is, but first, let me discuss the premise. Our church has been studying the book of Romans, where Paul constantly urges the Romans to stop sinning. He reminds them of the death Jesus died, and how we no longer should be bound to the powers of sin. I also finished reading "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer, where he discusses resisting sin and temptation. Lastly, today at work I read an article on cracked.com that talks about things that hinder our lives.
So what is the principle I gleaned from these things? It's that in order to combat temptations, you have to stop trying so hard to fight temptation. You might think, "well that doesn't make sense", and you're right. At the same time, it makes sense in light of the way we should resist temptation; spend more time in God's presence. I'm learning in my struggle with temptation that the harder I try to fight temptation, the harder it gets to actually beat it. That's because when I try to fight temptation, I'm focusing on those temptations, and it can actually be more appealing. The way I should be resisting temptation and sin is to focus on Christ.
Let's break this down a bit. In Romans, especially the early chapters, Paul constantly talks about the inadequacy of the law. I've actually written a bit about the inadequacy of the law early in my blog, and I encourage you to read the post. The reason the law is inadequate in fixing our sin problems is that it exposes our sins without solving them. The law required that people become righteous by obeying rules, but no one could possibly completely obey the law. Even the contents of the law reveal its own insufficiency. What do I mean by that? The law required that the people give animal sacrifices to atone for their sin every year. This meant that the sacrifices could not completely solve their sins, because the sacrifices were made continually. I encourage you to read Hebrews 10 to learn more about the law's inadequacy. The point is, the law is insufficient because it depends on people's efforts to defeat sin rather than on God.
The last chapter of "Knowing God" is titled "The Adequacy of God", which I really like. The chapter focuses on Romans chapter 8, particular the last paragraph, which I again encourage you to read. J.I. Packer talks about the fact that Jesus's sacrifice for our sin is adequate enough to fully save us. Not only that, but we now know that Jesus can and will sustain us in our struggle with temptation and sin. Paul says in Romans 8, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?". In other words, God is willing to give us anything we need in order to sustain our lives. This includes the strength to fight against sin.
The article on cracked.com mentions one hindrance to our lives that I can easily relate to. This hindrance is the unwillingness to give up something in order to gain something else. The article gives the example of getting in shape. Many people would say they want to get in shape, yet they do not do anything that will help them get healthier. The author claims that this is due in part to the fact that people don't realize that in order to go to the gym and exercise, you have to give up something that you are doing now. For example, if you say you want to go to the gym in the morning, you have to give up sleep, and we often don't realize how much we value sleep. I believe that this principle works in reverse as well; if you want to get rid of something in your life, you have to replace it with something else.
Let's tie this together before this post gets too long. What I hope you are seeing is that the key to resisting temptation and sin is not to try to fight it directly. As we learned in Romans, this is what the law tried to get people to do; simply stop sinning through our own efforts. However, it is impossible for any of us to beat sin that way, because we all have sinned and we all fall short of God's glory. Next, we talked about the fact that only God is adequate in solving our sin problems. Only God can sustain us in our struggle with sin. However, we shouldn't approach sin with the attitude "I will try really hard not to sin and pray that God sustains me". Remember that in order to get rid of something, you have to replace it with something else. Instead of trying to not sin, we should be spending more time in prayer and God's Word. The more time we spend in God's presence, the less time we will have for sin. When we spend time in prayer and God's Word, our focus shifts away from sin and instead it shifts towards God. I hope that we can stop trying to resist temptation and sin by our own strength and instead learn to rest in God.
-Smart
-Romans 6:11
A lot of things in my life have been pointing to a principle that I am hoping to apply to my life. We'll get to what the principle is, but first, let me discuss the premise. Our church has been studying the book of Romans, where Paul constantly urges the Romans to stop sinning. He reminds them of the death Jesus died, and how we no longer should be bound to the powers of sin. I also finished reading "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer, where he discusses resisting sin and temptation. Lastly, today at work I read an article on cracked.com that talks about things that hinder our lives.
So what is the principle I gleaned from these things? It's that in order to combat temptations, you have to stop trying so hard to fight temptation. You might think, "well that doesn't make sense", and you're right. At the same time, it makes sense in light of the way we should resist temptation; spend more time in God's presence. I'm learning in my struggle with temptation that the harder I try to fight temptation, the harder it gets to actually beat it. That's because when I try to fight temptation, I'm focusing on those temptations, and it can actually be more appealing. The way I should be resisting temptation and sin is to focus on Christ.
Let's break this down a bit. In Romans, especially the early chapters, Paul constantly talks about the inadequacy of the law. I've actually written a bit about the inadequacy of the law early in my blog, and I encourage you to read the post. The reason the law is inadequate in fixing our sin problems is that it exposes our sins without solving them. The law required that people become righteous by obeying rules, but no one could possibly completely obey the law. Even the contents of the law reveal its own insufficiency. What do I mean by that? The law required that the people give animal sacrifices to atone for their sin every year. This meant that the sacrifices could not completely solve their sins, because the sacrifices were made continually. I encourage you to read Hebrews 10 to learn more about the law's inadequacy. The point is, the law is insufficient because it depends on people's efforts to defeat sin rather than on God.
The last chapter of "Knowing God" is titled "The Adequacy of God", which I really like. The chapter focuses on Romans chapter 8, particular the last paragraph, which I again encourage you to read. J.I. Packer talks about the fact that Jesus's sacrifice for our sin is adequate enough to fully save us. Not only that, but we now know that Jesus can and will sustain us in our struggle with temptation and sin. Paul says in Romans 8, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?". In other words, God is willing to give us anything we need in order to sustain our lives. This includes the strength to fight against sin.
The article on cracked.com mentions one hindrance to our lives that I can easily relate to. This hindrance is the unwillingness to give up something in order to gain something else. The article gives the example of getting in shape. Many people would say they want to get in shape, yet they do not do anything that will help them get healthier. The author claims that this is due in part to the fact that people don't realize that in order to go to the gym and exercise, you have to give up something that you are doing now. For example, if you say you want to go to the gym in the morning, you have to give up sleep, and we often don't realize how much we value sleep. I believe that this principle works in reverse as well; if you want to get rid of something in your life, you have to replace it with something else.
Let's tie this together before this post gets too long. What I hope you are seeing is that the key to resisting temptation and sin is not to try to fight it directly. As we learned in Romans, this is what the law tried to get people to do; simply stop sinning through our own efforts. However, it is impossible for any of us to beat sin that way, because we all have sinned and we all fall short of God's glory. Next, we talked about the fact that only God is adequate in solving our sin problems. Only God can sustain us in our struggle with sin. However, we shouldn't approach sin with the attitude "I will try really hard not to sin and pray that God sustains me". Remember that in order to get rid of something, you have to replace it with something else. Instead of trying to not sin, we should be spending more time in prayer and God's Word. The more time we spend in God's presence, the less time we will have for sin. When we spend time in prayer and God's Word, our focus shifts away from sin and instead it shifts towards God. I hope that we can stop trying to resist temptation and sin by our own strength and instead learn to rest in God.
-Smart
Paul Before King Agrippa (Part 3)
Paul now addresses King Agrippa directly in verse 19, the key verse. Let’s read that together. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.” Before we move on, I want to take a look at two Bible passages. The first one is in Numbers 21, but you don’t have to turn there. Any of you know this passage (Joke)? It’s the story of the Israelites and the bronze snake. “4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” 6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” The second is the story of Joseph. We all know Joseph’s story in the Bible right? Turn to Genesis 45 and keep your place there. Let’s recap Joseph’s life quickly. Joseph was a man who probably had all the reason to believe his life could not be any worse. His own brothers disowned him and sold him to slavery because they hated him. It's bad enough being sold into slavery, but Joseph was sold by his own brothers. After that, he was able to gain favor with his master, and his master trusted Joseph with more and more responsibilities. When the master left the house, he left Joseph in charge. The master's wife found that Joseph was handsome and strong, and so she tried to have sex with him. Joseph knew that if he gave in to her, his master would be upset with him, and so would God. So Joseph decided to fight his desire to sleep with her and he literally ran away from her. She became upset with Joseph and made false accusations about him to his master, and he was thrown into prison. In prison, Joseph was able to gain favor with the prison keeper, and eventually with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph was able to get the position of second in command of Egypt. His brothers went to Egypt during a famine, and he was able to help them live.
So why did I just tell you about these two passages? It’s because they teach us about vision. In the story of the bronze snake, the Israelites were presented with a choice. They could either look at the snakes that were biting and killing them, or they could choose to look at the bronze snake. If they looked at the snakes biting them, they would die. If they looked at the bronze snake they would live. In Joseph’s story, he was presented with a choice. He could look at all his problems and give up on life, or he could choose to look at God. Let’s read Genesis 45:8. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Joseph chose to believe that God had a plan for his life. Joseph believed that it was God who was in control of his life, not his problems. Paul too was presented with a choice. We spoke at the beginning how Paul had been in captivity for years. He was falsely accused, flogged, and wrongly kept in captivity. Yet we read earlier that Paul considered himself fortunate to speak to King Agrippa. How could Paul possibly consider himself fortunate? It’s because he never lost his vision. Paul had a choice, just like the Israelites had a choice in the wilderness; does he choose to look at the snakes biting him, or the bronze snake? He had a choice, just like Joseph did; does he choose to look at all of his problems, or does he choose to look at God? Paul chose to focus on his vision. In his own words, he was obedient to the vision from heaven. What was Paul’s vision? His vision is in verses 16-18. “16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” The fulfilment of his vision is in verses 20-23. “20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” The fulfilment of Paul’s vision was the fact that he always testified to others about his faith. Paul never lost sight of his heavenly vision, and was testifying about his faith even in this passage.
It may not always seem like it, but we are presented with a choice. Are we going to choose to look at the snakes that are biting us, or the bronze snake? Imagine if you were the Israelites at that time. There are a bunch of snakes, all attacking you. Our natural reaction is to freak out. Where do we naturally look? We would look at the snakes, and try to defend ourselves. It is completely against our nature to look away from the snakes, yet that is what was necessary in order to live. If the Israelites wanted to live, they would have to focus their vision on the bronze snake. Similar to Joseph, we all have problems that we have to deal with in life. It may not be as extreme as Joseph’s challenges, but there will be things that challenge us. It’s natural for us to focus on our problems, and to try and fix them ourselves. They can burden us and cause us to lose our vision. We have to keep our vision on Christ. Some of you may be wondering, what is a vision? Do I really have to see a physical vision? No, God can give us visions in many ways, not just through our physical eyes. Or you may ask, what if I never had a vision? There is a very simple answer to that question; pray. Pray that God would give you a vision and a calling. But even if you have not had a specific vision for your life, there’s a vision that we all share; Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sound familiar? It should. Our vision should be to see everyone turn to Christ. How do we fulfil this vision? We have to testify, as Paul did. Will everyone accept our testimony? Absolutely not. Look at verse 28, “28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’” King Agrippa didn’t believe in Paul’s testimony. This didn’t stop Paul, because Paul was following his vision. Remember when I read Matthew 28:19-20? What did I leave out? Does anyone know? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” When we have trouble testifying about Jesus, remember that He is always with us. Paul truly believed this in His heart. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Paul depended on God when He had trouble testifying. And believe me, Paul had many troubles and challenges. Lastly, we have to remember that following our vision requires more than testifying with our mouths. It requires testifying with our lives also. Then we will have both our witness testimony, and our evidence. Let’s read the key verse. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
So why did I just tell you about these two passages? It’s because they teach us about vision. In the story of the bronze snake, the Israelites were presented with a choice. They could either look at the snakes that were biting and killing them, or they could choose to look at the bronze snake. If they looked at the snakes biting them, they would die. If they looked at the bronze snake they would live. In Joseph’s story, he was presented with a choice. He could look at all his problems and give up on life, or he could choose to look at God. Let’s read Genesis 45:8. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Joseph chose to believe that God had a plan for his life. Joseph believed that it was God who was in control of his life, not his problems. Paul too was presented with a choice. We spoke at the beginning how Paul had been in captivity for years. He was falsely accused, flogged, and wrongly kept in captivity. Yet we read earlier that Paul considered himself fortunate to speak to King Agrippa. How could Paul possibly consider himself fortunate? It’s because he never lost his vision. Paul had a choice, just like the Israelites had a choice in the wilderness; does he choose to look at the snakes biting him, or the bronze snake? He had a choice, just like Joseph did; does he choose to look at all of his problems, or does he choose to look at God? Paul chose to focus on his vision. In his own words, he was obedient to the vision from heaven. What was Paul’s vision? His vision is in verses 16-18. “16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” The fulfilment of his vision is in verses 20-23. “20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” The fulfilment of Paul’s vision was the fact that he always testified to others about his faith. Paul never lost sight of his heavenly vision, and was testifying about his faith even in this passage.
It may not always seem like it, but we are presented with a choice. Are we going to choose to look at the snakes that are biting us, or the bronze snake? Imagine if you were the Israelites at that time. There are a bunch of snakes, all attacking you. Our natural reaction is to freak out. Where do we naturally look? We would look at the snakes, and try to defend ourselves. It is completely against our nature to look away from the snakes, yet that is what was necessary in order to live. If the Israelites wanted to live, they would have to focus their vision on the bronze snake. Similar to Joseph, we all have problems that we have to deal with in life. It may not be as extreme as Joseph’s challenges, but there will be things that challenge us. It’s natural for us to focus on our problems, and to try and fix them ourselves. They can burden us and cause us to lose our vision. We have to keep our vision on Christ. Some of you may be wondering, what is a vision? Do I really have to see a physical vision? No, God can give us visions in many ways, not just through our physical eyes. Or you may ask, what if I never had a vision? There is a very simple answer to that question; pray. Pray that God would give you a vision and a calling. But even if you have not had a specific vision for your life, there’s a vision that we all share; Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sound familiar? It should. Our vision should be to see everyone turn to Christ. How do we fulfil this vision? We have to testify, as Paul did. Will everyone accept our testimony? Absolutely not. Look at verse 28, “28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’” King Agrippa didn’t believe in Paul’s testimony. This didn’t stop Paul, because Paul was following his vision. Remember when I read Matthew 28:19-20? What did I leave out? Does anyone know? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” When we have trouble testifying about Jesus, remember that He is always with us. Paul truly believed this in His heart. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Paul depended on God when He had trouble testifying. And believe me, Paul had many troubles and challenges. Lastly, we have to remember that following our vision requires more than testifying with our mouths. It requires testifying with our lives also. Then we will have both our witness testimony, and our evidence. Let’s read the key verse. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
-Smart
Thanks for reading! I hope you were encouraged by God's word.
Paul Before King Agrippa (Part 2)
Paul now begins his defense, or in this case, because it is an unofficial hearing, his testimony. Remember earlier what two things we said could be used to convict someone of a crime; evidence and testimony. Although it is just a hearing and not a court case, anything Paul says could be used in a court of law. This could cause Paul to speak very carefully, or maybe even lie about certain things that might make him seem guilty, but Paul tells his testimony truthfully. I’m sure you all know Paul’s story by now, since he has recalled it multiple times in the book of Acts, so we’ll go through it quickly. Let’s read verse 5 together. “They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.” Before Paul was converted, he was a very religious Pharisee. He obeyed all of the laws, and acted just the way a Pharisee was expected to live. After he was converted, he stopped depending on his self-righteousness and started depending on God. Let’s read verse 6-8. “6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” After Paul’s conversion, he understood that Jesus was the fulfilment of the law. Paul no longer had to be a Pharisee in order to fulfil the law. He also understood that because Jesus died and rose again, he has hope in his savior. Turn to Philippians chapter 3, and can I have someone read verses 10 and 11? “10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” So what was Paul’s hope? His hope was in the resurrection. Since Christ has risen, there’s hope for all believers to be risen with Christ. Paul truly believed in the hope of the resurrection, but the people listening did not. Paul says to them “why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” In fact, Paul’s hope in the resurrection is one reason why the Jews wanted to pursue Paul’s death. They couldn’t accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that all believers have a resurrection hope. Even though Paul knew that his believe in Jesus as the Messiah and his hope in the resurrection was why the Jews hated him, he had to testify about these things. Paul had to be faithful to his beliefs, even if it meant he would be charged with death. It’s important for us to learn that we have to be faithful to our hope in Jesus. There are many people today who will criticize us for our beliefs, which may cause us to shy away from talking about Jesus. If Paul realized that he could die because of his beliefs, yet still testify about Christ, how important is it that we also testify?
Moving on to verse 9, we see that Paul begins to talk about his conversion. Paul speaks about his persecution of the Christians, and how he even pursued them into foreign cities just to punish them. Paul was obsessed with persecuting the Christians, and he wanted them to be put to death. Paul then speaks about how Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Let’s read verse 14. “We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” Paul was not only persecuting the church, but he was also persecuting Christ. If you turn to Matthew 25, you find the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the ones who cared for Jesus’ needs, and the goats are the ones who did not. When they ask Jesus when they cared for Him, He answers “’truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” How we treat others is important to our relationship with Christ. Anyway, that’s just a quick side note. I know that what you really want to know is what “kick against the goads” means. “Kick against the goads is an expression that means that someone is trying to do something but is only hurting themselves. The expression comes from an ox kicking the goads, which is a stick used to move cattle, but only hurting itself. Paul was pursuing something that only ended up hurting himself. He was denying the truth of God and even actively opposing Jesus. This only succeeded to keep Paul from the truth. Jesus then claims that Paul is going to be His servant and a witness of Christ. Paul will be sent to save people from the power of Satan, and to help people receive forgiveness and sanctification.
Moving on to verse 9, we see that Paul begins to talk about his conversion. Paul speaks about his persecution of the Christians, and how he even pursued them into foreign cities just to punish them. Paul was obsessed with persecuting the Christians, and he wanted them to be put to death. Paul then speaks about how Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Let’s read verse 14. “We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” Paul was not only persecuting the church, but he was also persecuting Christ. If you turn to Matthew 25, you find the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the ones who cared for Jesus’ needs, and the goats are the ones who did not. When they ask Jesus when they cared for Him, He answers “’truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” How we treat others is important to our relationship with Christ. Anyway, that’s just a quick side note. I know that what you really want to know is what “kick against the goads” means. “Kick against the goads is an expression that means that someone is trying to do something but is only hurting themselves. The expression comes from an ox kicking the goads, which is a stick used to move cattle, but only hurting itself. Paul was pursuing something that only ended up hurting himself. He was denying the truth of God and even actively opposing Jesus. This only succeeded to keep Paul from the truth. Jesus then claims that Paul is going to be His servant and a witness of Christ. Paul will be sent to save people from the power of Satan, and to help people receive forgiveness and sanctification.
Paul Before King Agrippa (Part 1)
Earlier today I gave a message for the youth group at my church. The Scripture I spoke about was Acts 25:23-26:32. I thought I would share it like I shared my other message before. I hope you are able to learn something from my message and be encouraged.
The first couple of verses tell us the background of the events that will take place in this passage. Let’s read chapter 25, verse 23 together. “The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the court. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.” What does this tell us about the passage? If you take another look at the verse, it says that “the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room.” Let’s stop there. King Agrippa and Bernice came in with great pomp, meaning they came with splendor and showiness. While they may not have been boasting about their high status with their words, they came into the room in a boastful manner. From this we can see that this isn’t really a court trial, because King Agrippa and the others in the room lacked seriousness. Another key thing we can see is that they were in an “audience room”, not a courthouse. Right away we can see that this isn’t an official trial, but is just a public hearing of Paul. The purpose of this hearing is evident if we keep reading the passage. Let’s read verses 25-27 together. “25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.” What Festus says here is absolutely mind-boggling. First, he affirms that Paul did nothing deserving death. To us, it seems like Paul has been imprisoned and put on trial for only a couple of chapters, but keep in mind that in reality Paul has been captive for years. After all these years, Festus determines that there is nothing that Paul has done to deserve death, or even imprisonment. Second, because Paul appealed to Caesar, Festus has to give Caesar a letter to explain why Paul is going to him. However, Festus has nothing to write to Caesar! Third, we learn that the sole purpose of this hearing to give Festus something to charge Paul with so he can send Paul to Caesar. You would think that since Paul had been through so many trials they would at least have come up with something to charge him with. It’s impossible to have a court case without charges against the defendant. That’s the whole point of a trial. We did learn of a couple accusations the Jews made against Paul in previous chapters, such as Paul blaspheming and destroying the temple. However, none of these charges could be substantiated in court. Do any of you know what two important things you need to prove your statements in court? You need evidence and witness testimony. The Jews claimed that Paul was a blasphemer, but they had no evidence to prove it. Furthermore, their testimonies were not consistent, so Festus couldn’t validate any of their claims against Paul. Festus has to find out another way to charge Paul and send him to Caesar.
Now we know that the point of the hearing is that Festus could write something to Caesar about Paul. The next question is, why did Festus consult King Agrippa? Let’s read chapter 26, verses 2 and 3. “2 King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.” Agrippa was a king, and he was well acquainted with Jewish practices. King Agrippa probably knew about the differences between the Sadducees and Pharisees, the Jewish view of Jesus, the Christian view of Jesus, and other religious matters. Festus knew that if anyone would be able to appropriately judge Paul, it would be King Agrippa. Not only that, but King Agrippa was curious about Paul and Paul’s views on Christianity, as evidenced by chapter 25, verse 22. Looking again at verse 2, Paul says that he considers himself fortunate to speak before King Agrippa, even though Paul has been on many trials before. Paul hopes that King Agrippa will be able to use his understanding of Jewish customs to understand Paul’s testimony. Paul has spoken to many religious leaders before, but now he hopes that King Agrippa will be the one who accepts his message.
The first couple of verses tell us the background of the events that will take place in this passage. Let’s read chapter 25, verse 23 together. “The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the court. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.” What does this tell us about the passage? If you take another look at the verse, it says that “the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room.” Let’s stop there. King Agrippa and Bernice came in with great pomp, meaning they came with splendor and showiness. While they may not have been boasting about their high status with their words, they came into the room in a boastful manner. From this we can see that this isn’t really a court trial, because King Agrippa and the others in the room lacked seriousness. Another key thing we can see is that they were in an “audience room”, not a courthouse. Right away we can see that this isn’t an official trial, but is just a public hearing of Paul. The purpose of this hearing is evident if we keep reading the passage. Let’s read verses 25-27 together. “25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.” What Festus says here is absolutely mind-boggling. First, he affirms that Paul did nothing deserving death. To us, it seems like Paul has been imprisoned and put on trial for only a couple of chapters, but keep in mind that in reality Paul has been captive for years. After all these years, Festus determines that there is nothing that Paul has done to deserve death, or even imprisonment. Second, because Paul appealed to Caesar, Festus has to give Caesar a letter to explain why Paul is going to him. However, Festus has nothing to write to Caesar! Third, we learn that the sole purpose of this hearing to give Festus something to charge Paul with so he can send Paul to Caesar. You would think that since Paul had been through so many trials they would at least have come up with something to charge him with. It’s impossible to have a court case without charges against the defendant. That’s the whole point of a trial. We did learn of a couple accusations the Jews made against Paul in previous chapters, such as Paul blaspheming and destroying the temple. However, none of these charges could be substantiated in court. Do any of you know what two important things you need to prove your statements in court? You need evidence and witness testimony. The Jews claimed that Paul was a blasphemer, but they had no evidence to prove it. Furthermore, their testimonies were not consistent, so Festus couldn’t validate any of their claims against Paul. Festus has to find out another way to charge Paul and send him to Caesar.
Now we know that the point of the hearing is that Festus could write something to Caesar about Paul. The next question is, why did Festus consult King Agrippa? Let’s read chapter 26, verses 2 and 3. “2 King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.” Agrippa was a king, and he was well acquainted with Jewish practices. King Agrippa probably knew about the differences between the Sadducees and Pharisees, the Jewish view of Jesus, the Christian view of Jesus, and other religious matters. Festus knew that if anyone would be able to appropriately judge Paul, it would be King Agrippa. Not only that, but King Agrippa was curious about Paul and Paul’s views on Christianity, as evidenced by chapter 25, verse 22. Looking again at verse 2, Paul says that he considers himself fortunate to speak before King Agrippa, even though Paul has been on many trials before. Paul hopes that King Agrippa will be able to use his understanding of Jewish customs to understand Paul’s testimony. Paul has spoken to many religious leaders before, but now he hopes that King Agrippa will be the one who accepts his message.
What Commands Your Time?
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
-Matthew 6:33
I talked about my fears going to Grace Retreat in my last post, but today I am going to talk about my hopes after attending Grace Retreat. At the Grace Retreat there were many good messages and seminars, but one seminar really stood out to me. The seminar was titled "Teach us how to Pray", based on the passage where Jesus teaches His disciples the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). The speaker went over all the different parts of the Lord's Prayer and how to pray based on those parts. While I learned from that, what really convicted me was when he talked about actually spending time to pray.
When Jesus was in Gethsemane, He took three disciples with Him to go pray. Jesus leaves a bit on His own, and prays for an hour. When He comes back, He sees His disciples sleeping. He rebukes Peter by saying "could you not keep watch for one hour?". Normally when I read this passage I focus on Jesus' prayer and the disciples failure to stay awake. The speaker said something interesting regarding this passage- take Jesus' words as a challenge. We should take Jesus' rebuke to keep watch and pray for at least an hour as a challenge. We should ask ourselves "how much time do I spend in prayer?"
No one can develop a skill without spending time refining that skill. Similarly, no one can develop a relationship with another person without spending time with that person. While I know these as true, I often do not carry these principles into my spiritual life. I expect to grow in my relationship with God without spending time with Him. Unfortunately, that is impossible. I realize that spending so little time in prayer is hindering me from developing my relationship with Christ. Often times I blame my lack of "spirituality" because of my sins, weaknesses or shortcomings. No matter how I try, I won't be able to stop committing sins, and I will never overcome my weaknesses and shortcomings. This is especially true if I don't spend time in prayer.
The reason my relationship with God is stagnant is not because I am sinful; it's because I am not spending time in prayer and in the Word. So why am I not spending time in prayer? There are many reasons I have, and I'm sure that we all share some of the same excuses. One reason is because I can find prayer to be boring. I wonder how people can spend so long in prayer, since it can be repetitive to me. Also, I wonder how people can find so many things to pray for. Often times, I just run out of things to pray for. Another reason I do not spend a lot of time praying is because I value other things over prayer. What you spend your time in reveals what you care about. The fact that I spend so little time in prayer reveals that I don't value prayer as much as I should.
How can I spend more time in prayer? That is my question to myself and perhaps your question to yourself as well. The easiest way to spend more time in prayer is to learn to enjoy it. I know that this can be a weird concept to grasp, but prayer should be enjoyable. I haven't discovered how to "make" prayer enjoyable, but if God is as good as we say He is, how hard can it be? A practical way to spend more time in prayer is to set aside a certain time everyday to pray. I'm going to try and set a time where I can pray and read the Bible everyday. This certainly can be difficult, but it's a good way to teach us how to value our time with God. There are many things that we let take priority over prayer, but let's give God first priority of our time.
-Smart
-Matthew 6:33
I talked about my fears going to Grace Retreat in my last post, but today I am going to talk about my hopes after attending Grace Retreat. At the Grace Retreat there were many good messages and seminars, but one seminar really stood out to me. The seminar was titled "Teach us how to Pray", based on the passage where Jesus teaches His disciples the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). The speaker went over all the different parts of the Lord's Prayer and how to pray based on those parts. While I learned from that, what really convicted me was when he talked about actually spending time to pray.
When Jesus was in Gethsemane, He took three disciples with Him to go pray. Jesus leaves a bit on His own, and prays for an hour. When He comes back, He sees His disciples sleeping. He rebukes Peter by saying "could you not keep watch for one hour?". Normally when I read this passage I focus on Jesus' prayer and the disciples failure to stay awake. The speaker said something interesting regarding this passage- take Jesus' words as a challenge. We should take Jesus' rebuke to keep watch and pray for at least an hour as a challenge. We should ask ourselves "how much time do I spend in prayer?"
No one can develop a skill without spending time refining that skill. Similarly, no one can develop a relationship with another person without spending time with that person. While I know these as true, I often do not carry these principles into my spiritual life. I expect to grow in my relationship with God without spending time with Him. Unfortunately, that is impossible. I realize that spending so little time in prayer is hindering me from developing my relationship with Christ. Often times I blame my lack of "spirituality" because of my sins, weaknesses or shortcomings. No matter how I try, I won't be able to stop committing sins, and I will never overcome my weaknesses and shortcomings. This is especially true if I don't spend time in prayer.
The reason my relationship with God is stagnant is not because I am sinful; it's because I am not spending time in prayer and in the Word. So why am I not spending time in prayer? There are many reasons I have, and I'm sure that we all share some of the same excuses. One reason is because I can find prayer to be boring. I wonder how people can spend so long in prayer, since it can be repetitive to me. Also, I wonder how people can find so many things to pray for. Often times, I just run out of things to pray for. Another reason I do not spend a lot of time praying is because I value other things over prayer. What you spend your time in reveals what you care about. The fact that I spend so little time in prayer reveals that I don't value prayer as much as I should.
How can I spend more time in prayer? That is my question to myself and perhaps your question to yourself as well. The easiest way to spend more time in prayer is to learn to enjoy it. I know that this can be a weird concept to grasp, but prayer should be enjoyable. I haven't discovered how to "make" prayer enjoyable, but if God is as good as we say He is, how hard can it be? A practical way to spend more time in prayer is to set aside a certain time everyday to pray. I'm going to try and set a time where I can pray and read the Bible everyday. This certainly can be difficult, but it's a good way to teach us how to value our time with God. There are many things that we let take priority over prayer, but let's give God first priority of our time.
-Smart
Inadequate
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
-2 Corinthians 12:9
Every year my church's youth group go to a retreat known as the "Grace Retreat". The last time I attended was two years ago, but this year I decided I would go again as a small group leader. The small group leaders have a lot of responsibility, as they have to lead a group of 5-10 youth members in Bible study. It's very difficult to be an effective small group leader because they youth get really tired and disinterested if you are not engaging. Also, the leader gets very little sleep, having to attend early prayer meetings and going to bed late. By the way, this is all stuff I observed and heard from previous leaders. This year will be the first time I will be a leader for the Grace Retreat.
After I decided to become a leader, I realized something that troubled me a lot; I am not an adequate leader. Recently I haven't been reading the Bible as much as I should have, and I have been struggling with sin. My spiritual life has been very dead, and I feel very hypocritical. At church I put on this facade of being okay, but in reality I am not. I've been doing the things I want to do rather than seeking the things God wants me to do.
I wouldn't say that I am a fit leader for the Grace Retreat. Not even close. I've let my laziness and indifference make me inadequate to be a leader. However, I'm reminded of one thing that my friend told me- "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called". I am also reminded of is the song "All in All", where the lyrics read "You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all". If I try to fix my inadequacy on my own, I will achieve nothing. God is the only one who can treat my spiritual needs, and change my heart. Only in God can I find the strength to do His will.
The truth is, no one is truly fit to be God's child. We are all inadequate. None of us can do anything on our own, because we all fall short of God's glory. The good news is that God can and will help us. Furthermore, God has given us brothers and sisters that can encourage us and lift us up in prayer. One thing that I admire about my church is how we always make it a point to pray for each other. God didn't leave us on our own to try and live Christian lives; He gave us each other. We just have to accept that we are all inadequate and are in need of God's grace. Then we can build each other up in Christ.
-Smart
-2 Corinthians 12:9
Every year my church's youth group go to a retreat known as the "Grace Retreat". The last time I attended was two years ago, but this year I decided I would go again as a small group leader. The small group leaders have a lot of responsibility, as they have to lead a group of 5-10 youth members in Bible study. It's very difficult to be an effective small group leader because they youth get really tired and disinterested if you are not engaging. Also, the leader gets very little sleep, having to attend early prayer meetings and going to bed late. By the way, this is all stuff I observed and heard from previous leaders. This year will be the first time I will be a leader for the Grace Retreat.
After I decided to become a leader, I realized something that troubled me a lot; I am not an adequate leader. Recently I haven't been reading the Bible as much as I should have, and I have been struggling with sin. My spiritual life has been very dead, and I feel very hypocritical. At church I put on this facade of being okay, but in reality I am not. I've been doing the things I want to do rather than seeking the things God wants me to do.
I wouldn't say that I am a fit leader for the Grace Retreat. Not even close. I've let my laziness and indifference make me inadequate to be a leader. However, I'm reminded of one thing that my friend told me- "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called". I am also reminded of is the song "All in All", where the lyrics read "You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all". If I try to fix my inadequacy on my own, I will achieve nothing. God is the only one who can treat my spiritual needs, and change my heart. Only in God can I find the strength to do His will.
The truth is, no one is truly fit to be God's child. We are all inadequate. None of us can do anything on our own, because we all fall short of God's glory. The good news is that God can and will help us. Furthermore, God has given us brothers and sisters that can encourage us and lift us up in prayer. One thing that I admire about my church is how we always make it a point to pray for each other. God didn't leave us on our own to try and live Christian lives; He gave us each other. We just have to accept that we are all inadequate and are in need of God's grace. Then we can build each other up in Christ.
-Smart
Enjoying God
"For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?"
-Ecclesiastes 2:25
Today I played soccer with friends from my church as we often do on Sundays. I had a good time playing even though I am now quite tired and sore. Later in the day, I was cleaning the bathroom in my house. Like many people, I do not enjoy cleaning at all, especially when I have to clean the bathroom. As I was cleaning the bathroom, a thought came into my head. Why do I enjoy playing sports but I don't enjoy cleaning? That sounds like a weird and foolish question to ask, but it got me thinking.
Why don't I enjoy doing chores? They're tedious and require time and effort, and I often don't feel like doing them. However, I do like having a clean house. I'm sure many (if not all) people would prefer to live in a clean house than a dirty one. So why do we dislike cleaning our house so much? I think it's because we don't like the process of actually having to work at cleaning and possibly getting ourselves dirty. We like the result, but we don't like the process.
So why do I enjoy sports? First off, I want to establish the fact that I am a very competitive person when it comes to sports. I love winning and I don't like to lose. Despite this fact, I enjoy sports whether I win or lose. Of course, I am a lot happier if I win, but regardless of whether I win or not I still enjoy playing. The reason I like sports so much is because I like the actual process of playing a sport. I like running, jumping, defending, and competing. This is why I can enjoy sports regardless of the result.
What is the point I'm making here? The point is that it is much easier to do something if you can enjoy the process as well as the result. The reason I don't like cleaning is because although we like the result we don't enjoy the process. The reason I enjoy playing sports is because I enjoy the process of playing regardless of the result. Playing to win is just another way to motivate me to play harder and enjoy myself more.
I believe the reason I find it difficult to spend time with God is because I don't enjoy the process. I understand the result of spending time with Him is desirable, but I don't find the actually process of it appealing. I believe that this is why many people struggle to maintain a close relationship with God. We think that spending time with God is tedious and requires effort, and we often don't feel like taking that time to spend with Him. I think in order for us to really grow close to God, we need to learn to enjoy the process of knowing Him.
Think of your friends; you spend time with them because you like being with them. You don't spend time with them simply because you can gain something from your friendship; you do it because you enjoy the process of being with them. We have to learn to enjoy God in the same way. We shouldn't think of spending time with God as some way we can gain something from Him. We should think of it as a way to enjoy Him. Growing in a relationship with God is much easier if we can learn to enjoy knowing Him. And really, how hard can it be? God loves us, He adores us, He cares for us, and lastly, He enjoys being with us.
-Smart
-Ecclesiastes 2:25
Today I played soccer with friends from my church as we often do on Sundays. I had a good time playing even though I am now quite tired and sore. Later in the day, I was cleaning the bathroom in my house. Like many people, I do not enjoy cleaning at all, especially when I have to clean the bathroom. As I was cleaning the bathroom, a thought came into my head. Why do I enjoy playing sports but I don't enjoy cleaning? That sounds like a weird and foolish question to ask, but it got me thinking.
Why don't I enjoy doing chores? They're tedious and require time and effort, and I often don't feel like doing them. However, I do like having a clean house. I'm sure many (if not all) people would prefer to live in a clean house than a dirty one. So why do we dislike cleaning our house so much? I think it's because we don't like the process of actually having to work at cleaning and possibly getting ourselves dirty. We like the result, but we don't like the process.
So why do I enjoy sports? First off, I want to establish the fact that I am a very competitive person when it comes to sports. I love winning and I don't like to lose. Despite this fact, I enjoy sports whether I win or lose. Of course, I am a lot happier if I win, but regardless of whether I win or not I still enjoy playing. The reason I like sports so much is because I like the actual process of playing a sport. I like running, jumping, defending, and competing. This is why I can enjoy sports regardless of the result.
What is the point I'm making here? The point is that it is much easier to do something if you can enjoy the process as well as the result. The reason I don't like cleaning is because although we like the result we don't enjoy the process. The reason I enjoy playing sports is because I enjoy the process of playing regardless of the result. Playing to win is just another way to motivate me to play harder and enjoy myself more.
I believe the reason I find it difficult to spend time with God is because I don't enjoy the process. I understand the result of spending time with Him is desirable, but I don't find the actually process of it appealing. I believe that this is why many people struggle to maintain a close relationship with God. We think that spending time with God is tedious and requires effort, and we often don't feel like taking that time to spend with Him. I think in order for us to really grow close to God, we need to learn to enjoy the process of knowing Him.
Think of your friends; you spend time with them because you like being with them. You don't spend time with them simply because you can gain something from your friendship; you do it because you enjoy the process of being with them. We have to learn to enjoy God in the same way. We shouldn't think of spending time with God as some way we can gain something from Him. We should think of it as a way to enjoy Him. Growing in a relationship with God is much easier if we can learn to enjoy knowing Him. And really, how hard can it be? God loves us, He adores us, He cares for us, and lastly, He enjoys being with us.
-Smart
Objectivity
"Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."
-Romans 2:1
In my engineering ethics class we talked about the idea of subjectivity and objectivity. Immediately people in the class talked about how nothing can be objective, since everyone is subject to their own views and beliefs. I've written before about truth and whether it is relative or not. I concluded that it cannot be relative, because truth has to be consistent in order to be truth. The topic I want to talk about today is similar, just more in depth.
There are many things that are subjective, such as people's opinions. Some people like action movies, other like dramas, and still others prefer horror. These are all subjective views; there is no such thing as an objective preference of movie genre. However, when raised with the question of objectivity versus subjectivity, people often forget that there are things that are objective as well. For example, a movie is a movie, not a book. That is an objective statement, and there is no room for debate on that.
When talking about objectivity and subjectivity, the previous example was trivial. What people really want to know is whether there can be objectivity in morality. Is it possible that our morals are objective? Is there a definitive "right" and "wrong"? Or is everything relative to the individual? Many people these days would say that morality is subjective to a person. A person's morality is just a result of a person's upbringing. They argue that since everyone has a different set of morals that there cannot be any absolutes. Everyone should be allowed to decide their own moral standards.
While I agree that everyone has a different set of morals, I don't agree that this means that morality is subjective. As an example, think about the laws we have in our country. Take speeding for example. The law says that if you drive over the speed limit, you will be given a ticket (given that you are caught). That is an objective law- if you speed, you will be penalized. However, people might differ on what they believe regarding speeding. Some may think that you can go ten miles an hour over the limit and you don't deserve a ticket. Others may believe that speeding limits are ridiculous and shouldn't be a law. Regardless of what you believe, if you speed, you will be given a ticket. What am I saying with this example? People do have subjective views on morality, but there is objective morality.
So what is objective morality? I couldn't go into full detail, but let's start at the core of the issue; where does morality come from? I recently heard Ravi Zacharias pose this question, and his answer was fascinating. His answer was that there is no such thing as morality without purpose. Think about it; if I gave you a baseball bat, you know the purpose of the bat is to hit a baseball. However, if you use it to hit a person, you are violating the purpose of the bat. I think it is the lack of understanding of our purpose that causes people to misunderstand morality. If there is no clear purpose for our lives, then there is no way we can violate or fulfill our purpose. In other words, there is no way we can do anything "right" or "wrong". People can try to justify their morals, but in the end they can't really rationalize them. So what is our purpose? To "glorify God and enjoy Him forever".
-Smart
-Romans 2:1
In my engineering ethics class we talked about the idea of subjectivity and objectivity. Immediately people in the class talked about how nothing can be objective, since everyone is subject to their own views and beliefs. I've written before about truth and whether it is relative or not. I concluded that it cannot be relative, because truth has to be consistent in order to be truth. The topic I want to talk about today is similar, just more in depth.
There are many things that are subjective, such as people's opinions. Some people like action movies, other like dramas, and still others prefer horror. These are all subjective views; there is no such thing as an objective preference of movie genre. However, when raised with the question of objectivity versus subjectivity, people often forget that there are things that are objective as well. For example, a movie is a movie, not a book. That is an objective statement, and there is no room for debate on that.
When talking about objectivity and subjectivity, the previous example was trivial. What people really want to know is whether there can be objectivity in morality. Is it possible that our morals are objective? Is there a definitive "right" and "wrong"? Or is everything relative to the individual? Many people these days would say that morality is subjective to a person. A person's morality is just a result of a person's upbringing. They argue that since everyone has a different set of morals that there cannot be any absolutes. Everyone should be allowed to decide their own moral standards.
While I agree that everyone has a different set of morals, I don't agree that this means that morality is subjective. As an example, think about the laws we have in our country. Take speeding for example. The law says that if you drive over the speed limit, you will be given a ticket (given that you are caught). That is an objective law- if you speed, you will be penalized. However, people might differ on what they believe regarding speeding. Some may think that you can go ten miles an hour over the limit and you don't deserve a ticket. Others may believe that speeding limits are ridiculous and shouldn't be a law. Regardless of what you believe, if you speed, you will be given a ticket. What am I saying with this example? People do have subjective views on morality, but there is objective morality.
So what is objective morality? I couldn't go into full detail, but let's start at the core of the issue; where does morality come from? I recently heard Ravi Zacharias pose this question, and his answer was fascinating. His answer was that there is no such thing as morality without purpose. Think about it; if I gave you a baseball bat, you know the purpose of the bat is to hit a baseball. However, if you use it to hit a person, you are violating the purpose of the bat. I think it is the lack of understanding of our purpose that causes people to misunderstand morality. If there is no clear purpose for our lives, then there is no way we can violate or fulfill our purpose. In other words, there is no way we can do anything "right" or "wrong". People can try to justify their morals, but in the end they can't really rationalize them. So what is our purpose? To "glorify God and enjoy Him forever".
-Smart
Priorities
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
-Matthew 6:33
The past couple weeks have been very difficult and stressful, both mentally and spiritually. School has been getting harder, and now that finals are right around the corner, I am very worried. I'm worried for the obvious reason that I have to take finals soon, but I am also worried that I've already entered the "summer break mode". It's very hard for me to find that sense of urgency for school, even though I know that finals are very near. I believe that this in part due to my spiritual life suffering. I haven't reading the Bible or spending quality time with God. I feel far from God, and I know that it is causing me to lose my sense of purpose in life.
Earlier today I was listening to Pastor Tony Evans on the radio on the way home from the gym. He was talking about reconciliation, and how there is both a vertical and horizontal reconciliation that we must understand. The vertical reconciliation is between us and God. Jesus has already done His part to reconcile us to Himself, we just have to accept Him. The horizontal reconciliation is between us and other people. Tony Evans stressed that we must have a vertical reconciliation before we can even begin horizontal reconciliation. He later talked about how our spiritual condition affects every part of our life.
One of the main ways we can see our spiritual condition is by taking a look at our priorities. I once wrote about stress, where I touched on the topic of priorities. Our priorities dictate much of what we do in our day to day life. For many people like myself, the top priority is to do well in school to ensure that their future will be comfortable. People with this priority tend to spend a lot of time studying, doing homework, and going to school. Once they begin to do bad in school, they begin to worry about their life. This is because they've placed their hopes into school, and they believe that by doing well in school later in life they will be fulfilled. Unfortunately, placing our priorities in school will only bring a lot of stress and worry.
The verse Matthew 6:33 says to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you". What is this verse telling us? It's saying that if we prioritize God our lives will begin to fall into place. We will have a new sense of purpose and fulfillment. Do you know what precedes Matthew 6:33? Jesus telling us not to worry. This is not a coincidence. Where we place our priorities will affect the rest of our life. If we don't prioritize our relationship with God, we will always worry. Putting God first places everything in perspective, and He will give us peace.
I've been meaning to write about a couple different topics on my blog, but I've been struggling to find the time and energy. I decided to write about this today because it's been on my mind and I wanted to re-prioritize my life. It's been hard letting God take first place in my life, because I've been so distracted by other things. I realize that this is having a negative effect on my life and is causing me to become lazy. I pray that God would help us to put Him back in the driver's seat of our lives.
-Smart
-Matthew 6:33
The past couple weeks have been very difficult and stressful, both mentally and spiritually. School has been getting harder, and now that finals are right around the corner, I am very worried. I'm worried for the obvious reason that I have to take finals soon, but I am also worried that I've already entered the "summer break mode". It's very hard for me to find that sense of urgency for school, even though I know that finals are very near. I believe that this in part due to my spiritual life suffering. I haven't reading the Bible or spending quality time with God. I feel far from God, and I know that it is causing me to lose my sense of purpose in life.
Earlier today I was listening to Pastor Tony Evans on the radio on the way home from the gym. He was talking about reconciliation, and how there is both a vertical and horizontal reconciliation that we must understand. The vertical reconciliation is between us and God. Jesus has already done His part to reconcile us to Himself, we just have to accept Him. The horizontal reconciliation is between us and other people. Tony Evans stressed that we must have a vertical reconciliation before we can even begin horizontal reconciliation. He later talked about how our spiritual condition affects every part of our life.
One of the main ways we can see our spiritual condition is by taking a look at our priorities. I once wrote about stress, where I touched on the topic of priorities. Our priorities dictate much of what we do in our day to day life. For many people like myself, the top priority is to do well in school to ensure that their future will be comfortable. People with this priority tend to spend a lot of time studying, doing homework, and going to school. Once they begin to do bad in school, they begin to worry about their life. This is because they've placed their hopes into school, and they believe that by doing well in school later in life they will be fulfilled. Unfortunately, placing our priorities in school will only bring a lot of stress and worry.
The verse Matthew 6:33 says to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you". What is this verse telling us? It's saying that if we prioritize God our lives will begin to fall into place. We will have a new sense of purpose and fulfillment. Do you know what precedes Matthew 6:33? Jesus telling us not to worry. This is not a coincidence. Where we place our priorities will affect the rest of our life. If we don't prioritize our relationship with God, we will always worry. Putting God first places everything in perspective, and He will give us peace.
I've been meaning to write about a couple different topics on my blog, but I've been struggling to find the time and energy. I decided to write about this today because it's been on my mind and I wanted to re-prioritize my life. It's been hard letting God take first place in my life, because I've been so distracted by other things. I realize that this is having a negative effect on my life and is causing me to become lazy. I pray that God would help us to put Him back in the driver's seat of our lives.
-Smart
You are the Messiah (Part 3)
So what can we take away from this passage? What can we learn? First, we must realize that Jesus cares about what people think about Him. At the time of this passage, the people believed Jesus was some sort of prophet. What would people say today if asked the same question? Sadly, I believe the majority of people would say that Jesus never existed. Even more so, I believe that people today feel they have no need for Jesus, as I said at the beginning of this message. People don’t want to believe in Jesus as Messiah, because they feel that Jesus is a hindrance to them. They don’t believe Jesus is their Messiah, they look to other things to be their “messiah”. Seeking money, pleasure, respect, and power becomes their messiah. This should concern us because it definitely concerns Jesus. We also must consider Jesus’ second question- “who do you say I am? (verse 29)”. Our view of Jesus is shaped by the relationship that we have with Jesus. Jesus is just as concerned about our relationship with Him as He is with our view of Him. We know that Jesus is the Messiah, but do we know what that means? It is one thing to know the answer to this question, it is another to understand it. So what is the proper understanding of who Jesus is? To answer this, we must understand the Cross. Jesus told the disciples about the Cross because the Cross is how He would save us. The Cross is the ultimate picture of who Jesus is. The Cross reveals many things about Jesus, such as His wisdom, power, authority, and obedience; but ultimately it reveals His love. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He loved them enough to die on the Cross for them. When Peter rebukes Jesus, Peter does it out of his love for Jesus, because Peter did not want Jesus to suffer these things. What Peter needed to understand is that Jesus must suffer these things in order to save him. Jesus wanted Peter to understand His love for him. Sadly, we see that Peter could not grasp Jesus’ love for him, because he was only concerned about worldly things. Peter’s life did not change at this point even though He knew Jesus was Messiah. Only after Peter experienced the power of Jesus’ resurrection did He truly understand who Jesus was. After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter underwent a major change in his life, and began speaking boldly to others about Jesus. Sometimes we too may hold the wrong view of Jesus because of our emotions or limited understanding of Him. Jesus doesn’t want us to rely on our emotions or our understanding; He wants us to rely on His love. He wants us to experience the power of His resurrection and to be changed because of it. His love is enough for us.
I spoke at the beginning about my high school friends. Many times they asked me why I did the things that I do: why I go to church, why I don’t go to parties, etc. I would simply just answer- “Because I believe as a Christian that I should go to church and I shouldn’t go to parties or etc.” If they asked me now, I would probably tell them that it is because Jesus is my Messiah, and because of that I cannot be the same. The power of the Cross and Jesus’ resurrection changes the way that I live. When I see the students around me and wonder why I continue to live in the manner I do, I know that it is because Jesus is the Messiah. However, it is not enough just to know that Jesus is my Messiah; Jesus wants all people to know that He is the Messiah. Jesus is asking me “who do people say I am? (verse 27)”? Jesus is asking us- “who do you say I am? (verse 29)”. Jesus is our Messiah; not one who came to rule over the earth by exerting power and authority, but one who came down to become one of us. He is our Messiah who suffered and died and rose again in order to save us from sin and death. He is our Messiah who loves us. Let’s read the key verse together- “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (verse 29)”.
-Smart
(Thanks for reading! If you have anything you'd want me to write about, let me know.)
I spoke at the beginning about my high school friends. Many times they asked me why I did the things that I do: why I go to church, why I don’t go to parties, etc. I would simply just answer- “Because I believe as a Christian that I should go to church and I shouldn’t go to parties or etc.” If they asked me now, I would probably tell them that it is because Jesus is my Messiah, and because of that I cannot be the same. The power of the Cross and Jesus’ resurrection changes the way that I live. When I see the students around me and wonder why I continue to live in the manner I do, I know that it is because Jesus is the Messiah. However, it is not enough just to know that Jesus is my Messiah; Jesus wants all people to know that He is the Messiah. Jesus is asking me “who do people say I am? (verse 27)”? Jesus is asking us- “who do you say I am? (verse 29)”. Jesus is our Messiah; not one who came to rule over the earth by exerting power and authority, but one who came down to become one of us. He is our Messiah who suffered and died and rose again in order to save us from sin and death. He is our Messiah who loves us. Let’s read the key verse together- “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (verse 29)”.
-Smart
(Thanks for reading! If you have anything you'd want me to write about, let me know.)
You are the Messiah (Part 2)
Jesus then asks the disciples a more personal question in verse 29, the key verse. Let’s read that together: “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (v.29)”. Jesus challenges His disciples to come up with their own answer to His previous question. He asks all of the disciples this question, but only Peter answers it. As we read, Peter answers Jesus by saying “You are the Messiah (verse 29)”. We know that disciples were able to answer Jesus’ earlier question because they had heard what others had said about Jesus, so where did Peter get his answer to Jesus second question? Looking at Matthew 16, which records the same story, Jesus tells us where Peter got his answer. Matthew 16:17 reads “And Jesus said to him, ‘blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.” This verse tells us two things; Peter got His answer from God, and that Jesus accepts Peter’s answer.
Why did Jesus ask the disciples this question? We know that Jesus cares about what people think of Him, and Jesus also cares about what His disciples think of Him. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to have the same view of Him that the other people did. Jesus is now asking how their relationship to Him differentiates their answer from the people. Jesus wanted to know what they personally say that He is. As we know, Peter answers “You are the Messiah (verse 29)”. We also know that this was the correct answer, because Jesus accepts Peter’s response. What does this mean however? In the time of Jesus, the Jews awaited the coming of a messiah. The word “messiah” means “savior”. It also means “one anointed or chosen by God”. All the Jews knew of a promised messiah, and they all had an idea of who that person would be. They thought that the promised messiah would save them by coming with power and authority. When they saw Jesus, they knew He was from God, but He wasn’t their view of who the messiah would be. Jesus didn’t take over the government by exerting His power and authority, as the people thought the messiah would. Peter probably had the same view of who the messiah would be, yet he was able to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah. This was because Peter was inspired by God to confess that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. After Peter’s confession, Jesus warns them not to tell others about Him. Why is this? Jesus knew that if the people found out He was the Messiah, they would try to fit Jesus into their description of the messiah. They might try to make Jesus king by force, like they tried to do in John 6:15 which reads- “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15)”. Jesus also told the disciples to not tell anyone because He knew the disciples would not be ready until He died and rose again. Jesus had not yet died on the cross and risen again, and the disciples still did not fully understand who Jesus was. Jesus did not want the disciples proclaiming that He is the Messiah until Jesus had finished His mission as the promised Savior.
Why did Jesus ask the disciples this question? We know that Jesus cares about what people think of Him, and Jesus also cares about what His disciples think of Him. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to have the same view of Him that the other people did. Jesus is now asking how their relationship to Him differentiates their answer from the people. Jesus wanted to know what they personally say that He is. As we know, Peter answers “You are the Messiah (verse 29)”. We also know that this was the correct answer, because Jesus accepts Peter’s response. What does this mean however? In the time of Jesus, the Jews awaited the coming of a messiah. The word “messiah” means “savior”. It also means “one anointed or chosen by God”. All the Jews knew of a promised messiah, and they all had an idea of who that person would be. They thought that the promised messiah would save them by coming with power and authority. When they saw Jesus, they knew He was from God, but He wasn’t their view of who the messiah would be. Jesus didn’t take over the government by exerting His power and authority, as the people thought the messiah would. Peter probably had the same view of who the messiah would be, yet he was able to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah. This was because Peter was inspired by God to confess that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. After Peter’s confession, Jesus warns them not to tell others about Him. Why is this? Jesus knew that if the people found out He was the Messiah, they would try to fit Jesus into their description of the messiah. They might try to make Jesus king by force, like they tried to do in John 6:15 which reads- “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15)”. Jesus also told the disciples to not tell anyone because He knew the disciples would not be ready until He died and rose again. Jesus had not yet died on the cross and risen again, and the disciples still did not fully understand who Jesus was. Jesus did not want the disciples proclaiming that He is the Messiah until Jesus had finished His mission as the promised Savior.
Now that the disciples knew that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus began explaining to them how He would suffer and die. This bothers Peter, so in verse 32 “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke (Jesus). (Verse 32)”. It is easy for us to criticize Peter for rebuking Jesus, because we know that Jesus’ death and resurrection are necessary for our salvation. However, we must keep in mind the context. This is the first time Jesus is telling the disciples about His crucifixion, and recall that Peter now knows that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter believed that because Jesus was the Messiah He would liberate His people with great power, authority, and even by force. When he heard Jesus talking about being beaten and crucified, he didn’t see a powerful messiah, he saw a weak, defeated man. Peter respected and loved Jesus greatly, and did not want these things to happen to Him. He took Jesus aside out of respect for Jesus, so that Jesus would not be rebuked in front of the disciples. Right after this, Jesus turns back to the disciples and rebukes Peter in front of them. Does this mean Jesus doesn’t respect Peter? He even calls Peter “Satan” in front of the disciples. Of course we know that Jesus loved Peter, but He didn’t want Peter to have the wrong view of Him. He called Peter “Satan” because Satan did not want Jesus to complete His mission, and Peter unknowingly is acting the same way. Why did Jesus turn towards His disciples? Jesus loved not only Peter, but the other disciples also. He wanted them all to have the right view of Him, so He exposed Peter’s wrongdoing in front of all the disciples. What is amazing about Jesus’ mission to die on the cross and to rise again is that it is not a sign of weakness or defeat. In fact, it was the greatest sign of His power and authority. “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor. 1:23-25)”. Jesus did come with authority and power, but He did not come to save the Jews from the king, He came to save them from sin and death. He did not come to conquer the king, he came to conquer sin and death.
-Smart
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