Luke 17 tells us of a time when the apostles came to Jesus to ask for more faith.
Look how Jesus responds……
The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.” But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it. - Luke 17:5 (MSG)
When it comes to faith, maybe our focus should be on adding to instead of adding more.
Check out 2 Peter 1:5……..
So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. - 2 Peter 1:5 (MSG)
basic faith + good character + spiritual understanding + alert discipline + passionate patience + reverent wonder + warm friendliness + generous love + a focus on others
(image by urbanmkr)
When I was younger I had an incorrect view of God. My view of God is now correct, but still incomplete.
- An incorrect view is to not see God as loving. An incomplete view is to not fully understand how loving he is.
- An incorrect view is to not see God as powerful. An incomplete view is to not fully comprehend his power.
- An incorrect view is to not see God as gracious. An incomplete view is to not fully fathom his amazing grace.
Incorrect & incomplete. There is a big difference.
Dallas Willard says this about one’s view of God in The Divine Conspiracy…..
Central to the understanding and proclamation of the Christian gospel today, as in Jesus’ day, is a re-visioning of what God’s own life is like and how the physical cosmos fits into it. It is a great and important task to come to terms with what we really think when we think of God.
Willard goes on to include this description of God by Adam Clarke…….
the eternal, independent, and self-existent Being; the Being whose purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence; he who is absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, the most spiritual of all essences; infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that he has made; illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only by himself, because an infinite mind can only be fully comprehended by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived, and from his infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just and right, and kind.
Love that description.
An accurate and correct description of God…yes.
A complete description of God….probably not.
How do you see Him?
I read Ephesians 5:1-2 (MSG) this morning and I just had to share it.
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.
We are to be students of love. With Christ as our teacher.
We are to watch how Christ loved his Father, and we are to love our parents like that.
We are to watch how Christ loved his bride, the church, and we are to love our spouse like that.
We are to watch how Christ loved children, and we are to love our children like that.
We are to watch how Christ loved strangers, and we are to love strangers like that.
Christ’s love is extravagant. We are to love like that.
In high school and college, whenever a teacher or professor repeated something more than once, I always made note of it. I figured the repetition meant that it was of extra importance. And the important stuff always ended up on the tests.
A few days ago, while reading through the book of Matthew, I noticed the repeating of an important truth that The Message refers to as The Great Reversal.
It first appears at the end of Matthew 19 after an encounter that Jesus has with a rich and powerful young man.
This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first. - Matthew 19:30 (MSG)
It is repeated in the very next chapter after a parable that Jesus uses to describe God’s kingdom.
Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first. - Matthew 20:16 (MSG)
I’m going to spend time thinking about The Great Reversal. He repeated it for us. It must be important.
I’m sure blogging will be light over the Christmas break, so I will leave you with this.
A passage of scripture that we have been focused on at church for the past few weeks.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. // Luke 2:8-11 (NIV)
Good news.
Great joy.
For all the people.
Merry Christmas!
Recent Comments