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Name: Eric
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Metro: Grand Rapids
Birthday: 11/4/1980
Gender: Male
Interests: One of them is writing out my thoughts. I think through things better when I write them down than when I just sit & think. I put them up here in case they will encourage anybody.
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
4/30/2004
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| Ephesians 1:13-23 Outline Taken from http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=374 Get Honest with God!
As you approach God in expectant prayer, take time also to think through what the last few days have been like for you. Share honestly with God what and how you are feeling as you approach your time with Him. Share your struggles and joys. Ask Him to speak, over time, to issues in your life. Expectant prayer. Prayer at all is a good step. I feel … I dunno. I'm glad to be having a devotion here. Thank you for the impetus to do so. The last few days have been a lot like the rest of my normal life lately, with just a few more family members around for Christmas. There's not a lot going on to speak of – just ordinary. My struggles – are spiritual. It's not a struggle so much as a void. Come and fill it. Speak, Lord, over time, to issues in my life.
Look Closely!
Read the passage carefully, and write down specifics that you see such as
- Who is there?
- Paul, the Father, Jesus and the Ephesians.
- What is happening?
- The Ephesians were saved, sealed. And Paul is giving thanks & praying for them.
- When is it?
- Back in Bible times! I'd say like AD 50ish, having no real frame of reference :).
- Where is it?
- Ephesus and wherever Paul is writing from.
- How is it happening?
- I'm not sure how Paul knows them – probably a church he started? That would be good to look into. I'm also not sure how he “heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints.” But the sealing by the Spirit is done by the will and hand of God, and the communication is done by letter.
Circle or write down words, phrases or ideas that connect by repeating, contrasting, being similar, going from the general to the particular, or stating a cause that leads to an effect. Hearing the word of truth & believing in him → being sealed with the Holy Spirit seems to be a cause/effect. “Glory” is in there a few times. Eyes of your hearts enlightened → you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his inheritance, and and the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. Or is the cause God giving a spirit of wisdom and revelation? Or both? Or is the spirit of wisdom and revelation also the cause of having the eyes of your hearts enlightened. | | |
| DevotionLuke 3:6-22
Outline from http://www.intervarsity.org/biblestu/communal/daily_passion.pdf
Think Deeply!
Divide the passage into thought units, paragraphs. See what sentences you
think add up to a thought unit and mark that as a paragraph. (These may
or may not be the same as the paragraphs in the version of the Bible you are
using.)
Write a brief title for each paragraph.
How
to repent.
A greater one is coming.
Herod locks John up.
Jesus is baptized & receives the Spirit.
Consider the questions you wrote yesterday. Look hard
in the passage for insights into these questions. Also look at the
context of the passage. What comes before it and after it?
One of the best ways to move towards answers to your questions is to look for
connections among the paragraphs. Is there a word, phrase or idea that
repeats? Is there a contrast? Is there a cause in one paragraph and
the effect in another; or a string of similar words, phrases, or ideas that run
through a few paragraphs? Draw lines between the connected words or
phrases to mark them. What do you think is significant about these
connections? What light do they shed on possible answers to your
questions?
First a different
question: did baptism really signify what I thought it did? Answer: not exactly. It was really just any kind of ceremonial
washing that was “baptism” in the Greek.
But still, Jesus took part in a cleansing
of repentance. What was that all about?
Hey! The commentators seem to lean more
toward the baptism by fire as judgment.
I like it. It makes sense. I never noticed the use of the word fire
again in the next verse until like last week.
Cool.
| | |
| DevotionLuke 3:6-22
Outline from http://www.intervarsity.org/biblestu/communal/daily_passion.pdf
Put yourself into the passage. Chose one of the
characters and become them. If it is a letter or law section, feel what
it might have felt to get the letter or hear the law. If it is poetry,
let the power of the poem and its images sweep over you. If it is a
narrative, put yourself into the story.
What do you see?
A furry, fiery guy with an air of excitement all around
the crowds gathering. And people being
humbled & humbling themselves. This
is exciting.
Something like a dove…
Smell?
Hmm … what does a desert smell like? What did John smell like :). (or most anyone back then, I imagine)
Taste?
No tasting going on here.
Feel?
Excitement, awe, perhaps fear (at the voice from heaven)
What questions does the passage raise in your mind?
Why is John’s imprisonment in-between things about
baptism? Oh … maybe because it’s just
wrapping up on John & moving on to Jesus.
Simple. Wow. Thanks, God.
Fast response. All I had to do
was ask.
What’s the fire in “baptism with fire”?
How is it that the “good news” John preached included judgement?
What words, phrases, or concepts don't you understand?
“Good news” I don’t fully understand.
I don’t understand why Jesus was baptized.
I don’t really get the significance of the order Luke has the intro to Jesus’
ministry. Baptism & confirmation,
then genealogy. Wouldn’t genealogy go
more toward his birth, like in Matthew?
Does the passage turn in any unexpected ways?
See the last question above. Also the abrupt shift to John’s imprisonment
& back to baptisms.
What intrigues you?
It’s all already listed. Especially the “good news” and “unexpected
turns in passage” ones.
Meditate!
Step back and read the passage a few times again. Read it as if Jesus
were standing right there with you (He is!). Ponder again the points that
stand out to you in the passage. Ask Jesus what He has for you personally
in the passage.
What does the passage say or point to about Jesus?
He is special.
He got an awesome forerunner, which is a cool honor to be given.
He was obedient/humble to be baptized?
Yes, definitely. Oh wow … I just
realized/remembered what baptism signified.
Crazy.
He is God’s beloved son.
God is was well pleased with Him.
What area of your life is Jesus speaking to?
I just want to spent more time
with him right now.
That, and share my wealth.
| | |
| Luke 3:6-22
Outline from http://www.intervarsity.org/biblestu/communal/daily_passion.pdf
Be Expectant!
The Bible is God's living Word. As you approach the Bible, pray that God
would meet you, so you experience God Himself in His Word; speak to you as
Father to son; teach you His truth; surprise you with some new insight or
discovery; and transform you over time into the image of Jesus.
Lord,
meet me. Let me experience You Yourself
in Your Word. Speak to me. Any way you please. Teach me Your truth. Please transform me into who You want me to
be, and into the image of Your Son.
Get Honest with God!
As you approach God in expectant prayer, take time also to think through what
the last few days have been like for you. Share honestly with God what
and how you are feeling as you approach your time with Him. Share your
struggles and joys. Ask Him to speak, over time, to issues in your life.
The
last few days have been … a little struggle.
It was good to see Brian. And
Hank & Maria. Matt. Nick …
Lord grab them. Grab me. There was a little struggle about whether to
stare my testimony. I didn’t. It was never … like … necessary. (Which is almost what I was looking
for.) And there was (and is) struggle
about reading Your Word and praying.
Thank you for this time.
Umm
… I’m feeling good about this right now.
It was a long process getting started, and it’s now late, but I’m
ready. I’m a bit skeptical that much
will come of this time … or anything soon in Luke. Please work through the Bible study. Especially if Aaron stays with us, let there
be things for him in there. And Father
may I take action on the fact that I have the resources to feed & clothe
people right now.
Lord
speak.
Look Closely!
Read the passage carefully, and write down specifics that you see such as
Who is there?
John the Baptist
crowds
God
tax collectors
Herod
Herodias
Jesus
the Holy Spirit
What is happening?
John is calling people to repentance, which will prepare
the way for Jesus. The repentance seems …
obvious & simple.
There’s a quick snippet about John being locked up in prison, then there’s
Jesus being baptized & sealed/confirmed.
Oh, and an awful lot of baptizing.
When is it?
Well, most of it is the time leading up to Jesus’
ministry, except the part about John being locked up. I don’t really know exactly where that falls.
Where is it?
The Jordan river, in the
desert. And in Herod’s prison.
How is it happening?
Hmm … the repentance and
crowd-gathering comes from a combination of God working in people and people
accepting John’s ministry as from God, I think.
John’s boldness and message come from the Spirit who has been on him
since birth, and also from the fact that he spent most of his time in the
desert. John’s imprisonment happens by
his same boldness and Herod’s pride.
Jesus’ baptism happens by Jesus’ humility and obedience (as well as John’s). Those are my guesses.
Circle or write down words, phrases or ideas that
connect by repeating, contrasting, being similar, going from the general to the
particular, or stating a cause that leads to an effect.
| | |
| I've started dialog-ing with a young man about things of the faith. I thought I would post my responses here, because why not I guess. No, not just that. I hope to be encouraging, and sharpened & corrected by y'all. It might be a little hard to follow, because I'm not going to post his half of the conversation, but I want to respect his privacy.
Sorry to hit you guys with nothing for so long, then so much all at once! Remember, this is just a blog, there is nothing saying you have to read everything I write!
Email 1:
<snip>
The part about scripture not recording a time when Jesus commanded the Apostles to write is true, except in Revelation, where
13 times He commands the Apostle John to write down what he is seeing or hearing.
And
I definitely agree that reading the Bible is not a necessary means of
salvation. Nor is it a means of salvation in any respect. I can't
think of anyone who has ever told me they think it is. Salvation is a
gift from God, not merited by reading, good works, or any other thing.
God saves those who believe him (a main theme in Romans, Galatians, and
other new testament books I'm sure).
<snip>
One of the tests of cannonicity (is
that a word?), I've heard, is that the book must have been written by
an Apostle or by someone who was very close to an Apostle & heard
much of their teaching. Jude was not apostles, so I don't know why
he's in that list. But the examples of Mark and Luke are ones I know
something about. Mark spent much time with Peter, so the Gospel of St.
Mark is pretty much the teachings of Peter, and Luke spent a lot of
time with Paul, so his gospel is pretty much Paul's teachings. I don't
know that kind of history about the rest of the books. It is certainly
true, though, that the original church had no Bible and that not every
Apostle contributed to its writings.
Email 2:
<snip>
This is true, in a way. Good works are a fruit following salvation, so
if a person has no good works, he has not been saved. However, good
works are not a prerequisite for salvation. For example, see Romans 4:
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.
3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[
a] 4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
<snip>
Right, because if there are no works, there must not be faith, because
works are a fruit of faith (as when Jesus states "If you love me, you
will obey my commands"). But as far as salvation is concerned, we must
not interpret this verse in a way that contradicts other scripture
(such as Romans 4 above, and much of the rest of Romans, etc)
<snip>
Because if you are only paying God lip service, you don't really believe Him.
<snip>
Exactly. He that believeth not shall be damned.
<snip>
I could be inclined to say that many who claim to have accepted Christ
as their personal savior are deceived. The mark of (aka fruit of, not
prerequisite for and not definition of) a Christian is love, not claims
to a belief system.
<snip>
Gal 5:6 - yes, this is the perfect summation of what I've been saying, faith expresses itself through love.
Matthew
25:31-46 - it is perfectly reasonable for Jesus to look at our works
(or even our words, as you were mentioning) to point out the fact that
we do or don't know Him, believe Him, love Him, etc. Our actions are
the overflow of our hearts (Luke 6:43-46).
Mark 12:30-31 - yes, that is the greatest commandment, the
summation of and foundation of all other commandments. It it is here,
at the heart of God's will, that we can all see our failure. That is
why we must not rely on our performance to merit salvation, but we must
trust God to give us grace (unmerited favor).
Matthew 19:16-26 - Jesus is concerned with the heart of a man. He answers the young man according to his question, "What
good thing must I do to
get eternal life?" In response, Jesus says, "There is only One who is
good ..." (so don't expect to be good based your own efforts, because
nobody else ever has been). As for an interpretation of "If you want
to enter life, obey the commandments," I'm kind of stuck on that one.
But it's awfully hard to take that statement as something other than
hypothetical without thinking it contradicts other scripture. That is,
if you really could obey the commandments without sin, you would enter
life (but we know that all have sinned, so we must not rely on that
avenue anymore). That interpretation does not completely satisfy me,
but it's the only one I know of so far that I can logically agree with.
Faith is certainly only the beginning of fulfilling the will
of God. God's will in infinitely deep, infinitely good, and infinitely
holy.
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