"Paul spent himself for one purpose only-that he might win men to Jesus Christ. Paul attracted to Jesus all the time, never to himself. " I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." When a man says he must develop a holy life alone with God, he is no more use to his fellow men: he puts himself on a pedestal, away from the common run of men." My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers. Reading this got me thinking , how do we do that "become all things to all people" without being warped somehow by the world? Is that possible? How do you practically do that without being a people pleaser? (something I fall prey to often)
Also, the book in the bible I am hanging out in right now is probably one my favorites. Romans is written by Paul to the Romans. What a huge task this must have been to him. To write a book to a city so big and powerful at the time that it would be like one of us trying to explain Christianity to the city of New York. IF it were me who had to tell the city of Reno what Christianity is what would I say? Another friend wrote recently in a blog about our worldview and how important it is that we have a proper worldview in order to really be affective. I have been really tripping out on some of the verses this time while really studying this book. The one I have been stuck on for weeks is this one " You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you , a mere man, pass judgement on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" Romans 2:1-4
That last verse has really been sticking with me first of all because the word tolerance stood out to me and second of all because I have really been trying to find the balance of speaking into others lives with truth but in a way that will draw them closer to Jesus and not futher away.
I guess I haven't ever really thought of God as being tolerant like how the world uses that word so much right now, but He is so tolerant of us all the time. Our humanity in comparison to His soveriegnty is something that requires alot of tolerance on His part.
Another one that is convicting me again, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:9-10 and "If it is possible , as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" vs18
These are hard verses to live by. Sometimes really hard. I want to live by them though because I know they are at the core of what I am supposed to be doing here on this planet.
I am reminded on a daily basis how selfish I am. Having 4 children will reveal that to anyone, but I don't want to look back later on this season and wish that I wouldv'e done more for them or for others, but mostly for Jesus. I know that by loving others I show my love to Him. I want to get that right.
3 comments:
I think becoming servants in America is extremely difficult. After all, we've got rights, we're pioneers, we promote individualism, we live to consume, we have access to most of the world's wealth, etc. I'm with you on this Noel.
Living out these things is challenging! The great thing is that you are able to look at these scriptures and personalize them to your own life and use them to think about the specifics of your thoughts and actions and how they line up with scripture. So many people read the Bible but never apply it to their own lives.
thank you tpluck, georgia, and karen.
it's good to know that its not just me who reads these things and thinks, HOW, everday, HOW??
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