Class, today's lesson is... (revised)
Today is Saturday. I woke up with a sweet tooth for donuts. A quick road trip to Magna and a maple bar later, the sweet tooth has been satisfied. What does Magna have to do with donuts? My Guard friends know. When you want an apple fritter, I mean really WANT an apple fritter, only Roger's will fix that. (Shameless plug, Roger's Bakery is inside the Reams in Magna on 35th So. & 72nd West.) I'm saving the fritter for later, but trust me it's out there in the kitchen.
What's the lesson about you ask? There's homework involved. It's a reading assignment. (curious, does anyone actually look up the scriptures I post as reference material?) Today's lesson is from the Gospel of Luke, verses 7:36 through 8:25.
For such a short read, there are many lessons in this passage of the Good Book. The first lesson is this: Those that have been forgiven much, love much. Those that have been forgiven little, love little. Think about that for a while during your day. It's a powerful idea.
The second lesson comes from the parable of the sower and in this powerful passage, it speaks to the level of our faith. It's a short, but concise summary of faith. If you identify yourself as a Christian and haven't set foot in a church for a while or told someone about the Good News lately, you need to read Luke 8:1-15. A couple of times. While you read it, and the different concepts Jesus teaches us in the passage, see if you can identify people you know in your life, including me, but most importantly YOU, and guess where their seeds have taken root.
The third lesson comes in the metaphor of the lamp on the stand. To summarize, Jesus tells us two things: First, that there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Jesus admonishes us to be careful how we listen and informs us that whoever has will be given more and who does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.
The fourth lesson is about our relationship with God. Jesus is told his mother and brothers wish to see him. Verse 21 reads: He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." It's easy to say we do, harder sometimes to actually do. When it's hard and you make the choice to follow God's word, regardless of the consequences here on Earth, you can't lose and lesson #2 comes into play. We have to live in the world, but we make the choice of whether or not to be of the world. That's not always an easy thing to do, but nowhere in the Bible did I find a promise of an easy life. The promises come at the end of this life on Earth. The instruction manual on how to get there is God's word. It seems to me that in several places in the New Testament we're told how following God's word helps us overcome those that take advantage of us, hate us, or are our enemies.
The last lesson can be summed up by this sub-heading that's in my Bible (NIV translation): Jesus calms the storm. I want to say this again: JESUS calms the storm! This passage is about a boat trip Christ and the disciples are on. A storm appears and the boat is in danger of sinking. Afraid, the disciples wake Jesus; who calms the storm. He asks the disciples in this passage a telling question; one I'm going to repeat to you in just a minute. Verse 8:25 reads: "Where is your faith?" He asked His disciples.
It's interesting I turned to these pages in my Bible this morning because after reading them, I think it serves as a summary of my week. Forgiveness has been a topic of my off-blog experiences this week. I needed some; I needed to give some, too. I have to accept something I don't like as the truth, even though from all outward appearances it's not and the last time I was told the same story, it turned out that things were as they appeared to be, at least in part. I had to put my emotions in park and defer to my faith in the Word. That's lesson #1. I had to remember I forgave what happened last time and trust someone. I made a choice to do that.
A week ago today, I made a difficult choice based on the information I had and the information I was being given. I didn't make the choice to walk away from being married lightly. In fact, I acquiesced to what I was being told by the wife that week. In part, and that decision was based on an assumption of what I thought God would want for me. Whether it be through coincidence, circumstance, or some guidance from above (I pick this one!) and some last minute input from the Mrs., I made a different choice. I made the choice to live God's word (read the verses from Monday's blog and you'll get this). This is lesson #2. I made a mistake and made a decision not based in God's word, or I tried to. I learned a little bit about this and I hope my "root" went a little bit deeper into the good ground for it.
Lesson #3, I think is just sage advice and a reminder of something my pastor shared with me this week.
Lesson #4 is just Jesus telling us how he regards those who follow God's word. I had a chance to talk about this with one of the guys I work with. I explained to him that if I say I believe, but don't live like it, what am I accomplishing? I had to re-learn this lesson this week because I was letting my emotions get the better of me. By making a choice to trust in God's word, I also made a choice to trust the wife.
Lesson #5: Jesus calms the storm. As the week progressed and I quit focusing on how to end my relationship with Wendi, things started to get back to normal. I changed my decision not based on what I wanted at the moment, but my faith in God's word and His plan for me. When I did this, the storm was calmed.
That, friends, neighbors, and readers around the globe, whoever you may be, pretty much sums up my week. If you're inspired by this, moved by this even a little, how about taking time tomorrow to reconnect with God? I promise you, there's room at church for you. If you don't have one, come up to Ogden and go with me. You're always welcome.
And as always, remember to give thanks to God, give glory to God for the blessings in your life.
Take the time to read today's Bible verses, will you? Honestly, just take the 10-15 minutes to read these. It won't hurt you, I promise and hopefully you'll see what I'm talking about.
What's the lesson about you ask? There's homework involved. It's a reading assignment. (curious, does anyone actually look up the scriptures I post as reference material?) Today's lesson is from the Gospel of Luke, verses 7:36 through 8:25.
For such a short read, there are many lessons in this passage of the Good Book. The first lesson is this: Those that have been forgiven much, love much. Those that have been forgiven little, love little. Think about that for a while during your day. It's a powerful idea.
The second lesson comes from the parable of the sower and in this powerful passage, it speaks to the level of our faith. It's a short, but concise summary of faith. If you identify yourself as a Christian and haven't set foot in a church for a while or told someone about the Good News lately, you need to read Luke 8:1-15. A couple of times. While you read it, and the different concepts Jesus teaches us in the passage, see if you can identify people you know in your life, including me, but most importantly YOU, and guess where their seeds have taken root.
The third lesson comes in the metaphor of the lamp on the stand. To summarize, Jesus tells us two things: First, that there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Jesus admonishes us to be careful how we listen and informs us that whoever has will be given more and who does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.
The fourth lesson is about our relationship with God. Jesus is told his mother and brothers wish to see him. Verse 21 reads: He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." It's easy to say we do, harder sometimes to actually do. When it's hard and you make the choice to follow God's word, regardless of the consequences here on Earth, you can't lose and lesson #2 comes into play. We have to live in the world, but we make the choice of whether or not to be of the world. That's not always an easy thing to do, but nowhere in the Bible did I find a promise of an easy life. The promises come at the end of this life on Earth. The instruction manual on how to get there is God's word. It seems to me that in several places in the New Testament we're told how following God's word helps us overcome those that take advantage of us, hate us, or are our enemies.
The last lesson can be summed up by this sub-heading that's in my Bible (NIV translation): Jesus calms the storm. I want to say this again: JESUS calms the storm! This passage is about a boat trip Christ and the disciples are on. A storm appears and the boat is in danger of sinking. Afraid, the disciples wake Jesus; who calms the storm. He asks the disciples in this passage a telling question; one I'm going to repeat to you in just a minute. Verse 8:25 reads: "Where is your faith?" He asked His disciples.
It's interesting I turned to these pages in my Bible this morning because after reading them, I think it serves as a summary of my week. Forgiveness has been a topic of my off-blog experiences this week. I needed some; I needed to give some, too. I have to accept something I don't like as the truth, even though from all outward appearances it's not and the last time I was told the same story, it turned out that things were as they appeared to be, at least in part. I had to put my emotions in park and defer to my faith in the Word. That's lesson #1. I had to remember I forgave what happened last time and trust someone. I made a choice to do that.
A week ago today, I made a difficult choice based on the information I had and the information I was being given. I didn't make the choice to walk away from being married lightly. In fact, I acquiesced to what I was being told by the wife that week. In part, and that decision was based on an assumption of what I thought God would want for me. Whether it be through coincidence, circumstance, or some guidance from above (I pick this one!) and some last minute input from the Mrs., I made a different choice. I made the choice to live God's word (read the verses from Monday's blog and you'll get this). This is lesson #2. I made a mistake and made a decision not based in God's word, or I tried to. I learned a little bit about this and I hope my "root" went a little bit deeper into the good ground for it.
Lesson #3, I think is just sage advice and a reminder of something my pastor shared with me this week.
Lesson #4 is just Jesus telling us how he regards those who follow God's word. I had a chance to talk about this with one of the guys I work with. I explained to him that if I say I believe, but don't live like it, what am I accomplishing? I had to re-learn this lesson this week because I was letting my emotions get the better of me. By making a choice to trust in God's word, I also made a choice to trust the wife.
Lesson #5: Jesus calms the storm. As the week progressed and I quit focusing on how to end my relationship with Wendi, things started to get back to normal. I changed my decision not based on what I wanted at the moment, but my faith in God's word and His plan for me. When I did this, the storm was calmed.
That, friends, neighbors, and readers around the globe, whoever you may be, pretty much sums up my week. If you're inspired by this, moved by this even a little, how about taking time tomorrow to reconnect with God? I promise you, there's room at church for you. If you don't have one, come up to Ogden and go with me. You're always welcome.
And as always, remember to give thanks to God, give glory to God for the blessings in your life.
Take the time to read today's Bible verses, will you? Honestly, just take the 10-15 minutes to read these. It won't hurt you, I promise and hopefully you'll see what I'm talking about.
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