1 Corinthians 3:10-23 speaks of "foundations" and how to build on them. I did a biblegateway.com search for the word "foundations" and these are some interesting different types of foundations I discovered:
"Costly foundations": Joshua cursed the land Jericho was built on, saying that anyone to rebuild its 'foundations' would lose his firstborn. And it came to pass- 1 Kings 16:34.
"Earth's foundations": they are the Lord's: 1 Samuel 2:8.
"Weak Foundations": they are easily destroyed: Job 4:19, 22:16.
The more important ones, though, were very revealing:
The wise builder builds his foundation on rock- Luke 6:46-49.
The foundation of God's throne is "righteousness and justice"- Psalm 89:14, 97:2.
The way to lay a "firm foundation" is "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." Living like this will allow you to "take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:18-19.
So what is there to learn from all of this? Paul was writing to the people of Corinth and challenging them on what they were building their foundations. He first of all clarifies "no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (3:11) He then goes on to talk about those that use "wood, hay, and straw" on top of their foundations, much like the foolish builder Jesus mentioned. Whatever we build on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ will go through a "trial by fire" on the Day. "...the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work." (13b)
Paul goes on to talk about how we are "God's temples" and if we destroy our temple, God will destroy us. Also, the wisdom "by the standards of this age" is mentioned in the later verses. How many people today try to become so street and/or book smart and consider this to be a 'firm foundation'? Too many.
The good news, though, is that there will be things that survive the fire test! "If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward." (14) So it's not all bad... there are good things we can build on top of Jesus Christ! What are those good things? According to the Bible: "righteousness", "justice", and being "generous and willing to share". These are things that will survive the trial by fire, because they are what Jesus did on earth.
Just reading this passage caused me to ask myself: what am I building on top of the firm foundation of Jesus Christ? While I seek to live righteously and do justice as the Lord commands and while I seek to be generous with the what the Lord provides, I think the things that will stand the test of fire in my life most are the people I'm discipling. In discipling these young men, I'm making an investment in their lives that will go beyond just my time with them. All the glory be to God! To have the privilege of living out Jesus' command "go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19) is phenomenal- it is SUCH a blessing! I am not only aiding (in the Lord's strength) in the development of brothers in Christ but also developing myself, for there are few things more challenging than discipleship. When Jesus ascended into heaven, what remained? His disciples. Through the people He invested in, His words, teachings, and principles remained.
So the question of this blog is: what are you building on top of the foundation of Jesus? Will it burn, or remain?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Valentine's Day Massacre?!
Interesting title for a post, I know... but please just hear me out.
This past Valentine's Day, I recognized many of my friends "celebrating" it in a variety of ways, from cursing the holiday, to complaining about it's commercial nature, to just saying "I hate Valentine's Day" and, my favorite, to calling it "Single's Awareness Day". The reason I have titled this post in such a way is because the true meaning of Valentine's Day has been lost. Destroyed. Massacred.
Why curse the holiday? And why hate it? It's all about love! Who could hate that? Oh yes... I'm sorry. I go to a school where the ratio for girls to guys is 60/40 and so all of the single women are complaining about the lack of guys at school and the single guys are complaining because there are so many girls and they can't seem to find the one for them! Hmmm... so you're single, right? Me too! I consider it the greatest privilege in the world, for there is SO MUCH to be done in this time until (Lord willing) I find God's best for me. Where does cursing the holiday get you except a bad attitude? Do you really want to celebrate such a wonderful holiday with a terrible attitude?
To you who complain about it's "commercial nature", look around you. What HASN'T been tainted by this problem? To complain about Valentine's Day and all the businesses that want to sell stuff is less convincing than the argument for Christmas. But oh wait- all Christmas season all I hear is "remember the REAL meaning of Christmas!" What happened to this saying being repeated on Valentine's Day? And Easter, for that matter? We need to remember that we celebrate this day in part due to one of the early martyrs: Saint Valentine, who was killed because he refused to stop marrying Christian couples when the government forbid it. Saint Valentine sought to glorify and honor the Lord through promoting love, and he was loving both God and the couples he married throughout this process! So HE understood the true meaning of this holiday...
And finally- why call it "Single's Awareness Day". I can see how this would make all of you bachelors and bachelorettes feel better about yourselves, but just like calling Christmas "Xmas", it takes away the true meaning of the day!
Valentine's Day is NOT about seeking love from others, but sharing the love of Christ with those around you. It doesn't matter if you're single, dating, married, whatever! Does the Bible say the First Great commandment is to "be loved by the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength"? And the second- "be loved by your neighbor as you love yourself"? Absolutely Not! We are called to LOVE the Lord and to LOVE our neighbors... where did this get lost?
To clarify: the only reason we are able to love at all is because "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and because He "first loved us" (v. 19). If we try to do it on our own, we'll probably disappoint not only ourselves but also the person we're trying to love. You who go about doing things without the love of God are like "resounding gongs" and "clanging cymbals", and after reading what you all had to say on facebook and other ways, this verse came alive to me! Each day we can rejoice in the love our Father has lavished upon us so that we can spread it to those He has placed around us.
Finally: Galatians 5:14- "The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself." 1 John 4:21- "And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." So by looking at Valentine's Day as a way to receive love from the people around you, you are not wholly following God's command. You are called to "love your neighbor as yourself", regardless of how you're treated.
So while this holiday has just passed, I pray that these words will be stored in your heart for not only next February 14, but for every day that we are privileged to live and breathe on God's earth. If it's a command for every day, then why is Valentine's Day any different? Because we get to CELEBRATE being loved by an Amazing Father and loving those around us for His greatest glory :-). I'm excited! Are you?
This past Valentine's Day, I recognized many of my friends "celebrating" it in a variety of ways, from cursing the holiday, to complaining about it's commercial nature, to just saying "I hate Valentine's Day" and, my favorite, to calling it "Single's Awareness Day". The reason I have titled this post in such a way is because the true meaning of Valentine's Day has been lost. Destroyed. Massacred.
Why curse the holiday? And why hate it? It's all about love! Who could hate that? Oh yes... I'm sorry. I go to a school where the ratio for girls to guys is 60/40 and so all of the single women are complaining about the lack of guys at school and the single guys are complaining because there are so many girls and they can't seem to find the one for them! Hmmm... so you're single, right? Me too! I consider it the greatest privilege in the world, for there is SO MUCH to be done in this time until (Lord willing) I find God's best for me. Where does cursing the holiday get you except a bad attitude? Do you really want to celebrate such a wonderful holiday with a terrible attitude?
To you who complain about it's "commercial nature", look around you. What HASN'T been tainted by this problem? To complain about Valentine's Day and all the businesses that want to sell stuff is less convincing than the argument for Christmas. But oh wait- all Christmas season all I hear is "remember the REAL meaning of Christmas!" What happened to this saying being repeated on Valentine's Day? And Easter, for that matter? We need to remember that we celebrate this day in part due to one of the early martyrs: Saint Valentine, who was killed because he refused to stop marrying Christian couples when the government forbid it. Saint Valentine sought to glorify and honor the Lord through promoting love, and he was loving both God and the couples he married throughout this process! So HE understood the true meaning of this holiday...
And finally- why call it "Single's Awareness Day". I can see how this would make all of you bachelors and bachelorettes feel better about yourselves, but just like calling Christmas "Xmas", it takes away the true meaning of the day!
Valentine's Day is NOT about seeking love from others, but sharing the love of Christ with those around you. It doesn't matter if you're single, dating, married, whatever! Does the Bible say the First Great commandment is to "be loved by the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength"? And the second- "be loved by your neighbor as you love yourself"? Absolutely Not! We are called to LOVE the Lord and to LOVE our neighbors... where did this get lost?
To clarify: the only reason we are able to love at all is because "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and because He "first loved us" (v. 19). If we try to do it on our own, we'll probably disappoint not only ourselves but also the person we're trying to love. You who go about doing things without the love of God are like "resounding gongs" and "clanging cymbals", and after reading what you all had to say on facebook and other ways, this verse came alive to me! Each day we can rejoice in the love our Father has lavished upon us so that we can spread it to those He has placed around us.
Finally: Galatians 5:14- "The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself." 1 John 4:21- "And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." So by looking at Valentine's Day as a way to receive love from the people around you, you are not wholly following God's command. You are called to "love your neighbor as yourself", regardless of how you're treated.
So while this holiday has just passed, I pray that these words will be stored in your heart for not only next February 14, but for every day that we are privileged to live and breathe on God's earth. If it's a command for every day, then why is Valentine's Day any different? Because we get to CELEBRATE being loved by an Amazing Father and loving those around us for His greatest glory :-). I'm excited! Are you?
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sensitivity (or lack thereof)
My heart is right,
as the Lord is my witness,
But my methods fall short
of my intended purpose.
I see a need,
my desire is to fix it,
But why haven't I asked
if my help is requested?
I am thankful to the Lord
for His work in mi vida (my life),
That He has grown me,
made me who I am hoy día (today).
Yet this portrait is far,
far from being complete,
And the Great Transformer
is far from finishing this feat.
As I run this race
shedding all that hinders me,
Light my path, O Lord,
and open my eyes to see.
Forgive me for the times
neglect has led the way
And ignorance reigns supreme,
y todavía yo no sé (and I still don't know).
Lord when the time comes...
well... it happens every day,
As I strive to bless,
to You these words I pray:
Reveal to me your methods,
Your wisdom, I want it all,
And at the heart of my heart,
may Your love rule sin igual (without equal).
7.2.09- inspired by God.
The Lord revealed to me this past weekend during a small group meeting at the IV Winter Conference that I am not a very sensitive person. No- I'm not referring to the "talk about my feelings" sensitivity or anything like that, but more the Ephesians 4:29 and Philippians 2:3-4 type.
In Ephesians 4:29, it says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." And finally, Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each one should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The Lord has blessed me with a great desire to bless and encourage everyone I meet, but I have been doing this on my own terms and in my own way. What God desires out of me (and everyone) is that we are sensitive to what the people around us need- be it encouragement, help, etc. I may want to give them a gift, but they, in fact, would much rather have a hug or a word of encouragement. And most importantly, sometimes someone may not even want a word of encouragement or blessing from you! This was, to be quite honest, a very helpful but tough-to-swallow truth I learned- that sometimes people might not want that from me! "Love your neighbor as yourself"- the second greatest commandment, according to Jesus (Matt 22:39). There are definitely times when I just need to be alone or would rather someone just listen to me rather than offer a word of encouragement...
So I will seek to reflect Jesus to the people around me by being more sensitive. He was always sensitive to what the people needed, whether it was calling out a woman at the well (John 4) or feeding the multitudes (Luke 9) or some other way. Dear Jesus, may You lead and guide my sensitivity... that I may reflect You to the world and glorify You in every area of my life... Amen.
as the Lord is my witness,
But my methods fall short
of my intended purpose.
I see a need,
my desire is to fix it,
But why haven't I asked
if my help is requested?
I am thankful to the Lord
for His work in mi vida (my life),
That He has grown me,
made me who I am hoy día (today).
Yet this portrait is far,
far from being complete,
And the Great Transformer
is far from finishing this feat.
As I run this race
shedding all that hinders me,
Light my path, O Lord,
and open my eyes to see.
Forgive me for the times
neglect has led the way
And ignorance reigns supreme,
y todavía yo no sé (and I still don't know).
Lord when the time comes...
well... it happens every day,
As I strive to bless,
to You these words I pray:
Reveal to me your methods,
Your wisdom, I want it all,
And at the heart of my heart,
may Your love rule sin igual (without equal).
7.2.09- inspired by God.
The Lord revealed to me this past weekend during a small group meeting at the IV Winter Conference that I am not a very sensitive person. No- I'm not referring to the "talk about my feelings" sensitivity or anything like that, but more the Ephesians 4:29 and Philippians 2:3-4 type.
In Ephesians 4:29, it says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." And finally, Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each one should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The Lord has blessed me with a great desire to bless and encourage everyone I meet, but I have been doing this on my own terms and in my own way. What God desires out of me (and everyone) is that we are sensitive to what the people around us need- be it encouragement, help, etc. I may want to give them a gift, but they, in fact, would much rather have a hug or a word of encouragement. And most importantly, sometimes someone may not even want a word of encouragement or blessing from you! This was, to be quite honest, a very helpful but tough-to-swallow truth I learned- that sometimes people might not want that from me! "Love your neighbor as yourself"- the second greatest commandment, according to Jesus (Matt 22:39). There are definitely times when I just need to be alone or would rather someone just listen to me rather than offer a word of encouragement...
So I will seek to reflect Jesus to the people around me by being more sensitive. He was always sensitive to what the people needed, whether it was calling out a woman at the well (John 4) or feeding the multitudes (Luke 9) or some other way. Dear Jesus, may You lead and guide my sensitivity... that I may reflect You to the world and glorify You in every area of my life... Amen.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Change of Thought
How many of you are in accountability and/or discipleship relationships? And in those relationships, how often do you seek to honor the Lord through holding each other accountable in an area such as purity?
In my personal experience, a common question I ask in these relationships is "How are you doing purity-wise?" I'm beginning to discover, though, that that's missing a huge aspect of how we should be encouraging each other...
While purity and living righteously are both very important, I have been thinking about these topics in the wrong way. By asking "how is your purity?" or "have you been struggling lately?", I'm encouraging my friends to abstain from sin. This is not bad by any means, but it misses the part about living a holy life to please God!
My Dad speaks about two different ways of getting to heaven: 1) walking away from hell (in the direction of heaven) and 2) walking towards heaven. Two blogs ago I wrote about "fixing your eyes on Jesus", and this is obviously the second way to get to heaven. When someone is walking away from hell, they are saying to themselves "Hell is a terrible place, I don't want to go there. Oh man- I better not sin! Sinning is bad, so as long as I don't sin, I can get to heaven." Whereas walking towards heaven sounds like this: "Jesus, how wonderful and Awesome you are! I want to glorify You in every possible way here on this earth so that Your name and fame will be spread throughout the nations!" They both seek to avoid sinning, but with two different mindsets.
I may be the only person that asks that question in accountability relationships, and now I propose a different question be asked: "How are you reflecting Christ in your life?" (be it in your bf/gf relationship or just regular friendships, etc) In asking this, you are encouraging your friend to think and worry less about not-sinning and more about what you can do for God's kingdom on this earth. We will also approach relationships with a totally different mindset! Instead of doing our best to not mess-up, we will be doing our best to shine Jesus.
How can we shine Jesus? Through serving each other as Jesus served everyone around Him (John 13). Through forgiving and loving each other. Through blessing each other.
Remember- in Galatians 5, Paul didn't just say "the acts of the sinful nature are obvious" and list them out. He also added "but the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control..." We are not called to just abstain from sin, but also to live holy and God-honoring lives. Think of what this change of mindset can do for the body of Christ world-wide!
How are you reflecting Christ to those around you?
Oh Lord, be honored through our lives, not just in abstaining from sin, but also in living to please You. Amen.
In my personal experience, a common question I ask in these relationships is "How are you doing purity-wise?" I'm beginning to discover, though, that that's missing a huge aspect of how we should be encouraging each other...
While purity and living righteously are both very important, I have been thinking about these topics in the wrong way. By asking "how is your purity?" or "have you been struggling lately?", I'm encouraging my friends to abstain from sin. This is not bad by any means, but it misses the part about living a holy life to please God!
My Dad speaks about two different ways of getting to heaven: 1) walking away from hell (in the direction of heaven) and 2) walking towards heaven. Two blogs ago I wrote about "fixing your eyes on Jesus", and this is obviously the second way to get to heaven. When someone is walking away from hell, they are saying to themselves "Hell is a terrible place, I don't want to go there. Oh man- I better not sin! Sinning is bad, so as long as I don't sin, I can get to heaven." Whereas walking towards heaven sounds like this: "Jesus, how wonderful and Awesome you are! I want to glorify You in every possible way here on this earth so that Your name and fame will be spread throughout the nations!" They both seek to avoid sinning, but with two different mindsets.
I may be the only person that asks that question in accountability relationships, and now I propose a different question be asked: "How are you reflecting Christ in your life?" (be it in your bf/gf relationship or just regular friendships, etc) In asking this, you are encouraging your friend to think and worry less about not-sinning and more about what you can do for God's kingdom on this earth. We will also approach relationships with a totally different mindset! Instead of doing our best to not mess-up, we will be doing our best to shine Jesus.
How can we shine Jesus? Through serving each other as Jesus served everyone around Him (John 13). Through forgiving and loving each other. Through blessing each other.
Remember- in Galatians 5, Paul didn't just say "the acts of the sinful nature are obvious" and list them out. He also added "but the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control..." We are not called to just abstain from sin, but also to live holy and God-honoring lives. Think of what this change of mindset can do for the body of Christ world-wide!
How are you reflecting Christ to those around you?
Oh Lord, be honored through our lives, not just in abstaining from sin, but also in living to please You. Amen.
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